> The Legend of Friendship - Diary of the Storm Wings
>  by Danieru
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1. Three Brothers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number one


I'll guess this will be the first entry. To be honest, I don't know what to write into this. My brothers came up with this idea to write a diary in order to keep track of recent events. They may have casually suggested it without any reason but I liked the idea and decided to make it happen.

I want it to serve as a reminder. To remind me that times were much worse back then. By reading about everything that we archieved this far, I can draw more strength and continue on our journey, no matter what.

Or maybe it will be something that newer member could look into if they want to know how this group started. I didn't actually plan to show this diary to anypony, mainly because I haven't written anything yet...but I might as well put in some effort into it as if somepony was supposed to read it.

I have never written anything yet so it might end up a little sloppy but I don't care about that.
I guess first comes an introduction...

My name is Cyclone Wing.
I am the leader and a founding member of a group called: The Storm Wings.
A group that dedicated itself to help out other ponies in need while also trying to make Equestria a better place for everypony to live in.

It sounds a lot nobler than it really is...

Some call us freelancers...
Some call us mercenary...
Some call us heroes...
Some call us rogues...

The name of our group is spreading throughout Equestria faster than I ever expected, which is weird because it all started as a dream from a little foal to make Equestria a better place.

Not that Equestria is a bad place to live, to begin with, but if you happen to live in the wrong place or at the wrong time under wrong circumstances, like me and my brothers, then you just want to make sure that nopony is living like that.

Again...It sounds a lot nobler than it is.

We accept work from all over Equestria and offer our help for all kinds of things. Whether it is repairing, retrieving lost objects or even ponies, protecting ponies from dangers, dealing with dangerous creatures and so on. This does not sound like the most “making Equestria a better place like” work but every pony in our group works hard no matter what the job is.

We do demand some bits for our work to make a living and the more our reputation rises, more and more ponies come to us and join for multiple reasons. Some of them just seek the adventure to travel to different places in Equestria. Some of them like to help other ponies in need and wanted to be part of something big. Whatever the reason is, as long as everypony behaves, we don't mind or judge anypony or other species.

That reminds me...
We mostly consist of Pegasi since we work all over Equestria and the fastest way to get to every corner is with the help of some healthy wings.

But there were some exceptions...

We once had griffons or dragons joining our group. But things got difficult. Dragons do not tend to listen to my or my brother's orders and make more problems then they solve. Griffons either don't know or like to work as a team, which is something that we highly focus on. I'm not saying that it is impossible for those species to join our group but from what I saw so far, ponies seem to be the only species who fit into this group.

To think that we would make it this far...

After I remembered how it all started, I figured that writing it down was a really good idea. If I decide to write something into this then I should start from the very beginning anyway. Way before this group even started.

Back then, I and my two brothers had to take care of ourselves.
Our parents...I don't even remember their faces. It was only me and my brothers as long as I could think back...

We were still little foals. No home. No parents. And more importantly, no food.

Every day it was the same routine...







In a little town, years ago...


"Hey! Hooves of my apples!" A merchant yelled angrily at a little colt that ran away with a bag of apples in his mouth.

The little Pegasus colt had a light green coat and a blue and yellow colored mane, shaped like a propeller and ran through the streets with a bag of apples in its mouth with the angry merchant right behind him. The little colt was surprisingly calm and tried his best to get rid of his follower by running into every street he ran by. But it was no use.

However, another colt waited for the little thief around a corner and was ready to make his move.

When the little thief ran into another corner of the street, the merchant, of course, followed him right into it. But before he knew what happened, the merchant stumbled over something, making him trip in the process. After releasing some painful grunts, the merchant got up again and noticed how he was stumbling over a little colt, who began tearing up. Shocked by what he has done the merchant quickly tried to comfort the little colt.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” He quickly apologized after realizing the damage that he has caused.

The little Pegasus looked up with teary puppy eyes, making the merchant feel even worse. He had a light blue coat, a blonde spiky mane which was combed to the right and light blue eyes.

While still feeling bad, the merchant looked around the street and realized that he had lost the thief.
The encounter with this little pony probably gave him enough time to escape. There was nothing that he could do about that anymore. The only thing that was left, was a crying pony in front of him.

“Wait here!” The merchant said before he vanished for a while only to return with a bag of apples in his mouth that he offered to the little colt as an apology.

“They are free so take them,” the merchant offered. “Everything okay again?”

The little colt looked at the bag for a second and then silently nodded in response while rubbing away his tears. Shortly after the merchant returned to his stall and left the little pony alone. He most likely also gave up on chasing the thief that stole his apples.

Only a short time later, after the merchant left, the pony with the green coat was looking at the colt from the roof of a house right next to him and smiled relieved.

"Good job, Hurricane!" He said before he jumped down and landed right next to him.

Hurricane returned the smile and then saluted proudly with a rather emotionless face.

“Thanks...”

He suddenly didn't have any more teary eyes or wasn't sad at all. It was astonishing how quick his whole mood changed almost instantly.

“We even got another bag of apples out of it,” the green pony said while he opened up the bag to take a look at the apples.

“Is he gone?” A voice then asked, making the heads of the two turn to another pony.

Another colt walked up to them slowly with an insecure expression on his face, almost as if he feared that the merchant would show up again to get angry at them. It was another Pegasus colt. He had a yellow coat, a long light blue mane, and light blue very insecure eyes.

“Don't worry, Tornado, it's all clear,” the pony with the green coat assured.

Tornado looked over to Hurricane in concern, making him aware that he was being stared at. “Something wrong?” Hurricane asked obliviously. 

“I saw how that pony stumbled over you...Didn't that hurt?” Tornado asked almost hesitantly.

Hurricane took a moment and scratched his head confused before he inspected his body.

“I guess...” he then replied casually while shrugging his shoulders confused almost as if he wasn't sure himself.

They each took one apple out of one of the bags and walked along the street, making sure that they wouldn't come across the same merchant again. The town they were in, was very lively and ponies always filled the streets every day so they always had to be close in order to not get lost.

All of them were brothers that grew up together on the streets since they didn't have any parents or a home. The only way to live was to steal food from merchants to make it through every day. It clearly wasn't the best life but it was the only life that they knew.


The eldest of them was Cyclone Wing. He was the one who took care of his brothers since they were small. He was also the only one who slightly remembered to have parents. The other two were too young to remember. Even though it wasn't a really nice fillyhood what they were having right now, Cyclone Wing didn't show any weakness and kept staying strong in front of his brothers, making both look up to him.

The second oldest was Hurricane Wing. Despite living under these circumstances, Hurricane Wing seemed to be the only one of the three who didn't seem to bother at all. The other two, while still growing up with him, didn't exactly know if he was hiding his sadness or if it was just his character.
He generally was hard to read because he never shows many emotions like happiness or sadness but his brothers always know how he felt.

The youngest of them was Tornado Wing. He was the only one of the three who was against stealing food from other ponies. He didn't like to live this way but he understood that they had to do it in order survive. Unlike his two brothers, Tornado Wing was more scared or hesitant most of the time, giving his two brothers all the more reason to stay strong and take care of him.


While continuing their walk to find a place to stay for the rest of the day, Tornado was bothered by a question.

“Hey, Cyclone...” He asked hesitantly as always.

“Yeah?” He replied before taking a bite off of one of his apples.

“Do we always have to live like this?” He asked right away without making eye contact with either of them and looking on the ground almost in regret.

Cyclone Wing and Hurricane Wing looked at each other realizing how Tornado Wing was bothered by this question. Hurricane Wing returned his look back to the front of him, knowing that Cyclone Wing would answer. Which he did after raising his head to come up with an answer.

“Of course not!” Cyclone Wing replied confidently, causing Tornado Wing to look at him confused and out of curiosity. 
“I know that you are against this way of living, Tornado but I know that it won't last like this forever!” He added confidently.

“How can you be so sure?” Tornado Wing asked, this time looking directly at him.

Again, Cyclone Wing took a moment to think but he decided to answer Tornado's question with another question.

“What do you want to do in your live?”

Tornado Wing was caught off guard by this question and began to think as well for a moment. He raised his head to the sky and watched the clouds fly by him with a fascinated look on his face.

“I want to fly...” he replied.
“I mean...to other places! I want to fly to so many places all over Equestria!” His voice began to sound more enthusiastic by every word he said.

Seeing him being happy again, made Cyclone Wing happy as well.

“Then one day, you will!” Cyclone Wing said, causing Tornado Wing to snap out again a little.

“But before you can do that...You need to make it through today...” Hurricane Wing added to the conversation.

“In know that you are not the best flyer but if you really want to fly everywhere, then you first have to get strong and make it through every day,” Cyclone Wing explained.
“There is also something that I want to do,”

“What is that?” Tornado Wing asked.

“I want to make Equestria a better place. I know that sounds a little weird but... There are probably other ponies out there who grow up like us...Wouldn't it be great if we could help them all? To make their lives better?”

“Sounds noble...” Hurricane Wing said.

Cyclone Wing couldn't tell if Hurricane Wing was making fun of him or if he was sincere judging by the absent-minded tone and gave him a confused look.

“But how do you want to accomplish that?” Tornado Wing further poked.

“I'll figure something out! But just like Hurricane said, we need to make it through every day first!
Together!” He exclaimed confidently.

His two brothers began to smile by those words and gained more confidence, continuing their way through the streets with happy thoughts in their minds.







Thieves...
Exactly. That's what we were back then. If anypony will ever read this, then this might shock the newest members of our group but that is exactly how everything started. Back then, I was just a little colt who was dreaming and wishing for a better future. But I meant every word I said. And I would never take them back again. Because those words eventually helped me to become the pony that I am right now.


I think that is enough for the first entry...
Writing those words reminded me that there is still much work to be done.

But I will continue...
Maybe even faster then I would imagine...
> 2. Thieves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number Two


I might continue where I last left off. I didn't show the last entry to anypony so far. Who should I show this one entry anyway? I can't imagine that some of our members want to know what I and my brothers did as foals.

Stealing food, running away, hiding, repeat. Nothing to be proud of. But it was our life. And we didn't know any other way of living so we continued.

We continued our lives like that for many years. Before we knew it, the years went by much quicker than everyone of us expected. This might sound like as if it was hard at first but as long as we three were together, we were happy. The whole world could have been against us but we would stick together.

However, we didn't forget our dreams. The dream of seeing the world and making it a better place. But in order to do that, we had to make sure that we could make it through every day. That was just the harsh truth.

But things started to change at one point...slowly.

That is what I am going to write now...

We decided to visit other places after we grew a little older. It became difficult to steal food in the same town over and over again. Eventually, ponies became more cautious, knowing that there were three ponies stealing food in their town so we had no choice to change town every once a while.

We had no choice to leave and find another place to live. Luckily, we were old enough to take better care of us at that point. We all earned our Cutie Marks, we were all good Flyer's and we knew every trick when it came to stealing food.

Not something to be proud of now that I think about it.

But that's just how life was back then.

And that is why it needed to change soon...







A few years ago...


The three ponies flew over a little town and carefully scanned their eyes trough the streets. Cyclone Wing gave both his brothers a signal to spread out a little. It was something that they got used to after doing it dozens of times before. All of them would spread to different directions of a town in order to find all the shops in it. After they were done with this process they met up again in the air and decided what to do next.

“I saw plenty, how about you?” Cyclone Wing asked.

“Plenty,” Hurricane Wing quickly replied.

Tornado Wing only nodded in response letting them know that he found plenty shops to rob too.

“Alright then. Here is what we do...” Cyclone Wing said before he drew his brothers closer to them to explain how to act from now on.


Later...


At the end of the day, all three of them were successful and managed to steal a lot of food without getting noticed. Each of them was experienced enough to steal food without getting noticed. The town also seemed to not be very cautious when it came to stealing, making it easier for the three Pegasi.

All of them had bags of apples, carrots and even some sweets with them and were happy that everything went smoothly in this new town. They meet up in a corner of the town to celebrate their successful robbery while sharing their loot.

“Looks like, those ponies don't take much care for their stuff,” Cyclone Wing said happily looking over the loot that they managed to gather. “With all this, we can easily make it through a week!”

“It was really easy...” Tornado Wing said while taking a bite of one of his apples and looking down to the ground depressed. “It makes me almost feel bad for the shopkeepers,”

Hurricane noticed the sadness from Tornado Wing and knew exactly what was bothering him. As usual, Tornado Wing was too kind and good-willed and got bothered by the fact that they were stealing again so he decided to say something to cheer him up.

“You don't have to feel bad. You see, because we stole so much at once, there is no need to steal more tomorrow or maybe even the day after, meaning that we don't have to steal as often as before,”

“Is that supposed to cheer me up?” Tornado Wing replied while narrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Yeah,” Hurricane replied boldly, oblivious to Tornado's reaction. ”Did it work?”

But Tornado only returned a mean look while Hurricane's expression remained unchanged. That was until Hurricane coughed up heavily for a few seconds, making his brothers worry instantly.

“Hurricane!?” Cyclone Wing said as he stood up in a panic.

Hurricane lifted one of his hooves to assure him that he is alright and seconds later, he did seem fine again, calming his brothers down.

“You do cough up a lot recently, Hurricane...” Tornado said worriedly.

“I'm sorry that I looked at you mean...” he apologized, feeling as if that was the cause for his brother's condition.

“That wasn't the cause for me to cough up, silly,” Hurricane replied, making sure that his little brother wouldn't feel bad.

Cyclone and Tornado were both aware that Hurricane was trying to calm them down but they both realized that his “condition” was like this for a while. They both figured that Hurricane had a weak body and that he couldn't exhaust himself too much. It was hard to believe considering that he never seems to indicate that he feels bad or weak. In fact, he looks like the healthiest one of them. He was also the fastest flyer of the three, making it kinda sad that he was cursed with this “illness”.

They decided to not worry about what just happened anymore and started to eat something. Cyclone Wing, who was sitting in a corner a few meters away from his brothers, was done eating one of his apples and reached out his hoof to one of the bags behind him to get another one. However, when he tried to reach out, he didn't felt the bag or an apple but instead fur. When he turned his head around, he saw dark gray leg that tried to grab the bag of apples beside him. Cyclone Wing's sudden instincts caused him to grab the arm and pulled it with full force towards him and throwing the pony that it belonged to, to the ground.

Tornado Wing and Hurricane Wing both noticed the sudden noises coming from their brother and turned around to look at him and what might have caused it. In front of Cyclone Wing laid a Pegasus with a dark gray coat and a short dark blue mane, who had his eyes closed due to Cyclone Wing's sudden reaction. The pony eventually opened his eyes and realized in what situation he was in, causing him to sweat nervously.

“Did you try to steal our food?” Cyclone Wing asked almost threatening with his eyes focused on the apple thief.

“Your food?” He replied confused. “You stole them! They are not yours!” He said while he got up on his hooves again.

“Yes we stole them, that means they are ours now!” Cyclone Wing replied, not even thinking about getting lectured by this pony in terms of morality.

“Are you about to call us thieves? You tried to steal one just now which would make you a thief as well,”

“No, it wouldn't! Because they would have belonged to us eventually,”

“Us?”

