Storm of Secrets

by Wolf Guardian

Chapter 3: Unexpected Guests

By the time the had sun rolled over the hills and begun warming the sleepy town of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and her assistant dragon, Spike, had already been up for an hour. Twilight moved from room to room, levitating a dozen feather dusters with which she carefully wiped down one bookshelf at a time. Spike followed behind with a bucket of water and sponge, wiping up any specks he could see on the pristine wooden floors. “Hurry Spike,” urged Twilight, “the sun’s coming up and we still need to clean the foyer and the basement before breakfast.”

Spike was always a little confused as to why Twilight thought cleaning the house was so urgent when it was never that dirty to begin with, but he didn't mind the daily morning cleans. They reminded him of the calisthenics the dragons used to do back at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Besides, since he'd probably spend the rest of the day sitting at a desk helping Twilight study obscure arcane spells, it was good to begin each day with some movement. Twilight however, cleaned the house with a relentless fervor, making sure that every offending dust particle was removed before it could cause trouble. Anything out of place might distract her concentration from her studies, and that was intolerable.

By the time the sun was shining brightly, the house had once again been cleaned from attic to basement. After enjoying a tasty breakfast of wheat waffles with apple sauce for Twilight, and a bowl of turquoise for Spike, Spike began cleaning the dishes, while Twilight chose a dozen thick volumes off the shelves for the day’s work. Spike had almost finished the dishes when he suddenly let out a tremendous burp and a scroll from Princess Celestia fell into his waiting hands. He brought it into the study, where Twilight was busy adjusting the chemistry set.

“Twilight, you got a message from the Princess.”

Twilight left the chemistry set immediately and went over to Spike, “What does it say?”

Spike uncurled the scroll, cleared his throat, then quickly scanned the letter before reading it out loud.

My faithful student Twilight,

I'm sure you will be happy to hear that your brother, Shining Armor, is being given several weeks of leave from his post as Captain of the Royal Guard, and is hoping to visit you in Ponyville. If you are able to receive him, please respond to this letter immediately, as he's ready to leave and would arrive by teleportation within a few minutes. Be aware, however, that Shining Armor has recently participated in a body changing spell, and will be visiting you in a red pony’s body. The reasons for this transformation are complicated, and I don't want to deprive Shining Armor of telling you about it in person. Regardless, the body swapping spell that was used is largely untested, and although it seems to have worked properly, there may be unexpected side effects. I am counting on you to observe him carefully, and to report any adverse effects so they can be dealt with quickly, before they become serious problems. Your brother eagerly awaits your reply and hopes to see you soon.

Spike had only read to the end of the second sentence when Twilight’s face lit up and she started bouncing in circles around the room. “Yes!” she cheered, “Yes, he can come; tell him yes, Yes, Yes!”

“Um, Twilight I think you should take a look at the rest of this letter. It says - ”

“Yes,” Twilight insisted as she kept bouncing around the room. Based on what Spike had seen in the past, she might have continued bouncing for the next several minutes. Fortunately, after a few dozen hops she realized that if she didn't actually write back, her brother might take no response as a “no” instead of a “yes”. One more bounce brought her back to her desk, where she wet the quill with twice as much ink as was necessary, and wrote a giant 'yes' that took up an entire scroll. “Quickly Spike, send this.” she ordered levitating the scroll in front of Spike's face.

“Twilight, I think you should listen to the rest of the letter.” Spike said in a hopeless attempt to calm her down.

“My brother is coming to visit, that's what it says, now send the letter.”

Spike sighed and breathed on the letter, lighting it up in a cloud of smoke which blew in the direction of Canterlot. Twilight watched the smoke disappear from view, and then started looking around at the house in a panic. “My brother’s going to be here in a few minutes; we need to get the house cleaned up!” She dashed to the closet and returned with the dusters and sponges they had used only a few hours ago, then spun around madly looking for something to clean. She stood dumbly for a few seconds before it finally dawned on her that the house was already clean and did not need to be cleaned again. Spike sighed with relief as the cleaning gear went back into the closet and Twilight regained some of her usual air of maturity. “Do I look ok, Spike?” she asked in a calmer tone, looking at herself in a mirror.

