Faerie Storm

     Fyora leaned against a window listening to the petulant murmur beneath her. She was grateful she could not hear exact words. Fyora blamed the faerie's discontent and strife on the weather. It was hot and sticky, a discomfort that even the Dark Faeries found no pleasure in.

     A thought glimmered in the Faerie Queen's mind. A smile played about her lips as she murmured to herself.

     "Yes, it has been a very long time. Such an event has always settled the strife. The earth could well use its good effects, and the faeries certainly use its fun. Yes, we shall do it!"

     It only took her moment to contemplate it before she intercepted a young serving faerie, Selina, in the hallway.

     "Selina, take a message to the head faerie of each element. Tell them I want them all in my throne room in half an hour! Do not dawdle!"

     The words had barely left her mouth before Fyora was winging her way to the throne room. Selina stood still for a moment in surprise. The Queen had not only spoken to her, but had even given her a big job to do! The shock of it kept her still for a moment until the importance of her job galvanized her into action. She flew off to find the head faeries, feeling very special indeed.

     At the appointed time all the head faeries were gathered in the throne room waiting for their Queen's arrival. As Fyora entered, each faerie made an attempt to hide the anger from their faces, but even an appearance of being perfectly serene could not hide the silent undertow of strife running between them. Fyora sat on her throne silently regarding them for a moment before she began to speak.

     "I have a task for all of you to do. You have two hours to gather together the faeries of your element and fly, unseen, above the clouds. I will be waiting for you there. You are dismissed to your task."

     Fyora was relieved to immediately feel the tension lessen with her words. The faeries knew what she had planned. A storm! Not just a typical storm, but a storm performed by the faeries with each element working together. It was an opportunity for the elements to put aside their differences and be just faeries doing what they do best. It was a shared secret between them, for no humans or pets knew that it was the faeries putting on the display.

     High above Faerieland, hidden above the clouds, faeries began to gather. Despite the excitement of the anticipated storm, they were still obviously segregating themselves into their elements. When all were assembled, Fyora called them to readiness to begin the storm. Putting her hands close together, a small purple orb formed between and slowly grew bigger. When it was big enough to fill her hands, she threw it up in the air. At the height of its travel upward it exploded into a shimmering yellow shower. Every faerie gathered was touched by a bit of it. This magic allowed them to appear to humans and pets as either invisible or as their element instead of as a faerie.

     Fyora raised her hands in the air, and when all the faeries were watching her, she dropped them. The storm was begun.

     The ones to start the storm were the Earth Faeries. They flew unseen to earth and began their job of protection. Their whisperings gave all creatures the sense of an impending storm so they could find cover. They flew from flower to flower, gently closing their petals. Everything was warned, everything was hidden. These storms were meant for good, to bring faeries together, for cleansing Neopia. Nothing must be harmed.

     As the Earth Faeries finished their work, the Air Faeries began theirs. They leapt from clouds and came swooping to the earth in gusts of wind. They raced through trees and across the water. They ruffled the fur and feathers of some pets just getting indoors. Their wild, swooping dance would continue throughout the storm.

     Water Faeries gathered themselves up into great storm clouds. The Dark Faeries surrounded the clouds of Water Faeries, darkening them. Suddenly, Water Faeries began leaping from the clouds, past the Dark Faeries, and down to Neopia. They fell thick and fast, streaking through the trees and soaking the earth. Many flowed to streams and rivers and then flew unseen back to the clouds to take another leap.

     Light and Fire Faeries shared their duty. A Light Faerie clasped hands with a Fire Faerie and then hundreds of these pairs streaked from the sky in a blazing bolt of lighting. As they leapt, each and every Dark Faerie clapped their leathery wings together, forcing even Fyora to cover her ears to shield from the resounding peal of thunder. Once the faerie lightning bolt hit, the Light Faeries would stop their light and return to the sky for another Fire Faerie partner. The Fire Faeries stayed behind to dance along what the bolt struck until it was entirely burned. In keeping with the good the storm was to bring, they only struck what needed clearing, such as a dead and rotting tree.

     The storm went on for an hour until Fyora finally called it to a close. Lightning ceased and rain slowly lessened. Dark Faeries unveiled the clouds and skies once more. Earth Faeries lifted the warning feeling from humans and pets and reopened flowers to take in the last rays of the setting sun. Laughter could soon be heard, as every puddle of any good size was filled with pets splashing and playing.

     Night came, and still one part had yet to be played in the storm. This part was even more rare than a faerie storm itself, and no one knew whether it would follow the storm or not.

     Pets began to notice in the night sky an unusually bright star. Gradually it grew larger and brighter, until in a gorgeous streak of shimmering silver it blazed its way through the sky. With that, the Space Faerie had taken her rare part in the storm performance. The faeries were still gathered above the clouds along with Fyora. All of them were astonished when the Queen swooped through the air in a purple shooting star of her own. Not long afterwards, the sky was full of multicolored shooting stars. Blazing red, crystal blue, shining yellow, earthy green, luminous aqua, and deep purple. Never before had such a light show been displayed in Neopia!

     Finally, the storm was completely finished. Weary pets made their way home, and utterly exhausted faeries flew back to their clouds. The storm had accomplished its purpose. The faeries were at peace with one another. Their great dance of the storm, and the secret it was, never failed to remind them of their sisterhood.

The End