Dawn of the Storm

by Real Solaris

Shadows of the Past

The Smoky Mountains. A sprawling mountain expanse that has seen its fair share of events over the years, from the dragon that threatened to cover Equestria in smoke from its centuries-long nap, the territorial dispute between the Hooffields and the McColts, and multiple destroyed Eggman bases hidden in the mountainsides. Now it was about to see another event, as strange purple clouds start to grow above the range.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and her team of pegasi guards had arrived at the foot of the mountains, eager to find and destroy the clouds threatening their home. Pinkie is bouncing in place, a large grin plastered on her muzzle.

“Okay, everypony!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, immediately bouncing up the path, surprising the guards and forcing them to follow the pink mare. “Let’s go find those clouds! We’ve got work to do!”

As they make the trek up the mountainside, Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense helps them avoid falling rocks from above, making some of the guards think she had the ability to see into the future. A few miles later, they arrived to a fairly large rest point, which gave them the opportunity to rest up for a few minutes. While they rested, Pinkie spots a figure heading towards them on the other side of the camp.

“Hey, waitaminute,” Pinkie Pie exclaims, holding up a hoof to block some of the sun’s rays. “Is that who I think it is?! It is! HEY, SHADOW!!!”

“Hello, Pinkie Pie,” Shadow grunts. He was similar in stature to Sonic, but with black quills and red highlights. He also sported gloves and rocket boots with golden rings on his wrists and ankles, little red tabs poking out from underneath. “What are you doing all the way out here? And with a group of royal guards, no less?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing!” says Pinkie Pie, glomping him, much to his great annoyance, before shoving her off of him. “Do you want the short version or the long one?”

“The short one, if you please,” grunts Shadow, folding his arms. “I don’t have all day to deal with you or your antics right now.”

“Okie dokie loki!” she says, before taking an incredibly deep breath, floating in the air for a second to Shadow’s surprise. “It started this morning when some weird purple clouds came over Ponyville and started bringing Storm Creatures all over the place and we had to stop them but couldn’t but luckily we got some help from somepony who knew what they were and helped stop them and then we got a letter from the princesses to come to Canterlot so they could meet Real so we went there and found out that those clouds came from a different Storm King and knew what he was and figures out that we could stop those clouds with pegasi power and then we split up to take out the biggest ones while staying back at Canterlot to help prep for the final fight against the Storm King and we came here a few minutes ago and then we found you!”

Shadow stood absolutely dumbfounded, still trying to comprehend the information blast from the pink party pony. Luckily for the Ultimate Lifeform, he was able to quickly process everything fairly quickly before speaking again.

“Okay, so what I could gather from your ‘explanation’,” says Shadow, rubbing his forehead. “There are these strange Storm clouds that are threatening Equestria because of this other Storm King, and you got this information from who now?”

“His name's Real!" answers Pinkie Pie, grinning. "He's a good fighter and came from another world! You should totally come and meet him!"

"Another world, huh?" muses Shadow, thinking it over before folding his arms. "Anyways, I'm here because I sensed some strange energies being concentrated around this general area and came to investigate."

"Ooh, do you think we're trying to find the same thing?!" Pinkie Pie gasps, levitating for a second. "That would be really awesome if that's the case!"

"It would be quite the coincidence," Shadow says. "It might be wise if we traveled together for the time being. Just in case if we actually are looking for the same thing."

"WHEE!!" squeals Pinkie Pie, hugging him. "You won't regret that decision, Shadow! We're gonna have so much fun!"

"I think I already have," Shadow grumbles, before peeling the pink mare off of him once again. Once the guards are done resting, Shadow and Pinkie Pie lead the way further into the mountain. As the group once again begins the trek through the mountain pass Pinkie Pie suddenly looks up, staring straight into what looks like -

“Hey, what’s taking you so long author?! It’s been like six months since you last published anything!”

WHAT IN THE NAME OF - PINKIE?! What are you doing here?!