“You look fine, just calm down. It's your brother who’s coming to visit, not the Princess, and he's not going to throw you in a dungeon if your house is slightly messy.”

“He's the Captain of the Royal Guard, Spike. Aside from the two princesses, that IS the most important position in Canterlot. I've hardly heard from him since moving to Ponyville; oh, I hope he hasn't changed too much.”

“It'll be ok Twilight, but there is something you need to know. The letter said - ” there was a tapping at the door.

“He's here!” squealed Twilight, as she bolted to the door in a purple blur. She threw the door open and held her hoofs out wide, then stopped dead in her tracks with a look of confusion and disappointment. Spike squeezed in beside her and saw a red unicorn stallion with an orange mane and a cutie mark depicting a hoof rising from a wet patch of mud. “Umm... hello. Who are you?” asked Twilight uneasily.

“Twily, it’s me.” The red unicorn responded joyfully.

“But you’re not my brother,” said Twilight taking a step backwards, “Who are you?”

“Shining Armor,” answered the strange visitor, “you said I should come over.”

“Stop it!” snapped Twilight, “Is this some kind of a joke? You’re not my brother!”

The red unicorn paused a moment. Surprisingly, he didn't seem repelled by Twilight's behavior, instead he seemed to find it rather amusing, “Wait for it... ”

“Wait for what? What are you talking abou-brauaurp?” Spike's question disintegrated in a blast of green flame as another letter flew out of his mouth bearing the royal seal of Princess Celestia.

“Open it.” invited the stranger.

Twilight cautiously opened the scroll and looked inside.

Dear Twilight, if you are looking at a unicorn with a red coat and an orange mane, that is Shining Armor. Before leaving Canterlot he swapped bodies with another pony. His body is different, but everything else about your brother is the same.

Twilight looked back at the pony on her doorstep, “B.B.B.F.F.?”

The red pony looked down at her lovingly, “Twily.”

“But how did you...” Twilight gestured towards the latest letter and looked up at the now familiar stranger.

“You responded ‘yes’ to the letter far too quickly to have read it all the way through, and to have thought about it. I'm guessing you listened to the first few lines, got excited, probably did your little dance, and then answered before Spike could finish reading the letter. So I asked the Princess to write the second letter and send it a few minutes after I left.” Spike was ready to burst out laughing, and from the look of Shining Armor, he was too; but Twilight still needed convincing.

“So,” Twilight said slowly, “If you are really my brother... what was the first book that you ever got me?”

The red pony thought for a moment, “Hmmm, that would be... The Art of the Checklist.”

“So you’re to blame!!” Spike shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Shining Armor “It was you, you did this to her!”

“Hey Spike, long time no see.” Spike thought Shining Armor was about to say more but at that moment Twilight uprooted herself from the doorway and jumped on her brother with a whoop of joy, hugging him close for the first time in years. Shining Armor hugged his sister in return, but over Twilight's shoulder Spike could see him silently mouthing 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

Eventually Twilight released her brother and stood back, glowing happily, “Why didn't you give me a few days warning that you were coming? I could have really gotten things ready for you.”

“Precisely why I didn't. You would have spent the whole time stressing out, making a checklist of things to get ready, double checking your checklist to make sure that everything that should be on the checklist was, doing all the things on your checklist, then double checking all the things on your list to make sure you did them right, then triple checking to make sure you didn't miss anything. You’re my little sister; its my job to protect you from pain.”

“I wouldn't have been that bad,” retorted Twilight, “I've grown up a lot since I left the academy.”

Shining Armor looked over to Spike, “Has she?”

“Well umm... ” Spike tried think of a way to tell the truth without insulting his caretaker, “let’s just say I'm glad you didn't call ahead, oh wise and compassionate captain.”

