//------------------------------// // 43 - Calm Before the Storm // Story: Storm Of Secrets // by Beware The Carpenter //------------------------------// Cadance walked along the pavement, next to her groom-to-be on their way to his parent’s house. It was now a little over two weeks since they returned from the Everfree Forest. The first week a shadow of worry had hung over their heads for Twilight and her friends, but six days after their return the inevitable message had arrived from Spike; saying Twilight and ‘the others’ were safe and expected back within three weeks at the latest. The news couldn’t have been received any better; Twilight was safe and with a solid time frame for her return, they could finally set a date for the wedding. Spike sent them a copy of Twilight’s schedule they picked a date a little over a month from now, certain that Twilight wouldn’t mind. Shining Armor was doing much better, and was recovering rapidly, especially now that he knew Twilight was safe. His fur was back and had covered all the bald patches, his mane was coming in full and thick, his muscles were evening out... he still looked somewhat emaciated, but he wasn't nearly as shocking as when she first saw him, and a thin cloak had been enough to ward off curious onlookers as they made their way to his parents. Why they were going there, Cadance had no idea. Cadance had been friends with Shining Armor since they were young; and knew that he had never been close to his parents. He'd spent a large part of his childhood left in one daycare or another, a large part of his teenage year’s taking care of Twilight, and a large part of his adulthood ignoring both his parents. More from lack of contact than anything else, Shining Armor had always been distant from them, borderline resentful, and for a long time, seeing them a few times a year on birthdays and Heaths Warming Eves had been tolerated formalities. This morning however, as soon as Shining Armor heard his parents were back from a business trip, the first thing he had wanted to do was go see them. On the way, his excitement was visibly mounting with each step which grew more and more rapid as they drew nearer his parent’s house, stopping only once at a gift shop to buy the two most expensive boxes of chocolates they had. His parents knew the truth about the energy shield, so Cadance wouldn't have to explain his physical condition; but if she needed to explain his behavior, she wouldn't have an answer. After thumping excitedly on the door, Shining Armor stepped back, shifting his weight continually between his legs. When his mom opened the door he nearly exploded with delight, wrapping his confused mom in a tight bear hug around the neck, and kissing her rapidly on the forehead. "Mom!" he cried holding her head tightly, tears welling up in his eyes, "It's really you!" After doubling the physical contact he'd had with his mom for the last three years, Shining Armor pulled back and ran into the house like an excited puppy, leaving his confused mom to ponder his actions, "Am I... dying?" she asked slowly. "Dad!" Shining Armor's exclamation was followed by a grunt coming from the living room. Cadance and Starknight rushed after the sound to see Shining Armor giving Orion an even bigger hug then he'd given his mother. Shining Armor pulled back from giving his father a hug, "I brought you chocolates!" he almost sang, levitating each box to the respective parent. He stood there for a few seconds, his eyes darting from one parent to the other until they lit up with another idea; "I'm gonna go see my old room" with that he scampered up the steps leaving behind two baffled mares and a confused stallion. "…Is he on some kind of medication?" asked Orion slowly, looking to Cadance. Cadance stood dumbfounded, she didn't know what had gotten into him, and she was still deciding whether she liked it or not; but before she could conjure up an answer, Shining Armor's head popped back over the railing, and somehow his smile had gotten even wider. "Is it OK if I stay over for a couple days?" His parents were too shocked to refuse him. ............................................................................................................................................................ After leaving Zecora's hut, the company of Rangers split up; intending to exit the forest at separate points and different times, but Pyromite, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor, went straight to Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. Her injuries had been extensive and very nearly fatal, but Zecora had gotten her stable and, once on the road to recovery, Applejack insisted on getting back to her own room in the farmhouse, even if it did lengthen her recovery. Fluttershy, who had moved in with the Apples to nurse Applejack, made them promise to keep their visit brief so Applejack could rest. The meeting began well, but Twilight was annoyed that after basic greetings and questions, most of the visit was wasted by Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash both claiming responsibility for Applejacks’ injuries and offering to pay for medical treatment and hired help until she was better, as quickly and as often as the