“Having a chat with you, silly! What else could I be doing?”

Oh, I don’t know, trying to… wait a second, how did you even get here? I know you can break the fourth wall since you already did that with the readers back in Canterlot, but I’m pretty sure you can’t come here of all places.

“Haha! I don’t even know what I do sometimes! I mostly just do whatever!”

So what you’re saying is that if you wanted to break the rules of physics, you do just that?

“Uh-huh! Just like now!”

Sweet Faust, she’s flying… As if you weren’t powerful enough as it is. Now you can fly without the use of wings or the Chaos Emeralds?! Why don’t you do that in the show or the story then?

“It’s a little hard for the editors and storyline creators to work in me being able to fly. Plus, it’d be a little too much for the fans. As much as it is fun to mess with the bronies and pegasisters every time I show up, I don’t want them to get any crazy ideas. Although I do use it from time to time though!”

… yeah you’re right, those nutcases would totally do that, now wouldn’t they? Also, I see what you’re talking about when you say you use that crazy ability. I remember a few scenes where you just seem to float there for a second or two. I’m guessing that was you defying physics?

“Bingo! Right on target, buddy!”

Sweet! I know what I’m talking about for once! Okay, we’re way off-topic here. Why are you here?

“Well, I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while - WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG?!”

YOW! Pinkie, be careful with the volume! That might’ve shattered my eardrums!

“Oops! My bad!”

You’re good, you’re good. All I have to deal with is a slight ringing in my ears for a few minutes. Anyway, what do you mean by ‘what’s taking so long’?

“The story, silly! What’s taking you so long to finish it?”

Oh… that? Well… I have been working on it, so don’t worry about that Pinks. I’ve actually been bouncing around from chapter to chapter since I don’t have a full idea what you’re gonna do or who you’ll fight. The final two chapters are fully completed, but I’m waiting to get the remaining four chapters done before I post them. I want to include you, the girls, and the guys in the story, and posting those now would only make it feel like it’s just centered around Real and a few others. It just wouldn’t feel right to leave you guys out of it since you’re part of the story too. I do plan on making a full-blown series after this that focuses more on the story and an overarching plot, but I’ve yet to fully pan it out yet.

“Awwww you’re so sweet! C’mere, you!”

WHOA?! Dang, you've got a grip, Pinkie! How’d you get so strong?

“Working on a rock farm does have some benefits! You gotta have a good grip if you wanna move moss-covered boulders across a field or if it’s pouring rain!”

That does make sense to me. If books, T.V. shows, or comics have taught me anything, wet rocks tend to be pretty slippery.

“You betcha! Anyway, you really should hop on it. Didn’t you say that you were gonna finish this by the end of the year?”

Oh yeah! I did say that, didn’t I? Wait, what’s the date today?

“It’s the eighteenth of August!”

Eighteenth of… !!! AW CRAP!

“What’s wrong?”

I only have three and a half months to get this thing finished! And with school coming up, I’ll have even less time to work on this!

“Well then get moving, silly! You made a promise!”

Yeah, I do! Horsefeathers, I knew I should’ve kept writing even if I didn’t want to. Where did all my motivation from last year go…?

“Oh and one more thing! Make sure you go through those last chapters and fix up those typos and missing pieces that you need on the rest of them! Those are important!”

Actually, I think I head over there now! If I get that out of the way now, it won’t come to kick me in the flank later on!

“You do you, and I’ll do me! Wanna hug for good luck?”

Definitely. A Pinkie Hug is just what the doctor ordered. ……yep, I was right. Thanks, Pinks, and good luck to you out there! It’s not gonna be easy out there, but I have a feeling that you’ll find a way to make it fun! Oh and say ‘Hi’ to Real for me when you get the chance!

“Okie dokie Loki! See you later!”

“Pinkie, who have you been talking to for the past five minutes?” Shadow asks, confused by the scene that the pink party pony displayed. “There is no one else on this mountain except me, the guards, and you.”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it to you!” she giggles, bouncing her way past him. “Let’s just say I know some people!”