Suddenly, another voice could be heard from behind the gray pony.

“Cloud Head, did you steal the apples yet?” Another gray Pegasus showed his head around the corner and asked his companion while being unable to read the current mood of the situation.

“No, I haven't Featherbrain! I'm still negotiating!” Cloud Head exclaimed to which the other pony went back behind the corner in an attempt to hide, even though, he was clearly seen by everypony.

The three brothers did not seem to take the two Pegasi serious enough and looked at each other confused. They were clearly thieves as well but the way they attempted to “steal” was much too innocent or rather inexperienced. Cyclone Wing wasn't even thinking about giving those two anything. But like always, Tornado's good nature good the better of him.

“Can't we give them some of our food?” Tornado Wing suggested. “I mean, we still have plenty left, right?”

Cyclone Wing and Hurricane Wing knew that Tornado Wing already felt bad from all this stealing. Being mean to other ponies who were trying to survive as well would make him even more upset so Cyclone Wing decided to give them one of their bags so that they could make it through some days.

“Wait...you're seriously giving us something?” Cloud Head asked surprised by Cyclone Wing's offer.

“You can thank my brother for that...” Cyclone Wing replied.

“Thank you, brother!” Featherbrain said coming out of his hiding spot before vanishing again.

The three brothers invited the two to join them. Since they gave them a bag anyway, there was no point to be hostile to each other anymore.

As it turns out, Cloud Head and Featherbrain were the local thieves of this town and with the brothers appearing, the two got competition, making it harder for them to get food for themselves. They had no choice but to face their competitors in order to get their rightful share of food. What made it worse was that they both had no home or parents as well. This information made the brothers almost feel bad for showing up in this town.

“So you don't have a home either?” Tornado asked.

“If you are not considering the streets as home, then no...” Cloud Head replied.

“But, hey! We have each other! That is something too!” Featherbrain added lighting up the mood again, whether it was intentional or not given his always cheerful behavior that he showed this far.

“Sounds familiar...” Hurricane Wing said, mainly towards Cyclone Wing.

Cyclone Wing knew what he meant. Those two seem very similar to him and his brothers. They had no other choice but to live like this. While it is not impossible to go through living this way, it is not necessary a good one. Realizing that, reminded him of his dream. He was well aware that there were ponies out there who lived the same life as they do and he felt that it wasn't okay.

However, before he could think about it any longer, a loud voice interrupted his thoughts.

“There they are!” A voice shouted from the end of the street, revealing a group of angry ponies.

“They found us?” Cloud Head said in shock.

“I thought nopony of us got caught!” Cyclone Wing said towards his brothers, to which Hurricane Wing replied with shrugging his shoulders in confusion.

Suddenly, Cloud Head and Featherbrain ran past the three, escaping the angry group of ponies.

“Look those two even have new accomplices! Let's get them too!” One pony in the angry group exclaimed, still mistaking the brothers for accomplices of Cloud Head and Featherbrain.

Realizing that the three got caught up in all of this, they decided to fly away. Luckily their chasers didn't consist of many Pegasi, making their escape easy. They decided to fly away from the town and eventually, managed to shake off their chasers. Luckily, they were able to grab their bags before they escaped, making the trip to this town not for nothing.

“I think they are gone...” Hurricane said while looking behind him.

“You think, Cloud Head and Featherbrain managed to escape as well?” Tornado Wing asked a little worriedly.

“Don't worry we are alright,” a voice that none of the brothers expected answered, causing the three of them to look at Cloud Head and Featherbrain who both flew right beneath them.

“What!? Why are you following us!?” Cyclone Wing asked annoyed.

“Well, we kinda were driven out by the town folks...” Cloud Head replied. It sounded like as if he wanted to blame the brothers for that, even though they were clearly the ones who got chased by the town.

“This is probably a good time to tell you all that we are not really good at all that stealing thing...” Featherbrain explained, actually making it the worst time to tell them right now.

“I would have never guessed...” Cyclone Wing sarcastically replied with narrowed eyes.

Apparently, the town knew about the two for a long time, making it hard to get something done in this town. Fortunately, they seemed to be able to take the bag of food with them as well which made Cyclone Wing a little relieved that the food wasn't wasted at all.

“So, where are we going to now?” Featherbrain asked casually, making Cyclone Wing return an expression of confusion towards him.

“We?” Cyclone Wing replied confused.

The two Pegasi practically invited themselves into the group. It may be because of the food that they gave them before. Or because they had nowhere else to go. But Cyclone Wing figured that those two would mean a lot more work for them which made it clear for him to not take them with them.

Until Tornado Wing spoke up.

“Can't they come with us?” Tornado Wing asked out of the blue shyly. ”I mean, we kinda showed up in their town and tried to took over their...” territory”...”

Cyclone Wing didn't felt like as if that was reason enough. However, there was one thing that made him rethink everything. He looked over to the two and remembered how their life was right now.

They were the same...
No parents...no home...no food...they were thieves...
They were no different from him and his brothers.
This reminded him of his dream...to make Equestria a better place for everypony.
It was ponies like those two who he wanted to help to live a better life.
It was those ponies who he wanted to help.

Cyclone Wing looked over to Hurricane Wing for a second. Hurricane only nodded shortly in acceptance, letting his brother know that he was okay with it.

“Alright...” Cyclone Wing then said out of the blue.

Hearing that made Tornado Wing really happy. “You heard that? You can come with us!” He said in excitement.

Cloud Head and Featherbrain made wide eyes of joy and thanked Cyclone Wing for letting them join in. They even went so far to dance in midair in happiness.

“Yes, thank you, boss!” Featherbrain brain said gratefully.

“Boss? I'm not your boss!” Cyclone Wing replied.

“Yeah, Tornado is...” Hurricane added casually out of the blue.

“Huh?” Was the only thing that Tornado Wing could reply to that.

“He was the one who gave you the food and he was the one who suggested that you should come with us...” Hurricane Wing explained.

Tornado Wing felt a little modest after how Hurricane Wing put his words but Cloud Head and Featherbrain both saw what he meant and agreed that what he said was true.

“He is right! From now on you're the boss, Tornado Wing!” Cloud Head said, fully agreeing with what Hurricane Wing said.

Needless to say, Tornado Wing felt really awkward to be put in this position, especially since he was not somepony who would put himself over anypony else. Just imagining him to be responsible for those two was impossible for Cyclone Wing. However, he saw it as good opportunity for his little brother to gain some confidence and independence so he began to like the idea more and more.

“Alright, you are responsible for them, Tornado...” Cyclone Wing said, making the two his problem now.

“What!?” Tornado Wing replied in a mix of shock and confusion.

They then continued their flight to wherever their travels would lead them to next. Who knew what the five of them would do from now on. Or what the future would hold for them.







Those two were with us ever since. Tornado actually managed to keep them under his wings all these years. Though it is a really weird combination...
The shy and restrained little Pegasus and the two...let's say “a little hard to deal with” Pegasi.
But despite all that, they managed to be two vital members of the Storm Wings and I could not even imagine them not being a part of it.

For me...they are like a part of a family. Just like the rest of the Storm Wings. If not even a little more then the rest.
Of course, I would never say that out loud to everypony. But it's just a fact that they were with us since the very beginning.

This only left one more founding member who would join us shortly after...
But I think I will leave that for the next entry. There is no rush after all.

For now, I should go back to my work.
I never guessed that writing would actually be this fun.
To be honest, I can't wait till the next entry.
> 3. Spreading your Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number Three


I got some time to spare, might as well continue with this.
I left off with me and my brothers meeting Cloud Head and Featherbrain in the last entry.
What I am about to write was actually not too long after that. In fact, it was only hours later.

We wanted to find another town but then this huge storm appeared out of nowhere. We had no choice but to find some shelter from it.
Little did we knew that this storm would have guided us to our new home.

And...our destiny...







It was a stormy day. Probably the windiest day that Equestria has ever seen. It came right when the five ponies, Cyclone Wing, Hurricane Wing, Tornado Wing, Cloud Head, and Featherbrain were on their way for a new town.

They were flying over the badlands of Equestria and thanks to the shadows of the clouds, seeing anything in front of them was pretty hard but they managed to spot something in the middle of this storm.

“What is that?” Featherbrain wondered as he pointed at some kind of structure between some cliffs.

The other four noticed the structure as well but didn't know what exactly it was. It looked like some fortress or a castle. There were four walls surrounding it and inside of the walls was a big court. In the middle of one of the walls was a gate and across the court was the fortress at the other side.
It was a place where you could hide from the storm and that was enough for them to check it out so Cyclone Wing suggested flying down to it. Whoever was living inside of it could probably protect them until the storm was over.

But after getting closer to it, they all realized how bad in shape this fortress was. There were vines and bushes all over it and it was clearly abandoned for years, if not centuries. At least now nopony would mind if they would stay there for a while.

They entered the fortress and walked through the long hallways inside of it. As expected, nopony could be found. It was only silence inside and some noises from the rain outside. After looking all over the place, the five ponies eventually arrived at a staircase that would lead them to the upper floor. There, they ended in a big room with a big glass window at the end of it. From there, they could overlook all of the courts inside of the walls.

“What is this place?” Tornado Wing asked worried while carefully inspecting his surroundings.

“Maybe she knows...” Hurricane Wing said casually pointing at one corner of the room.

The group jumped after noticing a figure standing in the shadows of the room. They didn't even notice that there was somepony else in there. Cyclone Wing would make the first step to get closer to that figure in order to find out who it was. It could have been the owner of this fortress after all. Whoever it was, it was five against one so even if this pony was a threat they still got the advantage if things got worse.

However, the pony did not seem to make any suspicious movements and even walked up to the group slowly. After walking out of the shadows, the pony revealed itself as a Pegasus mare with a white coat, a light blue straight mane, and light blue eyes, as well as three swirls as a Cutie Mark.

“Were you looking for shelter too?” The mare asked curiously but also with caution, not seeming to trust this group of ponies at first.

She didn't seem to be any threat so Cyclone Wing approached her slowly while signaling that they were not threat either. 

“We got caught by this storm on surprise and needed to find some place to stay,” Cyclone Wing explained while making sure to not frighten the mare in any way.

“I see...” she replied while looking away almost disinterested. “Well, I just stay here so that I won't bother you...”

“Why would you think that you bother us?” Cloud Head asked confused by her choice of words.

“Yes, we can spend time together until the storm is over,” Tornado Wing said, inviting the mare to their group.

“Yeah, listen to the boss!” Featherbrain added, making Tornado Wing blush in embarrassment.

“Please don't call me that in front of other ponies! It's embarrassing!” Tornado Wing replied while hiding his face under his hooves.

Cyclone Wing felt like stepping in before the mare would get the wrong idea about this group.

“I'm Cyclone Wing and those are, Tornado Wing, Hurricane Wing, Cloud Head and Featherbrain,” he introduced himself and the rest before he asked for the mares name.

“Breeze Flyer,” the mare returned hesitantly. “Listen, I don't want to sound rude but, I rather be alone, okay?” She said before she looked away from them again.

“Why do you want to be alone?” Tornado Wing asked curiously.

“It's just easier...being all alone...” Breeze Flyer replied, avoiding eye contact.

This caused the group to exchange some worried looks.

“Don't you have a family to be with? Or some friends?” Featherbrain asked a little boldly.

“I don't have a family...” she replied, instantly getting the full attention of the others. “I can't remember my parents...It was only me as long as I could think back. As for friends...I don't need those since I spent my time to steal food from honest merchants in other towns...” she explained, causing the group to once again exchange some looks to each other.

“Just like us...” Tornado Wing said hesitantly but also in a sad tone in his voice.

Breeze Flyer was surprised to hear this. Tornado Wing being the naive and innocent pony he was, quickly explained everyponies story to Breeze Flyer. She did seem to be surprised to hear the story of the others. She most likely lived the exact same life as the other five ponies, having no choice but to continue like this. 

No parents.
No home.
No food.

Those words repeated themselves inside of Cyclone Wing's head. “This can't go on like this...” Cyclone Wing mumbled to himself.

The rest of the ponies overheard his words. It brought silence into the room for a moment.

“What do you mean?” Cloud Head asked.

“I mean everything!” Cyclone Wing replied almost angrily.
“Right here are six ponies who don't have a place to belong or a family to return to! You can't tell me that we have to steal and hide from everypony to make it through every day. Is this our destiny?”

This little outburst caused him to walk away from the group to face the window at the end of the room. The rest of the group didn't saw him like this before and got confused at first but his brothers knew that he was thinking about his dream right now.

“Well, what are we supposed to do then?” Cloud Head asked.

“Just something! Anything but this!” He returned angrily.

Breeze Flyer felt a little left out but was curious of how serious Cyclone Wing was from one moment to another.

“Cyclone...is it...” Tornado Wing started.

“...your dream?” Hurricane Wing finished.

”Dream?” Breeze Flyer asked confused.

Cyclone Wing took a moment to take a deep breath, calming himself down a little before he let all of his words out at once.

“Equestria is full of ponies who live a happy life. But not everypony is so lucky. We are not the only ones who live like this. There are probably much more ponies out there who are looking for a family or a place to live. I want to create a place like this. I want to make Equestria a happy place for everypony,” he said before he turned around to the group again. “I want to create a family for them to go to if there is nopony else for them,” he said as he looked at Breeze Flyer.

It felt strange for Cyclone Wing to speak this freely in front of everypony like this but right now only his determination to make his dream come true what at it's highest.
“Starting from tomorrow, I will stop stealing from anypony in order to survive. I will make this fortress our home and I will find ponies out there that I can help through this storm that we like to call life. It doesn't matter how few ponies I can help with my ambition alone and I don't care what I have to do or how little it will help but I refuse to let this all go on!” He finished before he stomped on the ground with one of his front hooves.

There was silence in the room. Even the storm outside felt like as if it had stopped for a moment. This little speech certainly left an impression on the group. Nopony even dared to say something after that until Breeze Flyer stepped up to him to confront him with reality.

“Equestria is really big. You can't possibly expect to help everypony or make everything better,”

Cyclone Wing turned his eyes to Breeze Flyer to look at her while answering her question. This was when everypony noticed how serious he was about what he said. Before he even gave an answer, Breeze Flyer could practically feel the determination in his eyes. He meant everything he said and he was not taking those words back.

“It was never a small dream, to begin with...” he only returned with a serious tone in his voice.

“A big dream that you can't possibly accomplish on your own,” Hurricane Wing said with a smile on his face, causing Cyclone Wing to return a smile himself.

“Yes. It is our dream now as well!” Tornado Wing added.

Cloud Head and Featherbrain had some doubts and felt like it was impossible but after seeing the determination of the three brothers they just had to join in.

“If the boss is helping, then we will help too!” Featherbrain said excitedly while Cloud Head nodded in agreement.

This only left Breeze Flyer who thought that it was crazy for them to say stuff like that all of the sudden. She barely knew any of those ponies and from one moment to another they were speaking about changing Equestria. It was just crazy. But at the same time, thinking that their “dream” could come true made her feel happy.

“I would really like to see this Equestria...” she said after seeing the five ponies excitement. 