offers could be crushed under Applejack's stubborn dogma. When they got to Twilight’s library, Spike was overjoyed to see them; Twilight was overjoyed to see him and Shining Armor was overjoyed when Spike said that Cadance had come by earlier, looking for Twilight. Cadance hadn't said what was so important; but she’d left a message asking Twilight to come to Canterlot as soon as possible, and for Spike to send her a message as soon as Twilight and Rainbow Dash got back safely from the Everfree Forest. "No mention of me?" asked Shining Armor doubtfully. "No..." said Spike apologetically, "We didn't talk that long though, now that I think of it, I'm not even sure if she knew you were here. You'd come here to avoid letting her see you hiding in another pony's body, remember." "Well yea but still... Storm knew where I was going, and he's sure to have told Cadance, so you'd think she'd have at least asked about me." "She probably didn't think she needed to," said Twilight, "She knew that you would go to Canterlot immediately to see her anyways and so only needed to ask me and Rainbow Dash." “… That’s probably it;” nodded Shining Armor, “But you’d still think she’d want to know I was safe,” ....................................................................................................................................................... The train ride to Canterlot was largely uneventful; and they were all tired after spending most of the day hiking through the last remnants of the Everfree Forest. Twilight, true to her nature, had felt three weeks without studying had been three weeks too long and selected a stack of books before leaving the library to read on the train. Shining Armor had seemed a bit absent minded since visiting Zecora's; for a while he mumbled something about a lost pay owed to Applejack's dad which had been collecting interest for ten years, but by the time the they reached the first station he was sleeping like a well muscled log on one of the bunks. Good, he needed it. Rainbow Dash thought about by-passing the train, flying to Canterlot and saving half the time; but the thought of a warm bed, surrounded by friends, and waking up already in Canterlot, sapped the energy from her still tender wings, and the idea of arriving in Canterlot at one or two in the morning put them to sleep. Morning glided in through the gilded windows as the train pulled towards Canterlot. Twilight didn’t spent the whole night reading but got at least a few hours sleep and woke up in time to share the jam and crumpets Rainbow Dash got from the breakfast cart; Shining Armor wasn’t so prudent. Walking out into the morning air, the trio was greeted by a warm sun and a cool breeze; but Dash could tell from the number of Pegasi moving about with rainclouds that a storm was scheduled for later that morning. Judging by the number of rainclouds and the darkening sky; it looked like it was going to be a doozy. “Why would the pegasi be planning a storm for the middle of the day?” asked Twilight suspiciously, “Don’t they usually happen at night when everypony is in doors?” “Luna’s idea.” Explained Shining Armor; “She’s not Nightmare Moon anymore, but she’s still touchy at how the day receives so much more attention than the night. These past few years she’s been spending almost all of her considerable royal allowance to buy shares in various weather teams and Cloudsdale Weather Company. Schedule thunder and lightning during the day, but have warm, clear nights and night is when ponies are going to come out to play. Celestia knows what she’s doing and is keeping a close eye on her, but is willing to let it storm two or three days a week so long as Luna doesn’t get too carried away.” “But if it storms in the day, how are the fields and orchards supposed to get sunlight?” “Luna’s not interested in if trees notice her night, just ponies. It rains on the cities during the day and fields at night. Spreads work out for the weather patrols too, makes things easier for them. I don’t approve of her craving for attention, but frankly, if someone had thought of this a thousand years ago, it could have averted civil war. It’s working too; nightlife in Canterlot is thriving.” “…You think that’s a good thing?” “I wouldn’t if I meant night life in the traditional sense, of drunken brawls ect; but quite a number of ponies have started becoming nocturnal, and now ‘nightlife’ is rather similar to what happens in the day. There are all night sport clubs, music groups, book clubs… I even hear rumors of secret underground flight clubs that don’t start until one in the morning.” Twilight looked at Shining Armor like he was out of his mind. Rainbow Dash cursed inwardly as she repressed giggling on the outside. “Let’s just hope Luna doesn’t get too enthusiastic with her day storms. Those look like hail clouds they’re moving in.” “Don’t worry;” said Shining Armor casually, “We’ll be inside long before the storm hits.” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Shining Armor was a bit irritated that his own guards didn't recognize him at the palace gate; though Twilight was enough of a regular that one of them recognized her, and volunteered quite happily to take them to see Cadance. Shining Armor made sure he stayed between the 'eager' young guard and his sister. "Do you think we could see Celestia after we talk to Cadance?" asked Twilight, "It's been a long time since I've seen her and so long as we're here there's some questions I've been meaning to ask her about my latest research.” "Celestia isn't here." informed the pegasus guard; "She left nearly three weeks ago and is currently on the border of Equestria and Gryffindor." "There wasn't anything scheduled." noted Shining Armor worryingly, "Did something happen?" "Murder sir; preliminary reports say a pegasus killed a griffoness from one of their outlying colonies, stole her ruby necklace and then fled into the mountains. Celestia went north with a company of Royal Guards to try and smooth things over politically." "Ruby necklace?" Shining Armor's face darkened with the report, “That means she was one of their barristers. How has the griffon population responded?" "Her husband has gathered posse and they're out searching for the killer now. He's made an oath not to rest until he's avenged his wife and fledglings." "Fledglings?" asked Shining Armor, even more worried. "She was pregnant sir, believed to have been carrying twin eggs." Shining Armor stomped his hoof, "Was this guy trying to start a war when he killed this griffon? ...I should be up there. Get a chariot ready to leave for Gryffindor in an hour." Twilight turned and stood in front of him, "You’re still going? Let Celestia manage this; it's not like the griffons are going to declare war over three deaths." "They wouldn't if that's what they saw it as. But they're going to have a hard time believing that a pony made that drastic of a decision without being ordered to by some pony higher up. Some of them will probably even accuse Celestia of being behind it." "But that's insane! Celestia would never order some thug to kill a random griffoness." Shining Armor looked his sister in the eye for a moment; then marshaled a ball of saliva which he then spat at her, depositing the goo above her nostrils and just below the eyes. Twilight froze for about two seconds as if trying to comprehend what had just happened; then recoiled violently; wiping her snout with both fore hooves as she glared at Shining Armor in repulsion and shock. "Gross!" she stuttered between hoof wipes, looking around a moment later for something to wipe her hooves with. Shining Armor looked back at her casually. "If we were in one of the old Cammelon kingdoms, that would have been seen as a sign of respect; me giving you my scent and therefore lending you my authority." Twilight's eye's bulged in horror as she backed away from him even further; "Gross!" "If you're not willing to see things through a camel’s perspective; don't expect griffons to see things through a pony's perspective." Advised Shining Armor, taking a towel from a nearby table and using it to wipe Twilight's nose and hooves. "I've spent a long time stationed in Gryffindor, and some of my best friends are griffons. They are not evil, they are not savages. What they are is a society built on discipline and an iron clad hierarchy, which is difficult for anyone to understand who wasn't either born in that culture or has extensive military training, neither of which Celestia has. On the higher end of the political spectrum they've been our allies for a long time, and Griffons usually work well with the Rangers because that's a military organization with a clear hierarchy, but mingling on a civilian level is still strongly discouraged. A pony visiting a griffon colony won't understand how they fit into the pecking order and will tend to offend the griffons and eventually get kicked out. If a griffon visits an Equestrian colony they will wait for someone to show their authority over them, when nopony does they will assume they are very high up in the pecking order and then when no one obeys them they take it as a sign of disrespect. Violations of the law are taken extremely seriously; it would be very rare for a griffon to do something as drastic as killing someone without orders from higher up, and so they will find it hard to imagine ponies doing it. The griffons will expect one high ranking Equestrian to be there or it will be seen as our leaders are hiding meaning admission of guilt, but to be honest, despite her age, Celestia doesn’t know how to relate to the griffons any more then she knows how to conduct a pony hunt. We need to find this pegasus before the griffons do. If he is innocent we are his only hope of a fair trial, and making sure the real killer doesn’t get away. If he is guilty his fate will be no different than if they catch him, but catching him ourselves will prove to the griffons that we had no part in arranging the murder." "I knew a griffon once" volunteered Rainbow Dash, somewhat absent mindedly, "We met at Jr. Speedsters fight camp, and then she came to Cloudsdale Flight School as part of the exchange program and we became really good friends. But then we lost touch for a few years and the next time I saw her was when she came to Ponyville, but she'd completely changed and acted like such a jerk to all of my friends.” "Cloudsdale Flight School?" said Shining Armor, "That's a boarding school isn't it?" "Yea." "And