//------------------------------// // A Returning Storm // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S8 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was the middle of the night and all throughout Ponyville, those living there were fast asleep. Within the castle, Flash and Twilight were laying side by side, the purple alicorn in blissful sleep as the orange pegasus was letting out several moans as he shifted from side to side, his eyes clenching as he fell asleep. And within the sleep, the pegasus was within a black void inside his dream. He was simply walking, feeling a strange sense of familiarity as he walked through the dream. "Hello?!" He called out, "Is anypony there?!" But there was no answer, making him sigh. "Oh no. Don't tell me-" His words came to a stop as the void around him began to shift. Shapes within the darkness moved and swayed into being, making Flash raise an eyebrow before the darkness faded, allowing him to see he was now in his room at the castle. "This is feeling strangely familiar," he whispered as he stared at himself and Twilight, only to get yanked into the ceiling, "Yup, definitely familiar!" He phased through the rest of the castle until he flew out the top, then began to move through Ponyville. "Faust..." Flash muttered as he remembered the last time something like this had happened to him. "Faust?! Is that you?!" He then left Ponyville and continued flying over the land, picking up more and more speed with every second that passed. Soon the world around him was a blur, but he could still remember the direction he was heading. And soon enough, he left the confines of Equestria and passed the desert to Klugetown and even passed that, with Mount Aris coming up and flying by him. He flew across the open sea until he hit land again, eventually coming to a stop three or four miles in. He looked down and saw he was floating above a forest, with many mountains surrounding it. And as he floated down, he saw a pair of ponies down in the woods. They were two earth ponies, carrying large basket saddles with fruit inside them. They showed big grins on their faces as they walked through the forest. Flash felt himself follow after them, traveling several minutes, only for Flash to notice a clearing up ahead that had smoke coming out of it. And when he floated over, he saw a village in the middle of the trees. Simple stone houses filled the clearing, with many different ponies there all appearing happy with their lives. "Why did you bring me here?" He asked as he continued to watch...only to get a bad feeling as he saw a dark cloaked figure walk into the village from out of the forest. As the figure trotted up, another pony noticed them and moved over with a smile. "Hello there. Are you from another village?" The figure didn't reply and instead reached up and removed their hood. When it did, Flash was given a perfect shot of his face and his eyes went wide. "Storm Blade." He gasped as the dark blue pegasus stallion with a green mane and tail with his visor on he needed to see now glaring at the village pony. The pegasus stared at the pony, only to ask, "Have you ever seen me before?" The pony shook his head, "Sorry friend. I'm pretty good at remembering faces, and I'm certain I'd remember you, especially with that fancy headgear you're wearing." Storm growled at this as he hissed, "Then I have no use of you." With that, he pulled a certain familiar blade with a spinning dial that was spilt into three sections, one blue, one yellow and one green. "Oh no," Flash whispered as he watched the pegasus raise the weapon he named himself after. "What are you doing?" The earth pony asked, only to see the weapon begin to crackle with electricity. "Hey...stop! What is that?!" Storm didn't answer, and instead pointed the weapon at a nearby house and unleashed a blast of lightning. It struck the house, making it explode as ponies began to scream. And with a swipe of his blade, he unleashed an electrical crescent, ripping through another two buildings. All the ponies could do was scream and run as Storm continued to lay siege to their home. "STOP!" Flash yelled, trying to fly down at the pegasi, only to go right through him. "What?! No-" "You can't stop him." a voice interrupted, making Flash spin around and see a ball of light to float down beside him. "This occurred earlier today. This little village was burned to the ground, with many of the ponies barely making it out alive. Some weren't so lucky." "Faust...why is this happening?! What's Storm Blade doing here?!" He looked back at the destruction, "Is Shadow's cult on the warpath again?!" "No," Faust replied, "Only him." She sighed, "I'm afraid my hopes for him to live a peaceful life without his memories did not go as planned." "Didn't go as planned? What about the others?" Flash asked, only for the orb of light to shake back and forth. "They are fine. They are of no concern to you. This one, however, is. I'm afraid I have to ask you to fix my mistake." Flash smirked at this and nodded. "Don't worry about it. You were right about everypony deserving a second chance. It's just too bad Storm had to mess up his." He looked back at the destruction that had been caused. "I'll take him down. And I think I know a few ponies that'll wanna help." In that moment, the dream began to fade away. The next thing he knew, he was back in his own body and woke up with a start. "Wah!" He yelped, sitting up and waking Twilight as well. "Flash?" She asked, a mixture of worry and drowsiness in her voice. "What's wrong?" She saw him panting before he turned to her, a glare on his face. "We need to talk to Celestia, Cold and Soarin. Now!" Twilight blinked at him, but as he told her what was going on, she went wide-eyed before the two hopped out of bed. The next morning... Flash, Celestia, Twilight, Luna, Grand, Cold, Soarin, Rainbow, Trixie, Springer, Heart and Soul were all in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. As soon as Celestia got his message, she asked him and several others to come as soon as the sun rose. To say they were all concerned about Storm's return was an understatement. "This is very worrying news," Celestia told him once Flash had finished his tale. "It is clear Swift Wing must be stopped before he can cause any more harm." Luna nodded. "Normally, I would say meddling with a situation outside of our border would be asking for trouble for Equestria. But given it is an Equestrian citizen that is causing this, and using a Celestic Gear to hurt ponies, it is clear we must put a stop to this." Flash nodded and turned to the others, focusing on them and wishing Ruby wasn't away from the Crystal Empire dealing with an issue. "I called for you all because you all have experience dealing with Storm Blade." He focused on Springer, Cold, Soarin and Trixie. "We've all fought him, so we know what to expect from him. Are you willing to take him on again?" "You have to ask?" Springer smirked. "I'm in no doubt. I'll take that jerk down once and for all!" "I'm in too," Soarin added, "Storm Blade kicked my flank way too many times during our time at that city. Now's my chance to even the score once and for all." Rainbow smiled at this and nudged him, giving him a look that told her she was gonna come and help. "I'm in too," Trixie affirmed, "Storm Blade was tough, but a couple of illusions should throw him off his game long enough for you all to take him down." Flash shined a grin at this, only for Heart and Soul to walk up, "We wanna help too," Heart chimed in, "Don't forget when you, me and Cold did that cool fusion move against him? He didn't stand a chance against that!" "I can help too," Soul explained. "Storm must have hurt a lot of ponies, so my healing magic might be needed." Flash turned to Twilight, asking what she thought. The mare sighed but nodded, knowing she couldn't stop this. "Alright," Flash clapped his hooves, "We've got a team. Let's-" He then stopped and turned to Cold, a long frown on his face. "You okay Cold? I thought you would totally be on board for this." "You're thinking about Noble Banner, aren't you?" Grand asked, Cold taking a deep breath. "Storm Blade is the reason he's dead," Cold growled. "I've wanted justice for that for a long time." He turned to Grand, "I'm going to take him down. If he puts up a fight, I won't hesitate to do what I must." "We understand," Twilight nodded. "This is important to you. We'll help in any way we can." The others all nodded, Cold's frown trying to turn into a smile. "So...how are we gonna get there?" Trixie asked, "According to Flash's story, he's super far