Heir of the Storm
Chapter Five
The last few weeks seemed to drift by for Sky Shard, now knowing he has real parents out there somewhere filled his head with a swirling pool of thoughts. He wore both feathers around his neck, despite his mixed feelings about their owners. Perched on his black storm cloud awaiting his teacher and Scootaloo, Sky held the feathers up from the dangling leather strap they rested on. His vision ran white with static and his hearing dulled to nothing. He did this often while waiting on Rainbow, the energy stored in the feathers filled the pegasus with a warmth so foreign yet so familiar.
Sky let go of the twin feathers and let the drift down to his chest. The slight shock made him jump the first few times he let them touch him, but now he felt nothing as they rested. His thoughts ran on for several minutes longer when his attention was drawn to a soft gentle voice from beneath him.
"Sky! Are you up there?" Sky leaned his head out, spotting the pink and purple mane below. The black pegasus took a look around the sky, searching for his teacher once more before dropping down from his cloud. He spread his wings and glided down. He felt good he could at least glide without his clouds. He landed a few yards away from the white mare, then turned around to face her. His blackened perch returning to a white fluffy cloud it had been before.
"What's up Sweetie?" Sky approached the mare, completely aware of his stomach churning in anxiety.
"You were, for a moment anyways," Sweetie smiled as she stepped closer herself. "Rainbow and Scoots not here yet?"
"Nope, not yet anyways. Ah've been here all mornin waitin on the two of em." Sky shrugged as he tucked in his wings.
"Good, I was hoping to talk with you before they got here," Sweetie began, sending an anxious twitch through Sky's body. "You don't mind do you?"
"Uh... No, not at all. What did ya want ta talk 'bout?" Sky felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He had spent some nights imagining this event, had even planned his reaction to every question Sweetie could have asked. Unlike what he had planned however...
"It's about how you talk."
"Of course! ah kn- uh... how ah... talk?" Sky exploded in excitement before pausing and pulling back on himself.
"Yeah, it was cute when we were younger but now... It's just maybe if you refined your accent a little..." Sweetie seemed hesitant to keep going.
"What's wrong with ma accent? Apple Bloom talks the same way." Sky stepped forward a bit.
"Noth- er... That is... I just think you would sound more... Nevermind." The unicorn mare was obviously struggling to get her point across.
"Ya think ah would sound better if ah talked like you and your sis," Sky commented.
"Yeah, I guess. Rarity has this crazy idea in her head, she wanted me to try and help you talk better."
"Ah... Well, between the farm and ma flyin lessons... Got time this afternoon?" Sky knew how his older sisters would react if they knew about Rarity's scheme, whatever it was, but he wasn't about to pass up spending time with Sweetie over it.
"Yeah! I mean. Yeah, this afternoon works for me." The mare smiled as she averted her gaze down the road. "Hey, isn't that Twilight?"
Sky turned his head to see his royal friend walking down the road towards him and Sweetie Belle. Beside her was the rainbow mane of her teacher. The black pegasus wondered why Rainbow had been so late, she must have been busy with Twilight. Once they came within talking distance, Sky ran up to his friend and his teacher.
"Sup kid, get any practice in?" Rainbow smirked as she trotted ahead of Twilight.
"Ah little, Ah-er..." Sky turned his head back towards Sweetie Belle. "Ah mean, I wanted ta wait for you and Scoots."
Twilight peeked her head around and caught Sweetie's smile towards Sky. She let out a smile of her own as she pulled ahead of her friend. She remained silent for now.
"Well, I guess it's fine. We may not have caught you if you were up there practicing. We got something to show you anyways," Rainbow explained as she motioned for him to join her and Twilight. "You are going to love this."
"Uh, ok. See ya later Sweetie!" Sky waved as he followed the older mares ahead of him, wondering what surprise they had for him.
Sky followed into town and towards the big tree that Twilight called home. He could hear Twilight and Rainbow snickering ahead of him, they must have had something either really malicious or very interesting in mind. After a relaxing walk into town, the thee of them made it to the door. Sky could hear soft humming behind the door, but Twilight kept the door shut for now. Instead both her and Rainbow twisted around revealing twin smiles. It actually creeped Sky out a little, both mares were acting weird the whole trip.
"Ready for the surprise kid?" Rainbow was about to explode in excitement. Twilight was also barely containing herself.
"Ah guess, The two of ya are acting... strange..." Sky admitted to the mares. Twilight jolted her head back, shocked at the comment but maintained her smile.
"Says the living battery, come on. It should be all polished and ready for you." Rainbow Winked as the door opened for her.
