//------------------------------// // 20 - Marching Orders // Story: Storm Of Secrets // by Beware The Carpenter //------------------------------// 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.”