//------------------------------// // Calm Before Storm // Story: My Lady, My Love, My Life // by MysteriousStranger //------------------------------// “P-Pegasus brother? What do you mean? I thought that you told me that you only had one!” Rarity was confused and Trixie looked down before looking out the window again. “I did...” “Then, you lied to me…?” Trixie sensed that she was hurt, which made her feel guilty. “No. I just hid the truth from you.” “That’s lying, Trixie.” The fashionista said as she got off the bed and got a few steps closer to Trixie; she kept her distance. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had two brothers?” Trixie noticed anger in Rarity’s voice this time. “Remember, months ago, when I told you that there are memories of my past which are so depressing, that would make the saddest memory you know up to now look like a happy memory?” “I do remember, yes.” “Well...” Trixie turned to face fully at Rarity. “Night Wing has to do with that. He’s the reason my life was so miserable until I fell in love with you, he’s the reason I left without leaving a note or ever writing to my parents.” “What could he possibly have done to make you do that?” Trixie opened her mouth but closed it after moments later without saying a word. She looked down and away from Rarity, who walked closer to the blue Unicorn. “Trixie?” Trixie slowly looked back at the mare in front of her. Her face showed seriousness now. “He killed Clementine.” Rarity gasped and put one of her forelegs on her mouth. Trixie nodded and looked down. “Another lie, yes. But I did it to protect you from the truth. I was hoping that Night Wing would never find me. I can assure you that he’s responsible for whatever happened to Unicorn Hills. He must have found us when we went there.” The showmare gazed out the window once again. “He found me, and he’s close. Causing nightmares like the one you just had is his doing.” “Are you absolutely sure that it is him?” Trixie nodded. “I am. Just before getting sick, Clementine had a nightmare, similar like the one you had; he woke up abruptly, shaking and panting like you, and when I asked him what was wrong, he hugged me. I was really confused. He told me about the nightmare, where all his beloved ones threatened him horrible and my eyes were red, that’s because Night Wing’s eyes are red. He always uses me as a puppet in his nightmares!” Trixie hit the wall with one of her forelegs, making a crack. She was panting of anger. Rarity softly took her hoof with her own, stroked it and smiled apathetically at Trixie as she calmed down. “Better?” “No… You’re in danger. Clementine was poisoned and it looked like a disease, there’s no doubt that Night Wing is an evil genius. He invented many artifacts, all of them evil. He made a poison which caused Clementine’s pancreas to fail. He put the poison on a glass of water which Clementine drank.” “You saw him do that?” “No, he said it out loud. He used to talk a lot to himself, I overheard him argueing with himself. I also heard him say that I was next. That’s why I left as soon as possible. I didn’t want him to find me so...” “You never wrote to your parents.” “Exactly. Which is why I must leave Ponyville and never return.” Trixie began to walk away, but Rarity stopped her. “What?! From where did that come from?!” “I’m the pony Night Wing wants, not you! Staying will only put your life on risk.” “Trixie, we’re engaged. All your problems are mine. I won’t allow you to leave and I won’t leave either. It’s time for you to stop running from your problems. Face them instead or you’ll be running away your entire life.” “But...” “No buts!” Trixie opened her eyes wide when she saw that Rarity was starting to cry again. “D-Don’t leave… don’t you dare to do it! We’ll face this danger together. I want you to look at my eyes and promise me that you’ll stay. If you truly love me, you’ll stay...” The magician pony looked down and hugged Rarity. “Of course I love you… I promise I’ll stay.” “Thank you...” They moved their heads to look at each other’s eyes. Rarity sniffed and smiled while Trixie ran one of her forelegs through her hair. “I really hate to see you cry, especially when I’m the reason.” “Then stop making me cry.” Trixie chuckled and kissed Rarity’s forehead. “Let’s try to get some sleep, yes?” “Do you think we’ll can?” “Only one way to find out.” They laid on the bed again and embraced each other close. They closed their eyes and soon fell asleep, no nightmares this time. *** The next day, after having breakfast, Trixie was ready to leave. “Alright, beautiful, remember not to open the door to strangers.” “I’m not a filly anymore, Trixie.” “I know. I just don’t want to lose you like I lost my big brother.” Rarity walked up close to Trixie, put one of her forelegs on one of her withers and kissed her on her forehead. “You won’t lose me. I promise I’ll be careful.” Trixie closed her eyes and jumped on Rarity, kissing her with passion for several seconds. When Trixie softly pulled away, she hugged her soon to be wife tightly. “I love you, I love you so much...” “Trixie...” The blue Unicorn moved her head to look at Rarity. She was extremely worried. “I love you too. No Pegasus will break us apart… speaking of which, how