away." Flash nodded, "He's on a stretch of land beyond Mount Aris and Seaquestria. It'll take time to get there, even if we use the Rune Gate to travel to Mount Aris right now." "But he might be gone by then," Heart pointed out. "Then we'll have to go straight there," Twilight announced before turning to Flash. "Can you remember exactly where it was you went, just like you were able to remember getting to the Lost City after seeing it inside your dream?" Flash nodded, "Then I have an idea." Her idea was a spell Twilight had recently discovered that allowed her to view memories, though it required Celestia and Luna's help to get it right. She then combined it with an instant location spell that would allow her to know the latitude and longitude of a certain area. With that, she had the exact coordinates of the town Flash had been shown. Using the Rune Gate, they transported another gate to that exact location. "If this works, we'll be right where Storm Blade was..." She commented as she wrote out some runes. "Good luck ponies," Celestia commented, "I hope your mission works out well." They all nodded and Twilight activated the Rune Gate, the pillar of light filling the room. A light exploded out of the destroyed ground, Flash walking out of the pillar as he began to glance around. The pegasi saw nothing but fire, ash and wrecked buildings, the defender sighing at the sight. "This is the place...unforunately." He then picked up a rock from a nearby ash pile and threw it through the portal, telling the others to come on through. A moment later, Cold walked out with Springer, Twilight being next and followed by Trixie, Soarin, Rainbow, Heart and Soul. The ponies went wide-eyed at the sight of the place except Cold, Soul shaking in particular. "One pony did all this?" Rainbow asked. "Storm probably has one of the strongest Celestic Gears that ever existed," Cold commented as he moved over to a destroyed house and used his magic to lift a few rocks. He quickly dropped it, quickly making sure Soul didn't see it. Springer walked over another house next, putting his paw on the rubble, He closed his eyes, shooting out a wave of aura before clenching and shaking his head. "Springer?" Flash asked as he leaned down beside him, "You okay?" "So much fear," he slowly said, "Ponies running for the lives, believing it was the end of days. Their fear, anguish and sorrow have stained the very land itself. I can still sense it, even now." Soul winced at this, "That's horrible." "And it'll happen again if he can't find the one responsible," Twilight added, "Any idea where he is Springer?" "It's been a while since I sensed him," he replied, "But...I think I've found a trace." He spun around, as if following a line on the ground that only he could see before pointing at a mountain in the distance, "He went that way." "Why would he go there?" Heart asked. "Maybe that's where he lives?" Soul added. "Maybe," Soarin grimaced, "Or maybe he knows there's another village there." He turned to Flash, "You said he asked the ponies here if they knew him, right?" Flash nodded, "Maybe he's trying to figure out who he is." "That makes sense," Twilight nodded as well, "His memories were wiped, so of course he'd be confused about who he is. He's trying to find out where he comes from." "But why torch the place after asking?" Rainbow countered, "What good does it do him?" "I don't know why he did this, but I do know one thing. We're not gonna find out anything just standing around here." Cold chimed in as he walked in front of the group, "We can find out everything we want once we've captured him." They all shared a glance before nodding, all of them soon running for the mountain in the distance. Many miles away... A certain pony was sitting in a cave, a small fire that he had started with his weapon in front of him. He was using it to cook some potatoes he had stolen from the town he had destroyed, soon pulling the stick the food was on, sniffing it before chowing down. As he did this, he looked back at the forested area he had laid waste too. He didn't know why he was so driven to destroy anything that wasn't connected to his former life, but he didn't care. All that mattered was finding out who the heck he was. "I'll find my past and make whoever stole it from me pay with their very lives." And as he kept eating, his mind drifted back to a single memory. Storm Blade was walking through a forest, a somepony calling out to him. "Storm!" He stopped and turned to frown at a group walking up to him. Two were horned ponies, both mares, while the other two were strange creatures he had no idea the name of. "What do you want?" He asked, focusing on the leader of the group: Wingill. The pony bird hybrid stepped forward. "You can't leave. You have no idea what's out there." He gestured back behind him, "These ponies have been kind to us. Letting us stay and giving us a home. Why would you wanna leave?" "We don't belong here," he replied, "You might have found ways to kill your time, but I don't intend to waste it in the middle of nowhere." His voice started to escalate, "Don't you understand what's happened to us?! Our memories were stolen! We used to be someponies, and now we're nothing! We have to find out who we are!" "But what if we don't like who we are?" The other non-pony creature named Salix asked, "What if whoever did this to us only did it because we asked them too? What if we wanted to leave our old lives behind because we hated them?" "If that happens, I'll accept it. But I refuse to have no memory of who I am." He spun around at this, "I'm leaving. Come if you want to." "Please don't do this," the unicorn named Glitter begged. "Don't throw away what you have here," Tempera added, but Storm just shook his head before flaring her wings, soon taking off. And as he left, the others just stared at the fleeing figure before sighing and walking away. That had been months ago, and he still hadn't been able to find anypony that told him who he was. Finishing off his food, he threw the stick into the fire and sighed. He then flew up the mountain, soon reaching the top and saw it was actually a volcano before looking to the east and spotting another settlement not too far away. He grinned before flying down and headed for the forest between the mountain and the settlement. But as he did this, his ears twitched, a zipping noise behind him. He quickly grabbed the weapon on his back, spinning around as a blue blur suddenly charged at him. The pegasi ducked down at this, the blur missing and slamming into a tree. He then pointed his weapon at the blur, now seeing it was a blue pegasus pull his hoof out of the tree. "Who are you?!" Storm yelled. "Oh? You don't remember me?" Storm raised an eyebrow at this, only to see a pegasus mare to fly down in front of him, helping the other pegasus up, "We've come to take you in." "Take me in?! Ha!" he laughed, "It'll take more than you two to defeat me." "Who said it was just us?" The mare replied with a big grin. Another pegasus then flew down to Storm's right, pointing at sword at him, followed by a pair of unicorns, two small ponies, and a wolf thing with a horned pegasus. The male unicorn glared at him, his horn glowing as a cloud of cold air appeared in front of him and formed a sword of ice. He pointed the blade at him, while the others got into a battle stance. "Swift Wing, you're under arrest." "Swift Wing?" Storm asked, "I think you've got the wrong pony." "No," the orange pegasus replied, "We don't. You might call yourself Storm Blade, but your real name is Swift Wing." "Is that so?" He smirked as he began fiddling with the dial of his weapon, "So you know who I am?" They all nodded, his grin growing at the response, "Good! Tell me who I am!" "We will, once you're safely locked up," the horned pegasus responded, "Now drop your weapon." She sparked her horn along with the unicorn and the smaller horned pony while the wolf grew claws. "Locked up?! Now why I would do that?!" he yelled before swinging his weapon, lightning exploding out of the metal. The ponies all leapt back, the weaponless pegasi both hopping behind some trees while the others deflected the lightning with weapons and shields. Storm then noticed the small red pegasus keeping his distance and he quickly shot down at the colt before anypony could react. "Gotcha!" He yelled as he grabbed the colt by the tail and pulled him into the air, "You're coming with me!" "Heart!" The filly gasped. "Bad move!" The colt laughed as his entire body suddenly caught fire, including his tail. "AUGH!" Storm screamed as he felt his hoof burn, only for