“… how does the faker deal with you?” asks Shadow incredulously.

“Simple!” answers Pinkie Pie, still bouncing down the path. “He just goes with it!”

A loud smack echoes through the canyon as Shadow slaps his hand to his forehead, clearly annoyed by the pink mare’s antics. “Remind me to ask him about this later on,“ Shadow mutters. “Let's just get this over with so I don’t have to deal with you anymore.“

A loud roar suddenly shakes the mountainsides, causing boulders to shift and tumble down toward the group. The guards immediately take flight, some barely avoiding the rocks while Shadow uses a series of Chaos Spears to shatter any coming at him, and Pinkie Pie just zips around, laughing like a filly playing a game as the boulders miss her entirely. Suddenly, the sky darkens as Storm clouds blot out the sun’s rays, sparking with Storm Lightning. Then the earth in front of them just explodes as something emerges from the ground. As the dust settles, Shadow gets a good look at the creature, which makes him snarl in anger, instantly recognizing the massive creature.

“I should have known,“ Shadow growls, staring into the many eyes of the beast. “A Black Worm from the Dark Arms.“

As if in response, the worm roars at Shadow, then charges at him. Shadow dodges with ease as it passes right past him, but notices that the worm looks different than his last encounter. Its blue skin was now a shade of deep purple, and the spikes now glowed a bright pink which sparked occasionally. Its eyes glowed the same intensity, the pupil-less eyes sparking electricity. He watches it as it burrows its way back underground. But before he can fully comprehend what he saw, Pinkie Pie appears beside him.

“Hey Shadow, do you know that thing?“ Pinkie Pie asks, a curious look on her face. The guards land just behind them as she speaks. “You had a weird look on your face, and that thing looked like it was going after you.“

“That was a Black Worm,“ growls Shadow, clenching his fists as rage built up inside of him. “A creature of the Dark Arms, a race that attacked Mobius a few years before the merge of our worlds, and my... genetic family.“

“GASP!!“ inhales Pinkie Pie, shock written all over her face and the guards as well. “That thing is your family?! Wait, does that make that thing your sibling of something?!“

Shadow shudders involuntarily, memories of his half ’brother’ Eclipse coming back. “No, it does not. I may be related by blood, but I will never consider them my family.“

“Something did seem strange about it though,“ says Shadow, looking back at the hole it created. “It looked much different than my last encounter. It looked purple, and it seemed to be sparking some form of pink electricity from its body.“

“Hmm...“ mumbles Pinkie Pie, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Wait, that sounds just like what we were looking for! We actually were looking for the same thing, Shadow! Isn't that awesome?!“

“I guess so...?“ Shadow questions, before shaking it off. “Well, now we know what we're trying to deal with here, we need a plan to take it down before it -!“

The ground beneath them breaks open as the worm bursts forth, attempting to swallow the group whole. Unfortunately for it, everyone manages to get clear in time, and Shadow chucks a Chaos Spear right at it, which shatters one of the spikes on it. The worm roars in pain, falling to its side. Seeing this, Shadow realizes what the worm’s weakness is and takes advantage of this, pummeling the worm as the guards pull out their spears and start to stab and slash it as well.

Shadow charges up a potent Chaos Spear to throw at it, but before he can throw it the worm releases a shock wave of Storm Lightning that knocks back everyone. The worm gets back up, angrily roaring at its attackers before it’s suddenly struck by a bolt of Storm Lightning. To everyone's shock and disbelief, the wounds that they inflicted instantly heal, and it tunnels back into the ground for another surprise attack. Shadow looks up to pinpoint the source of the bolt of Storm Lightning.