Spike was afraid he had annoyed Twilight, but she didn't seem to be listening. It had been years since she had had a proper conversation with her brother, and now the flood of questions that had been building for years spilled into her consciousness. “BB,” she asked solemnly, “what happened last year between you and Cadance? I heard that you were going to marry her, and then I heard that the wedding was postponed, but I haven't heard anything about it since.”

Shining Armor nodded, then noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were crouching nearby behind a bush, hoping to go unnoticed. “There's a lot to tell Twily. Do you really want to hear it all out here, or are you going to invite me in?”

…..................................................................................................................................................................

Rainbow Dash soared through the clouds with the Wonderbolts as part of an early morning patrol and exercise. She tried to focus her attention on keeping the formation tight and on scanning the Wonderbolts for any weaknesses, but again and again her thoughts drifted to the red warrior she had danced with the night before. Of all the ponies in the theater, Silent Storm alone had had the courage to act, to say when enough was enough. He drew a line and defended it, vanquishing the dark sorceress, and saving Derpy. But... even that was strange when she came to think of it. Rainbow had no doubt that Trixie deserved banishment—she had tried to kill her after all, and had threatened to kill Derpy, but Storm had no way of knowing any of that. All he knew was that Trixie had made fun of Derpy's eyes, had tried to push Derpy down a hole, and had called him some names when he beat her. That didn't quite sound like it deserved banishment. Did he know about the other things Trixie had done? Or did Storm know something about Trixie that Rainbow didn't?

Rainbow sighed as she thought about the way he had danced with her; the warmth of his body, the fall of his mane. Wait, what was she thinking? He had come to one of her shows (just like almost every other pony in Canterlot) and then they had danced a few times at a party. It’s not like she was falling in love with him just for that. No way! Even if she did have a crush on him (which she didn’t), what would it matter? He hadn't left her any way of contacting him even if she wanted too. At least he knew she was a Wonderbolt, finding their stables wouldn't be difficult if he ever bothered to look. She wondered what he needed to do at the palace, and what he would do when he was done. She wondered if he would try to visit her at the Wonderbolt stables... she hoped he would. Rainbow tried to refocus her mind on her work. Breaking formation for a moment she dived through a dense patch of cloud. The sudden knock, the instant of darkness was all it usually took to clear her mind so she could focus; this time it only reminded her of staring into Storm's eyes the moment before the cloud hit her during the performance. She shook her head to clear it and tried again to focus on the Wonderbolts. She was only partially successful.

…..................................................................................................................................................................

“Three weeks before Cadance and I were supposed to marry,” Shining Armor was saying to Spike and Twilight after they had gathered around the table, “military intelligence warned us about a threat to Canterlot. I was put in charge of finding its source and neutralizing it. I put Canterlot on high alert, called up the reserve troops and, at the bidding of the Princess, I began maintaining the energy shield around Canterlot. Meanwhile, Cadance took responsibility for the wedding preparations. I hunted down false lead after false lead, looking for the threat, and when I finally found it, it was almost too late. One week before the wedding, I learned that Cadance had been kidnapped, and had been replaced by a changeling, who hoped to use me to destroy Canterlot from the inside. The changelings were dealt with and I personally rescued Cadance; but I realized I couldn't go on with our plans. A changeling imposter had been posing as my fiancé for nearly two weeks; during that time I had met with her dozen of times and had never suspected a thing. The truth is, if my work hadn't brought me to uncover the plot, I might never have realized it wasn't Cadance until it was too late, and Canterlot could have fallen.

“In short, I could not give Cadance, let alone a family, the devotion that she deserved and still maintain all of my duties as Captain of the Royal Guard. It would have been a lie to marry Cadance, knowing I could only give half of myself to her, and that our relationship would always have to take second place to the safety of Canterlot.”

“So you had to choose between Cadance and Canterlot, and Cadance lost.” Twilight had never been more disgusted with her brother in her life. “You rescued her and then broke up with her. How could you? Do you have any idea how heartless you sound?”