Sky followed behind the swishing tail of color, curious as to what was inside. Looking around the library, the only items of notice were the wooden centerpiece and what looked like a cloth cover. Sky chuckled inside himself, all the fuss and they didn't even put a bow on it. Twilight stepped around the centerpiece, almost skipping in her excitement, and blocked Sky's view of the covered surprise.
"Sky, you know my brother used to be Captain of the Guard right?" The princess asked the pegasi, fondly remembering this day for a young colt she loved to this day.
"Yeah, I guess. Why?" Sky wondered why Twilight mentioned her brother.
"When Prince Shining first told our mother he wanted to join the royal guard, well... Let's just say he was met with mixed views," Twilight sheepishly grinned as she recalled the memory. "Mother was a little less than pleased, Our father on the other hand was beaming with pride."
Twilight had began pacing around Sky, fluttering her wings at highlights of her story. Sky listened for several minutes, genuinely interested at first. The story began to drag on however, and Sky had to fight just to keep standing. He took a few quick glances at Rainbow, who looked just about as bored as he did. Finally Twilight coughed, grabbing both Sky's and Rainbows attention.
"You two really are a pair..." Twilight sighed. "Have you even been listening Sky?"
"Y-yes! I mean, a little..." Sky felt the blood rush to his face, knowing the oncoming storm.
"I knew it! Ugh! What's the point in trying to tell a story when nopony bothers to listen to it!?" Twilight fumed for a moment before sighing. "I guess... you can't be blamed. You are Rainbow's student after all..."
"Hey what's that supposed to mean!?" The rainbow hued pegasus blurted out.
"That you prefer action over anything else..." Twilight smirked as her friend. "Well... Lets get to the best part. Sky?"
Sky Shard turned his attention to Twilight, magic already enveloping the robed anomaly holding Sky's curiosity. The hairs in Sky's mane began to stiffen as he awaited his surprise. The robed object sort of held a ponies figure, but the head seemed much too tall. Sky figured he would just have to wait, which he hoped wouldn't be much longer. His wings were beginning to itch, eager to stretch themselves. Finally the veil was lifted, and at that moment every thought the young pegasus had was lost.
Sky was staring at a manikin, clad in bright golden armor. It was an older style than the traditional royal guard uniform, instead of plates covering the flank of the body it was reinforced towards the front. The armor was designed for pushing attacks Sky thought, issued during a time of war and worn by the bravest of ponies. One plate extended across the spine, Sky assumed for protection from slashing attacks. This left the vulnerable to piercing blows, especially if the soldier within was breaking a fortified line. Sky admired the silver trimming, and how the precious material glistened in the light. Questions filled the colts mind.
"This is... from the war, isn't it Twilight?" Sky asked, now watching his his reflection shimmer in the shaped metal. "Ah- I mean... I can tell from the design."
A curious smirk grew on the princess' face. "And you know armor designs how?"
"I... don't know? I saw the royal guard a few times here, and this armor looks different," Sky began to explain. "It looks more, fierce like. Kinda like it's meant to protect the front."
"That's... Very good Sky. You must have read that in one of my books!" Twilight was becoming more excited by the moment. "I knew I liked you Sky."
"Heh, yeah." Sky rubbed the back of his head. He knew he had never read about armor before, and he only knew of the war from stories Applejack told about their grandfather. Not his grandfather, although Sky hoped the old stallion would have been just as accepting as his family. "So... Can I try it on?"
"I thought you'de never ask!" Rainbow piped in, eager to actually do something. "Let's get you suited up like a REAL knight Sky! Heh"
Sweetie Belle had just returned to the boutique, after her talk with Sky she felt like she needed a rest. Ever since Rarity found her diary, things have been absolute chaos here. The young unicorn couldn't count how many times she had scolded her older sister for invading her privacy like that. One section calling Sky decent and it's the end of the world...
"Oh this is simply Marvelous! Sweetie Belle, do you know what this means!?"
"Will you just forget about it!? It's none of your business!"
"But it IS my business Sweetie! My dear sister is finally becoming a mare!"
"Am not! I mean... So what!?"
"Oh but this simply won't work, yet anyways... We must make preparations!"
Preparations... Sweetie Belle wished she had never asked what her sister meant by that. Sweetie now lay in her bed, she reached a hoof under her pillow and pulled out a folder. Flipping it open, she pulled out a single sheet of paper. Chicken scratch writing filled the middle of the page. She ran a hoof half way down the page before stopping.
"The clouds more shadow over the sky... Guess I should throw together a lesson plan..." Sweetie sighed as she twisted over in her bed. She intended to get a nap before Sky came over, but like most of her plans...
