Storm Of Secrets

Chapters

2 - Canterlot Society
3 - The Charlatan
4 - Save Derpy Hooves!
6 - Out of the Frying Pan...
7 - And into the Fire
8 - The Defence of Fort Book
9 - The Reason For The Year
10 - Reflections
11 - Lost!
12 - Mail Delivery
13 - Chasing Rainbow Dash
14 - Thorns of Truth
15 - Father and Mother
16 - Intrigue and Lies
17 - Watch Your Back
18 - Zebra Tales
19 - Denial
20 - Marching Orders
21 - Into Darkness
22 - Splintering
23 - Rebirth
24 - At the Gala
25 - Ranger Territory
26 - Wolfkin
27 - War Drum of the Forest
28 - Side Effects
29 - Crown of Roses
30 - Don't Get Stressed
31 - Daughter Of The Sea
32 - Pain and Deceit
33 - False Hope
35 - Please don't Hate Me
36 - Comes the Reaper
37 - Ignorant Bliss
38 - RUN!!!
39 - Shadows of Death
40 - Blood and Fire
41 - Recovery
42 - Crossroads
43 - Calm Before the Storm
44 - Storm of Cadance
45 - Truculence
46 - Silence Dies
Epilogue - Visiting the Past
Sequel(s)
34 - In Case I Go Crazy
1 - Ashen Victory
5 - The Borrower is servant to the Lender

2 - Canterlot Society

1 - Save Derpy Hooves!!!

“Hey, Rainbow Dash.” It was Soarin', “Come on, there's something you gotta see.”

Rainbow sighed, “What's up Soarin'?”

“There's this unicorn magic show that just set up in the theater, they say she's one of the most powerful unicorns in all ever. Firestreak and Fleetfoot have seen her before and they say she's amazing. You coming?”

Most magical pony around? Twilight maybe? No, Twilight wouldn't do stage performances, she wasn't like that. “Sure thing,” Rainbow faked a smile, if visiting Rarity had been to forget about the Wonderbolts, maybe a good show would help her forget about Rarity. True, she would have to see it with the Wonderbolts, but at least they wouldn't be either complaining or boasting the whole way through.

“You are going to love her Dash, you hear all kinds of things about this pony’s famous exploits; she's a real hero!”

Rainbow and Soarin' made their way to Canterlot Theater without stopping to take note of waving fans or to give out autographs. Whatever was going on must be big; ponies were lined up for blocks waiting to get into the theater; it wasn't cheap either—forty bits a ticket on a Monday?—even the Wonderbolts only charged forty-five (at least when they opened the full stadium).

“Spitfire has already reserved a private box for the Wonderbolts. Let the ordinary ponies wait in line.”

“Awesome, tell her thanks for me. Do you reckon we could go see this unicorn before the show started?” Judging by the line they won't be starting for a while yet and it was still possible it was Twilight, right?)

“Well, probably not for normals but for ponies like us, it shouldn't be a problem.”

Rainbow and Soarin' passed through the VIP (Very Important Pony) entrance into a dimly lit hall slowly filling with eager spectators. Soarin' pointed out the Wonderbolts viewing box, (not that it wasn't obvious as it was the only one that had the ponies Rainbow saw every day in it) and left to get first pick from the snack bar while Rainbow poked her head around the stage curtain.

“Hello, anypony there?” Nopony responded and so Rainbow went backstage, still hoping the unreasonable hope she might find Twilight. Relying on memory from when she and her friends did the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant, Rainbow wove through a plywood maze that honeycombed the concrete exterior of the theater. Turning a bend and walking through an open door she saw the rump of a light blue unicorn with a white tail occupied fidgeting through some box of tricks, NOT TRIXIE! Rainbow hadn’t made a sound but the blue pony suddenly turned around casting a menacing glare at- ...hold on a second; that wasn't Trixie.

“What are you doing here!?” Whoever she was, she wasn't Trixie, but she was mad. “No ponies allowed backstage except performers and staff! Go back and wait in the theater, you impatient mule!”

Rainbow didn't know whether to retort, ask if she was maybe Trixie's sister or if she should just walk away when suddenly two pegasi landed behind her, both with identical pale blue coats and white manes; now things were going from weird to downright Freakyville.

“You think you could just sneak back and see how all the magic is done?” one pegasi accused, “Get out, or we'll drag you out and you won't even see the performance!”

Rainbow wasn't sure what was happening and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She was about to leave, when a sweet yet arrogant laughter rang through the dressing room curtain and the accompanying voice drifted into the room. “Let her stay girls. That's right. Are you too dull to see that the leader of the mighty Wonderbolts has come so seek an audience with the Great and Powerful Trixie?” The curtain glowed and pulled itself back to reveal the real Trixie, holding herself up with an unbearably overbearing demeanor. The other blue and white ponies shrank away from her in submission. “Welcome Rainbow Dash. To what does Trixie owe the honor of this visit?”

Dash glowered at her blankly, “If I knew it was you performing, I wouldn't have come.”

Trixie seemed to take no notice of Rainbow's offense, apparently experienced in flattering ponies she thought she could use. “Well now that you're here is there anything Trixie can do for you? Trixie is afraid it will have to be quick as she is on stage in ten minutes and couldn't stand to keep her adoring fans waiting, but if you come back after the show she will give you as much time as you desire.” Trixie kept smiling as though Rainbow was an old friend. Half of Rainbow wanted to believe her; the other wanted to wipe that smirk off her face with a hoof. She eventually opted for the middle ground and asked what was really on her mind.

“What's with all these other blue and white ponies? Usually, you don’t see two ponies together with the same colors, so why are there four of you in just one room?”

“There are six of them actually,” corrected Trixie. “Two unicorns and four pegasi. These are Trixie's support cast who have chosen to follow The Great and Powerful Trixie and assist in her performances, in exchange for the honor of being able to continually witness Trixie's miraculous powers and skills in showmareship. While they remain Trixie's disciples they take her colors as a sign of their loyalty. Perhaps similar to your Wonderbolt fliers.”

“Yeah, well I actually pay my Wonderbolts, and I train them, and I don't force them to dye their coats and manes so they look like little copies of myself.” The Trixie look-alikes exchanged glances but said nothing.

“Perhaps you’re just being a little bit soft on them.”

“Or maybe I'm just not a stuck up boaster who has more mouth than magic, and who doesn’t care who I have to hurt to get what I want!”

“Come now Rainbow Dash, you’re hurting Trixie's feelings. If you worked with Trixie it would be a huge help to both your careers. Perhaps you could do a joint show with Trixie someday. Trixie would like that wouldn't you?”

“No, I wouldn't.”

“Well then you and Trixie could support each other from a distance, little things you know; recommendations, advertising etc. Trixie could give you advice in showmareship if you wanted, she's been doing this a lot longer then you have. If you could just get Trixie one chance to perform in the palace, she could-”

“The Wonderbolts have been Canterlot's top entertainment for the last twelve years and since I've been captain our ratings have been at an all time high. I don’t need your help.”

“But Trixie could still help you with promotion. Look at the crowd out there, Trixie could put in a recommendation for my audience to see you perform if you would do the same for her. Trixie will advertise you at every one of my shows this week for just one recommendation, even in private if you like, to Princess Celestia.”

“There's nothing you could tell your audience about me that they wouldn't already know, and I'm not going to recommend ponies to see a show that's not worth watching; least of all the Princess.”

Trixie momentarily took her eyes off Rainbow and looked around at her assistant show mares. “The show will begin in eight minutes girls, get out there and make sure everything’s ready, if Trixie is not there in time, start the introductions without her. If she still has not arrived, go with routine five, Number Two can take Trixie's place”.

When they were alone Trixie shut the door and turned back to Dash who was suddenly feeling extremely nervous. “Really Rainbow Dash there's no reason's we can't be friends if you want to be. If you help Trixie, she's willing to help you in any way you like.” Her voice was softer now, almost compassionate and a spark from her horn pulled her cape a few inches down revealing more of her neck. “Trixie has heard about you and the Wonder-stallions, how you don't pay any attention to them. You don't have to be shy with Trixie; she helped Fancy Pants, and he got her this performance at the theater tonight.” Trixie took a few steps towards Rainbow, the main lights in the room dimmed and a row of candles mysteriously lit themselves. Trixie’s next words were slow and full of suggestion, as she spoke she wiggled her flank and fluttered her fake eyelashes. “A funny name for somepony who doesn’t wear any pants.”

Oh she had GOT TO BE JOKING!

“Trixie you're sick! As long as I am their leader the Wonderbolts will never perform with you, and I will never help you get your filthy hooves inside the palace! Get that in your head! I will not help you! Never, Ever!”

Trixie's seductive smile faded and turned to a sneer, and then the lights brightened again. “Well then Trixie will just have to get to the palace on her own. Watch out Rainbow Dash, pretty soon The Great and Powerful Trixie will be drawing larger crowds then the Wonderbolts. Trixie will see you humiliated and finished! But don't worry, when you’re out of work, perhaps Trixie will let you become one of her showmares and you can do your little tricks at her shows. You'll have to dye your mane and tail though.”

That was it! Dash braced herself and launched towards Trixie bringing her hind hoofs to bear. She had this brilliant idea about Trixie's head smashing into the concrete wall behind her in a colorful crescendo of white, blue and red; but before she could cross the room, Trixie's horn let off a powerful blast sending Dash flying backwards head over hoof into a table filled with little bits and pieces. Rainbow collided with the table with a loud thud and looked up to see an upside down Trixie leaving an upside down room to a chorus of applause. By the time she was on her hooves and seeing straight, Dash could already hear Trixie's voice ringing out over the hapless audience.

Dash just wanted to get out of there. She tried the back door but it was locked, the only other ways out were through the stage, or the side passages which led past the viewing boxes. She did the only feasible option, hoping that everypony would be too busy watching the performance to notice her sneak past, but there Rapidfire waiting for her in the hallway.

“Rainbow Dash! You're missing it! Did you meet Trixie? Wait, never mind! Tell me later; Trixie is amazing! Come and watch!”

Rainbow did the only thing she was able to; she sat down and watched, and the longer she watched, the more Trixie's arrogance became unbearable... for her at least. Everyone else, particularly the Wonderbolts, loved it. They cheered at the tricks, laughed at the jokes, stomped in time with the pegasi dancers, and didn’t seem to mind Trixie's boasting at all, if anything they encouraged it. What if Trixie did get popular and Rainbow had to see her on a regular basis? What if the other Wonderbolts suggested they do a show together with Trixie? How could she convince the Wonderbolts of Trixie's lameness? She had to do something.

“This stinks” it wasn't great but it was the best she could come up with at the time.

“Stinking awesome!” This time it was Lightning Streak but she was echoed by several of the other Wonderbolts.

“Seriously how can you guys fall for her lameness?”

“She's not lame, she's a hero” insisted Silver Lining, “I even heard that she once saved some town called Ponyville one time from a rampaging Ursa Major!”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings in frustration and something fell to the ground.

“What's that?” asked Misty as the Wonderbolts momentarily took their attention off the performance to see what had fallen from Dash's wing. It was small, metal and had probably gotten lodged in her wing when Trixie threw her into the table. High Winds reached for it and as she nudged it the metal device suddenly started talking with Trixie's voice.

Blaize who had once been a showpony herself was the first to recognize it. “It’s a microphone, you know so she can talk quietly and give directions to her stagehoofs without the audience hearing. We can hear her much better with this. Now its like were listening from the front row but watching from the viewing box; awesome!” The Wonderbolts crowded around the infernal device. Wasn't it enough that there Trixie had to be in seven places on stage at once? Did she now have to be in the Wonderbolt's 'private' viewing box as well?

Trixie's voice rang clearly through the microphone as she told some bogus story about how the great dragon migration had really been a war gathering to plot the destruction of Equestria. Then how Trixie had found a magic bracelet, which turned her into a blue dragon, enabling her to infiltrate their secret meetings and prevent their maniacal plans from being carried out. Obviously the bracelet was lost forever at the end of the story so she couldn't demonstrate turning into a dragon, but the audience seemed to swallow it none the less.

“Incredible” gasped Fire Streak in a reverent voice, “She actually saved all of Equestria.”

“Come on, you can't actually believe that” Rainbow challenged, “She's making it up.”

Fire Streak looked at Rainbow as if she were stupid, “Look around you Dash. We're in the oldest and most prestigious theater in Canterlot. You don't think they'd let her come out here and say this stuff if they didn't check out all her stories to see if they were true or not, do you? I mean, how else do you think she got her performance here tonight?”

Rainbow's mind flashed backstage to Trixie and the row of candles, “Yeah, it’s a mystery.”

Trixie paced the stage, reveling in the applause, until the exceptional enthusiasm of Soarin' and Fleetfoot brought her attention to the Wonderbolt's viewing box. She watched for a moment as every Wonderbolt except Rainbow Dash cheered and then a cruel smile spread across her face. Turning around with her back to the audience she said quietly enough not to be heard by the crowd, but loudly enough to be heard by anyone with a microphone, “Prepare stunt X.” Then quieter, barely audible even on the microphone Dash partly heard, “Perhaps she was Trixie's fillyhood friend... tragic reunion... heart stricken remorse... obliged... perform … funeral.”

“Hold on what was that? All I heard was something about a fillyhood friend” this time it was Wave Chill

“I dunno” said Surprise, “The audience was cheering too loud for me to hear anything.”

“And now the Great and Powerful Trixie will invite a member from the audience to assist her in her next act.” Trixie had turned around and was speaking to the audience again, “Who will it be?” Half the audience and all of the Wonderbolts, (except Dash,) put their hooves high in the air. Trixie paced the stage several times to build suspense, then looked straight up at the tuft of rainbow colored mane sticking out from behind the railing. “You!”

Unfortunately for her, Trixie had forgotten to point to whoever she meant. The crowd went silent and everypony was left wondering who she was referring to; all except one little gray pegasus with a blond mane and slightly crossed eyes who fluttered up to the stage, thinking Trixie was talking to her. Trixie was so focused on the Wonderbolts box that she didn’t notice the pegasus until she was standing beside her. Trixie jolted, then swung around to face the innocently smiling pegasus.

“What!?...What is your name, friend of Trixie's?”

“Derpy” chirped the pegasus.

“Louder!”

“My name is Derpy Hooves!”

Dash's heart sunk as she saw Derpy climb the stage; she knew Derpy from Ponyville, that is to say she knew of her. They had never had a real conversation, but she knew Derpy was Ponyville's mail-mare. Derpy wasn't the kind of pony you wanted to hang around with. She was a bit slow mentally, would get mail mixed up sometimes, more than once Derpy had forgotten where she was going, and when she was the head weather pegasus Rainbow had learned it was easier to move the clouds herself then to clean up the aftermath of letting Derpy 'help'. Dash was at the top of the cool pyramid; and Derpy was sort of like a block that got lost on the way from the quarry and ended up falling in a ditch. Nevertheless, in her own pathetic way, Derpy was sort of generous and was always trying to be caring towards as many ponies as she could. She definitely didn't deserve whatever horrible thing Trixie was planning to do to her. Dash felt like her gut was filled with stones as she realized Derpy was only there because of her, and there was nothing she could do to save her.

Trixie nodded and waved her hoof dramatically, “Well then Derpy, prepare yourself to make magic history!” then much quieter Dash heard over the microphone, “Abort, abort go to stunt four, and hurry!”

“What did you say Trixie?” Derpy asked quizzically, loud enough to be heard by some of the audience.

“Trixie didn't say anything.”

“Did you?”

“Trixie just said she didn't!”

“Aren’t you Trixie.”

“Of course Trixie is Trixie.”

Derpy looked hopelessly confused, glancing between the various Trixie look a-likes, “Then… who are you?”

Trixie face hoofed and then spoke just loudly enough to be heard over the microphone, “I am Trixie. But I talk like this when I'm doing my performances.”

“Oh umm...OK” mumbled Derpy, still looking confused.

“Now Derpy” resumed Trixie in her usual stage voice, “Tell Trixie where you are from.”

“From Ponyville.”

“Ah yes, Trixie knows the town well, but Derpy, how many of Trixie can you see?”

Derpy looked confused, “There's only one of you Trixie.”

“Really? Because it looks to Trixie like you see two of her, or perhaps you think that Trixie has two heads?”

“I-I don't get it.”

“It’s just you’re looking in different directions so Trixie thought you might be looking at different things, or maybe you’re looking at an invisible friend.”

The crowd laughed, including the Wonderbolts. Derpy looked like she was about to laugh, but then she realized that everypony was laughing at her instead of with her. Trixie usually didn't interview her assistants because it took the focus off herself. Dash figured she was probably trying to buy time for her stagehoofs to change from 'stunt X' to 'stunt four', and was doing so by doing the first thing that come to her mind, (in this case making fun of a disability).

Dash was still trying to think of something she could do to make sure Derpy didn't get hurt, but all she could think of was hope that Trixie's stagehoofs had heard her, and were quick in changing between stunts. Dash couldn't live with herself if Derpy died because of her, and the last thing she ever heard was hundreds of ponies jeering her because of her mixed up eyes.

Feeling she had given enough time for the necessary preparations Trixie finally let up about the eyes “Derpy, are you ready to continue?”

“Yes, I am.” Said Derpy; seeming to have already forgotten that she had been made fun of.

“Very well then, if you would just stand over here... no, there- yes, that's it. Now if you’re ready, Trixie will disintegrate you into a flock of butterflies which she will then cause to fly to the other side of the stage and then reform them back into your old self. Unfortunately Trixie is afraid she can't do anything about your eye problem.”

“Oh, well umm... OK. Just make sure you put me back together right.”

“My dear Ms Derpy, you have Trixie's word, not a hair in your mane will be hurt.” It was amazing how convincingly Trixie could fake sincerity when she wanted to.

The crowed watched in eager anticipation, Dash stared in horror as Trixie's horn started glowing. Suddenly where Derpy had been standing was filled with a pillar of thousands of butterflies which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. They flapped and fluttered and began moving to the other side of the stage, but when enough had gone to see some view of the stage (at least from the viewing box) Derpy's head and front hooves were still there, the rest of her had disappeared down some trap door. Music was playing too loudly for the audience to hear anything, but Dash could see behind the cloud enough to know Trixie saw what she did and was horrified.

Trixie's voice hissed Over the microphone, “What are you doing get down there!”

Derpy's voice responded weakly, like she was struggling, “I... can't, I'm stuck.”

“The audience will see you, get down now!”

“But I'm stuck.”

Trixie's places both forehooves on Derpy's forehead and shoved violently but Derpy didn't go down.

Dash couldn't take it anymore, Derpy needed help. She knew she couldn't take Trixie alone, but including her there were thirteen Wonderbolts and only seven Trixies, together they could do it, but she would need every one of her Wonderbolts to help. She turned to her crew, “Guys we need to do something, Derpy is in trouble!” Her call went unheeded so she tried again “Derpy really needs our help!”

“Relax Dash” Soarin' seemed unconcerned, “Trixie will get her down the hole, see she's helping her down right now. Still, it is a shame seeing how the trick was done.”

Trixie's voice came back over the microphone, “You’re going to ruin my magic show, now get down!”

Derpy’s voice responded like she was in pain, “I'm trying.”

One last time Trixie's voice yelled angrily, almost loud enough to be heard by the audience, “You get down the hole right now, or I will make you disappear forever!”

Dash waited for Derpy to respond again, hoping Trixie hadn't really carried out on her threat. When Derpy finally did answer her voice was shaking like she was crying“I-I'm sorry... I d-d-didn't mean to do a-a-anything w-wrong...I'm sorry.”

Now Dash was yelling at her Wonderbolts and didn't care who else heard her. She would make the Wonderbolts help her help Derpy. “Guys, we've got to save Derpy Hooves!”

Spitfire almost stood up, but glanced round at the rest of the team and sat back down again, “Settle down Dash, it'll be OK.”

“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Dash turned to see an unknown unicorn stallion with a dark red coat and jet black mane had teleported onto the stage, scattering butterflies in every direction and was staring down Trixie as though he meant to drill a hole through her with his eyes. His strong voice echoed through the theater. “They say you end your shows with a challenge. ‘Anything anypony can do you can do better!' WELL I CHALLENGE YOU!”

Trixie left Derpy hanging and crossed the stage towards the stranger, maybe hoping that this unexpected interruption would distract the crowd from the head that was still sticking out of her floor. Drawing herself up and poising her cape and hat she confidently asked, “And what, oh rude one, do you think you can do to defeat The Great and Powerful Trixie.”

The red pony's horn glared and flames broke out on the stage, quickly surrounding him and Trixie; but they died as quickly as they began leaving a scorched circle encompassing the two unicorns. (Derpy was on the other side of the stage and the flames did not come near her). “First pony to leave the circle looses.” His voice seemed at once both calm and ready to explode with anger.

“Very well” agreed Trixie, “let us begin, Number Two, begin the countdown.”

One of the Trixie look-alikes stepped forwards with a haughty smirk she must have learned from her mistress, “three...two...one...GO!”

BOOM! Trixie was instantly thrown across the stage like a bale of hay.

“Cheater!” Yelled Trixie, struggling to regain her hoofs, “You cast the spell before m-Trixie's assistant said go! You only won because you cheated. The Great and Powerful Trixie never cheats. You're disqualified!”

“You lie to avoid admitting defeat!”

“But you did cheat” said the pony who had given the countdown, "You cast before I said go, we all saw you.” the other Trixie look-alikes nodded their heads in agreement.

“Then step back into the circle and try again!” The red stallion wasn't about to let Trixie go, and Dash hoped he really could do it again.

“With pleasure” smiled Trixie as she calmly walked back into the circle and gave a nod to 'Number Two'.

“Three... two... one... GO!”

Trixie shot a beam of blue energy at the red unicorn, but before it reached him, it shattered against an unseen force. A half second later he retaliated, sending Trixie flying again, further then the first time.

“One more time!” shrieked Trixie, “The light was in my eyes!” She clearly couldn't keep making such pathetic excuses and the fact that she was referring to herself in the first person showed just how stressed she was becoming. This time had to count. Once more Trixie's assistant counted down and once more Trixie was hurled from the scorched circle. The stranger stood unmoved, waiting to see if Trixie would try again, but this time, Trixie merely sat there, as the crowed watched on in silence. After waiting long enough to cement his victory, the red stallion left the circle and began crossing over to where Derpy still hung with half her body down a trap door and was extending his hoof to help pull her out, when Trixie fell upon her final resort. “Ingrate! You are an ungrateful oaf who has no appreciation for the art of a good show, or respect for greatness!”

Something changed in the red unicorn's face when she said that and he stopped; horn glowing brightly. “Ingrate to greatness?” he muttered calmly. Suddenly he spun around and shot a beam of fire that would have killed Trixie, if one of her unicorn assistants hadn't run forwards and pulled her mistress away a second before a flaming hole was blasted in the floor of the stage. Moments later the assistant came barreling across the stage towards the stranger, her horn lowered and glowing with blue fire. Meanwhile one of the blue pegasi charged him from behind. In fact as if an unseen signal had been given, Trixie’s entire cast descended on the stranger from the front, left, right, above, behind and everything in between.

The red stallion stood still till the last possible moment, and then shot back with his hind hoofs, shattering the jaw of an approaching pegasus. He then dropped like a stone, and when the charging unicorn was just a few feet away, flicked out one of his front hoofs, knocking one of her legs and then the other out from under her. Was he crazy? She'd fall right on him, but then he wasn't there anymore, he'd teleported above her and used his weight to bring down his hind hoofs onto her horn, cracking it as she fell heavily. He disappeared again, this time he was fifteen feet in the air, kicking one of the pegasi in the neck. He teleported again, now back to ground level with his back to a wall so they could only attack him from one direction. He looked on the remainder of Trixie's army and snorted in challenge.

Dash watched in awe as, without even looking, the stallion deflected a blast from Trixie's remaining unicorn assistant back at her; knocking her unconscious. The pegasi were fast, the unicorns were powerful and this guy was on the verge of having cleared the stage in; in ten seconds flat! This guy was unbeatable! At least... if he were only defending himself, he would have been. As the three remaining pegasi (the one he kicked in the air had been hurt but wasn't taken out) charged in a final effort to bring him down. The red unicorn used his magic to grab the leading pegasus, and crash her into the one right behind her making them both fall in a crumpled heap to the ground. The third pegasus swerved dangerously to avoid the collision and lost control, (apparently that kick had some damage after all). She was heading straight for Derpy!

The stallion saw it only at the last instant as he had been preoccupied with his own safety until then. But seeing the wounded pegasus plunge towards the defenseless, terrified mare he teleported one last time, making himself into a living shield to protect Derpy. The pegasus hit the stallion with a whack Dash could hear all the way from her viewing box. The pegasus collapsed to the ground, either dead or unconscious; the stallion's horn stopped glowing, his face twisted in agony, as he dropped to his knees, winded. That was the opportunity Trixie, who had stayed out of the actual battle before this point, needed.

Her horn shot a chaotic energy beam and this time it wasn't blocked, the stranger took the full hit. Trixie erupted into shrill laughter and prepared to fire again and might have killed him then and there if she wasn't at that moment tackled by Rainbow Dash, who seeing the turn of events was no longer content to merely spectate. The two mares rolled on the stage floor, biting and kicking. Dash was stronger, and had the element of surprise, but Trixie still had her magic. Dash felt herself gripped by Trixie's magic and lifted off of her rival. Trixie's horn glowed as she prepared to annihilate Rainbow Dash but... the blow never came. Moments before Trixie would have ended the fight, another blast came from the unknown unicorn, nailing Trixie with pinpoint accuracy. Trixie collapsed, her horn extinguished and Dash was released from her power.

Surveying the battle scene, Dash was surprised at how much the stage had changed in such a short time: the lights, curtains and floor were all wrecked, and several large holes had appeared in the walls. Trixie's minions lay strewn around the stage, some groaning in pain, most werew unconscious, but at least they were all breathing so far as Dash could tell. The crowed was still there, but had moved well to the back of the theater to avoid the destruction, and Derpy was still there, still half-sticking out of the floor, with her remarkable rescuer behind her with his horn aglow, helping her wriggle her way out. Rainbow went over to help, but by the time she got there Derpy already was out and the new pony was using his magic to brush soot and sawdust off her fur.

“Are you all right?” asked the stranger, looking away from her even as he spoke.

“I... think so” Derpy answered, looking around at the defeated Trixies scattered around the stage, as if not sure what to do now.

“You think, or you’re sure?”

“I'll be OK, but...” Derpy gestured to the lifeless figures around her, “Will they?”

“Broken bones, torn ligaments, medium burns, but no fatalities. They will recover, but they will be in pain for a long time.” The unicorn spoke casually, examining the bodies, as though their state mattered nothing to him, yet he had spared their lives when he could have easily killed them all.

“Oh, good!” Derpy sounded relived, “I wouldn't want them to be permanently hurt but maybe they'll learn a lesson from this, and won't hurt anypony else when they're better. Th-Thank you for rescuing me, whoever you are.”

“You’re welcome” whispered the stranger softly, still looking away from her.

“And thank you Rainbow Dash” said Derpy turning to face her, “I saw how you helped.”

“It's OK Derpy.” It felt good to help sompony who really needed help for a change.

Without warning Derpy threw her hooves around Rainbow Dash and the stranger who still hadn’t revealed his name. With one hoof around each of them, she faced the crowed of spectating ponies and shouted, “These two ponies are my best friends!”

OK. That was too far. Rainbow was fine protecting her, but Derpy was about the uncoolest pony Rainbow knew, and Rainbow hadn't completely given up on trying to keep a reputation. Rainbow twisted out of Derpy's arm as fast as she could, “Whoa, hold on one second, I was glad to help you but that doesn’t make me your friend.”

“But, but...” stammered Derpy confused at Rainbow's sudden rejection of her.

“I would be happy to be your friend” said the red unicorn, but seeming to think better of it he quickly added, “But only for today though, I can't stay in Canterlot for long.” Where did this guy have to go that he needed to be so bad? Or was it just an excuse to ditch Derpy? Rainbow understood if it was, this guy was way too cool to hang out with an uncoordinated pony like Derpy; he should be hanging out with sport stars and movie stars... sport stars especially. Derpy swung round and hugged the unicorn with both hooves; making him go tense. Who did she think she was that she could claim him all for herself just like that? A few moments later the doors at the back of the theater burst open and a dozen Canterlot Guards started making their way through the crowds.

Derpy released her champion and turned to face the approaching guards. “I think we should get out of here guys. Those ponies look mean.”

Leaving was a good idea, thought Dash, but preferably not with Derpy, she would slow them down too much. True; if they left her alone, Derpy would almost certainly be caught, but she hadn't broken any laws therefore wouldn't be charged, and while the guards were apprehending her, Dash could run away with the stallion. “OK” she agreed “But let’s split up, it will be harder for them to follow us that way.”

The red stallion nodded in agreement, “Fair enough,” his horn glowed and a saddlebag matching his coat flew to him from in from somewhere in the audience, “Goodbye.” His horn glowed once more and both he and Derpy vanished and then reappeared by a distant window, he looked out for a few seconds and then he and Derpy disappeared from sight leaving Dash alone on the stage, with the guards coming fast.

Chapter two >>> Mysterious Stranger

3 - The Charlatan

2 - Mysterious Stranger

Hold on; where had he gone? Dash didn't expect him to disappear just like that. But there was no time to think about it now; the guards were almost half way through the crowd and Dash still hadn't moved. She looked up at the Wonderbolts viewing box to find it empty. She could fly over the guards to the viewing box or even through a window and escape, but if they recognized her, (which was extremely likely given the sensation she had become), it wouldn't matter how far she ran, they would be waiting for her at the Wonderbolt Stables. Dash spun around and retreated through the burnt curtains; hoping nopony had recognized her yet. Backstage she raced to the back door only to remember it was locked, she turned around and was about to try running down a side passage but heard a guard shout too close to the door to risk it. She was trapped!

'Think Dash think,' Trixie was doing a magic show, there had to be a trap door she could disappear down or a potion that would make her invisible or something like that. Dash started kicking over boxes, and spilling the contents on the floor, but couldn't see anything useful. She kicked the lid of another box, which came flying off and collided with the base of a table still lit with a dozen burning candles from when Trixie had tried to seduce her. The table teetered, then fell, spilling the candles into a box filled with perfume and makeup which exploded on impact, lighting a rack of nearby costumes on fire. This was bad. Rainbow gripped down with her hooves and flapped her wings as hard as she could, but this only fed air to the flames and blew them onto the dry plywood walls which seemed only too eager to ignite. This was really, really bad!

Dash could feel the heat pounding on her face and tasted the air fill with smoke as the fire raced throughout wooden interior of the theater. She had to get out of there fast. Breaking open the remaining boxes Dash finally spotted some things she could use. Grabbing a small smoke machine between her hooves and throwing a cloak around her head to hide her mane, Dash launched and flew through a line Canterlot guards who had been blinded by the smoke and were themselves retreating. Dash glanced behind her relived to see a trail of thick green smoke following her rather than a rainbow. Her mane and tail was under the coat and so if nopony had seen her earlier, she might get away unrecognized. Breaking through an upper window she released the coat and smoke machine as she shot up into the cool afternoon air. Below her, Dash could see the theater going up in flames as the audience poured out into the street. An emergency exit opened and the stagehooves came scurrying out and after them came the Canterlot guards carrying Trixie's lifeless crew.

Three-hundred years of Equestrian history were going up in smoke beneath her. The financial loss would be massive, but she didn’t have to pay for it and since the fire had started in the back, everyone should be able to get out OK, so at least nopony would die for her mistake. Still, if she was recognized, it could mean the end of her career and or even jail; not that the former mattered anything to her anymore, but to be caged and unable to fly... Dash decided that the best way to avoid suspicion was to act natural and pretend nothing had happened.

Realizing she was due for her performance in an hour and hadn't eaten since breakfast, Rainbow turned and drifted towards the palace, stopping short at what had become her favorite restaurant. She couldn't eat much or it would slow her down in her performance but a small snack would help. That fact that it was an all you can eat buffet, or that it was expensive even for a full meal, didn't really matter. Since joining the Wonderbolts, Rainbow had more money then she knew what to do with and didn't mind overpaying for the good food and familiar atmosphere.

Rainbow was eating a couple oat cakes and selected fruits when she started noticing that more and more ponies were looking in the same direction. She followed their gaze to the make-your-own-sandwich bar where an enormous sandwich seemed to be assembling itself with the help of a pair of gray hooves that were sticking out from its sides. Rainbow stared for several moments in amusement and then shock as the hooves carefully took sides of the tray and scooted it along the bench to reveal the maker of the incredible sandwich to be none other than Derpy. For somepony who couldn't fly straight she definitely knew how to balance two feet of fruit and veggies on a single piece of bread, and the sandwich was getting even bigger.

Dash left her plate and went over to the sandwich bar; partly to get a closer look at that ridiculous sandwich, partly to ask where the red unicorn was and partly out of curiosity at how Derpy could afford to get in here on a mail-mare's salary, (though she had the sense not to ask the last question directly).

“Hi Rainbow Dash” said Derpy cheerfully as she carefully balanced a dozen dandelions to the top of her vertical salad. “Good to see you made it out OK, like the red pony said. Do you like my sandwich?” Derpy's voice didn't have any trace of resentment for rejecting her friendship earlier. Come to think of it she had been awfully quick to forgive Trixie for insulting her eyes and trying to push her down a hole earlier. That was like Derpy; she probably screwed up so much and got made fun of so much she was just use to it, or maybe she had already forgotten it had happened.

“Its great.” said Rainbow eying the enormous sandwich, “What do you mean the red pony said I got out OK?”

“Well he cast a teleport spell and he must have done it better then Trixie did it because I didn't get stuck down a trap door this time. The next thing I knew we were outside. He asked me once more if I was sure if I was alright and then, when the theater caught on fire, he teleported up to the roof of this really high building and watched until he was sure everypony was out. After that he came back down and asked me what I wanted to do. I was hungry and told him, so he took me here. He paid for me and now... I'm making a sandwich.” Derpy precariously stood on her hind hooves, using light flaps from her wings to steady herself, and gingerly placed several slices of apple onto her dinner.

Rainbow looked around the buffet but couldn't see the red unicorn, “Is the red unicorn still here?”

Derpy shook her head, almost knocking over her sandwich with her muzzle, “Nope. He paid for me and then he left, I don't think he was hungry.”

Something in Derpy's story seemed a bit incredible that somepony would do all this for a complete stranger, “Did he tell you who he was or where he was going?”

Derpy reached for a sliced pear and scattered it onto the latest layer of her sandwich, “Nope, he never told me his name. He just said he had to meet somepony in the palace and that I should enjoy my dinner. He's just a really nice guy.”

Rainbow eyed the towering sandwich; she wasn't sure, but she thought it had started to lean a little and she didn't want to be anywhere near Derpy if that thing came tumbling down. “OK well goodbye Derpy, enjoy your sandwich... speaking of which you might want to call it finished about now.”

“Soon,” said Derpy with a voice full of concentration as she looked back over the sandwich bar to see if there was anything she had missed, “It’s almost ready, and when it is it will be delicious. Do you want a bite?” When Rainbow Dash didn’t respond Derpy turned just in time to see the exit door close. She looked dejected for a moment and then smiled as she turned back to her masterpiece.

Derpy took her tray to the closest table, one step at the time, and then began wondering how in the world she was going to eat it; but by that time Rainbow was already in the street flying towards the palace gates. Rainbow wasn't sure why she felt such a strong impulse to see this stallion again, but he had probably saved her life and Derpy's as well. Rainbow felt that she should at least thank him for that, if nothing else. That was a good enough excuse to find him.

She finally spotted the red stallion a block away from the palace gates, and lighted down next to him; getting a good look at him for the first time. He was tall, and ripped with solid muscle from hoof to horn like Rainbow had only seen in the most conditioned of athletes; yet something about his demeanor made it difficult for her to imagine him playing any sport that she could name. There was a big, cool looking scar that ran along his chest, with several smaller scars scattered around it. Two more scars ran parallel to each other along his back, and one scar behind his ear, and another; OK there were a lot of scars. Most puzzling however was his cutiemark; after the display in the theater, Rainbow half expected that his cutie mark would be Trixie getting thrown across the stage onto her face, but instead it was of a hoof lifting off a patch of mud without leaving any hoof-print. What did that mean? “Hi.”

The red pony's horn glared as he swung around in a single movement but after seeing it was her, his horn died down and he gave a faint smile as recognition fluttered into his eyes, “You're the girl who helped in the battle.” What had happened to his voice? It was like in the last half hour he'd gained or lost a thick accent, maybe his voice changed whenever he got angry but right now it definitely seemed deeper and richer then it had been in the theater.

“That's me.” Rainbow nodded, beaming with pleasure that the stranger remembered her, though she wasn't sure why it should matter so much.

“Am I to take it you're responsible for the little fire they had?” He asked with a smirk; he seemed to have blamed her for the incident but didn't think it a bad thing.

“That was an accident. I even tried to put the flames out but I was too late.”

“Really? I could have teleported you out too if you had wanted, but it was your idea to split up. I thought maybe you wanted to go back and leave them a little going away present.”

“It was an accident I swear!” Rainbow put her hoof over her chest, “I was just trying to get out of the theater... and things got a little out of hoof.”

The stallion scrutinized her carefully as she proclaimed her innocence and seemed to believe her. “OK.” he shrugged, “I'm guessing you didn't find me to talk about what you didn't do, so why did you find me?”

“Well I... I just, I just wanted to thank you for saving me back at the theater... and for saving Derpy. ”

The red pony looked at her for a moment as if he were trying to make up his mind about her; “Silently defending the guests of ignorance” he seemed to mumble.

Rainbow smiled, “Derpy is definitely ignorant I'll give you that, but you didn't seem that silent too me.”

The stranger paused, “Tonight was an exception.”

“Still, you were radical with the way you stood up Trixie and her gang. Not a lot of ponies would have done that for a stranger.”

The stallion’s smile disappeared, “Neither would many ponies rescue somepony and then push them away like you did.”

Rainbow blushed, not because he had misunderstood her but because he understood correctly. She shouldn’t have been so cold towards Derpy, but she still didn't want to be publicly associated with her, “Sorry about that, Derpy just took me by surprise, that's all.”

“It’s not me you should apologize to, it should be De... what did she say her name was?”

Part of Rainbow was offended the red pony spoke so directly, the other part was thrilled that he spoke his mind, rather than covering up his objection with pleasant lies as so many others would have done. “Her name is Derpy, and you're right. I should say sorry and I will. But in the meantime I would like to thank you for saving us both, thank you.”

The stranger looked at her, maybe with kindness, or maybe he was just thinking about how to get rid of her. “You're welcome. Are we done?”

“Wait!” Rainbow still didn't know anything about him, even though they had saved each other's lives. “Can you at least tell me your name?”

The red pony thought for a moment as though giving away his name was a dangerous act, “Silent Storm,” he said finally, “And you are?”

Rainbow was taken back; she thought every pony in Canterlot knew her since she had become leader of the Wonderbolts. “You don't know?”

Storm ears perked forwards with curiosity, “Should I?”

He probably just couldn't see her that well. Maybe she had soot in her mane that was making it hard to recognize her. Or maybe he had been away from Canterlot for a while and didn't know the Wonderbolts had a new captain. “I'm Rainbow Dash,” she said proudly, “Leader of the Wonderbolts.”

“The wonder whats?”

This guy had never heard of the Wonderbolts? Was he serious? “The Wonder Bolts” said Rainbow as clearly as she could.

“Who are they?”

This was too much. Who living in Equestria had never heard of the Wonderbolts? “Well, the Wonderbolts are the personal stunt flying team of Princess Celestia, they're made up of the best pegasus fliers in Equestria and they've been Canterlot's top entertainment venue for the last twelve years.”

Storm hesitated. “Someponies told me that Trixie was best act in Canterlot. That's why I went there. To be honest if that was the pinnacle of what Canterlot has to offer, Canterlot must be a depressing place to live.”

“Trixie?!” Rainbow was floored at the understandable mistake “Whatever pony told you Trixie was the best in Canterlot is a liar! The Wonderbolts are Canterlot's top entertainment and if you've never seen them you should.”

Storm looked over his shoulder to the palace gates. “I'm sorry, but I need to report to the palace tonight. While I'd like to believe you that Trixie isn't the best in Canterlot I don't have time waiting around for the Wonderbolts next performance or finding where they perform. Goodbye.”

“The Wonderbolt stadium is attached to the palace and the next act starts in half an hour,” Rainbow said quickly, “You can stop to watch it and then you can go do whatever you need to do.” Rainbow Dash had been sure that everypony had seen the Wonderbolts perform at least once. She wasn't going to let somepony, let alone someone like Storm leave Canterlot with Trixie's act of horror as his only sample of Canterlot culture. But it was more than that, there was something about Silent Storm Rainbow couldn't name but it was there, powerful, gravitating her, tempting her to find out more. Maybe it was a result of how alone she had felt these last few months, but she wanted Storm there for her sake as well as for his.

Storm glanced up at the almost setting sun and then back to the palace. Weighing his need to do whatever it was he needed to do with the chance of seeing these Wonderbolts. “OK” he said hesitantly. “How much is a ticket?”

Rainbow smiled at him, “For you; free.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The bouncers at the Wonderbolt stadium didn't object when Rainbow turned up with a guest for the exclusive party. The other Wonderbolts were already suiting up and Filthy Rich was getting impatient for the star of the show to arrive. Storm slipped past the guards who either didn't notice him or didn't care. Dash raced to wash, suit up, do a final check that the arena and her Wonderbolts were ready and then led them out in a brilliant display of music and light.

The Wonderbolts performance had begun!

Rainbow Dash had chosen the timing of the performance perfectly for the sun to paint the clouds in glistening shades of gold. But the sun wasn't enough, all the Wonderbolts, especially her, had to have perfect timing as they wove through the embroidered pattern of clouds, making the entire field come alive into a changing moving shape. Rainbow glanced up at the viewing platform where Filthy Rich and his guests sat spellbound by her speed and grace and reveled in the moment. Performing for an awestruck audience was the only time when being Wonderbolt captain seemed worthwhile; the Wonderbolts were the best fliers in Equestria, and she was the best of the Wonderbolts, she was the best of the best, and everyone knew it, (well… almost everyone.)

The clouds were torn through, broken and remade into new shapes until the field resembled a giant target of progressively larger circles spinning in alternate directions. The Wonderbolts kept the circles spinning, flying between the circles and through their perimeters, breaking and reforming the lines repeatedly; giving the sky the appearance of being rocked by an earthquake rippling out from the epicenter in the middle.

Teamwork was critical, and so was understanding the strengths of your teammates. Misty was the weakest flier so she spun the center cloud, and then spreading outwards, as the clouds got harder to spin came the stronger fliers. Dash took the widest circle at the edge, flying close to the audience themselves. Her wings beat powerfully, each beat bringing her faster and faster as she prepared to do her sonicrainboom. Three rows of empty boxes zoomed past and then the one containing her audience.

Her thoughts beamed with pride as she thought of her slower counterparts; none of them could make her cloud spin at the necessary speed, none of them could keep up with her in a race. She turned for another lap around the empty part of the circuit, but as she did a flash of red flew past her eye, and then another as she passed the far side of the arena. Slowing her speed enough to glance at the third row of 'empty' boxes she caught a glimpse of Silent Storm. Passing the occupied box Dash clearly saw him, right where he had been, she must have imagined him before, but as she came to the next row of boxes there he was again.

Every box she passed seemed to contain Storm's image. She thought she was hallucinating until as she slowed down at one bend she saw him disappear from the box she had just passed and reappear in the front row of box she was going to. He was teleporting! Teleporting fast enough to keep pace with her almost at full speed! Dash slowed down just enough to be sure her imagination wasn't playing tricks on her, but this time she was certain; waiting for her at the front row of an otherwise empty box was Storm leaning over the railing and staring at her. She flew towards him and for the space of one heart beat their eyes met – did he just wink at her? A tuft of cloud broke from the ring Dash was meant to be maintaining and hit her square in the face. Looking back, the other way, she saw her ring was starting to break up. This could ruin everything! Forcing Storm out of her mind, Dash roared back into action, quickly regaining control of her crumbling cloud circle and getting it spinning back in pace with the others. She glanced upwards at the gigantic mirrors set around the arena and knew the sun would vanish behind the hills within seconds, it was now or never.

Dash fell from her cloud circle and plummeted towards the earth. The ground raced towards her at breakneck speeds but Dash didn't flinch. She was now low enough she was passing trees and rooftops as she fell, but her course remained steady. Then, just as she started being able to identify individual flowers in the palace garden, she angled her dive into a swoop and began climbing. Her heart was racing and breathing hard as the last rays of the sun died and the sky went momentarily dark. This was it!

Breaking the sound barrier just as she tore through the center cloud, she knew without seeing that the cloud grid the Wonderbolts had assembled was being torn to shreds by the six colored rainbow blast which exploded from her mane and tail. Soaring high above the audience with the Wonderbolts, whose suits were now glowing brightly thanks to the arts of Rarity's special dyes, Dash began swerving around making tight loops leaving a shining trail of rainbow behind her, spelling a congratulatory letter for Diamond Tiara graduating junior school, clear against the dusk sky.

Dash and the other Wonderbolts hovered in the sky a few moments after their performance was done. Even at the great height and despite the small audience they could still hear clearly the wild applause from the audience beneath. Forming into simple ranks the Wonderbolts fell in unison to a stone platform in front of the seats and took a bow. Rainbow looked up at her wowed audience and tried to spot Storm, but he seemed to have disappeared. Finally after some of the crowd had dispersed she caught sight of him at the back of the crowd; Rainbow couldn't be certain but she thought he looked impressed; she'd find out. As the crowd began breaking up and moving towards the palace ballroom Storm once again found himself with Rainbow at his side, but this time he didn't seem to mind. “Bet you never saw that before.” she said confidently.

Storm's face glowed, “You were amazing.”

Rainbow beamed; finally a compliment! “The Wonderbolts and I have been practicing that act for weeks now to get the timing just right. We all worked really hard but it was fun practicing.” This wasn't strictly true, most of the Wonderbolts had complained nonstop about the early morning starts and long training hours until she threatened canceling holidays unless they got it right.

Storm shook his mane and reiterated his compliment. “No, not them, just you; you were amazing.”

Rainbow felt the blood rush to her face and looked away hoping that Storm wouldn't notice. When she did she realized that they were some of the last ponies in the viewing box, and the few that were left were moving towards the gates. Storm followed her gaze and realized the same thing. “Where’s everypony going?”

“Oh, there's a dance party at the ballroom that starts in a few minutes. They're all going to get ready for it... you... wouldn't want to dance would you?”

Silent Storm looked back to where the tip of the moon was starting to rise and cast a quick glance towards the palace. Rainbow knew what he was going to say. He was going to say he had already wasted enough time watching the Wonderbolts perform and he had to get on with seeing whoever was waiting for him, “OK”.

Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash and Silent Storm moved gracefully across the palace dance floor, or at least Rainbow did. Silent Storm moved stiffly and thoughtfully, not that he was clumsy with the way he moved, but more like he was imagining the dance hall filled with invisible enemies which he was fighting in slow motion. OK, so he wasn't that much of a dancer, but that was what made it so special. Storm wouldn't have danced with just anypony, there probably wasn't another mare in Canterlot, who he would dance with. But he was dancing with her, and he was enjoying it as much as she was. (The fact that he left Derpy at the restaurant proved she was just a charity case to him.)

Rainbow excitedly kept her dancing slow so not to embarrass her partner, but then her heart stopped cold when she saw a pair of Royal Guards, an earth pony and a pegasus, enter the room with a picture of Storm, Derpy and herself. Somepony must have taken it when Derpy gave them each a hug, and now the guards were looking for whoever started the fire! Storm seemed too preoccupied studying the way the other stallions handled their mares to notice the guards. Maybe if she could dance Storm to the back of the hall without being seen they could sneak out the back door before –

“HALT!"

The Royal Guards stood transfixed in their gleaming Canterlot armor. Dash looked around for somewhere to run, but they knew where to find her at the Wonderbolt stables so the only thing she would be doing would be abandoning Storm to face the guards alone. Not that he couldn't handle them of course, but if he defeated these guards, more would come, and then more; Storm would have to flee Canterlot to escape. If she ran out on him now she might never see him again!

Storm turned away from Dash and regarded the guards with mild complacency, “Go away” he quipped and began turning back to Dash when the pegasus ran between them, rearing up on his hind legs.

“You two have been accused of the arson of the Canterlot Theater and the assault of seven showponies. You need to come with us for questioning immediately.”

Storm's expression turned dark with anger, but instead of blasting him unconscious he spoke in a low voice of authority, “Third table from the ice sculpture, next to the tree, red saddlebag, leaf insignia, steel clasps. Open it and read its contents, by the time you’re finished reading, I should be done here. READ SLOWLY.” The pegasus reared again and Dash resisted the urge to bite him from behind, but something about Storm somehow convinced both of them that starting a fight was a bad idea and miraculously, the two guards walked back to the table. Seeming to think better of his earlier advice Storms horn glowed faintly as his saddlebag opened and a scroll floated out and uncurled itself onto the table.

The music began playing again and Storm mimicked the dance pose of the stallion next to him, waiting for Rainbow Dash. This time, it was her turn to act as though she'd never danced before. The music and position of the other dancers dictated that she dance with her back to the guards. In her frequent glances over her shoulder another couple always blocked her vision except once when she saw one guard watching her and Storm in case they tried to make a break for it, while the other pondered the scroll.

Her chance finally came when Storm unexpectedly tossed her spinning into the air. The first time she faced them, both guards were now staring at the scroll and looking worried, second turn the pegasus who had run between her and Storm had his mouth hanging open, the third turn both of them had their mouths open. Fourth turn the pegasus looked like he was going to bolt from the room and would have if his partner hadn't pulled him back. Rainbow couldn't help but snicker then suddenly realized she hadn’t put her wings out to break her fall. She looked down to see that the floor was close and coming closer but before another thought passed her head she felt a strong, warm wave of telekinesis catch her and lower her gently to the ground in front of Silent Storm.

The music ended and all the dancers in the room took a bow, “Shall we go see what our friends have found out?” said Storm with a curious smirk. Rainbow threw her mane back nodding gleefully, and then trotted after Storm towards a table with a repacked saddlebag and two very unhappy looking guards who stood at attention as the dancers approached. Storm was the first to speak, “The conflict at the theater began with a second rate magician losing her temper at the silver colored pony named Derpy. I intervened to help her and the situation turned violent. Rainbow Dash intervened to save me. Both she and Derpy are completely innocent, neither are to have even the slightest repercussions for their actions tonight, I take full responsibility for the damages to the theater.”

“Yes Sir.” The guards replied in unison.

“But of course” Storm continued casually “I'm a bit too busy to spend the night in a cell over a charge of brawling or damage to public property.”

“Yes Sir” the guards responded again.

“So get the mess cleaned up, and put Trixie and her lackeys on the next train out of Canterlot! If they resist you are to chain them behind the carriage with magic resistant locks and drag them to the border of Equestria! I don't want to see or hear her in Canterlot ever again! If there is a problem, you are to take it directly to Shining Armor and ask him if Silent Storm has the authority to issue such and order! Am I clear!?”

At the mention of the Captain the Guards stares grew even wider. Rainbow didn't know much about the Royal Guard, but she did know that Shining Armor hadn't appeared in public for months and clearance to see him had become stricter and stricter until, except for The Princesses, it was doubtful anypony had the right meet with him directly. But Storm spoke as though he knew him well and had full confidence in knowing exactly what his response would be. Who was this guy?

“After that” Storm continued, “You can both pull latrine duty for the next three months for disobeying a direct order from a superior officer.” Looking at the earth-pony he let him go, “Dismissed,” but then turned gravely to the pegasus who had challenged him in from of Rainbow Dash. “You on the other hand owe the mare an apology for your rude behavior tonight.” The Pegasus lowered his head and murmured something inaudible. “What was that!?”

The pegasus stammered moment looking pitiful but finally eventually managed, “Please forgive me Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow looked down on the defeated guard and flicked her mane. She wasn't seriously thinking about asking Storm to punish him more; but she hadn’t felt this alive since before being made leader of the Wonderbolts and wasn't going to let the moment pass without savoring it. After a long wait she smiled, “Aww, it’s alright.”

The guard began scurrying away and had nearly escaped when Storm added, “And after you’re done with your duties tomorrow you can volunteer to scrub the barracks and polish all of your unit’s weapons until they shine.” The guard picked up to a gallop and got out of the hall before Storm had any other ideas about how he might be spending the next few months and Rainbow laughed for the first time in weeks.

The music started again and Storm led Rainbow back to the floor for a final dance before the party ended. If Storm had never danced before he was a very quick learner, or maybe he use to dance and it had just been a long time. Either way he was rapidly improving, enough that Rainbow felt he could dance and talk at the same time. “Soooo are you going to tell me what was in that scroll?” she asked finally after trying unsuccessfully to come up with a less subtle approach.

“It regards my presence here in Canterlot.” He had seemed to have sensed her question coming and planned his response; what he would say and more importantly what he wouldn't.

“Can you tell me what it says?”

Storm stumbled a moment. Maybe he wasn't that comfortable dancing yet and they shouldn't be talking; actually, it was just an excuse to pretend not to have heard her. “How did you join up with the Wonderbolts?”

Rainbow looked away in annoyance and disappointment, but answered his question anyways; “My parents brought me to one of their performances when I was just a tiny filly, and I fell in love with them. Wait! What I mean is, I really, really liked their act. I started practicing my flying and last year I finally got the chance to join them. After that it wasn't long until I became their leader.”

Storm nodded, “And now that you won your objective, is being a Wonderbolt as great as you imagined?”

Rainbow could have been knocked over with a feather. This was the first time anypony had asked her that question. Even her friends who she had known all her life had taken it for granted that she would be happy having fulfilled her life's dream. Could she admit that after pursuing the dream of fame and greatness all her life she had caught it and found it hollow? Why should she? Storm wasn't telling her the truth about him. She tried to look him in the eye but failed, “It’s a dream come true.”

When she finally looked back at Storm he was nodding slowly, “Good, I'm happy for you.” Rainbow thought she could detect a hint of sadness in his voice.

Shortly afterward the music of the last dance ended Storm's saddlebag levitated to his back, “I need to go now.”

“Wait.” said Rainbow, “Before you go, please tell me: who are you?”

“You already know my name.”

“I know but... who are you?”

Storm looked her dead in the eye with a firm gaze, “You should be afraid to ask that question.”

Couldn't he take any of her questions seriously? Fine, if he wanted to play games and not be serious then... fine. She'd play along. “Oh, would you have to kill me if I found out” she tried to portray a playful smirk to hide her frustration.

“No. But even if I did that would be no reason not to ask; death is not to be feared. But you should be afraid that if you ask me that question, I might tell you the truth.”

He was joking, right? Rainbow tried to think of a retort but before she could Storm turned and left the hall, leaving Rainbow Dash alone.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Silent Storm entered the security wing of the palace proceeded through several checkpoints, at each one he produced the same scroll the guards had seen and was admitted without further question. Refusing the offer of a guide and instead asking for directions to a certain tower, Storm proceeded alone up a long stone staircase, admitted himself into a dark room and immediately closed the door behind him.

In one corner, on a bed of soiled hay lay a shivering pony, his fur was coming out and was scattered across the floor, his muscles were wasted, his condition suggested somepony who hadn't eaten properly for weeks, his breathing was labored but steady, and the blood vessels in one eye had burst, leaving it red in stark contrast to its milky white counterpart. Storm did not recoil from the tortured pony as many other ponies might, but regarded him with a grim solace from the knowledge of what was about to happen and wished for one moment that he hadn't come. The pain would begin soon, and when it did there would be no stopping it until the task was done.

Finally he turned to the only other pony in the room, Princess Celestia, who stood silently over the suffering creature. “I'm ready” he said calmly, “Let's begin.”

Chapter three >>> Unexpected Guests

4 - Save Derpy Hooves!

3 - Unexpected Guests

By the time the Tuesday morning sun had rolled over the hills and begun warming the small, sleepy town of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and her assistant dragon, Spike, had already been up for an hour. Twilight moved from room to room, levitating a dozen feather dusters with which she carefully wiped down one bookshelf at a time. Spike followed close behind with a bucket of water and sponge, wiping up any specks he could see on the pristine wooden floors. “Hurry Spike,” urged Twilight, “The sun’s coming up and we still need to clean the foyer and the basement before breakfast.”

Spike was always a little confused as to why Twilight thought cleaning the library was so urgent when it was never that dirty to begin with, but he didn't mind the daily morning cleans. They reminded him of the calisthenics the dragons used to do back at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; and since he'd probably spend the rest of the day sitting at a desk helping Twilight study obscure spells she’d probably never use, it was nice to begin each day with some movement. Twilight however, cleaned the library with relentless fervor, making sure that every offending dust particle was removed before it could cause trouble. Anything out of place might distract her concentration from her studies, and that was intolerable.

By mid-morning however, the library had once again been cleaned from attic to basement, breakfast had been prepared and devoured and Twilight was choosing a dozen thick volumes off the shelves for the day’s work. Spike was finishing the dishes from breakfast when he suddenly let out a tremendous burp and a scroll from Princess Celestia fell into his waiting hands. He brought it into the study, where Twilight was busy adjusting the chemistry set.

“Twilight, you got a message from the Princess.”

Twilight left the chemistry set immediately and went to Spike, “What does it say?”

Spike uncurled the scroll, cleared his throat, and then quickly scanned the letter before reading it out loud.

My most faithful student Twilight

I'm sure you will be happy to hear that Shining Armor is being given several weeks of leave from his post as Captain of the Royal Guard, and is hoping to visit you in Ponyville. If you wish to receive him, please respond to this letter immediately, as he's ready to leave and would arrive by teleportation within a few minutes. Be aware, however, that Shining Armor has recently participated in a body swapping spell, and will be visiting you in a red pony’s body.

The reasons for this transformation are complicated, and I don't want to deprive Shining Armor of telling you about it in person; but be aware that the spell that was used is largely untested, and although it seems to have worked properly, there may be unexpected side effects. I am counting on you to observe him carefully, and to report any adverse side effects so they can be dealt with quickly, before they become serious problems. Your brother eagerly awaits your reply and hopes to see you soon.

Spike had only read to the end of the second sentence when Twilight’s face lit up and she started bouncing in circles around the room. “Yes!” she cheered, “Yes, he can come; yes, yes, yes!”

“Um, Twilight I think you should take a look at the rest of this letter. It says- ”

“Yes,” Twilight insisted as she kept bouncing around the room. Based on what Spike had seen in the past, she might have continued bouncing for the next several minutes. Fortunately, after a few dozen hops she realized that if she didn't actually write back, Shining Armor might take no response as a ‘no’ instead of a ‘yes’. One more bounce brought her back to her desk, where she wet the quill with twice as much ink as was necessary, and wrote a gigantic 'YES' that took up an entire scroll. “Quickly Spike, send this.” she ordered, levitating the scroll in front of Spike's face.

“Twilight, I think you should listen to the rest of the letter.” Spike cautioned in a hopeless attempt to calm her down.

“My brother is coming to visit, that's what it says, now send the letter.”

Spike sighed and breathed on the letter, lighting it up in a cloud of smoke which blew in the direction of Canterlot. Twilight watched the smoke disappear from view, and then started looking around at the house in a panic. “My brother’s going to be here in a few minutes; we need to get the house cleaned up!” She dashed to the closet and returned with the dusters and sponges they had used less than an hour ago, and spun around madly looking for something to clean. She stood dumbly in the middle of the room for a few seconds before it finally dawned on her that the house was already clean and did not need to be cleaned again. Spike sighed with relief as the cleaning gear went back into the closet and Twilight regained some of her usual air of maturity. “Do I look OK, Spike?” she asked in a calmer tone, checking herself in a mirror.

“You look fine, just calm down. It's your brother who’s coming to visit, not the Princess, and it's not like he's not going to throw you in a dungeon if your house is slightly messy.”

“He's the Captain of the Royal Guard, Spike. Aside from the two princesses, that is the most important position in Canterlot. I've hardly heard from him since moving to Ponyville; oh, I hope he hasn't changed too much.”

“It's OK Twilight, but there is something you need to know. The letter said-” there was a tapping at the door.

“He's here!” squealed Twilight, as she bolted to the door in a purple blur. She threw the door open and held her hoofs out wide, then stopped dead in her tracks with a look of confusion and disappointment. Spike squeezed in beside her and saw a red unicorn stallion with a black mane, a disturbing myriad of scars and a cutie mark of a hoof rising from a patch of wet yet unmarked mud; standing on the threshold of the library, with a small pile of luggage at his hooves. “Umm... hello. Who are you?” asked Twilight uneasily.

“Twily, it’s me.” The red unicorn responded joyfully.

“But you’re not my brother,” said Twilight taking a step backwards, “Who are you?”

“Shining Armor,” answered the visitor, “You said I should come over.”

“Stop it!” snapped Twilight, “Is this some kind of a joke? You’re not my brother!”

The red unicorn paused. Surprisingly, he didn't look repelled by Twilight's rejection, instead he seemed to find it rather amusing, “Wait for it... ”

“Wait for what? What are you talking abou-brauaurp?” Spike's question disintegrated in a blast of green flame as another letter flew out of his mouth bearing the royal seal of Princess Celestia.

“Open it.” invited the stranger.

Twilight cautiously opened the scroll and looked inside.

Twilight, if right now you are looking at a unicorn with a red coat and a black mane, that is Shining Armor. Before leaving Canterlot he swapped bodies with another pony.

Twilight looked back at the pony on her doorstep, “B.B.B.F.F.?”

The red pony looked back at her lovingly, “Twily.”

“But how did you...” Twilight gestured towards the latest letter.

“You responded ‘yes’ to the letter far too quickly to have read it all the way through, and to have thought about it. I'm guessing you listened to the first few lines, got excited, probably did your little happy dance, and then answered before Spike could finish reading the letter. So I asked the Princess to write the second letter and send it a minute after I left.” Spike was ready to burst out laughing, and from the look of Shining Armor, he was too; but Twilight wasn't convinced.

“So,” Twilight said slowly, “If you are really my brother... what was the first book that you ever got me?”

The red pony thought for a moment, “Hmmm, that would be... The Art of the Checklist.”

“So you’re to blame!!” Spike shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Shining Armor “It was you! All this time it was YOU! You did this to her!”

“Hey Spike, long time no see.” grinned Shining Armor guiltily. Spike thought he was about to say more but at that moment Twilight uprooted herself from the doorway and jumped on her brother with a whoop of joy, hugging him close for the first time in years. Shining Armor hugged his sister in return, but over Twilight's shoulder Spike could see him silently mouthing 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

Eventually Twilight released her brother and stood back, glowing happily, “Why didn't you give me a few days warning that you were coming? I could have really gotten things ready for you.”

“Precisely why I didn't; you would have spent the whole time stressing out, making a checklist of things to make sure everything about my visit was ‘perfect’, double checking your checklist to make sure that everything that should be on the checklist was, doing all the things on your checklist, then triple checking all the things on your list to make sure you did them right, then quadruple checking your checklist to make sure you didn't miss anything. You’re my little sister. It's my job to protect you from pain.”

“I wouldn't have been that bad,” retorted Twilight, “I've grown up a lot since I left Canterlot.”

Shining Armor turned to Spike, “Has she?”

“Well umm... let’s just say I'm glad you didn't call ahead, oh wise and compassionate captain.” Spike said falling to his knees and clasping his claws in front of him in a show of mock gratitude. He thought that while siding with Shining Armor directly would have annoyed Twilight, an exaggerated display of reverence might pass for a joke; but might have spared his efforts however as Twilight wasn't listening. It had been years since she had had a real conversation with her brother, and now the flood of questions that had been building for years came spilling back into her consciousness.

“BB,” she asked solemnly, “What happened last year between you and Cadance? I heard that you were going to marry her, and then I heard that the wedding was postponed, but I haven't heard anything about it since.”

Shining Armor nodded, and then noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders crouching behind a nearby bush, hoping to go unnoticed. “There's a lot to tell Twily. Do you really want to hear it all out here, or are you going to invite me in?”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash soared through the clouds with the Wonderbolts as part of their early morning exercise routine. She tried to concentrate on keeping formation tight and on scanning the Wonderbolts for individual signs of weakness, but again and again her thoughts drifted to the red warrior she had danced with the night before. Of all the ponies in the theater, Silent Storm alone had had the courage to act, to say when enough was enough. He drew a line and defended it, vanquishing the dark sorceress, and saving Derpy. But... even that was strange when she came to think of it. Rainbow had no doubt that Trixie deserved what she got—she had tried to kill her after all, and had threatened to kill Derpy, but Storm had no way of knowing any of that. All he would have known was that Trixie had made fun of Derpy's eyes, tried to push her down a hole, and then called him some names when he beat her. That didn't quite sound like it deserved banishment. Did he know about the other things Trixie had done? Or did Storm know something about Trixie that Rainbow didn't?

Rainbow sighed as she thought about the way he had danced with her; the warmth of his body, the fall of his mane - wait, what was she thinking? He had come to one of her shows, (just like almost every other pony in Canterlot) and then they had danced a few times at a party. It’s not like she was falling in love with him just for that. No way! Even if she did have a crush on him, (which she didn’t), what would it matter? He hadn't left her any way of contacting him even if she wanted too. At least he knew she was a Wonderbolt, finding their stables wouldn't be difficult if he ever bothered to look. Rainbow wondered what he needed to do at the palace, and what he would do when he was done. She wondered if he would ever come to visit her at the Wonderbolt stables... she hoped he would.

Rainbow tried to refocus her mind on her work; breaking formation she dived through a dense patch of cloud. The sudden knock, the instant of darkness was all it usually took to clear her mind; this time it only reminded her of staring into Storm's eyes the moment before the cloud hit her during the performance. She shook her head to clear it and tried again to focus on the Wonderbolts. She was only partially successful.

…........................................................................................................................................................

“Three weeks before Cadance and I were supposed to marry,” Shining Armor was telling Spike and Twilight after they had gathered around the table, “Military intelligence warned us of a threat to Canterlot. Until the danger could be neutralized, I put Canterlot on high alert, called up the reserve troops and, at the bidding of the Princess, began maintaining the energy shield around Canterlot. Meanwhile, Cadance took responsibility for the wedding preparations. I hunted down false lead after false lead, looking for the threat, and when I finally found it, it was almost too late.

One week before the set wedding date, I learned that Cadance had been kidnapped replaced by a changeling queen, who hoped to use me to destroy Canterlot from the inside. The changelings were destroyed and I personally rescued Cadance; but I realized I couldn't go on with our plans. A changeling imposter had been posing as my fiancé for nearly two weeks; during which I had met with her over a dozen times and had never once suspected a thing. The truth is, if my work hadn't brought me to uncover the plot, I might never have realized it wasn't Cadance until it was too late, and Canterlot could have fallen.

I realized I could not give Cadance, let alone a family, the devotion that she deserved and still maintain all of my duties as Captain of the Royal Guard. It would have been a lie to marry Cadance, knowing I could only give half of myself to her, and that our relationship would always have to take second place to the safety of Canterlot.”

“So you had to choose between Cadance and Canterlot, and Cadance lost?” asked Twilight disgustedly. “You rescued her and then broke up with her!?”

Shining Armor shook his head, “I love Cadance more than myself; and couldn't stop loving her if I tried, but thousands of ponies rely on me for protection, and so I cannot abandon my royal duties. I was prepared to sacrifice my own happiness for the safety of Canterlot, but sacrificing what I knew would make Cadance happy was a hundred times worse. I was trying to convince myself that this was what had to be; when I practically stumbled upon another possibility.

Keeping the energy shield up for two weeks had been difficult; what started with mild headaches during the first week gradually turned into a constant migraine as the second week dragged on. With the changelings destroyed, I let the shield down and after a day off I discovered that, while keeping the shield up had been painful, it had permanently stretched my magical potential. The increase was slight, but the change was unmistakable.

I had a long talk with Cadance and Princess Celestia, who explained that the shield was a rare sort of spell that would push my magical potential deeper the longer I used it, but the deepening of my potential would be matched by an increase in pain. I couldn't use the spell on and off and slowly build my strength; my potential would only increase when the pain was worse than it had ever been.

So I resolved to do the only thing I could see that would let me marry Cadance and still protect Canterlot. If I held the shield for as long as I could without stopping, eventually I might become powerful enough that when I retrained to my new potential, I could maintain the shield with only a fraction of my energy. I could marry Cadance and would only need to focus my energies on the shield a few times a day to keep Canterlot safer than it had ever been. Even my administrative duties as Captain would be reduced, as we would require fewer guards with the city under the shield’s protection. But before this could happen, I would have to survive a world of pain like few ponies have ever felt before.

Within a week the migraines were back, and as the year dragged on, my body was eaten alive by agony. Every fiber of my body begged me to stop, but thoughts of Cadance kept me going. Every day my potential for power increased as I got weaker and weaker, until finally, when I was on death's doorstep, I let go.

I should have been thrilled that my trial was over, and I would soon be able to marry Cadance, but I was so exhausted I could hardly care less. That, more than the pain, horrified me. It's funny how the mind and body affect each other; when a soldier is recovering from battle wounds, one of the most important factors in his recovery is that he keeps a healthy mindset. But keeping the shield up for so long exhausted me mentally and emotionally as well as physically. I was on the edge of a pitch black depression, and if I didn't get my mind right it’s possible I might never recover.

My body was too weak for my mind to find any solace there, and so Celestia opted for taking my mind out of my body. By putting a healthy mind in an exhausted body, and an exhausted mind in a healthy body, she theorized, both could recover in a matter of weeks instead of months. I think the Princess had predicted when I would break and planned ahead, because just four days after I let the shield down, a friend of mine showed up to take my place. I didn't need that much convincing."

“This friend who swapped with you must be a very good friend if he's willing to suffer like you’re describing to help you.”

Shining Armor nodded, his muzzle lowered into a frown “I'm not meant to talk about him, military protocol.”

“Well, whoever he is thank him for me the next time you see him. Because of him I get to spend time with my brother. How long can you stay? Please say it’s a long time.”

“For a few weeks, or until you get tired of me; I won't impose on you, but the Princess was hoping you would want me to stay here so you could observe me.”

“Observe you?”

“I think it’s time you took a look at the rest of the letter; where is it?”

“Hold on, I'll get it” Spike got up from the table, returned a moment later with the original letter, and handed it to Twilight, who studied it carefully before looking up.

“What does it mean 'unexpected side effects'? I mean, I know what it means but... do we have any idea what you might have gotten yourself into?”

“I know what I've gotten myself into; my friend's body. As for the full ramifications of the swap, no I don't. Body swapping magic is kept highly classified due to the potential security risk it could pose if left unchecked. It’s only been done a few times that I know of, and half of them were by accident. Either way, to my knowledge this is the first time the spell was done with one of the participants as weak as I was. Everything seems to be alright; I mean, I feel great, but the body swap could have unexpected consequences and it might not affect both of us the same way. That's why The Princess was so quick to agree to send me here, she wanted someone she trusted and who knew me well, to keep an eye out; you know, in case I go crazy or something.”

“But... what if something terrible has happened and we don't know it yet? What happens if you can't change back?”

“We'll deal with that if it comes to it. In the meantime I'll try not to think about it, the whole point of this vacation is NOT to get stressed.”

“Are you sure you feel OK now? If I'm meant to monitor any changes, I need to know how you feel to start with.”

“Well,” Shining Armor thought, “My ribs hurt whenever I breathe in, and my face feels like it’s been splashed with acid, but compared to what I was feeling yesterday, it's nothing.”

“OK,” Twilight taking out a notepad and listing her brother's symptoms, “What about your magic?”

“With my body, I’m using my friend’s magic instead.”

Twilight looked at him startled… but then again it made perfect sense. “…What’s it like?”

“Alright so far. My friend wasn’t as strong as I am but he still packs a punch. If I remember correctly he had a MQ rating of four hundred and eleven, and had a freakish aptitude for teleporting.”

Twilight grinned; so she finally had a chance to beat her brother in a magic duel. A unicorn’s raw magical strength was measured on the Mana Quota scale and was fully determined by the time they were five years old. It couldn’t change except for very rare increases like what Shining Armor was describing, or decreases caused by horn damage or certain diseases.

Roughly speaking, only about zero point one percent of unicorns had an MQ over four hundred, and were sometimes referred to as ‘alpha unicorns’ in Canterlot; a term that Twilight had always fount slightly arrogant, but never unpleasent. Twilight herself boasted a MQ rating of six hundred and thirty-six; just over half the power of Princess Celestia herself. Shining Armor, in his own body, was slightly higher than her with six hundred and seventy-eight.

Shining Armor could beat her in a telekinetic tug of war, but her special talent being for magic in general meant she had the versatility to outcast him in most kinds of magic except creating energy shields. She also had a lot more education under then he did; Shining Armor never really started studying until he was in the Royal Guard, before then he’d spend most of the afternoon playing sport with his friends and when he came back would only spend two or three hours studying (four at most,) before going to bed. Even after he was in the Royal Guard he only studied magic relative to fighting in some way, or field medicine. He could beat her in anything army related but in areas like maths, history, chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, robotics, clockworks, astrology, exogeology, gemology, and herpetology, Twilight was way ahead of him.

Twilight made some more notes on her notepad, “That's your physical condition, but what about mentally, are you feeling alright?”

“So far so good. The Princess thinks that as long as I don't get stressed out, I should be fine.”

“Good, remember to tell me the moment anything changes. Promise me if something is wrong I'll be the first to know.”

“Only if you promise to keep this rather low key. Most ponies, even in the Royal Guard, don't know the full truth about what I've been doing this last year. The enemies of Canterlot may try to kill my body if they knew how vulnerable it was now, and how strong it would soon become. Tell only trusted associates who can keep a secret .”

“It's a deal,” said Twilight quickly, not stopping to wonder what 'enemies' Shining Armor may be referring to, “But there's one thing you haven't told me, how does Cadance feel about all this? Why aren’t you visiting her instead of me?”

Shining Armor thought for a moment, sipping the tea Spike had made for him, before responding, “At first she didn't want me to do it at all, but I convinced her it was the best way for us to be together. One year of pain for me and then a lifetime together for both of us was what I told her... and myself. I wanted to visit her when I swapped with my friend but...” he trailed off for a minute and drank more of his tea before finishing, “I don't want her to see me... like this—hiding from pain in another pony’s body.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Twilight wasn't sure whether or not she approved of her brother’s actions.

Shining Armor finished his tea in one last gulp and waited longer then last time before answering, “Four, months ago, right before things started to get really bad. I asked her to leave and promised I would come for her when I was better. It was too much... not for her, for me. I believe she would have stayed with me until I broke, but I couldn't bear to let her see how weak I was becoming. Even though she never said it, I could see in her eyes that she wanted me to break the shield and let myself heal. It took everything I had, but I've done it; when I return to my body and retrain to my new potential, I should be able to easily maintain the shield for the rest of my life. I'll even be able to maintain the shield from outside of Canterlot; for instance I might be able visit Ponyville with Cadance for a few days at a time without dropping the shield.”

“So, where is she now?”

“Fillydelphia, when we were approaching our first wedding date together we bought a house there to spend our honeymoon in, and to use as a holiday house after. She said she would go there while she waited and make sure the house was ready.”

“Are you sure did the right thing by Cadance?” Twilight tried not to sound too judgmental but came off sounding harsh anyway.

“No. But in either case what’s done is done. The price has already been paid and soon Cadance and I will be able to get married. So let’s get ready to celebrate the future rather than linger on the past, shall we?” Shining Armor looked over to where Twilight had her chemistry equipment set up “I'm sure you have a hundred fantastic experiments and a dozen great books that you’re eager to show me.”

“Actually, if you can really stay in Ponyville for a while, I'd like you to meet my friends.”

“Really?” Shining Armor sounded surprised and very pleased, “That sounds like a much better idea.”

Chapter four >>> Overreacting

6 - Out of the Frying Pan...

5 - Second Glances

After an extended farewell to Fluttershy and her collection of animals, Twilight took Shining Armor back to Ponyville to Sugar Cube Corner for lunch. Pinkie squealed with delight at finally meeting Twilight's brother and asked a seemingly unending barrage of questions about what it felt like to be in somepony else's body, which Shining Armor answered as best he could; (Though some of the questions about the possibility of swapping bodies with pine-cones or baby crocodiles left him a bit speechless.) After that, Pinkie danced on the table and sang a song that began as a welcome for Shining Armor, then turned into some sort of idea for a party where everypony swapped bodies with each other, then into something that neither Twilight nor Shining Armor quite understood, but had something to do with everypony in the world swapping bodies all the time and never having the same body for more than one day. It was weird. When Pinkie was finally done, she ordered a cupcake eating contest in honor of Shining Armor and the new body swapping utopia his coming heralded. Twilight and Shining Armor were glad for the cupcakes, at least they got Pinkie's mind off body changing.

Twilight was disappointed with how agitated Shining armor seemed around Pinkie and with how quickly he suggested leaving after the cup cakes. This was meant to be a holiday for Shining Armor; she had hoped that the Element of Laughter would be able to help in his recovery, as laughter was one of the best remedies for stress there was, but instead Pinkie had just made him more agitated. Twilight knew she needed to do something to loosen him up; especially if he was going to one of Pinkie’s parties in a few days. (Pinkie had wanted to hold a welcome party for him that evening, but Shining Armor convinced her to wait for a few days, and only by agreeing to the reluctant compromise that she could introduce him as being Twilight’s circus performing, bull fighting, third cousin from Haywaii.)

Outside Sugarcube Corner, Twilight noticed that Shining Armor had stopped and was eyeing some distant trees suspiciously, like he thought they were about to attack him. He checked the position of the sun and looked back to the clock tower and then back to the trees. “I thought the Everfree Forest was only on the south side of Ponyville.”

“That's Whitetail Wood, it’s perfectly safe, the plants are controlled by the earth ponies and the weather is controlled by pegasi, like normal.” A wave of nostalgia passed through Twilight’s gut at the same moment an idea flew into her brain, “Hey B.B., do you remember how we used to play hide and seek in Canterlot gardens when we were kids?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Twilight suddenly levitated a bulb of cold water from a nearby fountain and splashed it over Shining Armor, “You’re it!”

