Harmony: Heroes of Gimlé - Arc I: Rainstorm

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Ponyville, April 23rd, year 2, Reformation era, 1:45 PM -

The rain fell hard on Twilight as she sat curled up, her face mostly buried in her knees save for her eyes as she overlooked a large, jagged hole in the ground near the middle of town. The hole was something of a mini-ecosystem unto itself, with some cattails, various small insects, a few frogs, and even some moss growing here and there. "I thought we'd find you here," said Spike as he and Jasper walked up to her. She merely continued to sit there, staring at the watering hole as the rain continued to soak her.

"Where even is here?" Jasper asked Spike in a hushed tone.

"This is where the Golden Oak library used to be," Spike answered, "This hole and that tree root chandelier back at the castle are all that's left of it. It was...our home back when we first moved to Ponyville... Twilight likes to come here whenever she's feeling sad," he explained before sitting down next to Twilight.

"...I need your advice on something, guys..." Twilight asked Jasper and Spike, "...Do... Do you think he's telling the truth about what happened with Discord and Tirek?..." she asked, all the while still staring at the watering hole. Spike shrugged his shoulders, but Jasper folded his arms, thinking for a moment, then responded.

"Well, from what I've seen he's not perfect," Jasper said to Twilight, "In fact, the first thing that pops into my head whenever I think of him is 'hot-mess', but even so, I doubt he's the type that would lie about something like that. That doesn't necessarily mean it happened, mind you - or at the very least, it may not have happened in quite the way he recalls, but I don't think he would just make up something like this." By now, Fluttershy, Mángdán, Gabby, and Gilda had arrived to check on Twilight, who lifted her head to the sky, then spoke aloud.

"Discord!" she shouted into the air, "I know you can hear me Discord! I need to talk to you, please!?"

"Alright, alright. You don't have to yell," said a very low, squeaky voice from somewhere near Fluttershy. From behind her hair, walked out the god of chaos - only standing an inch tall at the moment - onto her shoulder. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared from Fluttershy's shoulder and instantly reappeared at normal size, just a few feet behind Twilight.

"Discord..." Twilight said as she turned around just enough to look him in the eyes, "Is any of what Rain said true?" she asked him. He stood there, quietly for a while before responding.

"...Tirek said that nopony would get hurt. He just wanted Equestria's magic for himself and then he'd return to his kingdom, leaving me in charge of Equestria. At the time, I thought I could prove to be a far superior leader than Celestia or Luna either one," Discord said, much to Twilight's frustration.

"Discord, please!?" she begged him angrily, and with a sigh and a somber expression, he relented.

"I'd been keeping an eye on him the whole time, making sure he didn't do any permanent harm to anypony - after all, that had been the only stipulation in our agreement, but when Rainstorm spat in his face -" Twilight, realizing where Discord was going with his story, let out a sorrowful groan and buried her face in her hands as he continued, "- he must have wanted to make an example of him so... Well, in my defense I was just as shocked and appalled as Shining when Tirek crushed him," Discord finished.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," hissed an angry-looking Jasper.

"It's true! If I'd known Tirek would have done such a thing, I would have dealt with him long before then!" Discord said defensively. Twilight stood up, tears streaming down her face as they mingled with the rain, looking as if she wanted to punch Discord square in the jaw.

"What on Gimlé possessed you to think for even a second that Tirek could be trusted or that you'd be able to rule Equestria better than Celestia and Luna? Why try to take over the country again?" Twilight asked, her voice shaking as she did so.

"The same reason I took over Equestria a thousand years ago," Discord replied, "To get revenge...and create a world without death," he said with a sad look in his eyes. This took Twilight and everyone else there completely by surprise.

"Revenge...and a world without death?..." Twilight asked. Discord nodded and explained.

"Celestia, Luna, and I are gifted with a spark of divinity. Though it's just a spark, it makes it all but impossible for us to get sick, makes us immune from possession, thirst, hunger, even aging, but there are downsides to it. We can't have children, we have to always be wary of losing control of our magic - even more than most ponies, we still need to sleep, and worst of all, because we are among the few with this...gift... We're fated to lose virtually everypony we will ever love or care for..." Discord said, the sadness audible in his voice. "I'd lost the closest thing to a mother I'd ever known, Celestia and Luna lost their friends in the Crystal Empire to Sombra's hex, and then..." then, Discord's voice trailed off, and though Twilight couldn't be sure between the rain and her own tears, she thought his own eyes were starting to tear up, "Then we lost Starswirl..." he said, sounding more lost and hurt than either Twilight, Spike or Fluttershy had ever heard him.

"Starswirl the Bearded?" Twilight asked, thinking of her childhood idol from history class. Discord nodded and continued.

"He left one day with the other Pillars of Equestria - the ponies who protected the land before any of you. He left with them, and...none of them ever came back... We tried sensing their auras, but we couldn't detect them. I tried snapping them to us, and when that didn't work... We knew..." Discord said as he shut his eyes tight from the pain of the memory. "As powerful as I am, even I can't just bring the dead back to life whenever I want... But, I thought maybe, just maybe, if I used all of my power, I could stop anypony else from ever dying again. But Celestia and Luna wouldn't hear of it... No matter who we lost, or how much pain everypony went through, they refused to even entertain the idea..." he said.

"So, you took Equestria by force, to teach them a lesson. But, then why take out your anger on the rest of the country? Why twist the world the way you did?" Jasper asked.

"That's Discord's toll," Fluttershy said, "Whenever anypony uses magic they have to pay some kind of toll. Usually, it's something like stamina, life-force, or some other energy source, but in Discord's case, the more he uses his powers, the more his sanity is taxed and it becomes harder and harder for him to think rationally. After enough downtime, his mind regains its stability, but if he uses too much magic or warps too much of reality too quickly, he can go insane like he did when he took over Equestria a thousand years ago. It's even possible that if he pushes it for too long, his mind could be completely destroyed outright," Fluttershy explained.

