Introducing the Newest Family Member!

[Noedig]

Gale was caught off guard by this kidnapper. A black Pegasus with red messy hair swooped down and stole him away. Gale stood up quickly and looked around and saw the three other Pegasi circling around him.

It was some band of rapscallions. The black Pegasus that was being circled seemed like the leader of this band. The black Pegasus taunted him... Gale Storm glared at this rogue with intense intimidation. He studied this character, the result he made says this Pegasus may not be dangerous, but he doesn't mean well, either.

"That 'thing' is my nephew's son..." He said. "Since you've committed such an audacious crime in front of the Duke of Canterlot..." He instantly knelt, spread his wings, and flapped down once intensely, which sent him up in the air in an instant, now at the same level of altitude the rogue band are at. "I believe I'll arrest you bunch for treason. Listen to me carefully, Pegasus: You have 5 seconds to decide. Put him down on the ground, then just fly away, or you can keep him and regret what will happen next... starting now."

His glare and dangerous expression were too difficult to perceive as a bluff.

[AlextheAngel]

The black Pegasus glared at Gale, holding tightly onto the squirming child,  before wrapping his foreleg around the boy's throat. "Ah ah ah!" He said, grinning. "Make a single move, and I'll snap his neck." He was not bluffing either, but his tone made it clear that he did not care either way. "Ah, yes... the Duke of Canterlot. I've heard of your nephew..." He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Zachery Edron Davidson... or 'Zed', as you call him. The so-called Angel of Equestria..." He ran a hoof through his red mane. "He took everything from us, you know.... and I don't plan on letting that go unpunished." He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a metal disc, pressing a few buttons on it. There was a slight whirring sound coming from it as if it were charging up. It was a teleportation device... "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I must really be going." He turned to the other three Pegasi. "Would you boys mind cleaning up here? Just keep him off of me until this blasted thingcharges up. Cheerio!"

The three Pegasi charged toward Gale, their weapons fully drawn. There was still a few seconds before the teleportation device fully kicked in... but could Gale reach them in time?"

[BraveShield]

"Ma'am" brave said addressing luna "may I ask why we are here in the kitchen?"

[PrinceoftheNight]

Luna turned to Brave as he spoke.

"Oh, Lullabyw wanted to make something for little Alex, so I.came to do it for her." Luna said as her horn glowed and started making some cupcakes. She was not as skilled as her husband, but still, they were quite decent.

[BraveShield]

Brave frowned at the name Alex

He did not know who this was....of corse he had not spent that much time with Luna's daughter lately so maybe he would do that later

[PrinceoftheNight]

Luna kept working until Darky and Lullaby walked into the kitchen.

"Had any of you seen zed?" Darky asked both.

Luna shook her head to his question, still working.

[Noedig]

He heard and saw the threat and something about Zed being responsible for taking everything from "them." Whatever could he mean?

Then the Pegasus take out some metal disc. Technology... it must be it. Gale heard him say to the other Pegasi to deal with him while it charges up... but what for? It doesn't sound like it'll do any good... Gale had to act quickly.

The three Pegasi went after him, with weapons ready. To surprise the enemy, he dashes forward in a blur. He starts spinning with his right leg drawn out, also creating an electrical charge on his leg, making himself a spinning projectile of electricity.

He hit the three in one go with very minor injury from their weapons he hit while he spun, electrocuting them to unconsciousness. He quickly got out of his spinning attack and dashed forward in a flash, charging up another electrical discharge with his left foreleg to punch him when he's within range, the black Pegasus was still unprepared for the unbelievable timing Gale performed.

Gale just grabbed his foreleg that was holding the metal disc with his right foreleg, though it did not slip out of his hands. Gale was just about to hit him, now that he was in range.... but that disc was still whirring.

"DROP THE DEV--" He yelled, unable finish, something just happened. He was caught in something with them...

[AlextheAngel]

The three charging Pegasi did not even have time to think of a counter attack. Each of them were knocked out cold by Gales perfectly timed attack, falling limply to the ground. The black Pegasus's grin quickly faded from his face as he saw the Duke flying toward him at lightning fast speed, before grabbing onto his foreleg. "Grrr.... You..." He was about to punch Gale off, but the device suddenly activated... and the world around them disappeared.