Shining Armor blinked the water out of his eyes and opened them just in time to see his sister disappear into the dense foliage. He smiled, picked up some loose leaves and bits of dirt to pay her back with, and then gave her a twenty second head start.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash sat on a floating chair of cloud, high above Ponyville, refereeing the ongoing game of cloud soccer by the Wonderbolts. They were too high up to be recognized, interrupted or distracted by fans, and Rainbow had no intention of getting low enough to let those things happen. Whether she just wanted the sight of her old home to help keep her sanity, or if she was waiting for the day when she'd find an excuse to go down and visit her friends, she didn't know. Whatever the reason, these was the Wonderbolt's secret training clouds, even if it did take them most of the morning for them to get out here.

Below her the Wonderbolts whizzed back and forth in a game of cloud soccer. A few months ago she’d suggested splitting the Wonderbolts into two so they could press each other to their limits; the Wonderbolts had thought she was joking, but at least they were willing to split for a short game. If Rainbow kept giving them little exercises like this, it might be enough to motivate each of them to strive for their personal best. If there was one thing they all had in common (except being stupid), it was that they all hated losing; and now that they were split, losing is what would happen to exactly half of them each game. If nopony wanted to be on the losing team, they would all have to try hard and be creative. Competition was the key and cloud soccer had been one of Rainbow's favorite games ever since Cloudsdale, when she and Gilda had ruled the roost each sport day, (though Gilda had insisted the game had originated in Gryffindor and that the proper name was Quidditch.)

Rainbow smiled at how clever she had been; why hadn't she thought of this before? Already the peer pressure to perform was taking effect on both teams. Soon the Wonderbolts would be faster and stronger than ever. This was it! Finally, after months of searching, she had discovered how to motivate them. Strange, it was just two days after meeting Silent Storm—coincidence? Rainbow had started wondering if Storm ever played soccer when the dark blue cloud ball she had got from the weather factory flew into the wall of white cloud that marked the perimeter of the field. Quick as a flash several Wonderbolts from each team dove into the cloud after it, and almost instantly Surprise flew back out with a ball and threw it through team Wonder's hoop. “All right!” Surprise shouted, “One point for team Bolt.”

“Hold on!” shouted Wave Chill, who was the Wonder goal keeper, “There's no way you could have found the ball that fast.”

Surprise grinned cheekily at Wave Chill, “Surprised?”

“Not at all” said Blaze, the caption of team Wonder, “I reckon you cheated! You stashed another ball in the cloud, then got Soarin' to kick the real ball into the cloud, got your fake ball out, and tried to score with it. You little cheat!”

Dash swooped down between Blaze and Surprise, and pulled them out of each others’ faces. “Blaze, don't accuse Surprise just because you don't like what happened.”

“But it's not the same ball, Dash. Look, the ball that Surprise took out of the cloud is a totally lighter shade than the one Soarin' kicked in.”

“It's only lighter because the blue cloud mixed with the white.” Surprise retorted “It's still the same ball!”

Dash knew how to settle this. The real ball was blue because at its heart was a small dye capsule which she had wrapped it in several layers of cloud. If it was the ball she had made, the capsule would still be there. Dash got the ball from Lightning Streak and brought it to the center of the field where everypony could see it. One whack from her hoof cracked the ball open and out dropped a small blue capsule.

“See, See!” shouted Misty. “The Wonders didn't like it when we finally got a point and so they accused us of cheating. I think they deserve a two point penalty for that.” The other Bolts nodded their heads in approval.

“You sure this is the same ball Surprise?”

Surprise looked around at her teammates for support and found plenty “Positive, it has the dye capsule in it doesn’t it?”

Rainbow groaned in disappointment, “Then maybe you can tell me why this capsule is brand new, and was only cracked open a minute ago. I broke the real capsule over an hour ago; it should be half this size by now.”

Surprise backed up a bit, “Well... what I mean is… it’s sort of the same ball… you see - "

Fleet Foot spoke up in her teammate’s defense, “We only cheated because team Wonder cheated first! Fire Streak bumped Spitfire when she was about to make a shot; that's totally against the rules!” within seconds, the Wonderbolts fell to quibbling.

This was more than Dash could bear; Canterlot society looked up to them, they were supposed be better than this. Dash silently prayed that something would happen that would refocus the Wonderbolts’ attention. Funnily enough that's exactly what happened, and she soon wished she hadn't asked for it. Without warning the clouds on one side of the field gave way and a gray pegasus plummeted toward the Wonderbolts— well, plummeted into them would be more exact. Whoever she was, she was going way too fast, or couldn't see where she was going, or both. Whatever the reason, she came out of nowhere and crashed into Spitfire, who crashed into Wave Chill, who crashed into Firestreak, who crashed into Rapidfire, as a wall of spontaneous thunder broke sarcastically over the cloud field.

“Sorry.” groaned Derpy as she slowly untangled herself from the wondrous mess she had made.

“Derpy?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Hi Rainbow Dash” croaked Derpy as she waved with one hoof and rubbed her head with the other, while her eyes seemed to spin in opposite directions.

“What are you doing here?” asked an exasperated Dash, “Can't you see we're training?” Dash suddenly remembered promising Silent Storm she would apologize to Derpy for not wanting to be associated with her around other ponies, and she would say sorry, just... not when there were other ponies around.

“I have a letter for you. It’s from Celestia.”

“The Princess? What does it say?”

“Hold on, I'll get it for you” Derpy turned around to the mail-bag on her flank and tried several times to open it; failing because she was trying to open it from the bottom. Dash realized before Derpy did that the leather strap connecting the bag to Derpy's harness was twisted, and the mail bag was being worn upside-down with the bag's mouth hanging open; any mail that had been in there was long gone. Eventually it dawned on Derpy that she was holding the mail bag upside-down. She unhooked the bag from her harness (almost dropping it in the process) and stuck her mussel inside looking for Dash's letter, finally realizing it was empty. Derpy's ears drooped and her hooves shook slightly as she held out the empty bag for Dash to see.

Dash looked between the empty mail-bag and Derpy's sheepish expression and tried to contain her rising anger, “What did the letter say, Derpy?”

“I don't know. I was just picking up the mail from the Canterlot post office when a pony ran in and said there was a letter from the Princess that had to be given to you right away and that it was urgent. I was the only mail-pony there so I volunteere - ”

“Can't you do anything right!?” bellowed Dash, losing any pretense of compassion, “That was an important letter and now I have no idea what the Princess wanted!”

Derpy cowered and backed away; she looked to the surrounding Wonderbolts for comfort but found none. She understood the gravity of her mistake, but she made no attempt to cover it up or make excuses, “I just don't know what went wrong. I was flying around looking for you for a long time, because I didn't know where you were, and somewhere between those big clouds over there,” she gestured helplessly, “I must have... dropped your mail.”

“Of course you dropped my mail! If you hadn't dropped it you would still have it and I would be reading it by now!”

“I'm sorry,” pleaded Derpy, “Please don't be angry, I was trying to help.”

“GO! AWAY!”

“But...” stammered Derpy, “I could go look for it. If I looked really hard I'm sure I could - ”

“Forget it! Go lose somepony else's mail. You've done enough here already, now SHOO!” Dash shoved the mail bag into Derpy's chest.

Derpy slowly attached her mail-bag back to her harness (the right way up this time) and left without another word. Dash watched her go; seething with annoyance, tingling with guilt, and trying to plan her next move.

“What are we gonna do, Dash? That letter was probably important. We might need to go back for an emergency performance, or to get our pictures taken or something.” High Winds definitely sounded concerned.

Dash was about to order the Wonderbolts back to Canterlot post haste to get their orders repeated, but then had a better idea. Ponyville was practically beneath her. Twilight was there... and Spike. Dash could write a letter explaining what had happened, have Spike send it straight to the Princess; and have a response in less than half the time it would take to fly to Canterlot. “Keep practicing,” she shouted as she dove toward her old home, “I'll be back with a copy of our letter in no time. We don't know what the letter will say, so be ready for anything when I get back!”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor bounded around the trunk of a large tree, he could see Twilight about thirty paces off but she hadn't seen him yet; if he did this right she never would. Shining Armor picked up speed and zeroed in toward his sister, who turned to face him seconds before he reached her, her sweet lavender eyes filling with terror.

“DON'T!” she cried, but it was too late. One of the razor sharp swords Shining Armor was levitating flashed forward and caught her across the neck, cutting the jugular and spraying blood in every direction. She wasn't dead yet though, as she hit the forest floor she screamed with all the strength she had left, “PLEASE, STOP! IT'S ME!”

That infernal voice! Shining Armor wouldn't listen to it again; he would end it. “LIAR!” he yelled as he brought his other sword swooping down, severing her head from her body. As the head rolled across the forest floor the purple body went into spasms; Shining Armor began hacking with both swords, rending flesh and gore until it was beyond recognition. He continued trampling his sister’s corpse even after it had stopped moving; splattering layer upon layer of her blood unto his pure white coat.

WHAT HAD HE DONE!?! Shining Armor looked down to see his coat had turned a dark red, soaked with his sister's blood! He yelled, and shook and kicked against the sheets, trying to get the awful redness off him. But the red wasn't coming off, it would NEVER come off! He would be guilty of his sister's blood for the rest of his life!

“Shining Armor?” Shining Armor looked up; to see the decapitated head was floating off the ground, talking to him, mocking him, accusing him with silent words of death. He clamped his eyes shut and hid his face under his hooves. “Shining Armor, are you alright?” He forced himself to look again. The head looked concerned, had regrown a body, and was standing in the doorway next to Spike. The head spoke again, “After we got back from the glade last night you fell asleep right away. Spike decided to keep an eye on you, and when you started kicking and yelling in your sleep he got me. Are you OK? You look like you've seen a ghost?”

A dream… ? But if his sister was still alive, whose blood was he covered in? “You’re not dead?” he gasped.

Twilight's eyes showed she was worried, but she tried to make her voice sound calm and comforting. “I'm alright B.B., you were having a nightmare.”

Shining Armor glanced down at his fur, “Then why am I covered in blood?”

Twilight looked confused for a moment; then tried to explain, “You’re not covered in blood you’re covered in sweat. Your fur is red because you swapped bodies with your friend, remember? You’re in Ponyville now, it's Wednesday, and everything's OK; it was just a nightmare. Princess Celestia said there might be unforeseen side effects, you do remember, don't you?”

Shining Armor was slowly starting to remember, but the dream had seemed so real. For now it seemed he hadn't murdered his only sister and that was enough for him. With his heart still pounding, he checked one more time and realized he wasn't really covered in blood. Getting up from the floor beside the bed he threw his trembling hooves around his younger sister's neck. “Thank you for not being dead.”

“You're welcome, I'm glad I'm not dead too.” Twilight's fear was giving way to relief but it was nothing compared to what her brother was feeling.

“I love you Twilight.”

“I love you too.”

Suddenly there was a crashing sound and a rainbow-maned pegasus Shining Armor had never seen before fell through an open window, talking quickly. She shouted something about needing to borrow a spike; took one look at them, and her eyes went wild, “WHAT!? HOW COULD YOU!? LIAR!” That was all Shining Armor could make out from the insane creature’s furious shrieks. He took a step forwards to protect Twilight in case the intruder attacked, but his fears were ungrounded. The angry pegasus simply yelled till she ran out of breath; then flew back out the way she had come, crying.

Shining Armor glanced at Twilight who looked as confused as he was; then stared out the open window at the faint train of rainbow the pegasus had left in her wake. “Well that was random,” he said at last. Convinced the mentally deranged pegasus was gone; Shining Armor looking over his shoulder to Twilight who looking scared at having just had her house invaded, “It’s OK,” he said comfortingly, “She's gone, just some crazy early bird. If you’re worried, I could put up an energy shield around the tree house.”

“First of all, it’s not early, its past noon; you slept a long time. Second, that wasn't a random pony; I know her, her name is Rainbow Dash.”

“Does she have a habit of flying in through windows, asking for spikes, yelling uncontrollably, and leaving in tears?”

“No, she’s never done that before; she used to be one of my best friends, but she moved to Canterlot last year ago and I've only seen her a few times since. Whatever happened, she's obviously upset; we should go after her.”

“Before we rush after an angry pony you haven't seen in a year, we should try to figure out what's going on, and why she thought a spike would help.” the words were still on Shining Armor's lips when both unicorns turned to Twilight's dragon assistant who had been standing quietly behind the door until now.

“Don't look at me; I have no idea what's wrong with her.”

“Well… do you have any information from Canterlot that might be relevant?” asked Shining Armor.

“Well I did get a message for you from the Princess a few hours ago, but you were sleeping so I didn't open it.”

Twilight looked annoyed, “A few hours Spike? Why didn't you say something before?”

“The letter wasn't for you,” Spike retorted, “It was for Shining Armor, and the last thing you told me last night was to let him sleep as long as he wanted. He only just got up now!”

“Whatever,” Shining Armor was getting impatient, “Rainbow Dash is getting further away and we still don't know what’s wrong; is that it there? Give it to me.”

The scroll floated in front of Shining Armor and unbuckled itself as his horn lit up like a lamp so he could read. His eyes began breezing over the scroll then stopped, and he started again more slowly, reading every word carefully as his lips pressed together in a hard line and his ears flattened against his head. He finished the letter; then threw it into a corner. “Spike, stay here; start packing saddlebags with food—whatever you can find that can be eaten on the move, will last a few days, and won't require preparation. Pack as much as you’re able and keep doing that until we get back, and get some blankets as well. Twilight, that mare, Rainbow Dash, does she have any connection to the Wonderbolts?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, she's their team captain. Seriously, B.B. I knew you were busy keeping the shield maintained, but I thought you would at least-”

“We need to find her; now!” Shining Armor was already racing for the door, “There no time to explain, just trust me. Come!”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Twilight initially didn't think she would be able to catch up to her brother in his stronger, faster, borrowed body, but he was still getting used to his new legs and stumbled once or twice, giving her the chance to narrow his lead. Neither of them would have stood a chance to catch Rainbow Dash in a straight race, but fortunately for them, Dash either didn't know where she was going, or she kept changing her mind. Nevertheless by the time they had followed her trail to the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight were breathing hard. Plunging into the apple orchard, and weaving to avoid low branches, they kept following Dash’s chaotic rainbow trail. Twilight's eyes were so busy scanning the treetops above her that she almost didn't see Applejack carrying a bucket of apples and just barely avoided running into her.

Applejack dropped her apples as Twilight skidded to a halt, “Twilight! What’s the hurry sugarcube?”

Twilight stopped just for a moment, “Apple... Jack,” she panted, “Can you help us catch Rainbow Dash? It’s important.”

“What in tarnation? Rainbow Dash is in Canterlot ain't she?”

“She's back in Ponyville... not sure why; but she's in your orchard, don't know why either. But she's getting away; can you help us catch her?” Applejack looked confused. “Please, you have to trust me.” That was all AJ needed to hear; leaving her apples on the ground and grabbing a coil of rope from a nearby tree branch, Applejack galloped after Twilight.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Storm felt as though he was spinning, not just one way, mind you, but like his organs were spinning clockwise, his bones counter-clockwise, and his skin was doing somersaults. Ponies couldn’t vomit, but Storm still felt like he was emptying his stomach into his lungs, bladder and brain simultaneously. Nevertheless, he would gladly have felt that way for as long as possible, if it meant delaying his arrival at the destination on the other side of his portgem. The sensation of spinning stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun and Storm felt moist earth under his body. He closed his eyes, hoping against hope that he was still in the palace or even Fillydelphia, but the smell of the rotting trees was unmistakable.

He was home.

After a long moment he opened his eyes, to see an endless sea of dense trees stretching in every direction. Their branches were twisted into cruel, demented shapes, but Storm knew that they were just coverings for the things that hid behind them. They had to get inside before they were seen. Storm looked beside him to where Cadance sat dumbly, looking around at the trees as though she were expecting to find Fillydelphia hidden under a branch or inside one of the tree hollows. Storm tried to speak but she didn't hear, instead she rose on shaky hooves and started spinning in slow circles, trying in vain to take in their surroundings, then looked back at Storm as if hoping for some sort of answer.

Storm steadied himself and tried to push to his hooves, but sharp pains ran up his legs and he collapsed. Again he tried to rise, this time he almost made it until the hawk of one of his front legs gave way underneath him. He began falling forwards and braced himself for agony knowing that any one of the twigs beneath him could easily tear open the fragile flesh on his chin or throat. But before he hit the ground Cadance was suddenly under him; supporting his chest with her neck, she slowly raised him to his hooves and helped steady him.

Not taking the time or effort to try to thank Cadance, Storm took one shaky step and then another toward a large hill crowned with several dead trees. He probably wouldn't have made it if Cadance hadn't walked beside him every step of the way, supporting him with her own body. Storm stopped at the foot of the hill and tried to muster his telekinetic energy, but failed. His heart sank in despair but then he remembered the confused mare by his side. At least now she was paying attention; if he couldn’t give her verbal instructions, maybe there was another way he could tell her what to do. Storm mustered his energy once again; it was faint, but just enough to make a little light dance along the forest floor. She didn't see it. He tried again and this time the small light caught her attention. Finally, when Storm had almost passed out from exhaustion, Cadance finally realized that the light was moving up and down a length of rope, hidden under the fallen leaves. Cadance's horn glowed brightly as she raised the rope and, seeing nothing better to do, pulled. Immediately a section of the hill rolled back like a canvas, revealing a gaping black mouth that led into the side of the hill.

“Inside.” whispered Storm, hoping they hadn't already been spotted.

Chapter six>>> Reality Check

7 - And into the Fire

6 - Reality Check

“NO! LET ME GO! I AM NOT GOING TO HEAR ANYMORE OF YOUR LIES!” Dash flew over Ponyville; confused and half blinded by her tears. What had happened? What had she missed? What could she have done to prevent it? She didn't care where she was going. She had forgotten about the message she was meant to get, and wouldn't have cared about it if she did. The only thing she wanted was to get away from the two unicorns who had betrayed her. She knew what she had seen: Silent Storm and Twilight Sparkle locked in an embrace not two feet from a chaotically ruffled bed in a room that reeked with sweat and betrayal. She didn’t know what claim she felt she had over Storm, or how he had lied to her; she had just felt that there had been a bond between them—one she would have remained loyal to, one which he hadn’t.

Who did this guy Storm think he was anyways? Did he just go around looking for young gullible mares to seduce, and then dump? Was that the real reason he had saved Derpy and left when she turned him down? Was that what he had done to Twilight? But then, why hadn't he tried anything with her? Dash wanted to be alone, but for some reason Storm and Twilight were following her, and now Applejack seemed to have joined in the chase.

“Rainbow Dash!” called Twilight as the two unicorns chased the pegasus through a maze of fruit, “Come back!” Dash ignored her and swerved through the trees as fast as she could, but as she came to the crest of a hill, there was the flash of a teleport behind her, and she felt her body being grabbed by a hatefully familiar telekinesis.

“LET ME GO STORM! I AM NOT GOING TO TALK TO YOU!” Rather than spinning an already angry mare around to face him, Shining Armor tried moving around so he could face her, but accidentally got too close. Dash let forth with a quick kick that caught him between the eyes. Shining Armor faltered for a second, and Dash was released from his grip, but was caught an instant later by Applejack's lasso. Dash struggled fiercely, but Applejack held firm, looping her a second time, and tying the other end of the rope around a tree.

Shining Armor used his magic to pull her to the ground and stood over her, ignoring the thin trickle of blood leaking down his nose. “Rainbow Dash, settle down!”

Dash did her best to spit at Shining Armor, “Don't listen to him, Applejack! He's trying to trick you, just like he tricked Twilight and just like he tricked me a few days ago!”

Applejack spun around at the red stranger in her orchard. She didn't know who this guy was, but if he was lying to her friends she'd run him out of town. “Well, mister? You've got some explaining to do—gonna tell me what's goin’ on?”

“He's alright Applejack.” Twilight had finally caught up and was standing beside the red stallion panting.

“Well maybe you can tell me what's going on then,” said Applejack turning to Twilight, “Who is this guy? Why ain't Rainbow Dash in Canterlot? Why is she running from you two, and why were you trying to chase her down?”

Twilight looked at her friends for a moment and blushed, “I... don't know. But the red unicorn is my older brother.”

Applejack frowned, “I don't see any family resemblance between you two, and you once showed me a picture of who you said was your only older brother when his fancy wedding got canceled.”

“Postponed.” corrected Shining Armor

“Well you don't look anything like Shining Armor!” rebutted Applejack.

“See, I told you he was lying!” cut in Dash, “He wouldn't tell me anything except that his name was Silent Storm; and now he's got Twilight believing he's her brother!”

“I am not Silent Storm!”

“So even that was a lie?” Applejack looked back at this intruder on her farm with new hostility. “I don't know who you are, but if you ain’t running off my farm in ten seconds, I'm gonna drag you out by your mane. One...”

“Girls, calm down!” commanded Twilight in an annoyed voice. “Look, I have a letter from the Princess that explains everything.” She took a scroll out of her saddlebag and held it up for Applejack to read.

“Well that explains somethen, but not everythen;” said Applejack eventually, “Looks like this fellow really is your brother, in mind at least. Have you read this Rainbow Dash?”

“No, what does it say?” Rainbow had calmed down enough to listen to Applejack at least, and if the Princess had sent a letter, it was possible there was a reasonable explanation.

“Says that Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, swapped bodies with some red pony, and came to visit her in the other pony’s body. Doesn’t say how come though,” she turned again to Shining Armor but more kindly this time. “Alright Shining Armor, care to explain why you swapped bodies with some other pony, and why you needed my friend so badly I had to tie her to a tree?”

Shining Armor hesitated, “To be honest I'd rather not. Thank you, whoever you are, for your help, but the Princess sent another letter today, and this one regards Rainbow Dash, not you. I'll pay you a hundred bits for your help, but I'd appreciate it if you left now. We will be out of your apple orchard shortly.”

“Oh no, you don't! You can keep your money, but I want a straight answer about what's going on, and what you need Rainbow Dash for.”

“That information is classified,” said Shining Armor in an official voice, “I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but believe me when I say that it is extremely important.”

“It’s OK,” said Twilight confidently, “Applejack is the most honest pony I know; if she says she will keep your secret, she will keep your secret.”

Shining Armor looked from Twilight to her two friends, “The orders were for Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts to be given a mission, nopony else was to be told unless absolutely necessary.”

“Well, the Wonderbolts and I won't help you unless you tell Twilight and AJ what's going on as well!” Rainbow's voice still had a keen edge of mistrust with a blunt blow of hostility in it, “If you want my help you will have to tell them too, and that makes it necessary.”

“All right!” Shining Armor conceded, “The mission is to assist in an emergency search and rescue mission, for two ponies lost in the Everfree Forest.”

“Oh yeah? Who are they?”

“One of them is the pony whose body I'm using now, Silent Storm.”

Dash blinked when she heard the name, and this time she thought before she spoke, “When I last saw him Monday night, he was going to meet somepony in the Royal Palace.”

“He was coming to swap bodies with me.”

“How come?”

“I'd rather not say.”

Dash wasn't convinced, “Well, he can't have been missing for long; and even if he is lost, Storm can take care of himself!”

“If he had his own body with him he could manage just fine, but he doesn’t. His body is here, wasting time talking to you instead of looking for him. The body he's using right now, my body, is almost useless at the moment. But I'd like to know how you seem to know Storm so well? How long have you known him? What has he told you?”

Rainbow wasn't ready to be the one being questioned and suddenly felt her face go bright pink, “Aaa… nothing. I don't know him. I mean, I hardly know him. I just met him once at one of my performances, and he seemed interesting; that's all.”

Shining armor glared at her, “Fine, keep your secrets while drilling for mine. The important thing is Silent Storm and another pony are lost in the Everfree Forest. The Wonderbolts are the best fliers available, we need their help to cover a lot of ground quickly if we're going to find Storm and Cadance before something happens to them.”

“Cadance?” Twilight said the name like it meant something to her, and Dash vaguely recalled Twilight mentioning her foalsitter from when she was a filly.

Shining Armor's jaw tightened, “The other pony is my fiancé, Princess Cadance. She came to visit Storm, thinking he was me, and when they were checked on an hour later they were both gone. Storm's portgem was also missing. Cadance's portgem was still in the room next to Storm's bed. We don't know exactly where Storm's portgem leads to, but we know it is deep inside the Everfree Forest.”

“Whoa, hold on there!” cried Applejack, “Portgems are rare and mighty expensive; why would this Storm character have one that led out to the middle of nowhere?”

“He had business out there after we swapped our bodies back,” Shining Armor snapped.

It was easy to tell that Shining Armor was getting edgy. Dash suspected that he hadn’t intended to give away Cadance’s identity and was almost certain he had said more then he meant to about Storm’s portgem leading into the forest. Answering the next question would force him to say everything. Rainbow Dash stared at him with eyes like steel and spoke with a voice like the grave, “Who is he? If you want my help, you will have to tell me that. Who is Silent Storm?”

“Twilight,” he said helplessly, “Please forgive me for what I'm about to do to you and your friends; I wish there were another way to save Cadance and Storm, but there isn't.”

“Who is he!?”

“He is an Everfree Ranger.” Shining Armor's voice was flat, as though he realized that it was hopeless to get anywhere without telling the truth and had consigned himself to telling all. After pausing to take in the puzzled glances of the three friends, he continued. “The Everfree Rangers are an elite band of warriors who live in the forest, spending their lives and their blood to keep us safe from the monsters therein. If it was not for them, we would have all been killed many, many years ago.”

Applejack jolted when he mentioned the woods, “They live in the forest! Are they all crazy ponies? Who knows what kinds of nasty critters live in there?”

“The Everfree Rangers know exactly what's in the forest, and that is why they are there—to make sure that the things that are in the forest stay there. That's why they're called the Everfree Rangers, they are sworn to keep Equestria everfree from the forest creatures, and the price they pay is their blood and their minds.”

Rainbow Dash listened closely, trying to decide if she believed him or not. “You mean they fight the dragons and ursas, and keep the paths clear of poison joke? Stuff like that?”

Shining Armor shook his head, “If it weren’t for the dragons and the ursas, we never would have lasted this long. They're too strong and independent to be used as pets or soldiers, but nevertheless they play critical roles in the defense of the forest. As for the poison joke, the Rangers themselves plant that along the trails to discourage ignorant ponies from venturing into the forest, and to deter others from using the same trails to come out.”

“Sooo, what do the Rangers fight in the forest?”

Shining Armor didn’t answer immediately but turned to Twilight, “What do you know about changelings?”

“Emotional parasites,” responded Twilight quickly, “In their undisguised form they appear as small, black, scaly, insectile alicorns but they can take the form of almost any pony (though most of them have trouble hiding their fangs) and then feed off the love that others have for him or her. They breed like bees or ants, with between five hundred to two thousand changelings per hive, controlled by their queens, who are the only ones with magic beyond metamorphous, and share some sort of a hive mind, the extent of which is yet to be determined. They can alter their size but not body weight, which based on limited data, is on average, considerably less than an average pony, accounting for their weaker physical strength.

They can remain undetected in a population for months, feeding off the population, but if they stay that long then the detrimental affects to their victim’s health becomes obvious. They prefer to draw out the feeding process over several months to optimize feeding opportunities but if they believe they’ve been discovered they will try to take as much of the remaining energy as they can at once by,” Twilight swallowed, “Drinking the blood of their victims dry.

No one knows where they come from, and tracking the movement of nomadic changeling hives is difficult, but it’s believed there are at least three hives active on the continent though some believe there could be as many as nine. Historical sightings of changelings are abundant but need to be considered in the accuracy of the source, did the witness have motive to lie and would they have been able to differentiate between a real changeling and a unicorn casting a magical disguise, but the first confirmed encounter with a hive of changelings was in the-”

Shining Armor put up a hoof to silence his sister, “Enough Twily,” he said with a smile, “You’re right except on two accounts. Firstly, there are some changelings who aren’t queens who are mild telepaths who can read your mind and draw out images of your loved ones without seeing them, secondly there are somewhere between twenty to thirty hives in the Everfree Forest alone.”

“So that’s what Storm fights in the forest,” asked Rainbow Dash intrigued, “Changelings?”

“They’re not half of it.” warned Shining Armor, “Twilight’s books can tell you about emotional parasites like changelings or windigos, but what her books won't tell you about are the terrormongers, who feed off fear. They're strong selective telepaths, able to read your mind, and almost instantly know what you’re afraid of; and they're able to project hallucinations of almost anything, sounds and smells included. When they find a prey they begin throwing ghostly illusions into its mind, designed to scare it. As the victim becomes more and more terrified, the terrormonger feeds off the fear, using that energy to make the nightmare grow worse and worse. They can feed for days off a single prey, savoring its horror as they invade every thought and memory with visions of whatever they fear the most. If the prey cannot either destroy the terrormonger, or escape; the terrormonger will keep feeding until the prey dies, at which point they move on in search of more food. They stream by the thousands from somewhere in the middle of the Everfree Forest, or possibly even beyond it. They are intelligent and organized; working together to create a web of fear and deception, always trying to move northwards into Equestria and blocked only by the Rangers.”

The three friends looked blankly at Shining Armor for a few moments and then Twilight asked what the other two were thinking. “Why haven't we heard of this before? I've read books from all over Equestria and have never heard anything about these things, these terrormongers.”

“The answer is obvious if you think about it. Terrormongers can smell fear from miles away; they're drawn to it like moths to light and feed off it like maggots on rotten fruit. We don't know how many there are, but we get the feeling that there are a lot more than we've ever seen or could ever hope to fight. Perhaps they aren’t that interested in Equestria because it’s typically a land of peace and security without a lot of fear to draw them, or maybe they're too busy trying to invade somewhere else. But if the general population realized how close they lived to destruction, it could cause a mass panic; inviting the terrormongers to make an all out invasion, and giving them the strength to do it.

How do you think your friends Fluttershy or Pinkie would handle it if they found out the truth? We could be overrun if word of the war ever got out. The masses of Equestria have no idea of the war that is waged, or the sacrifices that are made, to keep the peace which most of them take for granted. But if we are to survive, that's the way it has to be. That is also why none of you must ever breathe a word of this to ANYPONY unless the situation is absolutely critical. Failure to keep this secret could mean the deaths of us all.

Silent Storm is one of the Rangers, we don't know exactly where he is posted, but we do know it’s at the uttermost forefront of the protected wood. Now he’s out there, in a body that can barely stand, with Cadance, who doesn’t know the first thing about survival or combat, outside of her medical skills.” Shining Armor heaved a sigh, than focused on Rainbow Dash. “Now you know. I wouldn't have told your friends, but you insisted. There's the truth, or at least the shape of it; there's a thousand details which we don't have time for now. However, you and your friends will have to live with this for the rest of your lives. You've brought this not only on yourself but on your friends as well. I hope you’re satisfied.”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Cadance's horn lit the way as she carried Storm through the opening. Inside, the hill was hollow, but the walls and roof were laced with thick support beams; so to anything climbing over the hill it would seem just as solid as any ordinary mound of dirt. There were several large holes in the roof; and Storm knew that above each of them was one of the dead trees that crowned the top of the hill, which he had carefully hollowed when he built this place. One large hole in the top of the domed roof drew hot air out of the burrow, several smaller holes around the sides brought cool air in; like an ants nest.

The far wall was covered floor to ceiling with densely packed shelves containing an abundance but small variety of foods, and other supplies in an organized fashion. Nine lamp stands (fueled with peanut oil so they wouldn't give off any smoke) stood at even intervals throughout the large single room that made up the dwelling. On one wall hung three identical clocks, each showing the same time; without any natural light to tell the time, Storm had once missed an important engagement when his clock started running slow and sworn that he wouldn't let it happen again. Built into one wall was a well that led to a fast moving underground river that flowed deeper into the forest, and along the opposite wall was another hole for trash that led to the same river, downstream of course. Next to the door stood a magnetic rack for Storm's armor and weapons, which was currently empty except for a spare sword and a couple of knives. A simple bench was all that resembled a kitchen, dining room or lounge room, and in one corner was a comfortable looking bed of hay.

Storm was glad when, after taking in the room, Cadance's first act was helping him toward the bed; and, as designed, the door swung shut automatically behind them. But his relief vanished when he heard Cadance speak again: “Rest, my love. I don't know where we are, but there must be somepony around here who can help us. I'm going to have a look outside, but I'll be back soon.”

How could she be so stupid!? Storm had lived in the darkest parts of the forest long enough to know what would happen if she went out there. She'd make noise, she'd leave tracks, they would find her and they would kill her; not cleanly, not quickly, but over days. A soft mind like hers would offer succulent nutrition that would be easily ravaged by even the weakest of terrormongers. It would suck her dry discard her body, then follow her tracks back to the burrow and do the same to him, if he was still alive by then. If she opened that door, they would both die! “Don't!” he tried to emphasis as much as he could but ended up in a coughing fit that made his lungs ache.

“What?” Cadance put her ear next to his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk loudly, but Storm's voice was already beyond gone, he couldn't afford to waste another word. If he didn't convince her not to leave with the few words he had left, it would be death for both of them. He tried to think, searching for the perfect words to make her understand why she mustn’t leave the shelter, but he was exhausted and his thoughts came slow. One idea alone presented itself, and he took it.

“Don't leave me.” he begged, trying to sound pitiful.

Cadance smiled and then lay down next to him, half on the hay and half on the dirt. Spreading one of her wings over him like a blanket, she said in the sweetest voice Storm had ever heard, “I'm here.”

Storm knew that they were safe, at least for the moment, and let his exhausted muscles relax. Within minutes he was sleeping soundly while Cadance kept watch, keeping him warm in her silent embrace.

Chapter seven >>> Thorns of Truth

8 - The Defence of Fort Book

7 - Thorns of Truth

The three friends stared at Shining Armor; for the first time Rainbow Dash and Applejack believed that he was telling them the truth, and for the first time they wished he wasn't. Twilight was just as horrified as her friends, but her horror was offset by the excitement of learning something totally new and quite unexpected. She resolved to get all the facts out of her brother as quickly as possible. “If there are already Rangers in the forest, can't Celestia just send a message to one of them since they're a lot closer to Storm and Cadance then we are? Don't they have dragons?”

“They don't have dragon assistants like Spike, but even if they did, it wouldn't make any difference. The fabrics of magic are different in the forest making the dragons unable to send or receive messages once they’ve crossed the border. We can't use drums or horns or anything like that to communicate either. We tried that a long time ago, but it wasn't long before the terrormongers decoded out messages and began sending out false signals to lead Rangers into traps. For every legitimate message that was sent, ten fake ones were relayed. Many Rangers were led to their deaths by the brilliant forgeries, and the signals that were legitimate were usually ignored by whoever heard them in case they too were frauds. Changing the codes wasn't much help either, because the terrormongers are telepathic and would simply rip the new codes out of whatever Ranger they caught. The only safe way to spread messages is in person. Even so, seeing as how anypony you meet in the forest might well be a changeling, combined with the fact that every Ranger squad keeps its specific routes secret, makes it almost impossible for news to spread quickly. The fastest way to reach Storm and Cadance will be to go ourselves.”

Twilight took the moment’s silence to note Shining Armor's curious language, “You keep on saying 'we' whenever you refer to the Rangers, but you’re with the Royal Guard.”

“I'm both. Membership between the Rangers and the Royal Guard overlaps, far more then you might think.”

“So how do the Changelings and terrormongers get along?” Rainbow asked, for the first time with a note of respect, “Do they fight each other?”

“No; they’re allies. We are unsure of the exact nature of their agreement, but it has something to do with ponies clinging more tightly to each other when they're scared, making the terrormongers desire for fear and the changelings’ desire for love symbiotic. There are also wild beasts: manticores, cockatrice, timber wolves and so on. These, by themselves, are little more than pests to the battle hardened Rangers, but they become tools of death in the claws of a terrormonger. Terrormongers don't seem interested in feeding off the fear of unintelligent creatures, perhaps they're unable able to, but they can still fill their minds with visions of fear, and then use those fears to bend animals to their will. It’s rare to see a terrormonger necromancer without at least a few wild animals acting as an dark honor guard, and waves of predators driven mad by fear will accompany the ghosts conjured by the terrormongers’ dark arts. In battle terrormongers will summon several phantom creatures for every real creature they control making you will think you are beset by scores of wild animals. Only a few of them will be real, but you have no way of telling which are real and which are fakes until you actually hit one, and so you are forced to fight them all, and hope you don't spend your strength fighting an illusion while a real enemy grabs you from behind. Meanwhile the terrormonger will be feasting on your fear and using it to create more phantom monsters.”

The more Shining Armor talked the more uneasy was for Cadance’s chances of getting back safely to Equestria. There had to be some good things about this war—if they were still alive it meant the Rangers had been capable of protecting them so far which meant they must be at least as powerful as the terrormongers. “Are all the Rangers ponies?”

“Most of them are, but we have an alliance with griffons of Gryffindor who send us contingents of soldiers on loan or sell us groups of convicts. There's also a tribe of diamond dogs who initially came to the forest looking for gems, but became warriors when they realized how much was at stake and now maintain a stronghold called Uthraig between the third and fourth dragon walls which serves as the Rangers main base of operations.”

"Dragon walls?" asked Twilight curiously.

Shining Armor froze; "In the middle of the forest." he corrected.

“Earlier you mentioned dragons and ursas being the reason we weren’t already dead. How do the dragons fit in?”

“I'll tell you later, if necessary.”

“You might not get a chance later.”

“Seriously Twily, you do not want to know.”

“B.B..”

Shining Armor sighed, “About two centuries ago, Celestia came upon an unusual egg, abandoned and uncared for. She took it back to the palace and the egg hatched into a baby girl dragon of a breed she'd never seen before. She raised it as a companion, but one day the dragon suddenly changed and became ravenously greedy. The greedier it got the larger it got, and the larger it got the more it could grab, the more it grabbed the greedier it got, so by the end of the day Celestia's gorgeous little pet had become a monster.

In order to protect Canterlot, Celestia had the beast restrained and released deep within the Everfree Forest. The dragon established a horde of gems, which are common in the forest, and began protecting it. Unexpectedly, the terrormongers began avoiding that part of the woods for fear of the dragon, allowing the Rangers who once protected that sector to move elsewhere. In time; the dragon mated with a dragon native to the forest, (which was extremely rare at the time), and laid two eggs, which she left unattended as though she cared nothing for their survival. Two Rangers, who were about to retire, decided to take the eggs back to Equestria. The dragon eggs hatched, and the Rangers took great delight in their small companions, but eventually what happened to Celestia's dragon happened to these two as well; almost overnight they turned from cute little assistants into raging monsters. These too were cast into the Everfree Forest, where they built their own hoards, and again the terrormongers and changelings steered clear of those parts of the woods. At this point, the Rangers started to realize what dragons could mean for the defense of Equestria.

The Rangers started collecting every dragon egg they could find, and sent them in batches to Celestia who gave them to her school for gifted unicorns. Each student was given one egg to care for. The dragons proved themselves to be great study partners; and in later generations we were even able to breed in the ability for the dragons to function as teleporters for small objects like scrolls, allowing Celestia to keep in touch with her students over long distances. But every dragon is micro-chipped during their early days at the school; when they mature, the microchip lets off a beacon, and a specially trained Ranger is dispatched with a portgem that leads to a pre-prepared hoard inside the Everfree Forest. So long as the hoard they're given is too big for them to easily carry; they will not try to move or leave it, so they're easy for us to position where we want them. We form them into great chains called dragon walls that stretch out over the length of forest, each just far enough from the next so they don't fight over territory.

The dragons guard their territories from both Rangers and terrormongers, and will not retreat from a fight, even if they know that they cannot win. The only way to pass them is either with a force large enough to defeat a dragon or in groups too small to attract their attention, no more than ten at the most. This forces both sides to break their armies into dozens of small squads which fight innumerable skirmishes across the breadth of the entire forest, which is advantageous to the smaller army—us. I'm sorry Twilight, but that's the truth. Training gifted unicorns is only one of the purposes of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, the other, more important purpose, is weapons production.”

For Twilight, learning about the terrormongers was like cold water being dumped on her face, but this? This was like a dagger to the heart. Her eyes blurred, and she thought of sweet, innocent little Spike, who was at that moment making food for her. She had only been away from him for an hour, and she missed him already. How could Celestia have kept this from her!? She told Celestia everything she learned about friendship and magic, but it looked like Celestia thought it perfectly all right not to tell her that the entire purpose of her education was a lie! “It can't be true. Please tell me that it’s not true.”

“It is true, but don't make it sound like it’s that bad. If the dragons were born in the wild they would spend their childhood alone, mature, gather a hoard and protect it for the rest of their lives. With our involvement they spend their childhood loved and cared for by Celestia’s students as they assist in training the future leaders and magic professors of Equestria. Then, when they mature, they are given an already started hoard which they are happy to protect, and in doing so protect Equestria. I know it’s hard to accept; but this takes nothing away from their quality of life, it adds to it, meanwhile the benefits to Equestria can hardly be measured.”

“But it's all a lie! The whole school is a lie!”

“No it’s not. The school was training unicorns long before it started training dragons. Adding an extra purpose to the school has not diminished its original function; it has only expanded it.”

“It won't happen to Spike!” insisted Twilight desperately, “Spike already matured once; he got big, but came to his senses and turned back into a baby dragon. He can fight it, he doesn’t have to change.”

“He's delayed maturation but hasn’t canceled it. One day he will leave; it’s natural. All I can say is cherish every moment you have with him, because you won't know what day with him will be your last.” Shining Armor leaned over to stroke his sister’s mane with his horn but she recoiled. Shining Armor knew from experience that too much information at once could be burdensome. He needed to make her think of something else, “The ursas are native to the forest;” He said gently, “Dragons are useful for turning away moderate assaults, but sometimes the horrorlords of the terrormongers will gather an army, capable of cutting through our dragon walls. When that happens, we need an Ursa to stop them. We’ve never been able to tame ursas; as we are barely insects in comparison to them. But long ago we learned that large teams of Rangers, working together, could create music, lights, and smells that would lure them where we want. It's the most difficult craft a Ranger can learn and also the most important.

Ursas do not engage in the fighting, if they did they would probably destroy both armies, but if we can get one onto the field, their presence changes everything. The mind of an ursa major is centuries old, but contains nothing but basic animal instincts. Their minds are too large to be deceived or corrupted by even the most powerful of necromancer spells, but simple enough that they can be read easily. The Rangers have developed a spell, which one unicorn can use on a large group of Rangers, which will telepathically piggyback their minds onto that of the ursa. Those under the influence of the spell will see and feel the same as the ursa does. Their minds become immune to the terrormonger illusions and, as ursas typically regard our battles with little more than curious amusement, and the fear of the Rangers will dissipate; starving the terrormongers of useful energies and leaving them powerless. In short, if the terrormongers and changelings mass in the thousands, an ursa major is our only way of stopping them.”

Shining Armor surveyed each of the three mares sitting around him. All of them looked very uneasy with the information they had received, they weren't cowering like frightened foals. Overall, they were taking it better than many soldiers did, and even Twilight was rapidly recovering from sudden shock of realizing Spike's true purpose in 'her' education. Finally Shining Armor's eyes rested on Rainbow Dash, “We need to go, Rainbow Dash. I have done as you demanded, and told you and your friends everything about your mission. Now, in the name of the Princess, I command you to ready the Wonderbolts and help me find Cadance and Storm.”

“You’re going?” Twilight sounded surprised.

“I am, and as Captain of the Royal Guard, I'm assuming command of the mission.”

“But you just got here, and are still weak from keeping the shield up for so long.” Twilight reminded him, “The Princess sent you here to rest; there's no way you can go on this mission in your condition.”

“My fiancé, my friend, and my body are out there in that forest. I won't rest until I know they're safe and I couldn't rest now even if I tried.”

“The Wonderbolts will travel faster without having to wait for earthbound ponies.” Dash said confidently, “The whole point of us coming is to cover a lot of ground quickly, and you won't be of much help there.”

“Ten miles in the right direction is better than a hundred in the wrong direction. Really, do you have any idea where to start looking? I know the general area where Storm lives, but if I'm off within ten miles, which could be caused by just an eight degree failure with plotting our course, that would leave more than three hundred square miles of dense forest to search, for something which is going to be hidden. I'm coming and that’s final.”

“Then I'm coming too.” said Twilight, “The Princess told me to watch you and make sure you were OK. That would be hard to do from Ponyville if you’re in the forest.”

Shining Armor looked at his sister, not surprised by her audacity, but worried for her safety, “You took self-defense at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, correct?”

“Top of my class,” smiled Twilight proudly, “As usual.”

“Did you read those books I sent you on magical combat techniques?”

“Yes.”

“Did you practice them?”

“Along with the bonus materials referenced in the back, and I got a ninety-eight percent on the written test.”

Shining Armor smiled, “That's my sister. You can come, but remember this won't be a book; this will be real, do or die situations. If you come, you will do exactly as I tell you, or you may not get back alive.”

“Agreed,” promised Twilight.

“I'm coming too!” Ever since Shining Armor first mentioned the Rangers, Applejack had been so quiet the others had almost forgotten she was there. They were surprised to hear her speak up so suddenly and with so much certainty.

“That's OK, Applejack,” said Twilight moved by her friend’s loyalty, “You don't have to go, the three of us and the Wonderbolts can find Cadance and Silent Storm.”

“Not on your life!” yelped Applejack, “Ain't no way that you’re leaving me behind on this one; there ain't no way!”

“You will stay,” said Shining Armor with equal resolution, “This does not concern you.”

“Not my business? How can my family not be my business?” Applejack's voice sounded like nothing Twilight had ever heard, and she thought she saw her blinking tears out of her eyes. “I won't be left behind again. I won't!”

Twilight looked at her friend in confusion, “We've always taken you on our adventures, when did we ever leave you behind?”

Applejack looked down between her hooves, “You didn't.”

“Then who did?” asked Rainbow, who was just as confused at Applejack's sudden surge of emotion as Twilight.

Applejack looked between her friends and then answered in a voice full of hurt, “My papa.”

Twilight was stunned, “You’ve never said anything about your parents before, not ever.”

“Well that's cause you never asked! It’s not something we really talk about.”

Shining Armor regarded her solemnly, “Who was your papa?”

Applejack fought for a minute to get her feelings under control, “His name was Lasso Mac—even had a lasso for a cutie mark. He was the best darn rodeo king ever to set hoof inside the ring. He was amazing, Twilight, you should have seen him; he’d fill his lasso with dozens of little whistles, so he could play them like an instrument, or he would weave little bottles into it, that would open when they spun at different speeds and release different colored smokes.”

Twilight looked on in amazement as her friend poured out things she had never heard her talk about before, things she may have never told anypony. So far these sounded like they should be happy memories, but the way AJ was saying them; it was like a dam full of hurt and frustration had suddenly burst and wouldn't stop flowing until it was emptied. “Traveled all around Equestria he did, winnin’ medals and trophies until he met mamma and settled down at the farm. I remember growing up with Big Macintosh, how we wanted to be just like him. When I was a filly he got me my first lasso and taught me to throw it. He was great at the farm too; he had a special connection to the apple trees that kept them healthy and I don't reckon I've ever tasted apples as sweet as when he was growing ‘em. When it was time for apple harvest, he would get out his lasso with the whistles and make just the right sound that made the tree stems vibrate, and all the ripe apples would fall right off, without him even touchin’ the tree.

Us and mamma adored him, but he never stayed! HE NEVER STAYED! He would just disappear, for weeks at the time, and he never told us where he went! When we asked him where he went, he'd say he didn't want there to be any lies between us, but that he couldn't tell us the truth. Tore mamma up inside being treated like that, tore the rest of us up too, but she was the one I heard cryin at night for him ta come home.

I started practicing with my lasso as much as I could, hopin’ maybe if I was as good as he was, maybe he'd want to stay home more; but no matter how good I got it didn’t seem to matter. We never knew when he'd be home or when he'd leave. Sometimes he'd bring strangers home for dinner, sometimes he'd take a wagon of apples away and not come back with any money, but quite often he'd have money that we didn't know where he got it from. But he'd NEVER tell us what was really goin on.

Then one night right after Apple Bloom was born, he just disappeared and never came back. Mamma couldn't take the secrets anymore so she decided to go out lookin’ for him. She followed his tracks into the Everfree Forest and she never came back either. Poor Big Macintosh cried for weeks, and eventually got so wrapped up that he never wanted to deal with anypony again. Apple Bloom never knew either of her parents; Granny Smith was too old and too upset to help much with the farm or Apple Bloom, so I raised Apple Bloom like I was her mother and kept the farm running! Now you’re tellin’ me about these secret Rangers livin’ in the woods, fightin’ against these terrormonger and changelings and who knows what else. What if my daddy was one of you?! The answers could be in that forest. If you know the deep forest, and you’re goin’ in, then I'm comin’ with you!”

Applejack stood squarely and faced Shining Armor down, turning almost as red as he was, but whether from anger or shame at realizing what she had said, Twilight couldn't tell. In all the time Twilight had known AJ, she had never acted like this. Twilight was scared; a few hours ago she thought she knew what the world was like, but now it seemed she knew absolutely nothing about a forest that was practically on her doorstep, or about the truth behind her education, or her brother, or even her closest friends. At the same time she felt compassion welling up inside her for the entire Apple family and couldn't believe her ears when she heard her brother’s response. “No,” he said firmly, “You are not coming.”

“Yes I am!” insisted Applejack, “I won't take no for an answer.”

“This is an urgent rescue mission for two missing ponies. We do not have time to help you run down a personal family vendetta. If you ran off by yourself past the first dragon wall, you would be dead within a day, and I will not have that on my hooves.”

“I won't run off, I'll help with the rescue, but in exchange, on the way back, I want you to point me to where I can find somepony who can tell me if my papa really was a Ranger.”

“Let her come B.B. I've seen what she can do, she will - ”

“Stay out of this Twily!” Shining Armor was sounding more and more like a military officer and Twilight didn’t like it, “I said no, and that's my final answer. Stay here and mind your apples, apple mare. Rainbow Dash, get the Wonderbolts. Twily, come with me.”

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Shining Armor turned to leave, but before he could take a step Applejack raced around, blocking his path. Shining Armor moved to push her aside but she lunged forward with a kick, barely missing his head. Before Twilight could do anything, her friend and brother were both rearing and kicking fiercely. Twilight tried desperately to leap forth and pull Shining Armor and Applejack away from each other but found she could no longer move.

Shining Armor flipped AJ, who tumbled onto her back. Lowering his horn, Shining Armor ran forward as if to hold his horn to her throat; but before he could get close enough, AJ's hind hoofs kicked powerfully into his chest. Shining Armor staggered, and AJ leaped to her hooves in a single splendid movement. Grabbing another coil of rope from another tree, AJ lassoed his front-right hoof and pulled, trying to drag him to the ground. Shining Armor began to fall forwards but stomped his front-left hoof onto the rope, canceling the pressure. Ducking his head, Shining Armor plunged his horn through the rope and into the ground; then, flicking his head back up, he sprayed Applejack's face with loose bits of dirt and gravel. Strangely, thought Twilight, Shining Armor wasn't using any of his magic. His horn was glowing brightly, but she could see that it wasn’t having any effect. She tried again to move, but still seemed to be paralyzed.

AJ retreated to a nearby apple tree, one kick summoned a cascade of falling fruit, another kick sent two apples directly toward Shining Armor's face. He ducked just in time and rolled; then picked himself up and charged full speed. Applejack stood her ground until the last second and then leaped to one side, letting Shining Armor barrel harmlessly past.

Shining Armor cantered around a tree before wheeling back to face Applejack; but instead of trying to charge her again, he slowed to a trot and then a walk, “You’re not bad for a farm girl” he said smiling, “Not bad at all.”

“I've wrestled with Big Macintosh enough, and I'll finish you yet!” Applejack shouted as she charging toward Shining Armor. But suddenly she was lifted off the ground, with her legs running helplessly in the air.

“Enough,” said Shining Armor.

“I ain’t letting you go without me!” Even powerlessly dangling in the air, Applejack still had the nerve to make demands.

“All right, you can come,” with that Shining Armor’s horn died down and Applejack fell a few feet to the ground. Twilight gasped as she suddenly realized she could now move as well.

“Do you mean it?” asked Applejack slowly; wondering if this was some sort of trick.

“First of all” said Shining Armor, “I needed to know if you could fight, and you do, at least enough not to be a liability. You were highly emotional, but you didn't let that block your thinking, as demonstrated by the tactics you used. Second, I can't be sure, but I think the name Lasso Mac sounds vaguely familiar, and if your father practiced making different sounds and spreading different smells over a wide area with his lasso, that could have easily been used to help lure an ursa. Third, there are archives and graves that are maintained between the first and second dragon walls. After, and only after, we find Storm and Cadance I will show you where they are, and you can search for your father there. However, if you come on this mission you will accept my command. I am the only one with experience in the deep forest, and I meant it when I said that if you ran off by yourself, you wouldn't last one day. Do you accept?”

Applejack blinked a few times trying to process everything had happened then broke out into a smile, “Yes sir.”

“Good.” Turning back to Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor asked one final question, “When will the Wonderbolts be ready for departure?”

Rainbow looked down at Applejack's lasso still coiled around her waist, “As soon as one of you unties me from this tree!”

Chapter eight >>> Choices

9 - The Reason For The Year

8 - Choices

Rainbow Dash rose swiftly through the clouds, searching for her missing Wonderbolts. They should have been playing another game of cloud soccer, but the quiet sky did not surprise her. Rising higher, she cleared the top of their soccer field and found them spread out, sleeping on small drifting clouds in groups of two or three. Rainbow hovered for a few moments watching them: Firestreak snoring softly, Soarin' sleeping on his back with his legs twitching in the air, Misty and Silver Lining huddled close together despite the warmth of the afternoon sun. They were all so cute when they were asleep; so calm, so peaceful, Rainbow exhaled and bucked a nearby cloud, sending a bolt of lightning ripping through the field and shattering the stillness of the Wonderbolts’ dreams. Eleven terrified pegasi shot into the air like giant startled fleas, and dove into larger clouds like rabbits down their holes; while Soarin' seemed to vanish head first into the cloud he’d been sleeping on, (it was amazing how much faster they all moved when they were scared.)

Dash picked a visible spot in the middle of the field and waited; after a few minutes’ heads began peeping sheepishly out of the clouds, and the Wonderbolts gathered expectantly around her. “I hope you all enjoyed your beauty sleep.” Dash said with a smile.

The Wonderbolts looked at each other sheepishly until Lightning Streak broke the silence, “uhh... yeah, it was OK. You didn't really have to do that Dash, you could have just asked us to get up.” This was true, but it would have taken ten minutes of groans and complaints; but using a thunderbolt was quicker and much more fun. “Before leaving I told you all to be ready for anything. Are you?”

“You bet!” piped Surprise, “After you left we all did about twenty laps; we were going to do more but we figured we should save our energy for our big secret mission, and so we decided to rest until you got back. I take it you found out what our mission was?”

Twenty laps? Yeah right, five at most. “Yes, I got our message,” the Wonderbolts leaned forward in anticipation; “We're going on a search and rescue mission for two ponies lost in the Everfree Forest.” The expression on their faces was priceless.

“The ... Everfree Forest?” stammered Wave Chill in disbelief.

“Yes of course,” said Dash casually, “Two ponies went into the forest to look at something. They were meant to be back yesterday but nopony’s seen them since, so another pony who’s sort of like a park ranger is going in to look for them and we're going to help; any questions?”

After a few awkward moments High Winds burst out laughing, “I get it! You’re joking, like with the lightning bolt. You’re just having some fun with us, right?”

“Nope,” said Dash cheerfully, “I'm serious. Three ponies are already waiting for us in Ponyville. We’re supposed to meet them at the library and then we're going into the forest until we find our missing ponies.”

Several moments of silence passed before Blaze finally said what was on everypony's mind “Isn't this like, really dangerous? I mean, don't all sorts of monsters live in the forest?”

Dash hesitated; no matter how irritating the Wonderbolts were to live with, she had always tried to maintain the veneer of honor and valor that the public saw in them—the lie that had drawn her to them in the first place; the lie she had become a part of. If she told them the truth now, there was no way she would get them as close as Ponyville, let alone the forest. She had just promised Shining Armor that the Wonderbolts would help; she couldn't go back alone, and even if she could, they needed the Wonderbolts if they were going to find Storm and Cadance before the terrormongers did.

What if, underneath all their selfishness and cowardliness, the Wonderbolts really were the heroes they all pretended to be? What if putting them into a situation where they had to face their fears and work together to survive, they would find out how brave they really were and they would become the dream team she had dreamed of. To find out, she would have to keep lying for just a little bit longer. “Sure it’s probably a little bit dangerous, but as long as we stick together we'll be fine. Our guide says there are heaps of ponies who live in the forest full time, so it can't be that bad. You know how stories spread: ten ponies go into the forest, one of them gets into trouble and nothing happens to the other nine. When they get out, the nine ponies don’t say anything because their stories are boring, and the one pony that did get in trouble gets all the attention. We'll go in, find the missing ponies, and be back out before you know it. Think how much our ratings will improve when Canterlot hears how we bravely faced the 'perils' of the forest to bring back the lost ponies. We'll be heroes!”

“Are you sure about this?” High Winds asked.

Dash motioned for the Wonderbolts to draw nearer and spoke excitedly “OK, I was going to keep this as a surprise, but I'll tell you now. The forest is a tiny bit spooky around the edges but deeper in it gets really cool. The Royal family has this awesome, secret holiday resort in the middle of it all, and they're the ones who made up the stories about all those monsters so that their holiday resort doesn’t get swamped. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza went to visit it with one of her Royal Guards, but after getting there he got really sick and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza doesn't want to come back alone. All we have to do is go to the holiday resort, pick up The Princess and her sick guard and then come back home. The royal family will keep up the charade of there being monsters in the forest to keep their privacy, and so they'll tell everyone how brave we all were in rescuing Celestia’s favorite niece from a bunch of evil monsters. We'll be heroes!"

At this the Wonderbolts lit up like school foals and everypony started talking at once. Spitfire pointed out how Princess Mi Amore Cadenza took six Royal Guards whenever she visited a Wonderbolt air show, so if it only took one guard to visit the forest, then the forest must be one of the safest places in Equestria. Blaize, Fleet Foot, and Fire Streak fell to excitedly estimating (with ever more fanciful figures) what Celestia's 'generous reward' would be for helping her niece, and how much the Wonderbolts ratings would skyrocket once the media got wind of this. Silver Lining and Misty wanted to know if whatever had made the guard sick was contagious, but Dash assured them that it wasn’t. Wave Chill and High Winds wanted to know if the Wonderbolts could book this secret royal resort for their next holiday (which they seemed to assume would come immediately after the impending success of their 'daring mission'). The rest of the pegasi showered Dash with praise for having landed such a golden opportunity for the Wonderbolts to show off their greatness.

Dash let their imaginations fly wild for a few minutes before calling them back to order; the Wonderbolts would only receive credit for the rescue if they were the first to the scene. By now several other groups of would-be rescuers would have heard of the royal plight and be on their way. The Wonderbolts wasted no time in falling in behind Dash as she began the long dive to Ponyville, and after a few moments they began singing one of their many victory chants. Dash remained silent, basking in their adoration and trying to force down any doubts of what might happen if things went wrong. This had to work; after all, they were the Wonderbolts.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Spike was wrestling another bag of oats into an already overstuffed saddlebag while Twilight's phoenix, Pyromite, was using his flames to speed cook some bread, when the library door swung open for Twilight, Applejack and Shining Armor, each carrying a large bucket of apples. “Hey guys, did you find Rainbow Dash?”

“She's getting the Wonderbolts and then she's coming here,” answered Shining Armor, “How are the supplies?”

“Good … I think. I still don't know how much food we actually need.”

“We need enough for sixteen ponies for about four days of hard work.”

Spike looked at his miniature hoard of snacks. “I don't think I have quite enough for that.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we brought these then,” said Applejack with a smile, setting down her bucket of apples and indicating the others. “Will these make up the difference?”

“I guess. But I'm already out of saddlebags; we don't have room for any more apples.”

“There are some sacks under the counter,” volunteered Twilight, “You can tie them together and improvise saddlebags.”

“Good thinking,” nodded Shining Armor, “Applejack, help Spike get the rest of the food ready; but save some room, we'll be getting some medical supplies later. Twilight, meet me outside in two minutes, I want to see your combat spells in practice.”

Twilight was about to follow her brother when Spike jumped on her back, “Combat spells? What's he talking about? What's going on?”

“Twilight, Applejack, the Wonderbolts and I need to go into the Everfree Forest. It might be dangerous so I'm making sure that Twilight is up to it.”

“But aren’t you meant to be on vacation from keeping the shield up?” Spike asked, worried.

“I've already been through this with Twilight. I'm going. End of discussion.”

“Well then, can I come too?” pleaded Spike, “If it's dangerous you might need me.”

Shining Armor turned to Twilight, “Can he fight?”

“Well... ” hesitated Twilight, “Not really.”

Spike felt himself deflate as Shining Armor plucked him off Twilight's back and put him on the bench next to Applejack. “Stay here and help prepare the supplies.” Before Shining Armor could turn away, flames engulfed half the kitchen forcing Shining Armor, Twilight, Applejack and even Spike to cover their eyes. When the party's eyes cleared they saw Pyromite; wings extended, burning brightly, croaking what sounded like a cross between humble begging and a voracious threat. (Fortunately, after his first few attempts at burning down the library as a baby, Twilight had taken to regularly casting fireproof spells over the library and everything in it.) “Can he fight?” asked Shining Armor, a little more hopefully.

Twilight shuddered, and Spike guessed correctly that she was recalling the one and only time she had brought Pyromite to have tea with Fluttershy. What had began as a squabble over a bowl of spaghetti between Angel and Pyromite, quickly turned into a terrible battle of beak against claw, tooth against talon, and white hot flames against Angel's deadly arsenal of poisoned katanas, knives, javelins, and silver bolts from a small repeating crossbow. The titanic clash had nearly destroyed Fluttershy's cottage before Angel finally fled in disgrace and Pyromite proudly claimed his prize of burnt noodles. “He can fight,” Twilight squeaked. Spike and Applejack both knew that this was an understatement.

“Well then, meet me outside, Pyromite,” invited Shining Armor, “We'll see what you’re made of.” With a boastful squawk of delight, Pyromite lifted off his perch and followed Twilight and Shining Armor out the front door.

“I guess I should get some packages of thermite then” sighed Spike as he and got the sacks from under the counter, then held them for Applejack to tie. The two worked well together finishing the last of the supplies, but Spike couldn't shake feeling left out, as loud explosions testified to a violent sparring match between Shining Armor and Pyromite. “I wish I were a big dragon so I could go on more adventures with you and Twilight and the rest of the gang.” he said glumly.

Applejack stopped and turned to Spike with a disturbed look on her face, though he couldn’t imagine why. “Just don't try to grow up too fast, Spike. Twilight still needs you.”

“I know, but sometimes I think if I were just a little bigger, I'd be able to—” he noticed the flashes from Shining Armor's dual with Pyromite had ceased, yet the rumbling sound was getting rapidly louder.

Applejack noticed it too and looked out the window, “What in tarnation!?”

............................................................................................................................................................

Dash led her exuberant team in wedge tail formation over the rooftops of Ponyville, stopping every few streets for spontaneous stunts to wow the gawking ponies below. Rainbow knew they should be moving along, but the Wonderbolts loved showing off, and if this helped bolster their morale for the mission ahead, then fine, a few minutes wouldn't hurt. They switched formation and began a more complex routine of barrel roles and cartwheels as the crowd grew larger.

Dash could see Twilight on her front lawn with Shining Armor talking into her ear and Pyromite on her back. Twilight's eyes closed and her horn was glowing like she were focusing on some sort of spell. The eggheads were busy which meant the Wonderbolts had time to perform.

Throwing themselves into a more complex routine of barrel roles, cartwheels, leaps and dives, the Wonderbolts preformed with one purpose—to please the crowds. The crowd grew with every new stunt, and so did the stakes. Simple barrel roles might be enough to impress fifty ponies, but a crowd of five hundred wanted better, more elaborate stunts. The Wonderbolts were happy to oblige.

On one rooftop appeared Scootaloo, jumping up and down and waving to get Rainbow Dash's attention. Dash flew close enough to give her a high hoof and almost knocked Scootaloo off the roof. Dash was about to double back and catch her, but Scootaloo caught herself and scrambled back onto the roof, grinning from ear to ear.

The crowds cheered louder and louder but eventually one chant rose above the rest, “DASH, DASH, SONIC DASH. DASH, DASH, SONIC DASH.” They wanted the Sonicrainboom. Dash did one fast lap around Ponyville to pick up speed and gain altitude, then sped back to the center of town, breaking the sound barrier right above the audience just high enough not to cause any ear damage. Dash sang into visibility a glittering rainbow over the small township, doing all sorts of loop-the-loops through the clouds until finally settling into a spiraling dive, breaking her fall at the last possible instant and landing right in front of the library.

The rest of the Wonderbolts lined up on either side of her and joined her in taking a bow before the wowed audience. Dash turned to Twilight who seemed as amazed as the rest of Ponyville, although a little confused, then turned to Shining Armor, expecting to see a similar expression of wonder, but was met instead with eyes that glared daggers. His mouth moved but the crowd was cheering too much for Rainbow to hear anything. She moved closer and motioned for him to repeat himself, there was a flash of light and the noise faded; looking around Rainbow recognized Twilight's basement. “What do you think you are doing!?” repeated Shining Armor.

“My job, I'm the Wonderbolt captain, this is what we do.”

“Your job right now is to help rescue Princess Cadance and Silent Storm from the Everfree Forest! To do that, I was hoping to leave Ponyville quietly, so nopony would think to follow us or ask us why we were going into the forest, but that's going to be a lot harder after your little charade.”

“Come on, it's not that bad, is it?”

“Maybe you didn't understand what I meant when I said the Rangers plant poison joke along the paths to discourage stupid travelers. If we go into the forest now, half the town will go trooping in after us. Do you have any idea how stupid that was?”

“I...”

“Apparently Princess Celestia thinks you and the Wonderbolts are smart enough to take on a classified mission. Is she wrong? Because if you're not ready; you should go home right now. In fact that would be useful as it would distract the town long enough for the rest of us to get into the forest.”

How dare he? Dash had spent her life dreaming, bleeding and striving to be a Wonderbolt, and he was belittling them as though they were nothing. He hadn’t earned the right to be angry at them like she had. Dash puffed out the feathers in her wings to make herself look bigger and stared Shining armor directly in the eyes, “You bet they're ready.”

Shining Armor calmed down, but only slightly, “You've told them about the terrormongers and the Rangers?”

Dash ignored the weight in her gut and answered on instinct, “I've told them everything they need to know.”

“Good. I have some letters to write, go make sure your Wonderbolts are ready for the job. So long as you can keep them under control, we should be fine.”

“Oh, they'll be ready,” promised Dash angrily, “And frankly, you should be more concerned about you keeping yourself under control then worrying about them!”

With that, Rainbow turned and leaped to the top of the basement stairs with a single bound. Hearing about the Rangers and the mission had distracted her momentarily, but it hadn't made her forget what she saw when she flew in the window earlier today. It hadn't been Storm she’d seen embracing Twilight, it had been Shining Armor, and in its own way, that was even worse! He was engaged to Princess Cadance wasn’t he? So what was that, adultery plus incest? Even if Shining Armor wasn't engaged, Rainbow highly doubted that Celestia would allow incest in the royal family, or the royal guard, or her school for gifted unicorns, or just about anywhere for that matter. Did Storm know what Shining Armor was doing with his body? Rainbow walked past the bedroom she had seen the two unicorns earlier; the rancid body odor was gone, replaced instead by a faint smell of ash.

The unicorn’s lewd behavior was doubly surprising because she had always taken those two to be complete sticklers for rules. Twilight treated a late library book as if it were an appalling felony and Shining Armor well they'd... met once before, in Canterlot, when he was arresting her over that teeny, tiny, little illegal fight club incident. She'd tried telling him that she'd only just walked in there after hearing some ponies talk about it on train, and how she'd thought that some rich guy had a secret flight club in his basement, and she had her mouth guard with her because she was on her way home from the dentist... at one in the morning.

He didn't buy it.

She ended up spending one night in a cell and getting stuck with a hefty fine; she'd decided at that stage that she didn't like him, but had almost forgotten about it until a couple months later when Twilight showed her a family photo. So far it seemed that Shining Armor didn't remember her… hopefully it would stay that way.

“Wow, a baby dragon!” Rainbow followed Misty's voice into the kitchen where several of her Wonderbolts were gathered around Spike who seemed to be enjoying the attention.

“He's so cute,” squealed High Winds, “What's his name? Can he talk?”

“You bet I can talk,” grinned the dragon, “Call me Spike.”

“How old are you Spike?” asked Rapidfire, goggling at the adorable reptile, “Wait, let me guess. You’re ... seven.”

Spike hesitated a few moments and a mischievous glint lit up his eyes, “Actually I'm three thousand, four hundred and forty-six! You see, dragons are born big and then they get smaller as they get older. I used to be the dragon emperor, but then I got overthrown in a horrible palace coup. So I'm hiding out in Ponyville until I can organize an army to retake my throne. Oh, I hired a unicorn assistant to help me in the meantime. She's a swell gal; sleeps in a basket next to my bed, makes me breakfast, stuff like that.”

Three shocked Wonderbolts’ jaws hit the floor almost in unison. Spike stood perfectly still, looking almost regal on his little three inch legs, until Rapidfire began to sink to his knees, sending Spike into a hopeless series of hysterics. Rapidfire jumped back to his hooves, afraid that his gesture had somehow offended the tiny sovereign but Spike by now was laughing too hard to notice.

“Did we do something wrong? Is he angry with us?” asked Fleet Foot in a panicked voice as Spike's laughter began to sound like some kind of barking.

“He's about to eat you!” shouted Dash who had crept up behind them, “Run. RUN!”

The Wonderbolts fled the room leaving Rainbow alone with Spike, whose hysterics only redoubled at Rainbow's interference. Eventually he was able to get enough of a grip of himself that he recognized his old friend. Still struggling to recover Spike was able to pull himself to his feet, “Rainbow hehe Dash, good to see you. I haven’t seen you since... well about two hours ago really...”

“You saw me when I came in before?”

“Well of course, I was in the room with Twilight and Shining Armor. You probably just didn't see me because I was behind the door.”

Dash felt like her blood was running cold. Shining Armor was horsing around with Twilight... with Spike in the room. What kind of a library was this? “...What were you all doing in the room?”

“Well Celestia said that there might be unexpected side-effects from Shining Armor's body swap, so I moved my basket into Shining Armor's room so I could keep an eye on him. He slept for ages and then he started thrashing around and yelling in his sleep so I ran out and got Twilight, who came in and woke him up. He was freaking out from whatever he had been dreaming, something about Twilight being dead, but then he realized it was just a nightmare and gave Twilight a hug. Ah and then you came in... screamed at him... then flew away crying.” Spike's voice trailed off and looked at her quizzically, “Why did you do that?”

Rainbow took several moments to digest what Spike was telling her. Nightmare, brother and sister hug, not inflamed lovers hug. “I just... ummm... I saw Twilight with this red stallion, hugging next to a bed, saying they loved each other and thought--”

Spike, caught her drift and fell into another fit of hysterics. “You thought... you thought Twilight and Shining Armor… were in love?” he managed between giggling fits before stopping cold, “Wait a second... that’s gross! They're siblings for crying out loud!”

“Well I didn't know it was Shining Armor! I thought he was... somepony else.” rebutted Rainbow, wishing he would keep his voice down.

“Which you obviously wouldn’t care about as you hardly know Storm.” said a voice behind her. Dash pirouetted to find herself nose to nose with Shining Armor, again. Shheesh! Couldn't he announce himself before sneaking up on somepony like that!? “Just how well do you know Storm?”

“None of your business!” snapped Dash, “And you should learn not to listen in on other ponies' conversations.”

Shining Armor regarded her coldly for a few seconds, “I need Spike for a few minutes. Go make sure that your Wonderbolts are ready.”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Spike watched Rainbow huff in frustration and then trot out after her Wonderbolts, before giving his attention to Shining Armor who was levitating two scrolls in front of him. “You want me to send these to the Princess?”

Shining Armor pushed one of the scrolls a little closer, “I've already inscribed it with an alternate address, just breathe on it and it will go where it needs to.”

Spike complied and the two watched as the letter dissolved into smoke and flew out an open window, “And that one?” Spike asked indicating the remaining scroll.

Shining Armor looked around to make sure they were alone then closed the door and lowered his voice, “Once the crowd outside dissipates, hide this somewhere near, but not inside, the library; tying it to one of the higher tree branches would be fine. Someone might come looking for it later, but if they do they'll know how to find it and open it without your help."

Spike reached for the scroll, instantly feeling a tingling of magic as his nails touched it. Spike had spent enough time with Twilight to recognize a protection spell when he saw one. Without the proper counter spell this scroll would be impossible for him to mail or open without destroying it. Spike tossed the scroll around in his claws, getting a feel for the energies that emanated from it. It was obviously a powerful enchantment; even Twilight probably couldn't open this without... Spike looked questioningly at Shining Armor.

“I'd appreciate it if the others didn't know about this. Can I trust you?”

Shining Armor was one of the first ponies Spike had met after Twilight hatched him. He had been about the only pony who could knock Twilight out of her obsessive studying and get her to go have some fun, and on his weekly visits to Twilight he had almost always brought Spike a bag of sweet sapphires or spicy fire diamonds. But to keep a secret from Twilight… “Yes.” Spike said hesitantly.

“Thank you. The rest of us will be leaving in a few minutes and, when we're gone, there's one more thing I need you to do for me.”

…........................................................................................................................................................

For all their failings, the Wonderbolts were able to understand that they needed to get into the forest secretly, or else other ponies wouldn't learn about the troubled princess, and organize competing rescue teams. After collecting their share of the supplies, they provided a brief but fantastic farewell to the ponies still gathered outside the library and then took off at a considerable pace and altitude towards Los Pegasus. After putting a few miles and a large hill between them and Ponyville, they dropped almost to ground level and slid into the forest; skirting along the edge just inside the tree line, until they met the others.

In truth, Dash wasn’t that interested in helping find Cadance or Shining Armor’s body. Those things were important, and a few days earlier she would have been racing off for their sakes alone, but they were shadowed by much more important questions that was bighting at her mind; ‘Was Storm OK and did he feel about her the same what she did about him?’ She'd find him and ask. The fact that there were hundreds of miles of monster infested terrain between them didn't deter her in the least; it just made things a bit more interesting.

After regrouping with the others, the company set out into the forest. The path was just wide enough for two ponies to comfortably trot abreast. The two unicorns led the way, deep in conversation and giving the clear feeling that they did not want to be disturbed. Leaving the Wonderbolts to take up the rear and carry on with their own pointless discussions, Rainbow walked beside Applejack and couldn't have asked for a better companion.

Applejack did most of the talking, telling her all about the comings and goings of Ponyville this last year: the blind cockatrice that Fluttershy adopted, Twilight doing substitute teaching for Cheerilee, the apple harvest and a dozen other minor, everyday occurrences that Rainbow had missed. Rainbow would have been content to listen to Applejack for hours but it wasn't long before Zecora's hut came into view and both mares came to understand the empty room in their packs for ‘medical supplies’. From the window drifted the smell of bubbling concoctions and the laughter of two ponies. Was one of the Rangers visiting Zecora? No the other voice sounded more like a filly. Rainbow jumped towards the window to get a better look but only made it a few feet before she was seized mid air and dragged back to the ground. Rainbow shot a dirty look over her shoulder just in time to see Shining Armor's horn stop glowing. “Wait here with the Wonderbolts and Applejack.” he commanded, and then turning to Twilight he more cheerfully invited “You coming?”

…........................................................................................................................................................

Twilight opened the door and entered into to a warm room lined with pots of exotic herbs and spices. In the middle of the room sat Zecora next to her large cauldron along with Apple Bloom who must be on one of her semi-regular visits.

“Twilight!” exclaimed Apple Bloom when she saw her come in, “It’s a good thing you’re here; tell Zecora that that she should give me somethin’ to make me stronger so I can beat Scootaloo in a contest.”

“To defeat your friend in ways not legit; heed my words, no good will come of it.” warned Zecora as she scoped spice from a drum into the cauldron.

“But Zecora” whined Apple Bloom, “She's got her wings which give her an unfair advantage, I'm not looking to cheat, ah just want things to be even. Are you sure you couldn't fix me up a little something?”

“Indeed I could, but that does not mean, I should.”

Twilight only half understood Apple Bloom’s desire for a muscle stimulant. She knew that Diamond Tiara had boasted endlessly about her planned graduation party at the palace with the Wonderbolts performing a private show, and how Silver Spoon was the only other foal from the class she invited. Diamond Tiara and Silver spoon had rubbed the other foal’s mussels in it till they were sick to death of it, and so as compensation Mrs. Cheerilee had put on the best party she could afford for the rest of the class.

Word spread from student to parent and from parent everypony else. Soon, half the town was involved in creating a counter party that was probably far more fun, but at a fraction of the cost. Fluttershy established a petting zoo, Pinkie and the Cakes made sweets, Twilight arranged a fireworks display and preformed magic tricks, Cranky Doodle Donkey played the bagpipes (which he did remarkably well), but the real star of the show had been Cheerilee's new coltfriend, Jell Gibson, who brought a two-hundred gallon tub of jelly for the foals to play in. After what had seemed like a free for all jelly fight (though the foals insisted that there had been teams) the foals took to having wrestling contests in the jelly with Scootaloo claiming first prize and Apple Bloom coming second. “I thought the contest was already over Apple Bloom. Why would you need help winning something that's already happened?”

“Cause the fight wasn't fair!” Insisted Apple Bloom “I was gonna just challenge her to rematch in the pond, but Snips and Snails heard about it and suggested we hold our own iron pony competition to decide who’s the most athletic pony in the school. We start next week but if Zecora doesn’t help me, Scootaloo's gonna use her wings to cheat, just like Rainbow Dash did against mah sister.”

Twilight thought for a minute, “Doesn’t the fact that Snips and Snails suggested it; tell you that an iron pony competition is a bad idea?”

Before Apple Bloom could answer her eyes looked behind Twilight and blinked. “Well howdy do Mr., I'm Apple Bloom.”