“You can help us to create it,” Cyclone Wing said, offering his front hoof to her.

She accepted and smiled in return without hesitation, causing the rest to smile as well.


On the next morning...


Unlike the day before, the next morning was bright and warm instead of cold and rainy.
The six ponies walked in line along the court of the fortress. All of them happy and determined to start their new work.

“So just like that? We just travel to one town to another and do work for other ponies?” Cloud Head asked.

“Exactly. It doesn't matter what as long as we can help somepony,” Cyclone Wing replied confidently.

“You mean like freelancers?” Featherbrain asked.

“Sort of. We have to charge bits for it after all,”

“You want to make Equestria a better place but you charge money for it?” Breeze Flyer wondered seeing some flaws in Cyclone Wing's logic.

“We still have to make sure that we can make a living. Gratitude won't fill our bellies,”

“It will probably a lot of work,” Tornado Wing said in concern.

“Hey, building Canterlot took a long time too,” Hurricane Wing said trying to boost Tornado Wing's confidence.

During all this talking Cyclone Wings excitement was unshaken. He was happy that his friends and brothers were supporting him with his dream. It only made him feel more confident.

“How about getting a name for our group then?” Featherbrain suggested.

Nopony actually thought about that until now. They all began thinking but Hurricane Wing had a quick suggestion.

“How about, Storm Wings?” Hurricane Wing said out of the blue.

“How did you come up with this name?” Breeze Flyer asked.

“Well, the group was created in a storm and...we all have wings,” he explained, showing off his wings to everypony.

“I like it!” Tornado Wing said.

“You would have liked every name he said,” Cyclone Wing said.

“...So?” Tornado Wing returned.

There were some more casual conversations like this while they made their way to the nearest town to start finding some work. For such a big thing to start they went into it really happily and with no worry at all.

But maybe that was just the right approach...







And just like that, everything started. The Storm Wings were born. A group of ponies with no home or a family banded together and tried to make Equestria a better place for everypony.

We made the fortress to our base of operation and cleaned it up little by little, soon calling it the Storm Fortress and our home.

We started by offering our services to almost everypony all around Equestria. It didn't matter what we had to do as long as we got bits for it. For Somepony who wanted to make Equestria a better place, this sure sounds selfish but the harsh truth was that we needed bits to afford food. It was of course, better than stealing food for the rest of our lives, everypony agreed on that.

As it turns out, many ponies in Equestria were willing to pay for honest work, whether it was helping out on a farm, repairing some damaged buildings, or ironically, dealing with criminals or dangerous creatures in Equestria.

I remember one particularly mission that set the course of the Storm Wing's reputation but I think I will write about that one next time.
> 4. The Storm Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number Four


So this was it. We started our work as Storm Wings. This is probably the kind of entry that everypony would be excited for. The humble beginnings of this group. We traveled all over Equestria and asked around to find out if anypony had some trouble and offered our services to them.

It felt weird...we actually were also hired to capture thieves or criminals. Before we became the Storm Wings, that is exactly what we were. It did however, made us feel better, knowing that the thieves we were about to capture were just after money. They clearly had no problems surviving and just wanted more bits.

One of our earlier missions brought us to a little town named Ponyville. There was some kind of thief who was stealing apples from the local orchard. Our job was it to capture him of course. I think it was the first time when our work was appreciated and looked at in a better light.

It felt...good, to be honest. And it would change things for the better for us...







Some time ago in a little town named Ponyville...


One of the earliest missions of the Storm Wings led them to Ponyville. It was a quiet little town founded by Earth ponies. The mission was to find and capture a thief that stole some of the apples in the local orchard for quite some time. There was little to no information on where they could find the thief but they assured that they would do their best to find and bring him to Ponyville. 

This was two days ago...and the Storm Wings haven't returned yet, making the citizens feel like as if it already was a lost cost.

Some ponies were waiting near the towns square and discussed the situation.

“You think this group that arrived a few days ago can capture the thief?” A mare asked a group of ponies.

“They better do! The Apple's will have a hard time harvesting if this thief isn't caught soon enough,” another mare replied.

The mayor of the town noticed the talking between them and joined in. “Don't worry. I am sure they will do just fine,” she tried to assure everypony.

“But, Mayor, can we really trust a bunch of ponies who showed up out of nowhere?”

“Yeah! Maybe they even work with this thief!”

“They also did look like a bunch of ruffians!”

The Mayor could understand why they were all worried about this situation but she felt a little bombarded by the panic of everypony. “Please calm down, everypony, I am sure those Storm Wings will eventually get the thief and-”

“Look! Isn't that them?” Another pony interrupted, pointing at the six ponies from the Storm Wings.

They were carrying another pony with them. Strangely enough, this ponies legs and mouth was tied up, making it unable for him to speak. This image only made the citizens feel more cautious. 

“See? They are ruthless! They even tied up his mouth!”

“The horror! The horror!” Another mare exclaimed before she fainted.

The Storm Wings walked up to the crowd of ponies who already waited for their return and placed the pony on the ground who was shaking on the ground in an attempt to escape.

“Here he is...” Hurricane Wing said, dropping the thief down to the ground, much to his dislike.

“This is the thief who stole the apples from your orchard,” Breeze Flyer explained.”But I'm sure he can tell you that himself,” she said as she waited for the pony to confess but then she realized that his mouth was still tied up.
”Psst...Hurricane,” she whispered to Hurricane Wing, hinting that he should untie his mouth.

“Oh...yes...” Hurricane realized as he untied the mouth of the thief.

“Yes! It was me! Curse you, Storm Wings! I was destined to be known as the greatest apple thief in Equestria! The magnificent and great -” However, Hurricane Wing shut him up again after those boasting words.

“This guy sure loves to talk a lot...” he added while looking at the thief with narrowed eyes.

Cyclone Wing walked out of his group and looked for the Mayor of the town who was giving them the mission. He noticed that most of the ponies backed away from him as he made his way through the crowd.

“It's always the same...” he mumbled to himself as he looked around him.

When he finally spotted the Mayor of the town, she looked a little nervous. But Cyclone Wing tried to be professional. He saluted in front of her and reported the details of the mission to which the Mayor only returned some nervous nods.

“Well, I'm sure you are here to collect your bits for this “mission” right?” The Mayor asked in a nervous voice, feeling a little intimidated by the Storm Wings.

“You can keep your money...we're leaving...” Cyclone Wing said before he turned around, again walking through the crowd of ponies who this time, looked a little confused due to his words.

It was obvious that the Citizens felt a little unsure or even intimidated by him and the rest of the Storm Wings. This was not new to him. From an outside perspective, the Storm Wings were just a group of ponies who showed up in a random town and offered help in exchange for some money.
How could he accept money from those ponies if they looked at him with those eyes?

Tornado Wing quickly rushed towards his brother with a worried look on his face.
“Cyclone! We are not taking any money again?”

“No, we are not...” Cyclone Wing replied focusing his sight in front of him.

“You know, we will eventually run out of supplies if we refuse money on like every second mission...” Hurricane Wing pointed out.

“We just have to try our luck in the next town...” Cyclone Wing replied with a little worry in his voice.

When he was thinking about doing work for other ponies and trying to make Equestria a better place, those were not the pictures he had in mind for the ponies that he would help. But he was also aware that he wasn't doing all that for the money or the gratitude of everypony. Whether it was just catching a little thief in one little town, it was still helping a little. At least that's what he thought.

“We're leaving,” he said to the rest of the group before he took one last look behind, looking at the concerned faces of everypony in front of him. However, when he was about to lift off, a voice from inside the crowd could be heard shouting at them.

“Hold on, just a minute!”

This caused the group and the crowd of ponies to focus their eyes on an elderly mare, who slowly made her way through the crowd.

“Granny Smith?” The mayor said, most likely referring to the elderly mare that walked up to the Storm Wings.

“Now there you are, you little good doers! Now if it wasn't for you and your little Wing's group, then it wouldn't be all to pretty for the future of my orchard,” she said as she grabbed Cyclone Wing's head, petting him in the process and ruining his mane.

“Um, yeah, sure....” Cyclone Wing replied a little embarrassed, not expecting that somepony would have thanked him like this.

“I hope they were well paid for what they did?” Granny Smith asked turning her head to the mayor.

“Well, actually, they refused to accept any bits so...” The Mayor replied with a nervous smile. She obviously was glad that Ponyville didn't have to pay any money. 

“Are you saying that ponies who work hard don't deserve to be rewarded for their deeds?” Granny Smith said getting now a little closer to the Mayor's face.

Cyclone Wing felt like diffusing the situation before it would escalate any further by explaining that there is no payment needed for what they did. But Granny Smith didn't seem to like this answer.

“Nonsense! You helped my orchard and you will get a reward for it, even if I have to pay it from my own wallet!” She insisted, making Cyclone Wing feel kind of intimidated. He had no idea how having parent would be like but for that moment he could swear that it was exactly like that.

“Yes, ma'am,” he replied out of respect and some intimidation, straitening his shoulders.

“No need to be so modest, sugar cube,” Granny Smith said, trying to make Cyclone Wing feel a little more comfortable. She turned her head around to face the citizens of Ponyville. She most likely was aware of how they were all mistrusting the Storm Wings and spared some words. “Now I don't know anything about them Storm Wings but I know when I see hard working ponies! These ponies offered to help in our time of need and that is truly something to admire,”

Those words seemed to have dug themselves into the minds of the other ponies who now looked at each other in regret.

“If you ever need some apples from our orchard, then I would be glad to give you some,” Granny Smith offered.

“Thanks...” Cyclone Wing replied a little hesitant.”But we were about to leave now unless there is any other work to be done here,” 

There was silence. Nopony stepped up, meaning that there either was nopony who needed help or that they wanted the Storm Wings to leave as fast as possible. Whatever it was, the group, once again prepared themselves to leave until one little filly walked out of the crowd, walking up to the Storm Wings.

Cyclone Wing turned around to face the filly but instead of walking up to him, she walked around him and approached Breeze Flyer who looked at the filly confused. The filly did seem to struggle to get out some words but eventually spoke up.

“Can you help me to find my cat?” She said in a nervous voice, showing Breeze Flyer a picture of her cat.

Breeze Flyer was thinking about what to answer but looked at Cyclone Wing. He was always the one who decided which mission to take and which not. He nodded a few times indicating that he was ready to accept, making Breeze Flyer form a smile one her face. “Of course, my dear,” she said as she patted the little filly who also returned a smile.

The expressions of the other ponies around the Storm Wings quickly seemed to change after this display. They did seem to notice that the Storm Wings were good at heart. This caused another pony stepped out of the crowd.

“You know, I have to make a delivery to another town but I am stuck at work today...Do you mind taking care of that?”

“What?” Cyclone Wing replied boldly in confusion.

Then there was another pony.

“Do you do repairs? The name is Steel Hammer! Me and another pony are the only carpenter ponies in town but we need to do some other stuff on the other side of town. I wouldn't mind giving you a job for today,” he offered with a smile on his face.

And it didn't end there. More and more requests were coming in for the rest of the day. In the end, the Storm Wings left a good impression on the citizens. Needless to say, the Storm Wings were happy that they got treated this way. 
It felt...good. 
And it wouldn't be the last time.
This day turned out much better than they would have ever expected and they could leave the town with a good feel of satisfaction.







And that was it...
That was the moment when the name “Storm Wings” became something big. Something recognizable.

Before we knew it, other ponies wanted to join our little group. First, we ended up as ten, then we were twenty, thirty, forty...I think were are forty-two members right now.

Now every time when something needed to be done, ponies would say “call the Storm Wings” or “The Storm Wings can take care of it!”. We did get stuck with some pointless and not too noble tasks from time to time but there are also times when we have to deal with more dangerous jobs. But nopony minds with what job they get stuck to, as long as they could do something. Some members might also not join us because they share the same dream or ambitions as the original members and rather because of the seek for adventure or even the money but that is fine.

I ended up being the leader of the whole bunch. Nopony seemed to complain this far and nopony was questioning my actions or orders so I would say that I didn't do a bad job this far. 

I was mostly happy, that I could finally do something. That I could do change Equestria for the better, even if it was slowly. Me and the Storm Wings would soon help to create a place in which everypony could be happy.

And no one would need to live a life like us...

I think that's it...
Yes, I summarized all the key events that would lead to what the Storm Wings would become.

A really short diary, in my opinion.

But who knows? Maybe some interesting things will happen in the future. If that is the case, then I would be more than happy to write something else into this.

But as for now...this is it...
> 5. A visit to Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number five


I didn't plan to write anything into this so soon again but what happened today was just too good of a news to leave out. Something that is more than worthy of picking up this diary again.

We were invited to Canterlot to meet Princess Celestia herself.

We saw her in front of us with our own eyes. It was truly something that I would have never imagined to happen.
Everypony went insane after one of our members returned with an official invitation from Princess Celestia.
I think Tornado Wing even passed out after he saw the letter.

Even thought only I was invited, I decided to take my brothers with me as well.

To think that a group like ours was invited to Canterlot...Life sure has a funny sense of humor...
Needless to say, the day was really chaotic...







“What should I wear!? Wait I don't usually wear anything! What am I supposed to do!?” Tornado Wing said while he ran in circles in his room nervously.

“Calm down, Tornado,” Cyclone Wing said while waiting patiently for his brother to get ready.

“Calm down!?” Tornado Wing exclaimed shocked. “We are about to meet the ruler of Equestria!
There is no way that I can calm down now!” Tornado Wing said frustrated.

Cyclone Wing could only smirk, seeing Tornado Wing stressed like this. Of course, he was nervous too but he tried his best to not show it in front of everypony.

“Are you two ready?” Hurricane Wing asked while he waited in the doorway of the room.

“Almost...” Cyclone Wing replied. “You look really calm...Aren't you nervous too?” Cyclone Wing noticed after inspecting Hurricane Wing further.

“What do you mean? I don't think I ever was this nervous before...” Hurricane Wing replied with literally the calmest voice and expression on his face ever.

“Well, you sure don't look like it!” Tornado Wing said, doubting that Hurricane Wing's words were the truth.

The whole morning went like this, even though there was still enough time for them to prepare.
When they finally were finished, they exited the fortress and walked towards the entrance.
Surprisingly, all members of the Storm Wings were waiting in front of it, cheering for their three leaders.

“We all got up early and waited for you to leave for Canterlot!” Cloud Head said with a huge smile on his face, presenting the whole crowd behind him.

“Everypony was so excited and just had to wait for you guys!” Breeze Flyer added excited a well.

It was refreshing and it actually helped the three to calm down a little, especially Tornado Wing.
With all the Storm Wing members behind them, this visit felt even more special than before and they could lift off to Canterlot without being nervous but rather excited.


Later...


“There it is!” Tornado Wing exclaimed after his eyes saw the first glimpse of Canterlot in sight with his two brothers next to him.

Canterlot...
The capital of Equestria. It might have been possible that some members of the Storm Wings were sent to Canterlot before but neither of the three brothers was there before. To think that their first visit was because of an invitation of the Princess was just crazy.

Before they went to the castle, they decided to land in the town to get a closer look of it. Who knows when they will have another time to visit a place like this.