 

The first thing Alex noticed when they reappeared was the intense cold air surrounding them all, which was bad, considering he was in short sleeves. The only thing keeping him warm was the Pegasus that had snatched him, holding him tightly. The Pegasus growled and delivered a powerful punch to Gale's chest, forceful enough that it would send him back a bit. "You're already starting to get on my nerves, old man." The Pegasus said, before roughly tossing the boy toward Gale, causing him to land in the snow. Alex curled up a bit, shivering violently against the cold.

"No matter..." The Pegasus said, his ears twitching to the sound of stomping hooves. There must have been hundreds approaching. "It seems like I get two prisoners this time. One to keep, an one to kill." He glanced evilly toward Alex, the son of the man that had taken everything from them. "I'm sure you know which is which." He shrugged. "Or I could just leave you both out here to freeze to death. The Frozen Hearth is a dangerous place, after all..."

[BraveShield]

"Isn't he with thunder doing something for that bakery of hers?" Brave said having talked a bit to the two of them a few days ago "that should be back later tonight or tomorrow if I'm correct" he added as he shifted his weight as he continued to watch for trouble around them

[Noedig]

Suddenly, they're all in a cold, snowy field. Gale Storm now understood what the device did. Distracted by the thought, he was knocked back with significant force. He grunted. And the fact that the Pegasus called him an "old man" just makes him sound like an underestimating character. That's a very obvious flaw to Gale, since this pony has absolutely no idea what he can really do... and how young he actually still is.

For now, he decided to hold back his power, willingly, in order to give this pony some more full-on reading...

The harsh cold winter was a familiar feeling... being a Lunar agent has little tolerance for vulnerability in any possible way... Especially cold climates.

The boy was tossed at Gale's hooves. He saw the boy was terribly cold... He looked back at the Pegasus... reconfiguring his impression on this poor sod.

As for this Frozen Hearth he calls it? Survival is very basic to Gale. He could still manage to get home in a matter of days, even with an inexperienced buddy.

"Whatever Zed may have done... You should tell me, so that I'll know you speak the truth..." He said to him coherently. He grabbed the boy and kept him close to warm him up. Now, he's hearing the stomping hooves coming as well. "Otherwise, I'll just end you right here, leaving your corpse to your stranger-friends coming... and don't you dare look at him the way you just did ever again."

Gale raised his head up upward a bit and at his direction, still glaring at him, but colder than his usual intimidating expression. His right, visible eye may have shone a bit more ominously than normally...

"I will kill you, unlike the fools I knocked cold just recently." He said with a scary tone. "So, do you wanna test me... or give me a chance to hear why you're doing what you're doing? You just came out of nowhere and I don't know who the hell you are. But you came to Canterlot, kidnapped him, blamed Zed, and tried prison on us, with either one of us dead. So, it's best for you to explain, so that you don't make me kill you for this very reason."

He bared his teeth at him. Still coldly glaring with an ominous shine in his only visible right eye. This is what Gale does for family... And he'd hate to kill, but it would be necessary if need be. "What's it going to be?"

[PrinceoftheNight]

"So they are working. I will keep that in mind." Darky said calmly, then went with Luna and hugged her from behind, putting his hooves where hers were and making her blush.

"You have to move a bit slower~" he said smiling as Luna worked on the batter.

Lullaby shook her head at that. "I think I will go and see what Alex is up to. Wanna come Brave? So you can see him." She then said to Brave.

[AlextheAngel]

Alex huddled closely to Gale, shivering violently against the icy winds that howled loudly through the trees around them. He glanced at the dark Pegasus every once in a while, unable to understand what was going on. He just knew that this Pegasus did not have any good intentions... and hearing him mention something about killing him made the boy's eyes widen, and he backed up a little. "K-kill me...?" He stuttered.