“The clouds!“ Shadow exclaims, pointing to the storm clouds hanging above the canyon. He then turns to the royal guards. “It’s getting healed from the energy inside those clouds! You need to take those out before we deal any real damage to this thing!“

Saluting, they instantly take off into the skies, ready to do some cloudbusting. Shadow turns to Pinkie Pie. “How good are you at distractions?“

“That’s a silly question!“ Pinkie Pie giggles as she pulls a party cannon from her tail, much to Shadow's disbelief. “I’m the best distracter in all of Equestria! If you need something distracted, I’ll keep it busy for you for as long as you want!“

“You do that,“ Shadow grunts as he looks around, trying to guess where the worm would pop up next. “We need to give the guards enough time to take out those Storm clouds, or else that thing isn't going down anytime soon!“

Right as he says that, the earth beneath him cracks open, revealing the gaping maw of the worm ready to chomp down on the hedgehog. Shadow boosts to the side using his rocket shoes, nearly becoming worm chow. Pinkie Pie fires her party cannon straight into the worm's eyes, confetti blinding it as it squirms in pain. Landing back on the ground, he swings around and boosts forward, curling into a glowing orange ball before slamming into the creature's side. Another roar of pain erupts from it as Shadow continues to slam into the worm, aiming for the many pink spikes protruding from its body. He manages to shatter two of them before the worm sends out an electrical shockwave, pushing him off of it and giving the creature enough time to gather its senses and burrow back down into the ground.

“Hmph,” Shadow grunts as he rights himself up. “You’re not getting away that easily, worm.”

Shadow then jumps over the hole tunnel created by the creature and uses a Dropdash maneuver to fall quickly. Reaching the bottom, he notices that there are numerous tunnels going in every direction, turning it into an underground labyrinth. He tries to spot any sign of the worm, but seeing none, he skates down one of the tunnels. The twist and turns of the underground maze quickly begin to confuse him, confusing Shadow’s sense of direction. Just as he rounds another bend, he comes face to face with the Black Worm, its glowing eyes lighting up the tunnel. It lets out a roar before pursuing him, who skates off in hopes of losing the mammoth worm. Just as Shadow thinks he’s lost it, the worm appears out of nowhere, its mouth gaping open as it charges an electrical attack. Back on the surface, Pinkie Pie is poking her head into the many holes that dot the area, seeing if she could spot anything.

“Hmmm, this worm is really good at playing hide-and-seek!” Pinkie Pie muses, placing a hoof under her chin. “But I’ll have you know that I’m the best hide-and-seek champion of Equestria! I’ve played that game with Pumpkin and Pound Cake, and they are some of the best hiders I’ve ever met! I haven’t lost one game yet, and I don’t plan on -!”

A sudden explosion from a few meters away catches her attention, and she spots Shadow flying out of the hole. Shadow manages to right himself before he hits the ground, but his landing was a little rough. He slides to a stop right next to Pinkie Pie, who has a grin plastered on her face.

“Oh, there you are, Shadow!” Pinkie exclaims. She then points over to the worm that had come out of the hole excitedly. “Guess what? I found the worm! It’s over there, see?!”

“Thank you, I couldn’t tell,” Shadow grunts, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he gets pushes himself back on his feet before shaking the dust out of his quills. “I didn’t see the thing blast me out of the ground.”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie grins, either ignoring the sarcasm or just completely oblivious to it. Something then catches her eye as she looks up into the sky, pointing to it. “Hey look! The guards are almost done with those clouds!”

Following the pink mare’s hoof, Shadow sees that the royal guard had been working overtime, as there were only remained a few large patches of Storm Clouds hanging in the sky. He smirks a little.

“They are well-trained and coordinated, which is to be expected of the royal guards,” Shadow says, before turning his attention to the worm, hands radiating Chaos energy. “Now their efforts will let me actually hurt this thing!”