Shining Armor shook his head, “I love Cadance more then my own life; and I couldn't stop loving her if I tried, but thousands of ponies rely on me for protection, and so neither can I abandon my royal duties. I was prepared to sacrifice my own happiness for the safety of Canterlot, but sacrificing what I knew would make Cadance happy was a hundred times worse. I was trying to convince myself that this was what had to be; when hope presented itself from an unexpected quarter. Keeping the energy shield up for two weeks had been extremely difficult; what started with mild headaches during the first week gradually turned into a constant migraine as the second week wore on. With the changelings destroyed, I let the shield down. After a day of rest I discovered that, while keeping the shield up had been painful, it had permanently stretched my magical abilities. The increase was only slight, but the change was unmistakable.

I had a long talk with Cadance and the Princess, who explained that the shield was a rare sort of spell that would push my potential for magic far deeper the longer I used it, but the deepening of my potential would be matched by an increase in pain. I couldn't use the spell on and off and slowly build my strength. Any pain I endured that was less than I had suffered before would be useless; my potential would only increase when the pain was worse than it had ever been.

So I resolved to do the only thing I could see that would let me marry Cadance and still protect Canterlot. If I held the shield for as long as I could without stopping, eventually I might become powerful enough that when I retrained to my new potential, I could maintain the shield with only a fraction of my energy. I could marry Cadance and would only need to focus my energies on the shield a few times a day to keep Canterlot safer then it had ever been. Even my administrative duties as Captain would be reduced, as we would require fewer guards with the city under the shield’s protection. But before this could happen, I would have to survive a world of pain like few ponies have ever felt before. Within a week the migraines were back, and as the year dragged on, my body wasted away. Every fiber of my body begged me to stop, but thoughts of Cadance kept me going. Every day my potential for power increased as I got weaker and weaker, until finally, when I was on death's doorstep, I let go.

I should have been thrilled that my trial was over, and I would soon be able to marry Cadance, but I was so exhausted I could hardly care less. That, more then the pain, horrified me. It's funny how the mind and body affect each other. When a soldier is recovering from battle wounds, one of the most important factors in his recovery is that he keeps a healthy mindset. But keeping the shield up for so long exhausted me mentally and emotionally as well as physically. I was on the edge of a pitch black depression, and if I didn't get my mind right it’s possible I might never recover. My body was too weak for my mind to find any solace there, and so Celestia opted for taking my mind out of my body. By putting a healthy mind in an exhausted body, and an exhausted mind in a healthy body, she theorized both could recover in a matter of weeks instead of months. I think the Princess had predicted when I would break and planned ahead, because just four days after I let the shield down, a friend of mine showed up to take my place, I didn't need that much convincing.

“This friend who swapped with you must be a very good friend if he's willing to suffer like you’re describing to help you.”

Shining Armor nodded but frowned even as he did so, “I'm not meant to talk about him, military protocol.”

“Well, whoever he is tell him thank you for me the next time you see him. Because of him I get to spend time with my brother. How long can you stay? Please say it’s a long time.”

“For a few weeks, or until you get tired of me. I won't impose on you, but the Princess was hoping you would want me to stay here so you could observe me.”

“Observe you?”

“I think it’s time you took a look at the rest of the letter; where is it?”

“Hold on, I'll get it” Spike got up from the table, returned a moment later with the original letter, and handed it to Twilight, who studied it carefully before looking up.

“What does it mean 'unexpected side effects'? I mean, I know what it means but... do we have any idea what you might have gotten into?”

“Body swapping magic is extremely difficult, and is kept highly classified due to the potential risk to security it could pose if left unchecked. It’s only been done a few times that I know of, and half of them were by accident. Either way, to my knowledge this is the first time the spell was done with one of the participants as weak as I was. Everything seems to be alright; I mean, I feel great, but we don't know what could happen and it might not affect us both in the same way. That's why the princess was so quick to agree to send me here, she wanted someone she could trust who knew me well, you know, in case I go crazy or something.”

“But... what if something terrible has happened and we don't know it yet? What happens if you can't change back?”

“We'll deal with that if it comes to it, in the meantime I'll try not to think about it, the whole point of this vacation is NOT to get stressed out.”

“Are you sure you feel OK now? If I'm meant to monitor any changes, I need to know how you feel to start with.”