"That's why Celestia doesn't want him getting into any fights if at all possible," Gilda surmised, to which Fluttershy turned to her and nodded in confirmation.

"I already know what a magic toll is!" Twilight snapped before Discord continued.

"At the time I thought everypony was having fun along with me. I was already too out of it to realize I was hurting anypony," Discord explained, "When I broke free of my stony imprisonment, it still hadn't crossed my mind that during my mental state back then, that I'd been doing more harm than good, and admittedly, I didn't really care at the time. I was so sure that Luna and Celestia had imprisoned me out of jealousy that I was completely consumed by a desire for vengeance. A desire that after Celestia willingly released me when she asked Fluttershy to try to reform me, I only tried to quell when she agreed to be my friend, but I failed," he said solemnly. "I couldn't let go of my pride or my dream of a world without death, so I convinced myself that Celestia had only set me free to use my power when she deemed it necessary. I still hadn't realized at that point that overuse of my magic had the effect on me that it does, and a part of me hated her, along with all of you - except for Fluttershy, of course - because I felt you were hypocrites, who would rather let your own people die than admit that I should be the one in charge. It wasn't until I saw Tirek do what he did to Rainstorm, and then saw Twilight willingly sacrifice everything - potentially even her own life - to save me as well, that I endeavored to reassess myself and accept the fact that I may have been...wrong," Discord admitted, having had to force himself to say the last word.

"Even if you really believed that you'd be making Equestria better by taking over, how could you think that not only taking away everypony’s magic but giving it to somepony else, could ever be a good idea!?" Twilight asked, nearly in hysterics.

"I thought that even with all of Equestria's magic, Tirek would still be no match for me. I had no idea that he'd ever be able to steal mine as well," Discord said.

"He was infamous for being able to absorb almost any known magic and use it to make his own stronger! Didn't Celestia explain that to you!?" Twilight shouted.

"I thought my powers made me invincible, and that I'd be immune to his," Discord replied, "I never thought he could actually steal all of my magic."

"That's the whole problem with you," Twilight yelled, "You're so arrogant and shortsighted, that even with all of your powers, this still happens to you! You think nothing can ever touch you, and it always comes back to bite you in the ass! It happened when you fought Celestia and Luna, it happened when you fought us, it happened when you sided with Tirek, and it happened when you poofed yourself, Trixie, Starlight, and Thorax over to the Changeling hive! One of these days, you're going to overestimate yourself and it's going to get everypony killed!" she screeched at the top of her lungs before storming off towards the castle. Discord tried to call out to her but fell deftly silent when she turned around and shot him a cold, furious look, before continuing on her way with Spike and Jasper chasing after her. Discord stood there in the rain, a sad, defeated look on his face, as Fluttershy went over to talk to him.

"Discord?..." she asked him, not sure what to say to him. Without even looking at her, Discord slowly opened his mouth and spoke.

"I was trying to say that I was the one who patched Rainstorm up after Tirek threw him off that bridge. As soon as he was out of sight of Tirek, I used my magic to fix him up as best as I could and made sure he landed safely." Before Fluttershy could respond, Discord vanished with a flash of light into thin air.

Rain sat on the floor of his room with his back to his bed and having just wolfed down his breakfast, more out of frustration than actual hunger. He stared at the sky, watching the rainfall and generally doing his best not to think about anything at all, and feeling emotionally drained as he wished he were anywhere else in the whole world than in the same town as Twilight. Part of him realized that from the way she'd gone on, and from how she'd reacted to his facial scars, she truly hadn't known the extent of the damage he'd sustained as a result of the accident all those years ago, but another part of him just wouldn't allow him to admit it to himself. He was too angry and embarrassed at himself for his very public outburst to will himself to let go of it. Suddenly, he heard a tapping at the window, which brought him back to reality and he walked over towards it to see what the source of the noise was. "Let me in!" said a sopping wet Huginn, to which Rainstorm acquiesced and opened the window, allowing the familiar to take shelter from the weather outside.

"I saw you and Twilight get into it. What happened this time?" Huginn asked before shaking the water off his body.

"Discord happened," Rain answered.

"Damn it all..." Huginn swore as he shook his head.

"Hey..." said a voice from just outside the window Rain had opened, "You forgot this," said Rainbow Dash as she poked her head through the window and presented Rainstorm's hat to him. He slowly made his way back to the window and took his hat back, then stared at Rainbow for a minute as he shook the water from the waterproof garment, leaving it quite dry.

"*sigh* I suppose you'd like to come in from the weather, wouldn't you?" he somberly asked her.

"I mean, I could go somewhere else if it's too much trouble, but..." RD's voice trailed off hopefully. Rain sighed again and motioned for her to come inside. She happily flew in, hovering in the air before realizing she was dripping water everywhere, "Oops, sorry. I bet I could dry off using m- !"

"You are not using your 'Patented Rainblow Dry' in my room!" Rain said, cutting her off. "I'll go get you a towel," he said as he headed off for his bathroom, "Wait there, and don't break anything." He returned a few seconds later with a large, white bath towel, and handed it to Dash, who eagerly took it and began drying herself off with it as he sat back down on the floor with his back against his bed.

"How did you know what I was gonna say?" Rainbow asked, curious as to how Rain could know about a joke she'd only made once or twice around a couple of friends.

"You're just that predictable," Rain said, hand waving the question away and going back to staring at the sky through the window. Rainbow Dash didn't quite buy it but decided it wasn't worth getting sidetracked from the real reason she was there.

"So...you ok?" she asked awkwardly.

"What do you think, blue-fast?" he replied hotly, a hint of anger still visible in his eyes. Thinking quickly, RD opted to change the subject for the time being and ask him something else to try to get his mind off the fight.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? - Not related to Twilight, or any wars you've been in, I mean!" Rainbow quickly added upon seeing the look on Rain's face. Rain thought for a moment and thought it might be a nice opportunity to get his mind off his troubles. With a sigh, he replied.

