Old Wrath

"Damn princesses..." I mutter to myself while I walk next to Fluttershy through the, thanks to princess Luna, which in her stubbornness insisted on rising the moon, dark streets of Ponyville. Well, I could cast a night vision spell but ... yeah ... to be honest ... it ... it sucks. It might be useful when walking through a dark cavern, but is pretty much useless when flying through the night sky.

Flying...

I turn my head to take a look on my back where two small black crystal are visible. It will still take some time until they are grown to wings again though at a pinch I still have a levitation spell.

As we keep walking our way from Twilight's library, where I teleported the three of us before, because it is the only place I know in ponyville, to Fluttershy's place, we pass a couple of earth ponies. Fluttershy follows them with her gaze before turning forward again, a pensive frown on her face.

I turn my head to her. "What is it, Fluttershy?" I ask, causing her to flinch a little.

She really is easily scared.

"Oh ... I was just surprised that they seemed like they didn't notice you." Her eyes widened and she flinches again. "Not that I have anything against your appearance ... but ..." She becomes quieter and quieter with every word until I can't hear her anymore.

"Ah ... you mean because I don't look like a pony." I say in warm tone trying to calm her down.

"Yes." She says excited before she flinches again and hides her face under her mane. "I mean ... I didn't ... sorry..."

I shake my head slightly amused about this ridiculous fearful pony before I lay my hand on her back causing her to stop walking with a high "Eeeek!"-sound.

Before she falls into some kind of fear induced coma I just start talking. "Fluttershy, calm down. Everything is okay. I know that you meant no harm."

Slowly her body relaxes and she gives me a sheepish grin. "O... okay." She says before start walking again.

"To come back to the subject: I am currently using a disguise spell so I don't attract too much attention - force of habit." I explain to her with a shrug.

"But you shouldn't be hiding yourself anymore if you are going to stay with us in Ponyville, Storming." Fluttershy says.

"Yeah ... you probably right ..." I answer. "... but do you really think it is a good idea if I would disable my spell now? Ponies are already scared of me during the daylight. How do you think they'll react when they meet me in the middle of the night?"

"Oh ... well then maybe tomorrow?" She asks carefully.

I nod with a grin on my face. "Yeah ... tomorrow might be better."

Following Fluttershy we cross a small bridge to a cottage with a roof made of grass and some aviaries attached to it.

"Is this your home?" I ask her.

She nods. "Yes."

"Huh..."

"Anything amiss?" She asks concerned.

"No ... no ... I kinda like it ... it looks so peaceful." I answer a bit astonished.

After opening the door we are greeted by a little white bunny staying in the floor with his arms folded, giving us a serious frown while he taps with his right hind paw on the floor.

Fluttershy immediately walks over to him. "Oh, my little Angel Bunny. I am so sorry that I couldn't make you dinner, but I had to help princess Celestia."

The bunny seems to be yelling something at Fluttershy.

Damn, my book with the animal language spell is in the library.

"Angel, this is Storming Bookshelf." She gestures at me. "He is going to sleep here tonight."

The bunny examines me carefully keeping his serious frown.

"Storming, this is Angel Bunny." She says.

"Hey Angel." I shortly wave with my hand.

He just raises one of fore paws in response and then turns back to Fluttershy to say something to her.

"Oh, of course. I can't let my little Angel go to bed with an empty stomach." Fluttershy answers him.

After she feeds Angel, gives me a pillow and a blanket and hides her Discord lamp, we all go to bed. Lying on the couch I try to find some sleep, but even after turning from one side to another again and again, I am still awake. I don't how much time has passed, but at some point I feel something crawling along my belly.

"Miau!"

Carefully I reach out with my hand for Bunky and pet him on the head.

"Hey, where are you coming from now?"

"Miau!" He says as lies down on my chest and begins to purr while I keep caressing him until he falls asleep.

"Well at least someone here with a good sleep." I murmur to myself.

I close my eyes and make another futile attempt to sleep, but my head just won't shut up and with Bunky on my chest I am even unable to move very much.

"Screw it." I say eventually to myself. "Phase shift."