“Well,” Shining Armor thought, “the ribs on my left side hurt whenever I breathe in, and my face feels like its been splashed with acid, but compared to what I was feeling yesterday, its nothing.”

“OK,” said Twilight taking out a notepad and listing her brother's symptoms, “that's your physical condition, but what about mentally, are you feeling alright?”

“So far so good. The Princess thinks that as long as I don't get stressed out, I should be fine.”

“Good, remember to tell me the moment anything changes. Promise me if something is wrong I'll be the first to know.”

“Only if you promise to keep this rather low key. Most ponies, even in the Royal Guard, don't know the full truth about what I've been doing this last year. The enemies of Canterlot may try to kill my body if they knew how vulnerable it was now, and how strong it would soon become. As for my soldiers... lets just say I'd prefer they didn't know their fearless leader was being foalsat by his younger sister, they'd laugh their heads silly.”

“It's a deal,” said Twilight quickly, “but there's one thing you haven't told me, how does Cadance feel about all this? Why aren’t you visiting her instead of me?”

Shining Armor thought for a moment, sipping the tea Spike had made for him, before responding, “At first she didn't want me to do it at all, but I convinced her it was the best way for us to be together. One year apart and then a lifetime together was what I told her... and myself. I wanted to visit her when I swapped with my friend but...” he trailed off for a minute and drank more of his tea before finishing, “I don't want her to see me... like this—hiding in another pony’s body.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Twilight wasn't sure whether or not she approved of her brother’s actions; Cadance was her friend too, and Twilight wanted to be sure she was treated fairly.

Shining Armor finished his tea in one last gulp and waited longer then last time before answering, “Five months ago, right before things got really bad. I asked her to leave and promised I would come for her when I was better. It was too much... not for her but for me. I believe she would have stayed with me until I broke, but I couldn't bear to let her see how weak I was becoming. Even though she never said it, I could see in her eyes that she wanted me to break the shield and let myself heal, but I wouldn't, not while I still had strength left in me. It took every ounce of strength I had, but now it’s done. When I return to my body and retrain to my new potential, I should be able to easily maintain the shield for the rest of my life. I'll even be able to maintain the shield from outside of Canterlot; for instance I might be able visit Ponyville with Cadance for a few days at a time without dropping the shield.”

Twilight was delighted that her brother would be able to visit more often, but still wasn't sure that Shining Armor’s decision to send Cadance away so she wouldn't see him suffer had been fair to her. “Are you sure did the right thing by Cadance?” She tried not to sound too judgmental but came off sounding harsh anyway.

Shining Armor regarded her coldly for a moment; he had probably been wondering the same thing as he lay on his bed of suffering for those final lonely months. “No. But in either case what’s done is done. The price has been paid and soon Cadance and I will be able to get married. So let’s get ready to celebrate the future rather then linger on the past, shall we?” Shining Armor looked over to where Twilight had her chemistry equipment set up “I'm sure you have a hundred fantastic experiments and a dozen great books that you’re eager to show me.”

“Actually, if you can really stay in Ponyville for a while, I'd like you to meet my friends.”

“Really?” Shining Armor sounded surprised and very pleased, “that sounds like a much better idea.”

…..................................................................................................................................................................

Silent Storm rested on a bed of fresh hay where Shining Armor had lain until last night, too tired to move; wondering about the long trial that awaited him. Holding dark thoughts at bay had been a specialty of his, but he usually did this by focusing on the task at hand and ignoring any emotion that tried to get in the way. Here though, there was no task, except to wait and get better.

His thoughts turned to the rainbow-maned wonder that he had danced with the night before. Of all the hundreds of ponies in the theater, she alone had had the courage to help him. But... even that was a bit strange when he came to think of it. She had dived in to help him help… Derpy as if she knew what was going on. For a while he had thought she was portraying a better cover then he was; but then why hadn't she said anything when he asked her? A searing cramp bit down on one of Storm’s legs, he painfully stretched and shifted his weight. Come to think of it, all she would have known was that Trixie had done a lousy show, had made fun of a random pony’s eyes, and maybe if her vantage point was right, had seen Trixie try to push Derpy down the hole. That didn't sound like it even deserved a battle, unless... maybe she was friends with Derpy. Or was there something she knew about the situation that he didn't?