Twilight turned to see Shining Armor in the doorway, looking impatient to get a move on. “Apple Bloom I'd like you to meet-” Shining Armor's clearing his throat cut her off.

“Well Apple Bloom,” he said quickly, “I'll bet you'll never guess what's happened. Apparently the Wonderbolts got lost on their way to Los Pegasus and are right outside. I just gave them directions out of here but they've decided to rest for a few minutes before heading off. Why don't you go say hi?”

“Do you mean it?” asked Apple Bloom, her eyes growing wide as saucers.

“I do, but they're won't be there for very long so you'll have to hurry up if you want to see them.”

“Oh boy, oh boy,” shouted Apple Bloom jumping up and down with excitement. “Bye Zecora, bye Twilight, bye... whoever you are” and with that she was bolted out the door with her with her mane and tail billowing behind her.

“Salutations Silent Storm” smiled Zecora after Apple Bloom had left, “Your return is sooner then you warned. Yet never fear my long held friend, your armor I was quick to mend.”

“Madam Zecora-” began Shining Armor with a bow but he was but was almost instantly cut off by Zecora who had risen to her hooves, catching him in her intense stare.

“Perhaps just now I spoke in haste and my words of greeting were but a waste. I sense not the stench of a changeling veneer, but yet it seems you are not whom you appear.”

“Age has not dulled your sight” said Shining Armor; head still slightly inclined “It’s me, Shining Armor. Storm and I engaged in a body swapping spell and-”

“Shining Armor!” bellowed Zecora, drawing herself to full height, suddenly appearing menacing as though the cauldron next to her was boiling due to her rage instead of the fire beneath it. “To dare come here you show great nerve, or care not for your life preserve!”

“Zecora, please listen to me” started Shining Armor as he backed away before Zecora's advance, ears flat and mohawk bristling.

“No! For your offense it was most grave, your shameful acts prove you a knave! To become a friend and one so dear, then leave and then visit not, in donkey's years!?” Quick as lightning Zecora threw one hoof around Shining Armor's neck and drew him in for a brief but fierce hug, ruffling his mane with her other hoof before releasing him with a cheerful laugh. “Come and be welcome my prodigal friend. Tell me what aid that I might lend. Tell of your travels, while you were away, and tell why Storm's face you have today.”

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Shining Armor sat down with Twilight and as quickly as possible, described his keeping up the shield, his body swap with Storm, and the disappearance of Storm and Cadance through Storm's port gem. Zecora listened patiently, waiting for Shining Armor's tale to finish before speaking, “The path you have taken, it was not wise. Great shame on you, for misleading your bride; yet what's done is done and those lost must be saved, I will provide what help you need that I might speed you on your way.”

“Thank you Zecora. We have enough food and blankets to last the journey, but we don't have any medical supplies, or anything to reveal the illusions of the forest. The rescue party is myself, Twilight, thirteen pegasi, one earth pony and one phoenix.”

“All that I have and indeed much more, you have come at an opportune time to drain my store. Flares to reveal what lurk in the night, potions to heal and restore your might.”

“Thank you again” affirmed Shining Armor, “But tell me, did I hear you correctly when I came in? Do you have Storm's armor here?”

Chapter nine>>> Last Chances

10 - Reflections

9 - Last Chances

Outside Zecora's hut, Applejack sat down next to a disgruntled Rainbow Dash. “Well, I've been yapping on about what's been going on in Ponyville without given you so much as a chance to talk; what about you? How's life with the famous Wonderbolts?

“Please,” begged Rainbow “Don't talk to me about the Wonderbolts. Ask me about anything except the Wonderbolts.”

“...All right... so Rainbow Dash, what have you been doing this last year?”

“...Nothing.”

“Nothin?”

“Nothing.”

A few awkward moments passed as both ponies inspected their hooves before Applejack tried again. “If you don't mind me sayin',” she said a little cautiously, “Seems to me that you have a bit of a thing for this Storm fella Shining Armor swapped bodies with.”

Was it really that obvious? Fine, it’s not like there was much point in denying it. Rainbow had spent the last year lying about how she felt about almost everything to everypony, it might feel good to tell an old friend the truth for once. She didn't know if what she felt for Storm 'love', (they had only been together for a couple hours after all,) but she had a crush on him the size of Cloudsdale. “I guess a little” she admitted.

“And for a while there, I was almost starten to believe all those stories of you filly foolen around in Canterlot.” smiled Applejack giving her a playful nudge, “Hope it works out for you, I mean, I hope getting involved with one Ranger doesn’t get you involved in the whole Ranger business.”

“Well what would be wrong with getting involved with the Rangers and what they do?” asked Rainbow indignantly. “I mean, someone’s got to do it, right?”

Before Applejack could answer, the Wonderbolts who had been standing a distance off began trotting towards them, with Lightning Streak in the lead, “Hey Dash, can we ask you about something?”

“Shoot,” offered Rainbow.

“Are dragons born really big and then get smaller as they get older, or are they born small and then get big?”

Applejack snickered “Dragons born big and then shrink? Now what would give ya'll a crazy idea like that.”

“Emperor Spike told us.” volunteered Rapidfire

“Emperor Spike?” asked Applejack bewildered.

“Well he used to be the Dragon Emperor, but then he got deposed in this vicious palace coup. All his supporters were killed and so he's hiding out in Ponyville with his unicorn assistant while he plans his re-ascension of his rightful throne.”

“Really?” chuckled Applejack. “I reckon the little guys just having some fun with ya's. He turned eleven last month; trust me, he thanked for the basket that I gave him about thirteen times.”

“But how long have you known him?” High Winds challenged, “Maybe he is really old but just told everyone he was young to avoid attracting attention.”

“Firstly, if that were the case, then why'd he tell you? Secondly, I've only known him for about three years, but Twilight's known him his whole life. She hatched him after all.”

“WHAT!!!” Rapidfire's jaw hit the ground followed closely by the rest of him. “The purple unicorn is his mother!?! As in; she made a nest and laid an egg and sat on it until he hatched!? …Whose the father!??!?”

“It wasn't like that” groaned Rainbow, “Dragons don't take care of their eggs, they just leave them lying around. Ponies pick them up and send them off to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Whenever a unicorn wants to join the school they need to cast a spell to hatch one of the eggs as an entrance exam. If they succeed and the dragon hatches, he or she becomes the student's personal assistant. Twilight hatched Spike when she joined the school eleven years ago. Spike was tiny when he was born and since then has been slowly growing and will continue grow for a long time.”

“Oh, that is so cool!” shouted Surprise, “Hey I know! We should all get baby dragon assistants too!”

“That's a great idea!” squealed Misty, “We could train them to be a cheer-leading squad and they could dance at our shows.”

“Can we get dragon assistant’s too Dash?” asked Soarin', trotting on the spot and slobbering in excitement, “Can we? Can we? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Were they serious? Soarin’ was barely competent enough to take care of those pet rocks he collected. “I don't think so; Celestia seems to want to keep all the dragon eggs for her students. I doubt she'd let us have dragons just for fun.”

“Maybe we can ask for pet dragons as a reward for saving Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” Suggested Fleetfoot.

“I'll think about it,” answered Dash coldly.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” everypony turned to see a yellow filly jumping up and down in excitement. “The red pony wasn't lying, the Wonderbolts really are here!”

“What are you doing all the way out here Apple Bloom?” asked Applejack sounding concerned and almost hostile.

“I was visiten Zecora. What are you doen with the Wonderbolts?”

“I don't want you coming into this forest ever again, do you hear? Not without me or another big pony.”

“But I am a big pony” Apple Bloom insisted, “And yu know that I've been coming to visit Zecora for a long time now and you haven't complained before. Why are the Wonderbolts here?”

“Well not anymore.” declared Applejack, “If you really wanna see Zecora come and ask me or Big Macintoch and we'll take you if we can. Otherwise this forest is off limits from here on out.”

Rainbow slid between the sisters before the looming argument blossomed into Apple Bloom being grounded. “I didn't know you were a Wonderbolt fan Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom nodded furiously, “Are you kidding? I might not have been that much of a fan back when you lived in Ponyville; but after you joined up with the Wonderbolts, Scootaloo kept on showen me and Sweetie Bell all her Wonderbolt stuff. At first we both thought it was silly, but then we saw just how really cool you guys are. Now I've got all your tradin' cards and all your comic books from seasons one and two and when season three comes out the Cutie Mark Crusaders are all gonna get em and read em together.”

“She's a real fan alright.” confirmed Applejack, “Had me set up her room with your posters and Wonderbolt bedsheets and everythin' for her last birthday.”

“Oh, oh and since we got tired of waiten for the third season to come out; we've started writing our own comic book about yas!” Ah yes the fan fictions. If it was anything like the other fan fiction comics Rainbow had read about herself, it was probably about ten times cooler then the official comic books in print. Ever since the first installments of the Wonderbolt comics had come out, fans from all over Equestria had been writing their own; bizarrely often containing; better stories, better songs, and sometimes even better animation than the original series. All the stories were completely made up of course; unlike Trixie, not even the Wonderbolts had ever even tried to pretend that they went on wild adventures between shows (it’s like they’d have time), but the visage of fearless adventurers the books portrayed still rubbed off on their public image.

“A fan fic eh? What's the story?”

“Well, it start at the next Grand Galloping Gala where there's a big contest to see which set of performers can put on the best show. You and the Wonderbolts do great, but you only come in second.”

“We lose?”

“Ya... sorry about that.”

“Who to?”

“An OC we invented named Ekips. He's a dragon who was going to be a traveling magician, but Sweetie Bell wanted to make him a musical as well, so he's got this magic harp that he plays to cast spells. Oh, and he's the only creature alive to have survived preformen the world's most dangerous card trick! That's what he uses to beat you with at the Gala.”

“...Alright.”

“At first you and the Wonderbolts don't like Ekips cause he beat yas, but then you all become really good friends. But then he gets kidnapped by this really evil Alicorn Princess and so the Wonderbolts need to go fight her to get him back.”

How much would Rainbow pay one of her writers for making a story like this? A thousand bits maybe? Why not just fire her entire staff of producers and start paying some of the kids who were already doing a better job for free. “So do we all slay the princess and save the dragon?” she asked with a smile.

“Yea; but Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo are arguen about how it should end; Sweetie Bell wants there to have been a singen unicorn who was at the Gala and took third place right behind the Wonderbolts that comes with you to rescue Ekips and those two end up falling in love and becomen' a preformen' duo. Scootaloo thinks that that's too predictable and wants a surprise enden where Ekips turns out to be a giant magic chicken."

Rainbow laughed, more out of concern than amusement, but Apple Bloom didn't seem to notice; "I think you'd better go with Sweetie Bell's idea," Apple Bloom nodded, and Rainbow Dash changed the topic before she could comment anymore about Scootaloo and 'chickens', "So... if you're such a big fan, how many times have you been to one of our shows?”

“Welll... I've never really been to one of your shows. But Big Mac says that if I'm good, he'll take me to the Hearths Warming Eve performance when it's half price.”

“Hearths Warming Eve?” asked Rainbow “That's months away. Why not right now?” Looking around, Rainbow took quick stock of the glade; white barked trees that grew straight and tall without any low hanging branches, wide open spaces the perform the more complicated stunts, plenty of light, a small lush hill for the Apple sisters to watch from. This would be almost perfect for a small show! “Wonderbolts assemble!” she cried, and felt pride and hope wheal up inside her as it took only a few seconds for her team to line up in a perfect row. “We're going to do the Star Trot for this little filly here. Spitfire, you take High Winds and Wave Chill and form the base. Lightning Streak, Blaze, you've got the stunts. I'll take the lead with Silver Lining and Surprise as my wingponies. Everypony else, you know what to do.”

The Star Trot was perfect for the space they had; it was a personal favorite of Dash since it had been the first real routine she ever choreographed, lasted only lasted a few minutes so it wouldn't wear them out, but had never once failed to revive a standing ovation. Dash jumped ten feet in the air and hovered there for a moment, expecting her Wonderbolts to follow her, but to her dismay they just stood there looking dumbly at her. “Come on, what are you waiting for!?” she asked, even though she regrettably already knew the answer. She'd seen that look on their faces before.

“Um, why are we doing the Star Trot?” asked Fire Streak after a few moments of awkward silence.

Dash dropped back to the ground to face her crew, doing her best to imitate Fluttershy's menacing stare, as she draped one hoof around Apple Bloom and pulled her to her side. “This little filly is the sister of one of my best friends from before I became a Wonderbolt; she's a HUGE Wonderbolt fan but has never seen us in a live performance. We aren’t doing anything at the moment and so were going to give her a performance that she is never going to forget.

“We're doing a show for one filly?” asked Misty in surprise.

“We did the show for Diamond Tiara's party a couple days ago,” Dash growled, redoubling her efforts to do the stare, “There was only about twenty or thirty ponies there and you didn't complain.”

“Does this filly have three hundred thousand bits?” Fire Streak asked dryly.

Dash felt Apple Bloom go stiff when she heard how much a private show with the Wonderbolts usually cost. Dash knew there was no way the Apples could ever afford that, but it didn't matter; Applejack was her friend, Apple Bloom was Scootaloo's friend, and even if they weren’t, for a appreciative fan who couldn't afford a ticked, Dash would have happily preformed for free. She would have... the Wonderbolts wouldn't.

How could they? How could they stand there and shatter a tiny filly's heart, and talk about her like she wasn't even there? Dash knew that they were always like that behind closed doors but they NEVER acted like that in front of the fans. Maybe some fans just weren’t worth pretending for. Dash resisted the urge to beat Fire Streak into the dirt, grit her teeth and forced herself to breath. “Alright” she said, “Do the Star Trot and I might ask Celestia about getting one baby dragon to share between you.”

The Wonderbolts looked at each other and for a moment Dash thought she might have reached a compromise until High Winds asked the next question, “What color?”

“I don't know!” yelled Dash covering her ears with her hooves. “Just forget it! I'm going to go and fly whether the rest of you do or not. Anypony who wants to fly with me that's great. The rest of you, do what you want!”

Dash shrugged off her saddlebags and launched into a frantic series of loops, dives and barrel rolls, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind off of the pathetic creatures beneath her that called themselves the Wonderbolts. In the end, Spitfire and Wave Chill were the only ones that bothered to help her, Surprise came in for a few plays, but dropped out when she saw that the rest of the herd weren’t coming.

Of all the performances that Dash had done recently, this one meant the most to her, and it was by far the worst. Her timing was off, her maneuvers were sloppy, and without any decided upon script, she, Spitfire and Wave Chill lacked any trace of harmony, and each mistake only broke her concentration further making her performance deteriorate even more. Dash could imagine what she must have looked like from the ground, and knew she had seen better performances from Soarin' when he was drunk then what she was doing right now.

Dash didn't know how long she scribbled through the air, but after what seemed like an eternity of lameness, she realized she was the only Wonderbolt still in flight. Heaving with disgust Dash finally let herself drop onto the dirt, breathing heavily. Her... 'performance' did not merit a bow, there was no applause. With considerable effort Dash forced herself to make eye contact with Apple Bloom, seeing everything she expected and feared; confusion, disbelief, maybe even a hint of worry, but most of all... disappointment. The dream had died; maybe it was for the best.

“Was that... it?” asked Apple Bloom after a agonizingly painful wait. “Cause that was... well-”

“Now Apple Bloom” cut in before her sister said what they both were thinking, “Rainbow Dash is a great flier, the best, she's just not acten' herself today.” Applejack turned to Dash with genuine concern written across her face, “Are you OK sugarcube?”

Dash didn't know what to say. She wanted to pretend that that had all been a joke and then give the performance of her life, but her wings refused. She wanted to go bury her head in the dirt and scream in defeat, but that didn't seem like a good idea either. Instead she just stood there, looking like a fool and a leader of fools. “I'm just... that was-” she stammered, but her tongue was even less cooperative then her wings had been.

“Perhaps the mare, just needs to rest; before she can fly at her best. But the time has passed for you to roam, come Apple Bloom, I will take you home.”

From out of nowhere Zecora had appeared in their midst. Apple Bloom looked at Zecora, then at the Wonderbolts, then to AJ and finally towards Zecora's hut. “What's going on here?” she asked suddenly, “Why are the Wonderbolts really here? Why has Rainbow Dash forgotten how to fly? Who was that red pony?”

“You don't need to know” answered Applejack quickly, “Now be a good girl and go home with Zecora.”

“And what are you gonna do?” the filly retorted looking around at the strange gathering, “Every pony has their saddlebags on like they're goen someplace; and look they've got our apples.” Apple Bloom pointed to an apple core Rapidfire had left on the ground. “You’re goen on an adventure with the Wonderbolts, arn't you? Where are you goen?”

Rainbow knew Applejack wouldn't want to lie to Apple Bloom, but neither could she tell her the truth, so Rainbow decided to help her out. “Well you know how the Wonderbolts acted so mean before?” Apple Bloom nodded, “Well that’s because they've all been put under a curse by an evil enchantress that's made them lose their brains their hearts and their courage. But there's a good wizard who lives in the forest who’s able to make them all cool again, and so we're off to see the wizard!”

Apple Bloom's eyes widened in amazement, “Is that what happened to them?”

“Eeyup; and I just found out now that the spell took away my flying skills as well, so that's why I sucked so bad before.” This was a good save. It vindicated her and the Wonderbolts, gave the illusion they were doing something cool, and explained their presence in the forest. Rainbow mentally gave herself a high-hoof.

“If you’re under a curse y’all should talk to Zecora. She's got cures for everythin.”

“This is a special kind of curse, and it can only be broken by the wizard in the forest.”

“I ain't never heard of this wizard. What's his name?”

“His name? ...Awesome. His name is Awesome, but he prefers Awes for short; so ponies call him the Radical Wizard of Awes! He's the only one who can make the Wonderbolts awesome again, because... he's so awesome.”

Apple Bloom scrutinized Rainbow's story for several moments and then looked to her sister in confusion, “Is she tellin' the truth?”

Applejack smiled but shook her head. “I don't think so, though she might have been sayen somethen right about them Wonderbolts.”

“Then why are you going?” insisted Apple Bloom, “And don't lie, I'll know.”

“Your sister's judgment you should trust, and come with me without a fuss” chided Zecora as she began prodding Apple Bloom along with one hoof.

“No” she stamped. “I wanna know what's really goin' on.”

“You beat my patience as though like a drum. Our time wears thin and so now you must come.” Zecora reached forwards to pick Apple Bloom off the ground but Applejack placed a hoof on Zecora's.

“I'll talk to her” Zecora gave Applejack a concerned glance but released Apple Bloom and stood back. Applejack placed both front hooves on her sisters shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Apple Bloom listen to me. I might be close to finden out what really happened to our parents.”

“Is Awes gonna tell you?”

“I dunno, but one way or another I'm gonna find out the truth.”

“Then ahm coming too!”

“No you ain't! You're goin' back to the farm with Zecora right now!”

“But-”

“No buts! Your leaving now and that's final! You can walk with Zecora or she can carry you. It's your choice.”

“I... I'll walk” Apple Bloom finally conceded in defeat.

“Then come along and let’s make haste, lest more time we come to waste” said Zecora as she started down the path to Ponyville. Apple Bloom gave Applejack a quick hug and then trotted off after Zecora. Applejack watched them leave with a grave expression on her face, “She'll try to follow us” she said a cold certainty.

“Zecora seems like a responsible mare,” comforted Rainbow, “Don't worry.”

“She's a slippery one that filly. I hope your right Rainbow Dash, cause if she gets away and comes after us, after what Shining Armor said about the forest...” Applejack couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, and neither could Rainbow.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Storm had been sleeping peacefully, having a wonderful dream about something he couldn't quite remember when he heard what sounded like Cadance's voice calling to him from a long way off. He tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but then felt something hot dab against his mouth. He licked his lips and his taste buds sang with something like sweet lemons. Storm opened his eyes first to see Cadance crouching to one side of him, and then to a bowl of some sort of tea she was levitating in front of him.

“Try to drink this” she offered compassionately, “It will make your throat feel better.”

Realizing how parched he was, Storm opened his mouth and Cadance carefully lifted the bowl to his lips which he drank down in thirsty gulps. It was good, very good, Storm didn't know he could make this with the supplies he had, (then again, it had been years since he had viewed food for more than it’s nutritional value). The warm sweet tea flowed over his tongue and down his throat, soothing the terrible pain that had made every word before then an agony. A small drip of tea dripped down his chin and almost onto his hoof but Cadance noticed it and gently wiped it away with a cloth.

With the bowl emptied, he looked over to Cadance to thank her, surprised to see her eyes were moist with tears. At first he thought she was just upset to see him in the condition he was in, but she didn't seem sad at all, she looked... happy. Storm wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered that some ponies cried when they were happy as well as sad. It seemed strange that opposite emotions should cause the same response, but then, Storm had little interest in understanding emotion aside from how to block it. He knew that Rangers who were prone to strong emotion usually didn't last long in the forest, while Rangers who didn't feel much emotion lived. What good was it to love another pony anyways? Eventually one of you would die, and caring just made it painful for the survivor. Besides, what reason did Cadance have to be happy? She was stuck in a one-room house, deep in the forest with a fake fiancé. She was probably just too stupid to realize the danger she was in and yet... was it possible that simply thinking she was with somepony she loved, and helping him when he needed her most, was enough for this simpleminded mare to feel glad?

Storm finished the tea and the empty bowl floated back to the bench. Not feeling his voice was fully ready to try and talk, Storm smiled at her in thanks. Cadance replied with a wordless answer of her own, a kiss, placed gingerly to his disfigured cheek. This wasn't right. Sooner or later she was going to find out he wasn't Shining Armor, and the longer she remained deluded, the worse she would feel when she learned the truth. But what would she do if he told her? She would almost certainly be less inclined to care for him, knowing he was a stranger; but she'd probably care enough about Shining Armor's body that she wouldn't just let him die. What if she tried to leave the burrow to search for her missing fiancé?

Storm tried to forget about Cadance and go back to sleep but his conscience wouldn't let him rest. He had made far too many mistakes already, adding any more guilt to his burden would make it even more unbearable. So long as he could convey some measure of her need to remain in the burrow, and so long as she was still willing to keep him alive, it would be better for her to know the truth and be upset then to frolic on in blissful ignorance. “Cadance” whispered Storm, finding his throat was already improved. Cadance had been on the far side of the room, examining Storm's inventory of supplies, but immediately came and knelt down beside him with her ear close to his mouth. “I'm not who you think I am... I'm not Shining Armor-” was all he got out before Cadance gently placed her hoof over his mouth.

“Shhh.” she cooed gently “Yes you are. You've been through a lot, but don't worry, I'm going to look after you. You'll get better, you'll remember who you are... and who I am. I promise.” Storm felt too tired to try and argue, at least he had tried. Cadance gently nuzzled his neck and then lay down next to him again. Wrapping him once more in her wing, she began singing softly as Storm fell back to sleep.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow and Applejack sat next to each other, silently, until the door to Zecora's hut opened to reveal two unicorns. Ordinarily, Rainbow would have noticed the belt fastened around Twilight's girth, studded with deadly knives, or been curious about the dozens of clay pots tied to rope harnesses that hovered in the air, but it was the other unicorn that came out who caught Rainbow's attention.

He seemed taller than Storm had been clad nose to tail in a suit of armor. Against the foliage surrounding Zecora's hut it seemed to blend in, as though its wearer had become one with the bark; but when he moved into the sun it was as though the armor was alive with fire. Two wicked retractable spikes protruded out from the chest piece, looking as though they wanted to impale an entire army on their razor sharp peaks, near the shoulder there were several small sockets on either side, holding contraptions that looking like fireworks, and on his back were the scabbards of two massive swords. If Rainbow had thought Storm looked stunning without his armor, now he was... was... Twilight's brother, engaged, and a total douche.

“Gather the Wonderbolts” ordered Shining Armor when he and Twilight had joined Rainbow and AJ, “We'll go over the plan once in detail and then move out.”

“Tell the plan to me and then I'll pass in onto them.” Rainbow interjected, “I'll be able to translate it from military lingo to Wonderbolt lingo and things will go faster.”

Shining Armor paused, and Rainbow could imagine him scrunching up his face under his helmet, but he didn't object. “There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to field dressings, so we have a variety of remedies for different injuries. The pots are color coded so remember what you have, if Twilight or I call for a medicine you're carrying, get there quick. The smaller jars are for throwing. Each jar has several compartments filled with different chemicals, when the jar breaks the chemicals will mix, creating a gas cloud that will disrupt the magic changelings use to shape shift and terrmorongers use to create illusions.”

“So their tricks won't work if they're in the gas cloud?” asked Applejack.

“Precisely,” Shining Armor picked out eight jars and hoofed them to Applejack, then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Can you divide these among the Wonderbolts?” he asked indicating the rest of the pile.

“But what about you and Twi” interjected Applejack, “You aint saven any of these for yourselves.”

“That's alright.” said Twilight confidently with a hint of embarrassment. “Shining Armor taught me a revealment spell that will disperse the illusions with my magic; and Zecora gave us each a few of these flares” she pulled one of the firework like things from her saddlebag, “They can only be lit by magic, but will burn for almost a minute and any illusions caught in their light will disperse.”

“Keep in mind” warned Shining Armor, “The clouds the jars release will only last for a few seconds and it's a long journey, so, use them wisely.”

“Just how far out did Storm and Cadance teleport?” Applejack asked worryingly.

“There are four completed dragon walls that stretch across the forest with a fifth well on its way. Zecora believes Storm's post was holding open a section of forest that will eventually become part of the fifth wall. This information is two months old however and he may have moved since then, but if we don't get better intelligence from the Rangers along the way, that's where we will begin our search.”

“How big is each dragon wall?”

“There are brief respites between each wall which are patrolled by Rangers. Each dragon wall, along with its respite, is meant to take about a day to cross if you take it easy; I hope to have crossed all four dragon walls, by the end of the third day, and begin combing the forest for Storm and Cadance on the fourth. Each dragon wall we cross will bring us closer to danger and we will run a higher risk of being attacked, though I doubt we'll see any action before the third wall. Terrormongers usually won't attack unless they have the advantage, and any force large enough to challenge seventeen competent fighters, wouldn't make it past the third wall undetected.

Whenever we pass one of the walls, we will have to break into two squads that circumvent a dragon’s territory on opposite sides so we're not attacked. I'll take one squad, with Rainbow Dash and six more Wonderbolts; Twilight will lead the second squad with Applejack, Pyromite, and the remaining Wonderbolts. If at any point I'm not around; Twilight's in charge.” Twilight's mouth flew open when Shining Armor named her his lieutenant. She gawked at him for several moments before trying to compose herself, making a concise effort to look the part she’d just been given.

“When we find Storm and Cadance,” continued Shining Armor, “We'll group together, and I'll activate a portgem that will take us back to Canterlot. Any questions?”

“None from over here” said Rainbow hitting the air with one hoof, “Just show us the baddies and the Wonderbolts will show you what we can do.”

“Don't get cocky.” warned Shining Armor, “At the end of a battle there's no points for looking cool; there are the living, the dead, and those who have had their minds permanently destroyed. I knew a mare once who acted a little bit like you; she spent three hours trapped by a terrormonger and spent the rest of her life in a hospital, thinking she was a dog! Any more questions? No? Good. Let's move out.”

Chapter ten>>> Into Darkness

11 - Lost!

10 - Into Darkness

Shining Armor led the company southwest, single file as he contemplated the improvised team he had gathered. If he thought for one moment, that he could have convinced Twilight to stay in Ponyville he would have tried. But he knew that once she heard Cadance was in danger, and he intended to join her, nothing in Equestria could convince Twilight to let him face the danger alone, and letting her come in an official sense would be much safer than for her to try tracking him from a distance. The letter from Princess Celestia was little more than an excuse for her to come. Shining Armor would never forgive himself if he let something happen to her, but he couldn't help feeling some selfish comfort to have her there. He needed a lieutenant for the second squad, and she was the only pony there that he knew or trusted. She was smart, a competent spell caster, and her maturity of being honest about Spike's capabilities had sealed the decision in Shining Armor's mind. (Taking Spike, or anyone who wasn't ready into the forest, could very well have meant a death sentence for everyone on the mission; one coward would act like a beacon that would attract terrormongers, setting the company up to be ambushed, and then feed the terrormongers throughout the battle, enabling them to defeat the rest of the party.)

Pyromite was also a welcome companion; Shining Armor had dealt with phoenixes before and although sometimes unstable and prone to 'friendly fire' they made stalwart companions who would stick with you to the very end. Twilight had told him that Pyromite was just over a year old, meaning he was probably about half way through the phoenix equivalent to puberty. This meant Pyromite would sleep most of the day, eat ravenously, and spend his brief waking hours as a raging inferno. So long as he could direct that energy into fighting terrormongers and changelings, half the party might owe their lives to Pyromite by the end of the mission.

As for the others Shining Armor wasn't sure what to make of them, and had accepted them almost solely on Twilight's recommendation. The farmer seemed a competent enough fighter in her own element, but out here there was every chance she would crumble. The rainbow pegasus was the one who worried him though; she obviously knew Storm, her... disturbingly understandable misconception that Storm and Twilight were lovers had nearly driven her insane with jealousy, but from what Shining Armor had heard, Storm almost never left the forest. It was true that most Rangers rotated between the forest and a normal life; and many of them had marefriends who didn't know their true identities, yet somehow that didn't seem like Storm. If this mare was attached to Storm, she was probably very capable but bordered on being psychotic; from what he had seem so far his guesses seemed accurate. She wasn’t really the kind of friend he had hoped for Twilight, but Twilight knew her better than he did and she had vouched for her, Shining Armor owed it to Twilight to give her the benefit of the doubt. As for the other Wonderbolts; Shining Armor knew almost nothing about them. So far they didn't seem like warrior material, but Rainbow Dash had insisted they were up for the mission. Given the circumstances, he had little choice but to take her word for it.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Twilight cantered through the woods, Shining Armor's parting words lingering in her mind: 'Stay together, keep quiet, move fast. I should be waiting for you at the rendezvous point. If I'm not, wait three hours. If I'm still not there it means I won't be coming, in which case you head straight back to Ponyville and tell Princess Celestia what's happened. DO NOT come looking for me, DO NOT try and rescue Storm and Cadance by yourself. Most importantly, don't trust anything you see. Cast the revealment spell on anything that tries to come near you; that includes myself, my team and any of your team that you lose sight of for even a few moments. Good luck.'

Twilight had graduated top of her class in navigation at Celestia's School for gifted unicorns, and so pacing off the miles towards the rendezvous point was almost too easy, (if not fun). Applejack kept close and comforting and the Wonderbolts, well... they weren’t really what Twilight expected, but Dash vouched for them and Twilight wasn't about to question Dash's expert opinion because of a bad feeling.

Twilight remembered what Pinkie had taught her during the extremely brief 'eternal night' brought about by Nightmare Moon. There had been some scary looking trees, but all Pinkie had to do was laugh at them and they would vanish in puffs of smoke. The trees were just illusions; they couldn't hurt you, and could only scare you if you let them, that sounded a lot like what the terrormongers did. Shining Armor had taught her a whole range of spells to dispel an illusion or to kill a real enemy, but Twilight didn't want to kill anything unless she had to. Shining Armor wasn't the sort who would think of using laughter to destroy an enemy so maybe he had never tried it. Twilight decided that if she did run into trouble, she would use laughter as her first line of defense.

After passing over a brief rock plain (precisely on schedule), Twilight saw a heavily wooded hill a short distance off. “That's the rendezvous point, at the top of the hill” she announced, pleased that the first leg of their journey had gone so smoothly. Uninhibited by the dense foliage, the Wonderbolts took off ahead, leaving the two earthbound ponies to struggle on behind, but as they reached the crest of the hill, cries of dismay echoed down through the dense branches. Twilight teleported herself and Applejack the last few hundred yards to the top of the hill, and then stopped cold. Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the Wonderbolts had reached the rendezvous point before them. They were all waiting for them around a great oak tree at the top of the hill...

On the tree....

Impaled to the tree.

Shining Armor was closest to the ground, stripped of his armor, his neck bent at an unnatural angle, eye's clawed out of their bloody sockets, cheeks stolen, revealing a jagged line of broken teeth and a tongue that had nearly been cut through and was hanging only by a thread of flesh. Rainbow Dash hung above him, wings and forelimbs torn off and lying around the base of tree, skin shredded on most of her torso revealing a mangled rib cage that was dripping offal. The Wonderbolt Twilight recognized as Spitfire still had her hooves clasped around a spike that had been driven through her chest, as though she had been impaled alive and died trying to free herself. The other Wonderbolts that had gone with Shining Armor were all arranged in similarly gruesome displays, but no two alike; some headless, others limbless, while others seemed to have extra body parts that had been attached with wooden stakes. The faces of the corpses showed one thing in common; they had all died in extreme pain.

Twilight had to fight just to stay standing, and felt her organs churn inside of her as though they were trying to get out. She knew that Shining Armor was a far stronger worrier then she would ever be, and Rainbow Dash would probably have been better in a fight then Applejack. The wounds were still fresh and the blood hadn't even clotted yet in most cases meaning these ponies had only been dead for a matter of minutes. Whoever had done this was close by, and if they came back would do to her and her team what they had done to Shining Armor's. There was nothing more they could do; they needed to get out of there now!

Twilight was about to order a retreat, when AJ ran past her and hurled one of Zecora's jars into the middle of the tree. The jar exploded, releasing a cloud of mist which quickly rolled over the stakes and bodies which vanished upon impact with the mist, divulging a perfectly ordinary oak tree. “Didn't ya hear what Shining Armor said bout them terrormonger's?” yelled Applejack, “Don't trust anythen you see!”

Twilight forced her rational mind to take over. If there were illusions, it meant terrormongers were nearby. “Get ready!” she called, “We're about to be attacked!” The Wonderbolts who had dropped to the ground after seeing the carnage were all back in the air within seconds, but instead of taking an attack formation like Twilight expected, they took off the way they had come at an astonishing speed, leaving Twilight, Pyromite and AJ alone.

Where were they going!? They were Dash's team, and Dash was the element of loyalty, surely they wouldn't just run like that. Realizing that the Wonderbolts must still be there and the terrormonger had only made an illusion of them running away to make her feel alone and afraid; Twilight began casting the revealment spell around the hill, hoping to find the real Wonderbolts before the attack came.

Three spells later, Twilight still hadn't found her missing allies, but had run out of time to look; scores of giant white bats were pouring down from the upper branches of the tree that had borne the illusion of death, filling the air with a chorus of starving, rabid shrieks. Twilight directed her next revealment spell on a large swath of the ravenous creatures and all but two disappeared. One fire blast shot through the center of the first bat, sending its charcoal corpse smoking to the ground. The other bat dodged her next blast, but bounced off Twilight's shield before fleeing, pursued vehemently by Pyromite, who was bellowing his delight that ‘something interesting was finally happening’.

Behind her, Twilight could hear Applejack's lasso whistling through the air, as the palomino cussed at the 'little varmin' trying to bite her. There was a smack, and one bat flew through the air and crashed into a tree. The remaining bats scattered when Pyromite bowled himself into the middle of them, matching their blood curdling shrieks with his own. Shadow's bigger than bats began zooming over her head, and Twilight looked up in time to see the missing Wonderbolts return to the battlefield, pursued hotly by a brigade of headless pegasi. They flew over the mares in an effort to escape, only to be met by more headless pegasi coming from the opposite direction. Trapped in a pincer movement, the Wonderbolts scattered and fell to individual evasion maneuvers, each trying to save themselves.

Shining Armor had said nothing about undead in the forest meaning the headless pegasi must obviously be fakes. Dash should have told them enough to understand that but they seemed totally lost as to what was happening. The headless pegasi were too high up for Twilight to cast the revealment spell on them, so she tried calling out for the Wonderbolts not to worry, but her voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of a pack of manticores that was racing up the hill.

“Here they come!” called Applejack as more manticores came into view, filling her vision left and right, foaming at the mouths. The manticores were too big to cast revealment on more than one at a time, and Twilight only had time to dispel one illusion before she and AJ were surrounded by at least a dozen foes. Twilight used a double teleport to get her and Applejack outside the ring, seconds before the manticores leapt as one where the two mares had been. AJ whirled out two more of Zecora's jars into the raging mass of fur and claws, dissipating all but three of the creatures.

The chase in the air seemed to have gotten lower and one of the Wonderbolts flew towards the earthbound mares, but was intercepted by Pyromite, clothed in flame as he tore at the Wonderbolt mercilessly with his beak and talons. Twilight watched in horror as her pet murdered one of Rainbow Dash's friends, and then confusion as beneath the blue and gold uniform appeared the black scales of a changeling. With a horrific wrench, Pyromite tore out the heart of the pegasus, at which the uniform transformed into scales and the feathered wings of the creature turned insectile.

Holding his dead enemy in his talons, Pyromite swooped and used the dead changeling to clobber one of the manticores who was about to pounce on Twilight. The manticore took the blow to the face, but barely faltered. A claw shot out for the flaming bird only to seize thin air. Pyromite popped out from behind the manticore's head, and with a flourish, set the manticore's mane on fire before biting off its left ear. The manticore howled in pain and tried to jab Pyromite with its tail, but again Pyromite vanished and the manticore's stinger pierced its own heart.

By this time the other two manticores had reached the mares, one lunging for each of them. AJ let loose with her lasso, tying her manticore's forelegs together to trip it up and then throwing another loop around the monster's throat. Twilight, acting on reflex, projected a small shield around herself. The manticore bounced off her hasty defense, which shattered from the impact, before a telekinetic kick sent it rolling down the hill, unhurt but temporarily out of the battle.

Momentarily free, Twilight looked up to see that the aerial battle, (if you could call it that), hadn't changed much. The Wonderbolts still flew in mad circles trying to escape the headless pegasi, but never made it far before being herded back into the centre by more of the phantom menaces. Strangely, none of the Wonderbolts seemed to be hurt, and no corpses had fallen down. An ear piercing roar sounded right beside her. She turned in time to see a manticore diving at her. She froze. But when it was only inches from her face, she heard the sound of a revealment spell and the manticore vanished before her eyes. With the manticore gone, Twilight saw Shining Armor, galloping up the hill. As he got half way however his eyes focused something behind her; “Duck!” he ordered.

Without thought, Twilight obeyed only to be pummeled an instant later by what seemed to be a Wonderbolt hitting her from the side. The thing latched onto her, jabbing her with its hooves and trying to bite her face. Keeping the thing at bay with her horn, Twilight swiveled to allow Shining Armor to knock it off, but instead 'Shining Armor' only lunged towards her, fangs bared as he kicked her ribs before trying to bite her neck and coming up with a clump of mane. Twilight writhed frantically, trying to shake her attackers off and then felt them both yanked behind her. Jumping to her hooves, Twilight swiveled to see AJ, pulled impossibly between two lassos; one from her mouth holding a struggling manticore, and one from her tail, wrapped around the 'Wonderbolt' and 'Shining Armor' who had been trying to kill her. A revealment spell made them both look like changelings. A fireball spell made them both look extra crispy.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Applejack felt a heat wave behind her and then the tension on her rope snapped. The broken end of her lasso flung forwards, reached the end of its length somewhere above the manticore she was holding and gave off a fiery 'CRACK!' as it shot off a dozen sparks. Her lasso had become a flaming whip! Now that was useful!

With Twilight alright, AJ turned her attention back to wrestlen her manticore, cracking her flame whip repeatedly above it to make sure it thought twice about liften its head. She had almost succeeded in getting her remaining lasso good and tight around its neck when her whip coiled around the tail of the manticore, which pulled back, lifting Applejack up several feet off the ground. Applejack felt like her tail was getting torn off and had just barely managed to squeeze out of her own knot and drop to the ground, tail intact, when above the din of battle she clearly heard one wail.

On the other side of the glade she saw Apple Bloom white with fear, running for her life from a ravenous manticore ten times her size! Dropping the rope that held her manticore, Applejack galloped across the glade, “APPLE BLOOOOM!!!” Apple Bloom's head swung towards Applejack, eyes full of fear, and then tripped over a rock landing flat on her belly. The manticore pounced on Apple Bloom, but as it dove, so did Applejack, who reached Apple Bloom an instant before it did, hooves outstretched to push her little sister out of the way. The filly seemed to vanish into thin air as Applejack's hooves touched her; Applejack's hooves clasped at thin air for a moment and then screamed in agony as the manticore's claws found her neck.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash sped up the hill, the sound of battle ahead, the Wonderbolts by her side, Shining Armor galloping beneath. As she whizzed through the remaining trees the sound became louder and suddenly the sky became filled with Wonderbolts who were being harried by dozens of rather stupid looking pegasi zombies. Dash aimed herself and kicked, sending a hoof each through a pair of zombies that were chasing Misty; both of them disappeared and her hooves felt as though they had simply struck air. Her next target was a zombie who was after Blaize, meeting it head on with her hooves outstretched, but it too disappeared into nothingness as she plowed right through it. Five more tests over the next minute confirmed Dash's earliest suspicions; the headless pegasi that were chasing the Wonderbolts were all illusions. Dash tried to call her Wonderbolts to order, but they were too panicked to hear her. Then she saw Spitfire, buck a zombie of her own and recoil in confusion as it disappeared into mist. Dash flew next to her and the duo took on another pair of zombies.

“Dash! What's going on?”

“No time to explain! Come on; you gotta help me get the others under control!”

The two mares tried to calm the rest of the panicked team, but their efforts proved useless. Seeing that the Wonderbolts would only calm down when the zombies were gone, Dash and Spitfire fell to separately dispelling as many of the illusions as they could, but for every zombie they vanquished it seemed at least two took its place.

Dash circled back from chasing a zombie that had flown behind a tree and let a primordial streak of color catch her eye; flying next to Spitfire was a spitting image of herself! Dash took off towards them, but as she got close, her doppelganger spotted her, cartwheeled above Spitfire and bucked her forehead, causing Spitfire to fall like a stone, unconscious. Dash broke off the pursuit of her doppelganger, and caught Spitfire, then wove to the outskirts of the battle, looking for some hidden refuge she could stow her for the time being. An especially dense cluster of branches looked promising; Dash had made half the distance when 'Spitfire's' mouth dropped open revealing a pair of fangs. The thing in Dash's hooves shot to life, and within seconds was trying to stab her with a pair of spikes it had withdrawn from somewhere behind its back. Dash, grateful for her lightning fast reflexes, knocked the spikes from the creatures hooves, flipped it around, and then splattered it against the trunk of a looming tree.

Dash spun around, looking for her doppelganger and saw it just in enough time to watch it transform into Soarin'; now that was a face she wouldn't mind breaking. She lunged towards it, hooves ready, but a moment before she would have been close enough to buck, Pyromite shot up from beneath, colliding with the changeling and exploding on impact. The force of the blast hurled Dash backwards and blinded her for almost a minute, when her eyes finally cleared she saw no trace of either the changeling, or Pyromite.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Twilight fought desperately against what seemed an endless tide of manticores, dashing and teleporting to evade their claws, throwing a revealment spell whenever she got the chance, breath coming in irregular gasps as she searched the field for Applejack who had screamed, then disappeared. She didn't know how much longer she could keep it up, she needed to find AJ, but all she saw were manticores.

An explosion shook the air above her, knocking her off her feeble hooves. The manticores did not miss the opportunity, and came barreling towards her, mouths wide in anticipation of their coming meal. Twilight braced herself, and hoped for a quick death. The glade came alight in red flame, and Twilight noted with vague interest that the explosion overhead must have set something on fire. Her thoughts passed to Shining Armor, hoping that he would be able to rescue Cadance, and the two would live happily together... and remember her. The fire was spreading rapidly, coming towards her.

A flare shot out from her right field of vision, emanating red light that dispelled any manticore it touched as it waved back and forth through the manticore's ranks and then over her head. Twilight looked to see Shining Armor, racing towards the two manticores that hadn’t dispersed, levitating a sword on either side of him. The first manticore that came within range was cut down in seconds, first having its leg sliced off and then its throat cut out by the duel precision of Shining Armor's blades. The other manticore would have been just as easy pickings, but for some reason, Shining Armor let it go, veering off and dropping the swords to pick up speed, he galloped towards a dense thicket of bushes between two trees.

Then Twilight saw it.

Crouching menacingly was something hiding among the shadows, larger then a manticore. A myriad of legs supported a bloated spider-like body from which jutted a twisted neck and head. Two massive pincers like those of a praying mantis arched in front of it; one waving madly as though it were conducting some maniacal symphony, the other greedily clutching some kind of wicked mace. Shining Armor was heading straight towards it.

The thing waited until Shining Armor had almost reached it and then became a blur as it lunged to one side and raised its weapon, ready to bring it down on Shining Armor's skull as he flew past. Then Shining Armor wasn't in his armor anymore, his suit continued forwards but Shining Armor had teleported above the terrormonger and behind it, striking its back with an earth shattering buck, knocking it forwards, into the path of his empty armor, which impaled the creature on its front spikes. An instant later and Shining Armor had teleported back inside his armor and was on top of the terrormonger. One hoof drew back and fell heavily onto the creatures chin which flew backwards with a thunderous crack. The body went lifeless and shriveled, Shining Armor stepped off its corpse; the final manticore sped off down the hill and the headless pegasi who were harassing the Wonderbolts vanished.

…........................................................................................................................................................

The Wonderbolts continued their frenzied dashing even after the zombie pegasi had disappeared. Dash was fighting desperately to get them under control, before Shining Armor or one of her friends saw through their cover. If she could just make it look like they were doing something usef- “AJ!” Dash looked down to where Twilight stood quavering over a small mound of orange and red fur. Noticing a three legged manticore corpse nearby, Dash wondered why Twilight was looking at the severed leg that... oh no.

Dash dropped beside Twilight, feeling her insides turn to ice. Applejack's neck had been shredded, her platinum blond mane was scarlet red and sticky from the blood. “Applejack speak to-” was all the Dash could get out before Shining Armor teleported between her and Twilight and unceremoniously shoved Dash aside as he dropped to his knees and began evaluating the wide, jagged wound across Applejack's neck.

Dash struggled to her hooves casting a hateful glance at Shining Armor. Any other time she would have bucked him to kingdom come, but to her intensely aggravating relief, she realized that he actually knew what he was doing. “Applejack, can you hear me?”

Applejack's eye fluttered open, but only half way. “App-ple... Bloom” she murmured, “They got Apple Bloom. We need to go after them.”

“There was no Apple Bloom. What you saw was only an illusion.”

“No” insisted Applejack, “I saw the manticore grab her and run off with her into the forest. She screamed for me to come rescue her. I gatta go get her. Help me up.” Applejack's legs started moving like she was walking but her hooves only scraped along the ground. “Help me up” she repeated.

“The was no Apple Bloom.” repeated Shining Armor looking at the ground just to be sure there were no filly sized hoof prints, “and even if there were, you are in no condition to continue.”

“I'm alright. It's not as bad as it looks. Just gimme a few moments to-” Applejack tried to raise her head, but it was enveloped with Shining Armor's magic and gently forced back down.

“Whoever has the green medicine pot with the claw mark stamped on it, get here now!”

Dash quickly saw that neither Twilight, AJ, Shining Armor, or herself had the medicine Shining Armor had asked for; she spun around to see the Wonderbolts standing a short distance off, but not one of them was moving forwards with the pot or even looking to see what they had. Dash plunged into their ranks and began searching desperately for the medicine that would save her friend's life, after what must have been seconds but felt like hours, Dash spotted the green pot on High Wind's harness. Dash lunged for it, grabbed it uncouthly from High Winds and shot back towards Shining Armor, opening the pot in transit and holding it out for him.

“Is she going to be alright?” asked Dash, biting her lip as Shining Armor applied the salve.

“The blood is dark and oozing instead of bright and pulsating meaning a vein was hit instead of an artery. That's good.”

“Does that mean I'm still able to go on?” asked Applejack sounding even weaker then she had just a few moments ago.

“Means you get to live. Now hold still.” With that Shining Armor's horn began softly glowing, the salve and the wound seemed to fuse making a kind of artificial scab.

“I-I feel OK, there's gotta be somethen I can still do.” protested Applejack, “I'm the most dependable pony in Ponyville.”

“If you really wanted to stay and help, you could start digging your own grave. In your condition you might get a third of the way through before needing it.” Shining Armor turned to Rainbow Dash, giving her an icy glare. “We need to get her to Zecora, immediately.”

Dash nodded and flew off, returning moments later with the Wonderbolts in tow to find Shining Armor had spread out their largest blanket, tied the four corners into knots and laid Applejack in the center of the makeshift stretcher, who was now too weak to protest.

“What's going on?” asked Lightning Streak, “We should get out of here before more of those things show up”.

“Applejack is hurt, so four of us need to carry her back.” explained Dash. Spitfire and Wave Chill moved forwards and each took a corner of the blanket. “The rest of us are going on to rescue the Princess.” The other Wonderbolts startled at Dash's claim, and then dashed forwards, each trying to claim the last two corners of Applejack's stretcher. After a brief struggle Blaze had shoveled to the front and seized one of the corners, while Soarin' and Fire Streak both held the final corner in their mouths, shoving each other for the right to escape.

“Don't jostle the blanket!” shouted Shining Armor, “You'll start the bleeding again!” when neither of stallions let go Shining Armor grabbed Firestreak with his magic, forced him to release the blanket and then threw him aside. Soarin' gave Fire Streak a smug smirk and then bit down firmly on the last corner.

With a full contingent of carriers, Dash faced Spitfire, “You need to get Applejack to the zebra hut we were at earlier, as fast as you can.” Spitfire nodded and spread her wings, but before she took off Dash grabbed her chest, put her mouth near Spitfire's ear and lowered her voice to a growl, “If you’re late, and she dies; *I swear,** I will hunt you down and break your wings so they don't heal.”* Spitfire swallowed, and then nodded again. Dash stood aside and let the evac team depart and within moments they were out of sight.

“If being hurt means you go back, then I need to go back too.” said High Winds, limping forwards holding one leg up. “I knocked my knee against a tree branch while I was fighting one of the zombies.” Dash could see High Wind's 'hurt' leg, the uniform was torn just enough to reveal a slightly grazed knee. It wasn't even bleeding!

“Umm, I'm hurt too” said Misty rubbing her face, “One of those headless Pegasi kicked me really hard in the face.”

Shining Armor looked at the Wonderbolts and then at Rainbow Dash, through the eyes holes his eyes looked like pits of fury mingled with realization.

“If Misty is going back then one of us should go with her to make sure she doesn’t pass out on the way.” suggested Silver Lining, “I volunteer.”

Shining Armor opened his mouth. Dash closed her eyes, hoping that if she pretended this wasn't happening they would all go away.

Lightning Streak scurried over to High Winds. “Silver Lining has a good idea. What about you, do you need somepony to make sure you make it back OK?”

“That's alright” said Surprise dismissively, “I'll take High Winds, don't worry.”

“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The Wonderbolts jumped and spun to face Shining Armor, whose expression of anger was visible even behind his helmet, almost matching Storm's from when Trixie had threatened to kill Derpy. “Anypony who doesn’t want to continue, drop your saddlebags, and LEAVE!”

The Wonderbolts didn't need any more encouragement. Within seconds they had shed their saddlebags, and were in the air. They flew twenty yards out and then slowed down and turned expectantly, “Aren't you coming Dash?” asked Rapidfire.

Dash could do nothing but stare at them, trembling in disgust, her face turning white in anger. Memories she had tried to forget flooded back to her: refusing to do the Star Trot for Apple Bloom, their gullibility to Spike's sarcasm, freaking out over a simple lightning bolt, cheating in cloud soccer; all this had been one day in a year. One day in a long, tedious, wasted year. “No” she whispered.

“Dash?”

“NO!!!! I'M NOT GOING BACK... I... I QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Chapter eleven>>> Rebirth

12 - Mail Delivery

11 - Rebirth

Twilight looked on in wonder, first at the Wonderbolts, who seemed as confused as she was, and then at the pegasus she thought she knew.

“W-what?” asked Surprise in shock.

“I QUIT!!!!!! I QUIT!!!!!! I QUIT!!!!!!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she tore off her Wonderbolt mask, threw it in the mud and stomped on it. “I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT TO BE A WONDERBOLT!” Twilight cast a revealment spell on the enraged pegasus, to be sure she wasn't really a changeling, but the spell only confirmed her persona. That really was Rainbow Dash, tears streaming down her face, tearing at what remained of her uniform, quitting the Wonderbolts.

“Why?” asked Misty in confusion.

Dash ripped off her uniforms leggings with her teeth and spat them onto the ground. “I'm going further into the forest. The rest of you, GO HOME! Tell Spitfire she's in charge again!”

“But... Dash,” warned Silver Lining, “You were wrong. It is dangerous in the forest. If you keep going, you could die!”

“Better than going back with you!” yelled Dash, who had so many tears streaming down her face Twilight wondered how she was able to speak at all, let alone clearly.

The Wonderbolts looked at each other in confusion then at Dash. After a painfully silent minute High Winds asked what the other Wonderbolts were thinking “What do you want us to tell the press?”

“I DON'T CARE!!! Wait a second, scratch that; I do care. Tell them I'm dead!”

The Wonderbolts stared at each other in total confusion, until Lightning Streak broke out in a grin and a hearty chuckle, “I get it!” he called, "Brilliant! We all say you’re dead, and then you rock up to your own funeral with the rescued Princess! You'll be a true hero! Your ratings will skyrock-” WHACK! A rock the size of a stallion’s hoof nailed Lightning Streak's forehead, knocking him unconscious as he fell ten feet into the mud.

“GET OUT!!!” screamed Rainbow Dash, as she picked up another stone and hurled it at Fleet Foot, grazing her ear, “GET OUT OF THE FOREST, BEFORE I BEAT YOU ALL OUT!!!!” Dash ignored Silver Lining and Rapidfire as they returned to collect Lightning Streak from the mud, but went after the rest of the team, pelting stone after stone like a mad mare as they made their headlong retreat down the hill. For a brief moment Twilight wondered, (along with twenty other questions), if Dash intended to chase them all the way Canterlot, but after reaching the foot of the hill, Dash abandoned the chase, collapsed in a pile of mud, and lay perfectly still as though she were dead.

Shining Armor stepped beside Twilight, eyes on the muddy, comatose mare beneath them. “She used to be your friend, right?” He asked, sounding as confused as she felt.

“Yeah.”

“Could you go talk to her and try and figure out what just happened?”

Twilight teleported to Rainbow Dash; she still hadn't moved, but Twilight was relieved to see that she was breathing steadily. “I'm alright Twilight” said Rainbow, eventually without looking or Twilight or opening her eyes.

“Did you just kill Lightning Streak with that rock?”

“Trust me, he has a thick skull, he'll be fine.” Twilight waited, unsure of what to say, until Rainbow broke the silence “...I'm sorry”.

“… For what?”

“I lied. I knew the Wonderbolts weren’t up to something like this, but I brought them anyway. I lied to Shining Armor; saying bringing them was a good idea and I lied to them; saying there was nothing dangerous in the forest, and we were going to pick up the Princess from a secret royal holiday retreat. Now Applejack is dying because I was too stupid to do what I should have done eleven months ago.”

“Which is…?”

“Quit.”

“But... you loved being a Wonderbolt. You kept on saying how happy you were in all your letters.”

“I stopped sending those letters ages ago Twilight, and even at the start, most of what I said wasn't true. They're cowards. Spitfire aside, they have the combined intelligence of a jar of mustard and the only ponies they care about are themselves. When I quit, they thought that I was probably going to die soon, and their biggest concern was still how this would affect their ratings.”

“It can't have been that bad;” said Twilight sitting down, “What about the magazine article you sent me about the Wonderbolts doing the charity show at the orphanage? You all looked so happy in the pictures, or was that article a fake?”

Rainbow groaned and rolled onto her side to look at Twilight for the first time. “No. That was real. They were more than happy to do a free performance, give the kids rides, let the kids give them face paints, and all the rest of it. But then the cameras left and so did the Wonderbolts, even though half the kids hadn't had a chance to meet us yet. I'd only been a Wonderbolt for a month so I assumed there must be a good reason, but there wasn't; they just wanted to take the evening off and get drunk.”

Twilight took several moments for the implications of what her friend was telling her to sink in. “But if you hated being with the Wonderbolts so much, why didn't you come back to Ponyville?”

“Because I didn’t want to be a weather pegasus for the rest of my life; that was just filling in time while I waited for something worthwhile. I thought that job was being a Wonderbolt, but even after I knew the Wonderbolts weren’t what I wanted, it was better than consigning myself to a normal job for the rest of my life.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know Twilight. I just don't know.”

“Do you still want to try and help reach Cadance and Storm?”

Rainbow looked surprised, “You still want me?”

“Of course.”

“What about Shining Armor? He seems to be the one calling the shots, and I don't think he likes me that much.”

“Come on” said Twilight offering a hoof to help Rainbow Dash off the ground, “Let's go talk to him.”

Rainbow accepted Twilight's hoof, and rolled to her hooves, but realized her wings were too muddy to fly. With a small grunt of disgust, she began climbing the hill beside Twilight. The gradient was steep and tiring, but as they climbed so did Rainbow's fragile spirits and by the time they finished their ascent, Rainbow had almost began hoping that there might still be a life for her after the Wonderbolts. The sun was setting by the time they rejoined Shining Armor, who had reorganized the Wonderbolts’ discarded supplies, and was now trotting around the trees peering into their upper branches.

“What are you doing?” asked Twilight.

Shining Armor glanced at her, glared at Rainbow, and then returned his focus on the labyrinth crown of a sycamore tree. “I'm looking for Pyromite, he's disappeared.”

Rainbow Dash dropped back to her knees when she heard the name, and for a moment Twilight thought she was on the verge of another breakdown. “I'm sorry Twilight. He's dead.”

“What!? How!?”

“He...he flew into a changeling and blew himself up.”

Twilight's horror lingered a brief moment and was then replaced by a soft smile “That's OK; he does that. Part of a phoenix’s life cycle is to burn themselves out and then be reborn from the ashes.” Twilight put her hoof to her mouth, gave a sharp whistle, and Pyromite popped out of a pile of nearby ash.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Storm was at the Grand Galloping Gala. All of Canterlot was alive with the celebration, and as Captain of the Royal Guard, it was his duty to make sure everypony stayed that way. Security was tight (though mostly invisible), and there had been no reported problems; nevertheless, Storm was terrified. Duty weighed heavily on Storm's mind, but paled in comparison to something far more frightening and infinitely more important. Tonight was the night he was going to ask Cadance to marry him.

“Interesting,” thought Storm, “I must be dreaming one of Shining Armor's memories.”

Storm had written out his proposal, telling Cadance how much she meant to him, and had practiced it in front of a mirror hundreds of times. He had memorized every stroke of the letter, but still kept it in his saddlebag for last minute practicing, along with an engagement ring which would please even Cadance's parents. Cadance was singing at one of the many shows that night and Storm had assigned himself security of that hall. He would listen to her sing and then, if he was able, would ask the question.

The concert began and one by one, the finest performers in Canterlot graced the stage with music and song, but each of them was outshone by the last singer who had conquered the stage, Cadance. Storm's heart was pounding as Cadance poured her heart out in song. Every pony there must have thought she sang her love song to nopony in particular, but Storm knew that she was singing it to him, every flawless note proved it to him, (the fact that they were staring into each other’s eyes for most of the song also helped him come to this conclusion). The song ended, Storm, mustered his courage, and waited beside the door she would come out, when one of his lieutenants pulled him away and whispered urgently into his ear. “Captain Armor, the main ballroom had been attacked!”

Storm galloped behind his officer into the ruined ballroom. Luna's statue had been shattered, along with the six decorative columns behind it, scared ponies scampered through the destruction mixed with what seemed like every animal from the gardens. Storm's eyes took all this in a moment and then rested on Cadance's brother Blue Blood, leaning against a wall, covered in a mysterious goo, similar to what changelings use to imprison their victims. Galloping to his side, Storm found Blue Blood seemingly unrestrained by the mysterious goo, but shaking too much for Storm to examine it closely. Through garbled breath, Blue Blood proclaimed he had been attacked, but couldn't describe what sort of creature had done it. Confident that his hopefully future brother in-law wasn't in immediate danger, Storm had one of his guards escort the Prince home, while he turned to interviewing the other witnesses to the invasion.

Eventually Storm traced the attack to five ponies, each wearing near full body dresses, all acting highly erratic, and none of whom had been seen in Canterlot before. They had entered the Gala together, along with a sixth unidentified suspect, and then split up at the gate. Four of them had entered the ballroom and, on signal, had begun a choreographed dance of destruction which was immediately reinforced by the fifth suspect who drove most of the animals from the gardens into the ballroom to help spread confusion. All the suspects fled the scene however at the unexpected arrival of Princess Celestia.

The entire case had made Storm suspect changeling infiltrators from the start, everything pointed too it: the concealing dresses, the suspicious behavior, Blue Bloods failure to describe his attacker, the fearful reactions by the garden creatures whose animistic instincts Storm had learned to trust, all leading to the highly coordinated attack on ballroom. True, the attack had done no real damage but by now Storm was certain that the ballroom hadn't been the target; it had succeeded in distracting his security forces for several hours and there was still the unaccounted for sixth suspect whom he inferred was their leader.

Storm didn't sleep that night but spent the next eight hours investigating every possible target the infiltrator might have had: checking the treasury, armory and museum for signs of a break in, checking classified documents for signs of tampering, checking water and food stocks for poison... nothing. The next morning Storm reported the situation to the Princess and requested permission for a city wide search for signs of six suspected changeling infiltrators, and to put Canterlot on high alert until they were found. The Princess had simply laughed at him, laughed at him, then told him no such search was necessary, there was no danger and he should talk to his sister more often.

Confused, angry, dejected; Storm had made his way back to his quarters to sleep. As he entered the barracks however his squire stopped him and said that he had left his saddlebag in one of the theaters the night before and somepony had turned it in that morning. Suddenly realizing what had happened Storm tore open the saddlebag the moment he was alone, and instantly realized that the ring was gone! He ran back to the hall Cadance had sung in the night before and searched high and low for hours until he'd exhausted every possible place it could be. The ring had cost thirty-two thousand bits! It was unique; hundreds of years old... he would have to buy a different one. Returning one last time to his quarters, almost crying in frustration Storm pulled out the letter to read it last more time before going to sleep. At the bottom of his proposal, one word had been added: “YES”, and a pink feather had been taped beneath it. It had been The Best Night Ever.

Storm woke to an anguished howl as though Death itself had been captured and was being tortured by its enemies. A few seconds passed and an answering call screamed from the opposite direction. The terrormongers were hunting. They would cry out and then scan for any flickers of fear, draw closer and repeat the process until they found their targets; like a macabre version of the game macro polo Storm use to play as a foal. Storm had heard them thousands of times, and though he was never quite use to them, he no longer excreted any fear they could use to find him. But it only took one pony's fear to attract the terrormongers, and there were two ponies in the burrow.

Cadence was pacing ceaselessly from one end of the burrow to the other, worry plastered on her face thicker then diamond dog war paint. Storm was about to try and comfort her about the terrormongers when he heard them cry a second time. This time they were closer, yet Cadance didn't so much as flinch, making Storm wonder if she even heard them at all. It wasn't until the terrormonger's cried for a third time (which was far too close for comfort), that he finally understood the petrified glances she kept throwing his way. She did not care about what she must have thought were some wild animals of the forest; she was afraid that she had lost Shining Armor, and that Shining Armor had lost himself. This was the fear that was attracting the terrormongers.

Storm stirred on his bed and Cadance stopped pacing and looked at him, giving a pathetic attempt to smile. Her mane shifted and for the first time Storm noticed a ring planted around the base of her horn, its red gem glowing in the lamp light. It was the same one Shining Armor had given her in his dreams and she still wore it proudly. The terrormonger's called again; they would be here soon if Cadance's fear was not extinguished. If Cadance needed her fiancé to stop worrying, then fine, Storm would be her Shining Armor.

“I remember-” he said slowly at which Cadance scampered to where he lay, took his hooves in her own, listening intently. “I remember when I gave you that ring, at the Grand Galloping Gala... the night we were attacked by changelings.”

Cadance blinked, her eyes suddenly glistening with tears, and a radiant smile graced across her cheeks as she threw her hooves around his neck in an embrace. “We weren’t being attacked.” she said after a long, painful, exhilarating moment, “It was just Twilight and her friends having some fun.”

Storm was about to ask who Twilight was but caught himself before he made that mistake. He was trying to make Cadance think he was getting better; she seemed to take it for granted he remembered 'Twilight' and to undeceive her would shatter the frail courage she had found. “I'm sorry,” he said softly “I'm sorry I didn't give you the ring myself.”

“You did your duty, like you always do; but please try not to let duty interfere, when you replace this ring with the kind it promises.”

Storm thought for a moment and then placed his hoof over his chest “I promise, that when we get married, it will be like everything we have ever dreamed and nothing will come between us.”

Cadance smiled gently, at first Storm thought she was going to cry again but she didn't quite seem as excited as he thought she would be. Then he realized what was wrong: she didn't believe him. She wanted to, she was trying to, but for some reason she couldn't give up her doubt. Regardless of what Shining Armor's relationship was with Cadance, at least she wasn't afraid anymore; and the next pair of terrormonger calls showed that they had overshot the burrow. Promising to marry somepony elses' fiance was wrong; Storm knew that, but before honesty or possible emotional pain came survival. That was Storm's number one priority.

…........................................................................................................................................................

As the dense foliage rolled past repetitiously, two contrary yet powerful sentiments swirled inside Rainbow Dash's mind. The first was shame; endless, suffocating shame. Against every warning, beyond all sense, without any excuse, she had led a pack of gutless morons into a situation she knew they couldn't deal with. Excuses tried to flourish and drive away her guilt but they were drowned in a river of cold truth. She had known that leading them into the forest was a bad idea, but out of stupid pride, she had insisted they were fit for anything, and now her deception had nearly killed the element of honesty.

The second emotion, contrary yet almost unhindered by her guilt, was ecstasy. She had finally done it. At long last; she had actually quit the Wonderbolts. She had thought so much about leaving, even more then she had once thought about joining them, but had never had the courage to do it before now. For the last several months, she had lived under the shadow of fear that one day a featherweight irritation would cause her to snap and she would go ballistic, bringing everything she had worked for to an ignoble end. Or that she would play out her dark fantasies such as leading the Wonderbolts into the arctic labyrinth, and then leaving them there; seeing if they could navigate their own way out before freezing to death.

To her immeasurable relief, it hadn't been a straw that broke the camel’s back, but a solid case to which she finally said 'no more', and compared to her expectations she had done so in a remarkably calm and dignified manner. Now she was finally rid of them and even if she died that night, she would die as a free pegasi. The thought of freedom imbued her with a feeling of weightlessness as though a pair of heavy shackles had been removed from her wings.

The two emotions danced around each other repeatedly in her mind, slowly connecting into a single idea. The life she had been living had been a disgrace, she had lied to her friends and almost cost Applejack her life; but that was behind her now. She had divorced her past and would never go back. Perhaps now she could start making up for her mistakes; finding Storm and Cadance would make a good start.

Rainbow Dash was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't realize the sun had long since set, until Shining Armor stopped at the base of a mammoth tree “This is where we spend the night.”

“It's a little exposed don't you think?” cautioned Rainbow “Wouldn't we be better off in a dell or in dense thicket where we wouldn't be seen as easily?”

Shining Armor smiled and began charging up his horn, there was a bright flash and the company found themselves in a large wooden room. Looking out the small slits that made for windows, Dash saw nothing but thousands of trees leaves, and guessed from the feel of the air and the slight sway under her hooves that they were high in a tree house.

“This is a base Zecora told us about.” informed Shining Armor “It's never long before the terrormongers find these places, so were always building more, but this one at least is brand new and hasn’t been disturbed.”

“How can you tell?” asked Twilight.

“See that ward?” Shining Armor pointing to what looked like a crystal lantern in the corner of the room giving off a pale blue light. “If a terrormonger or changeling comes near it, it will permanently shift to red. The fact that it's blue means this place hasn't been discovered. We're safe for now, but after tonight we probably will have to start sleeping outside and take turns keeping watch, so enjoy the last night of undisturbed sleep you'll have for a while.”

Half a dozen bunks lined each side of a central isle with a kitchenette on one side, a stack of crates on the other, and a pair of lanterns hanging overhead. Several small doors were places at odd intervals and heights, and Rainbow guessed their placement had more to do with the shape of the tree then convenience for the inhabitants. It was a refreshing difference from the opulent halls of Canterlot where half the room would be filled with fancy looking junk that had no use. Here, nothing was for show, everything had a purpose.

“There should be some spare equipment in those crates” Shining Armor thought aloud, “I'll have a look.” Twilight levitated a sleeping Pyromite off her back and set him down on a perch then shrugged off her saddlebags and placed them under one of the bunks. Rainbow was about to choose the bunk beside Twilight when she heard a jingling sound and saw Shining Armor holding out a quartet of chain mail leggings. “Try these on” he offered.

“I ain't putting on socks for you.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. These are so you don't cut your own legs learning how to use these” Shining Armor held up a pair of thick horseshoes; at the side of each of them was a pair of spikes connected at a right angle on a hinge that attached to the shoe. A set of springs ensured that one of the spikes would always be horizontal to the hoof, while the other spike would be parallel, either pointing in front or behind. Right now the spikes were in the frontal position. Shining Armor clicked the metal into the back position and small blades shot from the base of each shoe. “Kick your right shoe forwards against your left knee to eject the blade from your right shoe, kick backwards to retract; vice-versa for the left shoe, understand?”

“That's... cool.”

“They're yours if you want them, but without the leggings you’re probably going slit your own legs.”

Having knives that came out of her shoes would be awesome, Rainbow couldn't deny that, but there was still a problem, “We don't have a farrier.”

“I could do it if you let me.” Shining Armor offered, levitating up a set of nails.

What!? No way was she letting him anywhere near her hooves! Dash raised her right hoof to tell him to back off and tried to verbalize an argument, but almost inhaled a fly that was buzzing past, Dash clamped her mouth shut and spit it – click – Dash felt a small tap on her hoof and retracted it before Shining Armor could wreck her hoof, but as her hoof hit the wood it made a distinguishable 'clank'. Dash looked down in horror and wonder to see her hoof was already shod, she'd... hardly felt a thing.

“The next one?”

Dash couldn't go around with just one shoe on, and trying to pull the one out was as likely to cause harm as putting in a new one, so with teeth grit; Dash offered her other hooves which Shining Armor shod just as easily. Rainbow Dash trotted up and down a few times to get a feel for her new shoes, then donned the thin suit of chain mail that went with them.

“Now these to finish the set these-” offered Shining Armor holding up two long razor blades, each with a small hinge in the middle, “Are for your wings.” For once, Rainbow didn't resist but stretched out her wings for Shining Armor to adjust the straps and fit the blades around her wings. The blades were incredibly light, and fit like a dream.

Shining Armor stepped back to inspect her in her new suit of armor, “Now you look a little bit like a Ranger.” his horn glowed again and three apples floated out and hovered mid air at one end of the room. “Let's see if you can use your new weapons.”

Dash ran forwards, flicking her bladed wings at the apples, slicing through each of them effortlessly. “Good, now try it when they're moving” he said levitating another three apples in midair bobbing up and down. Dash turned on them with a vengeance, slicing them in half as well. “Dinner is served,” said Shining Armor, dividing the apple pieces between the three of them. Shining Armor teleported out of his armor, placing it on the bed opposite Rainbow Dash, then lay down on the bed opposite Twilight and started eating his apples. Rainbow and Twilight followed suit and the three ate in silence.

“You should fold the spikes under and into the shoe, locking the blade in the retracted position, that way there's nothing to poke you and you won't accidentally eject your blade while you sleep.” Shining Armor instructed as he shifted his pillow to make it more comfortable. “Anything else before we say goodnight?”

“Wait!” protested Twilight, “Aren’t you going to tell us more about the Rangers?”

Shining Armor groaned, “We won't have time to answer all your questions tonight Twily.”

“Just a few questions?”

“Your idea of 'a few questions' would take till tomorrow afternoon.”

“A very few questions?”

“Alright,” Shining Armor sighed, “What do you want to know?”

“Where do the Rangers come from? How are they recruited?”

“Most of them come from the Royal Guard like I did. Ponies willing to fight to defend Equestria are drawn to the Guard, where we shift the strong from the weak. The strong recruits get sent here to fight in the forest; the weak are kept in Canterlot where duties are mostly ceremonial. Retired and off duty Rangers keep an eye out for potential recruits in exchange for a spotter’s fee. Sometimes recruits find us, and some ponies just get recruited accidentally, I guess you two would fit into that last category.

Once somepony is recruited, they typically go through several months of training before they're sent past the first dragon wall. As they gain experience, they're gradually sent to the more dangerous parts of the forest where they stay for longer. Raw recruits are rarely sent beyond the first dragon wall and seldom more than for one week at a time.”

“Why, what happens if they stay longer?”

“It varies from pony to pony but typically violent insanity. There's only so long you can live in a world where half of what you see isn't real, killing images of your family and friends before losing your mind. For veteran Rangers, one month is considered the safe limit before going insane, if they’re in a group; for those very few, very elite Rangers who hunt alone, the recommended limit is fifteen days. Sometimes lost Rangers can be helped, others spend the rest of their lives in mental hospitals, and some have grown so used to having things that look like their friends and family, they have to be put down to prevent them from going on killing sprees when they get back to Equestria. A hay of a reward for the sacrifices they've made.”

“So... how many of the Rangers are insane?”

Shining Armor thought, “Sometimes I think any pony who chooses to be a Ranger would have to be at least partially crazy, other times it seem like the Rangers are the sanest ponies in the world. As for going violently insane it usually depends on what steps they take to defend their sanity.”

“Like what?”

“Well, music tends to be one of the most popular forms of therapy practiced by the Rangers, storytelling is another, drawing a third. Despite the twisted nature of their lives, or maybe because of it, the Rangers seem to have a remarkable knack for creativity. The Diamond Dog stronghold of Uthraig is one of the few places where Rangers can safely gather on a regular basis and has played host to many war councils, and has borne witness to countless works of art which would shame the great halls of Canterlot by comparison.

Another important aspect of keeping your sanity lies in knowing how to pace yourself, and take long periods of downtime between tours. The more experienced you are the longer your allowed to stay in the forest, but even I spend at least twice as long outside the forest as I do inside. Most Rangers go back and forth from the forest to relaxed positions in the Royal Guard, but many others have ordinary jobs like what Applejack’s father probably had. Rangers come from all over Equestria, but mostly they live near the outskirts to the forest so they can be close to their posts in case of an emergency; while living normal lives in between tours, often with marefriends or even wives who don’t know the truth about the Rangers.”

“Or coltfriends” added Rainbow Dash

“What's that?”

“You said ‘marefriends’ when you talked about the Rangers families; you're assuming that the Rangers are all stallions.”

“The overwhelming majority of them are.”

“What!?” asked both mares together, shocked at the concept of a male majority in anything.

“By how much?” asked Rainbow.

“Maybe... four or five to one.”

Twilight looked at him in confusion and then her mind started baking sense of it. “B.B. you said that most Rangers live near the edge of the forest when they're off duty, so they're closer to their posts?”

“True.”

“And off duty Rangers, are always on the lookout for new recruits?”

“Correct.”

“Then, recruitment would be higher; the closer somepony was to the forest?”

“Also right.”

Twilight's eyes widened and then finally put the last pieces together. “In the last Ponyville census, there were five mares for every stallion, despite the similar birth rate of colts and fillies. Is that-...”

“Yes” finished Shining Armor. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that one out.” Shining Armor recognized the look on Twilight's face. She had come to a realization, totally new and unexpected that would take her several hours to digest. If he finished the conversation now then there'd be time to get to sleep before she thought of anymore questions. “Are we done for the night?” he asked with a yawn.

“Yes.” answered Twilight after a pause.

Shining Armor smiled lay his head down. “Goodnight.”

“How do you know Storm?” asked Rainbow suddenly.

Shining Armor lifted his head back up and pricked his ears towards Rainbow and scrutinized her carefully, “I'll give you an answer for an answer; I'll tell you what I know about him, if you tell me what you know.”

Dash turned silent.

“Are you his wife?”

“No.”

“His marefriend?”

“Ummm, I'm not sure.”

“You don't know if your his marefriend or not?” giggled Twilight. “I don't know much about relationships, but that sounds like something you should know. Do you want to be his marefriend?” Rainbow said nothing but the deepening shades of pink her face was impossible to hide. “When did you meet him?”

“Monday.”

“So you only knew him for one day? He must have made quite an impression. What happened?”

“Um... well..., it started with Storm bashing up a bunch of evil ponies, and then I burnt down the theater, and then we danced.”

Twilight's looked at her strangely then burst out in giggles, “... you have one strange idea of courtship Rainbow Dash!”

“What did you say about burning down the theater?” asked a horrified Shining Armor.

“It was an accident, I was running away from some Royal Guards and I accidentally knocked over some candles and set the Canterlot Theater on fire.”

“WHAT!?”

“But Storm said it was OK,” Rainbow quickly added, “He used his authority to pardon me.”

“What authority?”

“The authority you gave him, he told the guards if there was any problem they should talk to you.”

Shining Armor stared at Rainbow Dash, mouth open and eyes wide in horror for several long moments and then broke into a amused scowl. “And when the guards came to see me, who were they going to find house sitting my body? The cleaver rascal.”

“So does this mean I'm still in trouble for burning down the theater… which was an accident?”

Shining Armor tried to look grave, but couldn't hide the merriment in his eyes and at the edges of his lips. “Let's worry about rescuing Cadance and Storm for now, and think about it later.”

“So what about you, how do you know Storm?” asked Rainbow eager to focus the attention back to Shining Armor before he inquired of the details of the theater, and decided she did deserve punishment after all.

“What you said was hardly a detailed description.” objected Shining Armor

“Well... I bet you couldn't give a better story.”

“How stupid do you think I am?”

“Well...”

Shining Armor glared at Rainbow.

“Come on B.B.” pleaded Twilight, “Tell us a story.”

“...Fine;” he conceded “I'll tell you.”