Slowly I fall down through the couch so that I lay down Bunky carefully on it. After I am finally free I float to the side out of the couch and shortly after that out Fluttershy's cottage over to the bridge where I shift back. I land on it and take a deep breath of the cold night air.

What now? ... A stroll ... or maybe a drink? A drink would be great now.

In my thoughts I follow the path back into Ponyville.

Even if I find the Zephyr and manage to reopen the portal, what will I do after that?

I stop walking look down to my right while which I form to a fist.

All the time I wanted to kill Discord. It was thing that kept me walking all of the time.

I pull my while down and turn my head up to the night sky.

What do you think, Trusty? Should I stay here after the two weeks or should I follow you?

I let out a heavy sigh.

Myrrah might have had a point in her farewell letter ... I would perish of my goal one day.

I feel something warm running down my cheek and touch it with one of my claws. A sad grin forms on my face.

I wonder where you are now, old friend.

"Hey stranger!" Suddenly a female voice shouts to me.

I wipe the tear from my face and turn around to see a cerulean pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail standing in the light of a lantern behind me.

"What is it colorful lady?" I ask her.

"You are Storming, huh?"

What the?!

"I have seen your cutiemark during the attack." She gestures with her fore hoof on my cutiemark, forcing me to chuckle.

"Okay ... using my cutiemark in my disguise form, after you all have seen it, is, when I think about it, pretty stupid." I say before I lift my disguise spell for the pegasus. "So what do you want?"

"Oh I just saw you and wondered what you might do here. I heard you would stay with Fluttershy."

I shrug. "Couldn't sleep."

"Can't get any rest after all that happened?"

"Yeah that too, but mostly because I was unconscious for a while after my attack and only woke up some hours ago. Screwed up my biological clock, I'm afraid." I explain to her. "But why do you actually care? Aren't you the wielder of the element of loyalty? I would have expected that you would hate me utterly after I tried to kill your friend."

"Wouldn't call him a friend ..." The pegasus says shortly. " ... though I am happy that you didn't kill him. But I think that might at least tell him a lesson."

"So your credo is the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" I ask confused.

"Hm ... yes I think you could describe it like that." She holds out a hoof. "I am Rainbow Dash."

I take it and we shake hands ... or hoofs ... or both ... whatever. "I am Storming Bookshelf."

As we stop hand/hoof-shaking I ask her: "And why are you still awake?"

"I got a little ... disagreement with Applejack. You know, from the Apple family, the ones who own the farm, where you attacked Discord?"

"Yes ... yes, I know them." I answer.

"Oh ... yes, sorry about that, but well, they do make this awesome cider, but Applejack won't give me anymore of it, because is it out of the season. Gladly I know where their secret cider stash is."

I raise an eyebrow. "So you intend to steal it?"

"You can hardly call it stealing if you only drink a glass, don't you think?"

A small grin forms across my face. "Sure."

"Actually I could use a helping hand with that. Applejack installed a big lock on that thing, after she noticed that I secretly drank some of their booze."

"Well I have nothing to do at the moment and could use really a drink right now."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widen excitedly. "So you help me?"

"Show me the way to the booze!" I order.

"Follow me!" She says before she flies off and guides me out of Ponyville until we reach a field of apple trees behind a small wooden fence.

She gestures with her hoof into the direction of the trees. "It's somewhere there."

After I climb over the fence, Rainbow Dash lands on the ground and we walk together to the trees. With the moonlight as our only source of light slowly we move deeper and deeper into the field of apple trees until eventually she excitedly points out with her hoof at something in front of us. "Over there!"

"Where?" I ask confused. "I can only see grass and trees."

She walks some meters in front of us and removes some grass on the ground with her hoof and reveals a double winged door with a big lock protecting it.

"Cool." I say as I move closer to the door.

Rainbow Dash takes up the locket with her hoof. "Can you open it?"

I move down to it to examine it. "I think I have a better idea." I stand up again and grab one of her hooves.

"What do you plan?"

Phaseshift

Dragging Rainbow Dash behind me, we move through the door and walk down the wooden stairs.