come he’s a Pegasus? Was one of your parents was one?” “No...” Trixie said as she broke the hug. ”Nopony knows how it happened. Our whole genealogical tree are Unicorns. My parents wouldn’t be able of seeing anypony behind their backs either, besides, Night Wing shares some of the traits my father had.” “That’s really strange... Go, before Fluttershy gets worried.” “Yes, you’re right.” Trixie turned and opened the front door. She glanced one last time to Rarity and smiled at her. “I’ll see you later.” “Take care, my love.” Trixie nodded and walked away. Once she was far enough from Carousel Boutique, she stood still and sighed. “I have to talk to Twilight.” The magician pony galloped to Golden Oak, kicking the door open. “Twilight!” Spike was sleeping on his bed and jumped from his bed when Trixie arrived. “What is wrong with you?!” Spike was furious and Trixie didn’t dare to say anything. Twilight walked from the kitchen within moments, confused. “Trixie? Why did you…?” “I need to have an emergency talk with you, in private.” The lavender Unicorn nodded with a serious face and looked over at Spike. “Keep an eye on the oven.” Spike angrily mumbled something that neither pony couldn’t hear and walked to the kitchen. Trixie confusedly gazed at her best friend. “He’s acting worse than usual, I don’t know why. Let’s go to my room.” Trixie nodded and followed Twilight upstairs. Once inside the bedroom, Twilight closed the door behind her and faced Trixie. “Another private conversation? What’s so urgent, Trixie?” “I know what’s the danger Princess Celestia referred to.” “You do?” Trixie nodded and looked down. “Rarity is in danger and I’ll need help, from you and our friends.” “Of course! You don’t have to ask for our help, Trixie. Who is the responsible of this?” Trixie slowly looked up to see Twilight with seriousness. “My… other brother. He’s a Pegasus.” “Other brother? Why would he do this? Why attacking Rarity?” “Because he’s evil, he killed Clementine and I’m sure that he wants to use Rarity to get to me. I’m his target, not her.” Twilight has shocked; her jaw dropped and looked at Trixie with pity before hugging her. “I’m so sorry, Trixie..." The blue Unicorn returned the hug, but her face didn’t change. She was still scared. “If he even touches Rarity’s hair, he will regret it! I’m not a filly anymore, I’m done running away. I will face the monster and defend my mare with my life.” Twilight smiled as she broke the hug. “I’m glad that I teached you more advanced magic.” “Yes... Thank you, Twilight, for everything.” “Don’t mention it. I should write to Princess Celestia and tell her that about this.” “No. We need to keep this to ourselves to avoid unnecessary casualties. I won’t let anypony else to die by his hooves!” “Alright, I won’t tell her about...” “Night Wing.” “Right. I’ll tell our friends and we’ll be careful from now on.” Trixie nodded. “I’ll go to Sugarcube Corner now. Since Pinkie isn’t here, I’ll have to replace her until she’s back.” “Can you bake?” Twilight asked, recovering her smile. “No, but it can’t be so hard. You just follow the recipe, and, voilá! Fluttershy does it.” “Cookies are different. Cakes demand more work, and the muffins they have are different from the ones which are homemade.” “That’s not helping, Twilight. I’m about to do a full shift!” “Oh, sorry!” Twilight sheepeshy said. “I’m sure that you’ll manage. You have been working there for a while, surely you saw how they work.” “Well, Pinkie once asked me to watch as she baked a big cake for a birthday...” “See? You’ll be fine. Now, go or you’ll get late.” “You’re right.” Trixie said before hugging Twilight one more time. “Thanks again, Twilight. I’ll see you later!” Trixie trotted out the room and headed to Sugarcube Corner. *** “That sure was exhausting, but fun! I guess that’s why Pinkie likes to work there so much.” Trixie said to herself as she walked out from Sugarcube Corner, covered with flour and pastry in some parts of her body. “I need to take a good bath once I arrive to the cottage.” While she was walking, she saw Applejack walking towards her. She was carrying a rose. “Howdy there, partner!” “Applejack! What are you doing with a rose? I didn’t take you for that kind of pony.” “Oh, this? Ah think that ah have a stalker.” “Stalker?” Trixie confusedly asked “Yup! Not many ponies know that ah like roses and ah found this anonymously placed on mah window.” Trixie opened her mouth to say something, but she noticed something on a cloud not far behind Applejack. She saw Rainbow Dash’s head peering from it. The Pegasus quickly hid when she was spotted. Trixie smiled and looked at Applejack again, who was eating the rose and spitting its thorns. “I don’t think that “stalker” is the right word. What do you think of the gift? Would you give this pony a chance?” The farmer pony shrugged. “Ah don’t even know who this pony is. Instead of staying in the shadows and giving me roses, the stalker, or whatever, should come to mah face and speak. Until then, ah’m not interested.” Applejack said with a serious tone. “That’s harsh, don’t you think?” Applejack shook her head. “Nope. What would you do in mah place?” “That’s a tricky question, Applejack. I love Rarity so I would reject the secret admirer, and