the colt to thrust a burst of fire at Storm, the pegasi quickly turning the dial and fired a stream of water back, making the colt flap back. "What the-who are you ponies?!" "We're the ones who are gonna bring you down!" He heard behind him, making him glance back and saw the three other pegasi fly up, the orange one slashing at him while the others spun around to Storm's back. "What did I ever do to make you attack me like this?!" "You mean besides the village you torched yesterday?" Flash growled before pulling back and firing a Flash Cutter, "Where do you want me to start?!" Storm quickly cut the attack in half, only for the two pegasi to fly up, tryingn to deal a speedy punch at him. But Storm quickly pulled back and spun the dial, spiraling around and unleashing a burst of wind in every direction, pushing all three back. Down on the ground, Twilight and the others watched, only to see the three get knocked back. They all nodded at this before charging up an attack. Springer first launched an Aura Force and the laser shot into the air at Storm, the pegasi quickly flapping his wings, dodging the blast before Twilight and Trixie fired lasers as Cold unleashed a barrage of ice spikes, the first two attacks smashing into Storm, making him cry out. He then fell, smacking a tree on the way down, barely managing to keep his hooves on his weapon as he crashed bounced off it and unsteadily landed onto his hooves. But as he did this, Cold charged at him with a frozen sword. "Raaah!" He roared as Storm Blade raised his weapon and blocked it, the two glaring one another down. As they did this, Storm went wide-eyed as he saw Cold's glare, "And who are you? What is...your eyes. They're filled with anger. What did I do to make you look at me with such eyes?" Cold just hissed at this before screaming, "You took the closest thing to a father that I had!" He pushed Storm back before thrusting his blade, Storm quickly hopping back. "He was your friend and you betrayed him!" He threw the ice sword next, Storm ducking under the ice sword before Cold slammed his hooves into the ground, causing a line of ice spikes to shoot out. The pegasus replied by spinning the dial to the yellow segment and slamming the blade into the ground, causing a burst of lightning to explode out. The two elemental attacks clashed into one another and exploded, sending snow flying in every direction as Cold leapt at him. "So I betrayed somepony," Storm replied, "Interesting. Obviously, they were holding me back!" Cold then thrust two ice blades at him at this, Storm's reflexes instantly kicking in as he deflected both with ease. "If he was anything like you, clearly he was nothing special!" "You little-" Cold growled as he summoned another ice blade, quickly spinning as he tried to slash Storm. But as he did this, Storm just grabbed Cold's hoof and quickly slammed the bottom of his weapon into Cold's chest. A glob of spit flew out of Cold's mouth before Storm kicked him away with a laugh. "HA! You're as easy to read as a book!" Storm cackled before pointing his weapon at the knocked back Cold, "Too easy. If you were any good, you would have known that anger always leads to defeat!" He then swung his blade down, only for a blue blur to shoot past and pull Cold out of the way, Storm having just enough time to see Soarin and him rolling away before Flash and Springer got in close. "Flash/Aura Force!" They roared, unleashing their beam attacks that hit the pegasus dead on. He cried out and was sent flying, smashing through a tree. He then hit the ground, spinning and screaming as he barely held onto his Celestic Gear while his opponents all began to surround him. "It's over Swift," Flash growled, "Come peacefully and you won't get hurt." Storm didn't respond, instead just laying there. But as they got closer, the Storm Blade exploded with lightning. They all leapt back at this, the lightning now striking the trees and anything else that was flammable. Within seconds, everything around them was aflame. "Are you nuts?!" Soarin yelled as the pegasus pushed himself to his hooves and leapt back into the air. And as he did, Storm launched more and more lightning at the trees around them. "He's trying to fry us!" Trixie cried as the flames spread to more trees on their own. "No, he's forcing our hooves." Twilight added as Storm began to fly away, the pegasi about to chase after him before Twilight said, "We need to contain this fire before it gets out of control!" "But he's getting away!" Rainbow countered. "We can catch him again," Twilight replied, "But if we don't stop this fire, who knows how much life could be lost." They shared a glance, only to sigh as she continued, "Pegasi, gather as many rain clouds that you can find!" They all nodded and leapt into the air, only to not find a single cloud in the sky. "This could be a problem," Flash gulped. As he said this, Cold pushed himself to his hooves. "Princess!" He called to her, Twilight turning to him. "Levitate!" He then fired a bolt of magic into the air, creating a giant hunk of ice. Twilight, Trixie and Soul all saw this and used their magic to catch the ice with Cold as Twilight turned to Heart. "Melt it!" Heart nodded and flew up, unleashing a burst of flame into the ice, soon turning it into a cloud of water. Meanwhile... Storm had flown away as fast as he could, sighing as he flew over the forest. "Typical," he hissed, "I finally find somepony that knows me, and they want to arrest me. At least I got away." He then looked back and saw the giant chunk of ice, which was quickly melting and putting out his fire. "You gotta be kidding me!" He growled before looking back at the mountain from earlier. "Then again...that's an idea." As the last of the flames were put out, the ice chunk they had been floating now melted into nothing. Springer and the ponies all sat in the now wet and smoking forest, many drenched in the cold rain. Soul was looking Cold over, making sure the hit to his chest hadn't broken any bones. "I'm fine," he growled, "You don't have to worry about me." "I beg to differ," Twilight chimed in as Cold turned to her. "Princess?" Cold replied, but Twilight just stared at him before shaking her head. "Cold, you lost control. You're letting your anger get the better of you, and if Soarin and the rest of us hadn't been there, you'd be dead right now." Cold glared back at her, only for Flash to walk in between them, "Cold, don't get angry." Cold hissed back at the defender, but Flash didn't react as he continued, "You know, when we first met, you really lived up to your name. But since then, you've grown and you've gotten a better handle on your feelings for others...but considering what we just saw, you're still letting your past control you." The knight stomped up to Flash as he growled, "And you think I don't know that?! None of you would be saying this if you had experienced this! Noble saved me from becoming a monster!" He pointed at his chest as he roared, "He took me in and showed me I could be something special! I dreamed of one day showing him he was right about me! That I was special, and he was right to believe in me! But I never got that chance, because he took Noble away from me!" "And that hurts," Springer sighed, "You're right, we don't know what that's like. But that doesn't mean we can't understand how you're feeling. Heck, I'd probably be the same way if I met the Trickster and unicorn that caused the jakhowls to be lost." Cold turned to the jakhowl, Springer crossing his arms, "But if the roles were reversed and we were going after them, what would you tell me if I was the one that lost control?" Cold grit his teeth at this, taking a deep breath next as he thought about the question, only to sigh, "I guess...that you don't honor them by becoming the same heartless monster that you're trying to capture. That you should calm yourself and act like the knight they wanted you to be." The others nodded back at this, "You're right." Cold sighed again, "Noble wouldn't want me to act this way. He'd want me to bring Swift Wing in, not take him down." "Exactly," Twilight replied while giving a big smile, "Now, do you think you can keep yourself in check so he doesn't get one over on you again?" Cold crossed his hooves at this, only for Soarin to chime in, "He can do it." They turned to the Wonderbolt, seeing a smirk on his face, "We'll be there to help him remember what our mission is. And if he does anything that might be going too far, I'll hop in and pull him back." The ice knight turned and nodded to Soarin, "Thank you." "No prob." Everyone smiled at this, except for