Chapter twelve >>> Tales of the Past

13 - Chasing Rainbow Dash

12 - Tales Of The Past

“I met Storm right after I first became a Ranger.” Shining Armor was saying “I had just passed initiation as a Royal Guard, and was hoof-picked to go with a team of Guards to receive special training in the Everfree Forest. As Twilight knows, I joined the Royal Guards right out of high school, barely over the legal age limit of eighteen. I finished a three year training course in two years by taking every extra class I could so I was used to being the youngest cadet around and fully expected to be the youngest Ranger; then I met Storm. He was two years younger than me, and had already been a Ranger for some time. I don't know how or when he became a Ranger, or what he was before then, the amount of scars he already had and the fact he thought it was strange I'd never killed anyone before, was enough to tell me that it wasn't anything good. I asked him several times about his past and each time he refused to tell me. If I ever pressed the issue, he became angry, which I learned very early on was a dangerous thing to do.

One Ranger told me that his mother was pregnant with him when she got lost in the forest and was attacked by a terrormonger whose illusions made her go into labor, causing Storm to be born on the battlefield. The Ranger said that as his mother lay dying from blood loss, Storm was rescued and then raised by a pack of timber wolfs, before being found and tamed by Zecora and that he now hunts the terrormongers out of vengeance for his murdered mother. Needless to say I'm certain the Ranger was joking, though at the time it almost seemed plausible.

I asked several more Rangers where Storm came from but none of them seemed to know. I asked Zecora who advised that I should respect Storm's privacy if I wanted to earn his trust. Eventually Storm found out that I was asking about him and said if he wanted me to know about his life he would have told me, and made some very definite implications about what would happen to me if I kept digging; I haven't brought the matter up since. Now, if I had the chance to find out where Storm is really from, I don't think I'd want to know. I know he mentioned having a younger sister, but I don't think I ever met her.”

“Sounds like you two got off to a pretty rocky start?” mused Twilight.

“That would be putting it lightly.”

“So why did you keep spending time together?”

“Wasn't our choice; we were paired as training partners and weren’t allowed to swap (not that anyone would swap with me if they could). My first tour to the forest was for purely training purposes and lasted two months before being rotated back to Canterlot. I spent most of that time training with Storm and by the end of it we had figured out some sort of crud friendship. I rotated back several more times over the next couple years and each time I was again partnered with Storm, first for more training, then for real missions as we got older. I was better at all forms of magic except teleporting, he was better with blades and close combat. Together; we were a powerful team.”

Twilight smiled “It's good to hear you worked things out eventually. I'm guessing you two ended up being pretty close since he was willing to do the body swap with you.”

Shining Armor shook his head, “I think it's his way of thanking me for saving his life.”

“You saved him?” asked Rainbow in surprise.

“It was one of the last times we met, after that I got rotated back to Canterlot and on my next tour was assigned to a different partner. So I think, in his mind, this makes us even.”

“Can you tell us about it?” asked Twilight.

“It was at Forest Jaws,” after receiving blank looks from Twilight and Rainbow Dash, realization snapped back to Shining Armor. “Right, raw recruits” he murmured. “Forest Jaws was the last great battle of the forest and you should know about it if you’re going to spend any time here.” Both mares silently nodded and Shining Armor continued.

“It was about a decade ago, we had recently suffered heavy casualties in our skirmishes and the terrormongers took the opportunity to mass their forces for an all out attack. We tried to gather our forces, but failed to recognize some changeling infiltrators and so rendezvoused in a dozen different places. By the time we figured this out, it was too late to gather more than half our troops and by the time the terrormonger army had come as close as we could let them to the edge of the forest, we only had about eight hundred Rangers to stop at least three thousand terrormongers, not counting changelings and wild animals. Worse; they had built a terror throne; it's a sort of movable dais which amplifies the energies of terrormongers closest to it; the Horrorlords and their generals will ride on top and from there they telepathically command their army. Needless to say, without an Ursa Major to break their spells, we and Equestria were doomed.

We made our stand between the first and second dragon walls, and dispersed two dozen of our best Ursa handlers west towards to the only Ursa Major in the area. The terrormongers could have overrun us immediately if they were willing to sustain heavy casualties, but they were waiting for the sun to go down as their illusions are easier to create when natural shadows are already prevalent. Our bid was that we would get the Ursa before the sun went down and then launch our own attack; their bid was that we wouldn't get the Ursa in time and they would slaughter us throughout the night.

While the main camp prepared its defenses, small teams of Rangers were posted as sentries to provide advanced warning against attacks; Storm and I were one such team. I don't know where the chain broke, but somewhere along the line, one of the teams was killed without raising the alarm and without our flanks covered, Storm and I were attacked, without warning, on three sides. Storm took a blow to the head and was knocked unconscious; I threw him on my back and after some dead enemies, a few teleports, and a lot of luck, managed to get us both back to the camp. Zecora was there, and within a few minutes had him back on his hooves.”

Rainbow couldn't tell if Shining Armor was just thinking, or if he had really reached the end of his story, having told how he saved Storm. She waited for him to start again but after a few moments of watching him stare off into space lost her patience, “and then the Ursa herders got back with the Ursa Major and you smashed the terrormongers. Right?”

“No” said Shining Armor somewhat absent mindedly, “The terrormongers had set up an ambush for the herders outside of the Ursa Major’s cave. The herders were slaughtered with the exception of one pegasus who escaped back to the camp, to tell us we were all doomed.”

Shining Armor went back to his thinking and Rainbow started feeling annoyed. “I'm guessing you won the battle?”

“You guess correctly.”

“How, did you win the battle?”

Shining Armor stopped looking off into space and refocused on the mares, “There's something important that I should have told you about before I started this story.”

“What's that?” asked Twilight eagerly.

“It wasn't a 'what,' that saved us at Forest Jaws; it was a 'who'. A young pegasus with a coat of glimmering silver, a mane of shining gold and a cutie mark of a ray of light breaking through black storm clouds. Her strength and courage were matched only by her brilliance and honor; and her flying skills were beyond compare. When her legend is told a hundred years from now, those who hear will probably assume the story must have been exaggerated over the years, as her exploits were too incredible to be true. But I assure you that she was real, I saw her, and her name was Denorious.

Rainbow smirked when Shining Armor mentioned Denorious's flying abilities and looked lovingly back at her own two wings, “Sounds cool, maybe she's almost as fast as me, do you think?” Dash knew she was the only pegasus to break the sound barrier in centuries, and had first done so when she was just nine years old, (sure it took her ten more years to be able to do it at will, but that was beside the point). Even the Wonderbolts had thought the sonicrainboom was just a myth until she preformed it at the best young flier’s competition; the morons thought because they hadn't seen it and it was beyond what they could do, it was impossible for anypony.

“I think she'd mop the sky with you” said Shining Armor coldly, “She could do things that weren’t meant to even be possible such as breaking the sound barrier which she could do at will from the time she was seven. Shortly after Denorious joined the Rangers, we began catching an influx of changeling infiltrators, all trying to learn about some secret weapon they thought we had created which supposedly caused the freak lightning storms which were decimating their forces. It took us almost as long as the changelings to realize that what they had thought was lightning was actually Denorious, moving faster than the eye could see, leaving a trail of golden light behind her, and what they thought was thunder was really the sonic boom she created whenever broke the sound barrier.”

Rainbow repressed a wave of jealous fury and counter attacked, “Well... the fact that there were stories meant some of them got away. So she couldn't have been that good.”

“You don't know a lot about warfare, do you? By leaving one or two survivors to go back and tell the rest of the army about this mysterious ‘super weapon’; Denorious demoralized hundreds for every life she spared and sent dozens of infiltrators into our waiting grasp, looking for something that didn't exist. Leaving one or two survivors after each battle was genius.”

“Well... I still have the highest wing power of any pegasus ever recorded in Equestria: Seventeen point eight!”

“Twenty-one point four.”

“But that's, that's more than me! A lot more. Like... I'm not sure how much, but a lot.”

“About twenty percent,” piped Twilight doing some quick calculations. “No wait, slightly more.”

“Yes” confirmed Shining Armor, “Slightly more than twenty percent faster than Rainbow Dash here. Of course; that was when she first joined the Rangers. She kept getting faster after that and eventually peaked at somewhere around twenty-five wing power, which would be... forty percent faster than Rainbow Dash.”

“Forty percent!” yelled Dash; furious at this mare who had stolen her identity without even having had the courtesy to have done it to her face. “That’s... that's not possible!”

“And because you never saw it and it's beyond what you can do, it's impossible for anypony. Am I right?”

Dash could do nothing but grumble under her breath that there had to have been a mistake somewhere. “Cheer up Rainbow Dash” encouraged Twilight, “You're still the best flier I know and being second best isn't so bad.”

“Hey Twilight” said Shining Armor, “Remind me, what did you get on your IQ test?”

“One-seventy-two” answered Twilight proudly, “The highest in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns.”

“Well Denorious was a pegasus and never attended Celestia's school for gifted unicorns; if she had, she would have beaten you by thirteen points with her IQ of one-eighty-five.”

Twilight's jaw dropped and for a moment Dash wondered if she was about to go into cardiac arrest, “Are-are you sure you don't mean one-fifty-eight?”

“Quite sure.”

“She must be brilliant” whispered Twilight after a pause that seemed to go on forever.

“She was. Even in her earliest days as a Ranger, Denorious had a mind for war that bested veterans who had been fighting in the forest since before she was born; and her unique ability to create a sonic boom gave life to her brilliance. I already told you how the Rangers cannot communicate over long distances or the terrormongers will send fake messages. For some reason, a sonic boom is the only known sound which the terrormongers are unable to replicate, giving Denorious the unique ability to coordinate the Rangers into unified attacks, or give warning to impending invasions. In an endless sea of illusions and deceit, Denorious became the one shining anchor of truth upon which we knew we could rely. Rangers would flock to the sound of her sonic boom, while our enemies would flee from it as though it were death to them causing many Rangers to affectionately name her 'The War Drum of the Forest.'

She led by example in everything she did. She personified meekness, manifested courage and embodied hope. She would have died for any Ranger, and any Ranger would have died for her. The light she carried within her, spread from Ranger to Ranger, inspiring hope in the darkest of places, striking courage into frail hearts and multiplying the loyalty we felt to the cause and for each other. In more ways than I could ever understand, Denorious united the Rangers, and came to represent everything we were fighting for, and more.”

A hundred years? Dash didn’t believe his story now. There was no way one pony could possibly be all those things. Shining Armor was probably still mad at her for lying about the Wonderbolts and was making this up to irk her as a way of getting even. Next he'd probably say that Denorious wrote the Daring Do novels in her sleep, invented socks, and could juggle fifteen live camels with both wings and four hooves tied behind her back.

“As if that were not enough;” continued Shining Armor “to many of the Rangers she was the very image of beauty. Her loveliness was praised throughout the forest, yet almost always laced with infinite respect. So far as I know Denorious was never romantically in love with any Ranger, if she had he would have been the envy of the forest, but non-romantically, she loved everyone, and we all loved -.”

“We get it already!” Dash yelled. “She was ridiculously awesome in every way imaginable! Are you going to tell us anything about what she actually did, or just talk all night long about how great she was?!”

Twilight grinned cheekily at Shining Armor; “Careful B.B., you’re meant to be in love with Cadance, remember?”

The dreamy look on Shining Armor’s face was replaced by confusion, then embarrassment as he realized what Twilight was inferring. “Ummm… right.” He muttered finally.

Twilight giggled, Dash just rolled her eyes, impatient to find a flaw in Shining Armor’s story so she could prove he was exaggerating, “So what did she actually do?”

“Denorious grew up in a particularly crime ridden sector of Manehatten; she learned to fight at a young age and despite her small size, from her earliest school years, was able to defend herself and others from gangs of much larger attackers. Graduating school with high distinctions in almost every class, she took a position as a Jr sheriff in an effort to relieve the downtrodden city. Her first placement was with unit that had struggled for years against a rapacious and highly organized ring of criminals who foalnapped fillies from the bottom rungs of society and sold them as 'toys' to depraved stallions. All previous attempts to root them out had been thwarted, largely due to the rampart corruption within the police force itself.

Nopony really expected her (or anyone else) to be able or even try do anything, but three weeks after her placement, Denorious hit upon a trove damming evidence that lay the entire operation wide open. Apparently the leader of the Spikehoofs kept detailed accounts of the atrocities committed by each of his lieutenants, as a means of blackmailing them to ensure their loyalty, along with complete lists of corrupt officials helping him, 'clients' and 'sales'. If he went down, he wanted the power to take his entire operation with him, so that nopony would try to usurp his empire. The files were heavily encrypted and kept in the lowest cellar of his mansion, which was a virtual fortress of horrors, in an enchanted titanium safe, surrounded by thirty heavily armed guards and about two or three million bits worth of high tech security equipment and booby traps. Denorious broke in, tore through the guards, cracked the safe, stole the files, escaped, and then promptly cracked the cipher used to encode the records.

What ensued over the following months was a series of brief and bloody court proceedings; during which Denorious survived at least eighteen attempts on her life, through which she arrested an additional forty-five would be assassins. Thanks to Denorious, those few criminals who survived are spending the rest of their miserable lives in jail and hundreds of foalnapped fillies were rescued. Her resounding success brought Denorious offers for high ranking positions in law enforcement from across Equestria, and an offer from Princess Celestia to become her personal protégé; she refused them all, to become a Ranger cadet, believing it was the best way she could serve others.

Denorious tore through changelings and terrormongers, like a flaming whirlwind through paper. She first became famous when on a lone patrol, she discovered and destroyed an entire hive of newly hatched changelings, defeating the queen and scores of her offspring, just days before they would have embarked on their first raid. She became an officer when she foiled an attempt by infiltrating changeling sorcerers to revive the draconequus king Discord. Had they succeeded, Discord's chaos would have most likely spread random fear throughout Equestria, empowering the terrormongers for an all out invasion; without organized support from Canterlot, the Rangers would have been overwhelmed, and Equestria would have fallen. A few Rangers still debate whether or not this was the first time Denorious saved Equestria or if Discord and the terrormongers might have killed each other, giving us a chance to rebuild; but not one neighsayer has ever questioned that if it had not been for Denorious at Forest Jaws, Equestria would have certainly fallen into darkness.

When Denorious saw that the Ursa herders had failed, she went out alone and fought her way through the ambush which had slaughtered the Ursa-herders, then turned her full strength against the Ursa Major.”

“Wait a second” Dash challenged, “If getting the Ursa Major was sooooo important and if Denorious was sooooo good, why wasn't she with the herders to begin with?”

“Because while Denorious had mastered almost every other art of the Rangers, with everything else she was doing, she had never afforded the time to undergo the months of required training. Remember she was very young, barely a grown mare when this happened.”

Rainbow still wasn't convinced, “Well if it takes dozens of trained experts to handle an Ursa, how did Denorious do it alone? Did she just learn all the calls on the spot, and grow a horn to do the magic?”

“Denorious didn’t use the calls and signals to attract the Ursa; she attacked it. She began hitting the Ursa and its cub at supersonic speeds until it chased her all the way to the battlefield. If it ran from her she chased it towards the field, if it chased her she spun and led it towards the field, if it left the pursuit she turned like an angry wasp and attacked it again until it resumed its pursuit.

The sun had almost fully set, the terrormongers had begun their final push which would win them Equestria, and the Rangers were preparing to die, when over the din of battle we heard the sonic boom of Denorious, echoed by the roar of the Ursa Major. Seconds later the Ursa came into view as it ripped through the remaining trees that separated it from the battlefield, tearing a sudden gash of sunlight across the battlefield. It was the largest Ursa I had ever seen, rearing thirty stories on its mountainous green legs but she was outshone by the pegasus above her, shining like an angel of silver and gold in the light of the setting sun. The beasts controlled by the terrormongers fled at the sight of them, more fearful of the Ursa then any image the terrormongers could conjure. The Ursa inspected the battlefield for a moment, and then in another futile effort to catch Denorious, brought its great paw crashing down onto the terror throne, shattering the backbone of the terrormonger army in one blow. But that was nothing compared to what happened next.”

Twilight looked confused, “But if Denorious had just broken the majority of the terrormonger’s leaders in one hit, hadn’t you won the battle by now?”

“Not yet, there were still thousands of ordinary changeling and terrormonger soldiers to deal with. As you will remember the main point of having an Ursa Major was so we could link our minds to it for the double reasons of letting its senses enfold us to dispel the illusions and letting its calm indifference to the battle annihilate our fear. We had never used the spell en-mass on an angry Ursa before; nopony had ever been stupid or crazy enough to try. I don't know which unicorn cast the spell, but within seconds hundreds of worriers who had been retreating only moments before had had their minds linked to an enraged mother ursa protecting her cub.

Courage and rage literally exploded among the Rangers and an instantaneous counter attack began without leader or signal into the disorganized terrormonger ranks. I can't describe the feeling of power we all felt as we charged into the fray, heedless of the danger, as we kicked and slashed and blasted everything in sight, and our enemies fled and died before us like leaves before a fire.

Our mad courage might well have been the deaths of all of us if not for one final saving act by Denorious. Being the only one who was out of range when the spell was cast, Denorious alone realized that if the Ursa were to take a step, it could crush a dozen of us, and if it lay down, it could kill us all. Denorious flicked the ursa's left ear, causing it to swing its head left to try and catch her; then doubled back and flew straight through its gaping jaws. The ursa's head gave another huge swing, this time all the way to the right, missing her by a tail and before it could regain its balance, Denorious flew straight down, crashing into one of the ursa's toes. The Ursa lifted its paw at the same moment its head reached the end of its ability to stretch; making it lose its balance and come crashing down into the retreating terrormonger forces, crushing an estimated six-hundred enemies, yet miraculously not a single Ranger.”

“That’s it!” shouted Dash who could no longer contain her frustrated excitement and started flying in tight circles around the tree-house, leaving rainbow colored streaks behind her. “As soon as we get Storm and Cadance I’m going to find Denorious and see how fast she really is. Where is she!?"

Twilight shot an annoyed look at Dash then looked worryingly at Shining Armor, realizing that he only ever spoke of Denorious in the past tense, “Did she survive the battle?”

Shining Armor nodded, “She did survive, and was unanimously named Ranger One during the victory celebrations.”

Rainbow had calmed down enough to know her question hadn’t been answered but Twilight's was even though she asked first, “So when can we see her?”

Shining Armor glared at her, obviously furious at her attitude though keeping a rigid demeanor. “It's possible you may see her one day” he said stiffly, “But I don't know where she is, she couldn’t race you even if she wanted and every Ranger who fought beside her has now been permanently banished from her presence... under penalty of death.”

“What!?” Rainbow stopped midair and landed, “You’re kidding right she didn't become your leader and then just leave you all right after that did she?”

Shining Armors face showed he wasn't joking but he said nothing.

“Tell us what happened” begged Twilight, “Did the Rangers make her angry somehow?”

“For two months she led the Rangers. In those months, we pursued the tattered remnants of the terrormongers and changelings deep into the forest, taking ground daily, and suffering only minimal casualties. Many of us hoped that Denorious would lead us all the way into the terrormonger homeland where we would destroy them once and for all; but the new leaders of the terrormongers understood the enemy they faced in Denorious seemed to focus their entire war effort around killing her. Countless attacks were made and innumerable traps were set. She evaded them all, but one.

Fifteen Rangers were captured on deep patrol and used to bait her into a confrontation, she was still weak from a previous battle only hours earlier but set off immediately to rescue them before their minds were destroyed, not even taking time to gather reinforcements. But when she came for her lost Rangers she discovered that, rather than bleed the Rangers dry, the terrormongers had killed the Rangers outright. What Denorious thought to be her missing Rangers were in fact changelings. When she tried to help them, they attacked her, and were immediately reinforced by nine powerful terrormonger necromancers, Denorious was alone, and as of yet her absence was not even noticed.

Dash felt the skin at the back of her neck begin to crawl, as the lingering rainbows around her head dissipated. “Did you rescue her in time?”

Shining Armor continued at last as though the knowledge brought him unbearable pain “They tortured her beyond belief. Her captors believed that having caused their kind the most pain of any Ranger, she should suffer more than any Ranger ever had. An average Ranger who is unable to break free of a necromancer's illusions usually dies after about three days. Denorious was up against nine exceedingly powerful necromancers and lasted six. By the time we finally rescued her she was barely alive, shivering on the ground, unresponsive to our voices, recoiling at even the slightest touch and had even tried to gouge one of her own eyes out in an attempt to stop the images the terrormongers had forced into her mind.

We raced her to Canterlot, with almost half the Rangers in tow, where she was tended by Princess Celestia herself, as we camped in the courtyard, under the guise of Royal Guard training exercises. When Celestia looked into her memories however, they seemed to go on for centuries, where Denorious could do nothing but watch, and blame herself, as all life in the cosmos died agonizing deaths; only to be resurrected so they could die all over again, even more painfully. Despite all her power, Celestia was unable to remove Denorious's false memories, or restore her real ones. The only thing Celestia could offer was a memory block which would effectively give her total amnesia and remove her cutie-mark. This however, was just the beginning: Denorious suffered permanent neurological damage, making any complex muscle movement impossible, severe brain damage which robbed her of her intellect, and while her damaged eye could be made to look almost normal, she had lost all use of it.

The Princess informed us there was no way we could ever expect Denorious to return to the forest, which the Rangers accepted. It was decided that she should be retired, allowed to grow anew enjoying the peace she lost so much to win. Many Rangers fought for the right to be her caretaker in her new life but the Princess would not allow it. Celestia said the memory block on Denorious was weak, and if the memories of her past life were ever unlocked, then she could return to her previous state of endless pain and this time there may be nothing Celestia could do to heal her. The sight of anyone she recognized, the sound of any of our voices, the knowledge of the war or the forest could bring it all back to her in an instant and leave her mind broken forever. Celestia asked every Ranger to swear an oath, never to contact Denorious for any reason. This, the Rangers would not do.

Some of the Rangers either could not or refused to accept the loss of Denorious. A number of unicorns who claimed to know about mind magic, were certain that Celestia had miscalculated, and said that the true mind of Denorious would be able to break free of the false memories with the help of those Rangers who had known her best. It was irrational to challenge Celestia, I know, but emotions were running high over and a few dozen Rangers actually tried to break into the palace to find Denorious. Most of the army was neutral but I have little doubt that virtually the entire Ranger army would have been willing to storm the palace and overthrow Celestia, if they truly thought for one moment that it would help Denorious.

I was one of the only Rangers who openly supported The Princess. I had never used my energy shield on that large of a scale before, but I managed to seal the palace before it was too late and together, Celestia and I were able to convince the others that this was what was best for Denorious. In the end, the Rangers knew that there was nothing anyone could do to bring back the Denorious we all loved, and so we left, never again to see the hero who had sacrificed everything to save us.

Equestria will never know who Denorious was or how much she had meant for their freedom, and Denorious must never remember. But as for myself, Silent Storm, the Princess, and the Everfree Rangers; we will never forget.

Many Rangers still don't accept that Denorious is really gone. They say that she is just resting and that one day she will remember who she really is and return to the Everfree forest to lead us in our hour of greatest need. Its wishful thinking if you believe the Princess, but it gives the Rangers hope, and hundreds still wait for the day when her sonic boom will once again call them forth to battle.”

Twilight repressed a sob, “So that was it? You never Denorious again?”

“Not with my own eyes; but some Rangers have taken it on themselves to watch over her from a distance, although keeping their oaths to avoid direct contact. The last I ever heard about her was that after recovering in Canterlot, she became a mail-mare of a small town, and began calling herself Derpy.

...

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Chapter 13 >>> Side Effects

14 - Thorns of Truth

13 - Side Effects

“The body swap could have unexpected consequences and it might not affect both of us the same way.”

Shining Armor

Shining Armor ducked behind a tree; using his blue mane to camouflage himself as much as possible, he peered through a fork in the trunk and saw Twilight, about thirty paces off, looking away from him. NO! This couldn't be happening again, it couldn't... but it was. Silently, he drew his two swords from their scabbards and inspected them under the cold light that dribbled through the leaves. The edges of each blade pulled apart from each other until midpoint when they curved back together, forming a wicked hook point at the end of each blade. Both were meticulously clean, solid and absolutely lethal.

Panicking, Shining Armor tried desperately to put them back in their sheaths, but instead, his grip on them only tightened and he began racing around the tree; heading straight for Twilight. He couldn't stop, he couldn't turn; when he had closed half the distance he tried to cry out; to warn her, but no sound came. Twilight didn't move, she didn't run, she just... stood there, oblivious that her life was about to be snuffed out. Finally she saw him. If she ran now, there was a chance she might escape, but her legs only trembled; frozen by terror as her eyes met with his; silently pleading with him not to kill her.

Seconds before he struck a sound finally escaped her throat “DON'T-” but she was cut short as one of Shining Armor's blades sliced her jugular, sending blood spraying across the forest floor, and onto Shining Armor's pristine white fur. Twilight staggered and fell, her face torn with anguish as bright red blood pulsed from her neck. Again her eyes met his, begging him for mercy. “PLEASE, STOP! IT'S ME!” How he wished he could stop! He would have gladly taken her place in an instant, but something else was controlling him; something that thirsted for her blood and refused to let either of them go.

“LIAR!” he yelled as he brought the second sword down on her neck, decapitating her with a sickening 'crack' as steel met spine. It should have been over. Whatever monstrosity possessed him had succeeded in killing Twilight, but that wasn't enough; not by a long shot. As Twilight's body entered into spasms, Shining Armor felt himself raise both swords and began hacking, hacking, hacking, as though whatever force that possessed him found it intolerable that even one bone should remain intact or attached to another. Soon the swords weren’t enough anymore and Shining Armor began rearing again and again, burying his hooves up to the hock into what had been his sister's organs.

Shining Armor tried to stop his hooves but couldn't, he tried to stop his magic but failed, he couldn't even lift his head or close his eyes so he wouldn't be forced to watch his acts of abomination. The one thing he could do was move his control the focus of his attention. Stretching his focus as far as he could to the horizon of his field of vision, Shining Armor could see most of the glade they were in. He reared again and the rest of the glade came into view; a normal, peaceful patch of land just like any other. Shining Armor dropped his hooves again, causing a blood splatter on his face, Shining armor began desperately mapping the forest glade in his mind: four redwoods, forming the shape of a crooked smile; two maple trees, standing in his left field of vision; one lonely rock, ten paces ahead of him. He brought a sword down for another hack and a small shard of bone that had been part of Twilight's leg flew off and got tangled in his mane, beating against his blood soaked chest with merciless repetition. Shining Armor fought to ignore it and placed all of his attention on noticing each detail of the glade as his body continued to mutilate his sister's corpse without thought: an owl's hollow built into the trunk of the third redwood; a small oak tree with a twisted branch stretching out like a claw giving the griffon sign for peace. Another wave of Twilight's blood splashed against his chin, but he hardly noticed it; there were claw marks on the furthest redwood from where a manticore had marked its territory.

On and on went the bloodshed and memorization of the glade until Shining Armor realized he was no longer moving. He tried to raise his head to look straight up and his neck finally obeyed him. Without looking down, he tried raising one leg from what felt like mud and it too yielded. Shining Armor looked his left and right, to each side seeing a sword, dripping blood, hanging from a faint glow of his telekinesis.

Yelling at the top of his voice, Shining Armor threw both swords into the dirt at the base of the closest redwood where they buried themselves half way to the hilt. Then, not daring to look down or back, he began running headlong into the darkness of the forest.

Greenery whizzed by unnoticed as Shining Armor galloped on. He did not know what had made him kill Twilight. He could not explain it, or forget it or forgive himself for it. He would bear her death for the rest of his life, and the shorter it was the better. He charged to the crest of a steep hill, filled with bracken and thorns as it plummeted at a deadly angle into a black abyss, but Shining Armor threw himself off of it without hesitation. He lost his hoofing almost immediately and began tumbling down the hill, banging against trees and scraping through bracken. “Good” he thought, “Maybe I'll die and won't have to remember what I did.”

He rolled again and again, his flesh being torn to shreds as he neared the bottom of the hill. All he saw beyond him was blackness, but as he dropped off the final ledge into the darkness beneath him he landed on his feet on a surface of flat sanded wood. How was he alive!? Now he still had to live with the guilt of... as his eyes adjusted he realized where he was. He was in the tree house. Twilight was sleeping peacefully only a few paces in front of him as though she hadn't a care in the world. Shining Armor collapsed back onto his mattress and buried his face into the pillow.

What was happening to him?

…........................................................................................................................................................

After the nightmare, Shining Armor hadn't dared go back to sleep, and when the first long-awaited rays of dawn began painting the eastern sky, he woke his companions, shoved a small breakfast into their mouths and began the day’s march. If they made good time, they would make it to the eve of the third dragon wall by sundown.

Behind him Shining Armor thought he heard Twilight telling Rainbow Dash the full story of why he swapped bodies with Storm, but he wasn't really listening. He needed some time to think about why every time he slept, he dreamed of murdering Twilight. Once had been a coincidence, but twice? Could it be due to keeping the shield up for a year? He hadn't had nightmares before he dropped the shield, so why start now? Could the first dream have been chance and the second caused by a terrormonger? The ward in the tree house was still blue. A side effect of swapping bodies with Storm? Possibly, but why?

Twilight was a citizen of Equestria, which meant he was sworn to protect her, even at the cost of his own life, being the personal protégé of the Princess gave the oath double weight, being his sister gave the oath more weight than could be measured; but what if he couldn't protect her from himself? Shining Armor pulled out his swords and examined their straight, clean edges. The swords from his dreams undoubtedly had hooks on the ends, were a different length, and had differently designed grips; it was a small, yet invigorating comfort. He needed more information; if he was in Canterlot he'd be hitting the library, but out here in the forest, his best chance of finding new information was talking to other Rangers.

Something flew towards Shining Armor from the dense foliage beside him. He swung around in what would have been just enough time to see the object smash into his face, if it hadn't been caught by Twilight's magic. Shining Armor recognized the clay jar as one of Zecora's, a quick revealment spell proved it was authentic and so taking the jar in his own magic he smashed it on the ground and walked through the cloud of mist followed by Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pyromite.

“Well, well, well, so it really is Silent Storm.” said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere in particular, “A slight improvement over a changeling... but only slight.” The voice's owner revealed itself to be a large black earth pony stallion in full body armor, that seemed to melt from the side of a tree. As soon as he showed himself, four more ponies also became visible, two pegasi and two more earth ponies. “Have you come back to face judgment for your crimes?” the black stallion asked as he began circling Shining Armor along with another earth pony who was the only mare of the group. The other three Rangers lined themselves opposite of Twilight, Dash and Pyromite and began forcing them backwards and away from Shining Armor. Pyromite gave off a low hiss, begging for permission to take down the pegasus opposite of him, but Twilight hushed him.

“I don't know what you’re talking about,” answered Shining Armor resolutely.

“You know the penalty for breaking your oaths. Don't try to run, this will go a lot easier if you just accept your punishment.”

“Choose your next words very carefully; I have not broken an oath in my life.”

“Then tell me it's not true!” ordered the stallion, still circling Shining Armor with increasing pace.

“Then tell what it is I've been accused of; and for crying out loud cut the second tier interrogation techniques!”

The black earth pony stopped directly in front of Shining Armor and stood hoof to hoof with him “They say when you were in Canterlot, you made contact with Denorious! You caused her to remember us, and now she's dead!”

“Dead?”

“Her body was found Tuesday morning. From the looks of things, she tore out her own mane and then throttled herself. Witnesses say that YOU met with her on Monday: a magic show and dinner it seems, maybe a roll in the hay afterward, depending on who you talk to. Whatever happened, Denorious is DEAD, and you're to blame!

The entire forest is out looking for you. You'll never make it to the fourth dragon wall alive, and if you try to run it won't matter how far you go, or how deeply you hide; the Rangers will find you and kill you. If you have any trace of honor left, you'll make this easy so we don't have to forfeit ground to the terrormongers wasting time looking for you.” The Black Stallion kicked his hoof against his knee and a razor blade slid from his shoe, “Any last words?”

Shining Armor stood dumbfounded. Could Storm have done the things the Ranger was describing? I had been so long since he had known him, maybe Storm had finally snapped. The Ranger brought back his hoof, ready to kick him under his armor “Wait!” he blurted out, “I'm not Silent Storm!”

The Ranger put his hoof back down and looked at him quizzically. “Of course you're not. You’re his twin brother, wearing a replica of his armor.”

“Storm and I had a body swap Monday night. I don't know anything about him meeting Denorious before then. I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“So you're some innocent bystander who swapped bodies with Storm an hour after he committed his heinous crime? I thought you were meant to be cleaver, Storm, unless guilt has eaten away at your mind until you don't even remember who you are.”

The black stallion raised back his hoof again; if Shining Armor did nothing, he had only seconds to live. If he died, chances of Cadance being rescued were slashed. If he fought these Rangers here and won, but even one escaped, word would spread and they would be attacked on sight by the Rangers from now on, making it almost impossible for him to reach Cadance alive. If he ran, Rangers who blamed him for the death of Denorious, would hunt him down to the ends of the earth, and invent a dramatically creative way to kill him. If he defended himself and killed the Rangers coming after him, he would weaken Equestria's borders and possibly destroy the nation he swore to protect.

What about Twilight? If he fought, she would fight to save him, and if she killed a Ranger, her fate would be the same as his. Could he manage to fight through both the Rangers and terrormongers to Storm and Cadance, reswap bodies with Storm and then let Storm take the punishment? Twilight would still have helped him, meaning she would still be hunted.

Thoughts of death flew through Shining Armor's mind; Cadance being found by terrormongers and dying tormented and alone. Twilight being tortured and killed by vengeful Rangers for her association with him. Equestria burning because too many Rangers had left their posts to pursue him, giving the terrormongers a chance to push their advantage.

Someone was laughing.

Everypony turned to see the rainbow maned pegasus snicker at his impending exaction. She thought this was funny!?

“When did you say Denorious's body was found? Tuesday morning, right?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” answered the black stallion warily.

“Well then it's rather impressive then that she was able to deliver my mail Wednesday at noon, don't you think? Even for Denorious it seems a little extreme to rise from the dead so she can deliver mail.”

“Who are you!?” yelled the black stallion, suddenly losing any interest in Shining Armor.

“My name's Rainbow Dash, former Captain of the Wonderbolts. Denorious delivered my mail yesterday and was just fine.”

“You’re a Ranger and yet you have regular contact with Denorious!?”

“I'm not a Ranger. I didn't even know about the Rangers before yesterday afternoon, or Denorious's past. I always just knew her as Derpy.”

The black stallion hesitated; strangely he didn't look very relieved to learn that Denorious was alive. “When you saw her, did you show any signs of change? Even the slightest?”

Rainbow gave a curious grin, “She was as Derpy as she could have been.”

“Did you think to check the reports that Denorious was dead before deciding to kill me?” demanded Shining Armor angrily.

“There are photos, in the Canterlot newspaper, of Denorious giving you a hug! Do you deny that!? Even if you didn't kill her, you still broke your oath and put Denorious in mortal jeopardy!”

“Storm saved her life!” retorted Rainbow, “Trixie had humiliated Denorious, and was going to kill her but Storm rescued her.”

“But he still presented himself to her. All it would take would be to see his face or hear his voice and-”

“Storm didn't let that happen!” blurted out Rainbow in excitement, jumping up and down as though she was only just realizing what she was saying “The whole time he never looked her in the face; and he put on a fake accent so she wouldn't recognize him. When I saw her two days later it was like nothing had happened. Storm is innocent.”

The black stallion sniffed the air and regarded Dash carefully, “How do you know this.”

“I was there; I helped Storm rescue Derpy, after that Storm took her to a safe place, paid for her meal and left immediately; and I know for a fact that he didn't go back to see her again, because after that,” she tossed her mane, “He was with me.”

“Can you prove any of this?”

“You mentioned a picture of Denorious giving Storm a hug; you obviously haven't seen it because I'm in the picture too. The theater where all this happened was at Eighteen Neighsor Street, it was forty bits a ticket to get in, the performer who threatened Denorious is named Trixie Lunamoon. The restaurant, where Storm left Denorious afterward, is on thirty-one Sweet Grass road, is an all you can eat buffet, has a sixty-eight bit entrance fee, and has the best leek soup in Canterlot. Any more questions?”

The black stallion backed away with his head lowered in a way that was as amusing and satisfying for Rainbow Dash as it was for Shining Armor. “I... apologize” he said to Shining Armor slowly and then to Rainbow Dash he added, “and if you helped Denorious then I owe you my thanks.” The other rangers quietly neighed in agreement. “If there's nothing else-” he turned to slink away in embarrassment.

“Oh no you don't!” growled Shining Armor once again sounding like the commander he was. “You get back here until I'm done with you.” The black stallion obeyed. “A few moments ago you were going to kill me, now I want some information in compensation for the lost time and irritation you have caused.”

“If I have it.” breathed the black stallion.

“Do you know specifically where Storm lives?”

“...your house?”

“As I said, I'm not Silent Storm, I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. It is imperative that we reach Storm's post as quickly as possible.”

“May I ask why?”

Briefly, very briefly, Shining Armor told him about keeping up the shield to increase his energy, his swap with Storm and the subsequent disappearance of Storm and Cadance through Storm's portgem. The black stallion listened intently and spoke the moment Shining Armor was finished “How strong will your body become if it is allowed to heal.”

“Unknown, it might be fifty percent, could be a hundred percent, could be more.”

“You could change the face of the war.” the black stallion breathed.

“Only if as we find our missing ponies before the terrormongers and changelings. Do you know where Storm's portgem leads to?”

“Recent dragon turnouts from Celestia's students have been good. The fifth dragon wall is almost complete and other Rangers are holding the few remaining gaps. Storm's moved on, to begin preparations for building a sixth dragon wall, about twenty miles south-east of the position Zecora mentioned.”

“When did he move?”

“At least four weeks ago.”

Shining Armor's hopes plummeted. Celestia had sent Storm a blank portgem for him to inscribe himself before beginning his journey to Canterlot. If he moved four weeks ago, then the portgem was almost definitely bound to his new location, placing him and Cadance as far as conceivably possible from safety. “Was anyone else with him at the new post?”

“What do you think? Of course there wasn't.”

“I don't get it,” interjected Rainbow Dash, “Why would Storm be so far into enemy territory with nopony to help him?”

“For Storm's lover you don't seem to know a whole lot about him so let me clue you in; Storm is a Ranger among Rangers. Most of the creatures he's met in his life have been terrormongers and changelings which he was trying to kill at the time, and ever since Silver Thorn ran afoul with a manticore, he hasn’t taken a single vacation, or attended any Ranger gathering that wasn't strictly business.

“Silver Thorn?” asked Rainbow suspiciously, noting the name obviously belonged to a mare.

“Storm's younger sister. They use to hunt together until she was killed in battle five years ago. Since then Storm has unvaryingly stood alone, at most dangerous parts of the forest. His special talent for stealth, allows him to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, ambushing small groups and avoiding any force too big for him to fight alone; and he always seems to know exactly when and where they're coming; it's like... it's like he has the ability to see the future or something.”

“What!?” gasped Shining Armor.

“Well there's gotta be some reason he's lasted this long on his own; knowing the size and strength of every enemy force before you met it is the only way I can think of that what he does could be possible; and his predictions about the larger war have always been uncannily accurate. It would explain a lot of other things about him too, like why he's so reclusive; maybe he just doesn’t like working with ponies who don't share his insights.” The black stallion looked between the company as though he were waiting for another question, when none came he changed the topic “That far into enemy territory will be crawling with resistance; you'll need help reaching Storm and Cadance before the terrormongers do; we'll spread word and put together additional search parties and meet you at Storm's last known coordinates.”

“What are those?” asked Twilight.

The black stallion repeated the coordinates and then retracted the blade from his hoof. “Silently defending the guests of ignorance” he declared and then galloped off into the forest, followed by the rest of his team.

Shining Armor watched them disappear and then turned to Twilight, “You need to go back, now.”

“No.”

“This is not open for negotiation. Go back to Ponyville. That's an order.”

“B.B.” She said softly “Storm and Cadance being further out then we first thought means you need my help more than ever, not less. I'm not leaving.”

“It's not safe.”

“But it's safe for you?”

“I-”

“I'm not frightened, and as long as we're together I know we'll make it. There's not a pony in this world that I would rather have watching my back then you.”

Rainbow Dash watched as Twilight moved forwards and gave her brother a hug before he had the chance to try and send her home again. Shining Armor stood unmoved, but after a long pause, stiffly returned her hug; under his helmet however his eyes were wide and staring and his face seemed to be turning an interesting shade of green.

Chapter 14 >>> Crown of Roses

15 - Father and Mother

14 - Crown of Roses

“Come on B.B., it's this way” called Twily as she bounced ahead of Storm who trotted to keep up with her. He knew that she was trying to trick him, but he didn't mind. It was another Saturday and as usual their parents were both working, being his day off from the Academy meant that it was Cadance's day off foalsitting. Instead of wanting to go to the library or the museum (the only places in Canterlot Twily thought were fun), Twily had insisted on going on a picnic in the botanical gardens, “And we have to be there by eleven-thirty” she reminded him for the fourteenth time.

Just inside the garden was a vender with a wide variety of snacks, Twily scooted over and began looking hungrily at the delectable assortment of treats. “What do you want Twily?” coxed Storm as he strolled up beside her, “Dandelion sandwich and a bottle of grape juice as usual?” Twily nodded but said nothing as Storm bought the sandwich, two bottles of grape juice and a crispy apple fritter for himself. “We done?” Storm pretended to leave but Twily wasn't about to follow.

“Wait! We still need that raspberry pie and a bottle of pomegranate juice.”

“Really? That would be a lot of food for just the two of us, and you don't even like pomegranate. Are you sure we'll need those?”

“Well ummm... I'm feeling really hungry right now and it’s been a long time since I've tried pomegranate, I was thinking of trying it again and seeing if I like it.” That confirmed it; Twily had not taken a sudden interest in botany. Twily's mischievous grin widened as Storm happily bought the last items and packed them into the basket she had had him bring for their picnic.

“Where to now?” asked Storm as Twily examined the map of the gardens with her typically ferocious attention to detail.

“We follow the yellow brick road west for three hundred yards, turn north and cross the bridge over the creek, go around the greenhouse and then we're at the rose gardens. I'll run and hide somewhere inside the gardens, you stop at the hedge outside and pick some of the nicest flowers you can find. Then you come inside and find me and throw them at me, and then you win, and then we eat! But you need to give me a twenty second head start.”

That sounded like a very strange game, even for them. “Sounds like fun” said Storm insincerely, with a smile stretching from one ear to the other which was totally sincere.

“Good!” Chimed Twily with a smile almost as big as his, “Ready? Go!” Twily turned and galloped down the path, Storm patiently counted off twenty seconds, and then followed eagerly but as a slower pace so he wouldn't mess up his mane along the way.

Following his sister's directions, Storm arrived at the hedge just outside to rose garden arch where, from the dozens of worthy candidates, he chose a single scarlet rose, stripped it of its thorns and then entered the garden to be greeted by the sight of a radiant pink alicorn. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza” he greeted with a low bow, “It is an honor to meet you.”

“Please don't call me that” the alicorn asked softly.

“Alright Cadance” conceded Storm raising his head, “I think I'm meant to give you this” he began holding out the flower he had picked for her but stopped short when he saw a whole crown of dozens of beautiful roses, already adorned Cadance's head “Ummm your flowers look nice” he stammered, dropping his own rose.

“Thank you” said Cadance gracing Storm with one of her radiant smiles, “But you shouldn't be so surprised to see them, after all you sent them to me.”

“Did I now?”

“Of course! You sent them to me yesterday along with a note asking me to meet you, and a map on how to get here from the Royal Palace. She's getting better at copying your writing.”

“I know. She's taken to rummaging through my garbage bin when I'm not home, looking for stuff she can practice on.”

“Shall we humor her again?”

“I hope so, she already had me to buy you lunch. Raspberry pie and pomegranate juice.”

“My favorites.”

“I know, apparently so does she.”

“Well then that settles it.” the faint vibrations of a listening spell emanated from behind a nearby rose bush, catching both of their attention though neither Storm or Cadance gave any visible sign they had noticed. Cadance's eyes left Storm's (paining him considerably) to the flower dropped to his side. “Oh what a lovely flower, is it for me?

“Of course” answered Storm, quickly retrieving the forgotten flower with his telekinesis and holding it out for her.

“And you're sure you did not send me this beautiful crown yesterday?”

“Quite sure.”

“Well at least I'll have one that's really from you. Now, where is that sweet little filly that follows you around all the time?”

The purple unicorn in question appeared around the rose hedge, beaming with delight as she saw Cadance take Storm's rose and tuck it behind her ear. “Cadance! What a surprise to see you here!”

“My mail must have gotten mixed up again.” Cadance sighed, “I keep getting these notes asking me to go places, but when I get there I can never find the pony who sent them. I reckon there's a colt somewhere who doesn’t know how to spell his marefriend's address and when he doesn’t see her at their meeting places he shy’s away. Or maybe the letters really are meant for me, and I have a secret admirer who's just afraid to show it yet. Funnily enough I always run into you two whenever I go where the letters tell me.”

“Well now that you're here do you want to go on a picnic with me and Shining Armor? We have your favorite food and drink.”

“Well...”

“Oh please, oh please, oh please.”

“Alright” smiled Cadance at which point Twily began bouncing in happy circles around Storm and Cadance.

Storm walked between the two mares as they made their way towards the picnic area, (during which Twily continually bumped into him, forcing him to walk closer and closer to Cadance). Storm lay down the blanket and began setting up the picnic while Cadance helped Twily catch some nearby butterflies, (so she could identify their genus, species and catalog them in her notebook).

This was the fourth impromptu date Twily had set up between them in a month. The fact that Cadance kept coming told him more clearly than the words, neither of them could say, that she felt about him like he did about her. Cadance loved Twily, but already saw her almost every day, and wouldn't keep answering the summons just to keep Twily happy; Cadance was coming to see him, just like he was coming to see her.

Storm knew better than to try to delude himself; nothing could ever come of this. Cadance was a princess; he was a first year student at the Canterlot military academy, who worked part-time at Donut Joe's, from a common background and with barely a smidgen of alicorn blood. Cadance's parents barely tolerated the idea of their daughter foalsitting Twily; and that was only due to Twily's exceptional abilities and work ethic enabling Celestia to convince them that helping cultivate such a protégée was beneficial for Cadance's education. If they believed for one second that Cadance had fallen for a colt like him, they would revoke Cadance's tutelage under Celestia and Storm would lose Cadance forever. Then again, Storm could barely believe that Cadance had fallen for a colt like him, so maybe there was hope that a pair of ponies, who lived on the other side of the world, wouldn't believe it either.

All Storm wanted was for these encounters to last for a long as possible, delaying the inevitable indefinitely as he savored each moment with Cadance. At the end of each meeting he would always tell himself that just one more visit would be enough for him to be happy for the rest of his life; and at the end of the next meeting he would always think 'one more'.

Somewhere out there, Cadance's bodyguard, Ashaw, was watching them. Thanks to Celestia, she had orders not to come within a hundred yards of Cadance, unless she was in danger, but Ashaw was still there; always watching, always listening and would report on Cadance's activities to her parents. Sometimes the three of them would play a game where they tried to spot the stealthy gray mare, but most of the time Ashaw was nothing more than the faceless thought that everything they did and said would be seen, heard and scrutinized with vigorous jealousy.

Adorable Twily couldn't understand why he and Cadance couldn't be together, and that made her the perfect candidate for helping them do just that. Twily believed the two of them were perfect for each other, and they simply couldn't see it, and had made it her job to make them realize it. The funny thing was that while it was totally inappropriate for Storm to ask Cadance out on a date, for Twily to set them up in an 'awkward' situation and for the two of them to 'humor her' was acceptable. Storm was adamant that he would not lie if he was ever questioned by royal agents, which meant he couldn't give Twily a shred of instruction or encouragement. They couldn't tell Twily that they were really in love, or she might get overexcited and tell the wrong pony. They couldn't act too friendly, or they might arouse Ashaw's suspicion. They couldn't act too cold or Twily may get discouraged and give up. The best thing was for Storm and Cadnace to stay close to each other, and pretend that it was awkward when in reality nothing felt more natural.

It was a delicate game of tricking Twily into tricking them to spend time together, and then pretending to pretend that they liked each other. It could never last, and it could cost both of them dearly when they were found out, but so long as their love lives were being dictated to them by a nine year old filly, everything would be fine.

Storm gave a faint chuckle as he entered the realm between sleep and wakefulness; then, in a lapse of judgment, let his mind wander back to his own teenage memories. The impromptu dates with Cadance, had been about thirteen years ago, what had he been doing back then? While Shining Armor was dating a princess and playing with Twilight what had Silent Storm been doing? Try as he might he couldn't quite put a hoof on it. Storm fought for several minutes, as if struggling through a wall that had been built around his original memories until he finally broke through, and remembered why he had tried so hard to forget his past.

Thirteen years ago he had been standing at the deathbed of Straight Hack, trying not to cry as his sister wept openly into the tangled mane of the grizzled old stallion with a heart of gold who had taken care of them for the last four years. It had been the inevitable yet desperately fought conclusion, after endless months of voracious sickness. Then he had been shouting; shouting at the top of his voice at strange ponies that appeared just days after Straight Hack's death, claiming to be his creditors. Storm had been certain that they were all lying (he still was), but there had been no way to prove it. The false creditors kept spouting all sorts of legal nonsense that Storm didn't understand. What he did understand however was that these ponies intended to take everything, that had been meant for him and his sister; which hadn't already been spent on Straight Hack's medical treatments, that hadn't worked, (and for the first time, Storm was glad that they had been so expensive.)

He should have fought harder for their inheritance, but he didn't understand the legal system and in the end there was nothing he could do. Four ponies claimed that before his death, Straight Hack had wagered an absurd amount of money on a single draw of cards and lost. Everypony knew that Straight Hack played cards occasionally, but he never bet more than a tenth of what he could easily afford to lose, and usually came out ahead anyways. That he would bet Storm and Silver's entire future on a single draw was unthinkable, but it was the word of four adults against two kids who weren’t even there when the game allegedly took place. Storm felt certain Straight Hack would have been furious with him for giving up so easily, but he was still broken over his mentor's death and there was no one else to help. Any hope the siblings had of keeping their inheritance was shattered when, in a fit of rage, Storm threatened to kill one of the false creditors. His words were caught on tape and that butchered his credibility, and so after a long and pointless struggle, Storm resigned himself to losing everything again, if only so he could mourn without having to think about court proceedings.

They were now orphans for the second time, and faced a very real probability of returning to living on the streets; the hunger... the cold... the street fights... stealing just to survive, riding the railroads from city to city (always giving Manehatten the widest possible girth due to the horrifying stories that came from there). Spending his days and his nights trying to make sure his little sister was safe, had something to eat each day and didn't do anything stupid. That wasn't a life, not for him and definitely not for Silver; thankfully there was another option.

While he was alive, Straight Hack had made it a point to teach both siblings self defense; it was something they appreciated all too well after their years on the streets, and both unicorns (especially Storm), had quickly advanced under the old master's tutorship. But an even more important gift their adopted father had given them was the truth about his younger years, spent in a secret army called the Everfree Rangers. Storm was certain Straight Hack had never intended for either of them to join, (that he had made collage funds for both of them proved it); but when the eviction notice came, they had run out of other options.

Storm could fight, and he knew it. Being a Ranger would at least mean a steady job so he could provide for himself and his sister. Silver Thorn hadn't been hard to convince, she said that Straight Hack was the only Ranger they knew, and was one of the best stallions we ever met so meeting more ponies like him would surely be a good thing. They sneaked aboard a train to a town called Ponyville on the edge of the forest and went in search of the Rangers, finding them after one day in the form of a strange zebra named Zecora. Things had been OK until a year later when Silver Thorn insisted that she too should join the Rangers. He should never have let her.

Storm realized that tears were rolling down his cheeks as he dredged his old memories; Cadance's soft hoofsteps came near him, and then a damp cloth began wiping his tears away. Why had he wanted to remember that? It was so much easier to just be Shining Armor.

Chapter 15 >>> Don't get stressed

16 - Intrigue and Lies

15 - Don't Get Stressed

"...as long as I don't get stressed out, I should be fine.”

Shining Armor

Storm was taking a detour on his way home from school. Turning down a familiar lane, he knocked on a door and waited. A few moments later a smiling blue earth pony with a pair of skis cutie mark answered, “Hey, Shiny! How's it going?”

“I'm alright Ski Hoof, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Name it.”

“Did Jacks happen to bring home a second saddlebag after school today?”

Ski Hoof hesitated, “Yeah, he said he was watching it for one of his friends.”

“Well as it turns out, it happens to be Twilight's. Apparently Jacks thought she'd stop being such a ‘know it all’ if she lost her books for a while.”

Ski Hoof frowned and dropped his gaze, “Sorry about that Shiny. I'll talk to him; tell him to lay off your sis.”

“Thanks,” nodded Storm, “I appreciate it; in the meantime do you think I could get the bag back please?”

“Hold on a minute.” Ski Hoof disappeared into the house leaving Storm alone on the porch. Storm knew that Ski Hoof probably wasn't really mad at Jacks. Although he wouldn't say it, Ski Hoof thought Twilight was a weirdo geek, as did most of the school. But they respected Storm, who had made it very clear that any foal who bullied Twily would answer to him, and so aside from isolated incidents like this, everyone left her alone, (which was exactly what she wanted so she could study in peace).

Ski Hoof reappeared in the doorway holding Twily's bag in his mouth, “Better make sure everything’s there,” he advised as Storm took it and looked inside. One second grade grammar book (for her classes), a fifth grade math book and a sixth grade history book (for her 'playtime'), a sandwich she forgot to eat (again), and Captain Smartypants (able to fight off entire armies of invisible book burning gremlins with his enchanted pen-sword, yet powerless before a common book-napping foal).

“It's all here,” nodded Storm, “Thanks, Ski.”

“Hey are we still on for the hoofball game on Saturday, Captain?”

“You bet. We'll get the rest of the team together on Friday and work on our defense one more time.”

“Sounds cool, see you then.”

Storm shouldered Twily's bag next to his own and began the journey home. His parents were right; he was a good big brother, sticking up for Twily all the time. At first some of his friends had given her a bit of hassle but all he had to do was show them he was serious and they'd back down. It was no wonder Twily had knighted him high defender of the magical realm of Twilightopia so many times. With the successful rescue of Captain Smartypants, he was probably due for another knighting ceremony that afternoon.

Storm's grunted in disdain at Shining Armor's pathetic memories. Could Shining Armor even begin to imagine what it meant to protect his little sister from harm? Shining Armor had always loved and been protective Twilight, and Storm respected that, but... there had never been anything to protect her from.

Against his own wishes, Storm's mind began replaying the first time he had ever killed other ponies. He was eleven, Silver had been eight. Late one evening in Hoofington, they had gone to a bar at the edge of town near closing time, hoping to get some leftover food in exchange for helping to clean up. A couple of rich colts who’d had way too much money to blow on way too much fermented cider, had taken a liking to Silver Thorn and wouldn't take “NO!” for an answer. The fact that she was barely half their age didn't seem to matter to them (or else they were too wasted to notice); but the facts that there were two of them and that they were much bigger than he was didn't matter to Silent Storm. He was going to protect his sister!

One of the colts had found a knife penetrating his ribs, and bled out on the floor. The other... the other had spilled enough cider on his coat that he was literally combustible. Storm hadn't meant to kill them! He had just wanted them to leave Silver alone, and to have something to eat, he was just so frightened, and then... Storm and Silver had fled Hoofington that same night and never went back. The sight of the flaming, shrieking colt burning in their minds as they huddled together in the back carriage of a train transporting coal to Baltimare. If either of the colts had been even remotely sober, Storm wouldn't have stood a chance against them. But then... if they had been sober, there probably wouldn't have been any confrontation.

Some good came from that night at least—almost enough to make it into a good thing. Before running, Silver had cut the saddle bag from one of her attackers; inside were enough bits to keep them both fed for the next several weeks.

Storm groaned as the ghostly vision faded, and tried to focus his mind on something-anything else, but the only idea that kept flying into his mind was how he and Shining Armor were so alike in so many ways and yet so different. Their lives had been almost the same except... everything had always been better in Shining Armor's life; EVERYTHING! Both of their parents worked constantly; leaving them home alone with younger sisters whom they grew very close to. The difference was that Shining Armor's parents chose to be that way because they were workaholics, whereas Storm's parents needed to work that hard to keep the rent paid and food on the table. Both their sisters also had special names for them; Twilight called Shining Armor, Big Brother Best Friend Forever, Silver had called Storm, Big Brother Friend Strong Protector. Storm knew that the memories of Twilight weren’t his, but he clung to them anyways. It was almost like having Silver back again, a smarter Silver, maybe a Silver who had gone to college like she was supposed to instead of joining a secret army and then... Storm didn't even want to think about it.

The unfairness of it was sickening. Shining Armor would split the last apple on a picnic with Twilight and call that problem solving. What if there was only half an apple to begin with, neither of you had eaten that day and you didn't know when you might be able to buy, earn, find or steal the next one? Shining Armor had probably never even once considered that he might starve or freeze to death; or worse, that these things could happen to Twilight!

Storm gave a quick shudder, but as he did he suddenly became aware of the pink mare sleeping peacefully at his side. The first thought to attack his mind was how Shining Armor had became a Ranger to protect something he cared about and that he could go back to; while he had became a Ranger because it was the best option life had offered him. It was totally unfair, but staring into the serenity of Cadance's sleeping face, the anger couldn't get a grip and Storm felt it melt away.

Back when they were cadets, Storm had been certain that he hated Shining Armor. He had made up all sorts of excuses as to why that was; he was weak, he was naive, he gawked at the sight of dead bodies and had told himself these things over and over, even after they had ceased to be true. Hating Shining Armor had been easier then admitting the truth. Years of solitude had taught Storm the truth and staring into the sleeping face of Cadance proved it. He didn't hate Shining Armor, he never had. When they were cadets he couldn't stand being around Shining Armor and sometimes he had been so angry that he wanted to kill him, but it wasn't because he hated him.

It was because he envied him.

…........................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash stood watch at the mouth of a cave; guarding the sleeping forms of Twilight and Shining Armor behind her. Shining Armor had taken the first watch, but despite her weariness, Rainbow couldn't get to sleep and so offered to relive the grateful stallion. In the last two days, she'd discovered what might be the biggest cover up in Equestrian history, fought a battle against monsters that officially didn't exist, quit the Wonderbolts, almost gotten one of her best friends killed, learned that the stupidest, lamest mare she'd ever met was really the smartest, fastest mare who'd ever lived, and now couldn't stop thinking about a stallion she'd only met twice and whom she knew almost nothing of.

Storm wouldn't stop galloping through her mind and that was just fine with Rainbow who never got tired of watching him. Any normal Ranger in the deep forest went insane within a month, so how had he survived, sanity intact for five years? Did his sheer awesomeness repel insanity? Did he hunt alone, because no one else could keep up with him? It still didn't seem right. He should have someone out there to help him... someone brave... someone strong... someone like-

"Twilight!!!!"

Dash spun around in a heartbeat, Shining Armor was on his hooves, muscles flexed, face pale, horn aglow with a defensive spell; and within seconds Twilight was on her hooves trying to mimic her brother’s stance, her horn ready with a spell of her own, "Yes?!"

Shining Armor took several rapid breaths as his eyes frantically took in his surroundings "... nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I was testing you to see how quickly you could be ready for battle if we really were attacked. You did very well, A+, now go back to sleep."

Twilight stared at her brother with her mouth ajar, first in confusion, then annoyance, then finally compliance "...O...K." she slowly mumbled as she lay back down.

Shining Armor teleported into his armor and approached Rainbow Dash, "I'll watch for a while, get some sleep."

"No thanks."

"Then consider it an order."

Rainbow prepared to protest, but one look into Shining Armor's eyes made her think better than to argue with him and she withdrew to the back of the cave. She wasn't sure what, but something was seriously wrong with Shining Armor. For one, right after they had met that group of Rangers earlier today, Shining Armor had scribbled out some note, given it to Pyromite and sent him off in the direction of Ponyville, but utterly refused to explain himself to her or Twilight. Secondly, he was trying to pretend that waking up in the middle of the night, screaming his younger sister's name was perfectly normal; (if it was the case, Cadance was headed for some tough times down the road.)

Sleep continued to elude Rainbow and she found herself mesmerized be the pacing stallion, back and forth, back and forth in front of the cave's entrance. There was something about him that unnerved her. It wasn't his silent hoof steps, or the way that he continually scanned the forest around him, those were good things. It might have been how frequently he stopped at the mouth at the cave and stared in at her and Twilight, (maybe just Twilight), but that wasn't it either. There was something else that was off about him; something about his eyes, and the way his mouth kept moving without ever uttering a sound. It was so strange... yet so familiar.

It was like Twilight.

Rainbow had seen Twilight act in a similar way twice before; once when Twilight couldn't think of a lesson about friendship to tell the Princess, and another time when Twilight had been visited herself from the future with a misunderstood warning. The eyes, the pacing, the muttering, Shining Armor was acting almost exactly like that, only silently.

Chapter sixteen>>> Daughter of the Sea

17 - Watch Your Back

16 - Daughter Of The Sea

Storm stirred but didn't open his eyes, merely content to rest a while longer under the soft embrace of Cadance's wing. After regaining some level of conciseness however, it seemed her feathers were considerably rougher then they had been last night. Opening his eyes Storm was... disappointed to see Cadance wasn’t there. She must have found the blankets. At first Storm wondered why his blankets were so coarse, but then reasoned they only seemed rough because he was comparing them to Cadance's feathers. Storm's gaze lingered over her empty place beside him, glad to see she had also found the extra hay and built up her side of the bed so she wouldn't have to sleep with half her body on the dirt, then smiled when he saw her coming towards him from across the burrow, smiling merrily with a spring in her step that he'd never seen before, yet instantly realized that it suited her perfectly.

Storm had been critically wounded before, and had spent long, lonely weeks trapped in his burrow, taking care of himself while he waited impatiently to heal. Cadance made the whole experience comfortable, even enjoyable. Over the last several days she had fed him, cleaned him, kept him warm, sang to him and never asked for anything in return; as if loving him and knowing that he needed her was all she needed to be content. Yet despite embracing the demeanor of a humble servant, never once did she seem at a loss for dignity, or anything less than his equal.

There was something else; Storm had been too irritated to notice it before and too tired, but now that he was beginning to recover, he realized that she was beautiful, in body as well as mind. Storm's only regret was that Cadance was doing all the work herself, not that there was that much of it, but Storm couldn't help but think it would be nicer if there was twice as much work, or even four times, but they were doing it together.

“How are you feeling?” asked Cadance cheerfully, levitating a large pot of hot oats beside her, “Hungry?”

“Yes,” smiled Storm, not needing to fake the appreciation in his voice as Cadance poured the oats into two large bowls and sat down next to him.

“I went to the Doughnut Joe's down the street, but the cheap clerk there wouldn't honor my coupons so I figured I'd teach him a lesson and make the oatmeal myself."

Storm stared at her, confused.

"We ended up having a baking contest to see who could make the best giant pretzel."

“Hehe... right” smiled Storm, after a few moments and guessing Cadance had made some inside joke she shared with Shining Armor.

“You don't remember do you?”

“Not... really.”

“Well, how much can you remember?”

“Bits and pieces.”

Cadance paused for a moment, suddenly growing more solemn, “Do you remember... us?”

“...I know we're engaged... and from what I've seen, I'm sure I made a good decision. I remember the dates Twily used to set us up on as kids but... they still feel like somepony else's memories.”

“How much can you remember about me?”

“... You’re a princess, right?”

“Yes.” answered Cadance slowly, “Anything else?” When Storm gave no reply, Cadance's face fell, but only for a moment before a smile curved back to her lips, “Well, now we can fall in love all over again. Would you like me to tell you about who I am?”

“Yes.” replied Storm, instantly and sincerely.

“Well... I was born on Oatlantis. My mother is the Ocean Steward, Searis, and my father is her Prime Minister and fourteenth husband, Winter Gale.”

“... I'm sorry; did you just say that your mother has fourteen husbands?”

“Well... not all at once.” replied Cadance sounding embarrassed, “She's thirteen hundred and eighty-three years old. She only has one husband at a time, but marries mortals, and so she always outlives them and then remarries; usually to her new Prime Minister though there have been... exceptions.”

Storm took several moments to digest what Cadance was telling him. If her mother had had fourteen husbands, what number did that make Shining Armor for Cadance? “So... how old are you?”

“Thirty-four,” replied Cadance with a faint smile, “And I've never been married.”

“And... are you going to live forever and keep marrying over and over after I die?”

Cadance's smile grew wider, “No. Alicorns are only immortal if they become one of the stewards.”

“Stewards?”

Cadance smile faded as she stared at him in sad disbelief, “You really don't remember anything do you?” She sighed, “There are several hundred alicorns in the world, and most of us are quite simply a unicorn with wings or a pegasus with a horn. But since the initial defeat of Discord by the first wielders of the Elements of Harmony, six forces of the cosmos have required alicorns to guide them, with the first Elements becoming the first stewards. If an alicorn binds to one of the forces, they become immortal, but can still die of injury or disease; in which case another, blank flanked, alicorn will have to take their place. Some alicorns have remained blank flanked for centuries while they waited for their destined post as a steward.”

“Centuries?” murmured Stormed dishearteningly, “So you're still going to live for ages after I'm gone?”

“No. Those were pure blooded alicorns. A pure blooded alicorn who wasn't a steward had a lifespan of about five centuries. But over the ages, the alicorns have continually intermarried with unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies; especially since about eleven hundred years ago, when a virus nearly obliterated the male alicorn population, (releasing Discord, and leading to his subsequent re-imprisonment by the Princesses Celestia and Luna.) As the alicorn blood wears thinner, so does their longevity and the potential for alicorn foals; that's why Blue Blood is a unicorn while I'm an alicorn, even though we share the same parents.

Celestia and Luna's parents were the leaders of the first Elements of Harmony, and became first king and queen of the new alicorn kingdom. But after their mother died, their father remarried to a half blooded alicorn, and one of their children was my mother, Searis. My father was a normal unicorn, which makes me three eighths alicorn. Based on the lifespans of my mother's previous children I might live for about a century; and while it's possible we could have an alicorn foal, it's unlikely.”

Storm nodded slowly, these were probably things that virtually every pony in Equestria knew, but since he had dropped out of school right after his parents died, his knowledge of the world was limited almost entirely to what he had seen with his own eyes.

“Do alicorns have stronger magic than unicorns?”

“On average yes, but there are some alicorns whithount more then basic telekinesis. The stewards get a boost of about six to nine hundred MQ from their connections to the cosmos, and immortality grants them time to master their potential, but even they aren’t the strongest spell casters in the world.”

“Then who are?”

“White elephants; there's only a few dozen of them in existence, but nearly any one of them could hold their own against Celestia in a spell duel, and all of them could beat her in a test of raw power. The weakest of them I know of is over sixteen hundred MQ, and the strongest are rumored to be well over two thousand; and, of course, if you do happen to be the one in five thousand elephants to be born with magic, you're automatically made a ruling elite of the Ephrentine Oligarchy on your twenty fifth birthday.”

Elephants? Storm had seen one of them once. From what Storm could tell, he had been a farmer, making him similar to an earth pony. Now if white elephants were like unicorns, only rarer and more powerful, “Are there any flying elephants?”

“No; but there are jumping elephants.” Seeing Storm's raised eyebrows, Cadance continued, “Their hind legs are like a giant grasshopper's, enabling them to leap hundreds of feet into the air and make the most thunderous crashes when they come down. Oh, and they can cloud walk, but the clouds will only hold their weight for a few seconds, so they have to be quick in jumping to the next one.” To illustrate, several blobs of oatmeal rose from Cadance's bowl and hovered in a line leading to Storm's bowl. A small oat elephant leaped from Cadance's bowl to the first blob of oats, as the first blob fell with a splash to the ground, the elephant leaped onto the second blob and so on until it dove head first into Storm's dish. “I've seen whole teams of them working to clear the sky on their Winter Wrap Up day, using lower reaching clouds as stepladders to reach clouds thousands of feet high, trumpeting their anthems the entire time.”

“Really?” asked Storm aghast, imagining one of the jumpers falling to their death and shattering entire villages with their wake.

“No.” when Storm gave her a confused expression, Cadance simply added, “I just wanted to see you smile.”

Storm stared at Cadance, her poker face was immaculate, but when Storm began to snicker she couldn't help the sides of her mouth twitching upwards and soon the burrow was ringing with peal after peal of jubilant laughter. Whenever one of them had almost gotten a grip on themselves the other would start them off again; but then, neither of them were trying to stop and Storm only wished it could have gone on longer. It was the first time he had laughed, truly laughed, in a very, very long time.

Eventually their laughter died down and Cadance snuggled against to Storm, hugging him tightly with her wing, “I've already found my cutie mark, so I can't become immortal, but I wouldn't want to, even if I could.”

“Why not?”

“Because I've seen what it's done to my mother, or, I assume that her immortality is at least partially responsible for the state she's in now. I think... I think a very long time ago, there was somepony that she truly loved, and all the husbands she's had since then have been attempts to replace the one she lost. Sometimes, I've tried to imagine myself lingering on, centuries from now, taking an endless stream of husbands and lovers because they remind me of you, bearing children to each of them and then watching them and my children age and die without me. ...They are not pleasant fantasies, but they have helped me be more understanding of what it must be like to be my mother.”

“So, you don't get along with your mother I take it?”

Cadance hesitated, “I think, buried underneath the centuries, there is a good mare in there somewhere. Sometimes you can almost see it, like rocks beneath the water, before a wave covers them with sand; but she's prone to sudden mood swings which are slowly getting worse and by themselves would be bad enough even if they didn't affect the oceans around her. Sometimes her mood swings get so violent that many of the ponies on Oatlantis live in constant fear that one day she's going to drag the entire island underwater and drown everypony living there. For the last three centuries Oatlantis has been in steady decline, and most of the ponies with enough money to leave have done so.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Well, not many corporations want to invest in building infrastructure on an island that might very well disappear soon. Moreover, my mother doesn’t appreciate developing resources that are going to 'mar the landscape' and so that leaves fairly limited employment options for Oatlantis’ ponies. That and being hit by surprise hurricanes whenever my mother gets angry, doesn’t help them either. Then my mother gets upset because the economy's failing, and that just causes more storms.

The resources of Oatlantis are there to be used by their inhabitants, she used to understand that, but now she doesn’t even like quarrying new blocks of coral for building material. She actually tried outlawing it once, but then ponies started demolishing unused buildings for coral to repair storm damage; but then she freaked out because they were destroying ‘ancient heritage.’ She never stopped to consider that the reason half the city was deserted, was because she had driven away the ponies who used to live there, and without either new or old coral, her ponies had no way of repairing the damage her storms caused.

I don't hate her, she's not a villain, but that doesn’t mean she's fit to rule and she'd die before giving up her throne. Throughout the centuries her royalty has been the only thing that's been solid for her, and so she clings to it like it's the only thing that matters. All she wants to do is live in the past and relive glory days that only she can remember, but in doing so she ignores the present and, if she keeps it up for much longer, will doom any hope Oatlantis has for a future.”

For the first time since he had seen her, Cadance looked like she was becoming angry, “But the worst thing about her is her insufferable hubris—seeing herself and her family as so much better than the ponies she's meant to be taking care of! If Celestia let her, I'm sure she would try to proclaim that herself and the other alicorns were gods!” This was starting to seem familiar, and Shining Armor's memories begin leaking through about Cadance's younger brother Prince Blueblood with all his pomp and insolence, and of Cadance's older sister, Princess Ruto (from Searis's thirteenth marriage), who insisted on being carried everywhere she went on the shoulders of her servants. It seemed the more Cadance told him, the more Storm remembered by himself about his, no wait, Shining Armor's past. “I grew up in the palace constantly being told I was better than normal ponies, and that being a blank flanked alicorn made me extra special because it meant I could become a steward someday. Something my mother continually impressed upon me should be my primary goal in life, so that I could grow up and 'be like her'.”

“So... why aren’t you some arrogant, stuck up harridan like the rest of your family?”

Cadance closed her eyes and thought for a while, like she was trying to retrieve a distant yet cherished memory. “When I was eight years old, I was out with only a small entourage when a storm suddenly hit, and I got separated. I wandered, lost, for a while, and then heard music coming from inside one of the buildings. I followed it inside and found an open music club; I was wearing a dress that covered my wings, so no one recognized me as being an alicorn princess. The music was so much livelier than anything I had heard before, that I just wanted to go in and dance to it, and nopony tried to stop me. After a few hours the session ended, and I was able to get back to the palace without my parents knowing where I had been.

The next day my nurse caught me trying to sneak out of the place, I told her what happened and she came along with me pretending to be my mom. We started going back every week for as long as we could. I made a lot of friends there who taught me about music, singing, dancing, how to play the tambourine and it's where I got the nickname that I still use today.”

“Cadance” whispered Storm, “So what happened?”

“When I was sixteen we got found out. My parents were furious that I had been mixing with the 'common ponies', They fired my nurse and replaced her with Ashaw. The few times I was able to slip out of the palace and meet my friends, they were scared of me now that they knew who I was, and asked me to leave because they were afraid they would get in trouble if they were found with me. Then one day, the whole music club moved to a different time and place so I wouldn't be able to find them. To this day, I don't know if my parents made them change, or if they did it themselves to avoid me.”

“Must have been hard.”

“It was, but I chose to take it far harder then I needed to. I was furious with my parents; I felt like they had ruined my life, and set out to ruin theirs by rebelling in any way I could. Most of the time I did stupid, petty little things that didn't matter and I didn't even want to do, but I did them anyway because they would make my parents angry, but sometimes I would get the chance to do something big. I remember one time, I was planning that if I could shake Ashaw for a day, I would cover my sides and the insides of my wings with obscene tattoos, keep my wings closed until my parents were entertaining foreign dignitaries, then start flapping around the dining hall. I figured if I was lucky I would get banished, and become a singer in Los Pegasus.

“You really wanted to do that?” laughed Storm.

“No. I wanted to hurt my mother in a way she'd never forget. In hind sight though I'm very glad I didn’t do it—it would have been a momentary thrill that would have hurt my family, hurt Oatlantis, and left me with dozens of horrid tattoos that I never wanted to begin with. Thankfully I never got any tattoos in Oatlantis and I've only gotten one since then.”

“You have a tattoo? What of?”

Cadance smiled at him and winked, “You're name.”

“Where?”

Cadance looked around the burrow as if somepony might be listening then leaned over and whispered softly into Storm's ear, making his eyes widen.

“...Wow!”

“Oh don't look so surprised. After all, you have a tattoo of my name in the same place.”

“I do?”

Storm cast a reflective spell on the wall behind him and then craned his neck backwards to see for himself. After several moments of twisting and straining like he was in some kind of contortionist act (which must have made him look ridiculous), he heard Cadance giggle and felt a playful nudge on his shoulder, “Got you!”

Storm looked at her, confused.

“We don't have matching tattoos... well, you don't anyways... OK fine, I don't either.”

If Storm had enjoyed laughing before, this was better. They laughed until their sides ached which in Storm's case wasn't long, but even then he couldn't stop laughing until the pain had become almost unbearable and tears of laughter were being mingled with tears of agony. When Cadance realized how much it was hurting him, she stopped, “Sorry, I'll try not to do that again.”

“It's OK” wheezed Storm, wiping tears from his eyes “So; you were having some rebellious teenage years?”

“After a long time I finally realized that the things I was doing were hurting me, hurting my parents and weren’t helping anyone. But what took me even longer to learn was that expressing my anger wouldn't make it go away, it just made it worse.”

“It did?”

“Think of two ponies in love, if they express their love for each other every day, their love is going to grow stronger, not weaker. It's the same with all emotions, including anger. Expressing anger doesn't negate it, it feeds it. I was making myself miserable, continually tearing down any relationship I ever had with my mother, and while I was angry at my mother for disregarding the ponies of Oatlantis, I was being even more selfish. I was trying to make my mother angry purely for the sake of making her angry which was causing them all sorts of problems.

When I realized I was accomplishing nothing but pointless destruction, I resolved to change and patch things up with my mother. Over time, I succeeded in changing myself, but my mother didn't believe me when I told her I still loved her, she thought I was trying to get close so I could hurt her again. I've tried constantly since then to show her that even though I disagree with her, I still care about her, but so far she hasn't been willing to accept it. I often wonder if I had been a more obedient daughter, if I might have been able to change my parent’s perspective, and maybe I could have been part of the restoration of Oatlantis. I've turned from my past mistakes, and learned from them, but I still have to live with their consequences, and they still hurt.”

“How did you end up in Canterlot?”

“When I was twenty-one, I was told I would be visiting my Aunt Celestia for three weeks. I knew that Celestia was the last pure blooded alicorn in existence (who wasn't on the moon); that she was almost a hundred years older than my mother; was the only Steward in ages to steward two cosmetic forces; and that she was the spokespony of the alicorn council. Quite frankly, I was scared stiff. I expected her to be even prouder, even more arrogant, and even less concerned about regular ponies, than my mother. I thought that if I made even the slightest mistake, I'd be punished. For my first few days in Canterlot I was acutely careful to make sure that every single word and action I made were in a manner befitting to a princess; then Celestia decided to put shaving cream in my toothpaste.”

“What!?”

“Celestia saw how unhappy I was, trying to act the way I thought she wanted me to, and decided the best way to get me out of it was to... lead by example. It took a few more pranks over the next week for the message to really sink in, but after that I stopped seeing Canterlot as I had expected to see it, and started seeing what was actually there.

I couldn't believe how different Celestia's attitude was to her authority. For the first time I really considered how the sun always keeps to the same schedule regardless of Celesta’s mood, meaning Celestia views her position as something she was there to serve, and not something that was there to serve her. What shocked me the most however, was how despite Celestia's example, so many of the so called 'nobles' of Canterlot, still saw themselves as being above ordinary ponies. I had grown up in a world where those in authority lorded it over those beneath them, so that was nothing new to me, but I had thought the Canterlot nobles would realize how mercifully they had been treated and pass it on to others. If Celestia ever decided to enforce her authority over them the way my mother does her upper class, not one of those sycophantic 'nobles' would have a leg to stand on!