The city was really big, as expected and there were a lot of ponies. Most of them wearing fancy clothes and behaving in a way that the three never seen before. It was kinda ironic that three former thieves who grew up on the streets were now walking through the probably most fancy town in Equestria. It was like a whole different world.

Eventually, they ended their little tour through Canterlot and arrived at the royal castle. They couldn't let the princess wait after all. At that moment, panic was spreading inside of Tornado Wing after he realized who they are gonna meet in a few minutes.

When they got closer to the entrance a Unicorn in a Golden Armor was walking up to them with a serious expression on his face. He was most likely a member of Princess Celestia's Royal Guards. Knowing that, made Tornado Wing nervous again.

“He is coming right at us!” He whispered to his two brothers in a panic.

“So? We were invited here, remember?” Cyclone Wing replied, not seeing the problem.

“But what if he sees that we are not High-class enough to meet the Princess?” Tornado Wing replied.

Cyclone wondered if he made that up because he was too afraid to meet the Princess and to needlessly stress himself. Luckily, Hurricane Wing calmed him down.

“Don't worry, Tornado. You have to show more dignity and confidence around here. We're about to meet royalty after all,” Hurricane Wing explained confidently before he walked up to the guard to greet him.

Cyclone Wing was positively surprised to hear that from Hurricane Wing. Not only was what he said true but he also seemed to make sure to act like that as well and Tornado Wing seemed to be impressed by it.

The guard and Hurricane Wing meet each other on their way and Hurricane Wing was about to greet him. “Yo!” He said while raising his hoof and making his usual casual face.

To that, Cyclone Wing could only slap his hoof against his face while Tornado Wing just stood there with his mouth open in shock. Needless to say, the guard was also confused by this greeting and didn't know how to reply. Now was the right time for Cyclone Wing to interrupt the two in their “conversation”.

“The Princess invited me to the castle. The name is Cyclone Wing,”

“Oh, the leader of the Storm Wings?” The guard quickly figured. “The Princess is expecting you,”

They were then escorted to the throne room, where Princess Celestia was waiting. There were guards all over the throne room keeping a close eye at the three ponies and at the end of the room was a throne where the princess was sitting on.

“There she is!” Tornado Wing exclaimed as he pointed with his hoof to the Alicorn Princess, sitting on her throne and awaiting the three ponies to walk up to her with a gentle smile on her face.

However, her smile was quickly overshadowed by all the serious expressions that the Royal Guards threw at the three, making Tornado Wing once again, nervous. However, he knew that he was in the presence of Princess Celestia and tried to not let her see how nervous he was. Unfortunately, in that attempt, he ended up walking as stiff as a board, making him look very silly.

Hurricane Wing didn't behave any better... He kept greeting every member of the Royal Guard with a “yo” as soon as he passed them.

“Eyup...Those are the Storm Wings...” Cyclone Wing said to himself with an ashamed expression on his face while still being the only one who didn't act completely silly.

Of course, their behavior wasn't unnoticed by the Princess, who tried to not giggle at the three.

The Princess raised from her throne and walked up to the three Pegasi, who instantly bowed down in front of her. Princess Celestia gestured that they could raise again and looked at each one of them with a warm smile that a mother would give to her children. All three of them were stunned by her appearance.

They only just heard about Princess Celestia before but of course, they never saw her in person. Let alone that close. It was stunning, to say the least.

Even the usually calm Cyclone Wing was starting to get nervous now. But Princess Celestia was not looking at them like they were inferior or of lower value than her. Instead, she looked at them, as if she wanted to have a really casual conversation while still upholding her elegance.

“I welcome you, Storm Wings,” she greeted the three ponies. “If I recall, you and your group made yourselves quite a name. It is good to hear that there is a group of ponies that dedicates itself to help other ponies in need. As a princess, the well being of my subjects is most important for me but sadly I can't help every single pony in Equestria and my Royal Guards can't be everywhere as well...,” she began, making the three brothers feel honored hearing those words from the princess. Just being complimented by Princess Celestia was enough to make the trip to Canterlot unforgettable for those three.

“I would like to make an announcement!” The Princess said, making the Royal Guards in the room all peeling their ears.
”I hereby declare that from this day on, the Storm Wings shall be known as a group of heroes in Equestria!”

“What!?” All three of them said surprised in unison.

“Any objections?” The Princess returned.

“No! I mean, of course not but...” Cyclone Wing replied, not being able to find the right words to express how shocked he was right now but eventually, the Princess continued.

“I heard rumors about your past and while it is not up to me to decide if they are true or not, I do know about your actions in the present. And those actions deserve to be rewarded. Even if you don't think of yourselves as heroes, I and a lot of ponies in Equestria certainly see you as ones,” Princess Celestia explained.

This speech left the three speechless. The Ruler of Equestria called them and the Storm Wings heroes. The weight that those words had was unimaginable. The three could only look at each other in shock before they smiled happily.

After their meeting with Celestia, the three brothers left the palace and decided top return to the Storm Fortress. They didn't say much on their fly back home and could only look at each other with happy smiles on their face, waiting to tell everypony about what the Princess said to them. 







Overall, this day was just amazing.

When we told everypony about the Princess and how she called our group heroes every pony went crazy. There was a huge party in fortress and everypony was cheering for us. I don't think anything can top what happened today.

After that day, a lot more ponies wanted to sign up to be members of the Storm Wings. Word sure got around faster than we expected. Maybe the Princess had some hoof into this. Whatever the reason was, the reputation of the Storm Wings skyrocketed. This was good for us. Good for Equestria. More ponies would mean, more work that could be done which again meant more ponies that we could help.

I know I repeat myself but, having the Princess acknowledge our work was the best thing that might happen to the Storm Wings yet.

To be honest, now I am truly excited about what the future holds for us.
It can only get better from now on.
> 6. A silenced Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number six

I'm not sure if can write this...

Today is probably...
No...
It is definitely the worst day of the Storm Wings...
The worst day for me...

It all happened so fast...It was a simple mission. Nothing new or dangerous but...Tornado...

It was all my fault...

Because of me, Tornado...







Cyclone, Hurricane and Tornado Wing came back from another mission. There was not much to say about this mission. The three brothers decided to take on this mission because they never went to this part of the Equestria before. Since Tornado Wing wanted to see as much of this world as possible, this was the perfect opportunity to go on this mission. They even had fun on it.

But despite this nice day, the return to the Storm Fortress was a little more difficult. The sky was dark and cloudy and the was some heavy rain pouring down on them.

“It was so clear for the whole day and now that...” Cyclone Wing said while he and his brothers flew through this storm.

“It's not that bad...” Hurricane Wing said in his usual casual manner.

“I can barely see anything!“ Tornado Wing said while covering his eyes due to the heavy wind.

But Hurricane Wing stayed with his previous statement. “Remember, the last time we were in a storm like this, our group was born. I look at this storm as some kind of a good thing...” Hurricane Wing explained, making the other two feel a little better. But it still didn't change the fact that it was a little dangerous to fly right now.

“Still, we should find some shelter before it gets-” Cyclone Wing advised but he was interrupted...

All of the sudden, lightning struck right next to Cyclone Wing, hitting his right wing and burning it a little. He instantly grabbed his wing but because it is impossible for him to fly, he quickly dropped towards the ground.

“Cyclone!” his two brothers screamed in unison after seeing their brother falling down to the ground. They quickly charged towards him but the storm made it hard for them to even see where exactly he was right now.

There was a forest beneath them in which Cyclone Wing fell into. Hurricane Wing managed to follow him inside of it and Tornado Wing was right behind him as well. There was not much to see in this forest. The storm was blowing so hard that every tree was moving, distracting the two Pegasi even more to find their brother.

Eventually, Hurricane Wing spotted his older brother who laid on the ground. They both rushed towards him and tried to get him up again but Cyclone didn't wake up.

“He's unconscious!” Hurricane said with a worried expression on his face after realizing the condition of his brother.

“Then we have to carry him!” Tornado Wing suggested.

“Right!” Hurricane Wing replied before he was about to lift up his brother on his back.

Tornado Wing walked up to him to offer his help as well but another lightning struck dangerously near to them, startling Tornado Wing in the process. Hurricane Wing didn't seem to be bothered by this and continued to put his brother on his back. In fact, he was so focused on that, that he didn't realize how the tree right next to him getting hit by the lighting. This tree was damaged enough and began shaking because of it. The wind was even moving it hard enough so that it was about to fall right on Cyclone and Hurricane Wing. Again, Hurricane Wing didn't notice it but his Tornado did and quickly jumped towards Hurricane to get him out of the way.

“Look out!” He screamed before he rushed towards Hurricane Wing who had Cyclone Wing on his back now, pushing both of them out of the way of the falling tree trunk, saving his brothers who both laid on the ground a few meters away than before. 

Hurricane Wing opened his eyes after this sudden “ambush” of his brother. He noticed how a tree was suddenly laying in front of him. He looked if Cyclone Wing was okay which seemed to be the case and then tried to spot Tornado Wing.

Tornado Wing was next to the tree laying on the ground with his eyes closed so Hurricane Wing walked up to him to see if he was alright. He tried to shake him awake but Tornado seemed replied with some painful groans. Worried by that Hurricane took his hoof away from him, thinking that he was causing his pain. But after inspecting him further, Hurricane Wing noticed that Tornado right wing was stuck under the tree.

“Ow! Ow!” Tornado Wing said, feeling pain in his right wing which was stuck under the tree, causing him to open his eyes and realizing the situation he was in now.

“Wait, I'll get you out of there!” Hurricane Wing assured, however, it was easier said than done. The tree was way to heavy for Hurricane Wing. He couldn't move it one bit and was unable to free his brother.

While still being in pain from that, Tornado Wing looked over to Cyclone Wing who still seemed to be unconscious. However, he was worried by something entirely different.

A fire was starting to build right next to Cyclone Wing. It must have been caused by the last lighting that struck in the tree that was now on top of Tornado Wing.

“Cyclone!” Tornado Wing exclaimed in fear, causing Hurricane Wing to turn around after hearing his brother's name. He soon realized the fire too but he looked back at Tornado Wing worriedly.
“Don't worry about me, go and save Cyclone!” Tornado Wing said, fully realizing what Hurricane Wing was concerned about.

With some hesitation in his mind, Hurricane rushed over to his older brother in order to save him. “I'll be right back!” He added to calm down Tornado Wing as he looked back at him. 
“Why isn't the rain putting out the fire!?” Hurricane Wing wondered while he lifted Cyclone Wing on his back. The trees must have prevented most of the raindrops to get trough, making it harder to extinguish the flames. Whatever it was, he had to act quickly to bring his brother to safety.

Tornado Wing seemed to be relieved to see how his brothers managed to get out of danger, even making him forget his pain for a second. Thankfully, the fire didn't seem to get to him as well.

For a moment, the situation seemed to be fine again but as soon as Tornado Wing thought that, something seemed off with Hurricane Wing. He was moving a lot slower despite the situation they were in now. He was also breathing heavily. This is when Tornado Wing realized what was going on.

“Is it Hurricane's sickness?” Tornado wondered, referring to Hurricane's rarely appearing medical condition that would weaken him.

Hurricane Wing was having a lot of problems carrying his brother while fighting with his own sickness at the same time.
“Of all the times it could have happened...why does it have to be...now?” He said with heavy breaths.

He tried his best to get Cyclone Wing out of the fires reach as much as he could but it became too hard for him. Before he could walk any further, he accidentally dropped Cyclone to the ground. Hurricane Wing noticed and turned his head around in frustration. He could feel how he was slowly losing strength and how his vision became blurry. He didn't understand how his condition was this bad at this very moment, out of every other time and cursed himself for that.

“I'm sorry...” he said before he dropped on the ground next to his brother.

“Hurricane!” Tornado Wing exclaimed in shock reaching a hoof out to him followed by another painful groan after he realized what situation he was in again.

Hurricane Wing didn't hear his brother and Cyclone Wing was still unconscious, making Tornado Wing the only one left who was up to save them all. But with his wing still stuck beneath the tree, there was nothing that he could do in this situation.

The fire was getting closer to his two brothers. It was only a matter of time until they both were caught up by the flames, making Tornado Wing more and more nervous and panic.

“Cyclone! Hurricane! Wake up you two!!” Tornado Wing shouted in a panic in hope that both of them would wake up. But they both remained on the ground unable to hear their brothers screams. 
“You two have to wake up!” He screamed but again, no response.

He looked at the whole scene and felt that it was unfair. Questions like: “Why couldn't the fire come to me instead?” or “Why couldn't I be unconscious right now?” were scattering inside of his head.
It made him feel helpless. In only a few minutes, his brothers would be taken away from him and all he could do was watching it happen.

“Come on!” He said heavily while he tried to get his wing free but it was no use. It hurt too much and it didn't move an inch. “This stupid wing! I'm about to loose my brothers because of this stupid thing!” He exclaimed while slamming his hooves on the ground in frustration.
“I'm right there but I can't do anything! This is not fair! They need me more than anything right now!”

The fire came closer and closer to them. Both of them were still unconscious and didn't realize the danger coming right at them while Tornado Wing had to watch it all. 

He looked at his right wing in anger and cursed himself for being a Pegasus more than ever.
“All because of that stupid wing! If it wouldn't be stuck under this tree then...
Then I could get my brothers to safety!”

He began trying to pull out his wing again but this time he tried much harder, ignoring the pain completely.

“My wing means nothing compared to my brothers!” He said pulling even harder than before.
“I don't need this wing! But what I need...is my brothers!” He said followed by probably the biggest and angriest scream that he ever let out in his whole life which was accompanied by another strike of lightning in the distance.

Hurricane Wing awoke from a loud scream and managed to open his eyes a little. He was still too weak to move and only saw some blurry images in front of him. After focusing a little, he saw how Tornado Wing came crawling towards him with a face filled with pain. However, he again fell unconscious after a few seconds due to his current condition before he could even react to what he just saw.


Later...


With a huge shock, Cyclone Wing woke up from his sleep as if he had a nightmare. “Where am I?” He said while inspecting his surroundings, only to find out that the walls around him looked familiar. He was in the Storm Fortress again. However, he was alone in the room which raised some concern inside of him. He jumped out of the bed and tried to find out where his brothers were. His wing was bandaged causing him to wonder what exactly happened. The last thing he remembered was that he was falling from the sky and towards the ground. He must have hit his head and felt unconscious.

But the pain in his wing wasn't was he was concerned about now. He walked along the hallway in order to find somepony. Breeze Flyer came walking towards him with a frown on her face. When she noticed Cyclone Wing, her face turned into pure shock and fear as if she was afraid to speak with him. However, Cyclone Wing approached her to get some information.

“Breeze Flyer! Where are my brothers? Are they alright?” He asked worriedly.

Breeze Flyer seemed to struggle to get out some words and even avoided eye contact with him, much to his confusion. He was grabbing her shoulder and told her to get a grip. It was obvious that something was wrong or else Breeze Flyer wouldn't react this way.

“Breeze, what is wrong? Are they hurt!? Tell me! Where are they!?” He bombarded Breeze Flyer with one question after another, trying to get some answers from her.