Storm managed the strength to smile as he thought of the way they had danced the night before; her light steps, her radiant smile. Stop, what was he thinking? Nothing had happened between them—she had helped him for a few seconds at the tail end of a battle, he had watched her perform once, and they had danced two or three times. In all, they weren’t together for more then two hours, it’s not like he had any feelings for her, and even if he did what difference would it make? Here in Canterlot she had a full life; she was the star performer in Canterlot, with a team of supporters, and if the size of the empty stadium was any indication, she must have thousands of fans and wealth beyond reckoning. Storm knew the path he had chosen and there was no way she would walk it with him. Even to ask would be unfair to her, an insult.

If she had been unhappy with her life as it was, Storm might have told her who he really was. Not all at one time, and certainly not with other ponies around, but slowly, bit by bit, he would have told her the full truth. That was the way they said was best if you had to tell anypony at all. But she was happy with her life and Storm would never forgive himself if he messed it up.

Storm wearily looked up at his saddlebag; it was empty except for the letter from Princess Celestia urgently bidding him to Canterlot, and his portgem. Portgems were useful little things—a recent invention from Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Each was anchored to one specific location and allowed its unicorn wielder to cast an infinite number of long range, one-way teleports to the coordinates inscribed in the gem. Usually they were owned by wealthy ponies who traveled a lot. Once you had a portgem that was anchored to your home you could travel anywhere you liked, ten miles, a hundred, it did not matter. Whenever you had finished your business, all you had to do was cast one easy spell and you would be standing at your front door. Storm would finish his mission, collect his armor, and then use his portgem immediately, without saying goodbye—one spell and Canterlot, and its inhabitants, would be only a distant memory.

Storm didn't think he had feelings for Rainbow Dash, and if he did he shouldn't; and if he had made her have any feelings him that had been a mistake too. One more mistake which he would have to bear. She would forget about him in time. She should never have known he existed to begin with. Let her find one of her own kind, maybe one of the stallion fliers in her team, and be happy with him. Still, dancing with her hadn't been a total mistake, he had helped her out with the Canterlot Guards asking about the fire, at least he been able to do that for her as a going away present.

To be honest, Storm actually had no idea if he had the authority to excuse the destruction of a major theater, or if he had the authority to banish Trixie and her lackeys. But he had had enough command experience to portray the veneer of an irritated officer. After showing them the letter from the Princess ordering him to come to Canterlot immediately for a special mission, he gave the guards a few minutes for their imaginations to fill in the blanks and encouraged any assumptions that naturally followed. Early that morning, an officer from the royal guard had stuck his head through the door, and reported that a band of blue and white ponies had been arrested the night before, and that somepony named Silent Storm had tried to invoke Shining Armor's authority to banish them. A quick nod was all it had taken to tell the officer that Silent Storm could indeed speak on behalf of Shining Armor; the officer excused himself and hurried down the stairs, presumably to see about some magic resistant chains. Storm stretched out and smiled, it was good to be the captain.

…..................................................................................................................................................................

Shining Armor could tell that Twilight was eager to show him around Ponyville and have him meet her new friends. When she left Canterlot he had been worried that she might have trouble meeting new ponies. He had been her only real friend until she left for the academy, and even there Shining Armor wasn't sure she’d established relationships except for those ponies who wanted her help with late projects, or with last minute studying for exams. Either way Shining Armor was eager to see what kind of friends Twilight had made in Ponyville.

Their first stop was along a row of houses between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Shining Armor followed Twilight along a country lane past an unusual number and variety of animals until eventually Twilight stopped at the base of a large tree and craned her neck up, “Fluttershy, I'd like you to meet my brother.”

There was no response, so Twilight tried again, “Fluttershy.”

