Brave Storm's Dream Journal: The Roof

Brave Storm couldn’t tell what time of day it was as she stood on the shingled roof of the school of friendship. The bitter cold winds howled in her ears and snow fell in hurried swirls around her. She shifted to get more comfortable and several shingles fell off the roof to the ground below. Her ears were hot with stress, fear, and anger.

The walkway leading to the school was littered with a mob of creatures, most of which Brave Storm was barely able to recognize as being part of the Knights of Equestria and the Canterlot Guard. Behind them, a herd of panicked civilians was being held back and away from the school. They talked in hurried voices that all came together in a cacophony of panic and fear.

In the frontlines stood Sword Dancer, Jade Caster, and Professor Golden Sage. Jade Caster and Professor Golden Sage were yelling at each other. Tuning out the wind, Brave Storm managed to hear the two of them clear as day.

“This is what happens when you play around with Wild Magic!” Jade Caster yelled. “Now every creature in Equestria is in danger because of your meddling!”

“This has nothing to do with Nature Magic. This is something else entirely!” Golden Sage rebuttals. While she was keeping calm in the face of Jade Caster’s accusations, the fear in her voice was clear.

“Don’t you lie! That thing took part in your ritual not too long ago. How much longer until the others become like it?”

“Enough!” Sword Dancer snapped, no longer able to hold back the anger that was bubbling up within her. “How could the two of you bicker like foals at a time like this?”

“But-” Jade Caster starts, but is immediately interrupted.

“If you’re not going to offer any solutions, I don’t want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth!”

Brave Storm’s head began to pound and she stepped away from their arguing. The roof groaned under her weight and more broken shingles fell below. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her left temple, where the headache was forming. Stressed, she didn’t even care to notice how much softer her hoof was against her head.

“H-hey! Somepony broke through, stop him!” cried the voice of a pony that broke through the crowd of voices.

“Let me go!” now that was a voice Brave Storm recognized, even if the volume was one she never heard from him before. She approached the lip of the roof to see the white stallion bundled in warm clothes as a pegasus- True Heart held him back. While it seemed to be taking a good bit of her effort to hold herself against the larger Gold Standard, her training helped her keep the untrained stallion at bay. 

“She’s still in there, I know it. Just let me talk to her!” he demanded, still trying to shove his way past the Daywatch head.

Coming in for the assist was Dark Wing. With the two Canterlot Guard heads, Gold Standard was easily subdued. 

“Look, colt, whoever ‘she’ was is gone. She needs to be dealt with before she can hurt any creature else.” Dark Wing cooly explained, putting a hoof of Gold Standard’s chest. The white stallion knocked it away. Looked between the guards and the water surrounding the walkway, and plunged himself in before any creature could react. He resurfaced quickly and gasped as the cold water shocked his system. 

“Hey-”

“If he’s that determined, just let him go.” Sword Dancer steps in, letting the stallion swim through the freezing water. “We have more pressing matters.”

“If her friendship with another creature put her in this frenzy, maybe another friend can calm her down.” Professor Golden Sage wistfully hopes.

“She attacked Queen Vespa!” Jade Caster threw out. “It doesn’t matter what she is, she’s dangerous!”

Anger boiled in Brave Storm’s chest and rose to her throat. Too many creatures were screaming and panicking. The voices of every creature blended all together and made her ears ring. She wanted to yell at every creature, tell them all to shut up and let her think. The anger escaped her throat and entered her mouth as she tried to bellow out her demands. But instead of words, she released a wrathful scream that sounded far more like a roar.

Silence, only for the briefest of moments. Then the volume rose again into screams as several civilians began trying to run away from the scene. They tripped over each other and stampeded against any who fell. Sword Dancer charged into the building, deaf to Gold Standard’s yelling as he pleaded for her to stop. Jade Caster and several other unicorns began casting spells, several directed at the roof Brave Storm was standing at. They all ignored desperate pleas from Professor Golden Sage to hold fire. Pegasus and bat ponies from the guard took to the air and rushed towards her.

Brave Storm felt her muscles tense as she gripped the roof. Through all the panicking, she heard a soft cry close to her right. She didn’t have to turn much to see Soft Glow held tightly in a large monstrous furry paw.

“Brave Storm, stop.” she barely heard the changeling plea, “You’re hurting me.”

Reflected in the changeling’s eyes, Brave Storm saw her wrathful expression with the four eyes she had in her nightmares shortly after her encounter with Moon Widow. She gasped and pulled away from Soft Glow, and the arm released her friend. Bringing her hooves to her head as her migraine flared again, she noticed it was the furry paws she brought to her temple instead.

Brave Storm awakes with a start, breathing heavily. Quickly, she checks the ends of her forelegs. Hooves, not paws. She feels a small wave of relief, but panic resides. She takes a moment to observe her surroundings- she’s in the Canterlot trainee and page barracks. Across the room from her, she heard the light snoring of a pegasus and a unicorn who were training to be in the guard. 

She took a deep breath, held it in for a moment, and slowly released it. She grabbed her Luna plush from under her bed and snuggled it. Slowly, her heartbeat returned to normal and she was able to lull herself into a dreamless sleep.