Though I couldn't stand that thin upper crust of society (I still can't), I fell in love with Canterlot and its ponies and knew that I didn't want to leave. I went the entire three weeks without uttering a single word about staying, and then one hour before the airship was meant to take me back to Oatlantis, I fell at Celestia's hooves and begged her not to send me back. She was far more charitable then I had dared hope, and sent a message to my parents saying she had come to appreciate my presence and asking to let me stay as one of her personal students, to which my parents were quick to agree.

I was relived at first; but soon realized my position as 'Celestia's student' was mostly political, and she didn't really intend on spending much time training me. I was fine with that since I'd never been that interested in studying magic anyways, but was afraid that if I didn't start using my free time productively, Celestia might think I was lazy and send me back. I also couldn't stop thinking that if this was the only reprieve I ever got from Oatlantis, I wanted one chance to see what it would be like to support myself, so I went to Celestia and asked for permission to earn my keep. She said she would think about it, and a few days later told me she was putting me in charge of Twilight.”

“I remember that,” laughed Storm, “You thought she was asking you to take over a time of day!”

“The rest, you might say, is history; I learned magic under Celestia, foalsat Twilight whenever necessary, and spent time with you whenever possible.”

“And you just left Oatlantis? I mean... I'm glad you came. Really, really glad, but weren’t you trying to make a difference for the ponies of Oatlantis.”

“I was. I still am. Back in Oatlantis I'm little more than a pampered prisoner locked in a tower. Here, I have Canterlot's resources. For a long time I tried mediation between my mother and equestrian based cooperation, trying to bring some investment back into the country. But after years of having my hopes smashed I now see that my mother won't sign any deal that would threaten her absolute power, and no business is going to invest without some sort of guarantee that they wouldn't be evicted at a moment's notice. Now I'm starting to think that the only way to really help the Oatlantis ponies is to make it as easy as possible for them to get work permits or emigrate here."

Storm nodded slowly as he rested his head on Cadance's shoulder. Most of his life he had assumed that no one in authority cared anything for ponies like him, but seeing Cadance and hearing the fire and passion with which she spoke he knew he'd been wrong. There were some who cared, but maybe they were just outnumbered and needed help. Others, like Celestia, weren't willing to make choices, that would mean hurting ponies they cared about, unless forced, but there were some who really cared. Cadance cared. Why else would she spend so much time visiting sick and injured ponies in hospitals across Canterlot. Wait, did she? Yes! Of course she did!

Ever since that day Twilight had walked off a bridge while reading a book and broken her leg. Cadance had come to visit her, but Twilight was sleeping and so Cadance started talking to the other foals in the ward. When Cadance saw how much they had all brightened that 'a princess had come to visit them' and after the doctors told her how much she was helping in their recovery she made coming to the hospital part of her regular routine. She'd visit anyone whose life she thought she could make a difference in, mares and stallions, fillies and colts of all ages; talking to ponies whose families hadn't visited them, telling jokes to foals, listening, convincing grouchy old mares to take their medicine. Storm laughed quietly at himself, he must really be unwell if he had forgotten that about Cadance. He'd better eat up then so he could get better.

Storm turned to his oatmeal, but paused as one last question came to mind, "Cadance," he said quietly, "What does your cutie mark represent?”

Cadance opened her mouth to answer but stopped before saying anything, “That's something I'd like you to remember for yourself, but when you do, ask me for it.”

Storm's curiosity was aroused, “Could you give me a hint?”

“Alright” agreed Cadance and with that she immediately began leaning towards him, coming closer and closer until it finally dawned on Storm that she intended to kiss him. He wanted to kiss her, it would be so easy to, Shining Armor could hardly blame him if-he didn't kiss her. Storm turned his head away at the last moment and felt Cadance's lips press lightly against his cheek. “I understand,” she whispered, “You still don't remember me and so you can't feel about me the way I do about you. But you're already starting to heal, and so I know that you will get better. Trust me.”

No more words were said and Cadance soon began on her porridge, with Storm quick to follow, but as he did so he let himself begin to wonder, begin to dread... begin to hope. What if Shining Armor died before they could re-swap bodies? It would leave Canterlot without a protector and Cadance without a husband. Storm didn't wish harm on Shining Armor, but if something did happen, could he just step into Shining Armor's life and pretend that no body swap had ever taken place?

He'd be giving up his own life, but then again he certainly wouldn't be losing anything worth having. The only ponies he might possibly call friends were Shining Armor and Zecora, and Zecora liked Shining Armor about as much as she liked him. He could probably do the job of Captain of the Royal Guard—at least the security aspect of it; he knew how to command troops and think strategically but the Captain of the Royal Guard was also a diplomat to foreign governments. He knew he couldn't speak well and probably never – Cadance! Cadance could speak well! Maybe she could teach him to speak better, or perhaps speak for him on diplomatic missions! ...But what about Cadance? Could he just keep pretending he was Shining Armor, marry her and live a lie for the rest of their lives? No, it was a stupid idea. Shining Armor would return, and to hope otherwise was not only wrong, but would only set him up for more disappointment when he was forced to re-swap.

Storm knew better then to try to delude himself; nothing could ever come of this. One day Shining Armor would return, they would re-swap their bodies, and Storm would lose Cadance forever. All Storm could hope for was that these days would last for as long as possible, delaying the inevitable indefinably as he savored each moment with Cadance. After that he would be left alone again and...

OK; that was weird.

Chapter seventeen>>> Pain, Lies and False Hope pt 1

18 - Zebra Tales

17 - Pain, Lies, and False Hope pt 1

Rainbow Dash hadn't slept, she was sure of it; she'd just blinked and then the sun rose very quickly and Shining Armor appeared back inside the cave nudging her gently with his hoof, saying it was time to get up. Rainbow rubbed the slee- the blink from her eyes and sat up in time to see Shining Armor nudge Twilight.

"Time for my shift" Twilight mumbled, without opening her eyes.

"Time for breakfast."

Twilight’s eyes shot open then squinted at the sunlight coming in through the mouth of the cave in dismay, "But... I was meant to take a shift guarding the entrance."

"I watched for you" smiled Shining Armor, "Your welcome."

Twilight looked anything but happy with not having done her fair share, but gave a grunt that sounded appreciative. Breakfast was a bleak affair, eaten in silence.

............................................................................................................................................................

Storm had woken after only a few hours sleep to the delighted snarls of a pack of wild dogs, and the panicked screams of his sister beside him. The fire they had lit the night before had gone out; it had been small, smaller then they could have made with all the dry wood around and smaller then they needed to stay warm and keep away wild animals. But if they built a proper bonfire, then whoever owned this land would probably notice and chase them off for trespassing, or worse. They had learned to walk a fine line of making fires big enough to last the night and ward off predators and small enough to avoid unwanted attention. Last night Storm had made a mistake, the fire had burned too low, and now Silver was paying for it.

Storm was on his hooves in an instant, lashing out with his horn and hooves at the shadows that were swarming around the campsite, shooting one after the other with a weak fireball spell he had recently learned. The fireballs lit up the faces of the dogs a moment before impact and then exploded; sending the dogs yelping and running for cover, leaving the scent of burnt fur behind them. They were gone as quickly as they had come; Storm re-lit the fire as quickly as possible, and then tried to do what little he could for his mangled sister.

She was hurt; badly. He was trying to figure out why then went for her instead of him when he noticed what was left of their blanket. As usual he had insisted that she sleep with the only blanket they owned. She must have sweat in her sleep, making her scent stronger than his making the dogs attack her first! How could he have not thought of that!? At least it wouldn't happen again, the blanket was ruined now, even by their standards, Storm kicked the tattered remains away from the campsite in frustration but couldn't afford to think about that now; Silver was bleeding and needed help. Storm had never bandaged gashes this big before, but if he could get some supplies he was willing to try.

At the bottom of the other side of the hill, was a big house (probably the one that owned this land) that had looked almost empty in the daylight. Storm and Silver tried to avoid stealing anything outright, and only once had they broken into someponies house to do it (that hadn't ended well), but this was an emergency! If nopony had been woken up by the commotion, then Storm might be able to sneak in, find some bandages, and get back out without anypony realizing it.

Quickly throwing a dozen branches onto the fire to keep the dogs from returning, Storm took off at a gallop; teleporting through the outer fence, and then through the window of the first room he found that looked like a bathroom. Opening a random closet he was overjoyed to find a large medical bag almost immediately. It was too heavy for him to teleport with, so he dumped its contents on the floor and began shifting around for the things he needed. That was one roll of bandages; one bottle of antiseptic, Storm was trying to fit another roll of bandages into his mouth in case he wasted some of the first roll when he heard a gravelly voice from behind him.

“What are you doing?” it seemed to shout as a strong hoof came and grabbed Storm between his shoulders. Storm tried to break free, but the grip of the old stallion was too strong. He tried to teleport, but the flash of a horn behind him canceled his spell. After a few seconds of futile struggle, Storm collapsed, whimpering in fear as he waited for what came next. The old stallion would beat him and then throw him out of his house; without the medical supplies to save Silver. Maybe he could keep just one roll of bandages inside his mouth, and if he could avoid yelling when the stallion hit him, the stallion might throw him out of the house still with the bandages in his mouth. Storm braced himself, but the blow never came.

“That's more bandages than you need son” the voice said more kindly. Storm was confused until another hoof brushed against his side, at first he thought the old stallion was gently slicing two parallel cuts into his side with knives, but then realized they were claw marks left from the dogs. “You’re not hit that bad, half a roll would suit you fine. You don't need a second one unless... is someone else hurt?”

Storm didn't know what was happening; he didn't want to tell the old stallion anything but felt himself nodding anyways. “The hound's baying” the old stallion muttered. “Where are they?” When Storm didn't answer he felt the bandages and antiseptic be yanked out of his mouth by powerful telekinesis. “Common lad, speak up!”

“M-m-my sister” managed Storm, still terrified of the old stallion.

Storm felt the stallion's hoof release him and his telekinesis lift him to his hooves. “Where?”

Storm hesitated; he knew they desperately needed help, but he didn't see why somepony he had been trying to steal from, moments before, would want to help him. Why would anyone do that? Storm turned to face the scarred, haggled stallion for the first time; he looked frightening, but when he spoke again there was a kindness in his voice he hadn't heard before. “I'm not going to hurt you” said the old stallion placing one hoof on his shoulder and making eye contact “I want to help.”

“Sh-she's on the other side of the hill.” Before Storm had a chance to react, the supplies he had scattered across the floor quickly began repacking themselves back into the medical bag. The moment it was full, there was a flash and he was standing with the old stallion and the medical bag on the hill about ten yards away from their campsite. The old stallion cantered towards the fire and knelt down in front of Silver Thorn and for the first time Storm got a good look at the stallion's cutie mark. It looked like a gigantic knife!

“Easy lass” instructed the knife stallion as he lit his horn for light and began looking over Silver's injuries, “It's not as bad as it looks.” The bottle of antiseptic popped back out of the medical bag and started to gently splash over some of the worst hit areas. Storm stood a short distance off, watching the knife stallion's every movement as he lifted one Silver's legs, cleaned, dressed and bandaged the lacerations and then set it back down as though he'd done this a hundred times. So far so good, but Storm didn't let his guard down even for an instant. As the knife stallion worked, Storm kept his head tilted, and legs primed, ready to gore the knife stallion through the heart, if he made even one wrong move, unable to shake the idea that he had driven away the dogs, only to bring a wolf to tend to his sister's wounds.

Storm stood there as the hours crawled by; at first Silver looked just as frightened of the stallion as Storm was, (though did a decent job of hiding it), but as her injuries were tended one by one, she slowly began to relax, becoming more cooperative with the knife stallion which enabled him to work faster, until he finished as the first rays of morning began painting the sky. “Your turn lad” he called as he snipped a final length of bandage and wrapped it around Silver's chest.

Storm looked back at his own wounds, (keeping one eye on his sister and the knife stallion as he did so.) By now they really had started to hurt, and standing there had told him that he had more scratches on two of his legs, but he didn't dare to lie down and let that knife stallion touch him. So long as the knife stallion had been tending Silver, he had been ready to fight in case the stallion had tried to hurt her; but if he was getting bandaged and the knife stallion attacked, Silver wasn’t in any condition to help him. “I'm fine” he said firmly.

“Your cuts ain't bad but if we leave them they'll get infected. Come on now, it'll only take a few minutes.”

“I said I'm fine!”

Storm glared at the knife stallion, but Silver's soft gaze disarmed him. “Let him help B.B.” she said sleepily, “My wounds are feeling better already, and yours will too if you let him help you. Please.”

“We don't even know who he is Silver, for all we know he could be anypony.”

“Name's Straight Hack. Now that we're acquainted, are you going to let me treat you before your wounds fester and become a real problem?”

Learning the knife stallion's name did nothing to calm Storm's fears, but eventually, after several minutes of coaxing from Silver and the knife stallion, Storm sat down and surrendered one of his hooves for treatment which proceeded faster and less painfully then he had expected.

When Storm's wounds had been dealt with, the knife stallion stood up and began brushing the dirt off his legs and stomach. The patience that had covered his voice for the last hour seemed to have vanished, “You kids should know better than to be camping outside with wild dogs about. Do your parent's let you do this, or did you sneak out?” Storm's silence, and the pebble like tears welling up in Silver's eyes told the knife stallion more then he needed to know. Under the infant sun’s rays he began noticing more than just the foal's injuries; the protruding ribs, more grime stuck into their coats then could ever accumulate during one night outside and eyes too tired to be playing a game. “Hmmm right” the knife stallion muttered, “You kids had better come with me then, I'll make you some breakfast.”

Storm was about to refuse when he saw the way Silver's eyes lit up at the mention of food. She couldn't run far yet with her injuries, he couldn't leave her for long to search for food, so without help they could do little except sit and starve. The orphans let themselves be led by the knife stallion into his warm house and into his kitchen filled with mouth watering smells. The knife stallion worked quickly and prepared a huge pot of a bean and tomato mash of which both siblings gobbled down four helpings. In all that time the knife stallion never once admonished them for eating too much, only to eat slower so they wouldn't make themselves sick.

As the siblings licked their bowls clean for the second time, the knife stallion left them and faint pulses of magic began emanating from down the hallway. Ordinarily Storm would have investigated, but the food held fast his attention. As the orphans were finishing the best early breakfast, (or late dinner as they hadn't eaten the night before), they'd had in months, the knife stallion reappeared and offered to let them stay with him until Silver got better. He showed them two large back bedrooms he had prepared for them and told them to get some rest. Storm pretended to be grateful and comply without complaint, but the moment he felt sure that the knife stallion had left the back of the house, he crept out of his room and curled up next to Silver in case the knife stallion came back. It was early morning and Storm had intended to keep watch through the entire day (or as long as Silver slept) and would have to except... he hadn't expected the pillows to be so soft.

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Shining Armor hadn't fooled Twilight, she knew something was seriously wrong. She'd seen her brother stressed before, she'd seen him get worked up over upcoming exams and then melt down as he waited for the results, but never anything like this. Twilight was starting to feel guilty for pressing him for information about the Rangers the first night when he had obviously wanted to sleep. The more she thought about it the more she remembered how he had forgotten she and Rainbow Dash weren't Rangers, and how he had needed to back trace his own story, things he had almost never done before. Shining Armor was not acting like himself and Twilight was going to find out why; "B.B." she asked slowly as she quickened her pace to walk beside him. Shining Armor kept walking as though he hadn't heard her, "B.B.."

Shining Armor gave a small jolt and turned to face her, "Yes?"

"When you first came to my house, we agreed that I would monitor your condition after your body swap, and keep an eye out for any adverse side effects."

"That we did."

Twilight retrieved her notepad and quill from her saddlebag, "I think now would be a good time to do follow up. How are you feeling?"

"I'm... OK."

Twilight bit down on her lower lip, but didn't back down, "How do your ribs and face feel? Three days ago you said they were hurting."

"Much better now; thank you."

"Are there any new symptoms you'd like to report."

Shining Armor tripped over a branch but caught himself before he hit the ground, "No, I'm pretty much fine."

"Are you sure, because you seem kind of... stressed."

Shining Armor stopped mid-stride "Stressed? Well I can't imagine why I'd be stressed; unless it had something to do with the fact that Cadance and Storm have been teleported so far into the territory of one of the worst enemies Equestria has ever known, that it would take an army to get to them, and that I set out to on a rescue mission, during which I may be attacked on sight by the Rangers if word of Storm killing Denorious surpasses us, with sixteen untrained soldiers, thirteen of whom I lost within the first two hours past the first Dragon Wall, against one, terrormonger, because someone you told me I could trust lied to me and almost got us all killed; and now I'm down to just two soldiers, one of whom is the mare in question who almost got us all killed, and the other is my baby sister who should be home reading about war instead of fighting it, who when she's attacked, forgets that she has a belt of knives strapped to her, which I gave her for the express purpose of defending herself with, who I may very well be leading to her death trying to save ponies who might very well already be dead, and is currently wasting time asking questions that aren't critical to the mission at hoof!" Shining Armor took a very deep breath, "Aside from that, I'm as happy as a clam, which is really a very strange thing to say come to think of it, because I really don't know if clams are happy or not, sitting at the bottoms of creeks, rivers and lakes all day doing nothing, but I'm going to say it anyways because that's the simile that ponies use to convey the idea that they are really, really happy. Does that finish answering your questions?"

"... I'm not a baby."

"Well you're sure acting like one!"

"Me? ...What did I do?"

"Insisting on coming on a mission that you're not prepared for. The only reason I let you come was I knew if I told you to stay home you'd try to follow me anyway."

"Would you do the same thing if you were in my position?"

"But you're not trained."

"I took self defense at Celestia's school, and I've read a lot on-"

"This isn't a book Twilight! I wish everything could be a book for you but it's not; this is real life. You've only caught a glimpse of what can happen, it gets worse; much worse."

"But you want me and Rainbow Dash to leave so you can go alone? You keep saying you're trained, but have you ever gone three days without sleep, in the deep forest, alone, after a body swap you did so your mind would have a chance to rest, of which we're still not sure of the possible side effects?" Shining Armor turned silent but at the mention of 'side effects' gave a noticeable flinch. "How have you been sleeping?"

"Great, no trouble at all getting to sleep."

"Any problems staying asleep?"

Shining Armor stayed silent and began walking again, Twilight refusing to be left behind trotted to keep up; "Shining Armor" she said softly, "You don't have to carry this all by yourself, you can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?"

Shining Armor turned, and looked her in the eye, showing her such terrible pain mixed with so much affection that it frightened her, yet she didn't look away. "Twilight" he said softly "I love you, but for the moment I'm going to have to ask you to trust me. I swear that I will get us out of this, with Cadance and Storm, and then I will try to explain what's happened; but in the meantime there are things I simply can't discuss. Please try to understand."

Twilight swallowed back a ball of remorse and nodded; tucking her notebook and quill back into her saddlebags as she followed her brother without another word. She believed him when he said he loved her, she was certain that if at that moment she was attacked, Shining Armor would die to save her without a moment's hesitation, but he was still shutting her out of his life and refusing to trust her.

Was this what it was like to be Cadance?

Twilight and Shining Armor had grown up in a house full of secrets. Their parents had worked together, and still did, in the restricted archives, doing something important that Twilight never really learned the details of. When Shining Armor was born, their mother took time off to care for him, but returned to work just three years later, consigning most of Shining Armor’s early childhood daycare centers.

Twilight had never really considered how she'd never seen Shining Armor until after she was born. All her life, there had been someone else to talk to, turn to, confide in, and depend on; but who did Shining Armor have before her, and what did he learn in those first six years about secrets, family and ‘duty’?

Their parents had both held countless secrets that they kept from the world and even their own children, (the biggest reason Cadance became Twilight's foalsitter was it was considered lower risk if Cadance accidentally saw or overheard something she shouldn't), but even if they shut the rest of the universe out of their lives, they had always had each other. If Shining Armor shut out Cadance, who was left?

If Twilight ever found the right stallion, she'd make sure they could trust each other before moving the relationship forwards. 'Rule forty-three she thought, 'perfect stallion must be trusting, and trustworthy'. Another glance at the wraith of a brother leading her made her reconsider; maybe that rule should be higher up the list.

Chapter eighteen >>> Pain, Lies and False Hope pt 2

19 - Denial

18 - Pain, Lies and False Hope pt 2

Need necessitated that, for the moment, the orphans trust Straight Hack, but Storm waited every day for the dream to turn into a nightmare, or for Straight Hack to finally demand the price for all of his 'kindness'. After the first day however, Storm had concluded that Straight Hack required healthy foals for whatever purposes he had planned for them, and so was willing to accept his luxurious hospitality until Silver was well enough to run.

The foals woke late in the afternoon to Straight Hack holding a tray with a jug of juice, three cups, three plates and a heaping pile of flat bread-like pastries he called pancakes. There were strawberries, and cream, and something unbelievably sweet and just as sticky which Straight Hack told them was maple syrup. Everything seemed to be going great until Silver tried to pour another cup of juice while eating a pancake and spilled the jug all over the blankets, the mattress, and her bandages. Both the orphans froze in fear, certain that Straight Hack would be furious for them ruining his spare bed; what he did do was something neither of them could have imagined. He ran them a bath.

For foals who had gotten use to washing themselves by rolling in puddles of cold rain water, a hot bath was an unfathomable luxury. Straight Hack filled the bath almost to Silver's neck and then but in a packet of something called epsom salts which he said would help their wounds heal faster. Straight Hack made sure the foals were situated and then left the foals to clean themselves with soft brushes, and something it took the foals to recognize it had been so long since they had seen one. It was a bar of soap. SOAP!

Two hours later, two squeaky clean foals, smiling from ear to ear, came trotting out of the bathroom to find that Straight Hack had cleaned Silver's bed so it was like new and moved Storm's bed into what had been Silver's room so the siblings wouldn't have to be apart. But lessons born for survival die hard, and Storm still slept curled next to Silver for mutual protection and body heat.

After three days Storm plucked up enough courage to ask Straight Hack about why he had a huge knife for a cutie mark. The 'sword' as Straight Hack had called it came from a time when he served in the 'Royal Guard' when he was much younger. After getting injured and being forced to retire, Straight Hack's marefriend left him when he told her that his injury had left him unable to have kids. (As morbid as it sounds, Storm was actually glad when he learned about the injury because it meant Straight Hack wasn't just waiting for the right opportunity to hurt Silver. Though if he had listened for it, Storm would have heard the damp loneliness in Straight Hack's voice when he admitted he'd never had his own family.)

The moon waxed in the heavens, and as it did so too did the bellies of Storm and Silver who no longer felt like orphans, as did their trust in their new host. Nevertheless, Storm never lost sight of their need to leave as soon as Silver was well enough to travel, and from the first day he began snatching little bits of imperishable foods from whatever Straight Hack gave them, and keeping it in a stache, under the bed. Two weeks after arriving, Storm woke Silver an hour past midnight and told her that it was time to leave; the two had argued in hurried whispers until Storm finally conceded to stay two more days, and not a minute longer.

Three days later Storm was growing restless. At the time it had seemed like pure coincidence, but later it became obvious that Straight Hack had guessed Storm's intentions, when he offered to teach Storm some fighting moves he'd learned in the 'Royal Guard'. Storm thought it might be a trick, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn more about such a critical life skill. The two of them began training for hours each day, with Silver on a couch in the corner, watching them closely until she was well enough to join them.

Straight Hack had a way of making everything seem easy; there were so many little things that Storm had been doing wrong whenever he fought until then and it was the little things that made all the difference. Once Straight Hack showed him the right way it seemed so obvious that Storm only wondered why he'd never figured it out before. Both foals improved rapidly under Straight Hacks training, (Silver advancing even faster than Storm for a short time because she had less wrong habits she needed to unlearn), and they practiced their new found skills on the dogs who had attacked Silver until they ran out of targets.

When they were nearing completion of what Straight Hack regarded 'basic training', Storm decided that he wanted to really impress Straight Hack before they left, and began sneaking outside at night to practice. When it started raining heavily Storm was glad, it covered the noise he was making, meaning less effort to remain quiet, more effort for training; then the foals spent another week with Straight Hack, waiting for Storm to get over his cold.

The day Storm got his voice back, Silver was squealing with delight because a new show had just scheduled to open in the town based off her favorite book from before mom and dad died... but seeing it meant staying two more weeks with Straight Hack. After the show it was late autumn and so Straight Hack suggested that they might as well stay the winter. After that, no one mentioned the foals leaving again; no one wanted them to.

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Shining Armor plodded along for mile after mile, ignoring the constant protest from his aching muscles, he forced himself to keep going. Must protect Twilight. This sector of forest was particularly familiar to him, a few years ago he had served an entire tour in this sector and the forest hadn't changed much since he had gone, except now there were a lot more hills. Must protect Twilight. He kept checking to make sure they really were on the route he thought he was, and cast revealment spells on all the landmarks he recognized to make sure terrormongers weren't leading them astray. Must protect Twilight. Shining Armor stumbled over a rock and then swerved to avoid a tree that someone had moved into his way. Once they were back in Canterlot there would be plenty of time for sleeping; until then sleeping meant dreaming of murdering Twilight, frying his nerves further and making him a beacon for the terrormongers to find them. Must protect Twilight.

All his life Shining Armor had honored whatever rules were placed on him; school work was turned in on time, his room at home was kept clean, his hooves polished at every roll call when he was training to be a Royal Guard. None of that mattered now. Here he was protecting his family, and when it came to protecting family, there were no rules.

Twilight was suspicious, he knew that but there was nothing he could do. What was he supposed to say? 'Hey Twilight, don't mean to upset you or anything, but it seems destiny has decided that within the next few days I'm going to brutally murder you while you beg for mercy, and then mutilate your body until it's beyond recognition. Love ya.'

Why had Storm volunteered to do the body swap with him in the first place? They had never been close and hadn’t parted on good terms, but Storm still volunteered to take the pain for him. Shining Armor had originally taken it as an apology, and a token that he wanted to be friends again or maybe as thanks for saving his life; but in truth Shining Armor was surprised that Storm wanted anything to do with him.

It didn’t matter; Storm had volunteered, they had swapped and now Storm was virtually incapacitated, in the deep forest, with Cadance who was totally unprepared for something like this. Unprepared? Could Shining Armor have prepared her? Warned her? Trained her? No. He couldn't have told Cadance about the forest and he remembered why.

Shining Armor remembered the train ride back to Canterlot after his first tour of active duty; screams echoing through his mind, images of carpets of dead bodies stretching as far as the eye could see, the smell of decaying flesh, the feel of hot blood as it splattered on his coat. One Ranger had gone mad in the forest, and had torn out his own brother's entrails with his teeth; Shining Armor had been almost paralyzed with horror, Storm had run the wild Ranger down and decapitated him like nothing had even happened.

He knew he would never be the same again.

When he found Cadance, she was sobbing on a park bench. That day she had visited the hospital and met a colt who after an accident, (which was his own fault), might have to have one of his legs amputated. One colt. One leg. One colt she had never met before and had no responsibility for. One leg which if amputated, could easily be replaced by an artificial limb; (the colt wouldn't be able to play sports anymore, but at least he' be able to walk.)

Shining Armor held Cadance as she sobbed into his mane, for once not caring who saw them. He wanted to be honest with her, he wanted to answer her questions; but more than that he wanted her to be happy. He wanted the world to be a nice place for her, a world of palaces and gardens and little foals playing happily in the streets. A world where the only injuries were accidents and the unfortunate few who had them would be taken care of in brightly colored hospitals, with ice cream, clowns and movie nights on Saturdays. He didn't want her to see the world of carnage and hatred that existed outside of Equestria's borders. He loved her and had sworn to protect her from anything that would hurt her; on that day he learned that the truth was one of those things.

He had now failed in that promise.

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Cautious weeks with Straight Hack turned to joyful months, which in turn grew into blissful years. Storm took to sleeping in his own bed, and later his own room as thoughts of needing to preserve body heat and take turns keeping watch faded into memory. Straight Hack told the foals more about his life, much of it spent with a secret army Rangers, who fight a hidden war to keep Equestria safe, and after the first winter, the foals were ready to open up about their own past.

They told him about their parents and their lives before becoming orphans; growing up in a small mining town located somewhere between oblivion and nowhere. Their family had been poor, but happy, until the day when the mine collapsed, burying both their parents along with half the adults in the town. They joined the rest of the town in digging for survivors and for the first few days they were hopeful, certain that at any moment mom and dad would walk from the rubble and then they would all go home. But as the days wore on they began feeling anxious, then desperate as their parents remained nowhere to be seen, and those survivors who were pulled from the rubble became fewer and each less alive then the last. When at last, after a week of broken spades and broken hearts, they finally found their parents, crushed side by side under a tsunami of earth, there was nothing they could do except rebury them; with a wilted desert flower for each of them and two rivers of tears.

The company went bankrupt. Rumors abounded that the company had been merely a front for a much larger corporation, created to absolve some distant and unreachable collection of millionaires of any legal responsibility for the workers or their families, now that the mine was no longer profitable. Whether the rumors were true or not, mattered absolutely nothing to Storm or Silver; their parents were dead, their home was destroyed and no one was coming to help them.

They stayed in the town longer than most of the other survivors, cradling each other in the remains of their broken home, hoping vainly that something would somehow change, but nothing did. When the last of the food in their pantry ran out, they were left with no choice but to leave the town behind along with everything they’d ever known.

Some of their friends who left town before them, had gone to an orphanage in Trottingham and had sent back a letter saying it was nice there and that Storm and Silver should join them. They went to the orphanage, but when they arrived, the director had insisted that their friends had never been there, but seemed so eager for new wards that Storm was afraid she would pounce on them. The foals scampered off into the night, began running and didn’t stop for nearly three years. Spurred on by every dark rumor they heard of orphanages and foster care, they chose the cold hunger of homelessness, rather than consigning to letting themselves simply disappear like their friends.

After their first week without shelter and with little food, the foals began stealing to support themselves. Their first attempts were met with delicious success leading Storm to become bolder which lead to him being beaten to within an inch of his life. After that, Storm forbade Silver from stealing and only stole himself when one of their lives depended on it, which in winter became far more often than he had first imagined possible.

They learned to stowaway on trains, and found snug, warm little compartments in them, that few ponies knew about, where they could sleep. They learned what words were most likely to earn tangible pity from strangers and what sorts of restaurants threw out the best food. They learned warning signs on what sort of ponies might seem friendly to cover up ulterior motives and to recognize what parts of towns wouldn't be safe after nightfall. They learned funerals tended to have a lot of food at them, and if they showed up before the eulogy, they could invent a cover story about how they knew the deceased and the chances of getting a good meal were high. Overall; they learned to survive.

Storm told Straight Hack about getting his cutie mark; how when passing through Stalliongrand they'd learned there was a five hundred bit reward for information regarding a recent murder, and decided it couldn't hurt to try some amateur detective work. Their investigation hit a serious snag when it became apparent that if someone did know something, and wouldn't tell the police for five hundred bits, they weren’t going to tell a couple of kids, because they had asked nicely.

The escapade ended with the foals running for their lives through the backstreets of Baltimare chased by several, large, shouting ponies. They had almost been caught when the foals managed to link their magic, giving Storm enough energy to perform a duel teleport, hiding them behind a pile of crates. Their pursuers passed them, and were out of earshot within a minute, but the foals still stayed hidden for hours, emerging only after night had fallen. As they wandered the streets on their way back to the train station, a passing streetlamp told them their investigation hadn't been entirely in vain.

Most of the time they thought only about how they were going to eat and stay warm that day, or get medicine when one of them was sick; but sometimes in summer when it was warm and food was more common, or after a lucky hit stealing they would have more then they needed for that day, but these weren’t necessarily their happiest times. It gave them time to think, really think about how their parents died, to contemplate with ever imaginative horror what had happened to their friends from the orphanage, to rankle over how horrid the world was, and wonder with increasing despair what was going to become of them. It was times like this that their situation seemed most hopeless, and it was times like those that Storm’s short temper often caused unnecessary grief for both of them.

They survived mostly on food left outside or in dumpsters; though sometimes they would find little odd jobs and could buy food without risking stealing, but they never stayed any one place for long. If they stayed somewhere, then ponies would get to know them and anyone looking to take advantage of them would realize how vulnerable they really were. But if they only stayed for a few days, they could pass themselves off as having gotten lost from their parents for a few days on a cross country trip to a doctor for whichever one of them pretended to be sick, (though often they weren’t pretending), and just needed a meal while they waited for their parents to find them. That was usually enough to get something; but they never tried to get more than their story justified and any invitations to a house for a meal or to wait for their parents sent them running.

They refined the story over the years, and tailored it to their audience, but the ideas were always the same; they sincerely needed help, but if something happened to them, someone would be coming to look for them soon. That last bit was important; it added protection against predators and… it felt good to say. If they said it often enough they could almost believe that it was true; tomorrow good people were coming to help them, tomorrow their problems would all be over, tomorrow they’d have a family and a home, always tomorrow, never today.

They moved constantly; most nights sleeping in the bowls of a train, driven on by Storm’s constant fear that someone was looking for them. They tried as much as possible never to visit the same town twice partially least someone recognize them and see through their story, but also because they didn’t like revisiting places with bad memories. In those two years they traveled further and visited more places than many ponies saw to their lifetime; yet never found themselves living outside of fear, or very far from death.

Those days were over now however, and both foals truly believed that their nightmares were past, now that Straight Hack had found them. Storm grew into a young stallion and watched Silver mature into a young mare; but before that happened they had the opportunity to be kids again.

For Storm's fourteenth birthday, Straight Hack took them on a train to the beach. It was the first time the foals had ever seen the ocean and having grown up in a desert, the sight of so much water in one place was mind boggling. Storm ran wildly through the waves in a vain attempt to keep the tide coming in while Silver scurried up and down the beach collecting every sea shell she saw, occupied or not. The best thing happened at dinner when Straight Hack gave Storm his present. At first Storm was disappointed when all he got was a piece of paper with some writing on it, but when Straight Hack explained how this represented a collage fund in his name he couldn't thank him enough for it. Straight Hack had promised that Silver would get one too for her fourteenth birthday, but when he learned the foals had agreed to share Storm's collage fund in the meantime he caved in and gave Silver hers just a few months later on her eleventh birthday, (after a return trip to the ocean of course). The foals were ecstatic; Silver wanted to and learn more about sea creatures (or marine biology as Straight Hack called it), Storm... Storm wasn't sure what he wanted to study, but the idea of going to collage was still exciting.

They lived too far out of Balitmare to visit on a regular basis, or for the foals to attend school and so aside from Silver's ferocious letter writing campaign to find a pen pal who lived on a houseboat so she could visit, they led fairly solitary lives. Morning would see them all up at the crack of dawn, practicing with their hooves, magic or weapons from Straight Hack's collection of knives and swords (except for the antiques). After that they would tend to their vegetable garden where they grew more food than they ever needed and Straight Hack would do what he could to further their education. Evenings they would all relax around the fireplace; Storm would lounge on a bean bag close to the fire and would let Straight Hack sit Silver on his lap as he read them a story.

Eventually Straight Hack ran out of fighting moves he could teach them. The foals begged him to teach him something more but all he could think of was some old dance moves he had learned when he was much younger, but that was enough to suffice their budding curiosity. The foals didn't care that all they had to dance with was each other, they danced anyways.

One of Storm's most treasured memories was the look on Straight Hack's face, the first time Silver ever called him 'dad'. The spring after they had arrived, the three of them had been in the garden together and it just came out. Straight Hack froze for almost a full minute, tears brimming in his eyes before he softly asked her to say it again... and again. Soon both foals were cheering the magic word over and over 'dad, dad!' as they tackled the weak kneed stallion to the garden floor, the three of them, rolling and laughing together. Straight Hack knew that he had found his family; Silent Storm and Silver Thorn knew that they had found their home.

Chapter nineteen >>> In Case I Go Crazy

20 - Marching Orders

19 - In Case I Go Crazy

When the search party made camp in another cave on the third night, Twilight was exhausted; but didn't let that get in the way of what she knew she needed to do. Ignoring the ache in her shoulders as she shrugged off her saddlebags, she turned to Shining Armor and tried to muster a chipper smile, "I'll take first watch tonight, and if you like I'll take part of your shift. It's only fair since you watched for me last night."

Shining Armor smiled weakly but shook his head, "No need, I'll keep watch tonight. You get some sleep so you're fresh for tomorrow's walk."

"But that's not fair! I'll take the first... hold on; did you just say you were going to watch for the whole night?"

"Yes."

Even Rainbow Dash stood up from where she had been kicking some ferns together to make a bed and stared at him incredulously "You’re kidding! You were the first up on Thursday, you stayed up almost all of last night, and now you want to stay up again? Get some sleep!"

"I'm not tired. ...At least, not as tired at you two are. Storm and I are both elite worriers and are trained to go long periods without rest. You two are civilians and need all the sleep you can get."

"And when are you going to sleep?" Asked Twilight anxiously.

"When we're safe in Canterlot with Cadance and Storm."

"But that's two days away at least!"

"Then you'd better get to sleep so we can start early."

They argued. Twilight pleaded with her brother to take some rest, Dash called him an idiot and asked what he was trying to prove, but neither of them could alter Shining Armor's immovable will. At length, Rainbow Dash decided to let Shining Armor destroy himself if he wanted, but by now she was wide awake and couldn't have slept even if it hadn't been for the unicorns ongoing debate.

Then, all at once, the voices stopped as there was a bright flash of light Dash could see through her eyelids. She opened them in time to see an unconscious Twilight caught by her brother's telekinesis and levitate to a bed of ferns beside her. Dash rolled to her hooves to demand an explanation, but before she could get a sound out, Shining Armor's horn flashed again, and Dash felt the world around her go dim.

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Breakfast was even bleaker then the day before; Dash was fuming at having been magically chloroformed the night before, and could tell that Twilight was even angrier, but neither of them said anything. The food wasn't that good either, (not that she expected it to be), and the comfort of having lighter saddlebags was off put by the thought of their dwindling food supplies.

The sooner they got to Storm and Cadance the better.

As soon as Shining Armor finished scoffing down his oats he was on his hooves, looking around for any preparations that needed doing before moving out, "You two ready to start heading south?"

"Actually B.B.," said Twilight sheepishly, "I really need to go to the bathroom."

Shining Armor nodded, "Bushes, outside the case, to the left."

Twilight smiled gratefully, but before she cleared the cave entrance, Shining Armor turned to Rainbow Dash, "Go with her."

"What?"

"None of us should leave the cave alone, surrounded by changelings there's no guarantee the pony who leaves your sight is the one who comes back. You two go, I'll get the camp packed up."

Shining Armor's command was... awkward, to say the least, but rather then to argue with a stallion who may very well be verging on insanity, Rainbow followed Twilight out the cave mouth. Passing round a corner the two mares found the glade at which point Twilight turned to Rainbow, "Give me a couple minutes?"

"No probs" nodded Rainbow, turning her back to her friend's privacy to keep watch, in case Shining Armor came by and asked why they weren't together. She took her post and waited... and waited, there was a snapping somewhere in the thicket, followed by a swift grunt; "Twilight?" Dash turned, and darted behind the first bush, almost running into Twilight who seemed to have been on her way back.

"I thought you were going to wait!" protested Twilight after stumbling backwards from Dash's onslaught.

"I heard a noise."

"I tripped over a branch, now come on, Shining Armor's waiting."

Twilight walked past her and began heading out of the thicket. Dash almost followed, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a purple unicorn mare, unconscious on the ground, blood seeping from a head wound behind her cracked horn. "Hey Twilight" the purple unicorn still standing turned her head to face Rainbow Dash, only to have it pummeled a second later by a solid buck from both of Dash's hind hooves, sending her sprawling. Dash flicked her hooves together, ejecting the blades from her shoes, and then lunged at the stunned mare, whose hind hooves flew up and caught Dash painfully in the gut, making her overshoot her target and plunge into a nearby thorn bush.

Dash struggled, her protective chain mail trapping her as it snagged onto the thorns. She heard the changeling regain its hooves and the morning light seemed to become suddenly brighter. With a final, desperate heave, Dash broke free from the bush seconds before a fireball sent it up in flames. Dash gained altitude, swiveled and then came barreling down on the imposter from above. The two collapsed to the ground, but Dash was the first to regain her composure and got the idea of stabbing the changeling through the heart. Dash was about to make the cut, when her hooves became paralyzed and began glowing with telekinesis. A moment later she was dragged off the changeling and onto her back a few feet away, as one of Zecora's jars came flying out of nowhere, shattering between them.

Dash looked up to see an upside down view of Shining Armor with one sword drawn, waiting for the mist to reveal who the changeling was, then charge, jump over Twilight's doppelganger and towards a manticore who had sprung into the glade. The two seemed to charge each other in slow motion; Shining Armor brought his sword down a moment too early, striking a rock and causing the blade to shatter. The manticore lunged to bite Shining Armor, who ducked just in time to drive his horn into the manticore's chest.

The two struggled, the manticore howling in pain as it drove Shining Armor back with its superior weight and momentum, clawing viciously at his armor with both fore claws. Shining Armor shook, and from beneath the manticore's mane there came a brief glow before the manticore exploded into chunks of gore which flew in all directions. Shining Armor regained his balance almost immediately and began pelting the nearby tree line with massive fireballs, setting the front row of trees ablaze. A nightmarish cry issued from behind one of the trees and immediately began receding deeper into the woods; Shining Armor drew his second sword and gave chase, jumping through the wall of firehe had just created.

Dash rolled to her hooves; ready to follow Shining Armor, but then saw the flames were about to engulf Twilight, still with a cracked horn and unconscious from a head wound. Giving her wings a hard flap, Dash reached to retrieve her friend, only to have her hooves pass right through her paralyzed friend as she vanished. Dash fondled the empty air then, without stopping, looked behind her to the 'changeling' she had fought, standing in the remnants of the mist cloud and still looking like Twilight. A brief thought passed through her mind that only a changeling queen could have cast a fireball, then Dash collided head first into a tree.

............................................................................................................................................................

Twilight woke suddenly. She was wrapped in a blanket and laying on a bed of ferns, but she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. Had she taken her shift and then been too tired to remember going to bed? Had she slept through her watch!? Twilight sat bolt upright and saw Shining Armor sitting on a rock a few paces away, sharpening his swords.

"Good morning" he sighed without looking up, "I was just about to wake you."

Twilight tried to remember the night before; she had been insisting that her brother take some rest, saying she would stay up regardless of what he did and then... he knocked her out. He had actually assaulted her. White hot rage flickered inside her, but was drowned beneath a river of worry when Shining Armor turned to face her; his eyes sunken looking like deep pits of fire.

Twilight got up, woke Rainbow Dash and made breakfast, quickly, before Shining Armor felt he needed to do it himself and use even more of his energy. All throughout breakfast no one spoke, and Twilight kept watching her brother hunched over his oats and apples; every move speaking of utter exhaustion and every bite of ravenous hunger. Knowing that missing sleep increased energy requirements, Twilight began taking little portions of her breakfast and adding them to his. What really scared her was that Shining Armor didn't even notice.

At least Shining Armor looked a little once he'd eaten; licking the last of Twilight's oatmeal from around his muzzle he rose to his hooves, "You two ready to start heading south?"

Twilight wanted to say yes, but knew there was something she else needed to say and couldn't wait much longer, "Actually B.B., I really need to go to the bathroom."

Shining Armor nodded, "Bushes, outside the case, to the left" he then turned to Rainbow who looked impatient to move herself, "Go with her."

Rainbow's wings flared in indignation, "What?"

"None of us should leave the cave alone, surrounded by changelings there's no guarantee the pony who leaves your sight is the one who comes back. You two go; I'll get the camp packed up."

Twilight nodded to cover up her worry; Shining Armor was acting paranoid, another clear sign of exhaustion. Objecting to the obvious unreasonableness of his request would just make him more stressed, so Twilight feigned compliance and was grateful that Rainbow showed him the same consideration. The mares rounded the corner and Twilight turned to face Rainbow, "Give me a couple minutes?"

"No probs."

Once her business behind the bush was complete, Twilight was on her way back when she stumbled over a protruding branch; she looked down to regain her hoofing and when she looked up Rainbow Dash had appeared practically on top of her, looking hostile. "I thought you were going to wait!"

"I heard a noise."

"I tripped over a branch, now come on, Shining Armor's waiting."

Twilight had just passed the blue pegasus, when it called her name, she looked, and her head exploded in pain as something solid tore into her skull. She fell on her back; stars brawling through her vision as she saw a blurred image of Rainbow Dash pick up spikes and lunge at her throat. Either by luck or survival instinct, Twilight's hind hooves rose to parry the changeling and throw it into the bush behind her. Her lungs were burning, but she managed to inhale and roll to her hooves. Looking behind her, the changeling was stuck, probably by its wings as it squirmed and yelled as it tried to break free. Twilight was still dazed from being hit, but tried to focus her mind a fireball spell to incinerate the changeling before it broke free.

After several moments fighting for air and concentration, she released the spell, burning the changeling and bush together. Twilight turned, desperate to find the real Rainbow Dash or Shining Armor but just two steps later she was pummeled to the ground by another Dash doppelganger at near suicidal speeds. Twilight collapsed, as the thing on top of her beat her without pity and then drew a knife. Twilight watched helplessly as the knife descended in slow motion towards her unprotected heart when the changeling suddenly glowed and was dragged off of her. There was a smashing sound and Twilight felt her body saturated by tiny droplets of water, wondering if she was dead, she lay there trying to regain her senses when the roar of a manticore drew her back to reality.

Jumping to her hooves, Twilight saw Shining Armor (or a changeling that looked like him); fighting a manticore about ten yards away. There was an explosion; Twilight ducked as piece of torso flew over her head, heard an unearthly shriek and looked up in time to see Shining Armor disappear into a wall of fire. Glancing beside her, Twilight saw the changeling who had been attacking her. She readied another spell, but seeing that it no longer had the element of surprise the changeling took off into the forest in a headlong retreat. Whatever satisfaction there was in seeing an enemy run was countered by concern for Shining Armor and Twilight took off galloping after him, hoping that she could reach him before his rashness cost him his life.

When she finally found him, he was surrounded by the splinters of a broken sword, the dismembered corpses of two terrormongers, a cockatrice, a pack of timber wolves and lumps of flesh whose origin Twilight didn't dare guess. Shining Armor stood alone, breathing hard, staring vacantly into space. He was soaked in blood from hoof to horn and every time he inhaled more of the vile liquid oozed from the pores of his torn armor.

"B.B." She asked timidly, slowly approaching while trying to find a path that meant stepping over as few bodies as possible.

Shining Armor swung to face her, his horn flashed with a revealment spell, reminding Twilight to do the same, but his unchanging appearance assured her it was safe to continue. Shining Armor watched her approach for several more steps, then pounced on her; grabbing her in a vice like grip with his forehooves, he began shaking her violently back and forth as he roared, "What is wrong with you!? I told you two to stay together!"

"I... I didn't-"

"You do as I tell you, or I will kill you myself!!!"

As soon as the words had left his mouth Shining Armor's grip loosened, and Twilight broke free, falling backwards she stared up at her brother in horror. Shining Armor's expression transformed from madness to fear, "I-I didn't mean to say that."

The siblings faced off in frantic silence, and swapped expressions, Shining Armor now backing away in terror and Twilight glaring in anger in fury. "How could you even think it?!" she demanded before spinning around and after taking note of the sun began a course for south.

"Twily I'm sorry!" called Shining Armor as he took off after his sister, "Twily!!"

............................................................................................................................................................

Twily lay under heavy covers, shivering, despite the warmth of the night as she blew her nose with yet another tissue while Storm stood solemnly over her. “I don't think I'll be able to make it tonight” she rasped faintly before breaking out into a coughing fit.

“I understand. Do you want me to stay home with you? The only reason I was going was because it was something you wanted to do.”

Twily shook her head weakly, “No. The tickets cost a lot and are non-refundable. You should go, and try to enjoy it for both of us.”

“Are you sure you'll be OK? You came down with this very suddenly; I mean you were fine just this morning.”

“I'm sure. I'll just stay in bed and do some light reading.” she indicated a pile of encyclopedias by the side of her bed, “It's probably not that bad but I should stay home just in case it's contagious.” Twily coughed a glob of phlegm into a tissue and discarded it into the bin.

“OK” conceded Storm, tucking her in warmly with his telekinesis. “Do you want me to pick you up a magic book on my way back?”

Before Twily could give the response they both knew would be 'yes', there was a knock at the front door. “I wonder” cough, “I wonder who that is” choked Twily, “Why don't you go have a look?” Storm closed Twily's door behind him and was half way down the stairs when he recognized the harmonious voice flowing down the hall.

“Hi Mrs. Starknight; Twilight passed on your message that you and Orion were going to be working again tonight; and needed me to foalsit.”

Storm waited a moment for his moment for is confused mother to respond, “I'm sorry Cadance, there must have been a misunderstanding. Orion and I are both here for the night.”

“Really? Twilight was quite insistent that you needed me to foalsit her tonight.”

“Twilight must have gotten things mixed up, which is strange because it's so unlike her. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but we don't need your services tonight.”

“It's no trouble at all Mrs. Starknight; could I please have a cup of hot coco before heading back to the palace?”

“Of course” Storm's mom opened the door for Cadance who, for a moment, couldn't hide the look of affection on her face when she saw Storm; “Hey Shining Armor,” she smiled before noticing the saddlebag he was wearing and the picnic basket on the bench, “You going somewhere tonight?”

“As a matter a fact I was just headed to the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra. Twily had wanted to go but now she's gotten sick, so I guess I'm going alone.”

“Oh dear, I hope she's not too sick.”

Storm looked to the top of the stairs to where Twily's door had opened a crack, just enough for say, the listening ear of a unicorn filly. “I'm sure she'll be fine.”

Cadance gave an understanding nod, “Well, have fun at your orchestra.”

“...Actually, if you wanted to come, then Twilight's ticket wouldn't be going to waste and we already have a packed picnic for two.”

Cadance shrugged, “My plans for the night have just been canceled so, why not; it could be fun.”

Cadance took the coco offered by Storm's mother and sculled it in a few swift gulps then trotted just outside and waited. Storm was about to follow when he caught the worried stare of his mother and knew that even with how little time she spent at home she wasn't ignorant about what was happening. Storm returned her gaze; trying to convey the false impression that he knew what he was doing and had some sort of idea as to how far he was willing to take this; 'we'll talk later' he mouthed before heading out after Cadance.

“Two days, six hours, twenty four minutes” said Cadance cheerfully as Storm rejoined her.

“What?”

“That's how long ago I mentioned to Twilight that I wanted to see the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra.”

“You told her where to send us?”

“Well so long as she's trying to pair us up, we might as well get her to send us somewhere we actually want to go; or would you prefer she went back to trying to set us up in the romance aisle of the library?”

“I withdraw my objection.”

“And just in case you have any stupid ideas running through your head, I wanted to see the orchestra and using Twilight to get you to buy me a ticket was the most convenient way for me to do that. So keep you're filthy hooves to yourself; understand?”

Storm looked at Cadance, her words had hurt him, but he instantly knew that they had hurt her twice as badly. Going out without Twily was extremely risky, and so extra precautions needed to be taken. “Understood, milady.”

The journey was uneventful, save for Cadance 'slipping' in a puddle and falling against Storm for balance; burying her face into mane for one ecstatic moment before steadying herself and moving on like nothing had happened. When they arrived at the outdoor theater, Cadance chose a spot near the top of the hill where she knew the acoustics would be best, and Storm chose a spot downwind of her, where he could smell the sweet aroma of her mane as it drifted in the night air. They said very little during the night, and neither of them were surprised to find a bouquet of flowers inside the picnic basket, or that Twily had packed another bottle of pomegranate juice and raspberry pie for 'her' dinner.

As the final act began its last piece, a gust of wind blew the edge of the blanket over their forehooves and before Storm could peel it back, Cadance reached out under the blanket and took Storm's hoof in her own. This was getting too far, too complicated, they were setting themselves up for too much heartbreak when this secret came uncovered. Storm knew that he had to end this before it went any further; but one look into those brilliant eyes; at that radiant smile and he knew he couldn't.

It had been a beautiful night, with an even more beautiful mare; after walking Cadance to the palace gates, it was late by the time Storm arrived home. His parents were both sleeping, but tiphoofing up the stairs he noticed Twily's light was still on and could faintly hear her pacing around the room muttering to herself, “Any day now, any day now, any day now they'll realize that they're perfect for each other. Any day now, any-”

“Twily?” Storm said, opening the door a moment later to find her curled into a ball on top of her covers, eyes closed, snoring softly, with a encyclopedia draped over her forelimbs to make the charade seem more believable. It was past her bedtime anyway. Storm took her book and stacked it beside her bed and then covered her up with a blanket so she wouldn't catch a real cold. “Goodnight Twily” he whispered before giving her a light kiss on the forehead and then turned to leave.

“B.B.” she mumbled as he reached the door.

“Well someone's sounding better.”

“I am, if I get a good night's sleep I'll probably be better by morning.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“How was your night?” asked Twily just as Storm was reaching for her light switch. “Mom says you went with Cadance.”

“It was... nice.”

“Did you kiss her?”

“No.” Storm answered resolutely as he turned the light off and left. He was telling the truth; he hadn't kissed Cadance and he knew he never would. One day this would all end, they would be separated; Cadance would probably get pressured by her mother into marrying some aristocratic pony that she didn't love, he would probably spend his life alone dreaming of her. If they kissed, they would be found out and it would be over; kissing her would be the biggest mistake he could possibly make.

Three nights later, he was kissing her; hard. His parents were gone and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning, Twily had gone through two museums and six historical novels that day and would sleep through an ursa attack, and to make matters perfect, there was a raging thunderstorm outside, strong enough to disrupt any listening spell Ashaw could conjure. A few minutes earlier, the two of them had been giggling together about what a miserable time Ashaw must be having out in the rain, unable to see or hear anything. Their laughter, coupled with the sinking realization that for the first time since they had known each other, they were truly alone, in Storm's bedroom, had brought them to this moment. Now Storm had a decision to make, and he had to make it soon or else Cadance would make it for him.

Cadance kissed him with eager passion; drawing him into herself as she stepped backwards onto his bed, waiting expectantly for him to join her; he had to make a choice. “No.” His body urged him to answer otherwise, to let go of his self-control and take hold of a chance he may never have again; but he didn't think with that part of his body, and he knew both of them would regret this later if they did it.

“Shining Armor” whispered Cadance lifting her lips to his but Storm stepped back.

“Please don't tempt me Cadance!” begged Storm as he forced himself to tear his eyes away from the mare he loved. “We shouldn't do this until we’re married.”

“Then let's run away” invited Cadance, “Let's leave now, tonight. We catch the next train to Los Pegasus, we can be married by tomorrow and my parent's won't be able to stop us then. We start running and we never look back.”

It was a fantastic idea; though fantastically impossible. Cadance was forgetting that even if her mother couldn't reach them, her rage at Cadance could cause hurricanes and maybe even tsunamis, for the ponies of Oatlantis. She was forgetting how Celestia had taken responsibility for Cadance and if they eloped Searis could still cause a world of problems for the alicorn Storm was sworn to serve. If they left, it would deprive Twily of the only two ponies who really understood her; a cruel reward for everything she had done to help bring them together. Besides; how long did Cadance really think a stray alicorn could go unnoticed, or did she intend on asking him to slice her wings off? Cadance didn't see any of this; she only saw him, but he wouldn't let her throw everything away like this. He had a different idea. A slower, more difficult, more dangerous more honorable idea.

The Royal Guard was entirely meritocratic; family and blood mattered nothing, ability and hard work mattered everything. Storm's mana reserves were off the standard charts, and academically he was already near the top of his class; that was with playing sports on the weekends and taking random shifts at Donught Joe's. He could sacrifice those things, and pursue his training as fiercely as Twily did her studies. He would push himself to the limits, take every assignment he could and find the fastest route to promotion. For Cadance to marry a military grunt was one thing, but maybe if he was a sergeant or a lieutenant her parents might be more inclined to agree to their marriage. It would take time, maybe even five or six years, and for him especially it would be fraught with pain and danger; but he knew he could do it. One day, he promised her, he would earn enough rank or money or prestige or whatever it was her parents wanted for them to let him to marry Cadance legitimately.

That had been thirteen years ago.

Storm grinned and thought about the night he had almost spent with Cadance, wondering why he had ever passed such a golden opportunity. What would have happened if they had eloped thirteen years ago? What would their lives be like today? They might have their own twelve year old filly by now who acted like Twilight did then, wouldn't that be something? Or would it have been a colt? Would he or she have any brothers or sisters? What would they be like? What would their names be?

Reality reacquainted itself with Storm's mind like ice water on ashes. He did not and never would have any foals with Cadance. Shining Armor would, and he wasn't Shining Armor. Storm tried to clear his head. Every time he dreamed of Shining Armor's life, the more it seemed like that had been his real one and his own life had just been a bad dream he'd been forced to endure. But he wasn't Shining Armor he was... was... Death Walker? No, that was just what the changelings called him. Red Terror? No, that was a name the other Rangers had given him as a cadet. Murderer? NO! That was something he had done, it was how he saw himself, but it wasn't who he was! But he didn't want to be any of these things, he wanted to be-Storm! Silent Storm! That was his name! Storm shook his head slowly, yes, that is who he was, but it still wasn't who he wanted to be.

Storm realized he had been subconsciously snuggling into Cadance's soft coat and his recent jolt had woke her up. “Mmmm,” she mumbled, “You OK?”

“Just a dream; sorry for waking you.”

“It's alright; I was awake anyway, I was just thinking.”

“Oh yea, about what?”

“...Nothing.”

“Come on, tell me.” when Cadance didn't reply he thought about leaving the matter, a few days ago he would have, but now he actually wanted to know. “Maybe I can help.”

“Is this... is this the Everfree Forest?”

“Yes.”

Cadance turned to face him and looked him deep into the eyes, mustering her courage, “Is this where you've been coming to fight for all these years?”

“Yes.”

“...against what?”

Storm had only intended to give her basic answers, enough to tell her what she needed to know without frightening her; but once he began telling the truth, he couldn't stop himself and answers began flowing from him like a waterfall. He told her everything. He told her about the Rangers, the terrormongers, the changelings, the dragons, the ursas. He told her stories about missions he had done with Shining Armor, trying to imagine them from Shining Armor's perspective. He told her about Denorious, of the hope she had inspired and the way it crushed so many of the Rangers to lose her. He told her what it was like to have a friend die right in front of you, or to carry them to safety, knowing they would always be crippled or spend the rest of their lives in an insane asylum, and he told her what it was like to look into the eye of a Ranger who had been lost in the deep forest, to know they were too far gone and that you had to kill them. Storm had spent so many years alone, hoarding knowledge he thought he would never be able to share with anyone. All he had wanted was someone who would listen; someone who would understand.

And Cadance did understand.

She listened to every word he told her with rapturous attention; as though hearing the truth from him was even more life changing for her as telling it was for him. Storm talked until he was hoarse, at which point Cadance made him another bowl of the honey tea so he could continue; afraid that if he stopped talking he would never finish telling her the truth. Through all of this Cadance seemed uneasy, at times she wept unashamedly, but never once did she display the sort of fear that terrormongers could use to track them. Storm knew that she could never become a trained killer who could do what needed to be done; but he also understood that she needed to hear it, for her own sake, and felt absolute confidence that she would be able to keep the secret.

“Thank you” she said at last after Storm had finished telling her the last story to come to mind, “Thank you for finally trusting me enough to tell me the truth.”

“You didn't seem as shocked as I thought you might be.”

“I didn't know where it was you were going, but I knew it had to be bad. I watched the regiments of Royal Guards leaving Canterlot; I counted how many went out and... I counted how many came back. Then one day I was visiting the hospital and I found a hidden wing of the mental asylum where I recognized three of the ponies as being Royal Guards I had seen with you. For so long I've been scared, scared that one day you would go and wouldn't come back, and I would never know where you had gone or what you had died for.” Cadance snuggled closer to Storm, “If we don’t get out of this, at least I'll know why we died.”

This was getting too far, too complicated, Storm was setting himself up for too much heartbreak when this secret came uncovered. Storm knew that he had to end this before it went any further; but one look into those brilliant eyes, at that radiant smile and he knew he couldn't. Cadance leaned over to kiss Storm, and this time he did not pull away but reciprocated, reveling in the ardor of the moment before it passed. When after what seemed like minutes, yet felt days too short, Cadance pulled away to let him breath and memory flickered inside Storm's mind. “I remember” he grinned, “You're cutie mark; your special talent is a memory spell that will make someone remember the time when they were most in love.”

Cadance beamed joyfully at him, “That's right! If you're still having trouble remembering me or your life, it might help restore what you've lost.”

“I would like that. Please, do it to me.”

Cadance's horn flared with magic, and memories seemed to explode on him from both sides; his and Shining Armor's. It was as though he were standing in a junction between two rivers raging in opposite directions. One river was crystal clear and in it he could see frolicking Cadance, Twily, his parents, and a dozen friends from the Royal Guard all waiting for him back in Canterlot. The other was blackened with regret, and held the floating corpses of everyone he had ever held dear; Silver, Straight Hack, his parents, Denorious and the very few friends he had ever made in the Rangers.

The spell swirled around him, growing stronger. He saw the surprise birthday party Shining Armor had helped Twily throw for Cadance, with balloons and streamers and a cake large enough Twily could have fit inside it. He saw himself and Silver huddled under a bridge as Silver made mud pies with sticks for candles and sang happy birthday to him. He saw their hopes for the future; Shining Armor, married to Cadance in a house filled with foals and a glimmering career, while in his own future he saw only blackness.

The rivers turned to rapids and he realized what was happening. The spell could not comprehend two sets of memories and so one of the lives had to make way for the other. One set of memories would become his only memories while the other one would be locked away forever; and joy engulfed him when he realized that he got to decide.

He chose the life he wanted.

Chapter twenty>>> Comes the Reaper

21 - Into Darkness

20 - Comes the Reaper

Twilight followed after her brother at a distance; worried, hesitant and discouraged. It had taken nearly ten minutes of Shining Armor's pursuant apologies, before she calmed down enough to realize Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen, and that they had left their supplies back at the cave. It had taken nearly an hour to find Rainbow Dash, during which Twilight still couldn't believe that her own brother had actually threatened to kill her. It had taken five minutes to revive Rainbow Dash, during which Twilight tried to imagine what Shining Armor could be going through that he could think something like that. It had taken two minutes to retrieve their supplies from the cave, during which she had began to understand how terribly wrong something must be. It had taken one hour of hiking, trying to talk to Shining Armor, to convince her that he would not confide in her. It had taken three more hours to get to where they were now, and Twilight was very, very worried.

The only scraps of conversation she'd been able to squeeze from him in the meantime had only augmented her fears. The first came when their initial spells had failed to revive Rainbow Dash, and Twilight knew she'd heard Shining Armor mumble something about leaving her behind. A moment later he realized what he'd said and tried to pass it off as a bad joke, but Twilight knew that her brother, her real brother, would never have said such a thing. The second glimpse came when she had been trying to ask him what was wrong, and without any sort of prelude, he asked if she thought she could kill him if he went insane, and only grew more anxious when she insisted she never could.

It had been four nights since the body swap. On at least two of them he had woken up panicking from nightmares, last night he hadn't slept at all, and for the last three days he had been under monstrous amounts of pressure and on scant rations. Through all her worrying one thought kept presenting itself, 'if she didn't stop worrying, the terrormongers would find them'. This only made her more nervous, the cycle continued. For the first time, Twilight began to catch a glimpse what it must be to live like this for weeks, or even months, and what kind of pony someone must be to choose to live like that. Her brother was one of those ponies, a leader of those ponies; he'd been doing this for years and never said a word to about it, thinking his silence would protect her. It felt.... valiantly foolish.

By now they were coming up where the fifth dragon wall would eventually be. If Storm hadn't moved, then they would almost be in his territory and they could have begun combing the forest for his home within a few hours. Unfortunately, since he'd moved, he and Cadance were at least a day further into the forest and beyond this point their chances of meeting other Rangers were virtually nil, while their chances of encountering heavy resistance were almost certain. Deep down, Twilight knew their emaciated chances of survival, let alone success, were growing slimmer and slimmer, but still tried to reassure herself that everything would be OK.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sputtering crack as a tiny fireball came pivoting towards her. She sidestepped the blast, only to have it circle around for another pass, weaving its way harmlessly between herself, Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash several times before burning itself out and dropping to the ground as an empty, smoking flare husk. Twilight was about pick it up for a better look when she noticed Dash glaring into the upper branches of a nearby tree, and saw the tree glaring back at them with two large, yellow eyes of its own. A pair of wings expanded from behind a dense cluster of leaves and a pegasus came plummeting off the branch and towards the trio, coming to a stop right before he would have collided with Shining Armor. Wait, no; he was an alicorn!

The alicorn stallion stood almost a head taller than Shining Armor, with a face that was lined and wrinkled with age reminding Twilight of a normal pony in his late sixty's, (though without knowing what portion of him was alicorn, he could have been anywhere from seventy, to two hundred and seventy). His fur was a dark, moss green, with a short purple mane whose color he might have stolen from Rarity, while his flank boasted the image of a giant bear trap. He looked very unhappy.

"Well," he said after a tense moment, "Aren't you going to scan me to make sure I'm not a changeling here to kill you?"

Twilight complied, muzzling the string of questions that was pouring through her mind, but after she'd scanned him, realized the contradiction of the request, "Doesn't the fact that you reminded us to scan you prove that you’re not a changeling?"

"You'd be surprised" answered an alicorn just as his hoof shot out like lightning, striking Shining Armor's helmet and knocking him to the ground. "You on the other hoof have some explaining to do. Consider your answer carefully while you wait here; I will be back, shortly." With that the alicorn spread his wings and flew off into the trees.

"...Who... was that?" asked Twilight as she helped her brother back to his hooves, after the green alicorn had disappeared.

"His name's Reaper." answered Shining Armor reluctantly, removing his helmet and shaking his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears. "If I'm right about why he's here, I'd been wondering when he'd show up."

"What's going on?"

Shining Armor sat down, looked down and lowered his voice almost to a whisper; as if submitting to defeat, "Please don't hate me."

Both bewildered mares stared at Shining Armor, who had turned as silent as the blood soaked armor he wore, but neither could elicit another sound from him. After a few minutes, the ground began trembling and a large contingent of at least thirty Rangers came pouring into the glade, accompanied by Pyromite who buzzed excitedly in the air with a platoon of pegasi and five griffons. Without needing to be reminded again, Twilight cast several revealment spells to make sure they were all who they appeared to be; then waited for someone to explain who they all were, and why they were here.

"Well?" said Reaper, after his army had surrounded the trio, "Do you have anything to say?"

"What, the hay, is going on?" demanded Rainbow Dash, trying unsuccessfully to poke her way between Shining Armor and the towering alicorn.

"You don't know then?" asked Reaper slowly.

"Know what?"

"Last Monday, Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, preformed a body swap with a Ranger named Silent Storm. The next day Shining Armor's fiancé Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, went to visit him and-"

"Accidentally used Storm's portgem, teleporting them both way out here into the forest. Yes, we know. That's why we're here."

Reaper nodded, "After the disappearance, Princess Celestia immediately began organizing a special task force of veteran Rangers to retrieve them; and based on constant positive reports from the Wonderbolt Captain, she sent them a message, telling them to report to the Golden Oaks Library. She also sent Shining Armor a message, updating him of the situation, telling him to get some supplies ready in the precaution that adequate supplies wouldn't be immediately available in Canterlot, to update Zecora and then to meet with the Wonderbolts. Using the cover story of a possible performance for foreign dignitaries, Shining Armor was to assess whether or not they could be trusted with emergency reconnaissance. If they were, he was to give them a crash training course until the task force arrived; after which he was to remain in Ponyville.

We got to the library expecting to find the Wonderbolts either waiting for us or sent back to Canterlot, and Shining Armor with a status report. Instead we found a lone baby dragon, licking sapphire off his grubby fingers, who said Shining Armor had left with the Wonderbolts, less than half an hour after their arrival, without any assessment or training whatsoever! Not only that; but Zecora says he requisitioned supplies for the Wonderbolts, took them into the forest, and only a few hours later, they came barreling back, with a wounded mare, and no knowledge of what had attacked them!" Reaper turned back to Shining Armor, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Shining Armor drew himself up to full height so he could almost look Reaper in the eye; "Ten hours."

"What?"

"It is a ten hour train ride from Canterlot to Ponyville; by the time you reached the town it would have already been dark and you wouldn't have set out until daybreak. Every minute we waste gives the terrormongers another chance to find Cadance and Storm and I will not let them die because I was too busy standing at a train station to help them."

"You weren't even meant to come at all. In case you've forgotten, Princess Celestia expressly forbid you from passing the first dragon wall; and gave me orders not to let you come on the mission. She said after maintaining the shield for a year, you were still mentally unfit for live action and may be acting irrational, but didn't think you would go so far as to defy direct orders! Your actions have already risked the exposure of the Rangers, and nearly killed that mare Zecora was tending, (who will be fine by the way). You're just lucky you haven't gone insane and killed your sister, or something like that!"

Shining Armor glared at Reaper; his horn flashed, snapping Reaper's basic protective spell like chalk and throwing him hard against a tree. Reaper's horn fizzled uselessly as he tried to cast a counter spell, but it was obvious his magic was no match for Shining Armor's. Shining Armor closed the distance between them, used his magic to morph Reaper into a cringing position, and looked down over the impotent alicorn. "Cadance is my fiance; not yours! It's my job to protect her! In case you've forgotten, I outrank you by two promotions, and you know as well as I do that, inside the forest, Celestia's orders can be overridden by Ranger high command!"

Shining Armor released Reaper who rose slowly, but was careful not to lift his face above Shining Armor's eye level. "Firstly; you're officially off duty meaning technically you don't have any authority at all, secondly; no amount of rank will make you think clearly, and thirdly; I first hunted in these woods when your daddy nothing more than a glint in your grandfather's eye when your grandma walked past."

"And yet in my meager ten years as a Ranger, I've made more kills then you did in thirty, before retiring to manage harvesting the dragons from Celestia's student's. Speaking of which, what's going to happen if a dragon matures and you're out here?"

Reaper scowled, "Luna volunteered to cover me. Frankly, I wouldn't trust her filling in for the laundry maid, but Celestia still insists The Nightmare's hold over her is completely broken. Someone needed to come on the mission with the experience to safely distract a dragon, so the company wouldn't have to waste time splitting up and regrouping at each dragon wall, meaning it was either me or her. Then Luna volunteered for the rescue mission and so I had to come to keep her out of the forest, which I'm guessing is what the little hellion had planned from the start. That still doesn't justify you; defying Celestia's orders and launching your own vigilante rescue mission, with a team you had to trick to get out here."

"We're too deep now for you to try to have me arrested and dragged back to Ponyville. I am going to try and find Storm's burrow, with or without your help. If and when we get back to Equestria, I will take full responsibility for my actions, and I'm stripped of my command then so be it. But if we do work together, don't you dare hobble yourselves to me if I get hurt; if I can't keep up with you, leave me behind."

Reaper thought for a moment, "Deal. Arresting you would take Rangers I can't spare, and so long as you're out here we might as well work together."

"Fine," answered Shining Armor, "Now that your here, any questions?"

"Has there been an insurrection in Canterlot that we didn't know about." Twilight and Shining Armor turned to the blue unicorn from Reaper's group who had spoken. He looked apologetic for interrupting, but the faces of his comrades suggested they were all wondering the same thing.

"What is he talking about?" asked Shining Armor.

Reaper sighed, "So far we've encountered four parties of Rangers, each of them saying the same thing. They know that the energy shield dissipated from around Canterlot without any explanation, and they know that Storm was summoned to Canterlot by Celestia on some sort of ‘secret mission.’ We have confirmed accounts that Storm made contact with Denorious on Monday, something he is sworn not to do unless Denorious already remembered who she really is, and we know that there was a battle of some kind. These facts crossbred, and together, spawned a rumor that a hive of changelings had infiltrated Canterlot and assassinated you as a prelude to their impending take over. But low and behold, Denorious saw one of them change, remembered who she was, summoned Storm, and together, the two of them fought off an entire army of hundreds of changeling worriers, masquerading as the Royal Guard, saving Canterlot and all of Equestria."

When Reaper mentioned the 'battle of some kind' Rainbow Dash broke out in a wide grin and an acute fit of giggles. As Reaper finished his theatrical description of the alleged salvation of Equestria, Dash couldn't contain herself and rolled to the ground, laughing uncontrollably, "That wasn't, hahaha, I was the pegasus who fought beside Storm, not Derpy!"

"I know the rumors aren't true," said Reaper, "The full story will have to wait for when we have time. Nonetheless, by now scores of Rangers believe that Denorious has returned, are expecting her back in the forest any day now, and are going to lose moral when they find out they've been tricked, again. Though I must say, I am surprised to see you here, Rainbow Dash, after the rest of your team turned tail. Is Storm the reason you stayed, even after Shining Armor tricked you into the forest, and lied to you about the danger?"

Dash's giggled died at the mention of the Wonderbolts, she rose slowly, catching her composure in a net of solemnity. "Shining Armor didn't lie, I did. He told me about the forest and I said I'd tell the Wonderbolts but didn't; he believed me because Twilight vouched for me... I'm sorry."

Reaper paused, then granted a shallow nod; "That changes things somewhat in Shining Armor's favor, but it was still his duty to make sure the Wonderbolts were capable before leading them into the forest; both in obedience to Celestia's and as commander of the mission."

"Right or wrong my decision may have saved Cadance and Storm," justified Shining Armor, "Otherwise we wouldn't have run into that band of Rangers and learned Storm's moved from his old position to begin clearing the way for a sixth dragon wall."

"So you said in the message you sent with Pyromite, but you didn't explain why. Why would Storm start clearing the way for a sixth wall when the fifth wall isn't even half done?

"The fifth wall is almost done; it's been a good year for dragon turnouts from Celestia's student's."

Reaper stared at him incredulously, opening and closing his mouth before speaking, "In case you've forgotten, for the last thirty years, I have been the Ranger in charge of capturing dragons once they mature. It has been a very slow year, only four dragons. Who gave you this information?"

"I didn't get his name. He was a black earth pony, his team was two pegasi stallions, one blue the other yellow, one gray earth pony mare and a orange earth pony stallion; all in heavy armor. We met them on the eve of the second dragon wall."

Reaper's eyes narrowed to slits, "You've just described Black Rock and his crew."

"So?"

"They were confirmed dead last week."

"But-"

"You did scan them to make sure that they weren't changelings... right?"

"Twilight did." answered Shining Armor pointing to his sister.

Twilight shook her head, "No I didn't... you did."

Shining Armor stammered as his eyes widened in horror, "Yes, you did."

"IDIOTS!" screamed Reaper, "Now the changelings know about Storm and Cadance, and will be looking for them as well!!!"

Twilight felt her head spin in circles, Shining Armor slowly collapsed to the ground staring at his hooves, Rainbow Dash leaped into the air, hovering with rapid beats of her wings; "Well then we have to find them first! Storm is still at his old position right? So we just need to go there as fast as possible!"

"It's not that easy." said Reaper, meeting her in the air, "We only know the general location of Storm's territory. No one knows the exact coordinates of Storm's burrow except Storm; and Blade Wind's company."

"Who the hay is Blade Wind!"

"The captain of a company of Rangers who patrol the territory north of Storm's; the last time he was in Canterlot, Blade Wind said he had worked directly with Storm and seen Storm's burrow. But finding him poses the same problem, his company's exact route is kept secret; if we all knew the routes of the other companies, then the terrormongers would only have to capture one company to learn the locations of all the others."

"So what do we do!?"

"We can either start scouring Storm's territory for his burrow, or we can start scouring Blade Wind's territory for him so he can tell us the exact coordinates. Either search could take days, and the terrormongers will also be searching, with ten times the numbers we have."

"WAIT!" all the Rangers in the glade turned to Twilight, her lips pressing into a flat line but her eyes dancing with an idea. "I know how we can find Blade Wind; by making him find us!"

"How?"

"Denorious."

Reaper dropped to the ground in front of Twilight, "Didn't you listen to me? She hasn't returned."

"A sonic boom is the only sound that terrormongers can't replicate, right?"

"Yes."

"And Denorious was the only pegasus who could do it; it became her signal for the Rangers to assemble, right?"

"Yes."

"And there's a rapidly spreading rumor among the Rangers that Denorious has returned?"

Reaper's face broke into a smile, he and Twilight nodded at each other and then looked up at Dash whose face remained peevishly vacant, "What? Why are you both looking at me like that? What's the..." 'Click'. Where Rainbow Dash had been hovering a moment earlier was replaced by a streak of primordial colors as Dash cleared the topmost branches of the forest; climbing fast and picking up speed. The company of Rangers waited in either confusion or anticipation; Twilight cast a sound dampening spell over the company to prevent ear damage, and then the roar of a sonic boom began cascading down into the forest, echoing for miles in every direction as Dash flew in supersonic circles.

After a few minutes, Dash dropped back the ground, visibly spent yet as full of fire and determination as Twilight had ever seen her. The roar of the rainboom echoed throughout the forest, gradually growing weaker as the echoes died down. Then, they started getting stronger. Thunderous hoof beats of galloping Rangers began echoing from every direction, as Rangers began pouring into the glade on hoof and wing, to answer Denorious's call. The Rangers who had come with Reaper spread out and began intercepting the incoming bands of Rangers, taking the difficult task of explaining to crestfallen Rangers that Denorious hadn't really returned, asking if they knew the location of Storm's burrow and then ordering them stand by for further instruction.

Rainbow Dash sat panting on the ground, showing the constraint to reserve her strength. Shining Armor lay virtually immobile, his shallow breathing and the constant twitching of his ears, the only sign that he was still alive. Reaper stood silently in the center of the hubbub, every few minutes, one of his lieutenants would come and whisper in his ear and then run back to the perimeter; but Reaper didn't move until he saw what he had been waiting for.

After half an hour and a dozen bands of incoming Rangers having swollen their ranks to over a hundred, Reaper tore across the glade to intercept the latest arrivals, nearly tackling the red pegasus who was leading them. The two spoke in rushed voices Twilight couldn't hear over the rest of the Rangers, but seconds later, Reaper came barreling back to the center of the Rangers, and spoke into the ear of a cute unicorn colt who Twilight recognized from Celestia's school for gifted unicorns; who was holding, (almost correctly), a compass, watch, octant other navigational equipment.

