Disloyalty: Part 1
The storm tossed the pegasus about, blowing him back and forth. The pegasus tried to regain flight control, but the slicing wind was far too powerful. Obsidian clouds hurled lightning about with a savage strength. Torrential rain poured down upon the sea, and the wind screeched like a thousand great birds. Although this storm was over powering, the pegasus fought on. Then, the water below him exploded. A giant spiked tentacle shot through the air and grabbed hold of the pegasus' hind leg, biting into muscle. The pegasus cried out in pain, then in fear as a gargantuan kraken rose into view, roaring with rage. The tentacle pulled, but the pegasus was not done yet. He beat his wings with all his might, nearly pulling himself free. Then, the kraken grabbed him with another serrated tentacle. Screaming in agony, the pony gave one last final flap of his weary wings, and was pulled down. The kraken opened its huge mouth, revealing rows upon rows of teeth. The tentacles held the wounded pony over its jaws, and let go. The pegasus closed his eyes. "FATHER!" someone screamed. StormSpinner bolted up, raising both hooves to catch the falling pegasus. His vision snapped, and changed into his bedroom, leaving the image of his father's final moments only in his head. He looked about frantically, still sweating and shivering from terror. His bedroom was dark. The full moon shone through the window, falling upon StormSpinner's head. The curtains swayed in the breeze, a cold wind flowing through the room. He gazed at the moon, tears beginning to flood his vision. He missed his father so much. "Why?" he thought with rage and grief. "Why is this world so cruel?!" He cried harder, burying his head in his hooves. The moon shed soft light upon him, as if it were trying to comfort him. The wind died down, sensing his sadness. After several minutes, his crying began to slow and his breath slowed. He was left feeling hollow and cold. He sighed in despair, and laid his head back down onto his pillow. "If I had stopped him, or warned him, or had done SOMETHING... I could have saved him. He died because of me. It's my fault." He closed his eyes, pleading for the darkness to take him. Eventually, it did.
StormSpinner woke up to the sun shining in his eyes. Scrunching his eyes, he raised a hoof to block the sun. He sat up, and looked at his bedside stand. His bandana was in its usual spot, and also... there was his father's cracked flying goggles. They were given to StormSpinner at the funeral. StormSpinner felt as if he was going to cry again, but he shoved it down and got up. His feathered wings were ruffled from bad sleep. He brushed them down, and grabbed the bandana and goggles. He tied the bandana around his neck so that the front covered his nose and mouth, and hung the goggles around his neck. Walking over to the mirror, Storm took a good look at himself. He was still the same teenage pegasus that had once had a life. His spiky blue hair was the same as usual. His tail, as unkempt and sapphire blue as his hair, grew longer than most stallions, but was the same. His white coat and blue discus cutie mark had not changed one bit. The only difference that StormSpinner saw in himself after the accident was that there was a shadow under his eyes that would not leave. This made him always look tired and spiteful, which is what he had only felt besides sadness and grief. The bandana made him look like a thug, but he felt that he needed to wear it. He wanted to hide from the world. Sighing, he turned towards the door. As he opened it, he turned to survey his room. His living quarters were entirely made of marble. The walls, the floor, and even the ceiling were white with silver veins running through them. The whole room looked like a grand hotel at first, but there was no furniture besides the bed, mirror, and stand. It felt empty and cold to him. "A fitting room for a fitting tenet," thought StormSpinner.