Flash as he then asked, "But before we do anything, I have to ask Cold something." "What?" Flash pointed at the knight, "I hate to say it, but Storm was right when you were fighting him. He read you like a book...and I could tell it was more than just your anger that was the problem." Cold flinched at that, but didn't reply. That is, till Flash added, "Cold...who taught Noble how to fight?" Cold blinked at this, raising an eyebrow before responding, "Grand...and Swift." Cold put a hoof to his chin, "Then again...Noble used to say that Swift taught him a ton back in the day." "And Noble taught you." Flash scratched the side of his head, "That's not good. Now that I think about...you didn't fight him much at the Lost City, did you?" "No." Cold shook his head, "But I'm guessing he didn't want me to notice his moves are like Noble's." Heart went wide-eyed at this, "Wait! I just remembered something!" They all turned to him, "Right before I got my powers, I was facing off against Salix and Storm and he said..." The colt pointed at Cold, "Storm said that Cold could never beat him in a one on one!" They all went wide-eyed at this, Cold's eyes narrowing in response. He cricked his hooves next, "I see...and that was when he had his memories. I'll prove him wrong." Cold's face started to show a small smile as he then asked, "Alright. There's no use standing around here. What's the plan to capture him?" "That's a good question," Flash replied before turning to Springer, "Still got a lock on him?" Springer closed his eyes and launched a pulse, only to shake his head, "Can't find him. That's odd." "What do you think is blocking you from finding him?" Rainbow asked. "No idea." Springer shrugged, "I've never really had a problem unless it's a huge crowd...or Shade." Rainbow chose to fly up at this, quickly going past the treeline, only to zip back down, "There's something in the distance. Smoke." The group shared a glance, some flying up to see fire, only to see it wasn't spreading. "Somepony's burning a controlled fire," Twilight commented as they flew down. "Springer, check for auras again. Mainly in that direction." Springer blinked before clapping his paws together, only to say, "There's nothing there." "But then who set that fire?" Heart asked, the others sharing a glance. "Let's go," Twilight declared, "We'll teleport a mile away from the site and go check it out. It's possible Storm's heading there." They nodded before Twilight and Trixie combined their magics and teleported away, the group appearing in another area of the forest. "Feel anything?" Flash asked, Springer sending out another pulse, only to shake his head, "Well, who knows what could have caused that smoke," Flash pulled his sword out. "Be ready for anything." And as they began to go toward the smoke, Flash, Springer and Cold all felt chills go up their spines, Heart turning to his mentor as Flash stared down at the ground, "What's up?" The defender squinted as he saw that the grass was a little thinner than the rest of the forest, "This is a trail," Flash replied before looking ahead, now seeing a line of thin grass, "This area's been trodden through and has made a path." "Somepony's been through here," Cold continued, "A lot of ponies. And recently as well." As he said this, a noise rang out from above them in the trees, Flash raising his sword, only for a blur to fly out of the trees. "Augh!" he yelped as the figure hit him, the group turning to see an earth pony. But before they could react, more earth ponies leapt out and tackled them. "Who are you?" The one holding Flash down asked as he took out a knife and placed it to Flash's neck, "Are you the ones who started the fire we saw?" "No..." Flash growled as the others found themselves pinned down. The magic users' horns began to shine, only for Flash to add, "But we are the ones who put it out." Several more ponies jumped down with rope as one rushed over to grab Lightbringer. "You're making a mistake," Twilight chimed in, "We're not your enemies." "You are trespassers on our land," the mare pinning her hissed, "That makes you our enemy." Flash squirmed as he spoke up, "Look, we came here to catch a criminal. He's the one who started the forest fire and he's probably gonna start another one if you don't let us go." The ponies glared at them, then glanced at each other. As if having a psychic conversation, they all nodded before taking Flash's sword and pointing it at him. "The chief will decide what to do with you, outsider. If you're lying, he'll know." All the earth ponies all took out spears, pointing at the group as they let them up. "Move!" One by one, the team was pushed in the direction of the village, and as they walked, Flash saw that the ponies were wearing necklaces that had large blue rocks with string tied around them. Flash then turned to Springer, their auras connected as they mentally talked, "Why didn't you sense them coming?" "I don't know," Springer mentally replied. "I can't even sense them now. These ponies are weird." He then squinted at Flash, "Your auras are starting to feel weird too. It's like whatever's causing this is starting to affect you all as well. "We should try and make a break for it," Trixie chimed in, "Twilight, Cold and I can teleport us all away." "No way," Rainbow mentally growled, "I'm not running. Just wait. When I get the chance I'm gonna kick these pony's flanks!" "We're not here to start a fight with these ponies," Twilight snapped back, "We're after Swift Wing, and if he attacks these ponies, we need to be ready to help them. They might have gotten the drop on us, but they'll still be no match for him and his Celestic Gear." "Twilight's right," Cold added, "We'll stay calm and let them take us to this chief. If he decides to execute us, then we'll react." The others mentally nodded as they reached the edge of the trees. Stepping out of the forest, they were greeted to the sight of a clearing larger than the one they had seen before. Before them were a ton of huts and houses made of stone, mud and straw. The smoke they had seen before were coming from several houses, which had chimneys connected to rudimentary fires. The ponies there were all wearing the same crystal necklaces their captors wore and when they saw the new ponies, they all glared at them, "Not too friendly to outsiders, huh?" Heart commented before he was shoved, "Hey!" "Quiet!" They were soon led to a house that was larger than the others, "I'm guessing that's the chief's hut," Twilight whispered. The leader of the pony guards opened up the curtain that was acting like a door and gestured for them to enter, the group walking in to see carpets covering the ground along with many pillows while the walls were adorned with the kind of decorations those familiar with Zecora's hut recognized. Sitting at the back of the room was a purple middle aged pegasus with a graying orange mane and a pipe in his mouth. As they drew closer, they noticed a staff on the ground next to him with the same crystals everypony else was wearing on the end. The pegasus puffed out a small cloud of smoke before looking up at them. "Clay. What have you brought me?" "Outsiders," the lead pony hissed, "They were heading straight toward us from the spot that large forest fire appeared in. They claim to have been the ones to put it out and they're after the criminal who started it." "I see," the pegasus nodded, "Bring them forward." The Equestrians were pushed forward with Flash and Twilight taking the lead, "Sit." They slowly sat down as the pegasus took another puff from his pipe, "Are you here to capture a criminal?" "Yes," Twilight nodded, "He's very dangerous. He has control over lightning, wind and water. If he isn't stopped, he could destroy your entire village. I know you have no reason to believe me, but-" She stopped when the pegasus raised a hoof. "I believe you." This made everypony go wide-eyed. "You...do?" Flash asked, "Why?" "The eyes are a window to the soul," the chief instantly replied, "Years of training have allowed me to see one's soul through them and determine whether or not a pony is telling the truth. You are telling the truth." The group just blinked at the pegasus, only for Twilight to say, "Thank you. I promise we'll do whatever we can to find him as fast as possible." As she said that, Springer looked down at the crystals they were holding. "Those gems," he pointed at them, "Is there something special about them?" The pegasus looked at the crystal and smiled, "Keen eyes this one." He picked up the gem, "These crystals are our tribe's greatest weapons and relics. Long ago, a creature