“Hurricane is fine but...Tornado...he...I...I...” Was the only things that she managed to get out.

“Where is he!?” Cyclone Wing said, slowly losing his patience out of concern for his little brother.

He wasn't getting an answer but Breeze Flyer pointed across the hallway. She most likely pointed to the direction in which Tornado Wing was in. Since Cyclone Wing wasn't getting an answer out of her, he decided to just walk towards it in order to find his brother.

There was only one more room left in that direction so he entered the next room and looked inside of it. When he opened the door, he found Tornado Wing who laid inside of a bed. He was either unconscious or sleeping. The room felt really dark, there was no lights lid inside of the room, making Cyclone Wing feel uncomfortable.

“Tornado?” He said, trying to wake him up from his sleep but there was no reaction. That is when he found out that he was still unconscious.

Breeze Flyer did not tell him what was wrong with Tornado Wing but maybe he was hurt and needed any rest that he could get. He figured that he should leave the room to let him heal. But before he left, he noticed that the bed cover was not properly placed on him. It covered him up to his neck but only his left wing was outside of the cover. Since it might be a little uncomfortable to cover his right wing under the cover, he decided to move it outside too. But he seemed to have some problems doing so. He had problems finding it under the cover. That was when he realized it...


There was none.


Cyclone Wing's eyes widened and he jumped back, landing on his behind due to the shock while letting out a little scream. His eyes were wide open and he breathed heavily after this realization.
His right wing was gone...as if it was ripped off.

It felt like million of thoughts were flashing through his mind at this very moment. 

He sat on the ground with his head lowered towards the floor. There were no words that he could spare. There was only pure shock. The first question, of course, was why his wing was missing in the first place and how it happened. But all that wouldn't change the fact that he was now a Pegasus with only one wing. It was impossible to fly with only one wing. Cyclone Wing instantly thought about Tornado Wing's dream to see all the places in Equestria. Also with only one wing, how was he supposed to join other members on missions again? All those were things that were really important for him but now...

Cyclone Wing would have loved to speak with Tornado Wing about the situation but at the same time, he didn't. There was too much shock for him at once. He had to leave the room to sort his thoughts a little and decided until Tornado woke up to get more information.

When he exited the room and closed the door behind him, he instantly noticed how Hurricane Wing was standing next to the door with a frown on his face while looking down on the ground in sadness. Cyclone Wing looked over to his big brother but didn't say anything but Hurricane straight out explained everything.

“He saved us...” He mumbled quietly. “We were about to catch up in a fire and Tornado's wing was stuck beneath a tree that was about to fall down on us. I was unconscious because of my stupid sickness...” He said blaming himself for this mess.
“I think in order to save us...” he said struggling to get out the rest of his words.
“He sacrificed his wing...”

Cyclone Wing quickly understood what happened and looked at his brother in shock before he dropped to the ground. There were no words that he could spare. There were only tears of guilt that came down running on his face. He was his big brother and yet there was nothing that he could do. If there was on pony in the whole world who should have sacrificed anything then it should have been him instead.

Hurricane Wing looked over to his big brother who was completely broken at this moment and put one hoof on his back to comfort him. There were no tears running down on Hurricane Wing's face. He figured that one of them had to stay strong in this very moment. He was also not supposed to be the one who should cry from the three brothers. However, there was nothing but sadness and guilt that he felt in this moment.

Both of them wished that all this was just a nightmare and that they would awake at any moment.

But it wasn't...

This was reality...







It was all my fault. I should have informed myself about the storm. I should have not fell unconscious in the first place.
What kind of big brother am I to let one of my brothers make such a sacrifice?
I have to find a way to fix this...
There must be some kind of medicine or spell to recover his wing...right?
There has to be!
I have to do something! It is my responsibility as his big brother!

His dream of seeing the world can't just end like that...
I will make sure of that...Somehow...
> 7. Visitor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number seven


Some time has passed since my last entry...
After the...incident...

I don't know what else to write into this because the last time I did, I swore that I would get a solution for Tornado's missing wing.

But...

I sent out all member throughout Equestria. If there was a doctor out there or somepony with a spell then they were brought to the Storm Fortress as soon as possible. I thought maybe some spell could make his wing regrow or something. I have no idea how magic works but there had to be some spell...right?

But both of those options seemed to be in vain. No doctor could just regrow a missing wing and nopony knew about a spell about it either. I think deep down I knew that it was no use but I wanted to tell myself that there was something that I could do.

Despite his lost wing, Tornado Wing keeps staying strong in front of everypony. This makes me so proud of him. He also doesn't look sad or mad at me and Hurricane at all. Of course, he isn't. He would never blame us for that. And that is exactly what bothers me. I know he is at least sad because of the fact that he can't fly anymore and that he can't accompany us any more on our missions.

It doesn't get any better that some of our members treat him all differently because of his missing wing. Some of them try to ignore it, some of them treat him a little more like a foal who deserves some petting and others even look at him funny and can't even talk to him anymore. I think all those things bother him far more. Tornado realized that all the work for his wing was pointless so he even suggested stopping searching for a solution but I insisted on letting at least some ponies look further even if it was pointless.

Until now...

Somepony appeared a few days ago...
He was showing up out of nowhere and offered a solution.
However...
Something is bothering me...
He helped us and I should be glad about this but...
I really hope that my instincts are wrong on this but... I can't shake off this feeling that he is bad news for me, my brothers and the Storm Wings...







Cyclone Wing and Tornado Wing walked through the court in front of the Storm Fortress. There were considerably many missions going on today, leaving only a hoof-full of ponies. It was the perfect time for the two to spend some time together. With Tornado Wing staying inside of the fortress, there was not much to do when everypony was on a mission. That is why Cyclone Wing decides to stay there as well, to at least keep him some company.

“It sure is quiet today...” Tornado Wing said, noticing how empty the court was right now.

“Yeah...” Cyclone Wing only replied looking over the court as well.

He tried his best to not look at it too much but he couldn't help but stare at the remains of what was left of Tornado Wings right wing. There was a bandage around it for obvious reason and he clearly stood out with one of his wings missing on his back.

“Does it look that bad?” Tornado Wing asked out of the blue, making Cyclone Wing flinch after realizing that Tornado Wing noticed how he was staring at it.

“I'm sorry...I shouldn't have...” Cyclone quickly apologized.

“It's okay...” Tornado Wing assured with a somehow nervous grin.

After that, there was an awkward silence between those two until Breeze Flyer showed up. “Cyclone Wing,” She said as she walked towards the two. ”There is somepony who wants to see you!”

Cyclone Wing took this as an opportunity to get out of this situation and focused his attention towards that now. However, Tornado Wing was following him as well. They both followed Breeze Flyer to this visitor who was waiting near the gates of the court. When they arrived, they saw a Unicorn with a dark purple coat, a dark blue W-shaped mane with yellow stripes, dark blue eyes and a cloud of mist as a Cutie Mark.

As the three ponies walked up to him, the unicorn smiled confidently before he greeted them.

“Are you the leader of the Storm Wings?” The Unicorn said in a rather serious tone towards Cyclone Wing.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Cyclone Wing replied boldly.

Despite this rather unwelcome greeting from Cyclone Wing, the unicorn introduced himself as well. 

“My name is Mystic. That is all you need to know. I don't like telling others much about myself,” he explained.

“Uh, huh...” Cyclone Wing replied. For some reason, this pony didn't look like as if he wanted to have a casual talk. He was making a very sly impression towards Cyclone Wing, making him not want to trust him at all.

“If you don't mind, I would like to talk with you in private...” Mystic said, raising Cyclone Wing's suspicion even further.

While still having a bad feeling about this pony, Cyclone Wing agreed and sent Tornado Wing and Breeze Flyer away while both Mystic and he took a little walk along the court.

“Was he the one?” Mystic guessed.

“The one?” Cyclone Wing asked.

“The one you're looking help for?”

It was then that Cyclone Wing realized that Mystic was referring to Tornado Wing and his wing. He must have come to the fortress to offer some kind of help.

“I heard the Storm Wings are looking for a spell or a doctor to cure your brothers wing...
I might know a solution for this problem,” Mystic then explained, confirming Cyclone Wing's thought.

For a brief moment, Cyclone Wing considered to agreed to that without an instant but after putting some thought into it, he began to doubt him.

“There were many ponies so far who didn't know what to do. There is no spell nor any other way to get his wing back. And you are telling me you know a way?”

“I said I might know one,” Mystic corrected. ”Isn't that enough? Don't you want your brother to fly again?”

Of course, there was nothing that he wouldn't do when it comes to helping his brothers in any way. But Cyclone Wing knew that Mystic was just saying that in order to provoke him. Sadly, it worked and Cyclone Wing took the offer.

“There is one condition, however...” Mystic added before he was sealing the deal.
“If I manage to make your brother be able to fly again, then you have to make me join the Storm Wings,”

Cyclone Wing didn't know if he could trust this guy but if there was just the slightest change to make Tornado Wing be able to fly again then there was no more to discuss. Cyclone Wing agreed to Mystic's offer. Mystic smiled confidently after Cyclone Wing accepted and assured that he would come back in a few days with his “solution”. Cyclone Wing had no choice but to wait. He didn't raise his hopes up too much and neither did Tornado Wing after he told him about it. But Mystic was making an overly confident impression to him.

All he could really do was to wait...


A few days later...


“May I introduce...this is Tinker,” Mystic said introducing the Earth Pony next to him to the three brothers inside of their room.

The Earth-Pony next to Mystic had a light brown coat, a dark brown mane, bright orange eyes and a light bulb as a Cutie Mark. He was also wearing some kind of necklace which was shaped like a hoof. For some reason, this pony made a really nervous impression, as if he was feeling uncomfortable being there.

“ Yeah, yeah, what are names? Where is the patient?” Tinker said nervously before he looked around the room.

“That's me, I guess...” Tornado Wing said quietly, getting the attention from Tinker who walked straight at him while inspecting Tornado Wing, ignoring any of the others in the room.

Much like Mystic, Cyclone Wing could not bring himself to fully trust this pony either. Tinker was not showing any concern and neither did he look like professional for whatever he was about to do with his little brother.

“You expect me to let this guy take care of my brother!?” Cyclone Wing said angrily at Mystic behind Tinker's face.

“I know, I know. He can be a little...complicated...” Mystic admitted. “But when I asked him if he could replace a Pegasus's wing and making him fly again, he quickly said that he could do it. And believe me, when he says he can, then he will,” Mystic replied confidently, not seeming to doubt Tinker's actions one bit.

Despite, all this praising from Mystic, Cyclone Wing was not really happy. It became even worse after he heard his brother groaning in pain after Tinker was casually playing with his ripped off wing remains while humming happily, apparently not giving a care about it.

Eventually, Cyclone Wing became angry by Tinker's behavior. He felt like this was some kind of sick joke by Mystic and snapped right at the earth-Pony.

“Hey!” He shouted at him but Tinker didn't stagger at all and just noticed that he was talked to.
“You think this is funny? I thought you were here to replace the wing so stop playing around and...”

“The wing?” Tinker interrupted. “Yeah...no biggie,” he casually replied while still examining it.

“What?!” Cyclone Wing asked out of pure shock, not by the words but rather by the way he said it.
“Wait...can you really replace the wing?” Tornado Wing asked despite him not trying to needlessly raise his hopes up.

“Of course, I can!” Tinker replied slightly offended. “It's just a wing after all...”

Tinker then grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it in almost lightning fast speed before giving it to Cyclone Wing.
“That's all I need,”

Cyclone Wing looked through the paper and analyzed some of the stuff that was needed.
He didn't know much about medicine but he was definitely sure that these things were not ordinary things that he asked for.

“Metal?
Screws?
What is this?
How do you want to replace his wing with that?” Cyclone Wing asked confused.

“ISN'T IT OBVIOUS!?” Tinker exclaimed all of the sudden. For some reason, this little outburst filled the whole room in silence until Mystic spoke up.

“I'll guarantee you that if Tinker says he can then he will. It just comes down to how much you want him to fly again,” Mystic said, once again taking advantage of Cyclone Wing's concerns about his brother.

However, it was not entirely up to Cyclone Wing. He turned towards his little brother and asked if he was ready to be taken care off. Tornado Wing seemed to have put much thought into it and replied: “Whatever it costs...Even if it is painful...I want to fly with you guys again...”

His two brothers could see the determination in those words and understood. It was his wing so it was up to him as well. There was nothing much to discuss it.

Everypony except Tornado Wing and Tinker left the room after all the stuff Tinker demanded was brought into the room. Cyclone Wing and Hurricane Wing both didn't feel comfortable letting their brother alone with this pony but they were also worried about Mystic who was with them. They just had to believe Mystic's words about Tinker being able to do it.

Inside of the room, almost all lights were dimmed, making Tornado Wing wonder how Tinker was able to work in this darkness. But the Earth-Pony wasn't bothered by it and brought some metal pieces towards the bed where Tornado Wing was laying inside.

“He he. This will be so much fun! I never worked on a pony before!” Tinker said in excitement before he turned towards Tornado Wing with a smile on his face. “Did I mention that this might hurt a little?” He casually mentioned as he began.


Some hours have passed since Tinker was starting. Cyclone Wing got worried more and more as time passed. Mystic on the other hoof didn't seem to be concerned at all and waited patiently while Cyclone Wing was keeping a close eye on him. 

Eventually, hoof steps could be heard from inside the fortress, indicating that somepony was coming out. It must have been Tornado Wing so everypony focused their sight on the entrance of the fortress.

And indeed, Tornado Wing stepped out of the Fortress with Tinker next to him. Tornado Wing had an unsure expression on his face. His wings were not opened and still on his body, making it hard to see what happened to his right wing.

“Give it a try! Come on! I can't wait!” Tinker said in excitement waiting for Tornado Wing to spread his wings in order to fly above the ground.

After that, Tornado Wing took a deep breath and spread his wings. That is when everypony noticed what has been done to his right wing. It was a wing made out of steel. It looked exactly like his left one but there were metal and screws instead of feathers. It did look kinda impressive but the question was if it worked. His right wing actually moved along with his left one. It didn't look artificial at all but rather natural. Tornado Wing kept moving his wings until he was levitating over the ground a few meters, forming a smile on his face in the process.

Needless to say, everypony else but Mystic gasped in surprise after this presentation.

“I can fly again! I can fly again!” Tornado Wing said in his excitement.

His brothers had smiles on their faces as well and Breeze Flyer even let a tear slip by the sight of this. Nopony of them were sure how exactly it worked but this steel wing made Tornado Wing fly again and that is all that matters now. Mystic did not seem to enjoy it as much as the other and decided to leave now. But not before he told Cyclone Wing one last thing. “Don't forget your end of the bargain...” Mystic reminded as he walked past Cyclone Wing.

Cyclone Wing never imagined that he could join the Storm Wings since he never believed that Mystic would actually make his word true. But after seeing his brother flying again, he was in Mystic's debt and had no choice but to keep his promise, meaning that Mystic was now a permanent member of the Storm Wings.

But this raised the question...
Why did he want to join them this badly in the first place?







Mystic kept his promise.
Tornado Wing got a replacement for his wing and actually was able to fly again. I didn't believe that it could be possible anymore but now...