"Fine, but no Twilight, no Fort Jagged, no Brick Orchard Conflicts, and no questions about where I come from, got it?" he asked irritably to which Rainbow Dash nodded her head excitedly before thinking of what to ask him first. After a few seconds, she decided what her first question should be.

"You mind if I ask you about your eyes?" Dash asked, "They look awesome!"

"Already pushing it..." Rain thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. He thought about just throwing her out then and there, but figured that she wasn't really trying to go against the terms they'd just agreed to, even giving him the option to decline so, why not just answer her. "*sigh* When I first came here - to Equestria I mean - I was in bad shape. I actually appeared in the skies above Canterlot during a freak rainstorm in the middle of the night, I would have ended up street-pizza if Celestia hadn't been on her way back from a diplomatic outing at the time, and caught me before I hit the ground. She was able to heal a lot of the damage done to me, but couldn't stop my vision from deteriorating, so she took me to Meadowbrook's Mercy hospital and had them perform a super-advanced medical procedure on me developed by a unicorn named Heycart from way back in the day. The way my eyes are now is the result of the procedure being a success," Rain explained.

"Twi- Err... I've heard that name before," RD said, trying not to mention Twilight's name out of concern it could upset Rainstorm all over again.

"I said I didn't want to talk about Twilight, not that I would feed you to Gummy if you dared to speak her name in my presence ever again," Rain reassured Rainbow, who chuckled at the statement, "Heycart was a genius, centuries ahead of his time, and developed what came to be known as The Three Heycart Achievements. The Heycart Method, for rapidly and permanently obtaining knowledge, the Heycart Enchantments, to allow any unicorn casting them on themselves to become a one-man assault team, and the Heycart Procedure, for giving an individual 'ultimate eyesight'."

"'Ultimate eyesight'?" asked RD, to which Rain nodded.

"Eyesight that could surpass even that of a pegasus. I can see just as ‘bout as well as any pegasus, I can see just as well in near-zero percent lighting conditions as I can in broad daylight, and when I focus hard enough, I can even see a little into the ultraviolet spectrum. Combined with my eidetic memory, it's been a Hell of a combo."

"Wow," said Rainbow Dash, "How much does it cost? I already have really good eyesight, but the other stuff sounds like it would really come in handy during missions with the Wonderbolts," she explained.

"Insanely high," Rain answered, "Besides, the risk is too great. There's only been a handful of people that have received the surgery, and out of them, only two or three actually got the enhanced vision out of it. Basically, what it does is use your existing eyes as a framework to build a completely new set of eyes from, and in the process, it also modifies the structure of your brain and even alters your DNA. In short, there's a whole lot that can - and normally does - go wrong with it, resulting in a ninety-seven percent failure rate, and with this, if you don't walk away with a brand-new set of working eyes, you don't walk away with any kind of eyesight. Throw in the fact that it makes getting an eye transplant impossible because of the alterations to your brain, as well as the fact it has the potential to leave you sterile thanks to it making changes to your genetics, and you can understand why almost no one ever takes a gamble on it. If it weren't for the fact that by essentially replacing your eyes completely as long as it's used on someone with a pair that still has some sight left in them, I doubt Celestia would have even risked it."

"Damn..." Rainbow said, "Then why not just get an eye transplant or something?"

"Because at the time, the portal to Terra was closed, and even though there are usually some eyes donated to Meadowbrooks that they keep on ice, I'm too different to try to even risk transplanting any organs or blood from anyone on this planet into," Rain explained. Rainbow sat there, deep in thought before asking another question.

"Where'd you get that artifact?" she asked him.

"You mean the Ashcaster? I was with an explorer for a while, and she gave it to me as a gift. We didn't last very long, but I hung onto it because of how damn useful it is," replied Rain as he looked over the bronze-colored contraption fastened to his arm.

"How about the dracana swords?"

"A friend of mine made them for me a long time ago," Rain answered. They continued to talk a little bit more, Rain talking about a few of his more minor bounties and other such jobs, Rainbow, about various missions she'd flown with the Wonderbolts. As they continued chatting, Twilight paced back and forth in her room, repeatedly going over the information in her head , as Spike and Jasper watched.

"Hun, you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up," Jasper advised her, but she hadn't seemed to notice as she continued to pace. Finally, she stopped to look up at the two of them, as if only having just realized their presence and spoke.

"Spike, take a letter," she said to the young dragon, "Jasper, would you mind giving us a moment, please?" she asked the soldier.

"Sure..." he replied with a hint of concern in his voice, "Mind if I ask who you're writing to?"

"Princess Celestia. I have a few questions about Rainstorm. As well as this mercenary guild he's involved with," she answered.

"Oh, are you still on about that?" Jasper asked dismissively, "I doubt the princess could tell you anything about these Knight- whatever's. Instead, you should focus on patching things up with Rainstorm." Twilight groaned in frustration at Jasper's advice before responding.

"I can't think about that until I know more about Rain and I don't think he's in the mood to talk to me - or anypony else right now," she explained. Jasper shook his head and left the room. After walking for a bit, he decided to head towards the kitchen to grab something to drink when he bumped into Boris, near the map room.

"Oh, sorry about that, sir," he apologized with a salute, which Boris returned before Jasper leaned in and whispered to him, "I think we might have some trouble."

"Ya mean more?" Boris asked in a hushed voice, "What is it this time?"

"Twilight's writing to Celestia right now. Asking her for more info on Rainstorm," Jasper quietly informed him.

"I fail ta see the problem here. She might actually be able ta straighten this mess out," Boris reasoned.

"She's asking about his involvement with the Knightreavers," Jasper explained.

"That...could be problematic..." Boris whispered, "No way Celestia would spill the beans herself, but if Twilight starts askin' too many questions, it could ruin the whole damn op!"

"How should we proceed, sir?" Jasper asked.

"For now, all we can do is play it by ear," Boris said, "Anythin' more at the moment, and we risk blowin' it ourselves, but whatever it takes, we can't let Twilight or anyone else find out the truth about this mission."