"Did we just walk through that door?" She asks confused after I shift back.

"Yes."

"Awesome!"

Following the stairs we reach a small basement filled with barrels on its left and a shelf full of bottles on its right.

I grab one of them and examine its content.

"Jackpot!" Rainbow Dash announces full of excitement watching over my shoulder.

A black aura forms around my horn and the cork of the bottle before I pull it out with my magic and hand the bottle over to Rainbow Dash. After that I take another one and repeat the procedure with it before we both chink glasses.

"Cheers!" We both say before we take a big belt of cider.

**************************

"But this ... this is really the last bottle!" Rainbow Dash slurs while she wobbles from one side to another sitting together with me on the ground of the basement surrounded by some empty bottles.

"Yeah ... this is definitely the last one." I manage to answer with hard concentration before I open another bottle and hand it over to her.

"What in tarnation!" Suddenly a female voice yells at us.

We turn our heads to the source of the voice and see Applejack staying on the stairs with Fluttershy behind her and Bunky next to her.

"Bunky, how could you betray me like this?"I turn to Rainbow Dash and grab her hoof. "*hic*Run!" I shout at her before I teleport us out off the basement. Unfortunately in my slightly drunken state I teleport us a bit too far and we end up in the air where I loose my grip on her and fall to the ground while she stays in the air.

"Ow!" I say on impact.

We both hear the sound of footsteps coming out of the stash's door next to me. I stand up and turn my head to Rainbow Dash. "I said RUN!"

She flies ahead while I run as fast as I can but soon after we reach the end of the trees I hear someone shouting at us. "Freeze!"

I turn my head and get a glimpse of Applejack standing in front of the trees with the end of a lasso in her mouth before I feel a sudden impact with something and fall over it ... or at least a part of mine does ... my face hits the ground while my legs keep hanging over the fence.

Ow...

After turning on my back I crawl away from the fence so I get my hooves off of it and keep lying on the ground. As my gaze wanders to the sky I see Rainbow Dash hovering over me with a rope bound to her hind hoof struggling against something dragging her to the ground.

"Keep fightin', buddy!" I shout to her.

She gives me an angry glare. "Stop lying around and help me!"

Suddenly I feel something nudging against my right arm. "Miau!"

I look over to Bunky and pet him on his head. "Hey, little traitor."

A moment later Fluttershy appears in my vision with a concerned face.

"Oh, hey Fluttershy." I slur to her while I hear Applejack yelling in the background.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?"

"I'm okay ... probably. Ask me when when I'm sober again."

Fluttershy offers me a hoof and helps me up where Rainbow Dash and an angry orange earth pony already await me.

"Oh, hi ... you're probably Applejack." I slur to her while I wobble forth and back.

"You ..." She whispers threateningly before she starts yelling at me. "After you caused so much mayhem and almost killed Discord, we promised princess Celestia to befriend you and you requite it like that, by breaking into my stash and stealing my cider? Is that how you make friends?"

I hold up my index finger. "First: If you don't want people to steal you cider, you shouldn't make it so awesome." I slur. "Or what do you think Rainbow Dash?"

She nods in agreement. "Oh yeah!"

"You..." Applejack grunts before I interrupt her, preventing her from venting her anger.

"Second one ..." I add my middle finger to the already raised index finger. "... I never asked to be befriended. It was a condition for my liberty!" After that I add my ring finger. "Third one: You said it yourself: You promised the princess to befriend me. This whole thing only happens on her demand and not because you wish to save me, ain't I right ... wielder of the element of honesty?" I give her a winning smile while she gives me an angry glare that looks like she would punch me in the face again and again until stop moving any moment. "And last but not least..." I add my pinky to rest of my fingers. "I think this night I was quiet successful at befriending Rainbow Dash, ain't I right, buddy?"

"Absolutely!" Rainbow Dash says before we perform a hoof ... fist ... hoof/fist-bump.

"But because I am a nice guy, I hereby want to apologize for destroying one of your apple trees, some of your fields and for drinking way too much of your cider. *hic* As I said It is just too awesome." With the last word I fall backwards and pass out.