Shooting forward, Shadow begins throwing Chaos Spears at various points of the worm’s body, many of them not doing any damage to it. But the ones that hit and shatter the spikes do, the worm roaring as it writhes in pain. This makes it much more difficult to aim, causing a few Spears to completely miss. He manages to shatter another three spikes, but before he can break a fourth, the worm expels another shockwave, to his annoyance. The worm burrows back down into the ground, prepping for another surprise attack. But before Shadow can do anything, Pinkie Pie zips ahead of him, much to his shock.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?!” Shadow shouts, reaching a hand out to stop her. “It’s too dangerous to go after that thing!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” she shouts back. “I’m gonna bring it back for ya!” Right as she says this, her hair turns into the shape of a drill, and she jumps to the ground. To his shock, Shadow watches as Pinkie Pie’s hair begins to eat away at the earth, dirt, and rocks flying out from behind her. The Ultimate Lifeform stands there absolutely dumbfounded, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

“How in Chaos’ name did her hair just do that?!” Shadow exclaims, gripping his head. Groaning in frustration, he tries not to think too much about it. “Ugh, I just hope that crazy mare knows what she’s doing.”

Shadow then eyes his inhibitor rings, thinking for a moment. “Hmmm… that actually should do the trick.” Back underground, the Black Worm is making its way down one of the various tunnels it created but stops when it hears a voice to its right.

“Hi, there!” exclaims Pinkie, waving to the worm. “My name is Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?!”

The worm instantly lunges at her, hoping to chomp down on Pinkie Pie. Much to its surprise, it completely misses her, It’s many eyes liking every which way to see where she went. Pinkie then appears at the side of the tunnel, half her body hanging out of a smaller tunnel.

“Wait, lemme guess!” Pinkie says, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Is it Chompy? Sir Eyes-a-lot? OOOOHH, NO WAIT, IS IT SPARK SNAKE?! It’s gotta be it, right?!”

The worm lunges again, this time sure that it would get the pink mare. But to its disbelief, it doesn’t. Looking around into the adjacent tunnels, it spots Pinkie Pie popping up from the floor to the left, the mare wearing a cheesy grin.

“I’m guessing that was a yes?” she asks. The worm roars, charging once more. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

The Black Worm storm down the tunnel, sparking Storm Lightning as it hopes that it trampled the pink mare. Coming to a stop at a dead end, the worm stops to rest for a moment - but not for long.

“Hey, why’d you run off?!” shouts Pinkie Pie, popping right in front of the worm. The worm roars, but this time in shock and fear. The pink mare had managed to avoid it the whole time, and somehow even keep up with it! Turning to the right, it begins burrowing a new tunnel in hopes of escaping her.

“OOH, are we playing tag?!” gasps Pinkie, her eyes sparkling. “I guess I must be it then! Alright, here I come!”

She begins bouncing down the newly made tunnel at a pace that most certainly wouldn’t be fast enough to catch up with the worm. But as the Black worm soon found out, no matter how far or how fast it went, Pinkie Pie somehow managed to catch up with it, which further and further distressed it. The final straw came when Pinkie’s face suddenly popped right in front of it while it was digging.

“Tag!” she giggles, booping the worm in its face. “You’re it!”

The Black Worm instantly screeches in fear, and instead of going any of the four cardinal directions, it goes straight up. The worm moves so fast that when it breaches the surface, it manages to get some crazy height, its entire body exposed to the air. But unfortunately for it, Shadow had been lying in wait, charging up a massive amount of Chaos energy. His inhibitor rings lay on the ground, his entire body glowing a bright red - he was tapping fully into the Chaos Force. The instant he spotted the worm breach the earth, he blasts forward, breaking the sound barrier before jumping and curling into a ball, blasting through a spike. Shadow proceeds to use a series of Homing Attacks to shatter the remaining three spikes, before dropping down to the ground. He then jumps straight up, reeling his fist back before uppercutting the worm hard.