appeared that could not see but was able to hunt us down and devour us. But then my ancestor discovered these crystals within a cave of a nearby mountain. Whenever near these crystals, the creature was blind and unable to find anypony. It allowed us to defeat it and since that day, the ponies of this tribe have carried the crystals to honor our ancestors and protect us from the creature should it return." The ponies turned to Springer, who once again tried to use his aura but couldn't sense them. "Whatever those crystals are, they're blocking my aura abilities." He brought up his paw and tried to summon an Aura Blast, sighing in relief when he could. "Well, at least they're not completely gone." "This creature must have been able to sense aura like you," Twilight added, "Only it was way more dependent on it." She looked back at the crystal, "Curious. I wonder how it works?" "You can wonder about it later," Flash chimed in, "Right now, we need to focus on finding Storm Blade. And since those crystals are interfering with Springer's tracking ability, we'll need to look for him the old-fashioned way." "Any idea where the heck we start?" Soarin asked, the others frowning at this. "Clay knows this forest better than anypony," the pegasus announced, "I'm sure he and some of our patrol will be able to help you figure out where this criminal of yours is hiding." He turned to the earth pony, "Help them in any way you can." Clay nodded back before getting up, the others following his lead. "I wish you all good luck in this venture. Please be careful, for this forest can be dangerous to those not in the know of its tricks." "We will," Twilight nodded before they headed out of the building. Once outside, Clay moved over to where they were keeping Lightbringer and picked it up. "I guess you'll be wanting this back," he muttered while holding the weapon out to Flash. He took it and smirked as he felt his trusty weapon in his hooves again. "Thanks." "The chief has determined you're trustworthy, so I will trust you too. But know that if it turns out you are planning something fiendish, I will not hesitate to take out down." "Got it," Flash and the others nodded. "Now to find Storm Blade and take him down." "I was thinking about that," Twilight added before turning to Springer, "You not being able to find Storm must mean he's somewhere within the range of these gems." Springer nodded back, "If that's the case, it'll narrow down the number of places he must be hiding." She turned to Clay, "Can you show us how wide the crystal's range is?" Clay nodded and left them for a short while, returning with a rolled-up piece of paper. Unfurling it, they found it was a hoof drawn but well detailed map of the forest. It showed eight circles drawn onto the map, which overlapped in places. The village was located right where the circles all overlapped, completely encircling it from every side. Parts of the forest and the base of the nearby mountain were also in the rings, while each circle also had a dot in the very center of it. "Each of these circles represents the area that the crystals protect. The center is a spot where a particularly large and powerful crystal is located, which creates a field that protects anything within it from being seen by the power you call aura." "So Storm must be within one of these circles," Cold commented, "Well, that does narrow it down a little. But that's still a large area to search. While we're looking for him in one area, he could move to another." "So we should split up," Heart suggested, "We each take a circle and check it out. If we find him, we can use Springer to tell the others and they'll all rush over." "Err...small problem with that," Springer replied before closing his eyes and trying to mentally communicate with them. "This field is still affecting you all," The others could hear him, but it barely sounded like a whisper. "The longer you're in here, the stronger its affects on you. Pretty soon I probably won't be able to talk to you at all this way." "That could be a problem," Twilight responded, "There has to be some way we can communicate without your voice." "Well, there is a way," Flash added, "But it'll give away our location to Storm." "Which is?" Cold asked. "Shoot a laser into the air," Flash pointed up, "There's no way we could miss that. But like I said, it'd give Storm our location as well." "Maybe," Twilight crossed her hooves, "But I'm sure we can each hold him off long enough for the rest to arrive and back them up." "So, we're splitting up?" Soul gulped, "Is that a good idea?" "I don't think we have any other choice," Twilight replied, "We won't be alone since Clay and his guards will be there to help." Clay nodded and Twilight started splitting them into teams. Flash and Heart were with three earth ponies while Twilight and Soul were with another three. The rest of their team were given four ponies to help, with Trixie giving Rainbow and Soarin a little something. "Fireworks?" Rainbow asked as they each took a rocket. "Yeah. How else are you gonna signal us?" The pegasi frowned as they took the devices, Trixie then walking over to Clay as he was going to be leading the last team to the eighth section. "Here," she gave it to him, "Just pull the wire on the end and point it upward. Don't be scared when it flies up and explodes. It's supposed to do that." Clay looked the rocket over, glaring at it before nodding. "Alright everypony," Flash announced. "Let's find this nutjob fast before he can cause any more problems." They all nodded and split up, all ready to find Storm. The pegasus was now in a cave on the opposite side of the mountain he had been in before. The inside was even greater than the last one, the pegasus wiping his brow with his wing as he stared at the back of the cave. "This should get those fools to stop chasing me. And maybe distract and exhaust them enough for me to snag one to interrogate." He started using his sword's end to bang against the wall, only to hear a particular sound. He smirked and slashed an X into the rock before stepping back before pointing his weapon at the X and spun the dial, channeling energy into it as lightning, water and wind began to surround the blade. "Let's do this," he chuckled before firing the triple element tornado. Flash, Heart and the ponies behind him walked up to a tower of sorts poking out of the treetops with a blue light coming off it. "Is that the crystal?" Heart asked as a pegasus mare next to him nodded. They then reached the clearing, now seeing a large wooden tower that was about twenty feet tall, the Knight of Friendship flying up with his apprentice to see if they could see anything from the tower's vantage point. "Anything?" Flash asked as the two glanced around, Heart shaking his head. "Nothing. I don't see anything." "Looks like we'll have to do this this old fashioned way," Flash sighed as they flew back down before turning to the other ponies, "Is there anyplace around here that'd make a good hiding spot?" They all shook their heads. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do." They all stood around the tower and turned their backs too it. "Now we'll move in a straight line while keeping an eye out for Storm. If any of you see him, rush back and we'll take him on as a group." They nodded and began to walk forward, Flash giving Heart a look before they lost sight of each other to tell him not to engage Storm, the colt nodding back before disappearing into the woods. Soarin had a similar idea as his team reached their tower near the mountain. They were spread out, but had found no signs of the pegasus. After searching from the skies for a good while, Soarin flew back to the tower and landed alongside some of the other ponies who had just finished searching. "Find anything?" He asked, but they shook their heads. "Guess he's not here." He flew up to the tower next and sat near to the crystal, staring at the area around him, "Where are you?" But as he whispered this, the tower suddenly began to shake, "WHOA!" He yelped as he was knocked off, spreading his wings to catch himself, "What was that?" Cries from the ground made him look down and see the ponies staggering around, all barely able to stand. "Earthquake?" He asked as the shaking of the ground began to slow down. "That was weird." "The earth is angry!" One of the ponies cried, "It rattles in rage!" "What have we done to anger it?!" Another asked, the ponies all beginning to cry out. "Hey!" Soarin yelled as he flew down, "The earth isn't angry. It was just an earthquake." "What would make the earth quake if it is not angry?" One