The Misfortune of Clover the Clever

Storm Chaser's body carried him back home as fast as possible in spite of his lack of trying. He made several attempts to take back control, throw himself off balance, or twist just the wrong way in the air so he'd end up breaking a wing. He tried everything he could in an attempt to stop himself from leading the enemy army right to their doorstep. He wasn't a fool. The only way they ever managed any sort of victory over unicorns was to either have the element of surprise, or to have numbers on their side.

It didn't look like either was going to happen, not with the entire enemy force closing in on them, especially if that insanely powerful unicorn was among their number. Storm Chaser had never liked unicorns, it came with the territory when they had taken everything the pegasi held dear, but this Nova was something else entirely. She didn't seem to hold any reservations about casually ordering genocide, even if the others in her company seemed to be against it.

The bewitched pegasus continued his journey, barely able to do more than twitch a wingtip or flick an ear. Even that had taken considerable effort and had left him feeling drained for several minutes afterwards. Any attempt to speak under his own power, though, was met with immediate failure.

This was nothing like what the others told him about being under a unicorn's spell. All they ever recalled was seeing a flash of light, and the next thing they knew they were in a different place, surrounded by different faces, and with no memory of what they had been doing. What Storm Chaser was now experiencing was by far much, much worse. The very thought of having a front row seat as he watched his own body being used to betray those he care about made him sick. And being able to do nothing about it just made him want to rage against the unfairness of it all.

He continued like this for several hours. A nonstop cycle of trying to break free of Nova's spell, followed by overwhelming exhaustion with nothing to show for his trouble. He didn't once stop fighting until he caught sight of the cluster of clouds he hoped never to see again, unless it was under his own power. It was then that his exhaustion was accompanied by a new sensation, a sensation that wormed its way into his very being. Despair.

He was almost home.

Storm Chaser touched down in front of his place, pausing for only a moment to turn and watch as the sun was just starting to crest the distant horizon. Fresh dread began to claw away at him from inside his personal prison. He'd only have hours at most to find some way to stop himself from carrying out the treacherous order, or otherwise warn someone that he'd been compromised beyond saving.

He crawled inside their shared home and practically collapsed to the ground. Whatever else has happening, evil enchantress or otherwise, his body was exhausted beyond reason. He had made not one, but two trips out to the distant unicorn outpost in the middle of the night. Not even accounting for everything in between, any pegasus would be too tired to move after so much flying in such a short time.

Even though he knew this wasn't the time to be sleeping, part of him still wanted to give in and pray that all of this had just been a really bad dream. The spell that kept him controlled didn't seem to be against this plan, and wasn't about to try and keep him awake so long as his orders were carried out on time.

He was just about to drift off when someone grabbed him from behind and began snuggling into the nape of his neck. It was just what he needed to snap him out of his lethargy. He had a family that needed to be protected, after all. Two girls and a little one that had yet to be born. If for no one else, he needed to keep fighting for their sake. He needed to keep them safe.

"So where did you run off to in the middle of the night?" Silk cooed at him. She was in a really good mood for some reason... oh... right.

"I just had some stuff on my mind and couldn't sit still," he heard himself lying. It made him feel dirty to have to listen to this strange magic use his voice in his place. He could only hope she noticed something was wrong, but seeing as it even sounded like him, why would she?

"Oh, is that all?" She said. "I thought you left me to deal with the sleeping bear all by myself."

As if to accentuate her point, Firefly picked that moment to let out one of the loudest snores possible. She actually hadn't started doing that until she was several months along. It had taken a while, but the noise had eventually stopped bothering Storm Chaser, and he slept through it just fine. Silk Sky? Not so much.

Silk noticed where he attention was drawn and felt the need to tease him further. "You be sure to let me know if I'm as much of a pain when it's my turn." She giggled as she wiggled behind him, her hooves exploring their way down his body. "With as energetic as you were last night, that may be sooner rather than later."

This would have have been sweet if there wasn't so much currently at stake. Storm internally groaned to himself, he had made several attempts to do something out of the ordinary while Silk was in the room. Anything would've done, she had known him the longest out of anyone after all, but it was almost as if the spell had started pulling double duty in the presence of other ponies. He couldn't even so much as blink on his own with her watching him.

That was until her playful hooves brushed against a particularly nasty bruise, the same one that an equally nasty unicorn had given him last night in an effort to "prove a point." Either the spell had picked that same moment to act up or it hadn't felt the need to censor such a reaction. He flinched.

And she noticed.

"Storm?" She said. "Is everything all right?" She quickly shifted to concern as she began investigating the spot she touched to find the source of his discomfort. "Eww," she said once she had found it. "Did I do that? I'm sorry," she gave him a little kiss while looking a bit sheepish. "I guess I was a little more rough last night than I thought."