The Pegasus glanced over to him, but did not give him the same glare as before. "Precisely, little one." He said, before turning to Gale. He was not in the least intimidated by him... but whether that was because he had a dark secret  of untapped experience, or because he was just plain ignorant, no one could be sure. "You want to know? All right, fine." He cleared his throat. "Twelve years ago... or from my knowledge, two years after that worthless creature you call a hero arrived in Equestria, he was sent on a mission. An important mission, mind you. I at the time was a proud leader of the most notorious thieves' organization in all of Equestria. Oh, yes... We have done many great things, and have earned quite a sinister reputation for ourselves. I've lost count of how many valuable curiosities I have had stolen... and the same goes for how many throats were cut in the process. Being a thief can be messy as well as dangerous, but the loot we earned in the end was worth it all." He studied his hoof for a moment, before polishing it on his leather breastplate... almost as if he were bored with the entire conversation. "Then came the unknown spy we had hiding among us, who told the angel of our whereabouts. We never even saw him coming..." He gave a melancholic sigh. "He sneaked in and destroyed our base from the inside out... and crippled our defenses so badly that we had to abandon the base entirely. My... brother was killed in the process of trying to stop him." He glared once more at the child. "I loved my brother dearly... and it pained me more than anything to see him die at the hands of your so-called hero... And now, I have the perfect chance to exact my revenge. He took someone dear from me, now I'm going to take someone dear to him."

By now, the stomping of hooves came to a stop... and hundreds of armor-clad ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns surrounded them, waiting for their leader to give the order...

[Noedig]

Gale listened to him, and was already aware of the hundred soldiers... he kept Alex close to him, he's trying his best to protect him from the cold. Dark clouds have enveloped the skies, which made things seem bad for Gale Storm and Alex in their eyes.

"You call yourself a thief, I say you're a murderer, because thieves don't murder to steal." He said to him. His story just gave him even more reason to having to kill the leader... thunder rumbled and lightning struck within the dark clouds impossibly in a snowstorm.  "Tell me something... how often do lightnings strike in a snowstorm?"

Gale summoned the dark storm clouds, now striking hundreds of times around Gale Storm and Alex, targeting hundreds of armor-clad Unicorns and Pegasi and trees burning, almost half of them were struck or nearly struck by it. Never before had lightning struck so many times in a snowstorm.

"It's extremely rare, isn't it?" Gale said to him, as lightning crackled terribly and thunder rumbled boldly.

He took this opportunity to dash away in the southern direction from the army as they were distracted by the thunder-snowstorm he's created. He carried Alex in his forelegs, holding him tightly. He flew off quickly. He was expecting to be followed, but that would mean trouble for anypony trailing him.

[BraveShield]

Brave turned to luna "Is that ok your majesty?" He asked

It would allowhim to find out who this Alex was as well as let him relax a bit while still being on duty

[AlextheAngel]

"Well..." The dark Pegasus chuckled. "We are a very... heh... cutthroat organization." He began laughing almost maniacally... until the storm began suddenly brewing over their heads. He glared at Gale, his hoof on the hilt of his sword and ready to draw. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he figured out exactly what was going on. He gritted his teeth and ripped his sword from its sheath. "Stop them! Now!" He cried. But it was too late. He shielded his eyes as the lightning bolts struck, knocking down and perhaps even killing a couple hundred of the soldiers. By the time he looked back, he caught sight of Gale already flying off into the clouds, holding the small boy tightly. A few of the remaining soldiers were going to take off after him, but their leader held up a hoof. "Let them go." He said, before glancing at his watch. "We know where they live, and how to get there. Even if they make it out of the Frozen Hearth, then we'll know exactly where they will go. It's almost dark, anyways. Let's get back to headquarters before night settles in. We all know how cold it gets then..."

Alex had his eyes squeezed tightly shut the entire time, and did not open them until they were safely out of reach. He was relieved to find that it was Gale who grabbed him this time, and not the black Pegasus who had snatched him up before. The boy shivered violently against him, both out of fear, and from the cold. "G-Gale? Who were they?" He asked, his voice sounding rather small and a bit hoarse. "T-they want to kill me... He said so..."

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Sure." Luna said with a small smile to him as Darky cuddled her and made her giggle softly every now and then. They wete mire focused on each other than in thr batter...