"I'm starting to think we may need some more help on this," Jasper remarked.

"That's why I've assigned Stone Cold ta help with security. Should be here in a few days," Boris informed Jasper.

"Agent Stone Cold from Shadow Echelon?" Jasper asked, "Things are so bad that you've called in Luna's High Executioner?"

"No, not yet," Boris responded, "And that's exactly why I've called him in - ta keep it that way."

"On the bright side, we've finished bugging the rest of the elements’ homes and workplaces, so we can keep an eye on them and make sure they don't go sticking their noses where they shouldn't," Jasper informed Boris.

"Good. I'll report back ta Celestia so she has time ta think of something ta tell Twilight ta keep her and the others off the trail and in line," Boris said. With that, the two went their separate ways, unaware Trixie had been pressed up against the door to the map room, listening intently to the whole conversation. Once she was sure no one was there, she slowly crept out from the map room, her mind buzzing with what she'd just heard.

"Bugging the places we go without telling us, not wanting Twilight to ask about these Knightreavers - whoever they are - that are involved with Rain somehow, and calling in some kind of executioner!? What in the Hell are they up to!?" Trixie thought to herself and rushed to go tell someone what she'd overheard, but stopped dead in her tracks as she mulled it over in her head. Who could she tell? If the task force Rain was in charge of was acting on his orders, then she'd just be signing her own death warrant by letting him know what she'd found out. She wasn't sure Twilight or the others would believe her after the things she'd done to them in the past, and with task force members almost always with them, as well as the bugs planted who knows where, how could she tell Starlight without them knowing? She was trapped. "Well then, I'll just have to figure out how to tackle this myself," she decided, "Somehow..."

Later that evening Twilight was lying on her bed alone in her room, staring up at the ceiling, when there was a brilliant, albeit momentary, flash of light. She sat bolt upright and saw none other than Princess Celestia herself, standing in the middle of the room, a troubled expression on her face. "Twilight, you needed to speak to me about Rainstorm?" she asked, an unmistakable hint of worry in the tone of her voice.

"Yes, Celestia..." Twilight said as she got off her bed and stood across from the Princess of the Sun, trying to decide where to start. "Celestia...I saw Rain's face..." she said after a minute. A deafening silence fell over the bedroom as Twilight's words echoed within Celestia's head.

"I see..." Celestia sighed as she sat down in a nearby desk chair, resting her elbows on her knees and clasping her fingers together with a serious look on her face.

"'I see'?" Twilight repeated her former mentor's words out loud as if she wasn't quite sure she'd heard her correctly, "Is that really all you have to say?"

"What would you like me to say?" Celestia asked sadly.

"Let's start with, why?" Twilight asked while trying to keep her cool.

"You were young at the time. You had so much to deal with as it was, and you already felt bad enough about letting Rain get injured in the first place, that I was afraid of what learning the true extent of the damage done to Rainstorm would do to you," she explained to Twilight.

"Tell me everything that happened that day, in full detail - and don't withhold any details from me this time!" Twilight demanded.

"You remember Academia Electi?" Celestia asked.

"How could I forget!" Twilight said ecstatically, "He was Headstallion at your School for Gifted Unicorns, and always spoke so highly of me. I still can't believe he had somepony like Jet Set as a nephew." Celestia grimaced at these words - something which Twilight couldn't help but to take notice of, "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Academia Electi wasn't as nice a pony as you might remember. Yes, he never once failed to sing your praises - which might explain why Jet Set and his gang of friends would bully your brother and his friend, Spearhead so much. But, he was well known for having a...less than accepting view of non-unicorns. He was, of course, very respectful to me...most of the time, but he was quite furious when we started trying to integrate earkin and pegasi into the school," Celestia explained, "And he absolutely despised Rainstorm."

"I never knew that..." Twilight said.

"I feared you might confront him about it, and cause yourself undue hardship," Celestia told Twilight, "And both Rainstorm and Shining can tell you that making Academia Electi your enemy is a dangerous proposition. I doubt there was a single day where Rain didn't return to the castle from school without new cuts and bruises. He would always say 'he, Shining, and Spearhead had just been playing', but I knew..."

"Then, why didn't you put a stop to it?" Twilight asked.

"I tried, but even as a princess of Equestria, I don't have absolute authority. I can't just order ponies to do as I desire, based solely on my whims. Other than the physical marks on Rain and the others - which they always claimed were from roughhousing - and my own suspicions, I had no real proof. Without either Rain or the other's consent, or enough eyewitness accounts to force law enforcement to act, we couldn't have any clairvoyants read them to see where the abuse was coming from, and thanks to the influence the education system has over unicorns - especially in Canterlot - my hands were tied. If I'd tried to strongarm the E.E.A. to act, it could have been seen as an abuse of power and would have only caused more trouble for Rain and his friends, as well as you," Celestia explained.

"Didn't anypony see what was happening? Didn't anypony speak up?" Twilight asked sadly.

"Your family feared for you and Shining, so when he begged them to leave it be, your mother and father reluctantly agreed, though your uncle tried to get them to change their minds. Aside from them, Doctor Heartstrings' niece spoke up for them...but...it was around that time..." Celestia's voice trailed off.

"...That Lyra's father committed suicide..." Twilight finished Celestia's sentence for her.

"Between the scandal his death caused, and the emotional stress it caused poor Lyra at such a young age, she wasn't able to corroborate the stories at the time, and no pony would listen to her afterward. In the end, things like this happening meant there was simply never enough traction to get anything done about it," Celestia said frustrated.

"Then why send him there in the first place!? Why put him through all that!?" Twilight asked, her frustration building. Celestia was quiet for a long time as she thought of how to answer Twilight, then she finally spoke.