No!!! Storm was literally screaming internally at this point. If there had been any easy opportunity to point out that something was off, that was it. Instead it was being dismissed as the result of excessively vigorous loving.

"Just kill me now..." Storm said as he pouted to himself. He was going to die of embarrassment and frustration long before the unicorns killed them.

"Only if you really make me mad," Silk said as she bopped him on the nose. "But I think you know better."

Wait... Storm had to do a bit of a double take as that replayed itself in his head. Had she actually heard him? What had he done differently? Could he do it again or was it a one time thing? Why did it have to happen on something that didn't matter?

"I said the commander wanted to see you, soldier," the new voice said again. "Is he all right?" She asked Silk next.

"He's been acting a bit off this morning, but I think he's just tired," she said as she scratched at her head. "He doesn't usually go out flying before dawn."

Had he completely zoned out, or just fallen asleep? Either way, he had no idea when the other pony got here. Was he just too tired for the spell to work properly or what? What was going on?

"Seems the new spell might still need a few more adjustments."

Was this what that unicorn had been talking about? He wasn't going to pretend he even remotely knew how unicorns and their freaky magic really worked, but this gave him some hope.

"Sorry," he finally said, once again his words being guided by foreign magic. "I'll be right there."

Storm only stopped for a minute to give Silk a quick kiss and a smile. "I'll be right back," he said as he turned to follow the messenger.

Storm continued to internally fume all the way to the command center. This was more than just cruel, this was straight up torture. If he ever got his hooves on that Nova...

"Once again, let me congratulate you for a job well done," Commander Zephyr said once Storm walked in. "I don't think anypony could've done near as well a job rescuing our comrades."

"Haze and Bolt weren't so lucky, though," Storm said while remaining at attention.

Zephyr sighed at the reminder, once again showing his age. Haze had been a grandchild after all. "It's unfortunate," he said. "But with any luck, they're still alive and we'll be able to rescue them someday. The enemy seems far more interested in capturing pegasi for use as forced labor than actually killing anypony."

Except for right now! Storm tried shouting out, hoping he'd actually get through. He wasn't surprised when nothing happened. He still wasn't sure if there was some trick to it or if the time before had just been a fluke, but that didn't mean he was going to stop trying.

"Fortunately they haven't ever been able to squeeze our location out of anypony they've captured," he said as he started walking back to a table in the room.

They have! We're all in danger! We need to run! Still no luck getting through. Any military officer worth their salt didn't joke about serious matters. If any of those phrases had actually passed his lips, it would've been taken seriously even if he tried to immediately take it back.

"Anyway," the older pony said as he found a seat. "I had an actual reason for calling for you in so early. I'm sure you're still tired from your late mission, so I'll get right to the point." His face took on a more serious tone and it was just then that Storm noticed the bags under his eyes. "I've spent the better part of the night debriefing the pegasi you rescued, and what they told me is more than a little concerning. It seems some VIP from Elysium was currently visiting the base. If everything they told me is accurate, then we've got a new problem."

Zephyr slid over a rough sketch depicting a unicorn that Storm Chaser had already become familiar with. "Her name is Nova Star. She only showed up at the base a few nights ago and we believe she may be trying to improve on the spell the unicorns have been using to control us."

Far from trying, she actually succeeded. Storm still couldn't say what he was thinking out loud, but he started to have hope that he might not need to. "I saw her as we were escaping," he said instead. "She was powerful. On a completely different level than the ponies we've fought so far. She barely even blinked from the twin's attack."

"I heard as much from everypony else," the commander said. "It's still an impressive trick to be able to stop all other magic like that. Shame we haven't been able to teach it to anypony else. Even that Stormfall maneuver can only currently be performed by you and Captain Firefly, and she's still out of commission because some young cadet couldn't keep his hooves to himself."

Storm blushed only a little bit at the accusation, but otherwise maintained a straight face. Internally, he was still disturbed by how effective the spell was at imitating how he would normally act. It made the chance of an opportunistic slipup seem even less likely.

"I've been talking with the other officers for a while now," Zephyr continued. "And while there may have been some differing opinions on the matter, this new pony and what she represents changes things. I'm calling for a tactical retreat."

"Retreat?" Storm wondered honestly. "We're running away?"

"Not forever," he said. "But we need time to gather our strength properly again. Raise a new generation, train new recruits, and find more specialists among them. We can't do all this while remaining in contact with the enemy. We need a new home. Something far more secure and far away from the unicorn lands. What do you think? Having lead the most successful raid we've had in many years, I would hear your thoughts."

It wasn't a bad plan. They did need some time to figure out how to deal with this new unicorn magic, but it was already too late. The commander had no idea how dangerous this Nova really was, or that Storm had already been compromised. That even now the unicorns knew where they were, and were moving in on their location, ready to wipe them all out. If there was any chance they could leave before they got here, they needed to do it sooner rather than later.