Tree branches had been stripped around the glade and some treetops removed, giving the colt a clear view of the sky. The colt listed to Reaper, made some quick calculations and then pointed in a direction. Reaper leaped five yards off the ground and gave a signal to one of his unicorns on the ground who released a bolt of lightning shooting into the air. A hush enveloped the Rangers and all eyes turned to Reaper whose voice had just been magically amplified by the same unicorn. "Storm's burrow is eight miles south east of here, but we also have reports of heavy enemy activity in the area. All pegasi and griffons, with me; Earth ponies and unicorns, are to split into three teams under Flame Horn, Boulder Back and Nexeye. Pegasi move out!"

With that, Reaper took off as fast as his wings could carry him, followed by a loose formation of pegasi, griffons and Pyromite. Rainbow Dash swooped to Shining Armor's side and said something to which he didn't respond; she shouted something and Shining Armor lifted his portgem to her in his telekinesis. Dash grabbed the gem in her mouth, took careful note of Reaper's trajectory, and then launched herself forwards, obliterating his lead and passing him in ten seconds flat.

The remaining Rangers fell to organizing themselves under their three captions in a myriad of organized chaos. Twilight watched the pegasi disappear from sight and then whipped around to Shining Armor, to ask for instructions, but was faced with nothing but his torn, empty armor. Looking up she barely caught of glimpse of him as he disappeared into the forest in the direction the pegasi had gone. No one else had seen him.

The world around Twilight stilled into one moment of perfect clarity; if Shining Armor went alone, into an area swarming with terrormongers, he would die. If he used teleports to boost his speed, within seconds he could be impossible to track, and getting the attention of one of the Rangers running past her would take precious seconds shedidn't have. Before she knew it, Twilight was galloping for all she was worth into the foliage where she had seen Shining Armor disappear, her heart racing, her mind focused, her eyes peeled for any sign of red.

[Chapter twenty-one>>> Ignorant Bliss

22 - Splintering

21 - Ignorent Bliss

Hooves were pounding into Shining Armor's face—one after the other, with merciless repetition. He was on his back, helplessly raising his forelimbs to ward off the attacker, but they were batted away like straw and the blows kept coming, no matter how he twisted to avoid them. In a last, desperate attempt to save himself, Shining Armor drew back his right forehoof and tried to drive it into his attacker, but before his leg was even half extended it was grabbed between two hooves, each stronger than his own. There was a sharp twist, he felt his leg dislocate at the shoulder and heard a loud snap as the bone broke at the knee. Shining Armor yelled in pain but the breath was knocked out of him by a sharp kick to his ribs, muffling his cry into an agonized wheeze.

Finally satisfied, his assailant released him and backed off a few paces. After several torturous moments rolling on the ground, fighting for breath and caressing his broken limb, Shining Armor opened his teary eyes; and the image of a blood red pony, glaring disdainfully over him, came into focus. Shining Armor breathed deeply and his vision cleared enough that he could identify 'the hoof lifting off mud without leaving a mark' cutie mark, and the zebra standing behind him with a small bubbling cauldron.

“Comeon Shiny, that was pathetic!” spat his training partner, “I'm starting to think you like getting your legs snapped off; if that's the case I'd be happy to oblige some more.” With that Storm galloped and jumped over Shining Armor, giving his already broken limb a solid buck as he sailed overhead, landed, and then kicked Shining Armor squarely between his shoulder blades, rolling his battered body onto his broken leg. Shining Armor bit down on his tongue so hard that it bled, to keep himself from screaming.

“Silent Storm indeed speaks the truth, heed him and find a better you,” chided Zecora, only slightly more gently as she added a small flower to the cauldron and then dipped a ladle into its murky contents. Shining Armor choked down the bitter, acidic concoction, and then grit his teeth as his leg wobbled and snapped painfully back into place.

It was his first week as a Ranger. After arriving with the other new recruits, he had been thrilled when Zecora picked him out as being the only one with real potential; until he learned what 'having potential' meant to Zecora. He, and one other colt, was assigned to a dorm near Zecora’s hut where they would both be trained under Zecora’s ruthless yet invaluable training. Zecora introduced them to a rare bulb that only bloomed for thirty days at the dawn of spring, which could be brewed into a healing potion of unrivaled strength. The flower had its drawbacks: it didn't grow deep in the forest, it had to be boiled and drunk within minutes of being picked to have any effect, and it could only restore very recent injuries. For battle, its uses were negligible; for training its effects were invaluable. Zecora's healing potion meant that you could spar as rough as you liked, and anything but a broken neck could be healed within moments. Unfortunately, abstaining from breaking his neck seemed to be the only rule respected by the psychotic training partner Zecora had paired him with, and even that rule seemed to be accepted begrudgingly.

Zecora bent over him holding a damp towel to his face; the cloth came away soaked with blood, but his face felt fully restored. “Now get back up and try again, you must learn much better how to defend.”

“Comeon Zecora you gotta give me a tougher training partner then this shit weak loser! Even my little sister could kick his flank!”

“Fighting with Shining Armor, will teach him to be harder. Potential he has to be strong and keen, continue sparing and it you too will see."

“No!” shouted Storm staring Zecora in the face, “I insist on fighting somepony better than cry baby over there!”

Zecora spoke calmly, as if she was completely oblivious to Storm's blatant disrespect for their sensei. “If a stronger foe you wish to fight, perhaps you wish to test my might. If you believe you are the best, I would be pleased to fight you next.”

Zecora had only finished the first line when Storm started to away, ears flat against his head, no longer daring to meet her stare. “No Madam Zecora... forgive me.” Much more gruffly he added, “Get up, Shiny. Zecora wants me to break your legs some more.”

Cursing Storm's lack of stupidity, Shining Armor rolled to his hooves, and began gingerly testing his repaired leg while Storm cantered around him in impatient circles. How could it be like this? Back in Canterlot he had been a gold medalist sparring champion; this was his first visit to the forest and he was having his flank passed to him by a colt two years his junior. Storm kept telling him that half the stuff they taught him in Canterlot was a joke, as it came with dozens of rules that didn't exist in a real fight, and it relied on assumptions like you would always be fighting a single, weaponless opponent. Shining Armor had tried to explain that in Canterlot they didn't have the same kinds of plants that grew in the forest and so sparring had to be toned down to prevent serious injury, but Storm just spat at this.

In a real fight, Storm said, it wasn't enough to just pin an opponent down. Breaking bones, striking for the throat and jugular, gouging the eyes, etc. were the only things that really mattered, and if he didn't know these things, then all those moves that had won him those fancy medals would be almost useless if something was actually trying to kill him. Shining Armor understood what Storm was saying but, in Canterlot, his first lessons had been how to moderate his blows so as not to cause serious damage to his sparring partner, and it was hard to forget what he'd learned. Storm held no such reservations; he'd snap his legs, break his ribs, beat his face to a bloody pulp and stop only long enough for Zecora to heal him so he could do it all over again; insulting him every step of the way for what he called 'pathetic weakness'. Could this jerk even hear what he sounded like? Why couldn't Zecora have just left him with the timber wolves?

“Are you ready Shiny!? Or are you just going to stand there, looking like a gelding wondering how to buck himself!?"

Shining Armor took a defensive stance and waited. He was doing this for Cadance. However painful his training was, it was the fastest way he could gain the experience that would bring him closer to promotion, one step closer to being able to openly declare his love for Cadance, one step closer to spending his life with her. The thought made him feel giddy, he could almost smell her mane – Storm's hind hooves tore into his chest, throwing him back onto his knees. Shining Armor looked up just in time to see the hooves retract and strike again, shattering his front teeth.

................................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor woke, using his tongue to do a flash roll call of his teeth, as he reminisced the strange relationship he once shared with Silent Storm. He'd tried to be friendly to him; when they weren’t training, (and if Storm didn't disappear like usual) Shining Armor would tell him about his life. Storm would seem interested, and even ask questions sometimes, but would only get angry when Shining Armor told him the answers, and the more Shining Armor had told him, the angrier he had become. Eventually Shining Armor stopped telling him anything, afraid Storm would kill him if he got any angrier. Out of blind curiosity, and a sense of fairness Storm didn't share, Shining Armor tried asking about Storm's life; but this only resulted in more anger, his sleeping bag being stuffed with the tongues of... what he thought were changelings, and eventually a detailed description of a lethal training 'accident'.

Each sparring session lasted for about thirty or forty rounds before Zecora called a stop to it. Afterwards, Zecora would berate them both for the mistakes they'd made over breakfast, then spend one or two hours giving them exercises and teaching them the proper technique before setting them against each other for another sparring session before lunch, and so on. Each round lasted about four hours, if Zecora was satisfied with their performance, they would have free time after the third round; if she wasn't, there would be a fourth. The training went on and on like this for six days a week, for the entire month. The pain was unbearable; the exhaustion overwhelming, (made possible only by Zecora's bizarre dietary supplements), but the results were effective; and with each sparring session, the average time it took Storm to subdue Shining Armor increased by a few seconds.

Shining Armor won his first match in week three, when Storm slipped and Shining Armor was able to pin him down; his only mistake had been assuming that that meant the fight was over and letting him go. The moment he was released, Storm turned on Shining Armor like a whirlwind, breaking four ribs and shattering his jaw, (making Zecora's brew even more difficult to swallow.) The next day however, Shining Armor won another bout. This time he grit his teeth and wouldn't let himself release Storm until he'd felt two of Storm's legs fracture under his hooves. The shock that Storm had still gotten back onto his hooves, had been enough to momentarily paralyze him, and Storm systematically broke nearly every rib he had before Zecora intervened and healed them both. The third time Shining Armor got the advantage; he didn't pull back until Storm's bones splintered through his skin with every blow, and that was the first day Storm began to respect him.

By the end of the month, Shining Armor could win almost a third of his bouts with Storm, but the shock came on the last day, when Zecora removed the clay molds she had put over their horns and ordered them to fight with their magic for the first time. Shining Armor had known from the start that his magic was his greatest weapon, and had thought it foalish to spend so much time developing a strength he would probably never use. But the melee combat hadn't been to train his body; it had been to train his mind:

His control over his magic was already adroit; but he'd lacked the mindset to utilize it for war. If he only fought at long range he would have never understood battle; the aggression, the urgency, the pain he could cause or could suffer. Zecora assured him the mold she'd fastened around his horn hadn't changed his magic, but now it seemed like second nature to use his magic to hurt, to pounce on any weakness, to strike without hesitation, and not to stop when an opponent cried out in pain. In one month, he had mastered a level of magical offense which would have taken him years to learn otherwise, if he could have ever learned it at all.

Shining Armor won virtually every match against Storm that day, elated to finally give Storm a full dose of his own medicine as it became increasingly obvious that Storm's magic was paltry compared to his. He felt like a supreme worrier; and was rearing to get into the forest to start racking up promotion points as fast as possible. He couldn't understand why Zecora refused to let him pass the first dragon wall without further training; another year seemed like such a waste. After his first tour in the deep forest; he understood why.

A pair of lips applied to Shining Armor's cheek vanquished the painful memory to his past, where it belonged, and drew his thoughts to the much happier present with the titillating task of kissing his fiance. They had done it! He had become the Captain of the Royal Guard, Cadance had waited for him, and now, as soon as they got back to Canterlot, they were going to get married. The years had flown by as if they were a dream. It seemed like only a few days ago that they had become engaged; the anticipation was just as fresh, the thought just as incredible, as it was the first night she said she would marry him, and Shining Armor couldn't be happier. He felt like the luckiest stallion in the world.

The two embraced each other in the dim light of the burrow, their lips moving over each other as their manes became entangled. The kiss complete, the two of them fell into lively conversation; Shining Armor asked, and Cadance told him about the hospital, and about how her quick thinking had even helped save a patient's life. Although she didn't have any formal training, twelve years of visiting the hospital, had given her more working knowledge than many junior nurses; and several of the senior doctors had encouraged her to take the tests and get a formal degree, which she was considering. The conversation took other, more intriguing, paths when Cadance began telling him about their house in Fillydelphia and describing how she'd decorated four of the five bedrooms for their honeymoon, (the fifth was a surprise), during which Shining Armor's grin kept getting wider and wider. It all seemed too good to be true.

After becoming thoroughly convinced that Cadance had had far too much free time on her hooves these last few months, their conversation backtracked to wedding plans. For the most part, the plans they had for the wedding they had canceled were just as good now as they had been last year, except one important detail that hadn't been resolved the first time. "Do you think my mother will come?" asked Cadance hopefully. "My father's too old to travel anymore, but my mom could come if she wanted."

"Why wouldn't she? I'm Captain of the Royal Guard, isn't she satisfied yet."

Cadance looked at him sadly, "Well yes, but she's still not happy about the way we met, now that she knows we were seeing each other before your last few promotions. Don't you remember when you were made a lieutenant, and we tried openly declaring our love for the first time?"

Shining Armor didn't remember, his memory was still hazy from keeping the shield up for a whole year, and there were still large patches he couldn't recall. But he remembered how he felt about Cadance. He remembered how he'd loved her ever since the day she walked into Doughnut Joes, and tried to order with coupons that Twilight had written out on napkins. He remembered the games they use to play as Twilight tried to set them up again and again; and he remembered how he'd worked, fought and risked his life for the last ten years so they could be together. If he remembered nothing else, that was enough. Fortunately the rest of his memories were becoming easier and easier to unlock; and this one only took a few moments, "Yes, I remember," he laughed, "Blueblood didn't think I was worthy of you and so he challenged me to a duel.”

Cadance giggled, “Yes, he did. I don't think he'd even read the rules for a duel until the day before he fought you. It's too bad I didn't get to see it.”

“What do you mean? You were there; I saw you in the front row of the audience.”

“Well I was there, but that doesn't mean I saw it. I blinked.”

“Three point four seconds is a long blink isn't it?”

Cadance grinned, “There was a speck of dust in my eye, by the time I had gotten it out the fight was over; thank you for not hurting him by the way.”

“You’re welcome. I will say though, he took losing a lot better than I expected him to. I mean, he was willing to support our marriage after that, even to your parents; if I’d known that earning his respect would be that easy I would have knocked him out years before that.”

Cadance blushed slightly, “Actually… I don’t think you beating him had much to do with him changing his mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was very upset that you beat him, he was even talking about an investigation to see if you cheated; I knew if that happened it would be a lot harder to convince my parents to let us get marry so… I threatened him.”

Shining Armor raised his eyebrows; “Really? With what?”

“I… shouldn’t talk about it.”

“I told you about the Rangers.”

“Well about four years ago, Blueblood dated this mare for a few months, but then it turned out she had been planted and was working with some professional criminals to try and break into one of my family’s vaults. When the plot was uncovered she turned on her culprits, giving enough evidence to convict the ringleaders, and with a lot of legal technicality managed to get off with just a few months sentence, but when she got out of jail she came after Blueblood.

“You mean she tried to kill him.”

“Blueblood thinks she's stalking him to put him under a curse; I think she actually fell in love with him. Blueblood was angry she had tried to use him and didn’t want to ever see her again, but ever since then she’s been trying to find out his schedule and book herself into shows he might visit, often under disguise, hoping to win him back.”

“Shows?”

“She’s a show mare, a unicorn, pretty powerful too though rather arrogant. I think her name was… Trixie? Anyways, after Blueblood was going to accuse you of cheating I told him that if he didn’t support our marriage I would invite Trixie to perform at the palace, his Canterlot estate and anywhere else he might be until either he married her or I married you. A few minutes later he sent a message to my parents saying that he approved of you. But it still wasn’t enough. Even with Blueblood and Celestia backing us, my parents still refused to let us marry; and we had to wait another three years! It's not fair!"

"A lot of things in life aren't fair," mumbled Shining Armor.

"Well that doesn't mean my parents have to add to the injustice every chance they get!"

"No, no they don't." agreed Shining Armor, "We should set a place for Searis. We can put Luna on one side of her since those two have always been close and must still have a lot to catch up on. We can put an old Oatlantian water fountain on the other side since she likes those and she can't annoy inanimate objects."

Cadance's momentarily giggles ebbed away under the returning flow of solemnity, "...And if she doesn't come?"

"Then we'll get married without her, simple as that. But people usually come to the wedding of people they love."

"I'm not sure that she does love me, " protested Cadance, "I don't know if she loves anyone. My father is her fourteenth husband, I am her eighty-fourth child; do you... do you think that there are only so many times someone can watch the people they love die, before eventually they just can't love anyone anymore?"

Shining Armor looked at Cadance, noticing with delight how her mane fell over her shoulders like tiny rivers of pink platinum, "No, I don't believe that."

"I hope you‘re right."

"I know I'm right," assured Shining Armor, unsure how he knew, "But even if she doesn't come I won't let her ruin our special day. I promise that, when we get married, it will be everything we have ever dreamed, and nothing will come between us.”

Cadance's gentle smile grew radiant; for a moment Shining Armor thought she was going to cry, but realized she was just happy, and why shouldn't she be? The stallion she loved had promised her a perfect wedding, and she believed him. Shining Armor leaned over and they kissed, over and over, practicing for their wedding day. A flurry of wing beats faintly echoed down through the chimneys, indicating that a company of either pegasi or changelings was passing over the top of the burrow (probably changelings). This would ordinarily have been a call for Shining Armor to investigate, but he couldn't have done anything if they were changelings and... he really didn't want to leave Cadance. After a few minutes, Cadance pulled up to breathe, her eyes closed and mouth wide as Shining Armor continued to kiss her neck, "How far are we from Canterlot?"

"I don't know." said Shining Armor, giving her another kiss on the throat.

Cadance pulled back and looked at him in confusion, "But... isn't this your outpost? The portgem was right by your bed so I assumed it belonged to you."

Shining Armor stopped and looked around at the burrow that he and Cadance had been sharing. He knew they had only arrived a few days ago, but already he felt as though he'd lived here for years. Of course anywhere would have been home so long as he and Cadance were together, but there was something more to it than that, a certain familiarity... "I think this might be Silent Storm's house."

"Whose?"

"Storm, he was my partner when I first became a Ranger."

"Why would you have a portgem leading to someone else's house?"

That was a good question; Shining Armor didn't have an answer, "... I don't know."

[Chapter twenty-two>>> RUN!!!

23 - Rebirth

22 - RUN!!!

Cadance fidgeted uncomfortably beside Shining Armor; "Maybe Storm came to visit you and left it behind by accident?"

Shining Armor shook his head, "Storm isn't one to forget something important, and even if he was, I don't think he'd visit me."

"Why not?"

"Storm's... complicated," began Shining Armor, choosing his words carefully. "A lot of things have gone wrong in his life, a lot of things; and he blames himself for letting them happen. He stays in the forest to punish himself; hoping that maybe if he kills enough terrormongers, one day his successes will outweigh his failures."

"Does it work?"

"No. Since confining himself to the front lines he's only felt worse and worse; and he wouldn't come to visit me unless he thought it would be another way to punish himself." Shining Armor twisted to stretch out an agonizing cramp in his gut.

"...He sounds like a very unhappy pony." said Cadance after trying to imagine meeting such a stallion.

"He is," nodded Shining Armor, "But he used to be far worse. When I first met him, it was only two years after his foster father’s death, and he was still struggling hard against the loss. He felt angry at the world: angry at the doctors who couldn't save his father, angry at the ponies who had stolen his inheritance, and angry at anyone he didn’t think understood what he was going through, (which was virtually everyone). But most of all, he was angry at himself for not being able to do more. He was so, so angry, and he took it out on everyone he met for a long, long time.

He came perilously close, to going down a very dark path. He'd started to see the world as a place where violent and deceptive ponies were the only ones who got what they wanted; and that those who clung to useless morals became nothing but victims to be robbed and trampled on, over and over again. The world had done so much to him that he wanted to make it pay. With his physical, mental and magical aptitudes, shaped by years of training under Straight Hack and Zecora, Storm had the makings of becoming a monster. Storm had begun thinking that as soon as his first tour with the Rangers was over he'd quit, go his own way and use what he knew to take whatever he wanted from whoever he wanted."

Shining Armor stopped, thinking back with abhorrence to the pitch black fantasies Storm use to entertain as he lay awake at night; murdering for money... or fun, ravaging innocent mares, savagely torturing and murdering anyone who challenged him, dealing in whatever trade brought him the most money, gathering others around him and becoming some kind of bandit king. Those teenage fantasies were another chain that had kept Storm locked in the forest. Of course, Storm would be dead by now if he had gone down that road; Shining Armor may have even been the one who was sent to hunt him down, but he would have destroyed a lot of lives before then. Shining Armor smiled, "Something changed him, someone pulled him back."

"Who?"

"Denorious."

"The mare who became the Ranger's leader?"

Shining Armor nodded, "After Storm and I finished our training, Zecora put us in a small, elite unit which was Denorious' first command. Back then, my only goal was to gain experience and earn my next promotion. Sparring with Denorious taught me a lot, but I think Storm learned two things from her that were far more important, he learned why to fight, and he learned how to live.

Denorious was able to reach him in ways no one else could. She helped him see the world as a place where almost everyone loved only themselves, and hated each other because everyone else was doing the same thing; each trying to be the master of their own little world. Abused children became abusive parents, never forgiving their own parents, yet justifying their own actions. People everywhere lying to each other, defending their own actions, yet hating those who lied to them, as if the universe should have rules for everyone except themselves. The insanity that most people seemed to live in; trying to make themselves gods, and in the end causing nothing but mutual misery as the world endlessly tramples itself, striving to obtain something it can never achieve.

Although she never said it directly; Storm knew that Denorious had guessed at least some of what he had been planning. She helped him see how he was becoming the very thing he hated; and that if he continued, and if those he hurt went on to hurt others, the cycles of death and pain would go on until judgment day. If that wasn't what he wanted, then he needed to change it, and to do that, he needed to start with himself. She also inferred that if he did try the things he was thinking of doing, she would stop him, even if it meant killing him. The threat was playful in its delivery, but Storm knew she was serious and he respected her for it. It proved her sincerity; and showed that she really did care about protecting innocent lives and doing what was right, even if it meant going against… a friend.

Zecora had been trying to tell him the same thing for over two years but hadn't been able to make an impact. Even when she dropped her rhyming to make herself more relatable, Zecora was simply too alien; her background too different, for Storm to believe that she had any idea of what he was going through. He couldn't deny that Zecora had been through some difficult trials, but since they weren't the things he had been through, he didn't care; and he wasn't about to try seeing things from someone else's perspective. That... and he thought she was about the same age his mother would have been if she was still alive, and the last thing Storm wanted at that stage was to get close to another parent figure so they could also die on him.

Denorious was different: she was about his own age, she was his own kind, and she had been through some of the same things he had been through. She was an orphan you know; her father had been a police marshal in Manehatten who'd made some headway against the Spikehoofs; then one night they broke into her family's apartment and killed her parents. Denorious survived by hiding in the air ducts, but she saw everything. She was just a kid at the time, even younger than Storm had been when he lost his parents. Thankfully she had grandparents who took her in.

What amazed Storm was that Denorious didn't run from the things that had happened to her. She faced them; knowing that in time suffering produced perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. Denorious had a hope for a better world; this hope spread to many others when she led the attack on the Spikehooves, and to even more when she led the Rangers, but I don't think anyone was more inspired by her then Storm was. What amazed him the most was when she told him her campaign against the Spikehooves hadn't been for vengeance. It had been brutal; it had been systematic; but her motivation had been to stop the Spikehooves from killing more ponies and abducting more fillies.

Storm had heard about people who acted selflessly before, but hadn't really believed it before now. Even when he was adopted, he realized that he was fulfilling some need in his new father's life. But Denorious didn't just talk about selflessness; she lived it, every day. The times that he spent with Denorious, were the only times since his foster father died that Storm felt truly happy."

"Did he love her?"

"...I don't know. I'm not even sure if he knew. Many Rangers had superficial crushes on Denorious that didn’t mean anything; from stallions who had never even spoken to her, but Storm... he knew her well and treasured everything she ever said to him. He wanted to love her; and in his wildest dreams he would let himself imagine that, one day, she would love him back and they could be together; but he told himself that he wasn't worthy of her and to even ask would be unfair to her, an insult. He forced himself to forget thinking about her except as his commanding officer."

A second flurry of wing beats echoed down the chimney, louder and closer than the first time.

"How did Storm take it when Denorious got wounded?"

"Very hard... some of the Rangers wouldn't accept that Denorious could be gone and tried to get into the palace to see her. Storm was by far the most persistent, and he couldn't believe it when I sided with Celestia and cast my energy shield over the palace to prevent any Rangers from getting in.

I got my lousy promotion. I got lots of promotions after that; Celestia was grateful to me for having defused a potentially volatile situation, and ever since that day I was on the fast track to promotion. But that day I also lost a friend, and I still remember standing at the top of the steps of the palace with Celestia behind me and my shield in front of me, and beyond that Storm ramming himself against my barrier, over and over as he shouted things I'm glad I couldn't hear. It was the last time that I ever saw him. He survived, but only just; he remembered what she taught him and that let him get through losing her and even..."

"Even what?"

Shining Armor paused at the painful memory, "He had a younger sister who he would have done anything for, but in he end he screwed up her life as well. She was the only person he had left and wanted to make sure that he didn't lose her too."

"That's... understandable."

"But he went too far!" shouted Shining Armor, trying the impossible task of making Cadance understand the depths of Storm's mistakes, and why they could never be forgiven. "He barely let her out of her sight; if it wasn't for him she might have had a chance at a good life. She was beautiful and intelligent and kind and hard working... there were a lot of Rangers who had eyes for her, but Storm was so afraid of losing her too that he kept chasing them away. He prevented her from ever moving on to something better and having a family. The only reason she wanted to become a Ranger was so she could be like her big brother, and he let her become a Ranger! Right after Forest Jaws when Storm had broken his partnership with me, Silver came of age to hunt in the forest, Storm became her partner so that he could protect her; but he failed her, *and she died!"*

Cadance drew back, startled by Shining Armor's sudden outburst of emotion, "I'm sorry."

"If anything Storm should have been encouraging her to have a coltfriend. If she had gotten pregnant she would have been relived from active duty and then she might still be alive. She could have had a family and a life!"

"...with who?"

"I don't know; some guy who'd treat her decently."

Cadance stared at him indignantly, "So you think Storm should have encouraged his younger sister to get pregnant to, 'some guy', just so he could keep her out of danger?"

Shining Armor shrugged, "I guess anything's better then what did happen to her."

When Cadance didn't say anything, Shining Armor tried again to explain; "Silver was a good judge of character, she wouldn't have run off with just any colt, and some of the Rangers trying to talk to her were more than just 'decent'. But Storm watched anyone who got close to his sister and with the way he usually treated other Rangers, everyone thought he would kill anyone who got close to Silver or broke up with her or something and so casual talking was about as far as anyone ever got. He didn't mean to, he was just trying to protect her, but he made it almost impossible for her to make any other relationships.

Some Rangers even started a sick rumor the reason Storm was acting so jealous of her was because they were engaged in incest, and so now even her memory is ruined because of him!" That was another reason Storm kept to himself; the more contact he had with other Rangers, the more he thought about finding whoever started that rumor, and hanging them by their entrails. "After his sister died, Storm didn't want to get close to anyone ever again. He refused taking another partner and has hunted alone ever since."

"Where is he now?"

"...I don't know ...I think he's dead."

Cadance's face fell, "Dead? Why would you say that?"

Shining Armor thought for a minute, trying to find rational for the feeling in his gut, "Storm almost never leaves his house except to go hunting or to Uthraig to resupply. We've been here for four days, and he hasn't come back, that means he's dead."

"Don't say that... maybe he finally decided to take a holiday and go see the ponies he's spent his life protecting."

"It's a nice thought, but I doubt it. Storm's hasn't-"

"Maybe he'll find a nice mare and fall in love."

Shining Armor chuckled, "Come on, this is Storm we're talking about."

"But-"

"Cadance. Don't ask, because I don't know how I know... but I'm almost certain; Storm is dead."

"Then... aren't you upset? He was your friend."

Was he? ...He wasn't.

Cadance was upset, and he knew he should be to, but no matter how much he tried, Shining Armor couldn't feel anything but apathy towards Storm's death. Shining Armor couldn't share her pain, but still couldn't help wondering how Storm would have felt if he'd thought even one person would actually care that he’d died.

The other Rangers had a lottery in Uthraig, betting on when Storm was going to die or go crazy since most Rangers usually went within a month. Whoever won that lottery was probably celebrating right about now, or else would be soon. The changelings were probably celebrating too, ecstatic that Death Walker was finally slain. There would probably be a team of Rangers that would be moved to patrol Storm’s sector of forest, they would care that he’d died, but only because of how it affected them.

Cadance was probably the only pony in the world that actually felt like Storm had a right to live, and she’d never even met him. That was probably the reason; if she had ever met him she would probably hate him just as much as everyone else. Then again; Cadance cared for a lot of ponies she'd only heard about or met once and so this didn't really mean much... but it meant something.

A third set of wing beats echoed down the chimneys. Several minutes passed and Shining Armor had thought that whoever was out there had moved on; then suddenly a shudder passed through the entire burrow, and the north wall swung open, pouring a cascade of daylight through the open hole. Shining Armor blinked once and saw Silent Storm standing in the opening, holding a rope in his mouth, looking as surprised as they were that the burrow's door had opened. His surprise lasted only for a few moments before his lit up with instant jubilation, "You're alive!" he called, breaking out in a canter through the doorway. "Thank goodness, you‘re alright!"

Something was wrong. The pony in the doorway was almost bursting with excitement, Storm... didn't do that. Controlled by instinct he couldn't explain, Shining Armor lunged with his telekinesis to grab one strand out of a snarled knot that hung beside the door and pulled with all his might.

A migraine exploded from inside Shining Armor's head from using so much magic so suddenly; the knot came undone and a cluster of boulders that had been tied to the roof, came crashing down and the door snapped shut like a bear trap, catching Storm in the middle. Pandemonium erupted on him from all sides; first came the roar of rocks hitting the floor, followed immediately by an unearthly wail as Storm got caught; then came the resounding boom as the door slammed shut, echoed by Cadance's scream as one half of a changeling corpse was hurled into the burrow. Each new sound sending the agony inside Shining Armor's head soaring to new extremes.

When Shining Armor was able to open his eyes, he saw the changeling's head and upper torso in the middle of the room, pouring it's blood into a rapidly expanding pool. Cadance was on her hooves; emanating a frantic whimper as she tried to stay as far away from the blood as possible, wings flexed in case an airborne retreat was necessary. The important thing though was that the cable connecting the door to the outside rope had been severed, meaning the door could only be opened from the inside. They were safe... for the moment. Shining Armor, braced himself and managed to stand up by himself, leaned against the back wall, and tried to steel himself for what came next.

On the other side of the door he could hear frantic banging, and Twilight's panicked voice began yelling out in terror, "Let me in! Let me in! Cadance, please, it's me, Twilight! Help!"

Twilight's pleas were cut off by a heart wrenching scream, followed Storm's voice yelling out, "Get behind me Twily!" there was the sound of some blasts of magic and then a moment later Storm's voice shouted, "Cadance, it's us! We're here to get you out, but the changelings have found us and we can't hold them for long! OPEN THIS DOOR!!!"

Cadance had turned nearly white, but after she heard Twilight's voice unfroze her muscles and taken one step towards the door when Shining Armor bit down on her mane and pulled her back. "No!" he rasped. "It's not them!"

"But if it is-"

"If it was them then all the changelings would be attacking them." Shining Armor managed to use what weight he had to push Cadance against the wall opposite to the door so she could feel the rhythmic vibrations coming from the other side. "That's three changelings digging, the voices are just distractions."

Even with that, it took everything Shining Armor could do to keep Cadance from throwing herself at the door, as the screams of Twilight and Storm came again, even more frantic then the first time; but were soon drown out by a third voice Shining Armor couldn't recognize, "Storm! It's me! The changeling's are everywhere! Please, you have to let us in; PLEASE!!!!"

The changeling's weren't making sense. Why would the changelings imitate the voice of a stranger, on top of that, why would they ask Storm to open the door from the inside, while they were imitating his shouts coming from the outside? Most of all, why were they making Storm call his sister 'Twily'? He was the only one who did that. Why didn't matter; the changelings were digging and it was only a matter of time before they got in. "This is it," whimpered Shining Armor, "This is where we die. I'm sorry."

Cadance looked madly around the burrow and then back to him, tears streaming down her own cheeks. She hesitated and then, with shaking wings, drew Shining Armor in for one final embrace, as the screams grew louder and louder and dirt began shaking off the far wall. "I love you."

…............................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor galloped headlong into the forest, barely seeing straight as he failed miserably to keep sight the pegasi who had long since passed him. By now he hardly knew where he was, and hadn't the faintest idea where he was going, but kept galloping for the one frantic thought that burned in his mind; to find Cadance.

"B.B.!"

The voice came from behind him. Unwilling to slow down, Shining Armor turned his head and as he did he lost his balance and came crashing to the ground, flipping over and skidded several yards before coming to a halt. Shining Armor was dazed; the flash of a teleport snapped his eyes open and found himself looking up into the concerned eyes of Twilight. He cast a revealment spell instantly, but Twilight remained Twilight, and he felt some of his anxiety melt away.

"B.B" panted Twilight as she helped him back to his hooves, breathing even heavier then he was. "Are you... OK?"

Shining Armor took a brief stock of his body; grazed side, possible fractured rib, no bleeding. "I'm fi-"

Shining Armor's defense was cut in two as he looked past his sister, saw where they were, and panicked. Shining Armor pushed past Twilight and began spinning wildly, casting the revealment spell on everything he saw, but every detail of the glade remained exactly the same: four redwoods, forming the shape of a crooked smile; two maple trees, standing in his left field of vision; one lonely rock, ten paces ahead of him. An owl's hollow built into the trunk of the third redwood; claw marks from where a manticore had marked its territory and a small oak tree with a twisted branch stretching out like a claw giving the griffon sign for peace.

"Shining Armor?" Twilight sounded scared. She did not know the meaning of the word.

Refusing to believe his eyes Shining armor kept casting and re-casting until his hind hoof knocked something metallic. Shining Armor froze, and tried not to look down, but as if being possessed by some other force he turned and came face to blade with a pair of swords, stuck half way to the hilt at the base of the nearest redwood; waiting for him; waiting, for Twilight.

"Shining Armor, are you alright?"

He was most certainly not alright. Shining Armor turned very slowly to face Twilight, his heart and lungs bursting with trepidation, as he drank in the sight of her one last time. Behind her, echoed the combined cry of several terrormongers. They were only a few minutes away. They were coming for him.

Twilight had ignored it; "B.B.?" she whispered.

"Get away from me Twily. Run. Don't stop. Don't look back."

Twilight took a step forwards.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!! RUN!!! *RUN YOU FOOL!!!!"* When Twilight just stood there Shining Armor grabbed her in his telekinesis and hurled her as far as he could in the opposite direction of the approaching terrormongers. He kept her low to the ground and when he reached the end of his telekinetic grip he sent her off galloping with the strongest push he could muster, and the last word he would ever say to his sister.

"RUN!!!!"

…............................................................................................................................................................

Twilight galloped through the foliage as her brother's command echoed through her ears; but her gallop turned to a canter, and then a trot as the echo died away. What was she doing? Shining Armor had always been there for her, in the last few days alone he had saved her life twice, and now he needed her. If she turned her back on him, then no matter what happened, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Twilight turned and began galloping back the way she had come; she didn't know what her brother was going through, but she would not let him face it alone.

Chapter twenty-three >>> Shadows of Death

24 - At the Gala

23 - Shadows of Death

SPEED! Rainbow Dash had lived her entire life for speed, and never once had she needed it more then she did right now; this time was for real. Out of the corners of her eyes, Dash could see dozens of pegasi struggling to keep up with her, but a few awesome flaps from her wings left them behind in the dust. Dash didn't pay any attention to them, but kept her attention focused on not swallowing the portgem, keeping as straight a line as possible while swerving through the trees and scanning the ground for any sign of Storm's enigmatic burrow. If she drifted from her course by only a few degrees, she could bydash the burrow without knowing it.

A scream caught her attention, a panicked scream, a Twilight scream, a changeling scream. Swiveling to her left, Dash saw Twilight, slumped against one side of a hill, blood pouring out of several massive injuries and one leg jutting out like it was broken in at least two places. Shining Armor stood directly over her, rearing fiercely as he used his hooves and horn to lash out at invisible attackers. "Cadance!" he yelled, "Twilight's dying! If you don't let us in she won't make it!"

This seemed like the right place, but Dash wanted to make another lap to be sure. Dash passed the duo and curved round the hill, but as she got to the other side, her heart wrenched in horror; she was too late. Cadance was already dead; her body dumped unceremoniously down the side of the hill. Above her was a large, gaping, freshly dug hole in the side of the hill, the broken wooden frame of the burrow visible around the edges of the hole, in much the same way the broken skeletal frame was now visible on the former Princess of Canterlot. She'd failed.

A frantic groan made her reconsider; just now, two changelings were dragging the mangled body of Shining Armor out of the hole, as he struggled vainly against them. Shining Armor's body; Silent Storm's mind.

"Get away from him!" screamed Dash, ejecting her blades and racing in for the rescue. The changelings ran. Maybe they knew that Storm was dying and there was nothing she could do could do to save him. Maybe her reputation really had spread to the forest and they were smart enough to fear her. Why didn't matter; they took one look at her and scattered in different directions; leaving the broken, bleeding body of Storm tumbling down the hill. Dash made an emergency landing half way down the hill and caught him, knocking a faint grunt from him as his ribs collided with her legs. "Storm, speak to me!" His eyes flickered open, his mouth tried to move, Dash put her ear to his mouth to hear his dying words; Storm shot up and bit her on the neck; and not it the way she'd fantasized.

Dash screamed as the changeling’s fangs pierced her skin, making a deep incision in their search for blood, and as if her cry had been the signal, the changelings who had fled returned from around the sides of the hill, backed by two other changelings who looked like Shining Armor and a now healed Twilight. Meanwhile the 'dead Princess Cadance' got up from where she had been lying, without leaving a drop of blood behind, and charged to help her friends finish off the intruder.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Shining Armor stood frozen; watching as Twilight was swallowed by the darkness of the forest. He watched for what seemed like an eternity after she had gone, looking for any last trace of purple; some final token of solace before he died. He saw nothing. He was never going to see Twilight Sparkle again. He was going to die.

Probably, he was going to die.

He was exhausted, terrified and outnumbered; running would be useless and chances of being rescued by Reaper’s forces in time were slim. With enough willpower, however, he could bury his thoughts about Twilight; the terrormongers would know he was afraid, and could feed off him, but he might be able to buy himself a few minutes before they learned the specifics and began attacking him with Twilights. The volume of the cries suggested at least two terrormongers. Two terrormongers in that short of time would be difficult; if he was to have any hope… he would need weapons. Shining Armor turned slowly to the only available weapons in the glade; if he used them he might– NO!

Twilight would listen to him!

She was willful and headstrong, but she had promised to obey him when they set out; and there was no way she could have missed his urgency when he told her to run. By now she was over a mile from here, and she wasn’t coming back.

These swords were his only hope.

He wanted to live; he wanted to marry Cadance and grow old with her.

Shining Armor grabbed the rusted swords in his telekinesis and hoisted them into the air, cleaning them rapidly as rivers of dirt trailed off them. The terrormongers were going to try and weave a sea of illusions around him; they themselves would remain hidden but would stay as close to him as possible so they could gorge themselves on his fear. He needed to see through their walls of illusions, find them and kill them; quickly. He could barely see straight. He didn’t have any flares.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dash struggled and kicked against the imposter Storm as the other changelings closed in. A missed step on one of their parts and they both lost balance, sending them tumbling down the side of the hill. Dash didn't know what had happened, but based on the facts that the changeling released her as soon as they began falling, and when they reached the bottom, the knives on her hooves were stuck into the changeling’s chest; she figured she must have done something right. Miraculously, the portgem was still lodged between her back teeth and cheek.

Looking up Dash saw several dark shapes coming down the hill towards her. Six maybe? She didn't have time to count, and the sticky feeling running down the side of her neck suggested she was losing blood. Dash launched and flew straight up; knowing her wings were her best advantage and flight may not be a luxury she could entertain for much longer. Looking down she could see the changelings coming after her; three, five, seven, Who cares! There were a bunch! Beneath them she saw another changeling with its head buried into the side of the hill, flank in the air, as it continued to dig with its hooves and teeth and Dash realized the hole didn't go all the way into the burrow just yet.

Dash had the idea of using one changeling to crush another, and so when she had reached a decent height, she swiveled and began falling as fast as possible. Catching one changeling in a bear hug from above, she pinned its wings to its side and aimed their mutual plunge towards the burrowing changeling, hoping they would smash each other to bits, yet be considerate enough to cushion her fall. More blood leaked down her mane.

The changeling she was holding gave a howl; the changeling who was digging looked up, and then jumped out of the way; Dash, and her prisoner, went plummeting straight into the hole.

This was going to hurt.

The ground sagged under the changeling, and then broke under their combined weight, sending Dash and the changeling smashing through the ground and into a small, cozy cave.

Sword!

A sword, gripped clumsily in telekinesis came flying towards her, Dash fell backwards and gave a yelp as the sword clanged against the shoes of her outstretched hooves, letting sparks fly.

"It's me; Rainbow Dash!" she yelled as Cadance took another swing, missing wildly.

Cadance looked terrified, she shot a glance behind her to Storm who was wielding two small knives with considerable effort, yet masterful efficiency as he sliced through the jugular of the changeling Dash had ridden into the burrow. His eyes met with Cadance's and he shook his head. Cadance grit her teeth and tried to stab her. Dash grabbed the flats of the blade on both sides with her hooves and threw the sword into a wall, then tackled Cadance who shriveled into a fetal position under her, hiding her eyes under her hooves. Dash’s mind raced to the only other time she had met Cadance, and began yelling the first things that came to mind; "Twilight's birthday, fifth of June, Iron Will!" Cadance looked up at her and Dash spat the portgem onto her chest, "Portgem! Canterlot! Use it, NOW!"

Cadance slowly unfroze, and her horn began glowing in harmony with the crystal. Dash looked up to see Storm holding his daggers ready, deciding whether or not to kill her. Their eyes met. She had hoped for recognition. She had hoped for joy; maybe a hint of worry that she was in danger and bleeding from the neck. He looked at her in blank confusion as though he'd never seen her before in his life.

A changeling head popped down from the hole in the ceiling, looked at them and then lunged for Storm. Dash dove to intercept it, ramming it against an empty weapon rack on the far side of the burrow where she felt its spine snap. A brilliant light flourished from behind her, Dash spun around to see Cadance and Storm glowing brightly and realized she was too far away for the portgem to take her with them. Dash threw herself towards them, towards Storm, hooves outstretched; but as she reached the outskirts of the spell, he dematerialized before her eyes, vanished with Cadance and Dash ran painfully into a wall.

More changelings started pouring into the burrow. Dash was still bleeding, and was beginning to see double.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Shining Armor ducked behind a tree, using his black mane to camouflage himself perfectly with the shadows. Shining Armor held his swords in front of him and examined them under the strangled beams of sunlight that had strayed into the forest before becoming trapped by the impounding walls of leaves and branches above. The edges of each blade pulled apart from each other until midpoint when they curved back together, forming a wicked hook point at the end of each blade. The blades had rusted and harbored several strains of moss that had dared cling to their sides; but they both remained solid, and absolutely deadly. Shining Armor peered through a fork in the trunk and saw... a mare.

Her coat was an illumines silver; the kind light beams would look for so they could bounce off of, with a long, crimson mane which fell freely over her neck and shoulders. Both were unkept and bedraggled as though she'd spent weeks in the forest without rest. She wore a coat of fine chain-mail, now bent and torn in some places, revealing patches of a sleek yet scared coat but hiding her cutie mark. Her face was undeniably beautiful, but her eyes were dark and calloused, as though they had seen too much, too soon.

She was out of range of a revealment spell, but Shining Armor knew anyways that she was almost definitely a trap. The mare raised her head as if she heard a thunderclap; and looked him dead in the eyes, terror and hatred stabbing into her as she recognized him. She turned and tried to run; but half way through jumping over a branch she hit an invisible wall. She thrashed and kicked against whatever invisible aurora of telekinesis had grabbed her, and inch by inch she was dragged towards Shining Armor; terrified.

Shining Armor readied himself and when the mare was pulled to within striking distance he cast his revealment spell. There was a blast and the mare’s face was thrown back like she’d been hit, in the same instant turning into Twilight Sparkle in perfect likeness except for an ugly red gash under her left eye, bleeding profusely. Twilight staggered under the blow then turned on him; lunging at him fangs bared. Shining Armor was ready for this and sidestepped, bringing one of his blades down on the illusion as it passed out of his field of vision, but felt no impact. Had the false Twilight been an illusion; or had it been a changeling and he’d missed? Shining Armor spun around and was met by two identical Twilights, each bearing grizzly neck wounds. Shining Armor stabbed at them with a sword each; they vanished but as they did so something bit one of Shining Armor’s hind legs; he swiveled one of the blades and shot it behind him, aiming less than an inch off his skin to skewer whatever was there. For a second time the blade refused to make contact with an enemy, but missed his mark by about an inch; the rusted blade drew a wide cut across his hind leg, barely missing his major veins and arteries.

Shining Armor pivoted, and was faced with a myriad of Twilight’s who looked terrified and seemed to be running from and yet towards him at the same time. Acting on reflex, began hacking wildly; each time missing the resistance to imply that he had killed something. A hoof collided with his back. Shining Armor buckled under the weight, feeling the tear on his leg grow worse, but without losing an instant he turned both of his blades upwards to where the blow had come from; but for a third time his blades came back empty. He was beginning to hate this changeling.

Something nipped at his flank, he swiveled his blades a fourth time; and was finally rewarded with a slight hint of resistance, and the hiss of a wounded changeling. Shining Armor spun his swords in a three-sixty degree arch around himself to dispel some more of the fake Twilights, then allowed himself a third of a second to inspect his sword, confirming a thin smear of blood on it. The hiss of the wounded changeling was receding behind the next tree line; Shining Armor brandished his swords and gave chase.

Shining Armor ducked behind one of the trees separating him and the changeling; using his mane to camouflage himself, he peered through a fork in the trunk and saw Twilight, about thirty paces off, looking away from him. Shining Armor teleported through the tree and raced towards the changeling; ready to decapitate it. The changeling caught sight of him, freezing in terror as it saw him; seconds before his blades would have made impact a sound escaped its throat, “DON’T!”

Shining Armor hesitated, the changeling head butted him in the chin; its horn only just missing being driven into his neck. Shining Armor was knocked back and felt the changeling bite into his ankle, tearing his hooves out from under him as he landed painfully on his side. His blades swooped to where the changeling was but again it evaded them and flew away.

A growl caught his attention; Shining Armor, ignoring the pain egressing from his legs, jumped up in time to see three timber wolves emerging from the shadows to circle him. One of the timber wolves lunged at him and then fell to the ground with a small knife buried in its neck; Twilight stood behind it with the rest of her knives ready. The other wolves lunged for him and these too fell to the ground with Twilight’s daggers in their necks.

Something wasn’t right; Twilight wasn’t meant to be here, she *had** to be an illusion. Shining Armor swung his blades towards them and the purple mare froze; *“DON’T-”**

Her cry was cut off as Shining Armor’s blades cut through her effortlessly, reducing her to nothing. Shining Armor kicked at the bodies of the timber wolves around his hooves and each of them disappeared in turn. There was a roar of a manticore off to his right, he turned to face the sound and something hit him on his left ear, making it seem to implode as he temporarily lost his hearing. As he fell, his hoof shot up and this time he definitely felt himself connect with something solid. He turned in time to see a Twilight with changelings wings flying away from him as its face contorted in pain; it was beyond his ability to reach it with his telekinesis but he threw one of his swords at it, nailing its wing as it fell to the ground behind some trees with a shriek.

Shining Armor went after it; loath to let this seemingly uncatchable changeling escape him a seventh time. He took his remaining sword and galloped to the tree line, glancing through a fork in the tree he saw a wounded changeling, looking like it was trying to morph. Without a moment’s hesitation he careened around the tree and zeroed in on his target. Shining Armor spotted his other sword beside his path, he veered to pick it up and when he looked back up the changeling had finished turning into Twilight again. She looked filthy, and under her mud encrusted body he could make out several wide gashes on her leg and flank. She was running towards him.

She saw him coming towards him, and then froze in terror; an audible cry escaping her throat moments before he reached her; “DON’T-” but it was too late. Shining Armor brought down his sword oh her neck, slicing the jugular, sending blood spraying across the forest floor, and onto Shining Armor's. Her eyes met his, doing a frighteningly good imitation of Twilight, in one final effort to deceive him.

“PLEASE, STOP! IT'S ME!”

“LIAR!” he yelled as he brought the second sword down on her neck, decapitating it with a sickening 'crack' as steel met spine. There was a wave of blood forcing Shining Armor to close his eyes, but he knew the hit had been lethal as he felt his victim’s body flail about for several seconds and then go dead.

He’d killed it. Whatever it was he had killed it. Was it a changeling or Twilight? He didn't dare look. He didn't want to know. If he opened his eyes he would see it. To make the body unrecognizable, he began hacking.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

The lamps in the burrow had been knocked over. For some reason Dash didn't have time to contemplate, there wasn't any smoke, just tiny rivers of flaming oil casting triple and quadruple shadows of changelings she was already seeing double of. She thought there might be eight. The changelings didn't attack her immediately, but waited, looking around at the burrow, their two fallen comrades, and herself.

Dash knew she was losing blood, but still waited for them to take the first move. There was a tingling in the back of her head and then Dash was looking at a number of Twilights, Pinkie Pies and Applejacks; the last of whom were sporting neck wounds which would have been lethal. That there weren’t any Fluttershys or Raritys suggested there were only three changelings. Dash bucked an oil lamp at them, which exploded on impact; when the oil flash had gone she wasn't looking at her friends anymore, but her parents and Scootaloo.

Dash guessed that these were a stronger breed of mildly telepathic changelings Shining Armor had warned her about, and they were looking for shapes she would hesitate to attack. Her parents weren’t the shapes they were looking for. Dash made herself remember every argument she'd ever had with them and then charged the trio. She blacked out for a moment and then several Scootaloo heads that had been severed horizontally at the mouth were spinning to the floor as they turned black and scaly; and Dash's right wing felt bloody. So she’d killed the only one of the three that she really liked; she knew it wasn't her real sister.

When Dash turned back around her parents were gone and instead, Cadance and Storm were back in the burrow, spinning wildly in dismayed confusion. "It didn't work!" cried Cadance, "The portgem didn't work!"

Nice try. Dash managed to flap her wings into an airborne assault and caught 'Cadance' with her bladed hoof behind the back of the head, calling that adequate payback for the real Cadance trying to kill her. ‘Cadance’ fell to the ground, black and scaly just like the other changeling; now there was no one in the burrow except her and Storm. Dash stared into the eyes of the thing pretending to be Storm, pretending to be Shining Armor and steeled herself; "It's not gonna work" she told it.

The changeling paused, gazed intently at her and then changed one last time. It got... smaller. It turned into a pegasus. At first Dash thought it was going for Scootaloo again, but the coat was too red and the mane was... rainbow? The changeling finished its transformation into a tiny pegasus colt, facing her with keen, innocent eyes and sporting a toothy fanged grin. Its wings looked almost identical to hers, but its muzzle was just like Storm's, and his face was...

Just for a moment, Rainbow Dash hesitated. The changeling attacked.

Chapter twenty-four >>> Blood and Fire

25 - Ranger Territory

24 - Blood and Fire

Twilight galloped through the dense foliage, eyes searching for any sign of Shining Armor, ears peeled for the sound of battle, horn bursting with a dozen different spells ready to fire. A fierce howl echoed ahead of her and she saw her brother with two rusted swords surrounded by a pack of timber wolves. Seeing his swords reminded her; she had knives! The knives that had been with Storm’s armor! Twilight looked back to the belt around her girth and drew all six blades at once, holding them out in front of her in a star formation. There was an almost dry riverbed separating herself from Shining Armor with one rock jutting out on her side, inviting her to use it to jump across. Twilight ran for it but as she did, her hooves fell through the rock and she plummeted head first into the maggot infested mud with her knives in front and now beneath her as she fell. Twilight tried to use the meager seconds she had to push them out of her way, but was too slow and two of the knives sliced her as they flew past, one making a cut above her cutie mark while the other made a gash across her right foreleg.

Her eyes and mouth closed barely in time as she plummeted head first into the writhing mud. Unfortunately her nostrils remained open and as she sunk into the vile goo, it forced its way into her, crawling with thousands of tiny, suffocating maggots. Her wounds burned as the bacteria filled mud rippled into her cuts; Twilight thrashed, and managed to get facing the right way up, gagging at the cess pool she had become a part of. She tried to mind to use her magic to clean her eyes, but couldn’t as her horn was so caked in mud it didn't have the oxygen it needed to cast a spell; and horrid fillyhood memories of classmates throwing mud over her horn to disable her magic came flooding back with a vengeance.

After several moments of flailing in the mud, expecting to be torn apart by a manticore at any second, Twilight was able to shake enough mud off her horn to let her use it to clean her eyes, and then a pair of talons dug deep into her chest. Twilight's eyes flew open, stinging from lingering traces of stagnant mud and found herself looking into the beady eyes of a cockatrice.

Twilight hated cockatrices. Ever since the time she was turned to stone by one she had reviled them. Twilight tried to bat the thing away but the thing somehow dodged each blow withount ever breaking its eye contact with her, and then her legs turned to stone. Twilight tried to move, but she was losing any ability to move and was losing it quickly. She tried yelling, and that was where everything stopped; Twilight Sparkle, locked in a silent, endless scream.

…What was happening?

Twilight had expected to black out, instead she found herself unable to move as she continued to stare into the face of the cockatrice as it gave a sly grin, knowing its work had been finished. Twilight felt she was suffocating, like her lungs were going to crumble, but was unable to breathe in, and her suffocation grew no worse. She then heard the cries of Shining Armor redouble, the cockatrice jumped off her chest and she saw his swords and his head, both covered in blood rising and falling as his yelling grew like a mad horse. How was she still conscious? The other time she had been turned to stone her mind had immediately become been comatose until she was revived, so how could-

NO!NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

THE EXPERIMENTS!

After she had been turned to stone that first time, Twilight had been curious about how the logistics of the magic worked. When Fluttershy adopted the blind cockatrice she started running tests on it; trying to find out how they turned ponies to stone so she could develop an immunization spell. She had experimented with a dozen different spells but had never field tested then for obvious reasons. She hadn't made herself immune to being turned into stone; she had done one of the worst things she could possibly do, make herself retain conciseness while being turned to stone!

Twilight's heart began pounding like a hammer inside her brain. Now she was paralyzed, magicless, helpless and she could do nothing but watch as the terrormongers killed her brother. She would lie here for days as they stripped away everything he was, broke him, and then finally killed him. Then what? Would she lie here for centuries, suffocating, buried in mud and maggots until she eroded into dust? No! It would be much worse.

If she was conscious she could feel fear, but couldn’t die, meaning the terrormongers wouldn't let her be buried but would drag her out of the mud and then torture her, forever! Every day, every hour, every second; she wouldn't even sleep but suffer horror after horror day and night as her mind was ravaged by by dozens, hundreds, thousands of terrormongers without end or mercy.

They would feed off of her! She would be an infinite battery for them and they could... NO! Twilight's heart was running like a jackhammer, but it had nowhere to run to. They would learn what she had done to herself and do it to any Ranger they ever caught, turning them into infinite batteries as well, and then nothing could stop them! They would turn EVERYONE into living fear statues; and it was all her fault! They would take the Rangers; they would take Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Cakes babies! They would do this to her parents! They would do this to Celestia! Everyone in Canterlot! Everyone in Equestria! Everyone in the world was doomed because of her! She had ruined the entire world!

The entire world would suffer forever because of her, and everyone would know that it was her who had condemned them! Like a side show where she saw everyone she knew condemned to endless years of torture, their hatred for her growing with each passing moment; hatred she deserved. Twilight couldn't move, but thrashed inwardly against her prison; screaming silent pleas for forgiveness to the world she knew it would neither hear nor accept. She didn't know how long she lay like that, hours? Days? Shining Armor was still fighting and screaming so it couldn't have been that long. But hadn't the sun set and risen while she struggled? She didn't know how long it had been there, it didn't matter, an hour or a week she would still be there for eternity; and every frantic push brought more crimson blood weeping from the cut on her leg...

Blood?

Statues didn't bleed.

Daring to believe she was alive for just a moment, Twilight was able to summon enough concentration to cast the revealment spell over herself, and muddy, battered, purple legs came into view. She looked up, and wished she was stone again. Only a few feet above her head was a black face strippled with dozens of eyes that were staring down on her, its mouth open, dripping saliva as several tongue like extensions had attached themselves to the top of her head. Twilight didn't know what happened over the next few seconds; but the thing knew that its spell had been broken and moved to strike her. By some miracle, Twilight found four of her daggers lying around her, grabbed them and sent them flying into the terrormonger's face, extracting four trails of blood and a pained howl as the thing retreated back over the top of the gully.

By reflex, Twilight cast a small energy shield over her, stopping the dark blue blood from invading her gaping face, as it sizzled on impact with her shield. She managed to roll to her hooves and teleport to the edge of the gully on the same side as Shining Armor, and began looking for her brother. She saw him; slumped over onto his own blade, Twilight cast a revealment spell on him and he disappeared, she continued her frantic search.

Twilight pushed her way through a bush and was met with a rusted, bloody sword swinging towards her. “DON’T-” but it was too late for the blade to stop. Twilight stepped back just in the nick of time but still felt the flat of the blade brush against her neck. “PLEASE, STOP! IT’S ME!”

“LIAR!” yelled Shining Armor’s disembodied voice, bringing the second blood soaked sword towards her neck. Twilight rolled out of the way, missing the blade with a few inches to spare. The blade struck for her again but Twilight teleported to where Shining Armor’s voice had come from as the blade ripped through her previous location. She saw the shape of Shining Armor outlined against a tree as he turned to face her, bringing his swords towards her as he did so; Twilight reached for a flare, only to realize it had been ruined by the mud. Swinging desperately to her harness, she saw only one flare that was still usable. She took it, held it in front of her, and lit it. The swords stopped. Twilight levitated the flare between them, holding as a candle as if it was their only light and they were the only ponies in an ocean of darkness that had engulfed the world.

He looked terrible.

Every inch of his was soaked in blood; how much of it was his own she had no idea, shards of bone were imbedded in his ragged mane, his eyes were wider then she had known possible and his mouth stole desperate gasps from the thick air around them. The flare ran out. Darkness fell. Terrormongers called from all around them.

"TWILIGHT!!! *RUN!!!"*

"NO!!!" Without waiting for another response Twilight ran beside her brother facing the opposite direction to him in a defense stance she had seen illustrations of, so neither of them could be attacked from behind. "We do this together!"

There was silence.

Dead creeping silence that clawed Twilight’s mind raw.

Nothing happened.

No movement, no sound… nothing.

“Shining Armor” Twilight whispered. When he didn’t answer she took one step to the side, turned to face him and then freaked. Vines had dropped down from the tree above them and had wrapped around Shining Armor’s throat, his blue face was slumped down in death and dozens of black leech like creatures were squirming all across his back, spreading out and multiplying before her eyes!

Twilight jumped back and into a set of monstrous pincers that grabbed from behind, sweeping her off her hooves and into the tree above them. A scream escaped her throat as her body was captured. The pincers gripping her slammed her head against the trunk of the tree; causing an explosion of white stars to attack her vision out of the black void that had engulfed her. She kicked uselessly and tried to think of a spell that would help her, another set of pincers clamped down on her horn and began shaking it violently, trying to snap it off.

From all around her she heard hundreds of voices, most of them her brother, yelling at her to do a thousand different things, though through the cacophony the only words she could make out were, “Die” and “Jump.” She had dropped her knives when she was grabbed, but out of the corner of her eye – her head was slammed back into the tree. Something cold and rough brushed past her legs; something burning and acidic fell on her, something like a garbled bellow assaulted her ears. The pincer that was holding her dropped her and she fell, but only a few feet before landing on a solid wall of telekinesis.

Twilight rolled and managed to open her eyes, the world came into focus. She was resting on a translucent wall of energy, beyond that was the forest floor holding the twitching body of a terrormonger with several knife wounds to the face and whose body had been split down the middle by one of Shining Armor’s swords.

“Twilight get ready to-”

The last part of Shining Armor’s command was drowned out by another cry of a terrormonger. Before Twilight could guess the rest of the message, or hypothesize whether or not it was a trick; the sound of shattering wood burst from behind her and the energy wall she was resting on flickered then gave way, sending her plummeting towards the earth. As she fell she was able to cast a spell to slow but not stop her decent, allowing her to land with a painful, non-damaging thud.

Twilight looked up to see Shining Armor running around a tree, careening to pass nearby her; “We need to go!” he yelled. Something wasn’t right. Twilight didn’t know why, but she distrusted this Shining Armor. As he ran past, she let forth with a kick that connected with his jaw and making his skin momentarily turn black and scaly. It staggered backwards, tripped over a vine, and fell; breaking one wing as it withered in agony. There was a knife just off to the side; one that she had dropped when she was grabbed by the tree climbing terrormonger. She grabbed the knife and bit down on her lip as she passed it through the changeling’s chest. There would be time for sentiment later.

An explosion ricocheted from above her, followed by an unearthly wail coming from high above in the treetops as a black swarm of shadows began cascading down through the branches, with the red pony on top giving it the appearance of a glowing crown of fire. Shining Armor stood on top of a plummeting terrormonger; gripping the back of its neck with all four hooves as he held a sword in his mouth, hacking wildly at the top of the terrormonger’s skull, somehow maintaining his grip even as they both tumbled from branch to branch. Bats were flying everywhere trying to latch on to Shining Armor who answered them by summoning a cloak of flames around him, scorching any bat foolish enough to bite him.

Twilight watched in awe, horror and disbelief as the spinning mass of blood and fire came closer and closer to the ground. The terrormonger dead, Shining Armor leapt from its back and into thin air at a height and speed that was impossible survive and Twilight realized that he expected her to catch him.

Twilight reached out with her telekinesis and grabbed him, he hung for a moment mid air then slipped out of her grip and Twilight was holding nothing but blood and a few bits of loose fur as Shining Armor crashed against a tree and resumed his decent. A gout of leaves blocked her vision of him, but then a flash of a teleport and Shining Armor was balancing with all four hooves placed precariously on one narrow branch. His hooves slipped out from him almost immediately, his gut collided with the branch, breaking it in half, but didn’t fall for more than a few yards before Twilight caught him again, and this time she didn’t let. She began lowering him to the ground, slowly, not wanting to make his injuries any worse, until he was about ten feet off the ground and something incredibly strong gripped her hind hooves and flipped her over her head.

Twilight face planted into the mud and heard Shining Armor yelp as she slammed him into the ground, she released him from her telekinesis before she drove him any deeper into the earth, hoping pessimistically that she hadn’t hurt him too badly. Twilight landed on her back, looking up she readied a fireball spell to cast where she had been, but saw nothing. A flick of her horn and her fireball transformed into a revealment spell which she cast in a wide arch, but saw nothing. A groan from behind her sent Twilight scampering towards Shining Armor who was grimacing in pain as he used his magic to push one foreleg that had been dislocated in his fall, back into its socket. He looked up at her, than leapt to his hooves as his eyes focused on something past her shoulder, “Behind you!”

Twilight spun, just in time to see a manticore lunging towards her. She managed a fireball spell just in time, only to have the manticore vanish and the fireball exploded against a nearby tree. A shout from behind her and she spun around again, staring into an avalanche of boulders rushing towards her like a tidal wave; one revealment spell later and they were gone and instead was one final terrormonger, rearing high on its spidery legs. One of its pincers was wrapped around Shining Armor’s throat and one forehoof with which he was trying to use to stave off decapitation, while his other forehoof beat frantically against the pincers joint. The other pincer was coiled around his middle, too high for his hind legs to kick, leaving Shining Armor with nothing to fight it but his stomach muscles which were getting shredded to pieces. One final hit to the pincer joint loosened its grip just enough for Shining Armor to shove the pincer off his throat long enough to yellone last command; “KILL IT!”

Twilight didn’t know what to do, if she used a fireball or any similar spell the terrormonger would use Shining Armor as a shield. She began galloping forewards, not knowing what she was going to do when she reached him. When she got close the terrormonger dropped Shining Armor like a club, trying to impale him on her own horn. Twilight veered to the left, blenched when she heard his body slam into the ground, and then saw her chance in Shining Armor’s fallen sword lying beneath the expanse of the terrormongers legs.

Acting out of panicked desperation, and blind hatred to stop the thing that was hurting her brother, she grabbed the sword in her telekinesis, and swung it in a wide arch cleaving through three of the terrormongers legs; causing it to topple to the side. As it collapsed; its grip on Shining Armor became slightly weaker, and the underside of its belly became exposed. As if it was moving by itself the sword in Twilight’s telekinesis spun and then plunged all the way up to the hilt into the terrormongers midsection. Blood sizzled around the blade, a dying hiss left the terrormonger and then, all was silent.

There was a coughing coming from the bloodied mass the terrormonger had been holding, and within moments Twilight was standing by her brothers side, helping untangle him from the claws that had nearly been his grave. He tested his forelegs and then stood gingerly, rubbing where the serrated pincers had scarred his flesh.

Twilight looked around at the carnage that surrounded them; her breath growing deeper and slower as the adrenaline wore off and the reality of what she had just done began to set in. She felt nauseous; wounds she had nearly forgotten were there began crying out with a vengeance and the smell of hot blood was suffocating.

Shining Armor seemed much less fazed by the carnage around them; he looked briefly at her cuts and then gave a nod that suggested she’d be alright but seemed oblivious to the blood seeping from his own wounds.“Right” he breathed, “Now time to find Cadance.”

He couldn’t be serious; they didn’t even know where they were, much less where Storm’s burrow might be, but Shining Armor took a few moments to catch his breath and then began cantering off in a seemingly random direction. Twilight watched him open mouthed for about then seconds then teleported next to him and grabbed him in her telekinesis. He struggled momentarily, but was too slow to prevent Twilight completing her sedation spell. Twilight levitated the limp body away from the carnage, set him down in a comfortable position, and stood watch over him, waiting for one of Reaper’s patrols to find them. "Tag" she whispered, "You're it."

Chapter twenty-five>>> Recovery

26 - Wolfkin

25 - Recovery

Rainbow Dash woke glumly; too tired to move or open her eyes. She felt sets of hooves and paws messing with her, poking at her, fiddling with her wings. Why those perverts; she outta get up and buck them into next week... in about fifteen or twenty minutes; for now, she just wanted to sleep.

............................................................................................................................................................

When Rainbow finally awoke, she was in a cave lit by florescent gemstones. Her neck was sore and bandaged appropriately, along with her right wing and foreleg, but that didn't stop her from groggily rolling out of bed to get a look around. She was surrounded by nine other cots, occupied by six ponies and a diamond dog; who without exception had all been mangled in some way. Even still seeing slightly double, and working with half a brain, she was able to guess she was in some kind of infirmary in a Ranger base; possibly Uthraig. The thought should have been comforting, but alone in such alien surroundings; Rainbow was feeling a distinct lack of comfort.

"Rainbow pony take some rest." said a gravelly voice in one corner of the chamber, Dash turned as fast as she could, (which wasn't fast), to see what she had mistaken for a rock was an elderly diamond dog bending over one of the other patients, "Strain yourself if not careful, reopen injuries, then spend extra days in my care."

"I wasn't going to go far" lied Rainbow, "I just wanted to see outside and find out-"

"Not yet!" grunted the doctor, "Back to bed."

Rainbow obeyed and spent the next several hours staring at the ceiling, as unanswered questions stagnated in her mind; what had happened? Where were Storm and Cadance? Were Shining Armor and Twilight OK? How was Applejack? How was Canterlot reacting to the resignation of the Wonderbolts? When could she get out of here? She couldn't feel her wings, were they permanently damaged? She fell asleep somewhere between the third and fourth questions, during which she dreamed someone was putting a rubber tube down her throat and pouring something warm into her belly. When she woke up she resumed her depressing monotone of questions until it was delightfully interrupted by the sound of Twilight's voice echoing down the passage, answered a moment later by Shining Armor.

"Red and purple ponies visited many times while you slept," remarked her physician as her friends came into view.

Twilight, overcome with emotions at seeing her awake, threw her hooves around Rainbow's belly, giving her a tight squeeze around the middle. "I'm so glad you’re OK" she whispered. Though Rainbow would never admit it afterwards, the hug felt good.

Shining Armor stood at the other side of the bed, refraining from Twilight's outburst of emotion yet no less comforting as he stood protectively as her side, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," smiled Rainbow weakly. "What happened?"

"Reaper found you. When he and the other pegasi got to the burrow, he was the first one in and found a changeling feeding off you. You lost a lot of blood, but he was able to treat you with the supplies in Storm's burrow and medivac you out; that was about sixty-seven hours ago. Rainbow Dash... Cadance and Storm; wern't in the burrow when Reaper got there, the portgem I had given you was gone and Reaper sensed arcane residue of a recent teleportation spell. Did you...-"

Rainbow nodded, wincing at the pain in her neck, "They're safe. Cadance used the portgem to get herself and Storm out; I was too busy breaking a changeling’s spine to go with them."

Relief visibly affected Shining Armor, as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders; "Thank you."

The words were simple, but Rainbow knew he meant them; but that didn’t prepare her for what came next, "I want to apologize for the way I’ve acted on most of this trip. Twilight can tell you, I haven't been acting myself, after the stress of keeping the shield up. Having had a few days to think has helped me see things in perspective, what I've done... and what I need to do."

“Apology accepted. I’m sorry I lied about the Wonderbolts; so I guess we both have some mistakes to make up for. Hopefully the Rangers won’t hold them against us.”

Shining Armor looked at her quizzically; “And why would you care what the Rangers think of you.”

Rainbow looked at Shining Armor, he knew the answer as well as she did, but they both needed to hear her say it out loud; “I want to join.”

Shining Armor broke into a wide grin, "I'm glad to hear that. You went up against six changelings alone and killed four of them, that's pretty good for someone whose not trained; and your sonicrainboom... you don't have the experience to know where and when to use it, but if you had the right trainer… or partner, you could be a massive help.”

Something about the way Shining Armor said that was very comforting to Rainbow; “I take it I’m not going to die then?”

"Well... you’re not out of the woods yet. But as for your injuries, you're expected to be well enough to travel in about two weeks.”

Two weeks!? As in fourteen days? Fourteen days in a stinking hole looking at the ceiling; “… is it really going to be that long?”

“I’m afraid so; but at least you won’t be alone, Twilight and I aren’t leaving Uthraig without you.”

“Is that because you’re waiting for me, or because you’re hurt too?” she asked indicating his extensive bandages.

Shining Armor looked to the various places where he had failed to maintain Storm’s body, (not that Storm was likely to notice among all the scars he already had); “Both.”

“Am I going to have to spend the whole two weeks in bed?”

“Not if you don’t want to. Your main problem was blood loss and a few minor injuries on your legs and wing; you should be fine to move now, so long as someone stays with you.”

“Then could you take me up to the surface? I’d really like to be able to see the sky again.”

"Hold on. Doctor Healthfang, if Twilight and I both go with her, would Rainbow Dash be able to-"

"No, no, no!" barked Healthfang without even looking up from the patient he was currently inspecting, "Rainbow pony stays in bed!"

"Would fifty bits change your mind?"

"Enjoy your voyage to the surface, rainbow pony." Called Healthfang as his eager paw shot out to receive Shining Armor's payment.

The doctor satisfied; Shining Armor helped Rainbow Dash slide gently to her hooves and was heading to the door when the doctor ran past Dash and faced off with Shining Armor; “No straining her! You big stallion; you stay off and you stay out!”

Shining Armor’s face turned a suspiciously deeper shade of red, “That’s… not what I had in mind.” Healthfang glared at him suspiciously; “Come on; if that’s what I was planning would I be taking my younger sister with us?”

Healthfang shot his glare to Twilight who was blushing furiously; “Some ponies do strange things” he muttered. Shining Armor answered Healthfang’s accusation with ten more bits into his paw, as if this was what he had been waiting for, Healthfang stepped aside to let them pass. “Wait two weeks” he growled, “Then hump all you like.”

Now it was Dash’s turn to blush furiously, but fortunately she didn’t have to say anything as the three blushing ponies left the infirmary. Shining Armor led them up the twisting labyrinth of tunnels behind Twilight, staying beside her each step of the way. The journey was draining, and Dash almost felt like giving up and asking to go back, but after having asked to go to the surface in the first place, there was no way she was going to back down now. Finally the passage opened up to a wide courtyard, easily several acres across, surrounded by earthen walls that stretched about forty feet before surrendering to the cloudless night sky. All around then were campfires dotted with Rangers, market stalls, fountains, mud brick huts and dozens upon dozens of cave openings, leading into the deep recesses of Uthraig.

"Anyone hungry? I'm buying." Shining Armor offered, already leading the mares to one of the many food stalls.

From out of nowhere Pyromite had appeared and landed smoothly on Rainbow's back; croaking his appreciation that she was recovering and asking if it would be alright if he lit her mane on fire to celebrate. Rainbow quickly shooed him off.

After Pyromite left, Rainbow was aware of two vaguely foodish items floating in front of her in Shining Armor’s telekinesis; one was some kind of moss burger, and the other looked like rice wrapped in spinach, “Take your pick” offered Shining Armor. Rainbow hesitated; the burger looked the least unappetizing of the two so she took it, wondered if someone had stomped on it, tried not to think about the strange brown sauce and eventually took a small bite, it was… good.

Rainbow finished the burger quickly, guessing it was the first real food she’s had in however many days were in sixty something hours. By now she was sitting with Twilight and Shining Armor around a fire with a number of other Rangers, predominantly unicorns. At first they had been talking about some recent raids and counter attacks that Rainbow could sort of follow, but then the conversation suddenly turned to something about using things called ley lines to make some magic whatsamajigs to zap the terrormongers. Shining Armor seemed interested in using whatever they were as some kind of weapon, Twilight was enamored with the complexities of the magical mumbo jumbo the other unicorns were babbling and Rainbow Dash had no idea what any of them were talking about. She wanted another burger.

Rainbow mooched a couple bits off Shining Armor, (who barely looked away from the unicorn he was talking to) and started back to the snack bar. A vague thought of asking someone to go with her knocked at her mind but she slammed the door in its face. She was Rainbow Dash; the fastest pegasus in Equestria, who had quit the Wonderbolts because they weren’t cool enough for her. She didn’t need a foalsitter.

Twa-thud!

What was that?

Twa-thud!

It was coming from over there.

Twa-thud! Twa-thud! Twa-thud! The repetitious sound called Rainbow's curious attention to a row of about thirty targets set up along one wall of the courtyard. At first she thought there were seven or eight Rangers practicing their archery, with three or four targets each, but then she realized that only one of them held a bow, and the others just stood watching as one Ranger massacred target after target with lethal bull’s-eyes.

Rainbow watched five more targets receive grizzly new belly buttons. The unicorn firing the arrows seemed so focused, so intense, as he stood rock steady on his hind hooves. He held his bow with his hooves rather than his magic, but before each arrow being cast away, there was a flicker from his horn, and each arrowhead glowed with blue fire as it hit its mark.

Twa-thud! Another arrow; another bull’s-eye.

He was… alright, but all the targets were the same distance off the ground and the same distance apart, Rainbow couldn't help wondering if one of the targets was just a few inches off - Twa-"OW!" Before she knew it Dash had already slid over to the last target in line, and had been reaching one hoof across it to get a grip, so she could lower it, when an unexpected arrow flew through her bandages; pinning her to the target. The arrow hadn't hurt her, but the shock was enough to make her cry as if she had been hit. Dash flared her good wing to and tried to brace another hoof against the target to push herself off the target. Twa-thud! Another arrow appeared on the target, miraculously passing through her feathers and leaving her unharmed but pinning her good wing to the target in an awkward stretch, leaving her stuck, face first, to the target. "Help!" A chorus of chuckles from behind her implied nopony wanted to help her.

Twa-thud! A third arrow struck the target, this one so close to her head she could have sworn it shaved a tuft of her fur off. With the arrow preventing her from turning her head to her right and her wing stretched over the left side of her face, the only directions she could look were up and down; the fact that her heart was pressed directly over the bull’s-eye did nothing to comfort her.

Twa-thudd!! Two arrows struck simultaneously on either side of one of her hind legs, arresting its ability to move.

"Who wants to see three arrows at once?" called a voice from behind her. Dash managed to squeak a protest, but doubted anyone heard her over several eagerly affirmative calls. Dash waited in horrific anticipation for one of the three arrows to stray into her body.

Twa-thuddd. The sound came from about ten feet behind her suggesting something had blocked the arrows. "Knock it off Nexeye!" shouted Shining Armor, from near where the arrows had stopped.

There was a pause and some hoof steps came to approach Shining Armor, before a foreign accent began defending its owner’s actions, "She was in no danger Shining Armor, you know that. She thought it fun to tease me and I merely reciprocated in kind."

“You kept pinning her down after she called for you to stop. That’s assault."

"Then she should not have begun a game she was not prepared to play after the first move went against her."

"This mare saved the lives of Cadance and Storm; show some respect."

"It will not happen again."

Dash felt the arrows around her gripped in telekinesis and wrenched out of the target, allowing her to turn around. "What the hay!!!" Next to Shining Armor stood the stallion Dash assumed to be Nexeye; a slightly older unicorn, with light grey fur and faint vertical stripes insinuating that he was part zebra. On his back, was a magnificently carved longbow and a quiver almost emptied of steel tipped arrows, which hung over a luxurious blue, hooded cloak (that looked suspiciously like it was woven from the fur of an ursa minor), held together by an intricate golden clasp; none of which Dash noticed. "You're wearing a freaking blindfold!!!"

Nexeye cocked his head and grinned at her, revealing spotlessly white teeth. "It seems I am. My apologies if it disturbs you; but do not worry, it does not impede my vision. I've been blind since birth."

"WHAT!?"

Nexeye burst out in hearty laughter, "I jest. I jest. My vision is perfect... when I'm not wearing a blindfold of course."