Lullaby smiled and turned to Brave. "They went to fly around, so we should look for them." Lullaby said

[Noedig]

"They're bad. Like some others in this world." He said to him, he still kept flying diagonally upwards to get a good look at where the sun is directed. "And I'll be sure to not let you get killed, Alex."

After coming above the clouds, he spotted the sun almost setting and aimed himself to go the that direction of the sunset. Gale Storm now had a quick chance to get his trench coat off to wrap it around Alex to keep him warm. First, he stopped mid-flight, next he bent his hind-legs forward to make a temporary seating for Alex, then placed him there to get his coat off. He covered Alex with his coat, and finally placed him on his back. "I will get us out of here." He said. "Keep my coat on you and you'll manage to get through this cold. Now, hang on."

He began flying to the direction he wanted to head towards, hoping to hit home, since it was daytime from where they were previously.

And as far as Gale understood from this situation, they know where they live. They'll likely try again...

Gale Storm was curently concerned for Alex's health, so he had to ask him some things while he was flying fast. "Just tell me when you're not feeling too well, and I'll take care of you along the way. Also, with any luck, we just might do some flying lessons for you."

He tried lightening him up, because sounding completely serious and realistically non-optimistic to a child is never the best thing to do. He really meant it about the flying lessons, because it could take a while to get back home.

[AlextheAngel]

Alex gave a small nod, holding Gale's coat tightly around himself. "M-my throat hurts, but that's about it..." He said, giving a small sniffle. He was still shivering, but not as violently as before. His eyes did indeed light up a bit when Gale mentioned giving him flying lessons, but he was not as ecstatic as he normally would have been. "Okay." He said, clearing his throat. Zed himself was extremely sensitive to cold weather, and it seemed like Alex picked up on that trait.

 

---

 

A knock on the door interrupted Solar from his thoughts, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Come in." He said. The door opened, and in trotted a Celestial guard, reaching into his saddlebag.

"Prince Solar, I have a message from your brother. He said to bring it directly to you." He handed the Alicorn a rolled up message stamped with Zed's official seal.

Solar nodded and dismissed the guard, before opening the letter and reading it.

 

"Dearest Brother,

 

I'm terribly sorry to drop this on you so suddenly, but business is going to be horribly busy, what with Thunder's amazing talent for cooking. We've decided to test a twenty-four hour shift, and Thunder and I are going to be on our feet and working. I'll need you, Darky, Lullaby, and Uncle Gale to keep Alex for a few more days. I know this is sudden, but I'm really counting on you guys. You would be doing me a huge favor.

 

With deep love and regard,

Zed."

 

Solar sighed and facehoofed, setting the letter down on his desk. Looks like he'll be getting to know his adorable little nephew a lot better, now. He stood up from his desk and left his study, searching for Darky and Lullaby.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky was stil in the kitchen with Luna while Lullaby and Brave where going to find Alex

[BraveShield]

Brave gave a curt nod to luna and followed her daughter out and towards where Alex and gale should be

[Noedig]

Gale Storm does know that Zed is extremely sensitive to cold. Alex was very cold much sooner than Gale expected. So, he must be vulnerable to the cold like his father is. "I'll find some water for you." He said. He dove down through the clouds to find a river, if possible. He kept going toward the direction of the sunset while looking for a river. After a while He found a stream and went down there to try. After landing, he approached the stream and tested the water. The water tasted clean... "Slowly drink the water, Alex." He said to him as he lowered his body to let him off easier. "If you drink it too fast, you'll waste most of its resource within your body. Meanwhile, I'll be looking to craft some water containers."

After letting him off, he quickly got up and moved around to examine the forest they're still currently in. It seemed to be a big forest, he'll likely find some common good herbs during his material hunt.

"Stay here, I won't be far and long." He said to him. He quickly began grabbing any big leaves, bendable twigs, sticky sap, and some spare medicinal herbs. In ten minutes, he found enough materials to make one, plentiful water container, and enough medicinal herb to put in the water to relieve Alex's throat.