"One reason was to provide him with the best education available, naturally," she said, "But there was more to it than that - far more. The reason I've never formally adopted anypony is that the first thought that would pop into everypony's head is that they would automatically be the heir to the throne, something that would raise quite a stir, even if it was another pony from Equestria. Not only is Rainstorm obviously not a pony, but he's not even from Equestria or even our planet. Hell, he's not even from our own dimension so, to make any kind of move that would put a complete unknown in such a high position of power and importance - even theoretically - would not only call my decision making and objectivity as a leader into serious question but would also be no different than ordering Rain's execution," she explained.

"Ok, but what does that have to do with anything?" Twilight asked.

"It was my hope that if I put Rainstorm in such a public position to prove his value to society as an Equestrian citizen, while also giving him an opportunity to make as many friends as possible - particularly, friends in high places - that, in time, ponies would come to accept him as one of their own...at which point, no pony would even bat an eyelash if I were to formally adopt him then. Just so long as I made it clear he wasn't the recipient of any preferential treatment or in line for any position of power, I'd hoped that in time, I would finally be able to grant him the one thing he wanted most from me, but that I hadn't been able to grant him yet - to be his mother..." Celestia said sadly. "However, all that was ruined the day of the exam. The day of my worst failure as his caretaker."

"You didn't fail him," Twilight said, trying to comfort her, "He's the one who wouldn't wait for me. He's the one that couldn't wait two measly hours, and tried to brew that potion all on his own!"

"You don't understand, Twilight!" Celestia sternly addressed the Princess of Friendship, "He wasn't trying to show you up... You remember Professor Flintsteel?"

"The Potions Master that used to give Rain such a hard time?" Twilight asked.

"He and Rainstorm had actually become rather close during Rain's time with him after class at remedial potions. In fact, once they'd come to an understanding, Rain's skills with potions began to improve rapidly, which Flintsteel took no small amount of pride in. In time, Flintsteel said that Rain had the potential to be the finest witch that the school had ever produced," Celestia informed her.

"Professor Flintsteel said that? About Rainstorm? I honestly had no idea," Twilight said, surprised, "I remember he was so hard on everypony - even me - but I always remember how he was the hardest on Rain. I had no idea he was even capable of giving praise."

"I have to admit, I was quite shocked by hearing him give Rain such praise myself," Celestia said with a warm smile, before her face took on an even more dyer expression than before, "Sadly, not everypony was pleased by the prospect of somepony like Rain excelling at the school."

"What happened?" Twilight asked. Celestia fell quiet for a long time, struggling to will herself to say the words she needed to, to Twilight.

"Twilight...that teacher that handed you the early copy of that book lied. The potions exam wasn't moved back by an hour, it was moved ahead by an hour..." Celestia said glumly. At first, the words simply seemed to linger in Twilight's mind, not yet sinking in, but slowly, the weight of the revelation began to hit her as her eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.

"So...while I was reading that book... Rainstorm was left to take the test all by himself..." Twilight said, her voice slightly trembling. Celestia sighed and nodded yes before continuing.

"To make matters worse, the school administrators decided at a meeting that Professor Flintsteel had been neglecting his other duties by 'pretending' to help Rain improve and that he should be let go for it. Both he and Rain protested - as did I - so, Academia Electi gave us a proposal. If Rainstorm could prove that Flintsteel wasn't lying and had, in fact, been helping Rain improve with his potions, that not only would the professor get to keep his job, with no further questions asked, but Rain would be granted full certification as a witchdoctor, and would formally graduate with top marks. That's when I suggested he be moved up to Advanced Potions," Celestia explained.

"That's why he ended up being my partner," Twilight said with a look of dawning comprehension on her face, "You'd already moved me up to Advanced Potions, but everypony taking the class needs a partner before they're allowed to participate."

"It seemed like such an obvious solution at the time," Celestia said as she rubbed her eyes, "The best student at my school - my personal apprentice, and shining star of the school, would be the absolute best partner possible for my little Rainy..."

"But I messed everything up, and all because I couldn't wait another week to read some stupid book!" Twilight said, closing her eyes tightly as she fought back tears.

"That wasn't the issue" Celestia assured her, "Though the two of you butted heads far more than I thought you would, the results were still as I'd hoped for. Between your talent and Rain's determination, I knew you two would rise to the top of the class in no-time flat - and you did. The error was on my part, as I was sure they wouldn't dare try to sabotage Rainstorm out of fear that they might impede you somehow in the process. I never considered they'd resort to something like that."

"They used my love of reading and my absolute trust in them to get me out of the way, so I wouldn't interfere or get in any trouble. They probably planned to use Professor Flintsteel as leverage to force Rain to attempt the potion on his own from the beginning!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Not quite," Celestia replied, "You may recall that the potion you had to brew for the test required constantly adjusting the heat of the potion while adding varying amounts of multiple different stabilizers to it. A challenge for a single unicorn able to move multiple objects with their mind at once, but for somepony without any form of telekinesis, almost impossible - at least, not with the equipment provided for the exam."

"I remember," said Twilight, "A draught of Fire Stopping. It temporarily pauses fire in its place - basically freezing it in time and allowing you to do all kinds of different things with it. However, it's extremely dangerous to produce," Twilight said, recalling how she and Rain had poured so much time into studying it for their exam.

"Correct. The truth is, I highly doubt that anypony expected him to try brewing it without you, but Rain has always been too stubborn for his own good. He was so scared that Flintsteel would lose his job, that out of desperation, he attempted to brew the potion anyway, and considering the alchemic reaction, he must have been close to succeeding. I doubt even Academia Electi, as foul a pony as he is, would have willingly risked his student's lives - or, at least, not the lives of his unicorn students anyway, but he underestimated Rain," Celestia explained to Twilight.

"That's right..." Twilight said as she remembered more and more details about how the compound worked, "The closer you get to successfully brewing it, the more unstable it becomes until its completion," Twilight said as Celestia nodded in confirmation.

