Eye of the Storm

by Cloud Shimmers

Catering to Wounds

Blade had hobbled up the stairs to his bed, he scanned the room for the medical kit. Once he saw it perched on the wall by the bathroom, he hobbled to it. The bandages didn't help with the pain, and Blade knew that only one thing could have happened; the shard from the drake's claw was inside his leg. He took a few deep breaths, unwrapped the bandages and saw a sliver of black rising from the cut. He tugged on it, a gush of blood escaped the wound.

By the time it was half way out, the bathroom floor was a small pool of blood. Blade decided that pulling it slowly and carefully wasn't going to work and tugged on it. It released its hold on Blade's leg and he tossed it to the side, clutching his bloody leg. He began to clean and re-wrap the cut, making sure it was both tight and sturdy. He leaped to his bed for sleep.

Blade awoke late in the morning, it was about 11:30. He felt much better than yesterday but there was still some pain in his leg. He walked into the bathroom and saw that there was dried blood on his face, he sighed and turned toward the shower.

After he had cleaned himself off he got dressed, his shirt was adorned with a sun partially eclipsed by the moon. He grabbed his sword and decided to make sure the town was safe, especially after last night. Blade was about to open the dorr when a knock came from it, 'Spooky.' he thought as he pulled it open. Standing there was a girl, the girl who was shouting the night before.

Twilight stared at the young man for a second, "I knew I recognized you!"
"Huh?" Blade was surprised.

"Oh," Twilight realized she wasn't being polite, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, the princess' protege, I saw you at the tournament last year."

Blade was shocked, a member of the royal court was talking to him! "Oh well, thank you." He bowed.

Twilight giggled, "That's okay, you don't have to act formal because of who my teacher is. I just came by to say thank you, you saved AppleBloom and her friends and we are all grateful for that."

Blade smiled, "I wish I could say it was no problem, but I'm not nearly as skilled as I should be." He gestured to the sword riding behind his back.

"But aren't you a royal knight?" Twilight asked shocked.

Blade sighed, "Not yet, I know you've met my father but I'm not him."
Twilight was confused on this, "Didn't he teach you how to fight?"

Blade laughed, "More like scolded me on how to stay alive. He would yell whenever he beat me in sparring, then when I would win he said my form was sloppy."

Twilight laughed, "Sounds like some teachers are harsher than others."
Blade regained himself, "I was just about to head into town, want to join me?"

"Sure," Twilight replied, "I may make you a knight myself at this rate." She walked away.

Blade watched her for a second, "Wait...you can do that?"

The town was fine, one resident was out of a home but his relatives gladly welcomed him.

The whole town cheered as Blade walked into town, which made him blush. "Uh, thanks?"
The girls from the night before were pushed towards him by AppleJack, "Go on now."

They smiled, "Thank you!" they said in unison.
He leaned down, "Just try to be more careful, okay?"

The girls nodded their heads and scurried off.
"Sounds like you've got some fans!" Twilight joked.

Blade blushed, "That might ruin the whole 'chivalry' thing I've got going."
A woman walked up to the two of them, Blade noticed she was a few years older than Twilight.

"Could you come with me please?" The woman asked.
Blade's mind went to trouble, "Is something wrong?"

The woman laughed, "Excuse me, I forgot my manners; I am Rarity, you saved my little sister and her friends last night."

Blade was actually hoping for some form of trouble, "Oh, well why do I need to come with you?"
Rarity eyes his shirt, "Because as defender of our small town, you simply must make a bold statement in fashion!"

"Uh, whats wrong with what I'm wearing?" He pointed to the shirt wit the royal insignia.
"That just makes you look like any other common servant of the castle." Rarity assured him, "Also, you need something to protect yourself!"

Twilight nodded, "Rarity can stitch just about anything, she could easily make you some form of armor."

Blade's mind went to the armor the royal guards wear, "Gold isn't exactly my style." He told Rarity.
"Of course not, you need something that screams 'hero', I think a dark leather would look better." Rarity showed Blade her sketch pad; on it was a crude drawing of Blade wearing a black leather jacket that hung to his knees, it had onyx colored spaulders.

"Okay, that sounds great!" Blade said, it really would protect him more than anything else he had.

Rarity smiled, "But I need to get measurements, so come with me!" Rarity was dragging Blade by his collar.

Twilight laughed, "See you later!"

At Rarity's boutique Blade stood on a podium, Rarity was using her magic to hold her measuring tape whilst taking notes. Blade had his eyes closed, more focused on the chess game happening in his mind. When Rarity got too close with her magic, it fizzled out.

"O-oh dear," She said in an embarrassed way, "I'm sorry this never happens!"
Blade looked at her, "No its my fault, I have this special trick, it negates magic."

"You are special," Rarity said, "Fluttershy was right about you!" She thought about what she said and covered her mouth.

Blade blushed, "W-what do you mean?"
Rarity sighed, "She noticed something different about you. She said you were different than anyone else, I assumed it was a crush but this must be what she meant."

He sighed, "Are we done?"
Rarity looked at her sketch book, "Yes, I'll try to have it to you by tomorrow but you can't rush perfection."

Blade smiled, "I'm sure it will be perfect! But please don't strain yourself for me."
Rarity laughed and waved Blade out of her shop.

Blade did one final sweep of the main street, nothing was out of the ordinary apart from the one destroyed house. He decided to walk home and turn in for the night. As he crossed the bridge leading to the tower and the cottage, Blade remembered that he never checked to see if Fluttershy was okay. "Better late than never," he said to himself.

Fluttershy heard four knocks on her door, she smiled to Angel who was just tucked into bed, and went to answer the door. "H-hello?" She poked her head out.

"Uh, hi," Blade said, "I just came to see if you were okay after last night, I know it shook me up."

She didn't know why, but when Fluttershy stared into his eyes she felt frightened. The fear, however, was always joined by a feeling of protection. "O-oh yes, I'm fine."

Blade felt like something was wrong, "Are you sure? I don't want to go until I know your okay."

Fluttershy blushed, "I-I guess I do have something troubling me. But I wouldn't want to put you through any trouble."

Blade smiled, "Its part of my job, what do you need?"
Fluttershy had invited Blade in for tea, when she returned from putting the kettle on she asked her question. "I-I feel afraid of you." She whispered.

Blade's smile faded, "I can understand that-"
"But when I'm around you I feel protected." She continued, "Why is that?"

Blade was surprised, no one had ever said these words to him. "Its probably just me, I'm scary when I fight."

Fluttershy shook her head, "But its all the time, even right now..." Her words faded.
"Its a long story, and an old one." Blade explained, not wanting to bore her.

"I-I have some time," that was a lie, she was usually asleep by this time.
"It might give you nightmares," He warned her.

"I'm not a little girl," Fluttershy pointed out.