Tinker did tell us that flying could be a little harder than before, due to the weight of this new wing but Tornado didn't seem to bother about this. He was just happy that he could accompany us on our missions again.

Tinker left us again and I haven't heard anything about him since then but I was informed that he was living somewhere in Canterlot so that if something was wrong, he would take care of the wing again.

And then there was Mystic...
He is now a member of the Storm Wings. I can't really say that I am too happy about it. He still makes a very sly impression towards me. One upside is that I can keep my eyes on him while he is with us.

But I can't really explain it...

The moment I meet him, something told me that he was bad news. His timing was too perfect.
He could have demanded anything else but he chose to join the Storm Wings...
Why?
I can't even put it...

But there is one thing that I am certain of.

I don't trust him...
> 8. Wings of Steel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number eight


I think it's been a month since my last entry now. Things seem to have balanced out a bit. 
Tornado got used to his new wing.
The Storm Wings returned to their usual work and I think I worried about nothing regarding Mystic.

Him joining the Storm Wings in return for helping Tornado fly again was a little strange and since he was a Unicorn, traveling through Equestria and helping us with missions was a little hard due to the lack of wings. We decided to let him stay in the fortress to let him help with organizing or accepting the missions. This way he would always be close to me so that I can keep a close look on him. He did do a pretty decent job so far and he also hasn't done anything suspicious so maybe my first impression was wrong.

But enough about him...

Even though Tornado has a new wing and is able to fly again, I could tell that flying with this thing on his back must have been pretty exhausting. The materials that Tinker used for it must have been really heavy, making flying probably a little awkward with one wing being heavier than the other. But Tornado doesn't show any exhaustion.
Of course, he doesn't. 
He may look fragile and weak from the outside but deep down, he is probably stronger than anypony else. 

However, I decided I would not send my brothers to any missions anymore for a while. The last mission they were sent to was when Tornado lost his wing after all...
I couldn't let them go, risking that something like that happens again...especially since both of them have something that could get them in trouble.
Hurricane had his sickness and Tornado his wing.

When I was in danger. Hurricane's sickness appeared and put him in danger.
And flying was way too exhausting after a while for Tornado, making the risk that he could fall from the sky raise with every second.

Letting them stay inside of the fortress was the perfect solution.

While Hurricane didn't seem to bother too much about it, Tornado Wing confronted me on this matter several times and wasn't happy at all.

This eventually drove him to do something really unexpected. 
A change...
I don't know where this change came from all of this sudden but...
It's hard to explain...and I don't know how to feel about it.







Cyclone Wing and Tornado Wing had another conversation about Cyclone Wing keeping his brothers inside of the fortress most of the time. This became a recurring matter recently. Tornado Wing would complain about him staying inside the fortress while Cyclone Wing would not allow it out of worry. Unfortunately, the conversation would always end with both of them being upset.

“What is the point of me having a new wing if I can't use it!?” Tornado Wing exclaimed frustrated.

“I just don't want something like this to happen again...” Cyclone Wing replied with a frown on his face, making his brother understand that he is only worried about his safety.

“It won't!“ Tornado Wing returned stomping his hoof on the ground angrily.

“How can you be so sure!?” Cyclone Wing replied, returning his little brother's anger with some anger himself.

Tornado Wing didn't know what to reply to this, mainly because he noticed some frustration in his brother's voice. Cyclone Wing looked at his little brother, feeling bad for his outburst but no taking it back. Both of them knew how the other one felt but they couldn't come to a solution that would both satisfy them so Tornado Wing dropped the conversation and left.

“I'm in our room...” Tornado Wing before he walked away from his big brother who could only release a frustrated and apologizing sigh.


Tornado Wing returned to his and his brother's room where Hurricane Wing was already waiting. He noticed the frown on his little brother's face.

“Same conversation as last time?”  Hurricane Wing guessed by Tornado's expression.

“Yeah...” Tornado replied as he planted himself in his bed.

Maybe it was because Hurricane Wing was relieved to get some free time but he wasn't bothered to stay inside the fortress at all. Still, Tornado felt the need to ask him how he felt in this situation.

“What about you!? He keeps you inside the fortress as well! Aren't you mad abut that too, Hurricane!?”

Hurricane took a moment to think about the question but he decided to calm Tornado Wing down.
“...I think he is just worried about us,”

Tornado Wing knew that already so there was not much he could answer to that but that didn't change the fact that he was keeping locked in like that

While sitting there in silence, another pony felt the need to join the conversation. “Maybe he doesn't want you two to get in the way...” Mystic said as he stood in the door entrance with a smug smile on his face.

The two brothers were surprised to see him in their room and needless to say, they were not excited to see him at all. “He would never think something like that!” Tornado Wing said with his eyebrows narrowed in concern and some anger towards Mystic.

“Hey, you don't have to convince me! I don't care. Personally, I think it's better than putting you in danger and risking that you loose your other wing as well,” Mystic returned amused, purposely provoking Tornado Wing.

“Don't talk like you know how it feels to have an older sibling with whom you spent your whole life with,” Hurricane Wing interrupted, trying to quieten Mystic before he would say something to make the situation worse. However, Mystic didn't seem to like hearing that. In fact, he looked a little angry about those words.

“Maybe I know about it than you think...” Mystic returned in a surprisingly serious tone, staring at Hurricane Wing because of this statement.

Mystic did calm himself down again relatively quickly and decided to end this conversation with some last words.
“I wouldn't worry about it...It's not your fault that you're weak after all...
And there is no way for you to change it...”

Those words seem to had an impact on Tornado Wing as he began to look at the ground with a frown on his face. He knew that part of Mystic's words was true and he felt helpless because of that. If he was weak, then how was he supposed to help out the Storm Wings? How was he supposed to help make Equestria a better place? He was also part of the Storm Wings. And he wants to help out too.

This was no longer about his dream but rather about his responsibility as one of three brothers who was living through any obstacle that was put in their way together. But with him and Hurricane pushed to the side like this, there was no longer this feeling of being together and that is what made Tornado Wing feel bad.

But he was not about to give up. If he was too weak to do anything now, then he just had to get stronger. And he had an idea how to do that.

“Hurricane...” Tornado Wing said quietly, getting the attention from his older brother. “Can you keep a secret for a while?” He said before he revealed his plan.


A few days later...


“A mission?” Cyclone Wing asked towards Tornado Wing, who was standing in front of him along with Featherbrain and Cloud Head.

“Featherbrain and Cloud Head are accompanying me so don't worry.
Mystic said it was a simple delivery so there is nothing dangerous that could harm me,” Tornado Wing assured with a smile on his face while pointing to a saddlebag that he was wearing.

“Even so...” Cyclone Wing replied still with doubts in his mind. 

It confused Cyclone Wing that Tornado Wing was so openly speaking about this matter, even though he knew how Cyclone would react to it. It also worried him that Mystic was assigning him this mission, making it all the more suspicious.

“Canterlot is not too far away...” Hurricane Wing pointed out as he walked towards the group. “There is no rush about the delivery so they can take their time with the package...” he pointed out.

“You know about this mission too?” Cyclone Wing wondered, feeling as if he was the only one who didn't know about it.

It took some more convincing until Cyclone Wing finally agreed to let the three go with some doubts in his mind. Eventually, he let his brother go to this mission.
“You will be okay...right?” Cyclone Wing said before he put one hoof on his brother's shoulder.

“I'll will...” Tornado Wing assured, moving Cyclone Wing's hoof away before he turned around to take off.

Cyclone Wing followed the three with his eyes and prayed that they would be careful on their mission. Meanwhile, Tornado looked back with a smile before he eventually turned his head again, mumbling to himself a few words.
“When I return, I will be more than okay...”


Later in Canterlot...


The three Pegasi landed on the streets of Canterlot. They all followed the main street and Tornado Wing looked for something. Both Featherbrain and Cloud Head were following him but had some worried expressions on their faces which became not unnoticed by Tornado Wing.

“Thanks for helping me with this, guys...” he said in order to calm them both down.

“No problem, boss!” Featherbrain said while saluting but still with some worries on his mind.

“It's the least we can do!” Cloud Head added with the same expression.
“But...are you really sure about this?”

“I am...” Tornado Wing replied.
“If Cyclone thinks that he can lock me up because he fears that hurt myself again, then I have to become stronger for him...no...for everypony!” Tornado Wing said with some great determination in his voice as he stopped in front of a door before he knocked on it a few times.

From inside he could hear some noises, indicating that something shattered as someone was walking to the door. When it opened, a familiar pony stood before them with a bothered expression on his face.

“Hey! It's you! Having some problems with that wing of yours!? There should be any of course...It was made by me after all!” Tinker said a little surprised by Tornado's visit. “So what do you want?” He asked curiously.

Tornado Wing opened his bag and dropped some pieces of metal and screws on the ground while giving Tinker a serious look. From then, Tinker had a slight guess what he wanted from him but he waited until Tornado Wing would eventually explain what he was supposed to do with those.


Later in the Storm Fortress...


“What do you mean you didn't assign him to any mission!?” Cyclone Wing asked Mystic with a shocked tone in his voice.

“Well, what part of I didn't gave him any mission did you not understand?” Mystic replied, annoyed by Cyclone Wing's sudden outburst.

Cyclone Wing became nervous. If Tornado Wing wasn't given a mission then there was another reason for him to leave. Furthermore, he could be somewhere else then Canterlot, making it impossible to find out where he was right now. Realizing this, the first thing he planned to do was heading to Canterlot to confirm that he was there. However, Hurricane appeared right in time to stop his brother, much to Cyclone Wing's dislike.

“Get away, Hurricane! I need to find Tornado!” He said trying to force Hurricane out of the way.

But Hurricane Wing was right in front of him in the air, blocking his brother. “He will be fine, don't worry. He should be back soon,”

“How do you know?” Cyclone Wing asked before he realized that Hurricane Wing perhaps knew some more. “Did you know about this?”

“I did. And I promised him to not tell anypony,” Hurricane Wing said while flying in front of his big brother, blocking his path.

“Hurricane, we are brothers! You have to tell me!” Cyclone Wing pointed out trying to convince that Hurricane would spill the beans.

“Exactly. We are brothers. That is why Tornado is doing this,” Hurricane Wing replied.

“What!?” Cyclone Wing replied confused. 

Suddenly, the attention of the two was drawn towards a crowd of ponies that was starting to grow in front of the gate of the Storm Fortress. Both of them wondered what it was all about until they heard some ponies saying the name Tornado Wing, making them realize that their brother returned.
They quickly flew towards the crowd as well and spotted Featherbrain and Cloud Head first.

Tornado Wing walked through the mass of ponies while not bothering to look back at them and focusing his eyes on the front. As soon as Cyclone Wing and Hurricane Wing spotted him, their faces were colored in surprise or rather shock in Cyclone Wing's case.

"Tornado!?" Cyclone Wing exclaimed after he saw his brother walking up to him.

Tornado Wing's mane looked different. Instead of his rather long straight mane, he now had a short and spikier looking one. The next difference was that not only his right but also his left wing was now made out of steel. They both looked exactly alike now. There was also a really determined and serious expression on his face. It was like looking at an entirely different pony.

"What happened? Why is your other wing covered in metal too?" Cyclone Wing asked in confusion as he walked up to his brother.

"Looks good doesn't it?" Tornado Wing replied in a really bold and direct tone which was very unlike him. “Don't worry, I didn't lose my other wing too. I just let this one be surrounded by steel. My left wing is perfectly fine!” Tornado Wing assured with a smile on his face.

“But why would you do that? That doesn't make any sense!” Cyclone Wing replied, trying to find out the logic behind Tornado's action. Now both his wings must make it harder to fly because of their weight.

“Having two of those babies will help me out a lot in the next mission!” He replied, avoiding his brother's question and presenting his wings.

“Next mission?” Cyclone Wing replied confused with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah. We want to help as many ponies in Equestria as possible so we need as many members as we can,” Tornado Wing explained, still without breaking his confident smile.

“But-” Cyclone Wing tried to say but Cloud Head interrupted him as he walked out of the crowd.

“Hey, Cyclone! Did you saw Tornado's new wing!?” Cloud Head asked in excitement.

“Doesn't Tornado look cool now?” Featherbrain added as he appeared next to Cloud Wing all of the sudden.

Tornado Wing became really quiet all of the sudden. His expression also changed from happy to angry in a second. “What did I told you?” Tornado Wing said in an angered voice.
The two Pegasi turned around confused and realized the mad expression on Tornado's face, making them both feel a little afraid.
“I told you to call me Steel Wing from now on!” He exclaimed angrily at them, making them both flinch and bow down in front of him.

“Sorry, boss!” They both apologized in unison.

All this new behavior was confusing Cyclone Wing to no end. Where did it all come from and why now?
Before Cyclone Wing could even ask his brother anything, Tornado Wing walked away and approached the Fortress, going inside of it while Cyclone Wing followed him with his eyes.

Hurricane Wing walked up to his confused older brother, sharing his thoughts on this situation.
“I think that's his way of telling you that he wants to help too,”

Cyclone Wing turned to his brother, listening carefully to his words. “He wants to help you with your dream...locking him inside here must have felt like as if you don't want him to be part of it...”

Cyclone Wing was not realizing that he was hurting his brother this deeply. He knew that Tornado was upset but not because of this reason. He never wanted to make him feel like as if he was left out or anything.

“Do you feel this way too?” Cyclone Wing asked towards Hurricane.

His brother did not react surprised by this question and rather avoided it.
“I will start going on missions as well...”He replied to which Cyclone Wing did no longer react in surprise.
“It's not like you can stop me anyway...I am faster flyer than you,” he said with a confident grin on his face.

Hurricane Wing then walked up to the fortress as well and left Cyclone Wing staying on the court. He could only smile. It was a mix of frustration and happiness, however. Seeing his brothers hurt, whether it was physically or mentally was something that he wanted to avoid at all cost but he had to accept that he can't control them just like that.

“What am I gonna do with you two?” He said with a happy smile on his face as he also walked inside of the fortress slowly.


Inside of the fortress...


Tornado Wing was inside of his and his brother's room laying on his bed and resting for the rest of the day. His rest, however, was interrupted by Mystic who stood in the entrance watching him. Tornado Wing, of course, was wondering what he wanted from him and asked away.

“Do you need something?”

Mystic stared at Tornado Wing for a while with a disapproving look on his face.
"You went to Tinker for this wing, right?” Mystic figured after inspecting Tornado Wing's wing.

“Sure did! He was really happy to work on it!” He replied.
“By the way...If Cyclone is still refusing to give me any mission, then you would have to give me one...” Steel Wing said with some hesitancy in his voice as if he didn't like depending on Mystic that much.

Needless to say, Mystic felt a little annoyed by this new behavior, mainly because he thought that this change of appearance would actually change his character. There were not exactly friendly to each other before but this change seemed to not help this at all.

“You think that you a big shot now? That you can change your name, your mane or your wing and then you'll turn into somepony completely different?
Because let me tell you...you don't!” Mystic flat out said what was in his mind, not caring what Tornado Wing would reply to that.
“You are still the weak little pony that you were before...And you will still be a burden to your brothers and everypony around you,” he added, this time with a more sinister smile on his face.