"He must have been very close to successfully brewing it for such a terrible reaction to have occurred," Celestia said before carrying on. "Miraculously, no pony inhaled any of it when it vaporized, otherwise it would have proven fatal, though, a few other students nearby made brief contact with the cloud of chemicals before Flintsteel could neutralize it with his magic, resulting in a few minor injuries. Rain, however, got the full blast of it, and...well, you've seen the results for yourself," Celestia finished. Twilight quietly stared down at the ground for a brief moment before replying to Celestia.

"...And because it happened on Flintsteel's watch, Rain blamed himself and ran away..." Twilight said glumly.

"I'm afraid it wasn't quite as straightforward as that," Celestia responded to her, "Originally, the school had every intention of pressing charges against Rain, claiming that it was a deliberate attack against the other students. However, after hours of begging and pleading from Professor Flintsteel, the school finally agreed that he was primarily responsible for the incident, and instead of having Rain arrested for several counts of attempted murder, settled for expelling him from the school, as well as sacking the professor himself on the spot."

"But, I thought he retired!" interjected a shocked Twilight, "He was only a few days from retiring, wasn't he!?"

"Four days... Four more days, and he would have been able to collect his pension..." Celestia explained, "Word quickly spread about this and as a result, Flintsteel was essentially blacklisted from the education system, while many were led to believe that Rain had severe violent tendencies, turning him into a social pariah overnight. He likely fled Canterlot partially out of guilt for having cost one of his few friends from that school his retirement, and partially to try to separate himself from me as much as possible in the eyes of the public," Celestia reasoned.

"He was protecting you..." Twilight said aloud. "But, how about this Knightreavers guild? Some ponies say they're a rogue guild and that he's one of them, while others say they're heroes and were betrayed by him. Just who are they, and what's Rain's connection to them?" she asked Celestia, who sat there quietly for a moment before standing up.

"With all due respect, I'm afraid it's none of your business," she answered rather matter-of-factly, "What happened between Rain and the Knightreavers is his personal business, and it wouldn't be right for me to go into details about it without his permission." Twilight opened her mouth to object, but was silenced by Celestia holding up a finger, "I can tell you this, however. Though they may in fact be walking down a dark path, the Knightreavers have not broken any laws as far as anypony knows. However, a group of them did, in fact, cross a line that forced Rain and a fellow Knightreaver to take action against the group. After which Rain left the guild in protest of their actions, and they, in turn, declared him an outcast and cut all ties with him," Celestia explained. "Yes, Rain can be ruthless, but not without good reasons, and he would sooner die, than allow an innocent to be harmed - even one who he's not all that fond of," Celestia said with a wink.

"But he tortured that bandit leader at Fort -!" Twilight stopped mid sentence when, for an instant, the look in Celestia's eyes went from warm and loving, to enraged, before going back to normal. Celestia realized this and took a moment to calm herself down before responding.

"...I'm not going to pretend that what Rain did was right, but..." her voice trailed off for a moment before she sternly looked Twilight square in the eye and continued. "Wrong as it may have been, there were extenuating circumstances at play when he did what he did. If you want to learn more about why he did what he did, then you need to ask him yourself, and if he declines, you will have to respect his wishes. Now, I'm going to go have a word with him about all this." With that, Celestia turned on her heels and exited Twilight's room. She had only been walking down the hall for a short while when she came across Rainbow Dash.

"Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed as she stood in attention, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was just chatting with Twilight. Have you seen Rainstorm anywhere?" she asked RD.

"You just missed him," Rainbow answered, "He left to go talk with somepony about getting more soldiers for the new guard towers."

"The what now?" Celestia asked, the confusion clear in her voice.

"Nopony's told you yet? We decided to have some guard towers built around town to keep an eye on things," Rainbow explained.

"You don't say..." Celestia said nervously, though Dash failed to pick up on it.

"Hey! I bet you could not only get the bureaucrats to send more soldiers here, but sweet talk the mayor into signing off on the towers too!" Rainbow suggested excitedly.

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no!" Celestia said with a nervous expression on her face, "I mean, I'm sure Twilight is more than capable of persuading Mayor Mare to okay the towers! I hardly see why you'd need me of all ponies to convince her! Gee, look at the time, I must be off. After all, I can't talk to Rainstorm if he's off who-knows-where!" and with that, Celestia walked off at a brisk pace down the hall.

"...Did...I miss something?..." Rainbow Dash asked herself out loud. As Celestia made her way to the castle's exit, she couldn't help cursing her terrible luck. Shit, shit, shit, shit! Celestia thought to herself. Getting more soldiers and supplies here is one thing, But Gray Mare won't budge on anything like that! Not without his go-ahead and Faust only knows what he'll ask from Rainy in exchange! she worried as she headed out the door to go look for Rainstorm, the rain itself having ceased for the moment.

*knock-knock-knock* Rain knocked on the door to Lyra and Bon Bon's house yet again. "Damn it. This is where everyone said I could find those two. Where the hell could they be?" he asked himself before he heard a noise behind him and turned to see none other than the two mares he'd been searching for.

"You needed to see us?" Lyra said with warm concern in her voice. Rain was about to respond when he noticed they were dripping wet.

"Forgot to bring our umbrellas," Bon Bon answered, "Now, quick, let me unlock the door so we can get inside before it rains -" Bon Bon was cut short by the sound of thunder followed almost instantly by what seemed like an unyielding wall of rain falling from the heavens, "- Again..." she finished with a defeated tone of voice. Feeling sorry for the two women, Rain moved aside to let Bon Bon unlock the door and all three of them entered. As soon as they closed the door behind them, Bon Bon turned on the lights and addressed Rain. "You need a towel or some- !" Bon Bon was surprised to see that Rain was completely dry. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about your clothes being waterproof," she said.

"I wish our clothes were waterproof," said Lyra. "Wait here while Bon Bon and I dry off and get some fresh clothes," she instructed Rainstorm as she motioned towards a recliner, and Rain did as he was told. A few minutes later Lyra and Bon Bon returned, electing to sit together on the sofa across from Rain, "So, what did you need to see us about?" Lyra asked.

