Prologue
"Good night, Angel."
The night was serene, and quiet, as the moon's faint glow lit up the country side. Fluttershy glanced at her pale golden fur, as the moon shone through her window. Everything appeared hazy, and in a dream like state. The very trees themselves stooped low to the ground, as if they too wished to sleep. It truly was a night of tranquility. A night, however, that's silence would be short lived.
BOOOOM!
As quickly as she had dozed off, Fluttershy awoke with a sudden, loud gasp, her pink mane tossing to and fro as she stumbled to gain her footing. The noise was startling enough, but the view was shocking in itself. A wave of colour spread across the sky. Awestruck and amazed, Fluttershy remained rooted to the floor, gazing at the light show. As the wave began to dissipate and expand, a sudden realization dawned on the shy filly. A frown drifted across her face.
'What is Rainbow Dash doing up this late? And why is she…?' Fluttershy thought. Further observance of the odd phenomena provided an answer to her questions.
A single streak of rainbow colours lead from the origin of the wave right to the ground. Thoughts of anger quickly turned to worry. Wasting no time, Fluttershy quickly dashed down the stairs, her feathered wings beating quickly to keep her body aloft. Although she wasn't an athlete like Rainbow, her pegasus wings allowed her to move quickly, and she exited the door with great haste.
"It's not far. I can make it if I move quickly, and still have time to check elsewhere before the rainbow disappears," Fluttershy attempted to convince herself.
Her worries were quickly dispersed however, by none other than Dash herself. As she approached the town centre, she saw the blue fur and rainbow mane she knew all too well.
Fluttershy panted, "Rainbow! Are you alright?"
"The… wha? Oh, hi Fluttershy. Yeah... what was that noise?" Rainbow replied, attempting to stifle her yawns.
"It was a Sonic Rainboom. I thought you-" said Fluttershy, confused.
"What the hay is going on?"
The two turned to see Applejack, racing up the street in an orange flurry, her brown cowboy hat nearly falling off her blonde mane. As she approached the two pegasi, the rest of Ponyville quickly rose to investigate the commotion.
Chapter 1: A Gathering Storm
Chapter 1: A Gathering Storm
Twilight Sparkle pushed through the crowd. It wasn't easy going, but she was making progress. Now she just needed to find her friends and figure out what to do next.
The Unicorn turned backwards and hollered, "Hurry Spike!"
The little purple and green dragon known as Spike moved rapidly through the panicked crowd, desperately trying to keep up with Twilight. When she finally found Fluttershy, Dash, and Applejack, they had been joined by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Immediately, Twilight noticed that everyone was gathered around Fluttershy, whom seemed to be cowering on the ground.
"Fluttershy, darling, it couldn't possibly be a dragon…" Rarity calmly said, attempting to calm the nervous pony.
Seeing Twilight approaching, Applejack turned to greet her, saying "Oh, Twi! Did you see this… uh… Sonic Rain-a-majiggy?"
"Sorry Applejack," Twilight answered, "I saw the wave and heard the noise but I didn't get a good enough look at it."
"*Sigh*, great!" Rainbow Dash cried out in frustration, "So the only person who saw what happened refuses to show us where the Rainbow landed because she's scared of dragons!"
Twilight frowned and shook her head at Rainbow, and came close to Fluttershy, "Look Fluttershy, we need your help. I promise there won't been any dragons."
After a brief period of waiting that seemed like an eternity, the shy little pony finally uttered the long awaited word: "Okay…"
As quickly as the excitement began, the six ponies galloped (and flew) through the moonlit country side, led by their nervous guide (whom needed a bit of 'encouragement' once in a while). They moved like the wind until they all abruptly stopped. They were at the tree line to the Everfree Forest; the mythical and highly dangerous wood bordering on Ponyville. The moment passed quickly, and the group traversed further into the forest. They were still fearful of it, but had already been in it many times, and had faced far worse dangers.
Their pace quickened as they all notice the grey smoke rising from the forest ahead. They knew they were close. As they drew near, the smell of charcoal became prominent. The forest gave way into a small clearing, with a slight crater in the middle of it. Bits of dirt and grass glowed red hot amidst the light shroud of fog.
