Despite being considerably comfortable in the bed, Storm could barely get any sleep. His mind was plagued with thoughts and theories about the dream he had. The Queen, as expected, wanted his head on a silver platter. He knew a small extent of The Queen's power, but could she actually invade somepony's dreams? It sounds preposterous, but Storm was more worried about Twilight's safety than anything else. Twilight was the only pony that he had actually shared genuine feelings for, and The Queen knowing about him and Twilight seemed to be the cause of sleep deprivation. Storm tried shuffling around in the bed as to get more comfortable, but tried not to wake Twilight up. Storm tried to fathom what kind of tactic The Queen would use to get to both Celestia and Twilight, assuming she actually tried. The Banished had a large army, but the size and equipment that they had didn't hold a candle to the Equestrian royal guard.
"I... I need to stop thinking about this. Twilight was right, it was just a nightmare, a figment of my imagination..." Storm thought to himself, but whenever he almost let go of the situation, The Queen's words echoed in his head, sending shivers down his spine whenever the stone cold voice of his former sadistic Queen rang in his head. Storm continued to lay in bed for a few more hours until he heard the sound of Twilight yawning followed by her sitting up on the bed. She looked over at Storm and smiled warmly, while Storm attempted to look even slightly rested.
"Good morning Storm. Did you sleep well?" Twilight asked. Storm gritted his teeth slowly for a few seconds and looked at Twilight innocently.
"I had the best sleep of my entire life Twilight. I had a wonderful dream where we were galloping through the meadows, not worrying about any evil Queen plotting against us. It was bliss, until I remembered that I was dreaming." Storm said as sarcastically as possible. Twilight outright fell over laughing when she heard that, but collected herself when she realized that Storm was taking the situation rather seriously.
"Oh... Sorry Storm. So... You didn't get any sleep?" Twilight asked.
"No Twilight, whatever gave you that idea? I slept like a log." Storm replied, showing his best "derp" face. Twilight let out a small giggle.
"But in all honesty Storm, are you worried about that nightmare you had?" Twilight asked. Storm nodded.
"The Queen... She is one of my only fears. I daresay she would do anything to accomplish whatever twisted goal she wishes to accomplish." Storm explained.
"Considering your last dream was a... Prophecy... Do you think this one is as well?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, The Queen wants to control Equestria, to bring back a rule that rivaled Discords. Although the army of the Banished is small and unequipped, we make up for it in raw skill, our weakest Necromanecer could easily win against a high ranking royal guard... I believe that a pony of my level could easily overpower somepony like your brother..." Storm explained.
"Well... My guess about Nightmare Moon coming back was true, so what's to say that your prediction is any less accurate? We need to warn Princess Celestia!" Twilight said, suddenly convinced that Storm was telling the absolute truth. Storm had just realized something, Princess Celestia was pregnant, which means her magic usage is limited to that of a foals. Luna and Redblade were the only two Alicorns protecting the throne right now. If anything, a time like this would be the best time for The Queen to attack.
"Yes... Yes, we'd best inform Celestia... We would end up looking like idiots if my prediction isn't true but..." Storm said, he felt a hoof on his shoulder.
"...There's no point in not trying. Spiiiiiiiiiike!" Twilight shouted, a few noises from upstairs signified Spike coming out of his makeshift sleeping quarters. And after a few moments, Spike came running down the stairs.
"Twilight? What do you want?" Spike asked.
"I need you to send an urgent letter to Princess Celestia!" Twilight replied. Spike nodded and dashed off in the opposite direction, coming back a few minutes later with a scroll and quill. He got himself into a writing position, indicating he was ready for Twilight to begin.
"Dear Princess Celestia. I have discovered something through Shadow Storm that may behold the fate of Equestria itself. Shadow Storm had a dream last night where he was confronted by his former Queen from the cult that he used to be part of. The Queen expressed her anger and hate towards Shadow Storm and then expressed the fact that she would come after you. I'm writing this letter in advance to make sure that no harm may be done to Equestria prematurely if Shadow Storm's prediction is correct. A state of panic is not needed, as Shadow Storm's prediction still lacks any evidence, but he had a dream about Redblade shortly before you met him, and the events that followed seemed to mimic his dream. I understand that due to your pregnancy, you cannot take any physical part in this matter. I hope that Luna and Redblade are enough to hold back whatever is about to happen. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said.
Spike finished off the letter, but paused before he could use his flame to send it on it's way to Canterlot.
"Twilight, are you sure you want to send this? Aren't you overreacting a little?" Spike asked.
"I can't take any chances Spike. Even if it is just a misunderstanding, Celestia still needs to be informed about this." Twilight replied, Spike shrugged and let out a large bellow of fire, engulfing the letter and sending it to Canterlot.
"I don't mean to pry, but that did seem rather abrupt Twilight..." Storm said.
"Even if the dream didn't mean anything, at least we gave the Princess insight on those nightmares you've been having, right?" Twilight said. Storm nodded in response. Suddenly, Spike let out a large belch, and the remains of the fire materialized into a scroll.
"Wow, the Princess doesn't usually reply that quickly." Spike said. Twilight picked up the scroll and began to read it aloud.
Dear Twilight Sparkle and Shadow Storm
This matter has also caught my attention in the passing days, Redblade has been having similar nightmares that resemble those of Shadow Storm's. It would be much appreciated if you two and the rest of the elements of harmony could come to the castle. Even if this prediction is merely a nightmare, this "Queen" that has been ravaging Redblade and Shadow Storm's dreams cannot be taken lightly.