"I need help with something - and, no - this has nothing to do with that little dispute I had with Twilight earlier!" Rain explained before Lyra could interject, "I'm on the clock and need a favor."

"How can we help?" Bon Bon asked.

"You can get ahold of your boss for me," Rain told her.

"Furlong?" Lyra asked in confusion, "Why do you need to speak with him?"

"Because we need some more manpower here. We're gonna try to get the mayor to greenlight some new guard towers here, but it means jack shit without bodies to put in those towers and food to put in those bodies. I was hoping he'd be able to pull some strings here and there - get some of the douchebags in the Senate to agree to it," he explained.

"Afraid that's easier said than done," said a familiar voice, which began to cough. The others lept at the sound, unaware of the intruder's presence beforehand.

"Fuck me up the ass, and call me Patricia! Why do you keep doing that, Furlong!?" demanded an alarmed Rainstorm, addressing the very individual he'd just been inquiring about.

"*cough-cough* That's a fine way to address the pony whose help you're after," Agent Furlong, who was sitting at a desk in the corner of the living room not too far from them, retorted nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but he has a point!", Bon Bon shouted.

"Yeah, breaking into somepony's house without their permission - again I might add - and then scaring them is downright creepy!" Lyra scolded Furlong.

"My wife likes it when I drop in on her like this. I don't see what all the hubbub is," Furlong stated before taking a sip of tea from a cup he was holding, "I even made some hot tea for the three of you to warm yourselves up with," he said, pointing to three identical teacups on the table between the sofa and recliner.

"Yes, I see that... AND YOU USED MY TEA TO MAKE IT WITHOUT ASKING PERMISSION FIRST!!!" Bon Bon bellowed. Wait a minute... Rain thought to himself looking down at the tea on the table first, then back up to the cup in Furlong's hand, When we first sat down here, I'm almost sure there weren't any teacups there. What's more, I'm certain he wasn't holding anything when he first spoke up... Now that I think of it, I didn't notice anyone here with us. Did he teleport here without any noticeable aura flash? Even if he did, that wouldn't explain the tea though. Forget him placing it on the table. The kitchen's right across from the living room, Rain thought as he looked up into the kitchen and stared at the stove. The stove was in plain view of us, and I didn't notice a teakettle on any of the burners - let alone it having been used recently, and yet...

Sure enough, there was a teakettle on one of the oven's burners, still emitting the very faint sound of boiling water bubbling from within it. Rain wanted to question Furlong about the strange display but decided his time would be better spent staying on topic, "What do you mean by, 'easier said than done'?" Rain asked. Furlong looked up at Rain then at his two subordinates before letting out a sigh and responding.

"Because having that many extra prying eyes everywhere will make hiding my other agents here far more difficult," Furlong explained.

"Come again!?" asked Bon Bon.

"This whole town is a top-secret S.M.I.L.E. base and training facility," Furlong explained, "In fact, I'd say almost a third of the population either work with us in some capacity or are agents outright."

"And you never told me this because?..." Bon Bon asked, her left eye rapidly twitching the whole time.

"I figured that that had been the whole reason you moved here," Furlong replied.

"So, wait! You're saying that I never got away from S.M.I.L.E. in the first place!?" Bon Bon asked in exasperation.

"How do you think I found you so quickly and easily?" Furlong responded nonchalantly. After the stunning revelation, Bon Bon looked as though a part of her soul had died as she lay back into the sofa to sulk as Lyra patted her on her shoulder.

"So, I take it, Mayor Mare is in on it?" Rainstorm asked.

"Why do you think she always runs unopposed? She's the site overseer," replied Furlong. "With its close proximity to both Canterlot and the Everfree Forest - along with several anomalous areas and artifacts nearby - make this the ideal location to run experiments, train recruits, and serve as a vigil against potential attacks against the capital coming in from this direction."

"But why build a whole town for that? Why have civilians live here if you want to maintain any level of cover? And most of all, why the Hell do I need to be here in the first place when you chuckle-fucks are apparently crawling out of the woodwork in this town!?" Rain demanded.

"Well, in all fairness, this originally was just a civilian sector *cough-cough*. It wasn't until just a couple of decades ago we took over. Hell, the bulk of the first recruits stationed here were already living here. *cough-cough-cough* Turns out when you grow up in a town that's right next to a Dark Forest, it makes for excellent S.M.I.L.E. training," explained Furlong. "As for why you're here, local agents are stretched thin as it is right now. Animals and monsters all over Equestria have been acting up..." Furlong fell silent for a moment and tensed up before continuing, "...And more and more of our agents have been disappearing over the last several months..."

"Guess that explains why there've been more monster attacks here as of late," Rain surmised. "So, why not have 'Overseer Mare' okay the extra construction projects and then sweet-talk the politicians into sending more men and supplies down here? They'd be helping you guys out with security without your precious cover being blown."

"That's actually why I'm here," Furlong said with a sneer, "The only question is whether or not they'll be helping you?"

"*tch* I see how it is," Rain said, returning the sneer, "You're gonna increase security here anyway, but whether or not it will be on an official level - ie, free to help out with my op - or whether it will be more agents - whom I'm guessing won't be under my command - depends entirely on what I can do for you in exchange. Am I right?" he asked Furlong.

"As your namesake!" Furlong exclaimed before tossing what appeared to be a nearly three-inch-long, black USB stick at Rain, who caught it midair. "Go back to Twilight's castle and wait there, in a few hours a mutual friend of ours will arrive to get some help from one of your charges - and you are going to tag along no matter what anypony says, and without letting anypony know what your real objective is! Follow the instructions you're given for the mission and you'll eventually end up at a control console. *cough-cough* That puppy will let you know where to plug it in at, and that's all you have to do. Do that, and you'll have whatever you need for your operation. Deal?" Like I have a choice.” Rain thought to himself before responding.