Dash felt herself sway under her hooves, thankfully Shining Armor's magic steadied her as he continued his face off with Nexeye, "We both know that you can see fine, with or without your blindfold. You only wear that thing to make your archery look harder than it really is."

Some of Dash's blood had the courage to return to her face, but she was still having trouble standing. Shining Armor shot a concerned look at her over his shoulder then turned back to Nexeye, "Get out of here. We'll talk about this later.”

Nexeye turned to leave but before he could meld into the shadows, Shining Armor teleported in front of him, a hoof raised as he growled something Dash guessed she wasn’t supposed to hear; "And just in case you were trying to 'shoot her through the heart' with your little charade, don't bother. Someone else already has a claim on her."

Nexeye paused, dipped his head to Shining Armor and then continued on without another word; Shining Armor watched him go, then teleported back to Dash’s side, who was beginning to feel very queasy now that the adrenaline of being apprehended by half a dozen arrows was beginning to wear off.

"I think I need to get you back to bed."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

............................................................................................................................................................

After the world had stopped spinning, Cadance had found herself and Shining Armor in some kind of heavily guarded dungeon. For a moment she was afraid that something had gone terribly wrong; but after a moment a unit of Royal Guards appeared, scanned them and after Shining Armor mumbled some passwords, they were admitted into what turned out to be Celestia's palace.

That had been three days ago; the first day of worrying whether or not Rainbow Dash was OK had been hard enough, but they soon found out that she wasn't the only one who was missing. Right after they got out of the guard tower, Shining Armor had collapsed from exhaustion, and needed to be carried on a stretcher by several guards up to his room to sleep, but when he woke the next day, one of the first things he asked for was to see Twilight. He wanted to invite her to the wedding in person and... he wanted to see his sister. Since Shining Armor wasn't well enough to make the journey, Cadance had gone alone to Ponyville, but found the library empty except for Owlowiscious and Spike who told her that Twilight had gone into the Everfree Forest with 'the others' after she had disappeared with Shining Armor.

When Cadance told Shining Armor what Twilight had done, he freaked, and would have left right then to go look for her if it hadn't been that he could have barely made it to the train station unassisted, let alone try to track her over dangerous terrain and cover her five day lead. The fact that she had forgotten to ask who 'the others' were didn't help, but eventually they both calmed down.

Twilight was a smart mare and could take care of herself. Assuming she was with Rainbow Dash; then, with how far away Storm's burrow was, (which Shining Armor had recently remembered), it would be at least three or four more days before they could possibly expect any news, and it would be a weeks before they could reasonably begin to worry. Cadance had always been optimistic by nature and was sure that Twilight would be fine, especially if she had her friends with her; therefore she could make up her mind not to worry.

They worried anyway.

Any day now, Spike would send them a message saying Twilight and Rainbow Dash were back and then they could stop not worrying. All she and Shining needed in the meantime was something to do while they waited, something fun that reminded them of life, something like finally preparing for a long overdue wedding.

Preparations were already on their way now and were coming along rapidly; the only thing they were really waiting for was Twilight. After everything Twilight had done to help them as a filly, Cadance and Shining Armor agreed that she was the only suitable choice for the best mare. They would list her as being the best mare; and that way Twilight would have to be OK. In truth, Twilight was the only thing they were still waiting for, before finalizing a date.

Chapter twenty-six >>> Crossroads

27 - War Drum of the Forest

26 - Crossroads

After leaving Rainbow Dash back in the ward; Twilight noticed Shining Armor's shoulders slump considerably as they made their way back to Shining Armor's quarters. "Thank you again for saving her." said Twilight after they had gotten out of ear shot.

"It was just a blood transfusion, you would have done the same if you had her blood type, and so would most of the other Rangers. I'm just thankful one of us had what she needed."

"It wasn't just a blood transfusion," insisted Twilight, "The doctors said there might not be enough blood for both of you, and you told them to save her if they had to choose. You passed out half way through."

"She saved Cadance; I was merely repaying a debt. That and we can't afford to lose someone who can do a sonicrainboom."

"Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yes. With a high iron diet I should be recovered before she is; for now I just need to get some sleep."

Twilight hesitated, remembering that herb she had seen him take the night before when he thought she wasn't looking. She’d asked Healthfang about it and he said it prevented it's user from dreaming, and that a lot of Rangers used it after prolonged periods in the forest; but assured her it was completely safe. "Speaking of sleep; are you still not going to explain to me what was happening with you on our way up here?"

"I can't explain it; because I don't know what was happening."

"Can you at least try?"

"Not yet." Before Twilight could feel hurt Shining Armor continued, "You have Delta level clearance. I've started writing a report; beginning from the day we left Ponyville that details everything. I'll file it before we leave, and after that I won't be able to stop it from becoming declassified to you in one year. That will give me a deadline I have to tell you in, and if I still haven't by then, you can read about it. For now I just need time."

Twilight gave a semi-satisfied nod; by now they had come to the door to Shining Armor's quarters. He stopped, gave her a brief hug and then went in to sleep; closing the door behind him.

............................................................................................................................................................

The next couple weeks passed slowly for Twilight, given that Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor slept through most of it, (her own wounds, once disinfected, had been minor). That Rainbow Dash wanted to join the Rangers was only a mild surprise for Twilight, but she was still worried for her friend’s safety; maybe Shining Armor could look out for her, he was good at that… usually. Shining Armor had asked a band of Rangers who were returning to Equestria to give Spike the message that everyone was safe but wouldn’t be back for a few more weeks, and telling him to pass the message along to Cadance in turn. That done; Twilight knew Spike wouldn’t be freaking out, but she was still worried about him… there was no way he was going to keep the whole library clean, or file all the returning books correctly, he probably wouldn’t even clean at all!

Twilight shuddered at the thought.

Nevertheless; spending time in Uthraig had its perks: knowledge. Twilight had been severely disappointed at the meager underground library available in Uthraig, but there were still other Rangers to talk to. After meeting that one band of unicorn Rangers with the brilliant idea of establishing mana frequency sensitive lay lines to detect changelings and terrormongers, Twilight was fixated on the idea, wondering if she could link it with an automated teleportation matrix. How could Celestia have scrapped such a fascinating project, just because it had made no measurable progress in eight years?

Twilight tried finding those same unicorns again but they returned to Equestria the day after Rainbow Dash first woke up. She tried finding other Rangers who knew about the abandoned project, or maybe some different branch of secret arcane knowledge, but after spending several days wading through various attempts using numerous methods to hit on her, all she had found was a bizarre myriad of rumors and storytellers. Shining Armor later explained how all Ranger units needed to report to Uthraig upon finishing their tours for debriefing and so they could deliver their reports. Understandably, since most of the Rangers here had just spent at least a few weeks fighting a guerrilla war against changelings and terrormongers, most of them came back with contradictory information, or reports that didn’t quite make sense. (Hint: if someone said they’d died eight times in the last two weeks, they probably needed a long rest.)

Getting each Ranger to give their accounts was widely encouraged. Firstly, to help sort out what really happened, secondly, it was a useful form of therapy that helped identify Rangers bordering on a breakdown, and thirdly, many of the more bizarre accounts had become a primary source of entertainment, and rumors sprouted like wildflowers in the illusion plowed minds of the Rangers. Some of the rumors made sense and sparked Twilight’s vigorous curiosity; changelings were insecticide, emotional parasites, and master illusionists, maybe they were half terrormonger and half pony crossbreeds… being plausible only made the rumor that much more disturbing. Most of the rumors though were simply bizarre, and had to be made up like saying that Cerberus's cave underneath Canterlot was just a ruse, and the real gateway to Tartarus was hidden under Zecora's pillow.

A lot of strange stuff said about Zecora; and the more Twilight tried to investigate, to more confused she got. The one thing she was able to ascertain was that Zecora was not a Ranger, or an equestrian citizen, or any other category Twilight tried to put her in, except maybe some form of mercenary. Apparently she just showed up one day, and began aiding the Rangers as medic; and when she assigned rehabilitative physical and mental exercises to her healing patients, they returned to their units stronger than ever. Eventually, Celestia made a deal with Zecora; giving her first pick of new recruits each year to train, as she saw fit. Zecora didn’t have any official authority among the Rangers, per say, but by now, most of the high ranking officers were her former students and either had had the utmost respect for Zecora, or were terrified of her. This led many Rangers to theorize that Zecora was secretly the mastermind behind the Equestrian war effort, but no one could prove that she had any role beyond medic and trainer.

Estimates of her exact salary varied wildly, from six digits to eight, while speculation on what she did with her money was even wilder; from mundane theories like saving it or sending it to her family, (whoever they were), to feeding it to her dragon lover(s) and/or their half-breed child(ren). (Some theories were even weirder.) The only consistent rumor was that she employed selected elite Rangers, sworn to secrecy, to run private errands for her in between tours, but even this couldn't be verified by any real evidence.

There was still regular discussion about Denorious floating around; with most of the Rangers she spoke to fairly convinced she would eventually recover; (after all, why would her new cutie mark be bubbles if not to represent her old mind slowly bubbling back to the surface?) Dozens of songs had been written about her with names like Hay Mrs Derpy, Autumn leaves, Great to be Different, or a song that a traveling diamond dog minstrel had written that was simply titled ‘Denorious’.

At first Twilight was enamored with hearing about the exploits of who she had always thought to be a derped mail-mare, but after a few days she began getting the distinct feeling that most of what was being said wasn’t even true. This theory was confirmed when she was trying to gather information from a group of Rangers and they all suddenly started saying things that Twilight was sure they were making up on the spot and the rancorous laughter between each round supported her hypothesis of fallaciousness. It was like a contest of who could create the most ridiculous rumor.

“I heard that Denorious could light a fire by rubbing two ice cubes together.” Snickered one brown pegasus.

“I heard Denorious was bitten by a deadly viper, and after five days in excruciating agony; the viper died.” Responded a blue earth pony.

“I heard that she could get the heart of any stallion. Two seconds to win it with her face, or one second to rip it out of his chest with her hoof.” A yellow pegasus shot back after a chorus of laughter.

A larger unicorn Twilight quickly decided she didn’t like stood up; "I heard that she was the secret lovechild of Princess Celestia and the former war minister Sun Blade; and was blessed upon her birth by seven shaman of the deep desert, imbuing her with strength, speed, brilliance, wisdom, courage, justice and beauty."

“All Hail Denorious” shouted out one of the Rangers in a mock salute, “Warrior Princess of the Everfree Forest.”

Twilight was thinking through a list of spells she could use to scold them for slandering Princess Celestia, when a small green earth pony spoke out, "I heard that she got in an argument with Zecora... and won."

The assembled Rangers stopped their chuckling and rolled their eyes at the green earth pony disdainfully, "Now you know that that one's made up Clay Mould" called one of them.

"They need to be at least partially believable, otherwise they're not funny." rebuked another.

"Shutting up." conceded Clay Mould sulkily.

Further investigation revealed none of the Rangers there had actually served under Denorious but had signed up after she had gone and were just carrying on a joke they’d learned from their predecessors. After this, Twilight turned her quest for knowledge towards more tangible subjects.

............................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor trudged slowly with his head held low, dragging his heart behind him. After waiting a little over two weeks at Uthraig, Rainbow Dash had been well enough to begin the journey home. He had hoped that the replica suit of armor he had commissioned for Storm to replace the one he had lost would be completed before they left, but due to backlog at the forges it would still be a few days. Shining Armor arranged for it to be delivered to Zecora’s hut when it was ready, so she could enchant it with the finishing buffs and Storm could collect it like he had originally planned.

Joining with a large party of Rangers who were already on their way back, the last six days had passed uneventfully; save for a small company of three changelings that they caught and slaughtered before they even had a change to morph. Twilight had spoken with each of the other Rangers before they were setting out, and convinced them not to give him any shifts keeping watch at night, and as much as it irked him, Shining Armor accepted her charity and with the help of the herb from Uthraig, slept peacefully.

Now however they were coming up on the final leg of the journey, and Shining Armor's failures massed against him; he had defied direct orders from Princess Celestia, lied to Zecora, taken untrained civilians into the forest, failed to protect Applejack, neglected the most basic rules of contact enabling the changelings to learn of Storm and Cadance, and nearly killed Twilight. On top of that, He’d been a jerk. His only comfort was that in the end, Cadance was safe, no thanks to him. Shining Armor wondered if he was going to be demoted, and if Cadance's parents would revoke their blessing for the wedding if he was.

As if waiting to be his executioner, Zecora stood outside her hut and from the first time he came into view her eyes never left him. The other Rangers halted about a hundred meters off, not daring to approach Zecora when she was angry, but Shining Armor had no choice and went to face her alone. "I once had a student," began Zecora after Shining Armor had stood silently before her for five agonizing minutes which seemed like five years, "Who from the first time we first met; knew I'd met someone to whom I owed a great debt. To train them and teach them in the way they should go. To share with them knowledge, that in time they might grow; into a hero; a patron of light, whose mighty talents, could aid in the fight. The student advanced and became a dear friend; my love for them grew, as their path I did wend. With many great gifts, this student was blessed. It was not very long before they were one of my best. For strong was their body, and keen was their mind, their discipline sure, their courage refined; and noble the heart that led all of these, with the work of my student, I was very well pleased. But though sometimes their wisdom did leave me beguiled; more often by far; it was that of a child!"

"Zecora I never meant to-" CRACK! The point of Zecora's hoof shot like a lance into Shining Armor's jaw, dislocating it as his mouth swung limply open.

"Do not interrupt." warned Zecora. "My thoughts you disrupt.” She cleared her throat, “In noble folly, my student sought to usurp, responsibility for the entire universe. They sought to save everyone, from forest to sea; from this crushing burden, they were never free. They denied they had limits, they denied themselves rest, addicted to struggle and to their endless quest. They drove themselves to exhaustion and then kept on going. Day and night they went madly on, never once slowing.

Then, when those whom they cared for were lost deep in the trees, they did not wait or ask for help, not even from me. So overconfident in their own earthly power, they refused to show patience, for even an hour. They went out alone to rescue their friends; and that is where, sadly, my story must end. For this was the last of their lauded acts, from this final folly, they never came back. The rogues of the forest, broke her mind without mercy, she now lives in Ponyville, and calls herself, Derpy!"

Shining Armor lifted his head in confusion, and was met with Zecora's gaze as anger; sorrow and disappointment huddled together in the cold recesses of her eyes. "I lost one student to selfless, thoughtless, hubris, folly; I do not wish to lose another, not in mind, not in body! You were shown grace where Denorious was not, but if you follow her path, you deserve what she got! I fear you've learned nothing from the fall of this mare, but your paths and your fates you must surely compare. You think her a leader? An example to all!? Despite her many fine traits, her pride was her fall! To push yourself further then what you can possibly do, these are not ideals to aspire to!

Long was I grieved that after a year in my care, your training complete, you left like a hare. Not once returning, unless to seek aid, yet far greater errors I now see you have made. Shunned not only your teacher, but your future wife! Is this how you plan to live out your life!?" Zecora touched Shining Armor's chest with her hoof and looked him silently in the eye for a long moment. He hadn't previously thought it possible, and never mentioned it afterwards, knowing no one would believe him, but he could have sworn he saw one lonely tear trickle down Zecora's face. “Now get out of the forest and do not return; until the face of his father, your firstborn has learned." Zecora grabbed his hanging jaw, wrenched it back into its socket, turned, walked into her hut and closed the door behind her, without giving him a chance to respond.

Chapter twenty-seven >>> Calm Before The Storm

28 - Side Effects

27 - Calm Before the Storm

Cadance walked along the pavement, next to her groom-to-be on their way to his parent’s house. It was now a little over two weeks since they returned from the Everfree Forest. The first week a shadow of worry had hung over their heads for Twilight and her friends, but six days after their return the inevitable message had arrived from Spike; saying Twilight and ‘the others’ were safe and expected back within three weeks at the latest. The news couldn’t have been received any better; Twilight was safe and with a solid time frame for her return, they could finally set a date for the wedding. Spike sent them a copy of Twilight’s schedule they picked a date a little over a month from now, certain that Twilight wouldn’t mind.

Shining Armor was doing much better, and was recovering rapidly, especially now that he knew Twilight was safe. His fur was back and had covered all the bald patches, his mane was coming in full and thick, his muscles were evening out... he still looked somewhat emaciated, but he wasn't nearly as shocking as when she first saw him, and a thin cloak had been enough to ward off curious onlookers as they made their way to his parents. Why they were going there, Cadance had no idea.

Cadance had been friends with Shining Armor since they were young; and knew that he had never been close to his parents. He'd spent a large part of his childhood left in one daycare or another, a large part of his teenage year’s taking care of Twilight, and a large part of his adulthood ignoring both his parents. More from lack of contact than anything else, Shining Armor had always been distant from them, borderline resentful, and for a long time, seeing them a few times a year on birthdays and Heaths Warming Eves had been tolerated formalities.

This morning however, as soon as Shining Armor heard his parents were back from a business trip, the first thing he had wanted to do was go see them. On the way, his excitement was visibly mounting with each step which grew more and more rapid as they drew nearer his parent’s house, stopping only once at a gift shop to buy the two most expensive boxes of chocolates they had. His parents knew the truth about the energy shield, so Cadance wouldn't have to explain his physical condition; but if she needed to explain his behavior, she wouldn't have an answer.

After thumping excitedly on the door, Shining Armor stepped back, shifting his weight continually between his legs. When his mom opened the door he nearly exploded with delight, wrapping his confused mom in a tight bear hug around the neck, and kissing her rapidly on the forehead. "Mom!" he cried holding her head tightly, tears welling up in his eyes, "It's really you!"

After doubling the physical contact he'd had with his mom for the last three years, Shining Armor pulled back and ran into the house like an excited puppy, leaving his confused mom to ponder his actions, "Am I... dying?" she asked slowly.

"Dad!" Shining Armor's exclamation was followed by a grunt coming from the living room. Cadance and Starknight rushed after the sound to see Shining Armor giving Orion an even bigger hug then he'd given his mother.

Shining Armor pulled back from giving his father a hug, "I brought you chocolates!" he almost sang, levitating each box to the respective parent. He stood there for a few seconds, his eyes darting from one parent to the other until they lit up with another idea; "I'm gonna go see my old room" with that he scampered up the steps leaving behind two baffled mares and a confused stallion.

"…Is he on some kind of medication?" asked Orion slowly, looking to Cadance.

Cadance stood dumbfounded, she didn't know what had gotten into him, and she was still deciding whether she liked it or not; but before she could conjure up an answer, Shining Armor's head popped back over the railing, and somehow his smile had gotten even wider. "Is it OK if I stay over for a couple days?"

His parents were too shocked to refuse him.

............................................................................................................................................................

After leaving Zecora's hut, the company of Rangers split up; intending to exit the forest at separate points and different times, but Pyromite, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor, went straight to Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. Her injuries had been extensive and very nearly fatal, but Zecora had gotten her stable and, once on the road to recovery, Applejack insisted on getting back to her own room in the farmhouse, even if it did lengthen her recovery. Fluttershy, who had moved in with the Apples to nurse Applejack, made them promise to keep their visit brief so Applejack could rest. The meeting began well, but Twilight was annoyed that after basic greetings and questions, most of the visit was wasted by Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash both claiming responsibility for Applejacks’ injuries and offering to pay for medical treatment and hired help until she was better, as quickly and as often as the offers could be crushed under Applejack's stubborn dogma.

When they got to Twilight’s library, Spike was overjoyed to see them; Twilight was overjoyed to see him and Shining Armor was overjoyed when Spike said that Cadance had come by earlier, looking for Twilight. Cadance hadn't said what was so important; but she’d left a message asking Twilight to come to Canterlot as soon as possible, and for Spike to send her a message as soon as Twilight and Rainbow Dash got back safely from the Everfree Forest.

"No mention of me?" asked Shining Armor doubtfully.

"No..." said Spike apologetically, "We didn't talk that long though, now that I think of it, I'm not even sure if she knew you were here. You'd come here to avoid letting her see you hiding in another pony's body, remember."

"Well yea but still... Storm knew where I was going, and he's sure to have told Cadance, so you'd think she'd have at least asked about me."

"She probably didn't think she needed to," said Twilight, "She knew that you would go to Canterlot immediately to see her anyways and so only needed to ask me and Rainbow Dash."

“… That’s probably it;” nodded Shining Armor, “But you’d still think she’d want to know I was safe,”

.......................................................................................................................................................

The train ride to Canterlot was largely uneventful; and they were all tired after spending most of the day hiking through the last remnants of the Everfree Forest. Twilight, true to her nature, had felt three weeks without studying had been three weeks too long and selected a stack of books before leaving the library to read on the train. Shining Armor had seemed a bit absent minded since visiting Zecora's; for a while he mumbled something about a lost pay owed to Applejack's dad which had been collecting interest for ten years, but by the time the they reached the first station he was sleeping like a well muscled log on one of the bunks. Good, he needed it. Rainbow Dash thought about by-passing the train, flying to Canterlot and saving half the time; but the thought of a warm bed, surrounded by friends, and waking up already in Canterlot, sapped the energy from her still tender wings, and the idea of arriving in Canterlot at one or two in the morning put them to sleep.

Morning glided in through the gilded windows as the train pulled towards Canterlot. Twilight didn’t spent the whole night reading but got at least a few hours sleep and woke up in time to share the jam and crumpets Rainbow Dash got from the breakfast cart; Shining Armor wasn’t so prudent.

Walking out into the morning air, the trio was greeted by a warm sun and a cool breeze; but Dash could tell from the number of Pegasi moving about with rainclouds that a storm was scheduled for later that morning. Judging by the number of rainclouds and the darkening sky; it looked like it was going to be a doozy. “Why would the pegasi be planning a storm for the middle of the day?” asked Twilight suspiciously, “Don’t they usually happen at night when everypony is in doors?”

“Luna’s idea.” Explained Shining Armor; “She’s not Nightmare Moon anymore, but she’s still touchy at how the day receives so much more attention than the night. These past few years she’s been spending almost all of her considerable royal allowance to buy shares in various weather teams and Cloudsdale Weather Company. Schedule thunder and lightning during the day, but have warm, clear nights and night is when ponies are going to come out to play. Celestia knows what she’s doing and is keeping a close eye on her, but is willing to let it storm two or three days a week so long as Luna doesn’t get too carried away.”

“But if it storms in the day, how are the fields and orchards supposed to get sunlight?”

“Luna’s not interested in if trees notice her night, just ponies. It rains on the cities during the day and fields at night. Spreads work out for the weather patrols too, makes things easier for them. I don’t approve of her craving for attention, but frankly, if someone had thought of this a thousand years ago, it could have averted civil war. It’s working too; nightlife in Canterlot is thriving.”

“…You think that’s a good thing?”

“I wouldn’t if I meant night life in the traditional sense, of drunken brawls ect; but quite a number of ponies have started becoming nocturnal, and now ‘nightlife’ is rather similar to what happens in the day. There are all night sport clubs, music groups, book clubs… I even hear rumors of secret underground flight clubs that don’t start until one in the morning.”

Twilight looked at Shining Armor like he was out of his mind. Rainbow Dash cursed inwardly as she repressed giggling on the outside. “Let’s just hope Luna doesn’t get too enthusiastic with her day storms. Those look like hail clouds they’re moving in.”

“Don’t worry;” said Shining Armor casually, “We’ll be inside long before the storm hits.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Walking through the streets, Shining Armor expressed some doubt about being admitted to the restricted parts of the palace after the body swap and since most of the rank and file guards didn't know about the body swap. Twilight didn't seem worried since most guards recognized her as Celestia’s student, and would welcome her, with or without guests, but as they came to the front gates Rainbow Dash saw a very recognizable earth pony and pegasus duo. Raising her head, hiding her smirk and sliding over to walk just a bit closer to Shining Armor then was necessary, Rainbow Dash moved to face the guards head on.

This was going to be so much fun.

"Hi" She smiled striding confidently up to two guards who looked much less comfortable then they had a moment ago. "We're here on special invitation to see Princess Cadance and Shining Armor."

"Yes ma'am." Replied both guards in unison as the pegasus turned to guide them through the halls, while the earth pony remained resolute.

"I'll give them an A for politeness, but an F for security," grumbled Shining Armor as they made their way down the hall, "Even I don't always get through my own security that fast."

Rainbow smiled towards him and winked, "I'll explain later." she whispered.

"Do you think we could see Celestia after we talk to Cadance?" asked Twilight, "It's been a long time since I've seen her and so long as we're here there's some questions I've been meaning to ask her about my latest research.”

"Celestia isn't here." informed the pegasus guard, keeping an even stricter decorum after Shining Armor's rebuke; "She left nearly three weeks ago and is currently on the border of Equestria and Gryffindor."

"There wasn't anything scheduled." noted Shining Armor worryingly, "Did something happen?"

"Murder sir; preliminary reports say a pegasus killed a griffoness from one of their outlying colonies, stole her ruby jewels and then fled into the mountains. Celestia went north with a company of Royal Guards to try and smooth things over politically."

"Ruby necklace?” Shining Armor's face darkened with the report, “That was one of their barristers. How has the griffon population responded?"

"Her husband has gathered posse and they're out searching for the killer now. He's made an oath not to rest until he's avenged his wife and fledglings."

"Fledglings?" asked Shining Armor, even more worried.

"She was pregnant sir, believed to have been carrying twin eggs."

Shining Armor stomped his hoof, "Was this guy trying to start a war when he killed this griffon? ...I should be up there. Get a chariot ready to leave for Gryffindor in an hour."

Twilight turned and stood in front of him, "You’re still going? Let Celestia manage this; it's not like the griffons are going to declare war over three deaths."

"They wouldn't if that's what they saw it as. But they're going to have a hard time believing that a pony made that drastic of a decision without being ordered to by some pony higher up. Some of them will probably even accuse Celestia of being behind it."

"But that's insane! Celestia would never order some thug to kill a random griffoness."

Shining Armor looked his sister in the eye for a moment; then marshaled a ball of saliva which he then spat at her, depositing the goo above her nostrils and just below the eyes. Twilight froze for about two seconds as if trying to comprehend what had just happened; then recoiled violently; wiping her snout with both fore hooves as she glared at Shining Armor in repulsion and shock. "Gross!" she stuttered between hoof wipes, looking around a moment later for something to wipe her hooves with.

Shining Armor looked back at her casually. "If we were in one of the old Cammelon kingdoms, that would have been seen as a sign of respect; me giving you my scent and therefore lending you my authority."

Twilight's eye's bulged in horror as she backed away from him even further; "Gross!"

"If you're not willing to see things through a camel’s perspective; don't expect griffons to see things through a pony's perspective." Advised Shining Armor, taking a towel from a nearby table and using it to wipe Twilight's nose and hooves. "I've spent a long time stationed in Gryffindor, and some of my best friends are griffons. They are not evil, they are not savages. What they are is a society built on discipline and an iron clad hierarchy, which is difficult for anyone to understand who wasn't either born in that culture or has extensive military training, neither of which Celestia has.

On the higher end of the political spectrum they've been our allies for a long time, and Griffons usually work well with the Rangers because that's a military organization with a clear hierarchy, but mingling on a civilian level is still strongly discouraged. A pony visiting a griffon colony won't understand how they fit into the pecking order and will tend to offend the griffons and eventually get kicked out. If a griffon visits an Equestrian colony they will wait for someone to show their authority over them, when nopony does they will assume they are very high up in the pecking order and then when no one obeys them they take it as a sign of disrespect.

Violations of the law are taken extremely seriously; it would be very rare for a griffon to do something as drastic as killing someone without orders from higher up, and so they will find it hard to imagine ponies doing it. The griffons will expect one high ranking Equestrian to be there or it will be seen as our leaders are hiding meaning admission of guilt, but to be honest, despite her age, Celestia doesn’t know how to relate to the griffons any more then she knows how to conduct a pony hunt.

We need to find this pegasus before the griffons do. If he is innocent we are his only hope of a fair trial, and making sure the real killer doesn’t get away. If he is guilty his fate will be no different than if they catch him, but catching him ourselves will prove to the griffons that we had no part in arranging the murder."

"I knew a griffon once" volunteered Rainbow Dash, somewhat absent mindedly, "We met at Jr. Speedsters fight camp, and then she came to Cloudsdale Flight School as part of the exchange program and we became really good friends. But then we lost touch for a few years and the next time I saw her was when she came to Ponyville, but she'd completely changed and acted like such a jerk to all of my friends.”

"Cloudsdale Flight School?" said Shining Armor, "That's a boarding school isn't it?"

"Yea."

"And was that a structured society?"

"What?"

"Headmaster, senior teachers, junior teachers, teacher’s aid’s, twelve different year levels divided into primary, middle and high school with different play clouds for each category, student councils, class captains etcetera. Did Cloudsdale have all this stuff?"

"Yea."

"And tell me; was there a sticker chart in the front of the classroom, allocating each student an exact numerical value, based on their levels of obedience, athletic skill and academic abilities?"

"Well..., yea but that's not what she sticker chart meant."

"But its how your friend saw it, and it's what allowed her to function in a school like Cloudsdale. The school was specifically engineered as a diplomatic venture to be structured enough to allow griffon students to manage without overloading the pegasi. I've never met your friend but I have seen a lot of pony/griffon interaction, both good and bad, and I can tell you two things with moderate certainty. The change in your friend’s behavior was due more to change in environment than change in her, and that in her eyes, you and your friends seemed just as rude to her as she seemed to you."

Rainbow Dash took a moment to think about what Shining Armor was saying; now that she thought about it Gilda had always seemed fascinated by the sticker chart, "She never told me that about the griffons."

"Why should she? She came from one organized society to another, and probably thought the whole world was like that. I don't suppose she told you she ate food or breathed air, and asked if you didn't do these things outside of Cloudsdale Flight School."

Rainbow nodded, slowing her trotting; "Thanks for the insight. I'll talk to Gilda about it next time I see her... if I ever see her again."

Shining Armor stopped and looked at her; "Gilda? As in Gilda Aetherwin?"

"You know her?"

"She was in my unit a few years back, right after she joined the Rangers three years ago; well... got drafted anyways."

"Drafted? What!?"

"…Her family got into a feud with another over market rights. Gilda thought the other family might have been under talloned with their ledgers and so got the idea of breaking into their villa to steal their finance records. She was caught, convicted and sentenced to be drafted into the Rangers for fifteen years or until her one hundredth kill."

Rainbow startled back; three years ago was when Gilda had come to visit her. She had seemed extremely edgy, and wanted to spend a lot of time with just the two of them. Had Gilda been frightened she was going to die and come to say goodbye? Had Gilda wanted to tell her about the Rangers and come to ask her to sign up to so she wouldn't have to be alone? Rainbow shook the thoughts out of her eyes and saw Shining Armor, looking at her as though he'd been reading her thoughts.

"She's on leave at the moment, though exiled from Gryffindor until her sentence is paid. Her next tour starts in a little over a month… I could hook you up if you wanted." Rainbow nodded and Shining Armor took a few more steps down the hall then stopped suddenly and turned. "What I said before, might not be true in this case. Gilda’s… different from most griffons. If I do arrange meeting, and if you become a Ranger, you must promise not to try to pass of your kills as hers so she can fill her service points and go home faster. She tried to get me to sell her some of my kills and I had to put her on disciplinary action."

"Sure," agreed Rainbow, turning her head to hide a smirk.

"I'm serious Rainbow Dash! This isn’t a joke, it's illegal and there are serious consequences for forgery."

"Alright, alright I get it!" insisted Rainbow, "Come on, let's go. Storm and Cadance are waiting for us."

............................................................................................................................................................

As Twilight trotted through the familiar corridors of the palace, she became increasingly aware of the unusual amount of decorations that seemed to be popping up all over the palace. She counted at least three separate crews of ponies either cleaning or decorating as they went by, and there was also an unusually high number ponies around with cutie marks relating to cooking or music. It wasn't hard to figure out that the palace was getting ready for some kind of major event; but what? The only event that Twilight could think of that would require this much pomp was the Grand Galloping Gala, and that was months away. Maybe Cadance wanted her help with whatever was going on and that's what the cryptic summons had been about? Twilight didn't have long to wait though, before she knew it, Rainbow Dash was pushing the doors beyond which they expected to find Storm and Cadance.

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash through the door as soon as it was opened, and was greeted by the sight of a large living room, creased in the middle by three steps. Beyond those there were two couches, each holding one half of either Silent Storm or Princess Cadance respectively while the floor between them supported the other halves as Storm and Cadance rose to their hooves. "Twily!" exclaimed the white unicorn, jumping off the couch and racing down the stairs to meet her, "Twily you're alright!"

Chapter twenty-eight>>> Storm of Cadance.

29 - Crown of Roses

28 - Storm of Cadance

Princess Cadance rested serenely on a silver couch. A few feet away; facing her diagonally was an identical couch supporting the love of her life, the stallion she would be marrying in twelve days time.

Yesterday they had gotten back from their three day visit to Shining Armor's parents. The bizarreness of the situation had never stopped; if anything, it grew worse, but the awkwardness had slowly melted away until Cadance, and eventually even Shining Armor's parents seemed to be having fun. Shining Armor had acted so starved for parental attention that Cadance had almost started feeling jealous, (not that he neglected her in any way). She couldn't ever remember him having wanted so badly to spend time with his parents or... play a family board game or... sing with them or... so blissfully happy; and from the way he ate you'd think he hadn't had a home cooked meal since he was seven. The really strange thing was that half the time, Shining Armor wasn’t even acting his own age; like he’d reverted back to childhood to collect the debts of attention his parents owed him.

Shining Armor had taken his old room, and Cadance had taken Twilight's. His parents had never really changed either room, partially to keep as a shrine to the children they’d never really known, but mostly because they were out of the house so much they’d never needed the extra space. Cadance could tell that Shining Armor had been disappointed when she took it for granted they should be separated, and almost protested, which was strange since he had always been the one with the strength to wait for marriage, and had resisted on the few chances she had taken to offer otherwise. It was probably because having slept beside her for those few days in the burrow had been so comforting that he now resented sleeping without her. If that was the case, (of course it was,) it boded well for things to come, and Cadance couldn't help feel a hint of giddy pride, but was able to put it away. They had waited thirteen years to be together; twelve more nights wouldn't hurt.

They had stayed at his parents for as long as was appropriate and even a bit longer; but yesterday, they finally got the inevitable message that Twilight was safe in Ponyville and coming to Canterlot to see them. They all let out a breath of anticipation they hadn’t known they’d been holding and, after a surprisingly convivial farewell to Shining Armor's parents, went back to the palace to wait for Twilight.

Every day Shining Armor was still getting stronger and, with the exception of his parents, was acting more and more like the stallion she knew and loved. Although he was still a far cry from the peak physical condition that had defined him for the last decade, he’d nearly reached to a healthy body weight, and the fact that he wasn't exhausted after a long morning of wedding planning showed he was getting his stamina back. If he continued at this rate, he should be recovered within about another two weeks, which was good because they were getting married in twelve days, and after that he would be needing his energy to...

There was a knocking at the door.

"Come in!" called Cadance, getting off the couch almost in unison with Shining Armor as the door opened. Relief flooded over her as the first pony to enter was Rainbow Dash! She was alive! She hadn't died to save them! Cadance felt a surge of joy which soon tripled when she saw Twilight come in behind her, embodying living music to Cadance’s eyes.

"Twily!" shouted Shining Armor as he raced down the steps and across the room to hold her tight, tears streaming down his face as though his reaction to seeing his parents had been doubled. "Twily you're alright!" Cadance wanted to fly down the steps to and 'do a little shake' with Twilight but restrained herself; she knew this was a moment the two of them needed together.

Cadance's attention was caught instead by a third pony, a fierce red stallion that came in right behind Twilight. He looked just as happy as Twilight did, as he cantered into the room and towards her. Why was he coming towards her? Cadance caught sight of his eyes as he ran up the steps, his eyes locked on her like a predator.

Cadance didn't like the way he was looking at her; she didn't like it at all...

............................................................................................................................................................

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash through the door as soon as it was opened, and was greeted by the sight of a large living room, creased in the middle by three steps. Beyond those there were two couches, each holding one half of either Silent Storm or Princess Cadance respectively while the floor between them supported the other halves as Storm and Cadance rose to their hooves. "Twily!” exclaimed the white unicorn, jumping off the couch and racing down the stairs to meet her, "Twily you're alright!"

Without thinking, Twilight lept forwards and let the white unicorn throw his hooves around her neck, holding her close. Several seconds passed before a disturbing thought entered her head: 'who was she hugging?’ It was Shining Armor's body, the voice was his and the way he had looked at her was exactly the same way Shining Armor always had but-

There was a short scream.

Twilight looked up the same instant the pony hugging her swung around and they both saw Shining Armor standing at the top of the steps holding Cadance in a passionate kiss on the lips. Cadance struggled violently; pulling backwards she managing to cuff him across the face and wriggle free of his loosened grip, flaring her wings defensively as she jumped back. Twilight felt Storm's hooves go tense for an instant, then flash out of existence as he teleported into the narrow space between Cadance and Shining Armor, and released a blaring shockwave of telekinesis that sent Shining Armor hurdling down the steps. "Don't touch her."

Shining Armor rolled to his hooves, seemingly unhurt by the fall but struggling to make sense of Cadance’s rejection and Storm’s reaction, “…Why not?”

Storm glowered darkly at Shining Armor as lightning zapped up and down his white horn. Cadance hid herself behind Storm’s protective aurora and looked to him for answers. "Who is he?" she asked shakily.

"This is Silent Storm; the one I told you about but-"

"I'm Shining Armor!" Interrupted Shining Armor, "You're Storm!"

"What?"

"You're Storm." repeated Shining Armor, "I am Shining Armor."

"Storm… what do you think you’re doing?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same question.”

“I know what I’m doing; I’m arguing with you, and as soon as I’m done I’m going to ask Twily to be the best mare at my wedding to Cadance.”

“Like hay you are!” Shining Armor moved like he was going to attack Storm; but before he could make impact he was enveloped in an aurora of telekinesis so bright it was blinding. Shining Armor was slammed against the far wall, ricocheted into the roof and then dropped like a stone onto his belly. "Don't try that again Storm. You know my magic was always stronger than yours, and was before holding the shield for a year. The increase has turned out to be far more then we’d first expected. We won't know the exact increase until I’m recovered; but preliminary estimates suggest that I've tripled. I could only be at half my potential strength now, and I could still fight two of you."

Twilight ran to Shining Armor, afraid every bone in his body would be broken; but to her relief it seemed Storm's attack had been more to display his power then hurt Shining Armor, leaving him badly winded but mostly unharmed. Twilight felt herself gripped firmly but gently in a telekinesis nearly as strong as Celestia’s and pulled several yards away from Shining Armor, "Get away from him Twily! I don't know what he's told you, but he's not me, and is dangerous."

Shining Armor looked at him angrily, "I’m not Storm, I'm-"

"Sick" interrupted Cadance, coming very slowly towards him but keeping a safe distance, "You've been alone in the forest for a long time, you know that it's not uncommon for ponies to come back from there confused, disorientated. Sometimes they don't even know who they are anymore. But-" Shining Armor took a step towards Cadance but she took a quick step back, "-you're not my fiancé."

"I am," he insisted, "Four days after letting the shield down I did a body swap with Storm. When you and he went missing in the Everfree Forest I set out to look for you with Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts; I only just got back."

"Why would I do a body swap with you?" asked Storm sharply.

"So that I could heal faster; a sick mind will recover faster in a healthy body, and a sick body will recover faster with a healthy mind. The body swap was kept classified to prevent potential assassination attempts and... because I didn't tell Cadance because I didn’t want her to know I was taking a coward’s way out from the pain."

"Storm," Cadance said softly, "You're sick. You need to calm down. I know ponies that can help you but-"

"He's telling the truth," interjected Twilight, "Right after the body swap he came to stay with me in Ponyville. I got a letter straight from Princess Celestia telling me about the body swap."

"Can we see this letter?" asked Cadance.

"I... I left it back at the library; I didn't think we’d need it here."

"Twily," growled Storm, "If this is some kind of joke; it’s depraved, and it needs to stop, now."

"This isn't a trick!" insisted Twilight, "And you're not my brother."

"What? Twily you can't be serious!"

"Oh yea? Well if you're really my brother... how old is Smarty Pants."

"What?"

"Smarty Pants, my doll; how old is she?"

Storm stopped and thought.

"See, you don't even know-"

"You got her when you finished magic kinder garden," began Storm, "And declared she was an alicorn, with her horn and wings cut off, dating from the dawn of the first alicorn kingdom making her about seventeen hundred years old. When you started to realize how old that really was, you said she was a time traveler and was only in her three hundreds. When you were six, she became a researcher at the restricted archives who would be able to do all of mom and dad's work for them so they could stay home and play with us. When you were seven you said she was a princess from another planet whose spaceship had crash landed in our backyard and needed you to help her get back home while fighting the evil assassins sent to kill her, who were played by me.

After I told you I wanted to join the Royal Guard you made her a colt and for a few months and named her after various famous generals and Captains of the Royal Guard from history. Then she was a space cow girl, and then she was the secret assistant of Starswirl the Bearded. After that you stopped playing with her for about a year, and when she came back you said she had spent the last year learning everything there was to know about love, and that she thought I should ask Cadance out on a date."

Twilight's mouth slowly dropped open as the white unicorn recounted the many life stories of Smarty Pants; then turned to the red unicorn on her right, "Who are you!?"

"What? Twily you can't be serious!"

"Since you came to the library, you haven't been acting like my brother normally would. I'd written it off to as not having seen you in a long time and stress from the body swap but... how do I know that you're really Shining Armor? Tell me... tell me who Heu-jass is."

"Heu-jass? …He doesn’t exist, never did; he was a prank Cadance once played on the palace servants back on Oatlantis. She said the crown prince of Hiprochemia, had come on an unannounced visit to Oatlantis, and that Searis had placed her in charge of arranging for food an accommodation for him and his sixty belly dancers.

She spent almost a week maintaining the illusion of his visit, playing the different shifts of servants against each other, telling each group that their counterparts had dealt with all duties requiring contact with the Heu-jass and his entourage. Through one way or another, she balanced it precariously so that no servant was actually required to meet him, except the few dozen messengers she constantly sent to find him which, of course, none of them could. She gradually made ‘Heu-jass’s’ character increasingly eccentric and fussy as she passed on his demands which ranged from bizarre to impossible.

Eventually, Cadance realized she couldn't keep up the charade that a hippo prince and sixty belly dancing hippos were walking around the palace unnoticed for much longer, so she declared that Heu-jass had proposed to her, and commanded the palace servants to begin preparations and invited the Oatlantis nobility to the wedding… that’s when her parents found out."

Twilight balked in confusion stepped back and began closing ranks with Cadance; "How could you both know that?"

Both stallions turned to her and answered in unison. "Because I'm Shining Armor!"

............................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor glared into Storm’s stolen white face, resisting the urge to attack him a second time. Storm was trying to steal his identity and everything he’d ever loved. Shining Armor didn’t know what could have driven Storm to go so far, or how he knew the things he did; from the looks of things Storm had a full replica of his memories and was putting up a terrific act, but he wouldn’t let Cadance or Twilight fall for it. He couldn’t. He was Shining Armor and he would not let Storm take that away from him; not his family, not his body, and definitely not Cadance. He'd die before letting Cadance get duped by a liar like Storm.

He didn't want to hurt Storm, and from the looks of things Storm didn’t want to hurt him either; but if Storm refused to back down then that may be his only choice. While it was true that his rightful body had far higher magical reserves then Storm’s did, his body was still recovering meaning Storm’s reflexes would be slow; while the body Shining Armor was in was lightning fast, and adept to making quick teleports.

............................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor glared into Silent Storm’s duplicitous red face, resisting the urge to attack him a third time. Storm was trying to steal his identity and everything he’d ever loved. He should have seen this coming; it now seemed so obvious that one day, Storm would try something like this. How could he resist? Shining Armor didn't know how Storm knew the things he did; from the looks of things he likely had a full replica of his memories and he was putting up a terrific act, but he wouldn’t let Cadance or Twilight fall for it. He couldn’t. He was Shining Armor and he would not let Storm take that away from him; not his family, not his body, and definitely not Cadance. He would die before letting Cadance fall victim to a monster like Storm.

He didn't want to hurt Storm, but if he refused to back down that may be his only choice. The problem was that Shining Armor understood just how desperate Storm was to steal his life and that if Storm really thought he had a good chance at winning Cadance, he would die before letting go. Shining Armor braced himself for the idea that he may have to kill Storm… but that would be OK. It would be no worse than Storm deserved, and short of forfeiting his life to him; killing Storm was the kindest thing he could do to him at this stage.

Chapter twenty-nine>>> Truculence

30 - Don't Get Stressed

29 - Truculence

Twilight stared wide eyed in curious horror at the magical debacle playing out before her. Both stallions were acting like Shining Armor, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed both of them believed they were. Just for a moment, Twilight wondered if she had been taken in by the red unicorn but quickly dismissed the possibility; she had the letter from Princess Celestia, and Celestia’s word was beyond repute. The red unicorn was Shining Armor and the white one was Storm; end of story.

Mind magic was poorly understood, and most of the few spells that were known were illegal. There hadn’t been any true telepaths since the fall of the first alicorn kingdoms. Discord had apparently found them to be delightfully entertaining playthings and by the time Celestia and Luna had gathered the Elements of Harmony against him, nearly all of the telepaths who had survived his ‘games’ had become mad beasts of chaos, loyal only to Discord, and had needed to be sealed in Tartarus along with the rest of Discord’s creations.

Nopony alive could hold a candle to the alicorn telepaths of old, and by the time of Discord’s defeat, barely a dozen alicorn and unicorn telepaths had survived with their sanity intact, including the Royal Sisters, and those only because their telepathy was too weak to attract Discord’s playful attentions. At the time it was believed, telepaths would soon become extinct, but then emerged pockets of pegasi and earth ponies who carried the latent gene, however faint, for mind magic, and traces of the ancient power still lingered to this day.

Twilight and Shining Armor were descended from one such line and apparently, so was Storm. While she was in Celestia’s school for Gifted Unicorns, Twilight had spent many late nights secretly perusing the classified sections of the library. Despite her best efforts, the only mind magic she’d ever been able to make use of was enhancing some mnemonic techniques to make the concept of a mind palace a bit more literal for her then it was to most ponies, accounting for her phenomenal memory. Spike had downright refused to help with her research, and she’d been afraid to ask anyone else to help in experiments of questionable legality, but Twilight had carefully studied what ancient texts remained of body swapping and believed she understood the rudimentary mechanics behind a body swap enough to ascertain the truth.

Storm, was lying.

While it was possible that some of Shining Armor’s memories could have leaked through accidentally; Twilight was ninety-seven-point-two percent certain that Storm couldn’t legitimately think he was Shining Armor without at least some calculated decision on his part. Twilight saw two possibilities; one was that Storm was concisely trying to steal Shining Armor’s body, and was using a spell to mimic Shining Armor’s mannerisms to put on an act. The second possibility was that Storm legitimately believed he was Shining Armor. Given the accuracy of his imitation, Twilight believed the second possibility was the most likely scenario; but if it was the case Twilight was even angrier. It would have meant that Storm had cast a powerful memory spell over himself. A spell that complex would have taken at least days to develop; he couldn’t have had the energy to develop the spell after the swap meaning he had resolved to usurp Shining Armor’s body from the moment he heard about his condition, and then lied to Celestia to get what he wanted!

If Shining Armor’s body was as powerful as it sounded then that could have easily motivated Storm to steal Shining Armor’s identity. Shining Armor’s body, once healed would have at least four times the energy of Storm’s old one, the ability to cast hundreds if not thousands of new spells he could never have dreamed of before, the chance to experiment with and create new spells for the good of ponykind. Twilight could only imagine what she’d do for an opportunity like that; she understood the thirst for magic and could sympathize if that’s what Storm was after, but was vehemently uncharitable towards his cause.

No matter how great the prospects, no matter how tempting it was, you couldn’t just go and steal somepony else’s life! That was one of the reasons most mind magic was illegal to begin with; and that, was how a few unscrupulous unicorns like Storm, made all that fascinating research, along with the potential good it could bring, off limits to mostly law abiding unicorns like herself! Storm was a rotten liar, and the worst part about it was that Storm wasn’t just lying to her, Shining Armor or even Celestia; he was tricking Cadance, using her like she meant nothing to him!

Twilight needed to help Shining Armor get his own body back. The spell itself was extremely simple, (accounting for the number of times it had been done by accident) and if both parties knew the spell and was willing; it wouldn’t take more than a few seconds. Also, assuming Twilight’s calculations were correct, if there was a mental lock over Storm that made him believe he was Shining Armor, it would break instantly when the body swap took place.

Convincing him wouldn’t be easy though; now that Storm was committed to his path, he would probably be willing to say or do anything to keep Shining Armor’s body. Twilight knew Storm was lying but she couldn’t just come right out and say it. If he knew he’d been discovered he could take off running, and with that much magic it was possible that they might never catch him. She needed to be subtle about it and make him think she didn’t know who to believe; sooner or later he would slip up and then she would make him re-swap bodies with Shining Armor.

............................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash threw open the last set of doors that separated herself from Storm and flew into the room. There he was! He was standing a bit closer to Cadance then she would have liked, but he was there and he was alright! Storm took one look in her direction and love, recognition and affection flooded into his face, causing Dash's heart to beat faster as he raced down the steps to meet her; he recognized-

"Twily!"

Storm ran straight past her like she didn’t even exist and threw his arms around Twilight's neck, drawing her close into a fervent hug. If anyone had been listening, (which they weren’t), they would have heard Dash's teeth grinding together.

This was getting old.

Dash's tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she watched the others argue in front of her, unable to think of what she should say. Both Storm and Shining Armor thought they were Shining Armor and believed the other was trying to steal their identity. It was hard to follow all the argument, but there was definitely something about Cadance being from outer space and engaged to a time traveling hippo. Dash couldn’t follow all the details but neither did she care; Cadance could marry whoever she wanted, just not Storm!

Twilight quizzed both stallions for a while then got really quiet, her eyebrows furrowed like she was coming up with a new spell. Cadance seemed to be becoming more and more anxious as the argument wore on. From the look on her face Dash guessed she was starting to think that maybe both stallions were somehow Shining Armor, though she was still hiding behind Storm from the real Shining Armor.

Rainbow Dash knew the truth.

She had only spent a few hours with the real Storm, and in that time she had learned almost nothing of him yet still felt like she had known him her entire life. From everything she had learned about him since then, none of it had surprised her; it was like she was just coming to understand more of a riddle she had already seen written in every scar and muscle on his body. Dash knew that the stallion she had been traveling with for the last month wasn't Storm which, by process of elimination, meant Storm had to be the white unicorn. But she was the only one who understood that; well, except for Shining Armor, but he didn't count, and neither did Cadance or Twilight. Dash just wanted Storm to remember who he was and… remember her!

The argument raged on, now cruelly complimented by the hurricane that had begun beating mercilessly against the glass windows. If Dash could just find some words, any words, she could work them to say what she needed to; but the stallions argued ceaselessly, broken by occasional intermittences by Cadance, without leaving her a word or moment of opportunity.

"If you are Shining Armor;" rebutted Shining Armor for the bazzilionth time, "Why were Storm’s saddlebags next to you, with a portgem that lead to Storm's burrow in the forest?"

"I don't know." insisted Storm, "My memory is still recovering from keeping the shield up for so long. I just woke up and it was there; but I was unconscious most of the time at that stage anyways so someone could have easily left it... YOU! You must have been in my room stealing my memories when I was asleep; when Cadance came in you hid and forgot your saddlebags."

"Why would I be stealing your memories?"

"So you could steal my identity! You've always been jealous of my life and this was your chance to take it!"

“If I really am Storm, then how could I have even known about the shield and that you were weak? The affect that keeping the shield up was having on Shining Armor was kept top secret.”

Storm glared daggers at Shining Armor, "IF, what you are saying is true, then I am doing nothing that you wouldn't do if you were in my situation."

"Touché." Answered Shining Armor with a faint twist to his lips; “OK then; what do you propose we do?"

“I stay as Shining Armor; you leave and I never hear from you again.”

“Not going to happen.”

"Well… let's take the wild assumption that you're telling the truth; you've been Shining Armor for the first half of his life, and I'll be him for the second half. That's fair."

Shining Armor screwed up his face and shook his head, "It doesn’t work like that!"

Dash was getting angry at Shining Armor’s stubborn pig-headedness. Storm was clearly getting stressed but he kept pushing… But if she took Storm’s side, wouldn’t she be encouraging him to think he was Shining Armor and stay with Cadance? If anything she should be angry at Storm’s stubborn pig-headedness to remain Shining Armor. Dash’s head hurt, she couldn’t support or oppose either side.

“I have an idea!” Spoke up Twilight suddenly breaking into a wide grin; “Once I was talking with Celestia about the security measures the old alicorn kingdom needed for telepaths and she taught me a spell that would determine whether or not someone was in their original body. I could use that spell on you two and see whose telling the truth when they say they’re Shining Armor and then we know that the other one is Storm.”

Storm looked at her suspiciously; “It seems awfully convenient that Celestia would teach you a spell that’s been obsolete for over a millennium.”

“Would I lie to my own brother?” asked Twilight smiling up at Storm, Twilight then shot a side glance at Shining Armor and Dash could have sworn she gave him a wink.

Shining Armor thought for a moment and then nodded, “What would this spell entail?”

“It would work like a modified revealment spell; it wouldn’t be dangerous, only take a moment and would tell me which one of you was who they said they were.”

“Is it really that easy?” asked Cadance hopefully, a hopeful smile beginning to make camp around the outskirts of her mouth.

“Yes,” promised Twilight, “All I need is to scan both of them so that I could compare the results. But I’d need their permission; any shields would interfere with their results.”

“You have it.” said Shining Armor, stepping forwards, “Scan away.”

A small light issued from Twilight’s horn, briefly encompassing Shining Armor; Twilight screwed up her face slightly, nodded, and then turned to Storm, “You?”

Storm looked uneasy, he shot a glance to Cadance beside him who gave an encouraging nod; “Fine.”

Twilight shot a similar beam towards him as she had shot at Shining Armor, and then looked down, furrowing her eyes in deep concentration as she hoofed the floor. “Well?” asked Cadance anxiously.

“The tests were… inconclusive,” admitted Twilight finally. She gave a small jolt, “I know! The spell was designed to confirm the identity of its target, and in both cases it came back as a ‘maybe’. What if the two stallions swap their bodies and then I do the test a second time. If the spell confirms that each of them is now in their own body then the mystery is solved; if the spell still comes back as inconclusive then they can just swap their bodies back again and all we’ve lost is a few minutes.”

Storm recoiled violently, “No!”

“What’s the matter Shining Armor?” asked Twilight wryly, “If you are Shining Armor this is a way for you to prove it, you don’t have anything to lose so long as you don’t have anything to hide.”

“Storm is trying to steal my identity! The last thing I’m going to do is surrender my body to him!”

“If Twilight’s spell is still inconclusive, then I will re-swap bodies with you immediately.” declared Shining Armor, “I swear.”

“NO!” Insisted Storm, “I know you; if we swapped then you would refuse to re-swap and then you would have the stronger body.”

“Sounds to me like you’re afraid of what the results will show.” said Twilight, just a little too smugly.

Shining Armor stepped forwards aggressively, “Do you know how to do the body swap spell?”

“Yes; and no I’m not going to perform it with you just to prove that I can.”

“How do you know it?”

“The spells not difficult and I’m good with magic.”

“But if you know the spell it means someone showed it to you, or you at least read it, but that information is kept top secret. If Celestia didn’t show it to you then how do you explain knowing the spell?”

Storm stopped, his eyebrows furrowing madly into ravines; “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does!” insisted Twilight, “The only way you could know the spell would be if Celestia either taught it to you or gave you a scroll telling you how to do it; which means-”

There was a blinding light and when it cleared runes had appeared on the floor, leaving Storm Twilight and Dash in some sort of rectangular bubble. Storm was staring at Twilight incredulously from the other end; outside the bubble Dash could see Shining Armor’s mouth moving, but couldn’t hear the words, so she guessed this bubble was a sound barrier and Storm wanted to talk to Twilight alone. This realization struck Dash like a blow to the face; Storm didn’t even realize she was in the bubble with them, he didn’t even know she was there! Sure she was cringing behind a table, but that was no excuse!

“Seriously Twily!? The only way? Like, there is no possible way I could have learned a spell I wasn’t supposed to? As in; notes to a tripplemax clearance spell have never got stuck in the seams of a book and filed in a declassified section of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to be found by a filly who thought she could improvise the missing lines. That never happened, right? And neither did that filly nearly burn herself alive, and destroy half the school, and would have if her older brother hadn’t saved her and then helped her cover it up so she wouldn’t be expelled!?”

Twilight turned almost white as Storm’s secret knowledge rang out against her; “You-you wouldn’t.”

Storm’s gaze softened slightly, “I never would. I made you a promise, but hypocrisy does not suit you.”

The spell ended in a flash, once again granting Cadance and Shining Armor privy to their discussions. The former seemed patiently bewildered, the latter was furiously noticing Twilight’s lack of color, “What did you do to her!?” he demanded.

“Nothing” said Twilight, looking twenty percent less sure of herself then she had a minute ago, “That he knows the design to the body swap means… nothing.”

Shining Armor cast a worried glance at Twilight, and then turned aggressively on Storm, “Even if there are alternative ways you could know the spell, you haven’t given a reason as to how you do know it, or how I would know about the shield without being told. Neither can you explain why you had the portgem in your room when Twilight can testify I was in her guestroom when you and Cadance disappeared-”

“But-”

“And you most certainly can’t explain Celestia sending Twilight a message saying her older brother was about to visit her in ‘a red ponies body’. If you still don’t believe me, all we have to do is wait for Celestia to return, or if she gets held up in Gryffindor we can always wait for Reaper; after you went missing Cadance sent him with thirty veteran Rangers to retrieve you. They can all testify that there was a body swap.”

Storm glowered angrily at Shining Armor, his chest heaving. He took one step backwards, touching his nose briefly to Cadance and then returned his guard to Shining Armor; “You can’t have her.”

“If you were really Shining Armor you wouldn’t be afraid agreeing to Twilight’s test, as it is all you’re doing is delaying the inevitable. One way or the other, I will have my life back.”

Storm’s pretense of conciliation snapped, and burned in an inferno of desperation and power. His horn began flaring a spectrum of brilliant colors and his voice took the din of a trapped animal, “You don’t deserve this life! You don’t deserve Cadance!”

Shining Armor was yanked into the air by a ring of telekinesis that centered around his throat. Shining Armor’s horn flared with counter spells but they were dissolved under the glow of Storm’s magic and the ring grew tighter. Twilight gave a shout and ran in between the stallions, casting two spells, one directed at the energy around Shining Armor’s neck, the other a blast of energy that shattered against Storm’s hastily contrived shield. Seeing Twilight standing against him caused Storm, and his magic, to falter; making the ring around Shining Armor’s neck loosen. Shining Armor managed to breathe in and his horn glowed suddenly brighter, shattering the ring altogether. By the time Shining Armor landed perfectly on all four hooves, he was already casting his counter attack against Storm, backed immediately by Twilight.

The spells of the three unicorns clashed in the center of the room; the windows shattered, and rain driven by hurricane strength winds came flying into the room where it was vaporized and forced back out the way it had come by the shockwaves of the unicorn’s battle. Storm’s horn glowed brighter than Dash had known possible, but whether from reluctance to attack Twilight, or his still weakened state, Storm’s spells began being pushed steadily back. The look on Storm’s face was one of broken concentration, wavering determination and rapidly mounting exhaustion; while the unicorn siblings wore masks made of solid conviction.

This wasn’t right! Dash needed to do something - say something smart that would end this before someone got hurt; “STOP!” At the sound of her voice Storm let go of his telekinetic waves, opening himself up to the combined attacks of Shining Armor and Twilight who had only reduced their fury. Storm was thrown across the room and into one of the silver couches, knocking it over and landing with the couch pressing down on his chest. But Storm didn’t stay down; he had recognized that voice. He lifted the couch off of him, and stood up, looking to Cadance who was standing between him, Shining Armor, and Twilight; she was the one who had called out, stealing Dash’s thunder as if she hadn’t stolen enough from her already.

“Please stop.” Repeated Cadance slightly more softly; she cast glares at the siblings as if asking them to stay away. One door burst open to reveal several palace guards, ready to charge, but Cadance quickly dismissed them, used her magic to close the door; the then flew to Storm’s side. “I-I think you should do what Twilight says, and try swapping bodies with the red unicorn, just for a minute. If Twilight’s spell still can’t confirm your identity then you can swap right back, no harm done. I love you; but I can’t marry you if we can’t even be certain who you are.”

“What if when the test gives the same result, Storm refuses to swap back?”

“Then we’ll arrest him and keep him horn locked until he agrees to swap back with you.” You just saw that Twilight and Storm’s bodies together can defeat Shining Armor’s; plus we’ll have the palace guards, I’ll help too, and so will Rainbow Dash.”

Cadance gestured towards Rainbow Dash, Storm turned to face her as if it was the first time he had really noticed she was there. He stared at her open mouthed, not happy or elated but more just… surprised. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing at her with his hoof, "You're the girl who helped in the battle... in the burrow; you brought us the portgem, right?"

"That's me." Dash nodded, devastated if that was all he remembered her for.

Storm ran towards her, but only because he wanted a question answered, and only in the way that would leave him with that prancy alicorn coquette, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes."

Storm breathed rapidly several times then looked away; "I'm afraid to ask."

"You think I'll try to trick you?"

"NO!" Yelled Storm, spinning back to her with mad, desperate eyes, "I'm afraid you might tell me the truth!"

That sounded way too familiar to be a coincidence; Dash felt herself grinning at the nostalgia and then began laughing in delight as she realized that Storm was still in there somewhere. Unfortunately, she was the only one who got it and after a few moments she realized she was standing alone, chuckling like a lunatic; Shining Armor and Twilight were staring confused daggers at her, and Storm had moved back to Cadance's side.

"What if..." Storm said slowly, "What if we both be Shining Armor. We can share Cadance."

"What?" asked Cadance with a scowl... or, maybe it was a sly grin, Dash wasn't sure.

"Are you crazy!" yelled Shining Armor, "One of us has to be Silent Storm!"

"WHY!?” Screamed Storm, his voice on the verge of breaking, “Why does Silent Storm need to exist!? He has no family, no friends, not one person who cares whether he lives or dies! Do you know why he’s spent the last five years, alone, on the front lines!? He's been trying to kill himself!!!

Storm has lived every day for the last five years on the front lines hoping he would die; but it doesn’t work! The terrormongers can't do anything to him, they can barely sense he exists, he has nothing to lose and so there is nothing that he fears; and the changelings can't feed off him because there is nothing that he loves! That is the curse of the forest; only when it has taken everything from you and you want to die will it refuse to take you too! All Storm wants to do is die! So let's let him be dead!”

“That’s not true!” Shouted Dash, “I love Storm! I care if he’s gone!” Dash lunged across the room and grabbed Storm and kissed him before he had the space of mind to raise his shields… no she didn’t. It’s what she wanted and expected herself to do, but when her conscious mind caught up with the fact that she was still standing at the bottom of the steps, looking as stupid as she felt, Dash felt like strangling her normally hyperactive impulses. After all those times they’d gotten her in trouble and letting them get away with it, now when she finally needed them they were awol; unfortunately, she couldn’t strangle them because she couldn’t find them… which was the problem to begin with!

Shining Armor seemed taken aback at Storms confession, Twilight continued her ardent glower, Cadance looked sorrowfully at Storm in sympathetic shock until she swallowed and orbited him until she looked him in the face, caressing his cheek softly in her hoof, "If you are Shining Armor...” she said slowly, “And if you haven't seen Storm in almost ten years... how do you know that?"

"I don't know!" Shouted Storm falling backwards onto his haunches as if begging Cadance to ignore the undeniable; "But I don't care! I'm Shining Armor! I'm Shining Armor." Storm pounded himself on the chest with each word, as if the added emphasis would somehow make it true, "I'm... Shining Armor. I'm going to marry Cadance and we're going to have a family. I'm Captain of the Royal Guard. Twilight's my younger sister. I have parents. I have friends. I have people who love me. I'm... Shining... Armor."

Twilight stalked up to him angrily; “Stop it! You’re lying, and everyone now knows it.”

The white unicorn lifted his head, looking up at her his eyes had changed so they looked like neither Shining Armor nor Silent Storm, but something in between. He looked lost, like he wasn’t sure where or who he was. “Twilight” He begged, “Forgive me.”

“No. Not until you make things right.”

“How? I’ve tried; so, so hard; but nothing I do is ever enough.”

“You need to give my brother his body back.”

Storm’s face seemed to be breaking under its own weight, “I can’t.”

“Then I will never forgive you.” Storm’s face broke; “I can’t forgive you for what you’re doing unless you stop it first.”

The faintest, vaguest, slightest, glimmer of hope entered the sea of despair that Storm’s eyes were drowning in, “If I swap bodies with him; you’ll forgive me?”

“…Yes.”

Storm’s arms shot forwards and wrapped around one of Twilight’s hooves; “Say it now!” he pleaded, “Tell me you forgive me!”

Twilight tried to pull away, obviously surprised, but Storm’s grip was unbreakable; “I forgive you.” she stammered.

“Say it again! Mean it!”

Twilight stopped struggling, she looked unsure of herself like she thought she’d made a mistake, but she fought down her dilemma and calmly looked Storm in the eye, “I forgive you.”

Storm let out an exhale that seemed to go on longer then should have been possible, a sigh, a groan, a formless sentence, something like that. His grip on Twilight loosened and he slowly collapsed to the ground. When his voice reemerged, it was barely audible, “If someone if going to do a body swap with me, they should do it now.”

Shining Armor hesitated for a moment and then stepped forwards; his horn began flickering a series of peculiar sparks. Storm didn’t bother to stand or even look at Shining Armor; he just lay there, like he was hoping it wasn’t too late to pretend he was comatose. Twilight stood back, her breathing becoming more rapid as if something terrible was beginning to dawn on her. Cadance crouched close beside Storm, and looked up at Shining Armor, her expression changing from clemency to anger but she said nothing. Shining Armor stood there, obviously wanting to proceed before Storm changed his mind and went back on his word. Eventually, a faint glow emanated from Storm’s horn, matching Shining Armor’s in pitch and frequency. Shining Armor bent down and touched the tip of his horn with Storm’s.

Storm and Shining Armor glowed brightly for a moment and then Shining Armor collapsed next to Storm; though right now Dash didn’t know which was who. Cadance reached forwards with a wing to take the pulse of the white unicorn who opened his eyes and stood up at the touch of her wing. He looked down at the fur on his chest and legs then took a tuft of his mane in his magic and pulled it over his eyes to be sure. “It worked.” He smiled faintly, “I’m me again.”

Cadance brushed past him to check the red unicorn, but then stopped when she saw he was breathing, unsure of if she should continue. After an endless moment; the red unicorn opened his eyes. He looked at Twilight, he looked at Shining Armor, he looked at Cadance, and then looked down into his own chest. Each moment his expression changed; confusion, hatred, longing and then finally, despair.

“I’m so sorry” breathed Cadance, a tear grating down her cheek; she took a step towards Storm but it was too late.

His horn flashed, and he teleported.

Chapter thirty >>> Silence Dies

31 - Daughter Of The Sea

30 - Silence Dies

Storm teleported onto the roof of the tower, materializing into the raging thunderstorm as the howling wind and icy rain lashed unmercifully and unnoticed against his chest. The ligaments in Storm's legs felt like they had been torn from the fall he put Shining Armor through; but the pain paled in comparison to the agony of having everything he had ever wanted being torn out of him, throwing him back into what he was before, a monster. A dying part of him wanted to run back into the tower, and beg Cadance to stay with him, but he knew it was impossible. Even if Shining Armor wasn't there, even if Cadance loved him instead of Shining Armor, even if they could get around her parents, it would never work.

Cadance was smooth, delicate and fragile; Storm was jagged at every edge, and baneful to the core. She might have been able to live with the knowledge of the forest; but he saw the way she screamed at the dead changeling, and shriveled into submission when she thought she was under attack. He had told her about the things Shining Armor had done, and it had upset her; if he told her the things he had done, she would never sleep peacefully again; and she would never love him. He wasn’t like Shining Armor; for whom roughness was an armor he had learned to wear out of necessity which he could remove when he wanted; but for Storm it was who he was and all he had ever known.

Storm waited for the devastation of knowing he'd lost someone he loved; but it never came; instead something far worse happened. If Cadance had died loving him, or if he went on loving Cadance and it was never returned that would have been one thing. But as the rain poured down, he was finding it harder and harder to even remember why he wanted to be with Cadance, and with each passing moment his desire for her became less and less. In the final throes of desperation, Storm realized that he had never loved Cadance and what love he thought he had for her had merely been leaking through from Shining Armor's emotions. He wasn't Shining Armor. He was Silent Storm; a stallion who loved no one, who no one loved, who no one ever would love and who was unworthy to be loved; and for the first time in five years, he broke down and wept. He wept he was so alone.

Storm crawled to the very edge of the tower. Leaning far over the railing he could just barely make out the inviting pavement stretching out beneath him. One more step and it would all be over; the guilt would stop, the pain would stop, the rain stopped… the rain stopped? Storm looked up; there was a hole in the clouds above him, just big enough for him to see a patch of blue sky in a dark forest of grey. A fluttering of wings drew his attention to roof level, and to a beautiful cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow streaked mane standing before him.

“Jump” she offered, “I’ll catch you.”

He knew her.

He'd seen her before.

A memory crept back to him about a magic show; Denorious was there, and a unicorn mare had threatened to kill her. There'd been a battle; he didn't kill anyone because he knew Denorious wouldn't have wanted it, he won and then the last pegasus was about to crash into Denorious. He was about to stop her with his magic, but then changed his mind and was going to use himself as a living shield, hoping the blow would kill him. After he teleported he remembered Denorious would see his face if he died so he shifted his body at the last moment to make the blow non-lethal. He'd needed to mar his face so Denorious wouldn't recognize him so he let Trixie blast him there. He’d been thinking that if he could use Trixie to melt his face and cutie marks before finishing her, and then maybe; dying to protect Denorious, he would be able to die with some measure of peace, and then... this mare had thought his life was worth saving.

"…Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow's eyes lit up as she stood with him in their tiny island of light, but the joy lasted only for a moment before being constricted by something else; "Do you love Cadance?"

"Ye-no... I don't know." Rainbow waited patiently for Storm to collect his thoughts, "Shining Armor loves her; I was feeling his emotions, not mine. It was borrowed love."

Rainbow nodded eagerly, but didn’t seem satisfied yet, "Do you love Twilight?"

"Of course I love her; she's my sist... no. I don't love Twilight."

Rainbow nodded again as she took one steps towards him and two to the side; keeping her eyes primed on him and coming just close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off her body, she turned to give Storm a clear view of her body: neck, mane, wings, legs, flank and tail. "When... Shining Armor said that Storm didn’t love anyone... did he mean it?"

“…I don’t know.”

“What do you want to do now?”

"... I guess I'm going back the forest. Winter will soon be here meaning darker days and longer nights, it’s when the terrormongers are at their strongest and most aggressive."

"Your house is wrecked."

Storm grimaced, "I forgot about that. I guess I'll have to build a new one, go to Uthraig and hire some diamond dogs to help me."

"...Could you maybe make this one big enough for two?"

Storm stopped and looked at her in total confusion, "Why?"

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" She smirked, edging closer.

"No, I get that part... Why? ...Why would you want to do that? What about the Wonderbolts?"

"I quit."

"But-"

"I lied. I was ashamed to admit it because I’d spent so long wanting to join them; but I hated almost every day I wasted with the Wonderbolts. Within a month I'd wanted to quit, but I stayed because I had nowhere else to go. The day we met... earlier that day I had come close to killing myself; you made me see life differently." Without prelude, without any sort of warning whatsoever, Dash grabbed him and began kissing him, causing the world around them to stop as Storm's mind did a back flip. Where Cadance had been smooth, and gentle, Rainbow Dash was fast, edacious, well-nigh violent in the way she kissed him, in an all out oral assault. By instinct Storm clenched his jaw, but a heartbeat later he felt Dash's teeth clamp down on his bottom lip, and pry his teeth apart so she could gain access to his mouth. If Storm had been able to think about anything, he would have wondered if either of them were going to have any teeth left by the time she was finished; it was like mouth to mouth combat... and he liked it. He liked it better than Cadance.

As quickly as it had begun it was over, Dash pulling away with a satisfied grin plastered all over her face. "I want to be a Ranger; I want to learn from the best. What do you say?"

Storm looked at her, amazed, her taste lingering in his mouth.

She looked at him; beaming.

Storm looked at her, her eyes were so lovely.

She looked at him, sucking in air like she’d just remembered her mouth could do that.

Storm turned away and felt tears welling up in his eyes; blinding, suffocating tears that took with them every last hope he had left of living. "No."

Dash's grin faded as it took her several moments to process what he’d said. "No? ... **No!?* How can you say no!?!"*

Storm felt like his chest was going to break as the gates of his eyes opened and tears evacuated down his cheeks. "Because I can't say yes. If you're near me, you will die. It's the only thing that could happen; it's the only thing that has ever happened. After Silver, I swore that I wouldn't let that happen again."

"I'm not afraid of manitcores; they're not going to get me."

Storm turned away from her and walked into the pouring rain, hoping that she would give up and go have a life, but to his horror she followed him. When he lay down, she lay down next to him, resting her head against his chest, as if trying to listen to his impatient heart beat over the thundering rain.

Her warmth was painful. On one side, freezing rain was pouring off him, but it didn't matter because that side was so cold it was numb and so he only felt a slight tickle. But on the other side, Rainbow Dash was warming him just enough that he could feel how cold he really was, making his body ache for more heat.

He wanted her to leave but couldn’t bring himself to make her; so he decided to let the rain do it for him. A few more minutes of this and she would be running back inside the warm, comfortable palace. A few minutes passed, and she was still there.

Storm didn't know if he was still crying or not, maybe he was, maybe his tears had all been spent... or maybe, just maybe, he wasn't crying anymore because Rainbow Dash was blocking the holes in his heart with pieces of herself.

NO! He couldn't do this to her! She needed to leave; but the only certain way to do that would be to tell her the truth. He couldn't. He didn't tell her the truth; he didn't say anything, and neither did she. They lay together, silent and motionless in the howling frenzy of the thunder storm.

Almost without knowing it, he moved a little bit closer to her, to end the trickle of rain that was running between them. There was a pause of a few seconds and then she pressed back, locking their sides together into a single water tight seal. They fit together perfectly. Two stone still ponies, forming a wall that lay defiant to the gale that twisted around them, never speaking.

After all the time in the world had passed them by, the rains slowed to a drizzle and the sun was able to peak through the clouds, seeing a soppy wet mass of fur and feathers who hadn't run from the storm. Eventually the blue half of the blob said something, quietly and through chattered teeth, but full of conviction and burning with fire. "I'm not afraid of manticores; they're not going to get me."

There was a long pause, and then the red half of the mound responded; its voice was empty and drained of resistance, and as it spoke, its tear ducts released the final prisoners, which it had been holding for five years, "Manitcores didn't kill Silver Thorn… I did."

Rainbow Dash pulled away from him, revealing a chasm between them as Dash looked at Storm in horror.

"I didn't mean to," he said softly; "We were hunting when we were ambushed. I don't know how many terrormongers or changelings there were, but they seemed to be endless. We fought, we tried to run and fought some more, but we were running in circles. It went on and on, no food, no rest and somewhere on the second day we got separated. I was attacked over and over by things looking like Silver Thorn, I killed them; and then when I found the real Silver Thorn I killed her too. She knew that it was me, so she didn’t attack me back; she tried to warn me and begged me to stop, but I killed her. I didn't believe it when her body didn't change into a changeling when she died; I thought it must still be alive so I began hacking the corpse into pieces. Even after she was obviously dead I refused to believe what I had done so I kept on hacking and hacking and hacking until there was nothing left.

I promised my parents that if anything ever happened to them that I would take care of her. I promised her every day for years that I would protect her, and I promised myself... and then I was the one who killed her."

Rainbow Dash stared at him, her eyes searching both their souls; "What does that have to do with us?"

Storm stood up and stared at her open mouthed, like she was the stupidest mare in the world, "I killed my sister! She's not the only pony that I've ever killed! I hurt people and I kill them! It is the only thing I know how to do! It's the only thing I've ever done! If you’re with me, I'll hurt you too!"

Storm stood up to move away, but Dash rose with him, "If-"

"No."

"We-"

"No!"

"But-"

"NO!"

Rainbow Dash stepped forwards to close the gap; but before her hoof could touch stone, Storm grabbed her in his telekinesis and pushed her to the far side of the tower. Rainbow Dash stood there, looking as though she'd been stabbed... better that then for him to have actually done so. Her sorrow lasted for only a moment and then rage entered her vacant facial emotions, "It's not fair!" When Storm stood resolute she spread her wings and jumped off the edge of the tower, vanishing over the edge almost instantly.

Her wings!

Her wings were waterlogged! There was no way she could fly!

Storm teleported to the edge of the tower and looked over the edge, desperate to catch her before she splattered onto the pavement, but instead of a plummeting mare he saw a flying pegasus; straining hard against her heavy wings, but in control as she flew away from him with hard, angry flaps. He watched her for a few fleeting heartbeats, then when a twitch in her neck told him she was about to look behind her he ducked behind the stone parapet.

...Now what?

Despite all that had happened; Storm hadn't changed his mind about wanting to die, but he didn't feel like doing it right now. He felt like breakfast. His stomach told him that Shining Armor had neglected to feed him that morning so he might as well go into Canterlot and find a meal.

The ground was too far down to teleport straight there; he needed a midway point, that balcony should do. “You said you'd found Storm, where is he!?” The voice was Cadance’s, and two things occurred to Storm, that Cadance and Shining Armor were in the room adjoining this balcony, and that Cadance was furious. Storm peeked through the window to confirm his suspicions, but could have saved his efforts to remain hidden; neither of them was paying attention to anything except each other. Both of them were soaked as though they had been out in the worst part of the rain; Cadance stood next to the roaring fireplace, her legs and wings vibrating madly, but the cold hardly registered in her distraught expression mixing guilt, anger and fervent worry. Shining Armor stood across from her and the fireplace, ignoring the cold, looking guilty yet defiant.