"Oh Sweetie Belle! May I borrow you for a moment?" Her sisters voice rang through her floor. With a grunt and a sigh, Sweetie crawled back out of bed and made her way down the stairs.
Sweetie stepped through the archway into her sisters domain. The room was littered with every color of cloth. Sweetie could hardly stand the mess, no matter what Rarity called it. After wading through the ocean of fabric, Sweetie found her sister sprawled over the top of an overly done (In her opinion anyways) dress.
"Oh Sweetie, can you please hold this ribbon for me? Right there if you would," Rarity pulled herself off the dress so that Sweetie could help. "There you go, this is much appreciated I assure you."
"Oh, it's not like I had anything else planned today..." Sweetie groaned.
"Soooo?" Rarity asked with sparkling eyes.
"So what?"
"Soooo how did it go with Sky?"
Sweetie felt the urge to facehoof, and would have had her hoof not been tied to the dress with ribbons. "He is coming over this afternoon so I can help with his accent."
"This afternoon? But the Boutique is a mess! This simply will not do. Not at all!" Rarity laced up the ribbon and was now trotting towards the other end of the room. "And where is Sky Shard at? Probably out training with Rainbow Dash..."
"Actually, I think he went with Rainbow and Twilight to the library. They mentioned a surprise for him."
"Then it is to Twilight's I go! Sweetie, clean yourself up and head to the Sugar Cube Corner! Rarity shall take care of everything!" The fashionista shouted as she charged to the door, stopping momentarily to pick out a floral hat.
"Oh... ok... great..." Sweetie Belle groaned as she went back to her room.
"Spike, what's takin so long?" Rainbow grew impatient, especially since she wanted to help put the armor on. Sky insisted that he put it on in private, only asking for Spike's aid on the more awkward pieces.
"Uh, hang on! U'mm... put this piece... here?" The dragons muffled voice hollered out the door.
"Ouch! Watch it Spike, that spot's tend'er-er-er ER!" Sky's voice shouted out the door. "Spike..."
"I'll just... get out of here then..." The door opened as the teenage dragon squeezed out the door, face burning red in embarrassment. "Uh... He is almost done."
Sky remained in the restroom for several more minutes, leaving Twilight and Rainbow waiting. Finally he finished with the armor. A quick glance into the mirror and he noticed his parents feathers laying on the sink. He wrapped a hoof around the leather strap they hung on and lowered his head.
"Ugh... That's it, Sky I'm comin in!" Rainbow made to charge the door, but stopped when the door exploded with crackling energy. Rainbow stopped as the door swung open, then slowly backed out of the doorway. "Wow..."
"What Rainbow? What's wro-" Twilight stopped as well looking into the restroom. "Wow..."
Sky strutted out in the gleaming armor, but the gold and silver hues were now replaced with sapphire blue plating trimmed with lightning styled edging. The feather necklace hung over a crest embedded on the chest plate. The emblem only showed a talon grasping a bolt of lightning. Sky felt a new energy surge through his body, one that made his wings twitch as jolting sparks flew to either side.
"Sky... What happened?" Twilight asked in a hushed tone, almost resembling reverence.
"I... I don't know." Sky's voice echoed through the room. "The armor seemed normal, until I placed my necklace over it. Then... well you saw."
"Your necklace?" Twilight slowly approached the gleaming pegasus. "Oh wow, it's definitely radiating a lot of magical energy..."
"So what then? Those feathers changed his armor to look all... like that?" Rainbow was as dumbfounded as she was impressed.
"Quite possibly... The energy in those feathers may have altered the magic in the armor, changing its appearance..." Twilight theorized. "Sky, where did you get that necklace?"
"It... well... Applejack said they were left with me... I think they are my parents feathers." Silence filled the room, until a stray bolt of lightning cracked causing a small fire. "Perhaps I should... remove your armor Twilight..."
"Yes... Preferably before you burn my house down... and Sky" Twilight paused as Sky began to shed the armor. "The armor is yours. Why do you think we brought you here?"
"Oh, well then... Thanks Twilight!" Sky shouted as he continued to remove the armor.
Twilight and Rainbow spent the next several minutes cleaning up the small mess from Sky's show. The mess was just about cleaned up when a knock came at the door. Rainbow volunteered to continue cleaning the mess, allowing Twilight to answer the door. She was greeted with a bright assortment of flowers resting on the head of her dear friend.
"Twilight darling! You look simply... Well, messy. Have you and Rainbow Dash been practicing again?" Rarity asked as she entered the tree house. "Nevermind that, perhaps you can tell me where the young Sky Shard is?"