asked, Soarin blinking back. And in that moment, another quake rattled the land and the ponies began to scream and run off while Soarin saw the crystal tower start to crack. "Not good," he grimaced before spinning around and going wide-eyed, "The mountain." The top of the mountain was now starting to give off smoke, "It's a volcano..." he whispered, "But the ponies didn't seem to know about it. Has it never erupted..." His eyes went even wider, "Storm!" He quickly zipped into the sky, flying for the mountain as he pulled out the fireworks, "I hope I'm right..." The earthquakes weren't reaching any of the others and due to the large amount of trees, the groups not able to see the smoke coming off the volcano. "Anything?" Flash asked, the ponies shaking their head as Heart was the last to arrive. "I thought I saw something," he replied, "But it just turned out to be a rabbit." The others just stared at him, blinking at the statement as Flash let out a sigh. "I hope the others find something soon." Soarin continued flying toward the volcano and up to the top, "Whoo!" He wiped his brow, "Talk about hot. How the heck is Storm not roasting to death?" He continued upward until he reached the top, the smoke funneling out. He landed and looked down into the crater, seeing a large pool of lava bubbling...which was rising. "That's not good." He looked down at his firework, "What do I do? I still haven't found Storm..." But as he stared at it, the volcano shook again, Soarin quickly falling back, "Whoa!" He yelped, dropping the rocket, which quickly rolled down the side of the volcano. "Shoot!" He leapt after it and got down half the mountain before getting it, "Whew! That was close!" But as he did this, he sees something beyond the hill, now seeing a cave. The pegasus dived down into it, glancing inside just in time to see Storm unleash another Storm Force attack. It struck the wall, causing the entire cave to shake. The Wonderbolt grimaced at this, only to point the rocket to the sky. And then he pulled the cord. Back at the village, Flash and everypony else had returned. "Nothing?" Twilight asked, making the others frown as they looked away. "That's not good..." "Maybe Soarin's found something," Rainbow pointed out as she noticed her husband wasn't around. But as she said that, the ponies Soarin had been with suddenly rushed into the village. "The earth is enraged!" One screamed, "It shakes and roars in anger!" Everypony turned to them, raising eyebrows at the sight, only to turn and see smoke coming out of the mountain's top. "Clay, is that mountain a volcano?" Twilight asked. "Volcano?" Clay replied while tilting his head, "What is that supposed to mean?" The others frowned, only for a firework to explod right in front of the volcano. "It's Soarin!" Soul cried, "He must have found Storm!" "And why do I get the feeling he's responsible for the smoke and earth being enraged?" Flash sighed before he and the others gathered around the unicorns. Clay ran over with a spear and an angry expression as Twilight's horn flashed. In the blink of an eye, the group appeared at the base of the mountain. "Where'd that rocket fire from?" Rainbow asked, only for a massive tornado to explode out of the side of the mountain, making them look up and see Soarin getting blasted out of a cave. "SOARIN!" She and Flash shot up, both managing to catch the pegasus before he could hit anything, "You okay?!" "No..." Soarin groaned as he opened his eyes, "But we got big problems." He pointed upward and the group all saw Storm fly out of the cave with a smirk on his face, "He's caused the volcano to start erupting!" The ground began to shake at this, Twilight going wide-eyed, "No! If that volcano blows, it'll spray lava, including toward the village!" "What is lava?" Clay asked. "Think of it like liquid fire," Trixie replied, "Enough to likely flood your entire village and kill everything it touches." Clay gasped at this as Storm took to the air. "Have fun saving all those losers!" He laughed as he flew off, the others glaring at him. "We can't let him get away," Twilight stated before looking back at the volcano. "But we can't let this thing go off either." "Let's split up," Flash told her before turning to Soarin. "You go after him and try to slow him down until we're done here. Then we'll take him down together." Soarin nodded and took off. "I'll do what I can," he responded as he continued to fly after Storm. As he did this, Flash and Rainbow flew down to the others. "Alright, how do we stop this thing?" "We need to relieve the pressure," Twilight replied, "That'll mean we have to make holes into the volcano." "But won't that let lava out too?" Soul asked, Twilight nodding back. "Which is why before then, we have to build a channel to direct the lava that comes out." She turned to the others, "This isn't gonna be easy." They all smirked and nodded, Twilight beaming at the sight. "Alright, let's get to work." "YEAH!" The others cheered as they ran off, Cold staring up at the sky in the direction Storm had been flying. "Cold!" He turned to Flash as the pegasus looked at him, the unicorn sighing. "Right, I'm coming." "No," Flash shook his head, "You should go with Soarin." Cold went wide-eyed at this as Flash continued, "We know you wanna take Storm down. Now's your best chance." "But I'm needed here," he replied, "My ice magic could be invaluable in this situation." "You're not the only one with ice magic," Trixie giggled, "I got this. Go. Soarin's good, but I doubt he can take Storm down all on his own." The others all nodded as Flash repeated, "We got this. Go!" Cold gave them one last unsure look before smiling and turning to run off, the others watching him leave before looking back at the volcano, "ARMORIZE!" Flash yelled as he leapt into the air, exploding into light that vanished to reveal the armored pony. "HERE WE GO!" He fired a beam of magic from his helmet horn and the gems on his armor, which struck the ground and started carving into it. The others began to get to work as well, Heart and Trixie moving to one of the lines Flash drew with Heart igniting his body. He then curled up into a flaming wheel and flew down the slide-like trench, super heating the ground and causing it to melt. Trixie then fired an ice spell that cooled the rock, causing it to crumble and break apart before Twilight lifted the broken earth into the air, allowing the trench to grow larger. "That's it!" Twilight yelled, "We have to hurry!" She turned to the volcano as the ground shock once again, "We don't have long before it blows." Storm cackled to himself as he kept flying, "Those stupid ponies. That's a force of nature they're facing. There's no way they can stop it." "Don't be so sure!" Storm's eyes went wide and he glanced back, seeing Soarin speeding up to him, "My friends will stop the volcano! And when they do, they'll all come and help me stop you!" "Yeah right!" Storm laughed as he spun around and fired several lightning bolts. But as he did this, the pegasus suddenly zipped around each attack, not losing a bit of speed, "What?!" He yelped, only to see Soarin's eyes, which were now pure white. And in a second later, Soarin was in front of Storm, "AUGH!" He screamed as Soarin's hoof hit the pegasi's chest so fast that it smacked him straight down into the ground. He crashed through several tree branches, his wings screaming in pain until he broke through the last one and fell to the forest floor. He barely had enough time to spin around and land on his hooves, sliding back while digging his weapon into the ground to stop himself. He panted as he pushed himself up, trying to spread his wings, only to find one refusing to open without flinching in pain. As he tried to flap the pain off, Soarin shot down and landed. The pegasus was still in his Theta Mode, having seen Storm's injured wing and smirking. "Give it up," he stated, "You know you can't escape." "Never," Storm growled. "I won't allow myself to be captured! Not until I discover who I am!" "Let yourself be captured and we can tell you exactly who you are," Soarin replied before Storm fired a thunderbolt. Soarin diving to the side and used a tree as a springboard to bounce back, attempting to deal a kick to Storm's face. "You're a criminal that betrayed his best friend!" Storm used his blade to block the kick, pushing Soarin back, "Then you started working for a crazed unicorn planning to conquer the world!" "Crazed unicorn?" Storm asked before swinging his weapon, firing a wind blade that Soarin ducked under. And as the trees behind him were cut down, Soarin quickly shooting