I didn’t care about love before falling for her, so...” “Ah forgot, sugarcube, sorry. Ah keep forgettin’ that you used to be different. Ah don’t have time for love right now, anyway. Ah have a farm to take care of and a little sister who needs to be watched all the time or she would probably destroy the town. Not kiddin'.” Trixie chuckled. “I understand. But, who knows? You might be wrong.” “If this secret admirer stands before me and confesses properly, ah’ll decide if ah should give it a go. Now, ah must go to Sugarcube Corner and ask Mr. or Mrs. Cake if they need more apples. We normally deliver enough apples to last a week, but sometimes their customers are more demandin’ and they run out of apples faster.” “Alright, I’ll see you later then.” Applejack smirked and continued on her way, throwing the stem away. "Ah must admit, though, it was tasty.” Trixie watched as her friend left and, once she was gone, Trixie looked at the cloud Rainbow Dash was on. “She’s gone, Rainbow!” The cyan Pegasus peered again before flying towards her magician friend. “Thank you for not giving me away, Trixie. I owe you one.” “You owe me nothing. I’ve made a promise, remember?” “Yeah, but I thought that you wouldn’t keep it.” “You really have that little faith on me, Rainbow Dash?” Trixie was smiling. “What did Trixie do to not be worthy of your trust?” “That’s not what I meant, uhh, I...” The Pegasus sighed as she blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m really nervous. I never had a crush before, I don’t know what to do to make it go away!” “So, you give Applejack her favorite flowers? That’s only making it clear that you have feelings for her, it will not make them go away.” “I don’t have feelings for Applejack, it’s just a silly crush!” “Do you want to ask an expert?” “An expert?” *** “You’re definitely in love, Rainbow Dash. It’s not a crush.” Twilight said as she closed a book she was reading. They were at her library. “A crush fades within the four months after it appears, and you had those feelings since…?” “Six months, maybe?” Rainbow Dash said. “Exactly! It’s love, Rainbow. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear.” “I don’t know why we came here on the first place. Twilight isn’t an expert in love!” The cyan Pegasus tried to sound angry, but her voice sounded as it was breaking and she was blushing madly. “What does experts do to earn that title?” Trixie asked to her Pegasus friend. “I don’t know, read books about love?” “Exactly.” The librarian spoke. “And I have read entire books about many subjects. I started to read about love when I fell in love with Fluttershy and I learnt much from them.” Rainbow Dash growled and crossed her forelegs. Her cheeks were still red. “Who are you in love with, anyway?” Trixie looked over at Rainbow. “Umm… I promised Rainbow I wouldn’t tell.” “It’s okay...” The Pegasus said as she unfolded her forelegs and looked down. “I suppose she can know too. It’s not like if she’s going to tell everypony.” Rainbow Dash slowly lifted her head to see Twilight. She gulped and closed her eyes before speaking again. “It’s Applejack.” Twilight twitched her head. She was confused at first, but she smiled in a matter of moments and she hugged her friend. “That’s fantastic, I’m so happy for you!” Twilight said before moving her head to see her friend, who didn’t return the hug. “Pinkie will surely be excited when she finds out, she called it!” “Yeah, about that...” Rainbow Dash spoke. “I would appreciate if you don’t tell her when she returns. She will surely throw a party and she would eventually reveal everything to Applejack. But, you can tell Fluttershy if you want. And I think that Rarity will know soon...” “Well...” Trixie said as she blushed. "She already knows." “I will definitely tell her, then! Pinkie Pie will be the only pony who has no idea.” Twilight said with a big smile. “You have to tell her, Rainbow.” Trixie spoke again, causing Rainbow Dash to quickly look at her. “I won’t tell my best friend that I like like her, that’s insane! I can live with those feelings.” “Really...?” Twilight inquired. “What do you do just to see her?” The cyan Pegasus looked at Twilight, about to refuse to answer, but she saw both her and Trixie smiling at her. They would keep insisting. Rainbow Dash sighed and blushed as she spoke. “Well… I watch her while she’s bucking her apple trees, I wake up earlier just to watch Applejack sleep before she wakes up and I keep the sun away from her when she bucks too many hours...” A smile slowly appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face as she spoke and her voice didn’t have her usual tone. It sounded softer. Both Unicorns noticed this. “Oh my gosh, Rainbow, you have to tell her!” Twilight said after a few seconds of silence. “N-No! I… I can’t.” “Rainbow Dash...” Trixie spoke. “You either tell her or leave even more obvious signs until she finds out that you’re her secret admirer.” “Secret admirer?” Twilight asked. “I… secretly gave her a flower, a rose...” The bookworm pony sadly looked at Rainbow Dash, she was about to say something else but the noticed the sun from the window. “It’s about to get dark...” “I’ll get ready for the first watch.” Rainbow Dash said with seriousness