Mystic was most likely trying to intimidate Tornado Wing but it didn't work. Tornado Wing stared back at him and formed a smile on himself as well.
“The only one who is a burden to everyone around him...is you,”

These words angered Mystic. Out of the blue, he fired a beam of magic at Tornado Wing.
Instead of dodging, Tornado Wing stood still and covered himself with one of his wings, blocking the attack and even deflecting it with his wing.
The beam flew right back at Mystic, hitting him directly and throwing him to the ground. When he tried to stand up again, he saw Tornado Wing standing over him with an almost threatening expression on his face. 

Imagining that this was the same pony from before that was now pinning him down was almost shocking for Mystic. But while still shocked, anger was also rising inside of him. However, he was curious of what Tornado Wing was doing next to him.

“Listen closely, Mystic...” Tornado Wing began. “You think I don't know what you are up to? I know that you want something from Cyclone or the Storm Wings. That is why you wanted to join us in the first place. So let me tell you one thing. If you hurt my brothers or the Storm Wings, then I will never forgive you!” He said directly to Mystic's face with an angry expression on his face which Mystic returned with one angry expression himself.

Tornado Wing then released Mystic and walked away from the room, leaving the Unicorn on the ground. He remained there for a moment and looked at the ceiling. A smile was forming on his face before he slowly got up from the ground.

“You don't want me to hurt your brothers or the Storm Wings?” He quietly mumbled to himself.
“Heh, that's too bad for you...
Because it is already too late to prevent that...
I already made sure that this little group of yours will sooner or later be mine.
And it is exactly that love that you three have for each other, that will help me accomplish that,” Mystic mumbled to himself confidently accompanied by an evil smile on his face, already declaring his victory over the Storm Wings.







After that day, Tornado Wing's personality completely changed. The pony who was always hiding behind my back when confronting other ponies was now full of confidence and strength. He gained much more trust from every member. They were even admiring his confidence and strength.
It's almost scary.

I always thought that I had to show strength for them in order to keep up the morale but now Tornado Wing is taking that job.

It still bothers me that flying with two metallic wings must be more than exhausting. But he isn't showing any of it. He and Hurricane are both attending missions again and the work that the Storm Wing's accomplish right now is probably better than ever.

I guess there nothing that I can complain about anymore. Things seemed to turn to the best again.
I just hope that it will stay like that...
> 9. Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number nine


I knew it...
I knew it all along...

Mystic...he...got me right where he wanted.

What should I do?

Right now this is the only thing that I can think of now...
This is not fair.
I want to protect my brothers...
But in order to do that, I have to sacrifice something else...
It's all my fault...
I should have never trusted him in the first place...
It started all out of concern for my brothers but now I feel like I made everything even worse...

I don't know what to do...







Cyclone Wing ran through the halls of the Storm Fortress in a panic. His face colored in fear and concern. He was told that Hurricane Wing collapsed during his last mission and that he was now in a really bad condition. Naturally, after hearing that, Cyclone Wing was right on his way to his little brother.

“Where is he?” Cyclone Wing exclaimed as he opened the door of his and his brother's room. There he could see Tornado Wing, Featherbrain, Cloud Head and Breeze Flyer who were all at Hurricane Wing's bed. Cyclone Wing also rushed to his brother's side, even though he didn't know what exactly to do. Nopony did. Hurricane Wing laid in his bed and breathed heavily. He must have been in some real pain at this moment.

Frustration was beginning to grow inside of the room. They all didn't want to see Hurricane like this but there was also nothing that they could do. Nopony knew exactly what was causing Hurricane's sickness in the first place, let alone a way to cure it. Normally, it would just go away after a while, but this time this didn't seem to be the case.

“What do we do?” Breeze Flyer asked after Cyclone Wing arrived. She and Hurricane spent a lot of time together and went to many missions. She was also supposed to watch Hurricane most of the time because of his laid back nature. This caused her to feel a little responsible for this whole situation.

“I...I don't know. It usually went away after a while,” Cyclone Wing replied in his frustration, not knowing what to do himself.

“But he is like that since we bought him back from his mission!” Tornado Wing replied in his own frustration.

To that, Cyclone Wing had no answer. 

Everypony except Cyclone Wing, who stood at Hurricane's side, was leaving the room and tried to order some of the Storm Wing members to find a medicine in any nearby town. Cyclone Wing didn't know what to do just wished that somepony would come up with something that miraculously healed his little brother. Ironically, somepony showed up in the room.

“Here, give him this,” said Mystic who just entered the room, presenting Cyclone Wing a little bottle levitating it in front of him.

Needless to say, Mystic's sudden appearance was the last thing Cyclone Wing wanted to see right now. Especially, since Mystic didn't even seem to be fazed by Hurricane's condition.

“What is this?” Cyclone Wing asked, instantly doubting what was inside of the bottle.

“It will make him feel better,” Mystic assured. His response almost seemed annoyed, as if he was just dropping by while having more important things in his mind.
“It's a potion that will cure Hurricane for the time being,” Mystic explained. “Do you want your brother to get better or not? If so then, then stop asking me questions and just give him this potion!” He advised.

Cyclone Wing had to admit that he didn't know what else to do. Hurricane was in so much pain right now and he didn't want that pain to last any longer. But on the other hoof, he didn't know what this “potion” from Mystic was and if it could help at all.
Eventually, his worry of his little brother has driven him to try the potion.
He gave Hurricane the potion to drink and waited if something would happen.

Hurricane's uncontrollably breathing stopped and actually went back to normal. This caused Cyclone Wing to calm down as well as he saw how Hurricane was sleeping calmly again.

After seeing how the situation returned to normal, Mystic attempted to go outside of the room again without saying a word. Cyclone Wing could just look at him confused and tried to figure out why he helped in the first place. All this time where he was a member of the Storm Wings, he did make the impression that he didn't care about anypony else yet he was ready to help in this situation without even expecting gratitude or bragging about it.

“Mystic!” Cyclone Wing exclaimed, getting the attention of the Unicorn again who turned around to the Pegasus before he walked out of the room.
“Thank you!” He added while he bowed down for a moment out of gratitude for saving Hurricane Wing.

“It's nothing. But don't tell the others that I was saving him!” Mystic said, looking at Cyclone Wing kinda embarrassed. ”I don't want everypony to think that I became soft or anything!” He said, making sure to get his point across.

Cyclone Wing did never expect that Mystic would actually behave like that but it felt good to see a side like that from him.

Out of gratitude, Cyclone Wing didn't tell anypony that Mystic was helping Hurricane Wing. He told everypony that Hurricane Wing got better on his own. Hurricane Wing did not remember to drink the potion anyway.

Mystic gave Cyclone Wing little information from where he got those potions from, however, he assured that he would have another potion ready if something like this would happen again. For the moment, Cyclone Wing was relieved but it wasn't exactly a long term solution. But he also did not hope that something like that would happen again.


Some days later...


It was a similar situation than with Hurricane Wing. But this time, it was Tornado Wing who suffered. On his last mission, Tornado Wing started to feel some pain in his right wing and was unable to fly due to it. He was brought to his room and laid on his bed to rest for a while but the pain wouldn't go away.

Once again, Cyclone Wing couldn't do much to help besides standing next to his bed. That's when he remembered about Mystic and his potion. He asked him if this potion would work on Tornado Wing as well. Mystic actually had one more potion ready and said that it should work.

This only raised the question what exactly this potion was and how it could heal two different things like that.
After drinking this “potion” Tornado Wing's pain went away, just like it did back then with Hurricane Wing. It was strange. This potion seemed to cure everything.

In this moment, Cyclone Wing felt like he misjudged Mystic all this time. The Unicorn that always behaved like he didn't care one bit actually helped his brothers twice without wanting any thanks for it and all that Cyclone Wing did so far was mistrusting him for that. Whether he could be completely trusted or not was still a question but it was a fact that Mystic saved Cyclone Wing's brothers several times now. So Cyclone Wing felt the need to speak with Mystic about that.

A few hours later, both of them were inside the main hall from where you could overlook all of the courts in front of the fortress. Mystic was looking out of the big window with a thoughtful expression on his face while he was watching some of the Storm Wing members spending their time on the court.

“Mystic? Mind if I talk to you for a moment?” Cyclone Wing said, approaching Mystic.

“What is it?” Mystic replied while he didn't look away from the window one bit.

“You helped my brothers again...I haven't thanked you for that yet. So...thank you...” Cyclone Wing said while he bowed his head.

Mystic showed no reaction and almost seemed to be in a trance as he kept looking out of the window.

“So far, I didn't show you the respect that you deserve...You gave Tornado a new wing...and your potions helped them twice so far...” Cyclone Wing began but Mystic was stopping him in the middle of the sentence.

“That reminds me...” Mystic interrupted. “I was about to tell you something as well...” Mystic finally spoke up while he turned his head around to look at Cyclone Wing.
“I will no longer provide those potions anymore,” he said boldly into Cyclone Wing's face.

Hearing those words shocked Cyclone Wing at first.  “What are you saying!? You got to be joking, right?” He replied with a confused expression on his face.

“No, I am not...” Mystic said with a serious tone in his voice, now completely turning around to face Cyclone Wing.

“But...I don't understand! Why?” Cyclone Wing asked out of a mix of frustration and confusion.

“Because I don't care about your brothers, that's why,” Mystic said boldly without regret.
“I guarantee you that this will not be the last time that your brothers will be in pain...” he added in some sneaky confidence.

“You...” Cyclone Wing's anger rose as he looked at Mystic. He instantly regretted to even consider of thinking that Mystic had something good inside of him. But now he saw his true face. Mystic looked at him with the most serious face that he ever saw. He could tell from his voice alone that he meant everything he said.

“If you want me to get you some more of those potions again...then there is one condition that you have to fulfill from now on,”

When it comes to his brothers, there was, of course, no price that he wouldn't pay but the way Mystic said it, made it almost look like as if he made sure that his brothers would suffer. Did he have something to do with it? Was he the reason for their pain? Realizing that made Cyclone Wing angry but he tried to calm himself down. Mystic knew the only cure for his brother's pain so if he angered him, then there would be the chance that he refused to give them the potions anymore. And that was the last thing he wanted.

“Alright, what is the condition?” Cyclone Wing asked as he looked into Mystic's eyes in anger.

“The condition is...” Mystic said in a really anticipated tone in his voice. HE clearly couldn't wait to tell him and smiled sinisterly about it.


Later...


“You plan to do WHAT!?” Tornado Wing exclaimed in shock after Cyclone Wing told him, Hurricane Wing, Featherbrain, Cloud Head and Breeze Flyer about a heavy change, regarding Mystic.

“You are joking, right?” Breeze Flyer asked out of shock as well.

“No, I am not...I just wanted to make sure that you would know it first...” Cyclone Wing explained as he struggled to look anypony in the eyes.

Needless to say, Tornado Wing was not happy at all to hear about this information that Cyclone Wing shared with them.
“How can you even say something like this? Do you realize what you just said?” Tornado Wing asked, getting closer to his brother's face this time.

“I have my reasons...” Cyclone Wing only replied before he walked out of the room.
“I'll tell everypony else later this day about this...” he added before he walked out of sight of everypony.

There was silence in the room, accompanied by confusion, sadness, and even anger, caused by such a casual explanation from Cyclone Wing. 

“This little...” Tornado Wing said before he stopped himself to sound too rude in front of his brother and the others. “ Mystic must have forced him somehow!” He figured, as he instantly blamed Mystic for Cyclone Wing's sudden decision. ”That's it! I will throw this pony out of the Storm Wings myself if I have to!” He added before he made his way out of the room.

“Normally, I would not resort to violence but...” Hurricane admitted. “ Mystic must have something to do with this,” he added as he followed his little brother to confront Mystic.

“Don't forget us now!” Cloud Head said, ready to help the two brothers.

“Yeah! I'll never trust this sneaky pony in the first place!” Featherbrain added.

“I won't let him ruin what we all have built over the years!” Breeze Flyer said determined as she also followed the group.

Mystic had his own room in the Storm Fortress. He claimed that he didn't want to share any space with somepony else. Ponies also rarely came in his room because of that very reason. However, the five ponies were way to angered to even care one bit and smashed the door of his room open, before they all stood in line right in front of him.

Mystic stood in the middle of the room and had his body turned around to the ponies who assaulted his room. “Could you please knock before you enter the room next time?” Mystic said completely unimpressed by the five ponies abrupt entrance.

Mystic turned around and looked at the intruders with his face not fazed at all by the fact that they were not in his room to simply talk. All of them were prepared for an attack coming from Mystic but surprisingly, he kept his calm and didn't make an attempt to do so, making the group even more suspicious.

“Alright, Mystic. I think it's time for you to leave!” Tornado Wing exclaimed at Mystic but the Unicorn did not seem to be impressed.

“Big words, coming from somepony who was laying in bed a few hours ago, groaning in pain.
Who I helped to get up again, by the way,” Mystic pointed out.

“Shut up! We know what you are trying to do!” Tornado Wing exclaimed angrily.

“I have no idea what you are talking about...” Mystic replied, obviously playing the dumb one.

“We won't let you ruin the Storm Wings!” Tornado Wing exclaimed.

“Yeah! Nopony will ruin our family!” Featherbrain added.

“We all worked way too hard to let it be ruined by you!” Breeze Flyer said, joining the conversation as well.

Mystic kept the same unimpressed expression on his face, despite the situation he was in now. It was five against one but Mystic was either confident that he was able to deal with all of them or he expected that the five were just threatening him without actually planning to attack.

“Family, huh?” Mystic said after staring at them for while. “If your family is that important to you, then I'll advise that you just let Cyclone Wing decide what happens to this family,”

To that, almost on cue, Cyclone Wing appeared behind the group of ponies in the doorway with a serious expression on his face. The group figured that he would join them on their assault on Mystic but he didn't move any closer and remained silent.

“Cyclone! You came just in time to throw this guy out of the Storm Wings for good!” Tornado Wing said confidently before he smiled at Mystic in his victory.

However, Cyclone Wing didn't reply to that and frowned while looking at the ground.

“Cyclone?” Breeze Flyer said, wondering about Cyclone Wing's hesitation to say anything.

Mystic enjoyed seeing this expression on his face and felt the need to make it worse.
“Looks like this family is not as close as you might think...”

This was the last straw for Tornado Wing. He no longer could stand in the same room as with Mystic and began charging right at him out of anger. Surprised by this sudden outburst, Mystic got startled for a second before he prepared himself. His horn began to glow in a dark blue light and he returned a concentrated expression towards Tornado Wing.

Both of them were about to clash but something stopped them at the last second. It was Cyclone Wing who jumped between the two. It was a shocking picture. Cyclone Wing stood in front of the group to protect Mystic.

“What are you doing?” Tornado Wing asked confused seeing how his brother literally protected his enemy.

“You can't hurt him...” Cyclone Wing said looking at Tornado Wing's eyes in all seriousness.

“What?” Tornado Wing only replied in shock.