back up and trying to punch him. Storm attempted to block again, but Soarin spun around and wrapped his tail around the sword. "Exactly!" Soarin tried to pull the weapon out of his grasp, "And when he was defeated, you and the rest of his flunkies had your minds wiped!" Storm growled at this and unleashed a burst of lightning, which travelled up Soarin's tail and zapped him. "GYAH!" He cried, letting him go before flying back. But as he did this, Storm unleashed a tornado that struck the Wonderbolt head-on, blasting him through a tree. "Augh!" He hit the ground as the tree fell down, trapping his tail beneath it. And as he tried to move, Storm jumped onto the tree and pointed his blade to Soarin's neck. "Tell me who it was that stole my memories! Do so, and I might just leave you alive!" Soarin just grinned back, "Why? Gonna try and intimidate them into giving your memories back?" Storm let out a hiss as Soarin continued, "Go ahead and try. It was a literal god that took your memories. The most powerful being in creation. She was being kind to you when she took your memories, hoping you would find a better life and not hurt anypony. But when she learns what you've done, she'll probably decided to blink you out of existence." "She can try," he raised his blade. "But before then, I'll make sure to destroy as many things that this so called god loves! Starting with you." Soarin clenched up at this as a lightning surged from the weapon until- "Cold Eagles!" a bunch of small ice birds flew out of the trees, Storm instnatly hit by the attack, slashing him with their sharp wings. "Gaaah!" He leapt back and started swinging his weapon around, shattering the birds, "Stop it!" Cold then flew out of the bushes, his horn shining as he used his magic to lift the tree, allowing Soarin to pull his tail out. "Thanks." Cold nodded back and the two turned to Storm. "This ends now," Cold summoned a sword and pointed it at him. "We're bringing you in!" Storm just laughed at this, "I'd like to see you try. What hope does somepony like you have against me, who wields the power of the heavens within his hoof? You are a pony. I...I am a god!" He started cackling as the two shared a glance. "He's lost it," Soarin sighed. "He lost it a long time ago," Cold replied, "And now it's up to us to stop him before he hurts anypony else. Ready to continue this battle?" "You have to ask?" Soarin smirked before getting in a fighting stance, "I was born ready!" Back with the others, they continued to dig the relief channels around the volcano. Their plan was to have them curve around the volcano and let the lava out on the other side of the mountain away from the village. On that side, Springer was running around cutting down as many nearby trees as he could. Soul and Clay had also begun to help with that, Soul using her magic to lift the logs Springer cut down away from the area while Clay simply lifted and threw them as far as he could. "We have to be faster," Soul groaned she lifted another log. "We can't leave a single tree," Springer told them as he Steel Pawed another tree. "Even one being too close could start a forest fire that could spread to the rest of the forest." Soul nodded and took another deep breath before lifting the sliced down tree away. As they did this, the rest were still digging the channels, all panting as they did this, "I think we need at least two more!" Twilight panted as the ground shook again. "But I don't think we have enough time!" "Rainbow and I can do it," Flash chimed in, "You and Soul get ready to blast the hole in that cave." Twilight nodded and flew off with the others, Trixie being the only one to stay behind. As Flash and Rainbow flew up, Trixie used her ice magic to create a layer of ice to cover the channels. "What's the plan?" Rainbow asked once they were high enough. "We're gonna dive down as fast as we can," Flash replied, "Think you can perform a sonic rainboom the moment we're a few inches off the ground?" Rainbow smirked at this, "You have to ask?" Flash grinned as he stared down, seeing Trixie finish freezing the remaining channels "Then let's go!" He shot down, his wing thrusters igniting to propel him. Rainbow dove down as well, picking up as much speed as she could. Both ponies could feel the air around them cone as they got closer to the ground, Flash readying his blade. "Flash Driver!" He yelled while spinning, morphing into a shining drill. Rainbow's air cone began to glow as well, and at the last minute, the two shifted positions seconds before hitting the ground. A massive boom filled the air, along with a burst of rainbow light as the pegasus flew just above the ground at hyper speed. The force of her moving so fast ripped up the ground while the drill cut another channel right beside it. And as they curved around the mountain, Trixie, Twilight and Soul teleported up to the top and Trixie started using her ice magic to freeze the channels as well. "Why's she doing that?" Soul asked as Trixie ran down the mountain still freezing the place. "It'll make it easier for the lava to flow," Twilight replied, "When the lava hits the ice, it'll create a layer of steam between the two surfaces. This'll cause less friction, so the lava will be less likely to get stuck and continue downward. Plus, it'll help cool the lava quicker so it's less likely to set anything on fire." Soul nodded as an Aura Force was fired into the air, the signal stating that the final two channels were completed. "Alright," Twilight looking back at the volcano, "Remember all those lessons we had on controlling the power of your magic?" "Yeah," Soul nodded. "Well right now, forget everything and let it rip with as much force as you can." Soul smiled and nodded before the pair turned to the cave Storm had been in, which now had a bunch of channels sticking out. The pair summoned their magic and charged up as much energy as possible, then let it all out in a single incredible burst. Purple and gold beams of light exploded into the cave and smashed the back wall, making the rocks crumble away. The beams continued drilling for several moments before breaking through to the inside of the volcano. When they felt no more resistance, the two cut their magic, only for a powerful jet of hot air to explode out from the hole. Twilight had been expecting this and pulled Soul to her, putting up a shield that protected them from the heat. It didn't protect them from the force though, the hot air pushing the barrier back. "WHOA!" They both yelped as they were thrown back right as the lava began to fly out of the cave. It flowed into the channels and as it touched the ice, the lava beginning to bubble while rolling down the slide. After a few moments, it cooled down so much it formed a bubbly glass-like substance that the un-cooled lava pushed further down the channel. On the other side of the mountain, everypony smiled at seeing the lava flow toward them and not the village. "Yeah!" Rainbow cheered as she and Flash high-hoofed, Springer and Heart doing the same as Twilight and Soul teleported in. "It worked!" Soul cheered while Clay looked up at the top. The smoke from the volcano was slowly beginning to fade away as the ground stopped shaking. "The pressure's been relieved," Twilight added before turning to Clay. "Once the lava turns into obsidian, your tribe might be able to use it." Clay nodded, "Thank you. But right now, all I want to do is stop the pony that tried to destroy my tribe." The others nodded, Flash commenting, "I hope those two are okay. Storm's no pushover." "COLD DRAGON!" Cold yelled as he summoned a giant ice serpent that exploded out of the ground. The pegasus thrust his blade at this, firing a lightning bolt at the ice monster, causing it to explode. But as it did this, Soarin flew through mist from the ice, quickly getting up to Storm and slammed his hoof into Storm's face. And as he hit him two more times, Storm then swung his blade back at Soarin, only for the pegasi's Theta Mode to allow him to quickly duck under the weapon. But as he did this, Storm unleashed a pulse of wind that blew Soarin back as Cold leapt over the gale with an ice sword, both soon clashing, And as the weapons grinded against each other, the ponies glared at one another. "That pegasus said I killed my best friend," Storm commented, "Tell me, is that the same pony that you're angry at me about?" "Yes," Cold growled, sparks popping off both blades, "That weapon you're holding belonged to him! It was meant to be his Celestic Gear, but you stole it!" "Oh?" Storm then pushed Cold back before glancing down at the weapon in his hooves, "Then