and saluted. Trixie eyed her Pegasus friend. “To guard Rarity.” “Oh.” “I called everypony here today and I explained them the situation. Me, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and you will take turns of three hours to guard Rarity’s home from any menace.” “I really appreciate this, girls. I owe you all a big one.” “Trixie, you don’t owe us anything. If anyone is in danger, we’ll do our best to protect them.” Twilight said with a smile. “But this is my fight, my brother, my Nemesis.” Rainbow Dash put one of her forelegs on Trixie’s back. “Trixie, you’re one of us. If anyone messes with you, they mess with all of us.” Trixie smiled and hugged both of her friends. “Still, thank you so much...” “You’re welcome, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash said before the three of them broke the hug. “We should get going.” Trixie nodded as both she and the Pegasus walked outside. “Try to sleep early, Trixie. Your watch is the last one, around four in the morning.” Twilight said as she followed her friends. “I will, thanks!” Twilight closed the door behind them, but she still heard their voices. “Wait, you keep the sun away from Applejack but not from me?” The lavender Unicorn chuckled and she heard footsteps climbing down the stairs. Spike was walking directly to the door, angry. “Where do you think you’re going?” “Don’t bother me!” Spike darkly said as he tried to opened the door, but Twilight put her foreleg to keep the door shut. “You aren’t allowed to leave the library unless I ask you to...” Spike growled at Twilight, causing her to get scared and leave the door for him to open. “I told you not to bother me!” Spike closed the door with all his strength and walked away. Twilight began to cry. “S-Spike… what’s happening to you…?” *** Rainbow Dash was sitting on a cloud above Carousel Boutique. An hour and a half passed since she arrived and it was already dark. Rarity was asleep. Nothing strange had happened so far. “So boring...” The Pegasus said to herself after yawning. “But I guess that it’s a good sign. Boredom means no danger.” Rainbow Dash laid on the cloud with her head hanging from the cloud. “Stay sharp, RD...” Her eyes were slowly closing until she spotted something strange. “Who’s that?” A shadow was approaching to Rarity’s front door. The rainbow-maned pony kept looking at the figure until she saw who it was. It was Spike. The baby Dragon was carrying a package and was heading towards Rarity’s door. “What the hay is he doing?” Rainbow Dash decided to watch instead of flying to him. Spike knocked at the door with interludes. The Pegasus had a strange sensation, like if something was not right but she couldn’t figure out what. Rarity woke up abruptly and shaking. She slowly sat up and walked downstairs without making any noise while Spike kept knocking slowly. When Rarity got to the door, she used the peephole to see who it was. When she saw that it was Spike, Rarity opened the door a bit. “Spike? What are you doing here? I was sleeping and you should be too.” “This is for you.” Spike said with a strange tone as he lifted the package to Rarity. “Open it.” “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Spike shook his head slowly. “No, it has to be now. Trixie told me that you have to open it now.” “Trixie?” Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash said almost at the same time, but the later one was careful to not reveal herself. Spike nodded slowly. “You two… talked?” “Yes. We are friends now. We didn’t want to tell you until we thought of how to surprise you. This gift is the surprise. Open it.” Rarity noticed that something was wrong, but she took the package anyway. “I think that a peek won’t hurt...” “Wait!” Rainbow Dash tried to stop her, but it was too late. Rarity opened the package and a strange cloud came from it, knocking both Rarity and Spike out. The cyan Pegasus was about to fly to them but she saw somepony gallop to them. A Pegasus. The mysterious Pegasus grabbed Rarity and began to gallop away. “Stop right there!” Rainbow Dash revealed herself and charged towards Night Wing, but he turned; spotting her. Rainbow Dash saw his red eyes and a glow on his forehead and, suddenly, everything went dark. She fell to the ground and her unconscious body slided to Night Wing’s hooves. He smirked darkly and escaped with Rarity. *** Trixie woke up abruptly and sat up, panting. She sensed that Rarity could be in danger. She wasted no time and went to Carousel Boutique as fast as she could. She gasped when she saw the door opened and Spike and Rainbow Dash on the ground. She was relieved when she saw that they were still breathing. Trixie noticed a box laying close to where Spike was and took a closer look inside. She found a note and dropped the box. There’s a map behind this, come alone. Don’t be stupid to bring anypony else! Trixie looked the reverse and saw an ‘X’ marking a cave not close from there, but not too far. “Rarity is in danger for my fault… I must save her!” She didn’t have time to wake up Rainbow Dash nor Spike. She galloped as fast as she could to face her brother. She didn’t notice that Spike recovered and saw her while she was galloping. He stood up and followed her, being careful to not be noticed.