This sends it flying high above the clouds, but to everyone’s shock, they watch as the remaining Storm Clouds that hadn’t been destroyed are absorbed into its body. This causes the insides of the Black Worm to glow bright pink, before a flash of white blinds everyone in the vicinity. Once the effects of the flash bang wear off, they all spot the worm flying. It had sprouted electrical wings that kept it afloat in the air, and it lets out a roar that shakes the air itself. Down on the ground, the Chaos-boosted Shadow grits his teeth before he teleports above the worm-turned-wyvern, his body sparking orange lightning and glowing red.

“You think growing a pair of wings is going to save you from me?!” Shadow shouts, charging up his attack as he glares at the wyvern. “You are sorely mistaken you parasite! I am the Ultimate Lifeform, and a lowly worm will NOT best me! NOW DIE!”

The Storm Wyvern roars, then charging up an orb of Storm lightning in its mouth, ready to fire. It then charges at the sparking red hedgehog, intent on destroying the traitor to his species.

“CHAOS,” Shadow shouts as he crosses his arms, before bringing them down to his side fast while releasing all of the pent-up Chaos energy.

“BLAST!!!”

An explosion of red energy blasts off Shadow’s body as he releases his most powerful attack on the Storm Wyvern, which had fired the orb of lightning at him. The two struggle for a moment, but ultimately Shadow prevails, and the orb is disintegrated. The last thing anyone sees is the Wyvern being swallowed up inside the sphere before it detonates - violently. The air and the earth shake from the force of the explosion, the wind whipping past the royal guards as they try to fight the winds, but a few of them lose control and spin out. Pinkie Pie manages to stand her ground against the gale-like winds, her hair the only thing really being affected. Luckily, it dies down quickly, leaving only a massive dark purple cloud with a reddish tinge hanging in the air.

“Now that was some firework!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, jumping up and down excitedly. She then notices how crazy her mane and tail look, with all of her volume going straight right. She simply shakes herself, which reverts her hair back to its original poofiness. The royal guards all land next to her, and as the last one touches the ground, Shadow teleports in on her left.

“Shadow!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, glomping Shadow, who only looks to the side in clear annoyance. “That was so awesome up there! You were all like, WHOOSH! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! Then you went WHAM! And then you went all Chaos Blast and then BOOM!”

While the guards were amused by Pinkie Pie’s description of what he did (while doing the actions correlated with them), Shadow walked over to his inhibitor rings, slipping them back onto his wrists and ankles. “That thing had it coming. the Black Arms will never hurt anyone else while I’m around.”

“Well, you did awesome out there though!” Pinkie Pie compliments. “Oh! And thanks for all the help, Shadow! I don’t think we’d be able to stop that thing had you not come along!”

“Hmph,” Shadow grunts, folding his arms. “Don’t think I did it out of the kindness of my heart. I only did it to settle an old score.”

“You keep telling yourself that!” Pinkie Pie giggles. “It was still great seeing you though!”

“The feeling is… mutual,” Shadow says, looking towards the way they had come in. “Well, I need to go. G.U.N. probably has another mission ready for me back at headquarters.”

“See you next novel, then!” Pinkie Pie says, getting a strange look from Shadow and the guards as she waves goodbye. “See ya around!”

“Hmph. Goodbye,” Shadow says, before teleporting in a flash to who knows where. Now that the skies had been cleared of the Storm King’s influence, their mission was over. One of the guards asked Pinkie if she would be alright if they could carry the pink mare on their back, which would make the trip back to Canterlot much quicker. Pinkie Pie quickly agrees, and after hopping on and taking off, the group head due southeast.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Pinkie Pie suddenly asks, catching the guard's attention. “What do you think sounds better? Chimicherry? Or cherrychanga? Chimicherry? Or cherrychanga?”

The guards groan, especially the one who was unlucky enough to be carrying the pink party pony… They then realize that this is gonna be a long trip home.

“Chimicherry? Cherrychanga! Chimmicherry? Cherrychanga! Chimicherry? Cherrychanga!”

Author's Note:

Now this was a fun one to write. Ever since I started, I wanted to create an scene with Pinkie not only breaking the fourth wall, but going beyond it.

I really hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did!