The rest of the orphanage was just like StormSpinner's room. White marble pillars lined the hallways, and chandeliers decorated the ceilings. Small fountains and statues were scattered across the whole complex. Originally, it wasn't an orphanage. It was The Great Palace of the Sky Kings, housing the leaders of the pegasi for many generations. The Sky King bloodline died out decades ago, so the castle was left to gather dust as just another good looking building in Cloudsdale. When Princess Celestia came into power, the abandoned keep was repurposed. But this didn't matter to StormSpinner. To him, the "palace" made him feel small. As he walked down an endless hallway, he passed a door that was ajar. He looked through and saw some fillies sleeping peacefully. StormSpinner grimaced under his mask, thinking of the pain that they have suffered. "No child should ever lose their parents," he thought. Memories of his childhood bubbled into StormSpinner's mind as he closed the door gently, and continued down the hall. An image of his father teaching him to fly was the first. Faint voices sounded echoed followed the image. "Now, remember Storm, you gotta keep flapping your wings." "C'mon dad. Can't we stop for today?" "You gotta learn to fly if you wanna grow up big and strong!" "Alright! Wait... Dad, dad look! Look! I'm doing it! I'm flying!" "Hahaha! Now, that's my boy!" StormSpinner bit his lip. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes again. He fought it back down with all his inner might. He kept walking. He entered The Great Hall, still awed by its size. A giant statue of the greatest Sky King, Thunder Flight, glared down with authority in the middle of the room. A domed shape ceiling towered above, and rich decorations hung everywhere. Shaking the awe from his mind, he headed for the gates. As he was crossing the marble floor, a voice suddenly called to him, taking him by surprise. "StormSpinner!" The voice echoed off the walls, intensifying the noise by tenfold. StormSpinner jumped in surprise. He turned to his left and saw the caretaker, Mrs. Stinger. Despite her name, StormSpinner found her to be a very kind pegasus. She had recently replaced the old caretaker, who had been quite unpleasant. Her mane was long and pitch black, and her coat was chocolate brown. She balanced a pair of small red glasses on her nose. Her cutie mark was a baby bottle. He guessed her age to be a little older than him. Although she was nice, he was in no mood for company. "Oh, sorry for scaring you. Still getting used to this place, being the new caretaker."She laughed lightly, but StormSpinner said nothing. She tried to keep a smile. "Uh, Where are you headed?" she asked. StormSpinner shook his head. Mrs. Stinger sighed, and walked over to him, her hooves hitting the marble sounded across the hall. "Storm, talk to me. What's bothering you?" He recoiled at her calling him that. The reminder was like a knife in the gut. Her eyes widened at the reaction. "Are you alright?" He began to walk past her. "Storm..." she called after him.I looked behind at her with contempt. "Don't call me Storm," I said coldly. With that, I trotted to the gates, leaving Mrs. Stinger alone in The Great Hall.
The gates of the castle were a pair complex looking doors made of silver and gold. Metallic vines wrapped around golden fruit, and shiny pegasi were shown as flying in and out of clouds. StormSpinner scanned the gates quickly, and pushed the gates open. He walked onto the lawn of the castle. More statues were scattered about the cloudy grounds of the palace. A large fountain spewed a multi colored liquid upwards while birds flew about in flocks. StormSpinner sighed, his mind heavy with regret and sadness. He wished he hadn't been so rude to Mrs. Stinger. She was just trying to be nice to him, and he had been mean to her. StormSpinner decided he would apologize when he got back. Opening his wings slowly, he closed his eyes and felt the sky beckon. He raised his father's goggles to cover his eyes. He perked his ears up, listening to the quiet howl of the winds. He opened his eyes, then, with the speed of a falcon, StormSpinner suddenly shot into the sky. He flew straight upwards, gaining speed and altitude. This is why he still drew breath, this is why he loved his race, this is why he existed. For the thrill and freedom of flight. He spun in midair, watching as the wide world blurred and lost control. He felt so alive that he cried with joy. He yelled in sheer bliss. Then, he shut his wings. He floated momentarily, weightless. Then, he began to fall. He plummeted down, down, down. The wind sliced through him, reminding him when he first sky dived with his father... "Dad, I don't want to do it! What if I hit the ground and go splat?!" "Hehehe, you won't go splat. Son, in life, we have to be brave. This is sorta a test. All you have to do is... FAAAAAAALLLLLL!." "Wait, dad! Alright, here I... GOOOOOO!" StormSpinner came back into the present just as he was about to hit the ground. He opened his wings with speed, and tried to slow his free fall with all his strength. He hit the ground on all fours and tumbled forwards. He did a couple of unintentional flips then-BAM. His momentum was painfully stopped by a marble statue of Feather Belly, a Sky King known for his ample appetite. StormSpinner groaned in discomfort. He stood up slowly, rubbed his hurting head, and realized that there was blood on his hoof. He sighed, and started to walk back to the gates orphanage. "So much for that," he thought.