Of course, Mystic was happy to hear this and smiled right at Tornado Wing, mocking him in the process and angering him even more. Leading Cyclone Wing to do something like this could only mean one thing, the group figured.

“I already made my decision...” Cyclone Wing replied, avoiding eye contact with his brother.

“But...” Tornado Wing said before he was cut off by Cyclone Wing.

“No buts!” Cyclone Wing replied in a serious voice, startling his little brother.
“I am doing that for the sake of the Storm Wings and for you! I will take full responsibility for whatever happens from now on. And all I ask of you is that should trust me...Even if it means to do that...” he ended, lowering his head in sadness.

His two brothers looked at him in concern and didn't know what to say. They could see how serious Cyclone Wing was about this but none of them wanted him to make a sacrifice like this for their sake. But Cyclone Wing has set his mind and all that the others could do was to respect that.
It was thanks to Cyclone Wing that they all got this far, making him in charge of the important decisions as well. They hoped that he was planning something by making such a big decision.


At the end of the day...


The only thing left was to fulfill Mystic's condition. For that Cyclone Wing assembled all members of the Storm Wings in the Storm Fortress. Except, Cyclone Wing and his brothers, Featherbrain, Cloud Head and Breeze Flyer, nopony knew what this was about and waited for Cyclone Wing to explain. He walked in front of the mass of ponies and looked over to them with a serious expression on his face.

“I have an announcement to make...” He began, quickly grabbing the attention of everypony.

He took one big moment to look over every single member of the Storm Wings and prepared themselves for their reaction until he finally spoke up.

“From this moment on...
I will no longer be the leader of the Storm Wings...”

This information spread a huge gasp around all the members. Needless to say, they were all confused and wanted an explanation. But Cyclone Wing spoke right out of their minds.

“I can't give you an explanation why I made this sudden decision...
All I can hope is that you will accept it and continue to work as Storm Wings...
Even if it is now under the command of somepony else...” he paused for a moment before he stepped back to the side to reveal the pony who was now in charge.
“Let me introduce you to the new leader of the Storm Wings...”

Mystic stepped for...
He had a smug smile on his face and stood there in confidence while he looked at the members of the Storm Wings who all returned confused looks to him.

“Do not worry...” Mystic started.
“Cyclone Wing will still be a permanent member of the Storm Wings. But now I am just another stage above him,” he explained, fueling the anger in Tornado Wing who tried his best to not snap at him.
“The biggest change for you is simply that I am the one who will you assign you to your future missions now.
But that doesn't mean that things won't change around here,” Mystic assured, getting a little more serious this time.
“I do intend to change some things around here and I hope that those changes will bring the Storm Wings into a glorious future!” Mystic said, ending his little speech as the new leader.

The six founding members of the Storm Wings only looked quietly over to Mystic with either angry or sad expression on their faces. But by far the most depressed, was Cyclone Wing because he knew that he just let the Storm Wings into the hooves of somepony who wasn't sharing the same ambitions and dreams than any other member. But if he wouldn't obey Mystic, then his brothers would have to suffer.

Just how Mystic said, Hurricane's sickness returned, as well as the pain in Tornado Wing's wing. Thankfully, Mystic kept his end of the bargain, otherwise, Cyclone Wing would make him pay in an instant. But as things are now, Cyclone Wing's actions were in full control of Mystic.
As long as Mystic kept his promise, his brothers could be healed.

Cyclone Wing planned to do something if he found out what exactly those potions were but that was easier said than done. He also kept a close eye on Mystic's action, to see if he was causing the pain to his brothers but that didn't seem to be the case either.

He was confused about what he should do. But as things are now...there was nothing that he could do...







Mystic...
The new leader of the Storm Wings...
So this is the destiny of the Storm Wings?
I have no idea what he is planning to do with all of us but whatever it was, it was definitely not what this group was intended to do.

By Celestia's sake...
I see a very dark future for the Storm Wings...
> 10. One last entry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry number ten


The sole reason why this diary existed was to remind me and my brothers of worse times.
Reminding us of those times and giving us enough strength to continue...

But that reason has expired because we no longer have worse times to look back at...
Right now, we are at the worst possible time in our lives...
The name “Storm Wings” was once known as a symbol of hope but know it more likely represents terror.
The Storm Wings are now known as criminals and rogues throughout Equestria...
What began as a dream, ended in a nightmare...
And the worst thing is...that it is all my fault...

After Mystic took over the Storm Wings, our members no longer were sent out to help ponies in need but rather to attack peaceful towns and stealing from the innocent. I don't know what Mystic is after but he uses us to archive something or in order to look for something. I don't even care.

Of course, not everypony was happy about this sudden change within our group and wanted me to return as the leader but if I would do anything that would even indicate that I was stopping Mystic then he will stop giving us those potions that would heal my brothers.

I made sure to look after my brothers and Mystic to see if he was doing something to them that would cause those pain attacks to return but that doesn't seem to be the case, meaning that I can't do anything to stop it.

I don't know if my brothers know that Mystic is the one providing those potions. I always avoid it when they ask me about it. They just accept that I got my hooves on them. Maybe they even suspect that I got them from Mystic. It wouldn't change a thing if they know.

If I don't obey then Mystic will refuse to give my brothers their potions...
So in order to save the Storm Wings...I will have to let my brothers suffer...
Those are the facts that I had to deal with.

What am I supposed to do?
I can't do this anymore.







Cyclone Wing came back from one of his missions and walked to the entrance of the Storm Fortress. His two brothers waited near the entrance to welcome their brother back. All three of them had a frown on their faces.

“How was your mission?” Hurricane Wing asked.

“Successful...” Cyclone Wing replied hesitantly as if he was ashamed of it.

Both Tornado Wing and Hurricane Wing noticed the upset mood that Cyclone Wing was in and couldn't help but to feel the same. They were clearly affected by the recent changes of the Storm Wings as well.

“You know...” Cyclone Wing started. “I'll never expect that we returned to be criminals...let alone on this degree...”

Hurricane Wing wanted to cheer his brother up, which was easier said than done. But he did saw something positive like he always does.
“We may be criminals again but...we are still together,” Hurricane said with a smile on his face which actually made Cyclone Wing feel better.

“We will always stick together!” Tornado Wing said determinedly.

“Yes! Times may change but we will overcome everything together!” Hurricane Wing added, still showing a bright smile, despite the current situation.

Cyclone Wing was so happy that his brothers didn't blame him for everything that happened and that they were still talking with him as if everything was okay. This only made him feel more determined to not give up hope.

“Thank you...I needed that,” he said in gratitude before he returned a smile.

After this conversation, Cyclone Wing walked up to the Storm Fortress. He had to report Mystic something what he had investigated recently. He was not looking forward to a conversation with him like he always does. He got used to talking with Mystic without wanting to get revenge for everything he did to the Storm Wings so far. It was the words of his brothers from before that made him keep his calm for now.

He entered the main room of the Storm Fortress, where Mystic would usually wait for him after a mission. The room was very dark and the only light came from the window at the end of the room. Mystic wasn't there yet.
Cyclone Wing walked up to the big window at the end of the room and overlooked the court of the Storm Fortress where he could see other members of the Storm Wings.

“You're back...” said Mystic from the end of the room after entering it as well. The only thing that was clearly visible was his blue eyes, in the darkness of the room. His voice sounded displeased and a little annoyed but Cyclone Wing kept his calm and collected nature and looked directly at him.

“Yes, I just arrived,” he replied.

"What did you found out?" Mystic asked straight away to get this conversation over with.

Despite not liking his work, Cyclone Wing did put a lot of effort with every mission that he was assigned to. This mission was no difference.

"It's just like the rumors said,” Cyclone Wing started. “Nightmare Moon returned in a little town named Ponyville and attempted to create her everlasting night. She was then shortly defeated by seven ponies who were chosen by the Elements of Harmony and returned to her former self, Princess Luna," he explained in a stoic way of talking.

Mystic calmly listened to his words and became more interested after the words "Element of Harmony" fell but there was something that bothered him.
“Seven?” He asked, raising one of his eyebrows in confusion.

“Yes. Why?” Cyclone Wing asked confused, not seeing the problem.

Mystic did not bother to explain what was bothering him and assured that it was not important. "So they did return..." he mumbled to himself. "Where are they now?"

"In a chamber inside of Princess Celestia's castle in Canterlot," Cyclone Wing explained. "It seems that only she can open it, though," he added.

"That is a problem," Mystic said in frustration. "I suppose there is no way then for us to attack Canterlot and get them by force right?" Mystic asked casually.

The facial expression of the Cyclone Wing lightly changed after hearing that. He looked a little concerned while still remaining a serious face.

"Even if we had a way to open that chamber, there is also the royal guard. Without due respect but I will not send my troops to a hopeless mission like that," he calmly explained.

"Your troops?" Mystic asked a little angered by Cyclone Wing's choice of words.

"I mean...your troops," Cyclone Wing corrected bothered. "What I'm trying to say is, that our group is way too small to deal with that kind of situations," he explained.
"Also, what is so important about those Elements?" Cyclone Wing asked.

There was a lot of tension in the air already but it became thicker and thicker the longer the conversation went. Still, Mystic was replying calmly.
"A pawn doesn't have to concern himself with the duties of a king," Mystic replied boldly and full of confidence. While there was also an intimidating tone in his voice, Cyclone Wing wasn't afraid and kept his calm nature.

But Cyclone Wing was once again not afraid and decided to rub off his smile. "A king? Isn't a king suppose to take care of his subjects? Taking care of a little group like this doesn't qualify you as a king. How do you expect to control something bigger like..." but he then was interrupted by Mystic, whose horn began to glow in a dark blue light triggered by his anger.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" He screamed in anger while his horn glowed more and more in a dark blue color.

Mystic's anger only raised the tension in the room more and more. But Cyclone Wing continued to keep his calm and only gave Mystic a serious face. According to his reaction, Cyclone Wing expected this reaction from Mystic.

Eventually, Mystic calmed down and tried to let the conversation continue.
“I want you to get me those elements as soon as possible!”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Cyclone Wing replied.

“I don't care how you do it!” Mystic angrily replied.

Mystic then walked past Cyclone Wing to take a look outside from the window to overlook the place in front of the fortress.

“If that is all, then I'm leaving,” Cyclone Wing said, not even bothering to look at Mystic.

But Mystic turned around and wanted to say one last thing before Cyclone Wing left.
“Cyclone!” He said getting back Cyclone Wing's attention, who stopped but didn't bother to look at him. “Don't forget your place here. Things have changed. You should get used to that if you don't want to get in trouble,” Mystic said almost threatening. “Also, don't mess up,” he added.

Cyclone didn't say anything for a few seconds. He was thinking about not giving him an answer at first. But he decided to give an answer, ignoring any consequences that might result from that.

“Don't worry. The Storm Wings always succeed with their tasks... We know how to deal with problems...” He then turned around and gave Mystic one last threatening look before saying his last words and exiting the room. “Every...problem,” he said looking deeply into the eyes of Mystic on the other side of the hall, before leaving.

Surprisingly the Mystic didn't show any signs of anger and stayed in front of the window mumbling some last words to himself.
“I'd like to see you try...”







This one mission seemed to be very important for Mystic. He wanted to make sure that this one had top priority and that we should do anything in our power to complete it. I first sent out Tornado, Featherbrain and Cloud Head but they failed, to which I resorted to sent Hurricane and Breeze Flyer. But they failed too so he ultimately decided to send me.

The mission was to retrieve some kind of magical artifacts who were in a town named Ponyville.
First, they were kept in Canterlot, guarded by Princess Celestia but they were brought to Ponyville recently.

The Elements of Harmony...
According to Tornado Wing, they were seven of them. Six necklaces and one crown. Each representing another element. And each of them being wielded by one pony. They were supposed to be in the local library.

I didn't care much about the details...
It was just another thing that we had to steal for his sake...
I will be on my way to Ponyville soon to get this mission over with.
Since those seven ponies managed to defeat both of my brothers, I prepared a plan to make sure that this mission will succeed. This time we will get our hooves on these Elements.

Mystic made me a strange offer that actually motivates me to give everything on this mission. He said that he would leave me and the Storm Wings alone if I managed to bring him the Elements of Harmony. He said that he would no longer have use of us if he got them.

Were those Elements really that big of a deal?
Right now, he had all the Storm Wings under his control...
Was he really about to give all that up?
I don't know if I should believe Mystic's words but they gave me hope. And that is why I will give my best.

I think that's it. I don't think that I will continue this diary anymore, making this my last entry.
Whether I will show this to anypony or not will depend on how the next mission will go.
Hopefully, somepony will read this diary one day...







On a cliff in front of Ponyville...


There was a slow breeze in the air...Quiet and soft but also threatening. 
Like a predator who was hiding just waiting to get his chance to jump on his prey with full force.

Ponyville...
That was the prey for Cyclone Wing.
He stood on a cliff and looked over the town in the distance. The wind was blowing through his windmill shaped mane. His eyes full of determination. He was also wearing a saddlebag at which he looked at for a moment before he returned his head back to Ponyville.

"I just have to finish this mission..." he said starring down to the little town of Ponyville.
“Then...everything will be over...And we will be free again..."

There was nothing that could stop him now. He had to bring the Elements of Harmony to Mystic.
There was just too much for him at stake. Too much to go back now... He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself letting the wind blow through his mane.
"Just one more mission...
I will not fail here...” he said before he became really quiet for a moment.

Then, the wind stopped. It was quiet. But only for a while.
Cyclone Wing thought back about everything that happened. Everything that leads up to this very moment.

His time with Tornado Wing and Cyclone Wing back when they were stealing food...
His first meeting with Featherbrain and Cloud Head...
The day when they found the Storm Fortress and met Breeze Flyer...
The moment when they formed the Storm Wings...
His last visit to Ponyville where the Storm Wing's work was appreciated for the first time...
The day when they visited Canterlot and met Princess Celestia...
The tragic day where Tornado Wing lost his wing...
The day Mystic appeared at the Storm Fortress...
When Tornado Wing got his wing replaced...
The sudden change of character from Tornado Wing...
The first signs of Tornado Wing's and Hurricane Wing's pain attacks...
Mystic offering his potions in exchange for the leadership of the Storm Wings...
The moment where Mystic took over the Storm Wings...
The moment where Mystic offered the freedom of the Storm Wings for the Elements of Harmony...

Once again, the wind started to blow but this time stronger and more intense. So strong that it almost pushed Cyclone Wing off the cliff. Then in an instant, he opened his eyes again, spread his wings and flew off to Ponyville with a determined look on his face. Nothing mattered now. He only had his mission in clear sight. And he will do anything to accomplish it.

“Tornado...Hurricane...Featherbrain...Cloud Head...Breeze Flyer...everypony...
Hopefully, everything will be over after this mission...
And the Storm Wing can finally be free again...”

With those words, Cyclone Wing headed to Ponyville to fulfill this mission. The only motivation that he had was that Mystic would keep his promise. That was enough for him to see this mission as the most important one yet.

All he had to do, was to get his hooves on the Elements of Harmony and defeat the seven ponies who protected them...
Only then, there was hope for him,
his brothers,
and
the Storm Wings.