"Deal!" Rain agreed before pulling down his balaclava to down his entire cup of tea at once before the other three could stop him. He then stood there, his mouth, throat, and stomach in considerable pain from the piping hot beverage.

"Idiot," Furlong said angrily as he took another sip of his tea, "I specifically said you had a few hours, yet you go and guzzle your tea like some kind of mannerless heathen - without even taking the time to enjoy the flavor I might add!"

"He has a point, my dude. You don't have much of a mouth or throat left as it is. Are you trying to hurt yourself?" Lyra asked Rain, who had just swallowed some health potion to erase the pain and heal any damage done. He then pulled his balaclava back up and headed out the door without another word. After his departure, Bon Bon turned her attention to Furlong.

"Sorry, but I don't understand, sir. Why hold the safety of the elements of harmony hostage just to have Rainstorm run some errand any agent could?" she asked sternly. Furlong sighed deeply, then answered her question.

"To save his life," he said, much to Lyra and Bon Bon's confusion.

Rain burst through the front door of the castle and ran straight for his room, practically leaping through the door and immediately looking through his equipment to see what he should bring with him.

"Tell me you're not quitting!" Huginn cawed at him.

"Not at all," Rainstorm informed the familiar, "But if we want those new towers and all the other shit we need, it will require a bit of a side job," he explained as he holstered a silenced sniper rifle on his back where he had once kept his shotgun. Great... Huginn thought to himself as Rain continued going through his supplies. While making preparations, Rainstorm explained to Huginn what had happened at Lyra and Bon Bon's, then the two waited for a bit before deciding to kill the remaining time by walking around the castle for a bit.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Huginn asked as he sat on Rain's shoulder.

"Yeah," answered Rain, "Still not back to one-hundred percent yet, but I'm feeling leagues better than I did this morning, so as long as I mind myself, I should be good." Finally, they walked past the hallway that led to the front door just in time to see a drenched Celestia throw open the door and enter, a less than thrilled expression on her face.

"Where in the world have you been, Rain!?" Celestia asked as she used magic to almost instantly dry herself. Rain was about to respond when someone called out from behind Celestia.

"Knowing that dumbass, he was probably just out enjoying the beautiful weather!", said the fiery haired individual with a smirk.

"Captain Spitfire?" asked a confused Celestia, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to borrow Rainbow Dash - Wonderbolt's business," Spitfire answered. Before anyone else could respond another interruption occurred.

"Absolutely not!" yelled Boris, who'd just arrived at the scene, Rainbow Dash and Jasper close behind.

"Major general Swinelee!" Spitfire said as she saluted Boris, "Sorry sir, it's an emergency."

"One that will have ta wait I'm 'fraid," Boris replied, "Miss Dash is on lockdown with the rest of the elements so, unless it's a friendship emergency or somethin', it'll have ta wait till we've put a stop ta the enemy - no exceptions," he explained.

"Shame," said Spitfire, causing Rainbow Dash to adopt a disappointed expression, "I was under the impression that she'd be free for Wonderbolt ops, and a friend of mine and Rainstorm's suggested I bring her for this mission," she said, looking at Rain as she spoke. I see...This must be what Furlong was referring to... Rain thought to himself as he opened his mouth to respond, only for Boris to interject. "Sorry, but my answer is final."

"With all due respect, sir, last time I checked, I was the one in charge of this op, and I say it's okay, but under one condition; I come with," Rain hotly stated. Celestia glared at Boris, who quickly responded.

"B-but, Rain, I -"

"Sorry, but my answer is final," Rain said with a smug look in his eyes, before pulling Boris closer to whisper something in his ear, "Look, I can't go into the details, but trust me, we have to do this if we want to upgrade the town's security," he explained, after which, Boris looked to Celestia for her response. She looked as if she was going to object at first, but just as she opened her mouth, a look of dawning comprehension came over her face, then she fell silent.

"*sigh* Normally, it would be best to keep Rainbow Dash here and out of trouble, but she's still a Wonderbolt, and thus, she has certain obligations. Furthermore, I've already thrown quite a bit of my weight around when it comes to resources for this whole mission so, anything that we can achieve without further coercion on my part can only help us at this point," Celestia explained.

"So, you'll let Cra- Er, Dash, and Rainstorm come with?" Spitfire asked, almost calling RD by her Wonderbolts moniker.

"Only if you agree to take another task force member with you," Celestia replied.

"Jasper!" Rainstorm exclaimed, prompting the soldier to nonchalantly shrug.

"I'm supposed to be watching Dashy anyway so, why not?" asked Jasper, "As long as that's okay with you, Boris?"

"*sigh* Sounds like a plan, I guess," Boris relented.

"Then it's settled," Spitfire said. "There's a transport outside waiting to take us to Wonderbolt HQ, and from there we'll head out. You three have fifteen minutes to get ready. Oh, and try to hurry it up before it starts raining again!"

"I just so happen to have everything I need already on me," Rain stated as he followed her out the front door.

"You don't say..." Spitfire retorted as the two started talking to one another on the way out.

"So, how's DeeDee?" Rain asked her.

"Haven't heard from my dear little sister in some time," Spitfire said, "I see you're still hanging onto that trinket she gave you," she added, pointing to the Ashcaster.

"Why in the hell would I part with it?" he asked, "The usefulness outweighs any hurt fee-fees,"

"I love my family, but that doesn't mean they can't be dumb-asses at times. I still think you were the best thing that ever happened to her," Spitfire said with a warm smile, which Rainstorm returned.

"Thanks, 'sis'." While Rain and Spitfire made their way to the transport, Rainbow Dash and Jasper had flown off to their rooms to grab a few things, leaving Celestia and Boris alone.

"I thought tha whole point of this op was ta -"

"I'll explain later," Celestia said, interrupting Boris, "Right now, Furlong may actually be doing us a favor."

"If they don't get killed in the process," Boris said worriedly, a sentiment Celestia clearly shared as evidence by the troubled look on her face.

Chapter 8: Finished