was that a structured society?" "What?" "Headmaster, senior teachers, junior teachers, teacher’s aid’s, twelve different year levels divided into primary, middle and high school with different play clouds for each category, student councils, class captains etcetera. Did Cloudsdale have all this stuff?" "Yea." "And tell me; was there a sticker chart in the front of the classroom, allocating each student an exact numerical value, based on their levels of obedience, athletic skill and academic abilities?" "Well..., yea but that's not what she sticker chart meant." "But its how your friend saw it, and it's what allowed her to function in a school like Cloudsdale. The school was specifically engineered as a diplomatic venture to be structured enough to allow griffon students to manage without overloading the pegasi. I've never met your friend but I have seen a lot of pony/griffon interaction, both good and bad, and I can tell you two things with moderate certainty. The change in your friend’s behavior was due more to change in environment than change in her, and that in her eyes, you and your friends seemed just as rude to her as she seemed to you." Rainbow Dash took a moment to think about what Shining Armor was saying; now that she thought about it Gilda had always seemed fascinated by the sticker chart, "She never told me that about the griffons." "Why should she? She came from one organized society to another, and probably thought the whole world was like that. I don't suppose she told you she ate food or breathed air, and asked if you didn't do these things outside of Cloudsdale Flight School." Rainbow nodded, slowing her trotting; "Thanks for the insight. I'll talk to Gilda about it next time I see her... if I ever see her again." Shining Armor stopped and looked at her; "Gilda? As in Gilda Aetherwin?" "You know her?" "She was in my unit a few years back, right after she joined the Rangers three years ago; well... got drafted anyways." "Drafted? What!?" "…Her family got into a feud with another over market rights. Gilda thought the other family might have been under talloned with their ledgers and so got the idea of breaking into their villa to steal their finance records. She was caught, convicted and sentenced to be drafted into the Rangers for fifteen years or until her one hundredth kill." Rainbow startled back; three years ago was when Gilda had come to visit her. She had seemed extremely edgy, and wanted to spend a lot of time with just the two of them. Had Gilda been frightened she was going to die and come to say goodbye? Had Gilda wanted to tell her about the Rangers and come to ask her to sign up to so she wouldn't have to be alone? Rainbow shook the thoughts out of her eyes and saw Shining Armor, looking at her as though he'd been reading her thoughts. "She's on leave at the moment, though exiled from Gryffindor until her sentence is paid. Her next tour starts in a little over a month… I could hook you up if you wanted." Rainbow nodded and Shining Armor took a few more steps down the hall then stopped suddenly and turned. "What I said before, might not be true in this case. Gilda’s… different from most griffons. If I do arrange meeting, and if you become a Ranger, you must promise not to try to pass of your kills as hers so she can fill her service points and go home faster. She tried to get me to sell her some of my kills and I had to put her on disciplinary action." "Sure," agreed Rainbow, turning her head to hide a smirk. "I'm serious Rainbow Dash! This isn’t a joke, it's illegal and there are serious consequences for forgery." "Alright, alright I get it!" insisted Rainbow, "Come on, let's go. Storm and Cadance are waiting for us." ............................................................................................................................................................ As Twilight trotted through the familiar corridors of the palace, she became increasingly aware of the unusual amount of decorations that seemed to be popping up all over the palace. She counted at least three separate crews of ponies either cleaning or decorating as they went by, and there was also an unusually high number ponies around with cutie marks relating to cooking or music. It wasn't hard to figure out that the palace was getting ready for some kind of major event; but what? The only event that Twilight could think of that would require this much pomp was the Grand Galloping Gala, and that was months away. Maybe Cadance wanted her help with whatever was going on and that's what the cryptic summons had been about? Twilight didn't have long to wait though, before she knew it, Rainbow Dash was pushing the doors beyond which they expected to find Storm and Cadance. Twilight followed Rainbow Dash through the door as soon as it was opened, and was greeted by the sight of a large living room, creased in the middle by three steps. Beyond those there were two couches, each holding one half of either Silent Storm or Princess Cadance respectively while the floor between them supported the other halves as Storm and Cadance rose to their hooves. "Twily!" exclaimed the white unicorn, jumping off the couch and racing down the stairs to meet her, "Twily you're alright!"