He returned and found Alex in the same spot. "I found the things you'll need. Now I'm going to craft something for you." He said. So, Gale sat down right next to him in case Alex needs to huddle on him for warmth and began crafting his container.

He started with weaving the twigs together to make a circular ring large enough for a mouth to use, then he smeared some sap on the leaves to make two large, square sheets made of leaves. Next, he used what's left of the sticky sap on the ring of twigs to wrap and stick the one leaf sheet over the ring and folded in the twig ring with the sheet's edges, then the second leaf sheet over the first leaf sheet and folded into the twig ring with its edges. He made two layers to make sure the water does not seep through the container. He let the sap settle, meanwhile, he used the spare twigs to make a ring cap. After finishing that, the container should have finished settling. He picked up the container, and by his surprise, it is hardened. The sap must've settled at the right time and temperature to harden... fortunately, it makes it easier to handle now, since it looks pretty handy to hold.

In any case, he placed the container in the stream of water to fill it up. After it had filled, he placed the container in front of him, then picked up the herbs he found, and used a bit of his energy power to turn it to dust. He sprinkled the dust in the water, capped the bottle, and started shaking it for a minute. It didn't break... must be good to use on the way home.

Finally, he pulled the cap out and gave the water container to Alex. "This should help your throat. Like I said earlier, drink slowly."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex knelt by the small stream, cupping his hands in the water and bringing it to his lips, wincing as the icy water washed down his throat. He quickly dried his hands off and pressed them together against his chest. They were already starting to feel numb... He stayed where he was while Gale trotted off, gathering up the things needed. As soon as he sat back down next to him, the boy did indeed huddle up close to him for warmth while watching as he worked. He found it fascinating how Gale could construct a useful device out of simple things he found lying around. As soon as he finished, he blinked as he used his energy to crush the medicinal herbs into a powder, before pouring it into the container and shaking it up. The boy gratefully accepted it, drinking it slowly like he instructed. It was still icy cold, but he knew that it would be better for him than just waiting for it to pass over. "T-thank you." He said, still shivering heavily as the wind began to pick up, sending snowflakes in his face. "Where are we....? When can we get home?"

 

---

 

It took a few minutes, but Solar finally found Lullaby and Brave out where Gale and Alex were. They were gone now... perhaps Gale took him out for another flight? "Hey!" He called them over. "I just got a letter from Zed. It turns out he and Thunder are going to be pretty busy, and they need us to watch Alex for the next few days. I don't know how we're going to hide him from Mother for that long." He looked around for a bit. "Where is the little guy, anyway? Have you seen him?"

[PrinceoftheNight]

(It Lullaby the one with Brave. Luna is in the kitchen with Darky)

 

Lullaby turned to Solar when she heard him and smiled, waving her hoof to him. "They went out to fly, but I don't know exactly where." Lullaby replied to Solar as he said all that. "So, we get to take care of him for a while more. ALright! Bu first, lets go and look for them." She said

[BraveShield]

"Wait wait wait.....what's going on here?" Brave almost demanded

He was used to being more relaxed with these two but they were still technically his superiors meaning he couldn't just order them around unless told to

[Noedig]

"Apparently, he says we're in the Frozen North." Gale said to Alex, and he believes that the Pegasus is right. He's only been to the Frozen North once during a Lunar agency's mission, and this place looks like the Frozen North. "So, we must actually go south to find a warmer climate... which is where the sun is setting here and in the middle of the day where we used to be at the moment. As for a matter of when, it will take days to get home, but it will not be cold most of the way through."

Gale Storm knows he can't tolerate the cold, and it's not just because he's a child, it's especially because he's vulnerable to the cold as an angel.

"The medicinal drink I gave you will try to keep you alive. Though you will still feel cold, you'll actually live if you say awake... I know this is very uncomfortable for you right now, but you must persevere... which means to not give up the effort."

He got up and put Alex on his back, he's spent some time here to help Alex, and the sun seems to begin setting.

"We're going south. If you can stay awake long enough, you'll be able get to sleep in a warmer climate, which will be safer for you."

He lifted off, and began to chase the sun setting, hoping that he'll get Alex home safely in one piece.