Shining Armor was suddenly feeling very worried. He knew his sister had trouble making friends, but she didn't seem like the sort to form relationships with inanimate objects “Fluttershy is a tree?” he asked slowly, dreading the answer.

“Shh,” whispered Twilight twitching her ears, “listen carefully, can you hear her?”

“Twilight... are you alright?” Maybe her moving to Ponyville hadn't been a good idea after all.

Shining Armor was about to suggest they go back to the library when he thought he heard a small voice. “H-hello.”

“Com'on down Fluttershy, there's somepony I want you to meet” Twilight was still looking up the tree.

Relief flooded over Shining Armor as he saw a real cream colored pegasus pony with a pink mane, flutter down from somewhere in the upper branches and hide behind Twilight.

“Fluttershy, this is Shining Armor, Shining Armor this is Fluttershy” said Twilight proudly.

“Pleased to meet you” said Shining Armor extending a hoof in greeting.

The pale yellow pegasus cautiously crept forward to accept his hoof shake, but just as she got close a squirrel sneezed behind Shining Armor, making her jump and retreat behind Twilight again. “It's ok Fluttershy, this is my brother from Canterlot, he just looks different because he had a body swap with somepony else.”

The cream pegasus looked over Twilight's back and gave a smile, “Hello.” she seemed to whisper.

“She's just a little shy.” said Twilight. Just then the squirrel gave another sneeze and Fluttershy bolted into a nearby cottage. “She really can be quite brave when you get to know her.” insisted Twilight who seemed slightly embarrassed.

Shining Armor couldn't think how to respond. He was thinking of asking if they should return later when suddenly Fluttershy came running back, this time holding a box of the smallest tissues he had ever seen. Momentarily ignoring both Twilight and Shining Armor, Fluttershy ran over to the squirrel who had sneezed and offered it the box “There you go Appleseed,” she said softly “remember, you should cover your mouth when you sneeze, otherwise all your little squirrel friends might get your cold, and then I would have to put you all in bed for a week.” Much to Shining Armor's astonishment, the squirrel snatched a tissue from the box and blew its nose like it knew what tissues were for. Then it dropped the tissue and hugged Fluttershy around one of her legs. “You’re welcome Appleseed,” she laughed.

“Fluttershy, do you want to show my brother some of your animals?” said Twilight with only the slightest tinge of impatience.

“Oh, of course Twilight, if—if he wants to I mean.”

“Sounds great,” said Shining Armor, still amazed after the sight of a squirrel blowing its nose, “I don't see a lot of animals in Canterlot.”

“Don't see a lot of animals!” said Fluttershy sympathetically “You poor, poor pony! Come with me, I have so much to show you. Let me get the bird choir for you; we’ve recently had a marvelous new edition—a Scarlet Tanager named Taliesin who has the most beautiful voice you ever heard. Come this way.”

Taliesin did indeed have a beautiful strong voice; and Shining Armor, although accustomed to the talented stars of Canterlot, was thoroughly impressed as Taliesin led the bird choir in song after song. After they had finished their second encore, Fluttershy kept bringing more and more animals for Shining Armor and Twilight to see. The two unicorns spent the next several hours looking over a Fluttershy's vast array of birds, woodland animals, and other more exotic creatures.

…..................................................................................................................................................................

Storm was drifting in and out of a light sleep when he heard the soft click of hooves as somepony came up the stairs. Orders were not to disturb him unless absolutely urgent; he hoped there wasn't some real situation they wanted him to rule on, as he knew almost nothing about Canterlot. The steps stopped in front of the door, as if whoever was on the other side couldn't decide whether to come in or not, then slowly the door creaked open. Storm opened one eye, expecting to see Shining Armor's squire but was surprised to see a pink unicorn standing over him. Or was she a pegasus? Or was she both? Whoever she was, she was staring at him with a look that was slowly shifting from long awaited joy, to one of deep horror as she took in the wasted sight of him.

The pink pony's face had now turned from horror to one of deep, nurturing compassion. Her lip quavered as if she was about to cry, but she didn't; instead she lay down on the stone facing him and gently nuzzled his destroyed face. “I came to see you.” her voice was small and quiet.