Instead all he said was, "I think we should stay put. The enemy is going to be licking their wounds for a while after what we did to them last night. Plus, I saw the condition of the prisoners. They're going to need time to recover before they'll be ready to fly long distances."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Zephyr. "And we will be waiting for them to recover before making the trip. Unless something happens to hasten our departure, we'll drift around Clawthorn for a few days first." He nodded his approval. "That was well spoken, Storm Chaser. I half expected you to be more eager after your victory and say we need to kick the enemy while they're down. I'm glad to see how much you've grown."

Actually, on a normal day he probably would've been all for kicking a few more faces in, but this day was far from normal. Right now, staying put was the worst thing they could do. They had to leave now! Before the unicorns and that Nova found them. He tried to say as much, but once again, the magic held the most firm when he was about to compromise the task he had been assigned.

Having been dismissed by the commander, Storm Chaser made his way back home. He fumed the whole way, cursing himself for not being able to speak up when it really mattered. When he got there, the exhaustion that had been taxing his body could no longer be ignored. Spell or no spell. He collapsed into bed alongside his herdmates, the long day and even longer night leaving him to pass out before even reaching the ground.

Storm Chaser woke to find the sun casting its light over his face. He felt groggy, dread still doing its part as it clawed away at his mind, and he still hoped, nay, prayed that everything he remembered had just been a very bad dream.

Silent hooves landed on either side of him, stilling him before he had a chance to rise to his hooves. When he looked at their owner, both Firefly and Silk Sky watched him with growing looks of concern.

"What..." He started to say, but Silk quickly silenced him with a warning touch to his lips.

"There's unicorns beneath us," she whispered.

"What?!" Storm started to panic. "How many unicorns are we talking?"

"It looks like its everypony from that fort we attacked last night," said Silk. "How did they find us, though?"

"...the extermination force. They're already here..." Storm pondered to himself. How long had he been asleep?

"The extermination what?!" Firefly snapped as she sat up. "What do you mean they're already here? What do you know?"

Storm's eyes widened in shock as he looked back at her in shock. Had he actually asked that out loud? "Can..." He didn't want to believe it. "Can you actually hear me?" Why wasn't the spell working? This was when it would usually be the most aggressive.

"Storm..." Silk looked increasingly more worried. "You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Quick!" He said. "What time is it?" He didn't know what had happened, but he had to act before that foul magic seized control of his body again.

"It's about noon," Firefly said as she carefully watched him. She didn't once blink as her gaze stayed locked with his. "What's this all about, Storm?"

"There's no time!" He was shouting at this point. "You have to run. Right now! Before they make me do it!"

"Make you do what, Storm?" Silk was advancing toward him even as he backed away. "You're not making any sense."

They're going to make me betray you all! Storm Chaser shouted or tried to, anyway. His body seized up, the spell once again taking it's brutal hold. He was out of time. His face was forced into a blank expression as he did little more than just stare at them, his actions betraying how he really felt, save for the tears that poured from his eyes.

He just barely caught the look of realization that flashed through their eyes as he unfurled his wings, and kicked off into the sky. He didn't even stop to use the front door, opting instead to leave through the roof of their cloud home as he heard them shouting after him.

No... Don't make me do this... He pleaded as he climbed higher into the sky. He veered to the right and left, passing through several clouds as he did so. Each one he passed caused little sparks to collect in his feathers. He could still hear Silk in the distance as she got further away. He could only hope she stopped chasing after him and instead heeded the warning he barely managed to give her. Very few flyers in the camp could match his speed, even fewer if he already had a head start. The chance of her catching him at this point was bordering on the impossible.

Please, Silk, He silently prayed. Run... Just run... The spell no longer allowed him any freedom, any more chances to act on his own. He just kept climbing higher and higher into the sky as the lightning he had gathered started to trail behind him.

It was far too nice a day for so terrible a deed. The clouds were sparse, the air was cool, and the light of the sun pelted his face even as he flew ever closer to it.

Please... He continued to plead to an unfair world. Please stop...

Storm's cry for help went unanswered as he slowed his ascent. He extended his wings to their full length and allowed the accumulated power to fly free of his body. Lightning painted the sky. Glorious lightning that would be seen for miles, even in broad daylight. It was a magnificent sight, but it broke Storm's heart.

Even now, he could already see the unicorn army far below him as their magical glow made them look like a hundred tiny fireflies. "I'm sorry," he cried as he spoke the words aloud, the last words he'd ever say.

The sky grew bright, and the air quickly took on a sweltering heat. A burning smell filled his nostrils even as he watched his own feathers blacken and turn to ash.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't...

The fire that came from seemingly out of nowhere quickly claimed the pegasus. Stealing his life and staining his pride.