Your faithful mentor, Princess Celestia
"Hm... Redblade has been having these dreams as well..." Storm said.
"We'd better get the rest of the girls here. I'll go out and gather them up. You stay here and see if the Princess sends any more letters, okay?" Twilight said. Storm nodded in response, Twilight left the library to gather up the rest of her friends.
"Maybe I should have offered to go with her..." Storm thought. He sighed and proceeded to walk outside, almost as soon as he stepped out of the door, his hoof slipped on something, almost making him trip. He straightened himself up and looked at the ground to see a small, tattered scroll on the floor, slightly unfolded due to Storm tripping on it.
"Hm? How did Twilight not see this when she came outside?" Storm asked himself, he picked the scroll up and looked at it closely, the edges of the scroll were torn and several burn marks could be seen near the bottom. Storm opened the scroll expecting to see a large amount of writing further explaining Celestia's plan, but instead, he only saw four large words written across the scroll in very bad hoofwriting.
THE EVERFREE FOREST. NOW.
"...Pardon me? Who could have sent this?..." Storm questioned the scroll, almost expecting it to talk back.
"The Everfree Forest... Why in the world would anypony request somepony to go into that deathtrap? Plus, I think going into the forest would probably be suicidal considering that a cult is trying to hunt me down." Storm continued. Who delivered this letter? Was it aimed at Twilight or Storm? Questions plagued Storm's mind.
"Twilight will probably be gone for a while... Maybe if I just go to the entrance of the forest, where nothing dangerous lurks..." Storm said to himself. Whoever sent this scroll was clearly determined to get either Storm or Twilight to come to the Everfree Forest.
"What if one of the Banished sent this? It could be a trap..." Storm said. Twilight would surely take a few hours, so maybe Storm could go to the forest and see what the Banished wanted... Assuming it WAS the Banished who sent this... The thought sent chills down Storm's spine. He could only imagine the Banished declaring war on Equestria... Especially if The Queen got into the mix.
"I doubt the Banished would imagine me falling into a trap so easily. Maybe Twilight has a secret admirer... I suppose I'll be hurting something either way." Storm said, chuckling softly at his own joke. Storm rolled up the scroll and started to set off for the Everfree Forest. He knew that he was probably walking into a trap, but a theory is a theory. Plus, The Queen would be under the impression that Storm had softened up since he was sent on the mission, so only a few warriors would probably be sent to stop him. Storm continued walking until he finally came to the forest, a small pathway led deeper into the dangerous woods, but Storm decided to simply wait outside of the dense part of the forest, where Ponyville was still in view.
Storm kept his guard up ever since he walked into the forest. Even if the scroll wasn't from the Banished, it may be some mugging attempt, probably aimed at Twilight. He continued walking for a few more minutes until he heard a rustle disrupt the nearly silent woods. Storm began to look in all direction, trying to find out where the sound came from. He stayed quiet for a few more minutes until he heard something else, it wasn't the sound of leaves rustling, but rather it sounded like speech coming from somepony.
"Did...Us?...No...Quiet..." Were the words that Storm swore he could hear. He raised his guard, summoning his long sword. After waiting for a few minutes, Storm continued walking, his long sword being held aloft by his magic.
"I must be hearing things..." Storm said. Soon coming to the conclusion that the scroll was simply a prank by some immature colts, Storm started to walk back to Ponyville, Twilight had probably rounded up the Elements and she was probably wondering where Storm was. When he had almost left the forest entirely, he heard the familiar rustling sound penetrate his ears once more. He quickened his pace, starting to trot much faster to the edge of the forest. The rustling became more apparent, and it was now clear that something was chasing Storm. By this point, Storm had broken into a gallop, he was just about to leave the gigantic overgrowth when he felt something hit the back of his neck. It felt like a dart, and when Storm pulled the sharp object out, his suspicions were confirmed. It was a very small bamboo dart, probably shot form a blowpipe. He then noticed something else, a small droplet of some unknown liquid dropped from the dart and landed on Storm's hoof. After lifting up his hoof to investigate the substance, his eyes widened as he realized what it was.
"Everfree venom..." Storm muttered under his breath. Everfree venom was an extremely potent poison that was originally used in the Banished community to end somepony's life if they contracted a terminal disease, or sometimes if they received the death sentence, it would be used as a means of a quick death. The amount used on Storm wasn't large enough to kill him, if he had left that dart in for a few more seconds, he probably would have fallen over dead on the spot. The amount that made it's way into Storm's bloodstream was large enough to knock him unconscious. Storm's assumptions were correct, the Banished were the only ponies to know how to extract Everfree venom, so they were certainly after him. Storm cursed himself for being so stupid to fall into such a simple trap.
"No..." Storm said under his already quickening breath. He continued to gallop towards the edge of the forest, if he got away fast enough, he could probably reach Ponyville before the poison took lethal effect. Storm had never experienced the effects of Everfree venom, but he quickly had to slow down to catch his breath. His vision had already started to distort, and everything seemed to split into a ghostly counterpart. Storm suddenly felt an extreme pain in his head, he didn't even notice when he fell over onto his side, his entire body had gone numb from the poison. He saw two figures clad in traditional Banished armor walk towards him as he felt his eyelids close. The last thing he could make out was the extremely faint feeling of somepony grabbing his forelegs and dragging him through the dirt.