maybe this was just fate. Maybe this weapon was always meant to be mine." "A Celestic Gear is meant to protect Equestria" Cold roared, "You've dishonored it with your actions!" He charged again, Storm quickly blocking each strike, "I will reclaim Noble's weapon and return it to where it belongs!" "You want to reclaim a weapon for the dead?! This is my weapon! I'm not giving it up for anything!" Storm yelled as he his weapon slashed through Cold's ice sword, shattering it to pieces. Cold then thrust a jab, only for Storm to block it, then blocking a second punch. "And you are predictable! Did I train you?" "Shut up!" Cold screeched as he thrust another punch, only for Storm to quickly duck under the blow and slammed his hoof into Cold's chest, knocking him back. "Urgh!" "You're nothing." Storm spat before spinning the dial on his weapon, "Now, witness my full power you fool! STORM FORCE EXCEED!" He thrust the sword forward, only for a giant tempest storm to explode out. Cold gasped as the attack came, only for somepony to jump in front of him. "GYAH!" Soarin cried as the wind, water and lightning slammed into him. "What are you doing!?" The unicorn screamed as Soarin continued to get buffeted by the attack. "I...I'm giving you a chance!" Soarin yelled back as he started pushing himself forward. "One chance, to take him down! HURRY!" Cold went wide-eyed before nodding, getting back up as Soarin kept trying to block the tornado's effects. Storm gasped at this and pumped more power into his attack, increasing the tornado's ferocity. But despite this, Soarin began to walk forward. "Ahh!" Soarin felt his leg get sliced, but pushed on. "Almost...there!" A cut to his cheek appeared as they were mere feet away. "STAY BACK!" Storm yelled as he pumped every bit of power he had into the attack. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Soarin screamed as he was finally sent flying back and crashing through several trees before coming to a stop, Storm smirking at his opponent's defeat. But as he did this, he saw a flash of light to his side and spun around. Cold Steel had appeared behind him with a stony look on his face as he summoned another ice sword. Storm barely blocked the first slash attack, only to spin the dial and point it at Cold...and nothing happened, "What?" "You used up too much power," Cold announced before summoning another sword, quickly swinging both. In the blink of an eye, the Storm Blade was knocked flying out of Storm's hooves, the pegasi turning back to it for just as second as Cold's horn glowed alongside the crystal on his neck brace. "This ends now!" "Wait-no!" Storm yelped as he flinched at the sight of Cold's shining horn. "Cold...Force...EXCEED!" With that, he unleashed his own supercharged ice tornado. The snow vortex struck Storm, consuming him just as Flash, Twilight and all the others arrived. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Storm screamed as he was blasted back, ice covering his entire body, the pegasus trying to fight against his quickly forming shell. But as he tried, he slowly lost consciousness. As he did this, Cold's attack came to an end, and he almost fell over from lack of magic, Flash quickly rushing over and grabbing him, "You okay?" "Yeah..." Cold moaned, "Just a little tired." "Soarin!" He heard Rainbow cry, both turning to see her, Soul and Springer helping the downed pegasi up. "You okay?" Soarin was badly cut and bruised, but had a smirk on his face. "Nothing I can't sleep off," he weakly laughed as Soul began using her healing magic. "Guessing you got the volcano sorted." "Heck yeah," Rainbow smirked back, "The village is safe, and by the looks of things, the one that caused the problem's not gonna be an issue anymore." They all turned to the frozen Storm statue, all glad that it was over. As they did this, Cold turned to where the Storm Blade had fallen and picked it up. The sight made him think back to his mentor, making him sigh, "Noble," he whispered, "I hope I made you proud." Flash patted him on the back, "I'm sure you did. You were able to bring his killer to justice, and didn't turn into a monster to do it." Cold smiled and nodded, only for a certain statue to start cracking. "Look out!" Soarin yelled, pointing at the ice sculpture. They all turned to it right as the ice shattered from Storm's almost frostbitten body. He roared as he charged at Cold, grabbing a sharp piece of ice at the same time. "COLD!" His friends cried, but before any of them could do anything, Storm was suddenly struck by something in the right side of his head. The next thing anypony knew, Storm was on the ground with Soarin standing over him, shaking his hoof. "Ow," he moaned before turning to Rainbow "That...was satisfying. Never got to even the score back in the Lost City." They all chuckled as he then asked, "Can somepony tie him up so we don't have to do that again." "I have an idea." Trixie giggled. As the sun set, Celestia was in the throne room, being told everything that had happened. "That's quite an amazing story," she told Twilight and Flash. "You all did well on this mission, and I'm very proud of you." They smiled at this as Celestia continued to talk, "What happened to the ponies of this tribe you met?" "Clay returned to the village and told them what happened," Twilight replied, "Apparently, this is gonna be a story that'll last their tribe a long time." "It's too bad they didn't take your offer to move to Equestria," Heart sighed. "Probably safer then living next to an active volcano." "It was their home," Soul chimed in, "I can understand why they didn't wanna leave it. And with those vents we built, they shouldn't have to worry about any more eruptions." Celestia nodded. "Either way, you have all done an excellent job deal with this situation. Especially Cold." She glanced around at this, "Where is he anyway?" "He decided to escort Storm to the Crystal Prison," Flash replied, "Don't know what the big rush was since Storm still needs to go to trial before he can take full residence there." "It's the safest place to keep him," Twilight countered, "Besides, I get the feeling he had another reason for going to the Crystal Empire." The Crystal Empire... Cold entered the Hall of Knights as it closed for the day, his Royal Knight status allowing him access even when the public was leaving. He made his way through the building, his eyes going between the different statues inside. It was here that he saw that over the centuries, many Royal Knights had wielded incredible weapons. The Celestic Gears had been used for a long time, and while they had been powerful weapons in their day, after their wielders died, they all became simple bog-standard weapons. Many were lost to history due to their wielders dying in the field, but just as many had been safely locked in the Canterlot Vault. Until now. Now they were safely held in the Hall of Knights, in special cases that made stealing them impossible. Some were empty due to their weapons being lost, which included the case in front of Cold's target. Though he never managed to actually get knighted, Celestia had chosen to have Noble Banner's statue be made of crystal instead of stone. Cold stared up at the crystal likeness of his mentor and had to admit the artist had done an amazing job. He stepped up to the case and opened it up, placing the Storm Blade inside. Once it was shut and locked, the security system activated and would protect it for years to come. "Noble," he whispered as he looked up at the statue, "You gave me a new life. Brought me to Canterlot and helped me grow to become the Knight you always hoped I'd be. I know I might have stumbled at some points, but I think you would be proud of the pony I've become thanks to my friends." He looked down the hall at the statues of the other Knights he had worked with and nodded, especially when he focused on the pegasus that had helped him grow in more ways than anypony else. "I'm gonna live," he looked back at Noble's statue. "Live the life you wanted me to live. And I'll protect Equestria and the ponies that make it worth living in." With that, he gave the sculpture one final glance before turning to leave. As he did this, he felt a weight being lifted from his heart. He was finally ready to move on and live his life the way Noble always intended. And only time would tell how that would turn out. Up in the snowy mountains, Storm Blade sat in a locked cell, a look a pure death in his eyes. "I'm not done yet. That blade is mine..." he hissed as he stared at a barred window. "I'll be free one day, and when I am, the world will suffer."