Storm didn't know who she was, but he already had a caretaker from the Royal Guard, and the last thing he needed was somepony with strong emotional attachments to Shining Armor who didn't know what was going on, “leave.” It hurt to talk, Celestia had warned him against trying to speak, apparently Shining Armor had lost his speech some months before his spell finally broke.

The pink pony looked hurt but didn't go away. Instead she kept talking in her sad, gentle voice. “Please don't be angry with me; I know you didn't want me to see you like this, but let me help you. We both suffer when we're apart. I don't care how you look, I love you. It would hurt more for me to leave you like this, and not do anything, than to stay, and you'll feel better with me to look after you. Let me stay, please.”

She wasn't leaving without more of a fight then Storm wanted to give. If he had been healthier and more alert, he would have perceived the relationship between this strange pony and Shining Armor and realized his next question was a bad idea, but he didn't have the thought or voice to ask more than what he needed to know, “Who... are... you?” The result was instantaneous.

If the visitor had held herself with an air of grace before it vanished now as she drew back in shock and stared at him, her eyes filling with tears. She looked at him in sorrow and disbelief, until she finally croaked out, “It's me, Cadance. Shining Armor please say you remember me, you have to, I'm your fiancé; please say you remember who I am.”

Storm didn't know Shining Armor had been engaged, but right now it posed a problem. One pony acting stressed out could easily spread, and the whole reason he had taken over Shining Armor's body was so that wouldn't happen. He had to get rid of this Cadance, but to do that he should tell her what was really going on, and he didn't have the voice to do that right now. He meant to say that he wasn't Shining Armor, but his last question still lingered and so when he spoke, he made a simple but serious error. “Who's... Shining Armor?” He caught his mistake instantly but had no time to correct it.

Cadance jumped to her feet, fear and pain stabbing her face like her reason for life had just been struck down. “NO!” she sobbed “No, this can't be happening! Celestia said your body would become weak but your mind would be safe. She promised!” Cadance looked helplessly around the room and then back to the shadow of a fiancé who seemed to be dying at her feet. “I need to get you out of here.” Her horn glowed and a small white portgem of her own floated out from her saddlebag. “I'm taking you to my home in Fillydelphia, you'll get better there, I promise.”

What was she doing? Storm had to stay here and get better; if he disappeared Celestia could turn the whole city upside down looking for him. If this Cadance would only listen for a moment instead of getting emotional and then doing the first thing that came to her head, she'd see! Storm focused all the energy he could muster and managed to knock the stone from Cadance's shaky grasp. She spun around to look for it, and as she did so her hoof knocked over Storm's saddlebag, spilling its contents across the floor, including Storm's own portgem. Cadance spied it as it fluttered over the floor and grabbed it with her telekinesis.

“Don't worry my love” she said. “I'll get us out of here.”

No, not with that stone! She couldn't think it was hers, but she did. Storm opened his mouth to try to scream in protest but it was too late. Cadance's horn glowed and Storm felt like Shining Armor's body was becoming rapidly lighter. FOOL!!!!

Comments

[Focusphobia]

"It looks like the manure," "Hit the fan."
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaay.

[the other sans]

Oh Cadance... how is love blind...? Or rather you get worried too easily... Now for Dash... Hmm... 2 couples (or 1 would be couple) with problems of their own... Let's just hope that RD doesn't go back to Ponyville for a visit... though I doubt it most likely gonna happen for the plot.

[Beware The Carpenter]

999201

This is Wolf Guardian new account; here's what's happened. Since they modified the site in September I haven't been able to log on. I've tried the 'forgot password' tab and that's been useless. I tried mailing knighty twice and then mailed all three moderators with their emails available and got no responses. I've got about five chapters ready to post (plus I've edited everything I already had up) so I've made a new account and re-posted the story. I figured putting everything up at once was a bit much so there's two new chapters up, and the others I'll put up over the last week as I do the final proofread. Sorry for the wait.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/60626/Storm-of-Secrets-Remastered