After Mrs. Stinger had finished her bandaging in the "infirmary" which was actually the ballroom for the castle, she looked at StormSpinner. She shook her head, smiling. "You gotta be a bit more careful out there, kid." She put the final wrap on. StormSpinner felt guilty about before, and thankful for her patching him up, so he gave her a small smile. She looked very happy. "Now that's not something you see everyday." She got up, and he followed. "Alright, let's go get the fillies for dinner." StormSpinner nodded excitedly, picking up his discarded goggles and mask. It was tradition in the orphanage to have dinner at a table every night. This was to make them feel more like a family, which is what every one of them lacked. The dinners had surprised StormSpinner. He had thought they would be quiet and respectful. But, they were actually strangely boisterous, and all of the fillies seemed just like any ordinary young pegasi. There was much talking, laughing, spontaneous throwing of food, etc. StormSpinner had found himself oddly happy to be at the dinners. As expected, there were a lot of orphans at each dinner. The orphans probably have this castle because they need a forty pony table for each dinner. They even have their own kitchen staff. When the silver plates and dishes of food were set and the fillies all gathered at the table, Mrs. Stinger tapped on a glass. All the fillies went quiet. StormSpinner noticed that, besides Mrs. Stinger, he was the oldest pegasus at the table. There were at least forty fillies at dinner. "Attention, everyone!" Mrs. Stinger called. "Let's dig in!" The fillies cheered and and did just that. StormSpinner removed his mask, and raised his goggles above his eyes. Even for young ponies, they had shockingly good table manners. Everyone chatted quietly, and food was eaten politely. A small female filly tugged on StormSpinner's wing as he took a sip of apple cider. "Hey, uh, Mr. Could, you, uh, tell me how you, got, uh, your, uh... cutie mark?" Even though today had been challenging to StormSpinner, he beamed at the adorableness of the filly to his left. She was small, with bright pink pigtails, a yellow coat, amber colored eyes, and a voice so shy that she could barely be heard. "Sure, anytime kiddo." I replied. She smiled, and cheered quietly. "Yay!" Someone across the table heard her. "What's goin on?" The "kiddo" said, "He's gonna tell em how I got his cutie mark!" Another filly said "He is? I wanna hear!" Soon, a good portion of the table wanted to hear my story. I blushed, and looked to Mrs. Stinger. She was smiling at me, motioning me to continue. I looked at the smiling faces all around. "Alright, guys. Here's the story..." I began, grinning.
"Alright, my little ponies. Time for bed!" Aws and boos sounded from around the table. I sat back, grinning and content with my storytelling skills. "Can't Mr. StormSpinner tell one more story?" pleaded the "kiddo." Mrs. Stinger laughed, and said "Maybe some other time, Sunny Daisies. StormSpinner is tired." Everyone looked to me and begged for more, but I made a big show of yawning and stretching. "C'mon everyone. Say goodnight to StormSpinner." The kids began to shuffle off the table, saying "Thanks!" and "You rock!" and one filly said "You owe me five bits, Mac!". Once they have all walked off to their beds, Mrs. Stinger sat next to me. "You, my friend are a magician." I laughed, filled with mirth from the night's tale. "I never knew you had such skills in tale weaving." I shrugged, smiling. "I try." I yawned. "I think I'm going to hit the hay. G'night." I got up and she looked at me, and said kindly. "Good night, StormSpinner." I trotted out of the of The Great Dining Room. Over the next few weeks, StormSpinner began to love the orphanage. He played with the fillies, told more stories at the dinners, and taught a few how to throw a discus which was his specialty. The pain in his heart never left him, but he was learning to cope. Life was looking up for him, up until the night where everything changed.
StormSpinner was jarred from his sleep at the sound of the explosion. Thanks to his quick wits, he immediately jumped off the bed, equipped his two head pieces, then ran out of his room. He galloped down the hall, beating his wings for extra speed. "What's going on?" he wondered with fear. "Is someone attacking? Why would someone attack an orph-." His thinking was cut off by another explosion, blowing shattered marble from the right side wall. The wall and ceiling collapsed, blocking off the corridor. Reeling with shock and terror StormSpinner stopped. "NO- The fillies-the fillies were-" Another explosion blew StormSpinner off his feet, marble flying above his head and sailing into the opposite wall. He smelled smoke from somewhere. He got up and ran in the opposite direction. As he ran, looking for more of the children, a bone chilling laugh sounded from every direction. It was the laugh of insanity. And then, screams sounded. StormSpinner spurred himself to greater speeds. He finally found another room, but found fire raging from it. He steeled himself, and ran in, calling for any children. He couldn't see very well with the smoke, and he was coughing harshly. His hoof bumped into something. He looked down, and screamed in fright. It was the burnt corpse of- StormSpinner fled. Now driven by panic, he flew at top speeds, searching for anyway out. The castle was in complete ruin. Shattered marble, burning support beams, and rubble littered the halls. StormSpinner was crying. He was mortified at this attack. At long last, he found a way into The Great Hall. He flew in, and stopped- A giant... thing stood in a flaming crater where the statue once stood proud. It was the most terrifying thing that StormSpinner had ever seen. Giant elk horns sprouted from its bearded horse like head. Fangs filled its grinning face. Its neck was that of a serpents. It had a giant bat's wing on one shoulder and a great bird's wing on the other. The monster's left arm was that of a lion, and its right was that of an eagle. Its muscular lower half had one goat's leg, and the other of a dragon. Its serpentine tail thrashed about. But, the worst thing about the creature were its eyes. They were glowing crimson. It reared up and let loose a booming laugh that shook the entire building. StormSpinner fell back in boundless horror. "I've been waiting for you, little pegasus!" the creature said, its voice emanating from everywhere and nowhere. "Watch as I, Discord, take away everything that you have!" Energy radiated off of the creature as it laughed. It grew brighter and brighter. StormSpinner had to shield his eyes. The energy reached a pinnacle. Then, everything went black.
To be continued...