“He’s on the roof with Rainbow Dash; I have a pair of guards watching them and have already sent someone to find Twilight to tell her to come back.”

Cadance spread her wings, tried to fly out the open balcony with a running start, but her soaked wings couldn’t get her more than a few feet off the ground, and so she turned and headed for the stairway.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Said Shining Armor, teleporting near the stairs though not quite blocking her path.

Cadance turned on his in anger; “Don’t you dare try and tell me that he’s too dangerous for me to talk to. I need to talk to him; and if you were half the stallion I always thought you were, you’d be coming with me to-”

“Rainbow Dash loves him;” interrupted Shining Armor, “Right now, they’re talking together. I’ve left two guards to keep an eye on them, with orders to come here as soon as Rainbow Dash leaves, and then we can talk to him, but for now, I think it would be better for them to be left alone.”

Cadance stopped; sudden hope, blaring mistrust, and slight disappointment battling across her face, “… Rainbow Dash loves him?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Cadance glared death at Shining Armor, “If you are lying to try and ‘protect’ me… I will never trust you again; we will be over.”

“Cadance, I swear.”

Cadance sighed and reluctantly stepped away from the stairs; “… I hope your right. He can’t go on like he has been; he needs someone if he’s going to make it out OK.”

Shining Armor looked down at his hooves shamefully, “Was he telling the truth about trying to kill himself for the last five years?”

“You have no idea. Storm doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him; not the forest, not what we did, not any of it. He deserves to let himself be happy, but poisons himself with guilt for things that were never his fault to begin with; and do you know what the worst part about it is? If Twilight is right, it could have been my memory spell that made him think he was you. That means it would be my fault if something happened to him.”

“... Not yours alone.” Admitted Shining Armor after a guilty pause.

“Why couldn’t you have just told me about the body swap in the first place!?”

"I didn't tell you about the body swap, because I didn't want you to worry." Shining Armor’s voice was on edge, like he was just barely holding on to his calm demeanor. "I wanted you to think that I could deal with the aftermath of the shield by myself."

"I knew you were going to be weak! You wouldn't have dropped the shield otherwise; but I had hoped that when you were weak, you would finally be willing to let someone else help you. I wanted that person to be me! Instead you went sending off for some pony you barely know and haven't even seen in ten years!"

"I didn't choose him." defended Shining Armor, "The body swap was Celestia's idea, I don't even know how Storm heard about it; all I know is that he volunteered. The news needed to be kept classified; and of those who had clearance to know my condition, Storm was the most qualified. I wasn't in a position to be doing much of anything but even if I was, who else could I have asked?

Cadance scowled at him at though the answer was staring him in the face. "You should have asked me! If you needed someone to help you, you should have asked me."

"I... didn't want to cause you pain."

"It's too late for that!"

"Cadance; you don't understand the kind of pain I was in when I did the body swap. To you a sprained ankle is enough to make you think you’re hurt; I've walked for days on a fractured leg and even that wasn't as bad as what I was going through in the final days of keeping the shield up."

"There are different kinds of pain!" retorted Cadance, "At least you knew where I was and that I was safe when you left; I regularly went for months at a time where all I heard was silence and my own heart praying you were safe. So maybe you’re right and I couldn't deal with as much physical pain as you were in, maybe we could have taken turns and swapped back every day. At the very least I could have taken care of you like I thought I was doing in Storm's burrow. Let me do something to help you. It's like you don't even want me around at all."

"Don't say that; of course I want you around."

“Then you are LOUSY at showing it!”

"You want proof that I want you around? Do you have any idea how many times I've risked my life so that we could be together!?"

"No!" shouted Cadance, pulling on her own mane, "THAT’S the problem!"

For once, Shining Armor didn't have a defense, and so Cadance continued her assault, "You keep building a wall thinking it’s going to protect me, but you’re building the wall directly between us. I don't even know if I can see you anymore past your wall and I know that you can't hear me. For years you didn’t tell me about the forest because you were sure I would freak out, but you did tell me and -..." Cadance stopped midsentence downcast, "That wasn't you. That wasn't you who told me."

Shining Armor looked horrified, "How much did Storm tell you?"

"He told me everything! Terrormongers, changelings, Rangers, Denorious, Forest Jaws, that you two were trained by a rhyming zebra named Zecora, he told me about Uthraig and the things that happen there. I’d wanted so badly for you to be the one to tell me those things; I waited for years, and when I thought you’d finally told me the truth I was thrilled. For the first time in months I had been sure that marrying you wouldn't be the biggest mistake of my life; but now... maybe I should just marry Storm instead of you!"

"What?"

"Maybe I shouldn't even bother marrying him. Maybe if he and Rainbow Dash don’t work out, I should just take him down to my room, and let him work me over a few times."

Shining Armor looked mortified, "You can't be serious."

"Of course I'm not serious!” hissed Cadance, “... But I wish I was! I wish that I didn't love you as much as I do; this would be so much easier if I didn't, because I'm starting to think that all I'm ever going to get from you is pain and disappointment!"

“Cadance,” whispered Shining Armor after rubbing one hoof uncomfortably over the other, “We waited thirteen years so we could be together… was that all for nothing?”

Cadance didn’t move, and neither did her expression; Shining Armor took a step towards her but she pushed him away and flew to the other side of the room. One of the side doors opened, and a pegasus guard who seemed vaguely familiar walked in, earning him the instant attention of both Shining Armor and Cadance which turned sour when they saw he was bone dry and couldn’t be coming with news about Storm. The pegasus stopped, and backed away slowly from his intensely obvious lack of welcome.

"What is it!?" Snarled Shining Armor.

"Umm..." stammered the pegasus, "The chariot is prepared to take Silent Storm to Gryffindor when he's ready."

Cadance's mouth dropped open after a moment's contemplation and she turned to Shining Armor in jaded fury, “You… you’re still-"

"Cancel the chariot," ordered Shining Armor, "Storm won't be needing it." The guard bowed quickly and then ducked towards the exit like a rabbit down its hole.

Shining Armor watched the guard's retreat, then turned back to Cadance but words failed to find their way into his mouth. Eventually he went to a nearby desk, levitated a sheet of unused parchment in front of him and wet a quill with ink. "If you want me to... I will retire from the Royal Guard."

Cadance looked up at him from the cushion she had been holding to her face; first in amazement, then disgust; "You're still not listening! I don't want you to leave the Royal Guard; you could go back to working at Doughnut Joes for all I care and that still wouldn’t solve anything! What I want is for you to be honest with me; for you to act like you actually need me and I'm not just some plush toy for you to love.

I stood in Storm's burrow, thinking I was with you, and we listened to changelings dig through the wall so they could come inside and kill us. I did not entertain any fantasies that we could fight them off; we were going to fight, and we were going to die, together. I know this sounds strange, but it was one of the most perfect moments of my entire life... and it wasn't even you."

Shining Armor looked even more confused; "...Do you want to become a Ranger?"

"No. I want to stand beside you and help you be the best Captain the Royal Guard Canterlot has ever had. I want you to be honest with me. I want you to listen to me. I want to know what's going on... and if some day we have children... I want you to talk and listen to them as well."

Shining Armor looked at her in hopeful confusion, "You… still want to get married then?"

“And what would I be to you if we were? A partner? A housekeeper? A pet!? What are you offering? If I were to leave you a blow up doll that looked like me on the bed, and arranged for food to be left at the door each day, would you even notice if I left?”

Shining Armor snorted angrily and stamped one hoof, “Of course I would notice!”

Cadance glared at Shining Armor, and Storm could see in her eyes the tirade of insults that were running through her mind, but her mouth only quavered as she swallowed back the insults until her gaze softened. “When I was with Storm… he was acting like you, but he wasn’t. He was acting like a younger you, from before you had walled yourself off, leaving me for months at a time when I had no idea where you were or if you were even alive. A younger you who... appreciated what he had." Cadance looked at Shining Armor with a tear trickling down his face, “…What happened to him?”

“He went to war where he saw some terrible things that gave him nightmares that kept him awake for days on end. He didn’t want you to suffer the same ways he had and so he told you nothing; but everything he did he did for you… Cadance look at me.” Cadance complied, looking him deep in the eyes, Shining Armor didn’t continue immediately, but took a moment to simply savor her and when he did speak it was simple. “I love you.”

Cadance stared into his eyes and then turned away, shaking her head; “It’s not enough.” She whispered. “I believe that you love me. I believe you would die for me if given the chance… but it’s not enough.”

“Cadan-”

“No!” Cadance cut him off, her voice growing in volume and heartache, “You don’t trust me; you don’t respect me, and to top it all off, you hardly know me… and I don’t want to marry you anymore.”

Shining Armor stood staring, his ears hearing Cadance's message long before his mind could accept it, "You're… canceling our wedding."

"I'm postponing our wedding, indefinitely, like you did to me!" Having nothing left to say Cadance turned and left, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Shining Armor watched her go; he went to the door and stood there with his hoof raised, like he was about to knock, but didn't. Storm knew Shining Armor could blast the door to splinters in an instant, but he just stood there as a statue, forever undecided of if he was going in or staying out. Eventually, Shining Armor left the door and sat down on the couch; and even if Storm hadn’t been feeling Shining Armor’s love for Cadance just a few hours ago, Storm could have never missed the devastation written across every line of his face.

What was he doing? He had a mare who loved him despite his mistakes, and it was obvious that he loved her back; but he was so bent on trying to protect her that in the end all he was doing was pushing her away. She wasn’t expecting everything to be perfect; she just wanted for him to give her the chance to prove she could share his life without breaking, and for him to give himself the chance to show her who he really was without being afraid he would destroy her.

But she wouldn't wait forever.

Storm sighed heavily and looked to his own side of the window. For the first time in years he felt legitimately afraid; he compared options, he procrastinated, he remembered the taste of Rainbow Dash’s lips against his own, and he remembered the feel of Silver Thorn’s blood against his hooves. He knew the risks for both of them if he agreed to take her. He knew if he killed her, he would die also. He knew that if he didn’t do anything, he would return to being already dead. After waiting for what he was sure would have been too late; Storm looked up and scanned the sky where, against some of the darkest clouds, he could still faintly make out a thin trail of rainbow.

He chose a nearby rooftop, and he teleported.

Chapter thirty-one >>> Wrap Ups

32 - Pain and Deceit

31 - Wrap Ups

Speed. Soarin had lived a large part of his life for speed; and only four or five times before had he had wanted it more than he did today. Today of all days it was important to impress the Team Captain Rainbow Dash. He zigzagged through an obstacle course, holding a cloud ball in his hooves, as he sprinted towards the finish line; just a few more seconds and- WHACK! Soaring went spinning off course as Fire Streak slammed into him from the side.

“You’re out Soarin.” Called Rainbow Dash from above him.

“It’s not my fault.” He protested, “Fleet Foot came out of my blind spot.”

“That's not a blind spot Soarin! THAT’S WEST!”

Soarin couldn’t think of anything smart to say, and after six months with Dash as the team captain he was starting to realize that at times like this, it was better not to say anything. Fortunately before he had to do any more thinking; the bell rang signaling training was over. Soarin took off in the direction of the showers but he didn’t get very far before Rainbow Dash stopped him; “Do another hundred laps of the course.” She ordered. Soarin paused and thought for a moment with a wide grin on his face; he knew what was happening.

From the first day Rainbow Dash had been in the Wonderbolts, Soarin had known that she had a HUGE crush on him. At first he had thought it was going to be as easy as pie to get her to pay out, but then she started playing this confusing game of hard-to-get that the two of them had been dancing around ever since, each waiting for the other to make the first move. He’d watched in interest as she planted those rumors she was rocking out with Spitfire to make him jealous, and as the bottled up emotions for him grew visibly as the months flew by.

He always knew it was only a matter of time before she made her move but hadn’t been sure what her play was going to be until last month when she arranged that whole escapade in the Everfree Forest. Setting up all those hologram monsters and hiring that hot actress mare to pretend she was hurt had all seemed a bit extreme, (Soarin had gone along with it and pretended he was scared), and Soarin had never known that Dash was such a great actress, but he got what it all meant.

It was all about him.

Dash had set it all up so she could fake her resignation; thinking that when she did, he would come after her, and then take her for the ride of her life. He almost had, but still wasn’t going to be the one to move, even though it was obvious how crazy she was about him. He had waited, like an expert hunter, and just as he expected, she could only keep herself away from him for a few weeks before coming back.

Now, obviously, she said she was just staying for a week to get her stuff packed up and resign officially, but he saw right through that. All week she’d been teasing him and pretending she wasn’t interested in him, and likewise, he pretended he wasn’t interested in her. Today was her last chance to get him without making another fake resignation attempt and he knew this was going to be the day. She just told him to do a hundred extra laps, meaning she wanted to keep him out of his room for an extra hour or so; so when he did get to his room she’d be there waiting for him with socks; and pie! Lots and lots of pie!

…But why did she want him to do a hundred laps first? Did she want him to begin out tired? Maybe she just hadn’t thought of that, (after all, Soarin couldn’t expect everyone to be as smart as he was). Soarin thought for a few moments on how he could get Dash pie without doing the hundred laps. OK fine; he’d do something to be the initiator; otherwise she might lose her nerve and not think he was interested in her at all. Soaring floated all dreamy like up to Dash; “You know I could do a hundred laps or-”

“Two hundred laps.”

So that was the way it was; still playing hard to get. If he did eighty laps, she’d think he was really fast and get even more excited. Soarin set off to do his eighty laps, giving Dash a flirtatious wave with his flank.

That pie had better be worth it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Rainbow Dash watched Soarin fly away from him, averting her eyes in time to miss his usual bouncing his rump he always did that made him look constipated, and then realized what had just happened.

She’d finished!

This had been her last day as a Wonderbolt, after today they were Spitfire’s problem again and, looking back, this last week really hadn’t been that bad. After she knew that she wasn’t going to be shackled to the Wonderbolts for the rest of her life, they almost seemed comical and her annoyance had been more from habit then real irritation. She was glad she’d decided to come back to wrap things up properly; and do one final show, knowing that it would be her last.

Back in her rooms; Dash wove her way through a labyrinth of packed boxes. A few dozen of them were labeled to be delivered to her cloud house in Ponyville which she still owned; with most of the rest listed for various charity actuations, except for a few items which she figured would appreciate in value fast enough it was worth putting into storage for a few years, (Twilight’s idea).

Rainbow unsuited; placing the uniform in the bottom of a box destined for auction; took an empty box and began rummaging through the remaining unpacked tidbits to determine their fates. A small statue of herself, holding a lightning bolt like a spear; sell. A rainbow colored scarf that one of her fans had made for her; keep. A stack of vinyl records with Wonderbolt theme music on them; sell. A huge box of fireworks… save them for Scootaloo’s birthday next month. The picture of her defeating Spitfire to become captain of the Wonderbolts; sell. A stack of choose-your-own-adventure novels… sell; she didn’t need the fantasies anymore.

Piling things into one box or another, she eventually made her way into her bedroom, where she stopped at a pile of small plush toys that rested on one side of the bed. Thirty one little Wonderbolt plush toys, one for each team member past to present, she had collected when she was a filly and had slept with ever since. Even after she came to loathe the Wonderbolts she still slept with their effigies, hugging them tightly every night, around their throats, imagining the blue masks weren’t masks, and were getting gradually darker shades of blue as she strangled the life out of them. Rainbow shook the outdated fantasy out of her head and dumped them in the auction box. Pretty soon; she expected to have something much nicer to cuddle up to at night time.

When Rainbow had finished sealing the fates of her possessions, she decided to say one last goodbye to Spitfire and wasn’t surprised to see her waiting for her outside her doorway. “You’re really leaving then?” asked Spitfire after looking past her at the stacks of sealed boxes.

“Yup.”

“Still not saying where you’re going?”

“Nope.”

“Alright then,” smiled Spitfire weakly, “Take care Rainbow Dash.”

“You don’t seem as happy as I thought you might be, seeing as how I’m giving you control of the team back.”

Spitfire shrugged, “Sometimes it’s nice not to have everything resting on you.”

“You going to be OK?”

“I’ll be fine, I dealt with them for four years before you came along, I can deal with them again; but I was thinking of bringing in some help.”

“Oh, yea?”

“Two unicorn stallions who call themselves the Flim Flam brothers; when they heard you were retiring they offered to help out with management of the team for a percentage of the profits. Have you ever heard of them?”

“Actually I’ve met them, I think they’re-”

“Oh by the way; if you’re planning to disappear, and aren’t coming back, would it be alright with you if we tell everypony that you eloped with a half dragon Saddle Arabian Princess, who then ate you in a fit of passion? The Flim Flam brothers think it would make a huge spike in our merchandising sales and they know some gypsies who would be willing to pretend to summon your spirit between performances at our shows.”

“…No.”

“Hear me out;” pleaded Spitfire, “They also have this idea for a movie. They’re still working out the details of the plot but so far it’s that the half dragon princess only ate about half of you, and out of remorse, she keeps the rest of you frozen on ice. Then, two hundred years in the future, she replaces the parts she ate with machines, revives you as a cyborg and then the two of you go to the North Pole save the world from an alicorn necromancer and his army of undead minions. They reckon the movie could clear fifty million bits with the right advertizing, and there’d be a cut for you if you ever came to collect it… you’d have to come in disguise though.”

“Just say that I sold my stuff, ran away, and that I’m not leaving any way for anyone to contact me.”

Spitfire’s shoulders slumped a bit, “...Alright." she sighed, "Sorry for interrupting you, what were you saying about the Flim Flam brothers?”

“I think they’d be perfect for the job.” smiled Rainbow.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dash made several slow steady laps around Canterlot; visited her favorite buffet and then, after several minutes of internal debate, decided to stop by at Rarity’s before heading to Ponyville. Opting to forego the fiasco of trying to climb up through the workshops again, Rainbow landed on the balcony, pushed her way through the double open doors, and stepped over Opal to see Rarity’s back as she worked furiously on several mannequins who stood in silent subjection to Rarity’s markers, threads and needles.

Rainbow watched in unnoticed silence; ignoring Opal as she rubbed against her legs as Rarity talked endlessly to herself as she stabbed needle after needle into her mannequin victims; “Ruby, we need Ruby slippers to go with the emerald and pearl necklaces, but if we do that then we’ll have to change the dress color from black to white, and you know how I feel about white these days, it’s just so dull. What about aqua? I love aqua! But then I’d have to make this dress a short-medium-short and it was meant to be medium-short-short. Oh whatever will we do? I know! We can take the lace from the neck braids and-no no; that wouldn’t work. What about-”

“Rarity?”

Rarity dropped her needles and thread, catching them a moment later to stab them into her mannequins as she turned; “Rainbow Dash! You’re back!”

“Were you just talking to yourself?”

“What? Oh no-no. I was talking to Opal, she’s helping me design some new dresses.” Rarity pointed to Opal, sitting on a bean bag licking herself, without showing the slightest interest in the dress Rarity was making. Rainbow Dash suddenly felt a lot less comfortable with whatever was rubbing against her legs, she looked down and saw a yellow cat weaving between her legs and behind that one was the white cat she had stepped over to get in here.

“Umm… you got two new cats.”

“Four new cats;” Corrected Rarity beaming, “I finally found out why Opal has always acted so crabby, she was lonely, so I got her Ruby to keep her company. They were happy together for about a week, but then I realized how horribly inconsiderate I was being. I don’t limit myself to only one male and so why should she? I got her Turquoise but realized my mistake almost instantly; if Opal and Turquoise were together, Ruby would see them and get jealous, so I got him Topaz so he could spend time with her when Opal and Ruby were together. Then I realized what a horrible betrayal I had done to my dear little Opal, practically inviting Ruby to be unfaithful to her, so I got rid of that perfidious Ruby and replaced him with two new toms, naming them Sapphire and Frazzles!”

“…That makes sense.” Not.

“Of course it does dear, what else would you expect? Now you simply have to feel Frazzle’s coat, it is the softest of any cat ever. Oh Frazzles!” Rarity looked around with a dark smile on her face for several moments then spotted a sand colored cat sitting on the back of a nearby couch. When Frazzles saw she was after him, he tried to run, but Rarity was too quick, galloping over, lifting him up in her telekinesis and bringing him over to Rainbow Dash, despite his protests. “Pet him Dash, feel how soft he is.”

Rainbow reached forth and stroked him twice. “Nice.”

“Oh, that wasn’t enough Rainbow Dash! You need to really feel him.” Rarity lifted Frazzles in her telekinesis and began rubbing him up and down Rainbow’s neck and wing.

“Very nice.” Complimented Rainbow slowly, more than a little uncomfortable with the weirdness of the situation.

They each felt equally disturbing. “Actually Rarity I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

Rarity dropped the cats, who ran back to their original positions, “Oh yes; you simply must forgive me for getting so caught up with my cats, no matter how delightful they are. I’m sure that by now you’ve heard the vicious rumors circulating Canterlot that you’re resigning. Can you imagine!? Now, I assume Spitfire is behind this attempted coup since she has the most to gain from you gone, but if we work together, I’m sure that we can show that little fem-fatal for the liar that she is and-”

“Rarity, they’re not rumors, it’s true.”

Rarity looked shocked, “What? Whatever do you mean?”

“I’m quitting the Wonderbolts. All the paperwork has been signed, and this was my last day. I’m leaving.”

“But… you’ve wanted to be a Wonderbolt for as long as I’ve known you; and-”

“And now I want to do something else.”

“Really Rainbow Dash I must protest, think this over before making such a rash decision… I’ve only just finished making your new range of uniforms, they’re perfect!”

Rainbow sighed and spent the next fifteen minutes looking over the new uniforms; to be honest, they looked a lot like the current ones, with a few changes that made them look like last year’s uniforms and with a few extra lightning bolts sewn on. Really, some of the pictures of future Wonderbolt uniforms Rainbow had seen in the fan fiction comic books looked way cooler. “Send them to Spitfire;” said Rainbow after spending the minimum amount of time necessary to avoid hurting Rarity’s feelings, “She’s got your payment ready and I’m sure she’d be more than willing to commission you for next year’s uniforms.”

“But… you’re quitting the team of your dreams?”

“Actually; I was thinking of joining a new team soon, and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Rarity looked on in interest, “You always said that you could make an outfit for anything, right.

“Oh, of course! Anything you can name I can make.”

“Yea well when I took my last holiday I was doing a private show on this country resort near a thicket, and… well I crashed into one of the trees.”

“Oh how terrible! That must have ruined the whole show.”

“Well I could have saved it, except when I crashed my uniform was torn, and I got a bunch of sap all over the uniform and it stuck out as clear as day, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, I got a bunch of thorns stuck into me when I crashed and they really hurt.”

“Oh dear; Rainbow Dash I understand that after such a terrible fiasco you might be afraid to perform again, but if you retire now then it will appear that you’re simply running away.”

“Did I say this was my last holiday, I’m sorry I meant it was on my first holiday after I joined, old news now. Anyway, after that I got to thinking about what if I had a uniform that was a bit more durable you know? Something that if I crashed head on into a thorn tree, it wouldn’t hurt and I could keep going on with the performance.”

“You mean have some extra padding in the front?”

“More like all around, you know in case I slam into a tree on the side or if I try out my idea of flying backwards and I hit something?”

“…You can fly backwards?”

“Well sort of; I’ve been hoping to try and teach myself how to fly backwards and sideways through a giant obstacle course, really fast, so I’d need a lot of protective coverings like, all around.”

Rarity pursed her lips and thought; “Well, I could go heavy on extra thick cotton pads… but it would make you look fat… or pregnant! Can you imagine the scandal!? I really can’t recommend it.”

“Maybe you could use something a bit tougher then cotton then?”

“Tougher? You mean like flannel?”

“I was thinking maybe some sort of metal; something really hard but without much weight. Titanium maybe?”

“Metal!?” Gasped Rarity in horror, “I couldn’t, I mean I don’t,” she thought, “Maybe I could squeeze a forge in on the second floor, but then it would be giving off soot and smoke all day long and, with such a low roof, it would get all over the dresses as they were being made and ruin them.”

“…You could outsource the metal plates and make them somewhere other than your tower.”

Rarity’s face lit up, “Oh yes you’re right, I could; silly me. So, we need a metal dress… I think I could paint it in such a way that it still looked elegant; with the right amount of polish and pinks and blues and golds I could-”

“I was hoping for something that if I crashed into a tree and got covered in sap and mud, anyone watching me would hardly notice, so I was thinking more like black with dark greens and browns…”

Rarity looked even more confused, “You want to wear dark colors; in this season? Why have you even looked at the latest magazines? Dark is out, out of the question.”

“Maybe I could start a new trend?”

“Well… yes I suppose you could, but if you’re insistent on going for ‘dark’ and ‘metal’ it might be salvaged with the proper design.”

“I was thinking alternating the colors in a design something like a tiger or a leopard. Leopards are cool.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in abject horror, “Y-you want to wear a dress with spots? To go with your striped mane!? Rainbow darling you’re not even making sense! Are you feeling OK, because you sound like you’re losing your mind!”

“OK, tiger then.” backtracked Rainbow.

“…Maybe. I could make you a cape that would reflect the tiger pattern and with some streamers to fly behind you it I might be able to make it work.”

Rainbow dash shook her head again; “Those things would get caught whenever I crashed, plus they wouldn’t be aerodynamic and I really want to be able to still do my sonicrainboom. I need something that’s lightweight, covers my whole body, is extremely resilient, made of dark colors in the design of a tiger and is aerodynamic. Can you make it?”

Rarity stopped and thought for a long minute, looking from one of her mannequins to another with varying degrees of displeasure. “No.” she said at last; “I can’t even envision the sort of dress you’re asking for, but I’m sure it would look horrible. I-I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“It’s alright Rarity; just… take care of yourself OK? Maybe take it easy on the cats.”

“Oh but Rainbow Dash; clearly you don’t understand the fine loyalty of cats. They’re ten times better companions then those stallions that I use to date. They don’t pee all over the carpets, they don’t shed on the furniture, they never disagree with me; why, when I add the next nine floors to my tower, four of them are going to be for my new best friends here.”

“…Goodbye Rarity.” Rainbow flew a few feet into the air, hovered for a moment; gave Rarity a brief pat on the back and then flew out the window. Rainbow Dash only saw Rarity a few times after this, and perhaps it was for the best. Over the coming months the conditions on the second and third floors continued to deteriorate, visits from the Canterlot stallions became less frequent, and Rarity's collection of cats multiplied as her sanity collapsed.

Soon five cats became fifty, and fifty became five hundred. Construction began on a thirteen story expansion to Rarity's tower, funded by her booming fashion empire which prospered until the winds of Canterlot desires shifted in the direction of a new, up and coming prodigy, bringing an abrupt end to the once seemingly endless supply of revenue from Rarity's trade. As her sales plummeted, Rarity fumed with what she saw as betrayal by what had been her loyal consumers and came to despise pony company altogether, preferring the companionship of her cats instead, who continued to increase as her wealth diminished. One year after the mysterious disappearance of Wonderbolt legend Rainbow Dash; Rarity's business closed with an all store sale. Using the last of her money, Rarity drained the mud baths from her subterranean spas, and filled them with a rumored one hundred year supply of cat food, for one hundred cats, and then sealed the doors shut from the inside.

The looming, half finished, tower earned the name ‘the corpse’ from the residents of Canterlot, firstly as a metaphor for the state of Rarity’s business, secondly because the decaying scaffolding made it look like one, and thirdly because it smelled like one. Then, three years after the tower was sealed, scores of cats began a mass exodus of the tower, many with sewing needles stuck into their fur. To the relief of the citizens of Canterlot, the doors of the tower were blasted open, and a team was sent inside to investigate. The team passed through eight floors, made barely accessible by layer upon layer of cat droppings, until they reached the ninth floor to discover a scandal that shook the fashion and social world of Canterlot for years to come. Rarity had begun working again, and was planning to re-kick-start her business with a new range of coats… fur coats.

After a vicious struggle, Rarity was restrained and taken to a mental asylum where she lived out the rest of her days. Her first spring at the asylum she crafted a wedding dress from several rolls of toilet paper and married a tree which she named, ‘Prince Handsome-Rich-Charming-Smart-Strong-Famous'. By her own account it was because he gave her flowers and was a very good listener, by the accounts of her nurses, it was because the tree was the only living thing in the asylum which she could catch long enough to conduct a wedding ceremony. She was visited, in gradually declining frequently, by those who had known her in Ponyville, none more often or more loyally than Sweetie Bell whose songs never failed to calm Rarity, sometimes even enough for her to recognize her younger sister.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The flight to Ponyville was peacefully uneventful, and Rainbow covered the distance in a fraction of the time the train ride would have taken. She did a pass over Sweet Apple Acres; peeking through the window of Applejack’s bedroom she saw AJ asleep and Fluttershy dozing on the couch and decided not to wake them, but was glad to see Caramel helping Big Macintosh in the orchard. She stopped by at Twilight’s for a few minutes, planning to just say hi and up some notes on the cloud walking spell, and ended up spending the next twenty minutes hearing another one of Twilight’s apologetic rants, and collecting a fourth letter of apology which she had written to Storm. Rainbow managed to slip out the window when Twilight wasn’t looking, hoping she wouldn’t be too late for her next appointment.

Rainbow landed on the roof of Sugar Cube Corner at one minute to four, but her contact wasn’t there. She waited impatiently for about half an hour, then took off, doing slow watchful laps around Ponyville until she spotted Scootaloo, with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders by the river trying to fashion together some kind of boat out of some loose timber, an old wheelbarrow, a surfboard and… something pink.

Dash hovered behind a tree and then, when the crusader’s backs were turned, ran into a nearby clump of bushes. She waited for the right moment and then pounced, sweeping up Scootaloo in one hoof and tickling her from behind.

“Rainbow Dash!” managed the orange filly between gasps, “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing; I was waiting for you at Sugar Cube Corner.”

“You were?”

“You got the letter I sent you… right?”

The look on Scootaloo’s face showed she had no idea what she was talking about; but from the look on Sweetie Bell’s face, Dash would have thought she’d accidentally just killed somepony; “I’m sorry” she begged, “I got your mail this morning and I was going to give it to you at school, but you were late and I forgo… please don’t be angry.”

“Settle down Sweetie Bell,” cautioned Rainbow, “It’s OK.”

Sweetie Bell cringed, “But I kept Scootaloo’s mail! I might as well have stolen it, I’m sorry.”

“Relax Sweetie Bell” offered Scootaloo, “If anything it’s that dumb mail mare’s fault.”

“What?” Dash asked.

“Derpy, the retarded mail mare;” clarified Scootaloo, “I don’t even see how she keeps her job, half the time she’s late, and the other half she gets the mail mixed up like she did with giving my mail to Sweetie Bell.”

Rainbow glared at Scootaloo disapprovingly; “Don’t ever let me hear you talk about Derpy that way again.”

“But… she is a retard. No one really likes her and her daughter is crazy; she keeps on interrupting Mrs. Cheerilee whenever she tries to teach history, yelling out that virtually everything in our history book is wrong.”

“I said; don’t ever talk about her that way again!”

Scootaloo looked at her confused; “But… you use to make fun of her all the time.”

That was… true. Horse Apples; why did that have to be true? Dash stood there, reminded of everything she had ever said about Derpy, her discoordination, her unpopularity; the things she had said about Derpy behind her back… and to her face. She tried to think about even one kind thing she had ever said to Derpy, but there wasn’t anything. The last time she had met her came out in crystal clarity, venting the frustration she had been feeling for the Wonderbolts on Derpy.

“Rainbow Dash?” Dash looked down to see Scootaloo nudging her, looking worried, “You OK?”

“Umm… yea, sure.” Dash shook her head, trying to get rid of the guilt that was clawing at her; “Let’s say I take you to Sugar Cube Corner next week, alright?”

Scootaloo exclaimed some sort of happy affirmative, that Rainbow Dash didn’t hear. She wanted to stay and yell at her for making fun of Derpy, but what Scootaloo was right; what she had just said was paltry compared to some of the things Dash had said over the years. Dash was aware of her hoof ruffling Scootaloo’s mane and then the air under her wings as she began circling into the air. She hadn’t told her wings to fly, but she knew what they were doing, against her own will, they were taking her to find Derpy.

Of all the things Scootaloo had said, none of them were false; Derpy was clumsy and retarded, but she only got that way sacrificing herself to try and help others. Now she probably was the lamest mare in Equestria, but she deserved respect for all the things she had done in the past; even if she couldn’t remember them. Dash knew it was against the rules; now that she knew about Derpy’s past, she was forbidden from talking to her, as any slip of the tongue could bring back memories that could kill her, but Dash’s wings were giving her no choice, she couldn’t let the tirade at the Wonderbolt training court be the last thing she ever said to Derpy.

Chapter thirty-two>>> Derpy

33 - False Hope

32 - Derpy

“CRASH!” the sound of a thunder, and yelling pegasi caught her attention. Dash pivoted towards the sound and saw the new lead weather pony Thunderlane along with several other members of the weather patrol surrounding a botched storm cloud and an apologetic looking gray mare.

“What’s going on here?” Dash asked, pushing her way through the circle of pegasi who were shocked to see their old captain; “I said-”

Thunderlane was the first to shake off his confusion, “We were preparing for a class C storm for tomorrow night. We were a short on hooves and so we hired Derpy on as an extra. All she needed to do was bring these storm clouds across town and help lay them out in the grid, but now;” Thunderlane gestured to twisted clouds beneath them, morphing together into one giant storm cloud that would be difficult to break apart without getting electrocuted. For safety reasons the entire blob would need to be towed away from the town, (slowly or else it would discharge lightning), then pegasi with special safety gear would need to pry it apart into smaller clouds. If they tried to use it as it was; one or two streets would be flooded while the rest of the town would go dry.

“I’ll help.” Volunteered Rainbow Dash.

“Thanks.” Thunderlane’s face lit up, still confused at his old captain’s presence; he turned back to Derpy, “Go on, get out of here.” Derpy’s ears drooped again and she began slowly gliding away.

“If, Derpy helps me.” Added Rainbow.

Derpy’s ears perked up

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Moving the cloud mass over the reservoir, (so any leakage wouldn’t go to waste,) had been surprisingly easy; enough that Rainbow almost thought Derpy might be pulling her share of the weight. Bit by bit, the cloud was unraveled and separated by the two mares; pushing off workable chunks of cloud for tomorrow’s storm. The entire time; Dash worked in silence, trying to think of one kind thing she could say, and plan some kind of an apology, while Derpy hummed some idiotic yet captivating tune that sounded like it had come from a different planet.

“Did you get your mail?” asked Derpy finally after they had almost finished unraveling the rain cloud.

“Yea.”

“Was it too late by the time you got it?”

“…It turned out fine.”

“I’m really sorry about that; I really didn't mean to drop your mail and if I hadn't gotten lost I would have been there a lot sooner, it was just so hard to find you."

“It’s alright.” They returned to their work in silence and then just as Dash was pulling apart the last cloud, an idea began scratching at her mind that some numbers weren’t adding up. Cadance hadn’t come to see Storm until late in the morning and Derpy… Rainbow tried to bat the idea away for its sheer audacity, but it escaped out her mouth anyway, "After you got the letter from Celestia… how long did it take you to find us?"

Derpy thought for a moment and then shrugged, "About two hours I guess, maybe two and a half."

Dash wanted to laugh, cry and scream in frustration all in the same instant; it was a ten hour train ride from Canterlot to Ponyville, it took the Wonderbolts four hours to reach Ponyville from Canterlot, and it took Rainbow Dash at least three... if she knew exactly where she was going. "That's… pretty fast."

"It is?"

"Yeah; do you always fly that fast?"

"No, but when something’s really important I can go a lot faster then I usually do and if something’s really, really important I can do a Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Boom."

"A what?"

"A Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Boom, it's something that happens when I go really fast, my mane and tail will start leaving behind all this light, but then I'll look back to see it but then I can't see where I'm going and I crash into a cloud and then I hear this really loud sound like thunder that hurts my ears."

"... Have you ever shown anyone your Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Boom."

"Yes, well no, I mean, I've tried! I need all my concentration to do it and when people watch me I think about them and so then I can't do it and then they all call me a liar. I tried it at the best young fliers competition one year, and I was really excited cause I could do it whenever I was practicing and thought I was ready, but then I forgot what number I was and when I got called up I got scared cause I wasn't ready and then failed again. I thought I was number fifteen, when I was really number six!"

A faint memory started kicking Rainbow at the back of the head. She knew it was there but wasn’t sure what it was; she turned around to try and find it but another question distracted her; “Why were you trying to win the best fliers competition?”

Derpy put her head down; “You’d think it was silly.”

“Try me.”

“I-I wanted to join the Wonderbolts.” Said Derpy turning pink around the ears.

“I… don’t think that would have been a good idea.”

“Because I’m too clumsy?”

Because the Wonderbolts aren’t worthy of you! Because even after having sustained injuries none of them could imagine, you’re still the fastest friggen pegasus in Equestria! And you don’t even know it! *You’re faster than me; and you don’t know it!*** “… I don’t think you would have liked it there; they’re not really that great.”

“Is that why you left?”

“Yup.”

Derpy nodded understandingly; “I thought so, I saw you the few times that you came back to Ponyville after your became a Wonderbolt; you never seemed happy just… angry.”

Dash remembered their last meeting, letting her anger at the rest of the Wonderbolts out on Derpy; “I’m sorry I yelled at you when you lost the letter from The Princess… I’m sorry for all of it… everything mean I’ve ever said about you.”

Derpy didn’t say anything for a while; for a moment Dash felt strangely worried that Derpy wouldn’t accept her apology, but when she looked over Derpy was looking away from her, with one salty tear dripped down Derpy’s face, telling Rainbow everything she needed to know about the insults she’d given had hurt her over the years. “I forgive you.” she whispered.

Dash savored the moment, but it got awkward really fast and she tried to think of something else to say, pouncing on the first thing that came into her mind; “How long have you been able to do your Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Boom?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t… I don’t remember the first half of my life, OK!” From the way Derpy said that, Dash felt she must have touched on a nerve and had just led the conversation into being dangerous; Dash wouldn’t have said anymore but Derpy kept going. “In my earliest memories I was already grown up, living in Cloudsdale in some kind of retirement village; but someone was teaching me about how to fly and giving me an education. For a while I tried going to school, even though I would be going with foals; but I got teased a lot. There were a lot of ponies who made fun of me because of my eyes, or my voice, or because I was clumsy who told me that I should go away and never come back, and sometimes I almost felt like doing it but… there were always the letters.”

“Letters?”

Derpy nodded furiously, “Yea, the letters. I kept on getting hundreds and hundreds of letters from all over Equestria, of people telling me they liked me and that I was cool. Some of the letters even came with presents attached, but they never said who was sending them or where they were from. For a while I thought that everyone did that so I started doing it too, writing encouraging messages and sending those to random addresses, or saving my money and sending them to people I had never met, hoping they enjoyed surprise gifts as much as I did.”

“Wow, that’s… generous.”

"When I graduated school I knew that I wanted to be a mail mare. I thought the post office was this wonderful, magical place where everyone acted so much nicer to each other then they do face to face; and because I knew how much joy these surprise gifts gave me and I wanted to be a part of giving that joy to everyone else.

So I followed my dream and became a mail-mare, but guess what I found? Most people weren’t even willing to help the people they did know, let alone the ones they didn’t. But this didn’t stop me. If anything it made me more eager to encourage people because I realized that no one else would; but it did make me curious about who was sending me all these packages. Several times I’ve tried to use my contacts at the post office to track down these friends I never met so I could thank them, but the stamps only said the post office and city they were from, Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Trottingham, Canterlot, Cloudsdale and some places that aren’t even in Equestria, but never a name or an address that I could track it to.

It's weird, it’s like there's an entire Derpy Hooves fan club out there with people from all over the world who are spying on me, all the time; but I have NO idea who they are or where they come from! There’s probably one of them listening to us right now!” Derpy swiveled and broke open a cloud floating by, as if she expected to see a masked conspirator hiding in it with a microphone or notepad. When nothing came out but a few tufts of cloud Derpy sneezed, checked under her cloud, in case the enigmatic spy had shifted, and then settled back onto her cloud with a huff. “There’s one of them somewhere around here, I just know it.” Derpy turned and eyed Rainbow Dash suspiciously for a moment then shook her head as her wary scowl reverted to its trademark smile.

Dash was doing her best to hide the smirk that was burrowing into the sides of her mouth; “Let’s say you did find whoever it was that had been spying on you, what would you say to them?”

“I’d tell them to stop following me!”

Dash was taken back; “You really don’t like being followed that much?”

“No.” said Derpy shaking her head, “It’s not that. I’m sure that whoever has been watching me has a good reason. It would be pretty weird for them to spy on me for this long if they were just bored; and if they were planning on hurting me or kidnapping me or harvesting me for organs, I’m sure that they would have done it a long time ago.”

“…So do you just not like them following you because it makes you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not that either. I owe my whole life to them. If it wasn’t for them I would have never become a mail mare or started making muffins; and if I never done that, I would have never gotten lost and met the Doctor and if it wasn’t for him I would never have had Dinky. I wouldn’t even have my name! Whoever they are, they’ve given me a job, a home, a family, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that.”

“Then why don’t you want these people following you around anymore if they’re helping you so much?”

“Because I don’t need their help anymore!” Asserted Derpy firmly, “I used to, there was a time when if it wasn’t for them I probably would have just disappeared forever, but I’m safe now and I don’t need them; but there are lots of other people who do. I travel a lot, and in every pl-city I visit I see people who need help. I do what I can, but I’m just one pony. I don’t understand why people from all over the world seem more interested in giving me things, a lot of which I can’t even use, instead of helping the people who really do need it. It makes me feel guilty.”

Rainbow sat for a long minute in silence; startled at Derpy’s revelation. When Derpy had first started talking about secret followers, all Rainbow had been thinking about was how awesome it would be getting all those presents, and about how she’d revel in the attention, milking it for all it was worth… like how when Scootaloo had made a fan club for her… a filly she taught to be dismissive and rejective towards Derpy. Derpy had been better than she was; even now, Derpy’s only thought was how she could use what she had to help others. Slowly; as the sun began to set, something else began dawning on Rainbow Dash.

Derpy had never changed.

Derpy could never turn back into Denorious; that was impossible because Derpy had never stopped being Denorious, not even for an instant. The reason why Denorious was so special, why all the Rangers had loved her was not because she was fast or smart or strong; the thing that made Denorious who she was was that she always thought of every other pony before she thought of herself. That was what made her Denorious and that part of her was still there. The only thing that had changed; the only difference her injuries had made, was that in the forest the Rangers had realized how special she was, had given her the respect she deserved and had followed her; now, in Ponyville, she was ridiculed and rejected for things that weren’t even her fault.

Dash began feeling waves of guilt come over her about all the years she had wasted dreaming about joining the Wonderbolts, when she could have been being friends with Derpy. It occurred to her that after having lived in the same town as Derpy for nearly ten years; this was the first time she had ever listened to her for more than a few sentences… and now this may have to be her last time. Tomorrow, she was officially a Ranger, and to contact Denorious would be strictly forbidden; but Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but wonder how much better she might be now if she had spent more time with Derpy.

As Rainbow Dash finally took leave around sunset, she took one final look over her shoulder which revealed a noble pegasus pony, glimmering silver and gold in the last rays of the setting sun.

Epilogue >>>

35 - Please don't Hate Me

Lost Chapters

Welcome to the deleted scenes! I consider these cannon; but didn’t include them in the final draft because; I didn’t have a way of tying them in, were unnecessary and made the chapter too long, were illogical, or went against the mood I was trying to create at the time.

Enjoy!

Extra story of Storm’s past that has no relevance to the story.

Silent Storm squatted in a narrow, freshly dug trench with five Rangers on either side of him, hidden under a camouflaged tarp that blotted out the full moon. It was two years since Silver had died; Storm had barely spoken a word to another Ranger since then, and not once had he left the forest. However, on his last stop at Uthraig to collect supplies, he had been approached by several officers asking for his help.

After a series of defeats, a terrormonger force of unidentified size was coming dangerously close to the edge of the forest and was encroaching on the outskirts of a hamlet named Ponyville. Unless they were stopped, the terrormongers would massacre the town, and after that, keeping the secret would be nearly impossible; and could cause a tsunami of supercharged terrormongers that destroyed Equestria.

They had to be stopped.

Storm and the other Ranger captains had the numbers to do it, but currently the location of the terrormonger force was unknown. To make things more... interesting, tonight was Nightmare Night, a festival to Princess Luna, a night dedicated to scaring ponies, if left to themselves the civilians in Ponyville would draw the terrormongers to their town before the night was through... unless; there was another well of fear to attract the terrormongers, already inside the forest.

Storm crouched down a little further as he heard the approaching voice of Zecora and a hundred hooves behind him, on their way to Luna’s statue, right on schedule. Holding his polished blade in front of him, Storm could see them in the distance. Zecora’s mohawk had been replaced by a flat cascade of mane, studded with spiders; (Storm wondered briefly if they were rubber or if she had petrified real spiders into her mane) but her gold jewelry was completely unchanged, as always.

"This is the worst plan ever." Whispered a young Ranger beside him, slightly too loudly, as he twisted his stupid head around to look at the civilians rather than keep his eyes where they should be, "Some of those kids can't be more than seven years old, and we're using them as bait!"

Storm resisted the urge to kick the air out of the new recruit and leaned over in an appropriately whispered growl, "Zecora's with them."

"There's at least two dozen civilians out there;" continued the new recruit, "If just one terrormonger gets past us, it would be a massacre!"

Why did Storm have to get a recruit who was deaf as well as stupid? Storm leaned over again and whispered a second time, slightly louder; "Zecora's with them."

Thankfully the recruit shut up after that and got back to watching and listening. A little over a minute into Zecora's presentation, a tree fell with a crack about fifty meters to the north, meaning one of the other strike teams had spotted the enemy. Storm drew his blades and has one hoof out of the trench when a bright light issued from somewhere above the tree line; Storm looked up just in time to see a hooded figure in a chariot drawn by two thestrals.

What the hay!?

............................................................................................................................................................ This scene was meant to happen shortly after the search party was in the forest; they met another band of Rangers who had finished their tour and was on their way back to Equestria; Shining Armor says-

“I’m not Silent Storm. "

The stallion stared at Shining Armor in confusion for several moments his eyes opened wide and a huge grin shot across his face "I won" he murmured. Before Rainbow could get an explanation the Stallion had began jumping around the group in wide circles, similar to Twilight's happy dance and cheering in a sing-song voice "I WON! I WON! I won; I won; I won; I won; I WON!"

"No need to gloat Wind Whacker" grumbled one of his companions sulkily.

"I don't get it" complained Rainbow, "What did you win?"

Wind Whacker spun around to face her, sporting a smile so big it looked like his face would break. "Why, Storm's money of course."

"What!?"

"Most Rangers who get lost alone in the deep forest die or go crazy within a month. Silent Storm's been living at the front lines of the war by himself for who knows how long and so everybody knows it's only a matter of time before one or the other happens to him; but noone knows when it will happen and so we all make bets! My wager was yesterday, that puts me the closest meaning I win! I'M RICH!"

"That's insane."

Wind Whacker pointed towards Shining Armor, "He thinks he's somepony else, and I just won ninety-three thousand bits. Who are you calling crazy?"

"Does Storm know the Rangers do this?"

"Duh, who do you think we all bet against? Storm has a diamond dog bookie in Uthraig who manages all the bets. At the start of each year any Ranger who want to play, picks a day for two hundred bits and then Storm matches the total with his own money. Whoever gets the closest to when he 'looses it' gets the money; but if Storm makes it through the year then he keeps it. He's been fleecing us for years because he's never gone crazy; until now that is!"

"So... how much money does Storm have?" asked Rainbow curiously.

Wind Whacker did some quick calculations in his head "Well, Storm's been serving at the front line, earning maximum pay non-stop since; forever. He only spends money when he goes to civilization which is; never; and for the last few years he's been making heaps of bits by betting that he won't go crazy; so I'd say he has about... a zillion bits! Time to celebrate baby!" Wind Whacker stopped briefly and looked Rainbow up and down, "You look OK. Wanna come with me to Uthraig while I collect my prize and then go party?"

"No thanks."

The stallion's face fell slightly, but then a glint re-entered his eyes when he caught sight of Twilight, "What about you?" he offered sliding up until their noses almost touched, "Do you need a big, strong, rich stallion to show you around in this big, bad forest?"

Twilight began turning bright pink and took one hesitant step backwards, "Um, well.... that's very kind of you but... but..."

"Buttttt?" asked Wind Whacker, seeming to take great delight in the word.

"I think, what the mare is trying to tell you," said Shining Armor firmly, as he stepped into the narrow gap between Twilight and Wind Whacker, "Is that she does not intend to attend your 'party' and that goes doubly so because there's not going to be one. I really am Shining Armor, on Monday Storm and I preformed a body swap."

"That's just what you would say if you had gone crazy!"

"He's telling the truth" confirmed Twilight, still pink around the ears "I have a letter from Princess Celestia herself which proves it." Twilight retrieved the second letter the Princess had sent to her, and presenting to Wind Whacker whose face fell as he read it over for the second time.

Given issues of; what happened next and a soldier acting so immature and I’m not sure how cannon I can take this, but the lottery is definitely real. Since Storm did think he was Shining Armor for a while, he did technically go crazy and lost the lottery, but he hadn’t bet all his money on it. By the end I’m thinking he roughly broke even for however much he won in previous lotteries, (but since he didn’t think he was Shining Armor for a couple days after this, it wasn’t Wind Whacker who won it, it someone sensible.)

............................................................................................................................................................This was meant to be in the prologue of Rainbow Dash complaining about the Wonderbolts, but it was getting too long and this paragraph wasn’t really necessary.

Rainbow still hoped that, one day she might form the Wonderbolts into the team they all pretended to be; but so far her efforts had been met with nothing but a series of abysmal failures. Once, for example, she had tried to get the Wonderbolts to practice their performances during thunderstorms. “There’d be no point” the other Wonderbolts had all insisted, “nopony would come to watch us in a thunderstorm, so why should we waste our time and energy getting a skill we could never use?” They just didn't get it! The idea wasn't because it would be instantly useful, the idea was to do something because it would be hard and would force them to become a stronger, more cooperative team. Another time, she had even suggested breaking the Wonderbolts into two competing teams, to motivate new flight innovations, but if they thought her other ideas were silly, this one they simply took it as a joke. They were all unquestionably fantastically gifted fliers, but they just didn't want to work any harder than they had to, to keep their positions on the celebrity flight team.

............................................................................................................................................I wrote this one night, completely on spur of the moment and thought it was hilarious at the time. Since then I've decided it doesn’t fit with how I wanted to develop RD in the lead up to her quitting the Wonderbolts. This was meant to come in chapter 7, right after Firestreak asked if Apple Bloom had 300,000 bits.

How could they have done this to her!? How could they have let Dash spend her entire life dreaming about becoming one of them and then turn out to be so bitter in real life. The most merciful thing they could have done would have been to kill her the day after she joined, that way at least she could have died happy. But the monsters had let her live, they had made her one of them and now she had become a part of their lie!

With a scream of frustration Dash lunged at Fire Streak, wrapping her hooves around his throat and squeezing the life out of him as she bashed his skull repeatedly against a rock, each blow drawing more blood as it poured down his face past his bulging, fish-like eyes. The other Wonderbolts tried to drag her off him, but she turned on them, tearing their wings off with her bare hooves and throwing them head first into trees where they made a satisfying “crack!” before falling limp and lifeless to the ground. A few of them did the smartest thing they had done since they met her and tried to run, flying away as fast as their wings would carry them, but Dash went after them, ripping a ten foot branch off one of the trees and using it as a club to bat each of them out of the sky with flawless precision, to the delighted cheers of Apple Bloom.

She no longer had a flight team but that wouldn't matter soon. She would hire Twilight to build her a new flight team, of robots! Android pegasi who would always put the fans first, would wouldn't be afraid to try new routines, wouldn't waste their money buying truckloads of their own merchandise, and best of all, she'd have Twilight make her a remote control for them with a mute button on it! She could fold them all up at night and put them in a box under her bed where they'd be out of the way for her and Storm.

Ever so slowly, Dash opened her eyes; and the grin she had been wearing the last thirty seconds vanished, when she saw that all the Wonderbolts were still there, in a line looking back at her with their typical stupid expressions.

"You're brother has an amazing lung capacity!" grinned Rainbow after Twilight had fallen back from Shining Armor's side.

"Well I suppose it's really Storm's lung capacity with the body swap and all."

Rainbow missed a step as a slight glint entered her eyes, "Even better."

............................................................................................................................................................This was another part of chapter 14 where Storm and Silver are telling Straight hack about their past; I wanted to convey that they weren’t just victims but did do some horrid things, even if they were in understandable circumstances, and make the idea that Silver wasn’t just a Princess Peach character to be saved by Storm over and over again, but had some initiative of her own. The chapter was getting a bit long and I think I already conveyed that Storm and Silver had a rotten life. I’m considering a short side story a few years in the future where Storm is struggling adjusting to civilian life and this story might come up then.

They told Straight Hack… almost everything. Storm kept telling himself that one day he would tell him everything, but of the five ponies and one griffon that they had killed in their two years living off the street, one of them had been innocent. They trusted Straight Hack not to tell anyone what they’d done, but didn’t want to incriminate him as a silent accomplice if anyone found out what they had done, found them living with Straight Hack.

The winter before Straight Hack; the train lines had frozen, leaving them stranded for over a week in Port Mane. After exhausting the town’s dumpsters on the second night, they resorted to begging; but this proved equally fruitless. There’d been a bakery there, run by an older earth pony stallion who had seemed nice and smiled at them when they came in, but when he learned they didn’t have any money only gave them one hot cross bun to share.

That the heating in the shop had been on minimum, suggested that the stallion wasn’t rich and didn’t have much to spare; but he had so much more than they did, and after looking around Storm believed stealing from that shop had the lowest likelihood of getting caught. Storm broke in through the window around midnight and began filling his improvised saddlebags bags with as much food as he could carry. He was almost finished when the lights went on and the baker stallion was coming for him. Storm jumped out the window he had come in and began running. The stallion came after him, calling for him to stop, but Storm knew better; he wouldn’t go through being beaten for stealing again.

With the snow making everything white it was hard to find a place to hide, but Storm was quick and had almost outran him, when Silver came out of nowhere and used her magic to pelt a jagged rock at the stallion’s head. The stallion went down and began flailing; they should have run, but Storm knew the baker had seen both their faces and if they couldn’t get out of the city that night, police might come looking for them the next day, and they weren’t the sort of ponies that the world would let get away with stealing.

They just wanted to live.

Thinking and acting in the same moment; Storm turned on the stallion, drew his knife and began stabbing him with untrained blows, trying to find his heart in that giant earthpony chest. It couldn’t have lasted for more than a minute; but the stallion put up a fight that made it feel like a war. Silver held him down and tried to keep him quiet; when a few kicks to the head didn’t stop his cursing, she tried stuffing his mouth with snow, then smothering him with her belly and eventually stuffing her hoof down his throat right up to her shoulder; that worked.

When the stallion stopped kicking the orphans looked at each other; realizing what they had done. They stripped the stallion the jacket he no longer needed, disappointed to find only four bits in the pocket, than set to getting rid of the body. He was too heavy for them carry, but the ice was slippery and so they dragged him to the river where they combined their magic’s to melt a hole in the ice large enough to slide the body through. Three days later, when the trains were running and they were about to leave; they found a newspaper saying a local baker had gone missing, leaving behind a wife and three children.

They ate the newspaper.

............................................................................................................................................................This was meant to be another discussion for Storm and Cadance in chapter seventeen, it was unnecessary and I like to just vaguely allude that what Cadance said in chapter 13 was the same memory Storm recalls in chapter 17. I also thought about inserting this when Twilight was quizzing the stallions, but instead asked about Smarty Pants or Heu-jass.

Cadance nuzzled Shining Armor affectionately, "Do you remember how we met?"

Shining Armor nodded, "I had been working at Doughnut Joes and Twily bet you that she could get me to give you two free food while I was on shift. You came in with two, free pretzel 'coupons' that Twily had drawn on napkins and when I didn't cash them you started pretending to complain about the, 'bad customer service'. I asked if you thought you could do a better job and we ended up having a baking contest to see who could make the best giant pretzel back at my house. Twily tasted them both but couldn't decide who’s was best, then you offered her a new magic book and she declared you the winner.

We started cleaning up the mess we had made when you passed, your pretzel to have a bite and in the moment you hovered it between us Twilight suddenly lit up like a horn and said we were so cute together. Two days later, she got up early and stole my lunch and bits out of my bag before I went to the academy, and when you came to foalsit, she told you I had forgotten them, but not to worry because she had already started making me a massive chocolate cake to replace it, coercing you into helping finish it and bring it to me at lunchtime. One week later she told me it was your birthday and convinced me to help plan a surprise party."

............................................................................................................................................................This is a modified version of the speculation on Zecora at Uthraig that just went a bit extreme. I like it, and consider it cannon, but for setting up the end of the chapter I wanted Zecora to be more mysterious/ wise/ epic and this made her more mysterious/ crazy/ nightmarish.

I got this idea from one repeated guess in the comments that Shining Armor and Zecora had been having an affair; not that this would be anything close to realistic to how that would turn out, but maybe how Shining Armor would have seen it when he was being trained by Zecora, (keep in mind, at that stage he believed that Storm had been raised by wolves.) Shining Armor is loyal to Cadance, (At least in this manner of speaking), and Zecora… has her reasons.

A lot of strange stuff was said about Zecora, and about what she did in her spare time. One subject of interest is that despite having been in the forest for decades, (no one was quite sure how many) she had never been in any romantic relationship that anyone knew of… at least… no one had ever been in a relationship with her and lived to tell the tale. One story Twilight heard twice was that Zecora was part spider, and after mating, cooked stallions into stews and ate them. Another issue was that apparently, making potions was just one of many jobs Zecora did to help the Rangers, for which she was paid a fortune by the royal crown. Estimates of her exact salary varied wildly, from six digits to eight, while speculation on what she did with her money was even wilder. Theories ranged from the mundane such as saving it or sending it to her family, (whoever they were), to bizarre legends of feeding it to her dragon lover(s) and/or their half-breed child(ren); possibly, to fatten them up before she ate them too. (Some theories were even weirder.) The only consistent rumor was that she employed selected elite Rangers, sworn to secrecy, to run private errands for her in between tours, but even this couldn't be verified by any real evidence.

............................................................................................................................................................This last scene I consider utterly cannon and takes place two months after chapter 23, but I liked ending the story with Derpy so I put this as a second ending here. Think of this as the two minute clip some movies have after the credits.

Twilight sat on the front porch of the Apple’s farmhouse with Granny Smith, waiting patiently for the rest of the Apple family to assemble. Apple Bloom was the first to come outside, remarkably clean for a filly who lived on a farm and wearing an elegant little dress Twilight recognized as something Rarity had made for Sweetie Bell for her last birthday. For a split second Twilight wondered if Sweetie Bell had outgrown it already, and given it to Apple Bloom, but realized instantly that that would never happen. Sweetie Bell loved and idolized her older sister and cherished everything she gave her... with how erratic Rarity had been acting lately, and how little time she was spending with Sweetie Bell, this may be one of the last thing Rarity ever gave her. Twilight could only imagine how much it would have meant to Sweetie Bell lending it to Apple Bloom, whose vigilant steps showed she appreciated the magnitude of the gesture as she stepped gingerly onto the front porch. It fit the occasion well.

After her came Big Macintosh; his dark russet fur cleaned to even greater lengths then Apple Blooms, wearing a suit that looked old but very well cared for. Last came Applejack who, like Twilight, was wearing her Gala dress. Her neck still bandaged enough that she probably shouldn't be taking a long journey, but she’d insisted and the rest of the family wasn't about to try and stop her. It had been three months since Applejack had gotten hurt; she was healing, slower then she would have liked, (mostly due to not resting as much as she should), but was strong enough to take the day trip... to visit her parent's graves.

Twilight was confused; Shining Armor was still Captain of the Royal Guard, and that meant Celestia should be the only pony that could order him to do anything, but he still seemed to be taking Zecora's banishment from passing any dragon wall seriously. Nevertheless he had promised to send another Ranger to guide Applejack and her family to the Ranger graveyards, and if at all possible, he would send someone who had known Lasso Mac, and could tell them about his life in the Rangers. A day and time had been set, that day and time had now come.

As if on cue, two easily recognizable ponies walked up the lane towards the gate, Rainbow Dash and Silent Storm. The ponies on the porch each took a bouquets of flowers from the railings and went down to meet them, Twilight consciously hobbling her pace to what AJ should be going as they met the Ranger duo at the gate.

"You?" asked Applejack suspiciously to the red pony.

"Silent Storm" nodded the unicorn; looking from one Apple to the other like he'd forgotten why he was there.

"I told em about the Rangers” imposed Applejack, “You can lock us all up later if you want but you are going to show us where our parents are first.”

Silent Storm said nothing but gave a faint shrug.

Twilight felt nervous and thought it would be a good idea to introduce the family to Storm. “These are-“

"Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh and Mrs. Smith." said Storm, nodding to each family member in turn.

"Did Shinen Armur tell you about us?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Your father did."

"You knew our pa?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I knew him very well. He was one of the few friends I had until he died in battle. I wasn't with him."

They began walking towards the forest; the going was slow, due to Granny Smith’s age, AJ’s injuries and Apple Blooms admirable efforts to keep Sweetie Bell’s dress clean, but no one minded this as it gave the family time to pepper Storm with questions about Lasso Mac which he answered as best he could. A few months ago, Twilight would have been more then eager to hear some war stories but now… they seemed much less glamorous now that she had been there, and it seemed better to hang back and let the Apple family get the answers they’d waited so long for.

Rainbow Dash seemed to share her sentiment; staying back close beside Twilight, limping onwards on two of her legs. Twilight hadn’t seen her since the day she resigned from the Wonderbolts and was glad to see her again, but Dash didn’t seem talkative; she seemed… older as though these last months had taken a lot out of her, and under her tiger striped chain-mail Twilight could see tightly wrapped bandages.

Several times, Dash opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but never did so Twilight spoke for her, "Looks like AJ healed some injuries and you got some” she said gently, “Was it a terrormonger?”

"I don't want to talk about it." murmured Dash without stopping. A minute passed with none of them said anything, until Dash breathed quietly under her breath, "It's not as easy as I thought it would be."

"It‘s OK Rainbo-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

The trees rolled past, giving the impression of a treadmill; until they finally gave way to a sweeping forest of stone statues; each life size standing a few feet apart from each other. "Many of the Rangers here didn't officially exist" said Storm evenly. "Few in Equestria knows about the ponies here, but we have some skilled stone masons who have done what they could to give their graves some dignity.”

Storm led them a short way into the graveyard, navigating it like he had been here many times before, to the statues of two ponies, a stallion and a mare, standing side by side. The stallion’s cutie-mark was a lasso. "Lasso Mac was killed in an ambush in front of an Ursa’s cave at a battle called Forest Jaws ten years ago. I wasn't with him when he died; but while I knew him he talked often about you, and about how proud he was of his children. A few weeks after his death, a patrol found the body of your mother, mauled by timber wolves on the line of the first dragon wall; someone recognized her and so they buried her beside her husband."

The Apples sat down silently except for Big Mac who stood motionless, staring into the stone faces of his dead parents. Twilight, Storm and Rainbow Dash stood well back, allowing the family their long overdue time to grieve as they lay their bouquets one by one at the bases of the statues and slowly began reminiscing of all the times they had once had. After a few moments, Storm turned away.

"You’re leaving?" asked Twilight.

"It’s been a while since I’ve been here; I have some more stops to make. I'll be within ear shot." With that turned and strode off into the maze of stone. Rainbow Dash looked wistfully between Storm and the Apples and then limped off after Storm. Storm stopped when he heard her hoofsteps, and waited for her to reach him before starting off again, moving slower and caressing her in his telekinesis to ease her limp, the two of them moved off into the maze of history.

Applejack lay sprawled out over her parents graves, no sobs shook her body but Twilight could see tears trickling down her face as she looked at the lifelike statues of her parents. Then Applejack began looking beyond them, her eyes blinking as though she were having some kind of a vision. "Twilight," she asked soberly, "Why’s there a thirty foot statue of Derpy in the middle of the graveyard?”

Paths not taken >>>

36 - Comes the Reaper

Pathes Not Taken

This scene was something I had planned in the very early stages of SOS; discarded before I even got to the stage where the scene would fit, but still wrote because I found it amusing. Shining Armor and his party were going to have met Reaper and his Rangers, (though I hadn’t invented Reaper yet) earlier and traveled with them for some time. Also the flares were going to work more like fireworks/rockets once lit until I wondered if you needed magic to light them, why make them fly in one direction when you can use telekinesis to move them wherever you want? When they were camping; Twilight and another Ranger Sure Shot were on watch, heard strange noises and went to investigate. They crawl behind a log and then Sure Shot peaks over-

“What in the world?“ Sure Shot pulled out his cross bow and cocked it; Twilight looked over the log to see Pinkie Pie, using her party cannon to shoot all the trees around her, humming merrily to herself.

“Wait!"

“There's no way that this is real,” said Sure Shot, “It’s one of the most basic tricks there is. Cute mare, lost and confused in the woods, you go up and try to help her and things turn ugly.” Sure Shot aimed to fire; but Twilight quickly stood up and fired one of her flares towards what looked like Pinkie

“OOOOO;" squealed Pinkie with delight; “Fire works!" Pinkie Pie bounced in-place, open mouthed, until the flare shot into her mouth, causing her to double back, gagging and eventually sneezing twin jets of fire out her nostrils. “Yuck!” protested Pinkie, spitting out an empty husk.

“Pinkie?”

“Twilight!” yelled Pinkie angrily, bounding over as if to attack her, face red, “Twilight how could you!?”

“How did you get out here?”

“How could you betray me like this? I have always invited you to my parties. Always! Why didn’t you invite me to your party? Do you not want to be friends anymore?”

“What are you doing?”

“Just now?” asked Pinkie; “I was setting up decorations for your party, the one you didn’t invite me to.“

“What party?”

“The search party!”

............................................................................................................................................................I had a LOT of trouble writing the Shining Armor/ Twilight fight scene in chapter 18; not knowing what was meant to happen, sometimes I just started writing and saw where it went. This was going to happen right after Shining Armor picked up the sword, I never really liked because even being exhausted, Shining Armor wouldn't be this stupid, but it still made an interesting read .

Shining Armor dropped and barrel rolled to the side, bringing one of the swords down on his abandoned position, slicing clean through a timber wolf which vanished upon impact. Shining Armor regained his hooves and began scanning the glade; looking not just for what he could see but what he couldn't. If the terrormongers were amateurs there may be a section of the forest that he'd have trouble focusing on, and their own shrouds would have given away their locations. They weren’t amateurs.

There was a hiss. Shining Armor saw too late the cobra about to strike. He lifted his hoof as fast as possible, but the cobra shot out like lightning, bit his hoof and vanished into thin air. The flapping of scaled wings aimed for the back of his head caused him to buckle, rolling onto his back as he brought both swords to slice through a cockatrice, bit it too vanished on the impact.

Several minutes of this had Shining Armor nervous; the terrormongers weren’t trying to hurt him. Terrormongers almost never killed their prey outright, but fed on them as long as possible, sometimes days, but they always started by hurting a prey just enough that they were no longer considered a threat. They were treating him as someone they didn't think was dangerous meaning he was either against some very powerful necromancers, or they were trying to scare him with false confidence.

It didn’t matter; the fact that they intended to take their time on him gave Shining Armor hope. It meant they didn't know that within striking distance was a Canterlot princess and a body which would soon have monolithic strength, who were momentarily defenseless. There was a pause of a few seconds, and then, everything changed as a hurricane seemed to explode from within the glade, and dozens of forest creeps rushed him from all sides.

What had he done!?

............................................................................................................................................................I had planned the last meeting between Rainbow Dash and Rarity long before I wrote it, but when I first tried to write it I got carried away and ended up writing this instead. The next day I looked it over, knew I‘d gone too far and decided to write the version I‘d planned. This cuts off when Rarity is trying to get Rainbow Dash to feel her cats

“Pet him Dash, feel how soft he is.”

Rainbow reached forth and stroked him twice. “Nice.”

“Oh, that wasn’t enough Rainbow Dash! You need to really feel him.” Rarity lifted Frazzles in her telekinesis and began rubbing him up and down Rainbow’s neck and wing.

“Very nice.” Complimented Rainbow slowly, more than a little uncomfortable with the weirdness of the situation.

“But how can you say that when you haven’t felt any of the others!?” Protested Rarity vehemently, “We define our quality by comparing ourselves to others, and cat’s must be no different!” Rarity immediately grabbed the cats Rainbow assumed to be Turquoise and Sapphire and began rubbing one of them on her neck and wing opposite to Frazzles, and the other she rubbed up and down her belly, tickling her mercilessly, as the three cats meowed incessantly. “See how Sapphire’s coat is grainy and stringy, while Turquoises fur sticks together like it hasn’t been washed? Now feel Frazzles perfect hide. Fit for a princess!” Rarity levitated Frazzles in front of her face, rubbing his belly with her hoof as she continues to abrade Dash with her other tom cats who seemed as uncomfortable as Dash was feeling. “Why you have such a nice coat Mr. Frazzles; why, I could just rip it right off of you and make you into a coat. Yes I could. Yes I could.”

Frazzles lashed out with a claw against Rarity’s forehoof causing her to draw back in horror. “Mr. Frazzles! How dare you!” Rarity dropped him onto the floor but didn’t let him go from her telekinesis, “After all the kindness I’ve shown you- you… you deserve to be punished!” The cat looked up at her and hissed, “OK fine, you can run an errand for me instead.” Rarity levitated over a blank piece of paper and put in on the ground in front of Frazzles, “Take this message to the palace and deliver it personally to Princess Celestia, just tell the guards at the gates that you’re from me and they’ll let you in. Oh and if you see Valor Hunk there, scratch him for me! He hasn’t been returning my love letters.” Frazzles looked at her and cocked his head, “Alright, Alright, you win. You can deliver the message after your music lesson.”

Rarity released Frazzles who walked to a corner of the room and began licking himself. Rainbow Dash crept a little bit closer to the fasionista, “Rarity, how about you sit down and have a drink of water.”

“Oh there’s no time for that Rainbow Dash! No time at all! I’ve just received word that somepony has been spreading the insidious rumor that you’re resigning from the Wonderbolts! Can you imagine! Now I suspect Spitfire is behind this attempted coup since she has the most to benefit from you gone, but I’ll bet we can trap the little fem fatal in her plot and get rid of her for once and for all! I, my ponies and my cats are at your command. Just say the word and we’ll-”

“Rarity.” Interrupted Dash, hoping to derail the freight train of verbiage before it went too far, “It’s true. I am resigning.”

“Oh.” Said Rarity quietly, “I’m sorry, I must have overreacted. It seems so obvious now that-” Rarity grabbed a water jug that was on the bench and hurled its contents at Dash, “Take that changeling!” she yelled; picking up another cat in her telekinesis, and hoisting it high above her head like she was about to hurl the cat at her as a weapon, but then stopped short; “You… you didn’t melt. That means… you really are Rainbow Dash! Oh Darling can you ever forgive me for accusing you of being a changeling.”

Dash decided not to tell Rarity that water didn’t make changelings melt; “It’s... alright.”

“No! No! It’s not alright!” yelled Rarity vehemently, “I’ve accused you, and here in Canterlot, even if we can prove the claim is false the accusation alone can be enough to ruin your reputation! I’ve ruined you!”

“Settle down Rarity, We’ll figure something out.”

“Yes, we will!” agreed Rarity as she fell to the ground hyperventilating. “She did it!” Screamed Rarity hysterically pointing as accusing hoof at Topaz who seemed unfazed, “She’s the one who sought to slander your reputation; she’s working for Spitfire! Traitor!”

“Rarity-”

“We can’t take back her words now that they’ve been spoken, but was can sue her; sue her for everything she’s worth! We can make sure that the case goes to a judge is a nice, elderly, lonely stallion, who we can seduce to make sure that he rules in our favor! Then we can overthrow the Princesses, and live happily ever after!”

“Rarity; we can’t file a law suit against your cat!”

Rarity looked at her and blinked; “Traitor!” she screamed, “You can’t pull out now Rainbow Dash, not on the eve of our final victory! You have to stick with me on this!”

“OK, OK fine! The cat did it!”

Rarity visibly relaxed and slumped back, resting her head against one of her mannequins, breathing deeply, “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

“You stay here,” Ordered Dash, “I’ll go to Hoofington and start using my mind control powers to gather an army of followers to overthrow the Princesses.”

“Alright,” breathed Rarity, almost dreamily, “That sounds like a good plan, oh I know that we will make such good Princesses. Tata for now.”

............................................................................................................................................In the first draft of Shining Armor meeting Pinkie Pie in chapter 3, I put in a food fight. The aim had been to show Shining Armor kicking back and letting himself relax and act silly so when the letter arrived from Celestia his instant transformation would be more dramatic.

Looking back however I’m thinking Shining Armor is meant to be like the joint head of military/ police/ CIA equivalent in Equestria and on a random whim he’s willing to trash a restaurant in a spontaneous food fight??????? For a while I had justified it of it could happen in Equestria, but even that was a little bit of a stretch. I tried rewriting the food fight but eventually took the whole thing out.

Version 1

After the cupcake eating contest (which Pinkie won) the three ponies fell to chatting until Shining Armor mentioned how strange it was suddenly having red fur instead of white. Twilight obliged by dumping a sack of flour over him, he laughed, and responded by dumping two sacks over her. Pinkie joined in and soon all three were fighting with whatever baking goods they could find. “Open the oven, Pinkie” Shining Armor called, lifting his sister (who was squealing too much to resist), almost to the ceiling and smearing her neck and mane with strawberry jam “this cake needs to bake about twenty minutes on high heat before she'll be ready to eat.” When Mr. and Mrs. Cake got home they found three white ponies rolling on the ground, laughing and sneezing hysterically. They made each of the three friends pay for a cake, saying they had chosen to wear their cakes instead of eat them, and then they were made to clean up the mess; but they made a game of it so nopony minded.

Cleaning up the hard wooden benches and floors of Sugar Cube Corner was fairly easy. Cleaning up three ponies covered in flour, jam, peanut butter, chocolate, custard, and sprinkles, on the other hoof; that was more difficult. Pinkie was somehow able to clean herself up in a few seconds with her tongue, and offered to clean Twilight and Shining Armor the same way... they refused. Instead the unicorn siblings opted for washing up in the river, which was harder than it sounded. The moving water was useful for wiping off loose bits of food, but it turned the flour to dough which got stuck deep in their manes and coats, making it more difficult to get off. Rolling in the long grass helped loosen the sticky bits, but only the top layer became loose enough to wash off, meaning both ponies had to complete four or five cycles of swimming in the river and rolling in the tall grass before they were clean.

Version 2

After the cupcake eating contest (which Pinkie won) the three ponies fell to casual talk until Shining Armor mentioned how he missed having white fur. Pinkie obliged by dumping a sack of flour over him. Having somehow concluded that a spontaneous food fight had begun, Pinkie bounced over to a cabinet for more supplies and began flinging them onto the table, back flipped back to the table, hoisted a jar of jam and flung its contents at Twilight only to have the jam caught in midair by Shining Armor’s telekinesis who was looking thoroughly confused. That’s when it hit Twilight; Shining Armor was here to relax from keeping the shield up, he was here to wind down, that meant he needed to do something fun.

Twilight picked the empty jar out of Pinkie’s hoof and held it under the jam, then gently took the jam out of Shining Armor’s grip, but instead of putting it back in the jar she proceeded to splatter it over his coat. Shining Armor looked at her like she’d gone mad, but by this time Pinkie was already coming at him with a carton of custard, singing something that sounded like a mixture between a war chant, a nursery rhyme and a goose beat boxing. It took them a few minutes, but eventually, something in Shining Armor snapped.

When Mr. and Mrs. Cake got home that day the store was… a mess, to say nothing of the three ponies who by now had learned that if most surfaces were covered in some sort of baking good, and if they were covered in the same, it was fairly easy to blend in to your surroundings in improvised urban camouflage. Then came the part where they told Shining Armor that Pinkie Pie didn’t actually own the store but just worked there, then came the task of cleaning the store up and paying for wasted product.

...........................................................................................................................................................................................

Read this some time after I finished posting SOS and decided it needlessly slowed things down, so I shortened it while making it a bit more cryptic.

“So do we all slay the princess and save the dragon?” she asked with a smile.

“Yea; but after that we all have different ideas about how it should end?”

Rainbow thought, “Well how about you tell me the different endings and then I can pick the one I like. It is a story about me after all.”

“That's a great idea! Thanks, Rainbow Dash. OK, my idea was… ummmmm...” Apple Bloom started blushing beat red, “... Do you... do you think you might fall in love with a dragon like Ekips?”

“What?”

“Well, I just thought that cause he was cool and you were cool... nevermind” well at least Apple Bloom wasn't trying to make things get steamy between her and Spitfire, or one of the other Wonder-mares. Still; falling for some dragon, named after her friend's assistant... Rainbow reckoned she could do better.

“Do the other crusaders like your idea?”

“No.” sighed Apple Bloom “Scootaloo hates the idea. She says you're way too much of a free spirit to ever get bogged down in a relationship.” Good old Scoots. She got how Rainbow wouldn't... would she?

“I not sure I like the idea very much either, too predictable. What was Sweetie Bells idea?”

“She wants there ta be a unicorn singer mare who was at the Gala and took third place right behind the Wonderbolts. She comes with you to rescue Ekips and those two end up falling in love and becomen' a preformen' duo.” That was... interesting. The story idea wasn't bad either.

“And Scoots?”

“Oh, she had the stupidest idea ever! She wants a surprise ending where it turns out Ekips isn't really a dragon, but a giant magical chicken in disguise!” Again with the chickens? For years now, Scootaloo had had a fascination with chickens, and whatever the reason, it was bad enough that Rainbow was starting to think maybe… never mind.

“I think you'd better go with Sweetie Bell's idea.”

Apple Bloom thought for a minute, looking disappointed and excited at the same time. “OK Rainbow Dash, I'll tell the others that Sweetie Bell was right.”

37 - Ignorant Bliss