"Uh… Twilight… you go first. I'll watch your back." Rainbow Dash said, tapping her friend on the shoulder with her hoof.
With a groan, Twilight slowly moved on, delving further into the clearing, attempting to peer over the edge of the crater. As Twilight got her first glance at the contents of the crater, she let out a slight gasp, coupled with a slight sigh of relief.
"It's a pony… a pegasus… girls come here!" Twilight commanded her friends. Slowly, they obliged. In the middle of the crater was exactly what Twilight said. A male pegasus lay in the crater, stretched out on his side limply. His fur was black as shadow, with a vibrant green mane shaped into a mohawk, short and singed from the crash.
Applejack descended into the crater, and lightly nudged the pegasus. The pony remained limp and unresponsive to any further prodding. Sadness spread through Applejack.
"Uh… is he… he isn't…?"
"Ugh…"
A moan from the pony caused a shared sigh of relief between the mares. The pegasus began to move and shift, eventually stumbling to his feet. He sat in a drowsy state for a few seconds, shaking his head, before the gravity of his situation finally grasped him. Raising one hoof to his head, he gingerly moved his thick flight goggles above his eyes, revealing a set of green pupils, matching his mane in a slightly darker shade.
"Hi… uh… where am I?" the pegasus said slowly, still visibly shaken from his crash.
Pinkie Pie piped up, "You're in Ponyville. I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?"
"Pinkie this isn't the time for making friends!" Twilight sarcastically said.
"No… no it's fine," the shadow pony replied, "The friendless is... refreshing... I'm Storm… Shadow Storm. How close are we to Canterlot?"
"Canterlot? Why?" Twilight quizzed the mysterious pony.
"I have a priority message to be delivered to Princess Celestia. I must get there as soon as possible." Storm answered, his wits quickly regaining.
"It's about a one day journey by train," Twilight stated, pointing her hoof in the direction of the city.
"Then I must make haste immediately. I'm sorry, it was nice meeting you." Storm said, raising his wings in preparation for takeoff. As the pony stood tall and began to flap his wings, he let out a sudden cry of pain and anguish, falling to the ground once again. Seeing his distress, Fluttershy and Twilight rushed to his aid.
Shadow brushed them off, and regained his footing, saying "I'm fine… but I think my wing is broken… agh… and my leg doesn’t feel too good either… is there a hospital nearby?"
"Ponyville General is about a twenty minute trot away," Fluttershy noted softly.
"Ah… I didn't catch the rest of your names." Shadow responded, wincing while examining his leg.
After a brief introduction and several failed attempts to stand up, the solution to this odd situation and Shadow's dilemma was quite clear. This mysterious pony needed a doctor's help, and he couldn't get it on his own.
***
"Again, thanks," Shadow said to his assistant, as he slowly plodded along, using her as living crutch, "You have no idea how much this helps."
"We'll I sure ain't gonna be leaving nopony in the middle of that Everfree Forest," Applejack replied.
The six mares trotted across the same path they had taken to their new companion. Darkness had fallen over the country side, however, as a thick layer of clouds had moved in, blocking out the pale moonlight.
"So… Shadow." Rainbow Dash began, flying closer to the colt.
"Yeah?" Storm answered quietly, trying to ignore his injuries.
Dash quizzed Storm, in a bored half hearted tone, "Where are you from? I haven't seen you around Ponyville…"
"Well I'm originally a Cloudsdalean, but I'm currently stationed near Appaloosa."
"Stationed?'
"Oh, I guess I didn't mention. I'm in the Air Force."
A slightly confused look took Applejacks face, as she turned to Shadow, remarking "The what now?"
"Equestrian Royal Air Force," Shadow replied, with a look of equal confusion, "It's a special branch of the Royal Guard, specifically for pegasi."
A grin and look of excitement grabbed Shadow's attention, and he turned to see Rainbow Dash much closer and more interested.
"THE Royal Air Force?" Rainbow Dash excitedly said, "Have you met the Wonderbolts?"
Shadow noticed the hospital ahead, and dodged the question, "Kind of, but that's a story for another day."
The group completed their journey and reached the hospital. The mysterious pegasus bid his new acquaintances farewell, and checked into the hospital.
'They were friendly… I wonder if I'll ever meet them again…' Storm thought.
