Far is the Star Called Sol

by Omnicron25

12 - Missing Pieces

Far is the Star Called Sol
Chapter 12: Missing Pieces

Thunderstorm felt guilty for lying to one of his oldest and dearest friends, but he knew if she found out what was surely about happen he could never ask Fluttershy to choose between friends. That would be… unfair. He could never make her come to that type of decision. She was simply too kind. Gritting his teeth, he sucked it up and put on a neutral expression as he approached Sparky's room in the hospital. He wanted to get this over with.

It was still visiting hours and he heard several voices in the room. Notably, the Apple Family mare, Miss Rarity, and, of course, Sparky herself. He sighed and opened the door. The brawl from earlier was still fresh in his mind. He never thought he could feel fear towards one of his friends, but now, he could not help but fear Sparky and that terrible power he had seen her unleash. He wrestled it down though as he limped into the room causing several surprised stares to bore themselves in his direction.

"The nerve!" hissed Rarity as she stepped in the way of the stallion and the weakened unicorn in the bed. "How dare you show your face around here after what you did!"

"Rares is right! Y'all got no business even bein'ere! Now, get!"

Thunderstorm immediately regretted even coming here. His eyes went to the floor, and he was ready to give up. There was no point attempting to patch a friendship that was obviously too far gone to mend; especially with her 'new' friends holding such a disdain against him. "I am simply here to insure she was alright… nothing more." He raised his head and looked directly at Sparky's surprised expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I remembered sooner, but I hope you live a happy life with what has been wrought upon you. I've come to tell you that I give up. I can't help you with what's to come, and I'm sorry I could not protect you all those years ago."

The two mares in front of him traded a look of confusion then looked to Twilight whose eyes had widened even further. She looked as if she were in shock, her mouth hanging open in mid-sentence. Then, they looked back to the stallion who had a sad expression on his muzzle. However, his expression quickly changed to one of hateful disgust as he seemed to notice a silent and depressed Rainbow Dash in one corner of the room.

"As for you…" the stallion bit back sob of anger. "…I have nothing to say! If Loyalty is what you embody, then Loyalty isn't very picky at all!" His voice rose to a yell now as his emotional dam began to shatter and tears began to flow down his face. "You should have visited your father to tell him you're alive at least, but you're too much a coward to look back! You've been running this whole time! We all thought you were dead! You better be happy she covered your flank for you, otherwise I would've come here a lot sooner and dragged you to him myself!" He roared before turning tail and galloping away as fast as his three good legs could carry him, leaving a trail of tears. All he had ever wanted was to have his shattered family whole again. Now, he knew he never would. It had been too much to hope for. It broke him.

"Wait!!!" yelled Twilight as she got up and started to run after him, only to collapse on the floor.

"Twi!" yelled Applejack as she broke from her shocked state and immediately went to help her friend off the floor. "Are ya alright?! What did he mean by that!"

"Applejack, we need to find him!" hollered the still magically sealed unicorn as she tried to cast a teleportation spell, only to have it fizzle and die. "He's innocent! I don't think what we saw was him trying to 'have his way' with Rainbow at all! He was confronting her!" There were tears in her eyes now. It had taken this long for her to figure out they had made a grave mistake, and now, she may have just lost one of her first friends she ever had. "I should've known! I should've known!"

All the while, Rainbow Dash just stared at the doorway with shock and confusion etched into her features.

-X-X-X-

Jason was standing watching out the windows of the waiting room as he felt a gentle pressure approach. He knew immediately it was the timid pegasus, but chose to ignore her for the moment. His own thoughts were demanding his full attention right now. Someone had been spying on him and the lieutenant during their conversation. One the human had recognized as Applejack's little sister, but the other… he could not exactly place. Whoever it was knew he could detect them, but what worried him was the being's ability to hide their aura so well. He had almost missed the second presence altogether until it pulled Applebloom away. The energy given off by the transition through shadow he had experienced earlier was eerily similar.

Could it have been the princess? Or maybe just another pony with a talent for shadow walking? His thoughts turned darker as he continued pondering. Maybe it was a pawn of the False Moon or possibly even Princess Luna's doppelganger itself? He frowned and crossed his arms, concentrating on expanding his sixth sense further out. He could not feel the filly's aura now directly since it was too far away and was not much beyond that of what her age and pony-type would allow her, but he could still use Applejack's bond to her as a rough placement indicator. There was no sign of distress in the ethereal link from the filly either which meant she was in no danger. No… Applebloom is still out walking around, and I doubt the False Moon or any of its pawns would allow a filly to roam free after catching them… Or would they? He sighed.

"I'm overthinking this… I need more information…"

"U—Um… Jason?" asked Fluttershy timidly behind him with a worried tone.

He sighed again and looked over his shoulder making the shy pegasus "Eep!"

"What'cha need, Fluttershy? Are you alright? You seem worried."

"W—Well… not really, but—" started Fluttershy, but she was interrupted by a loud bang of the doors bursting open, making her stiffen up like a board and fall to her side in fright.

Suddenly, Jason turned to see an emotionally broken Thunderstorm force his way through the front doors and leave the building in a full, three-legged gallop. The human knew immediately what had happened, and it made him angry… very angry. "Fluttershy, follow the lieutenant to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"W—What?! That was Wind Storm?! O—Oh my!" asked the pegasus with an unusually high volume.

Jason raised a brow—he was somewhat aware of their history but suspected something more now—but held his thoughts on the subject for later as he nodded. "Yes! Go! I need to have a talk with your friends… I'll come with help after I'm done."

Fluttershy could only nod as she flew up into the air and took off after the injured stallion with speed that seemed unbecoming of her usual, meek self. Something told Jason that there was far more to the lieutenant's closeness with the yellow pegasus than he knew about or had let on. That could be sorted out later though. Right now, he had a few ponies to… interrogate. He mentally punched himself for focusing on that mysterious presence for so long. He knew he could of prevented something like this from happening. I'm such an idiot! I should've known this would happen!

He marched his way toward Twilight Sparkle's room with a taste of acidic words on his tongue. It would have been obvious to Jason that something had made the Night Guard emotionally break even if he did not have his sixth sense, and he could understand why. Some… pony like the lieutenant makes very few true friends over his lifetime. The possibility that he may have just lost a friend that had played a significant role in the stallion's life, Thunderstorm could very well become bitter to no end and drive everyone else away. Jason could only pray that Fluttershy could get through to him before the poor guy reached that point. With friends like these, who needs enemies? thought Jason bitterly as he opened the door to Twilight's room without even bothering to knock.

"You have to let me go! He needs us! We made a mistake!" sounded Twilight's nearly panicked voice as Jason entered.

Instantly, Jason's anger evaporated towards the lavender unicorn as he found her sobbing on the bed being held tight by the farm pony. Instead, he felt a pang of regret. Obviously, they had already learned their lesson, but he had to agree that his purple friend was in no shape to go find her old friend at the moment. She looked exhausted, and the glyph was still sealing her magic, making it harder for her to recover.

"Ya ain't goin' anywhere, sugarcube! Yer jus liable ta get yerself hurt like this!" grunted Applejack as she held the struggling unicorn firm. "Ya need ta calm down! We'll find'em!"

"AJ's right, Twilight," spoke up the former rebel as he stepped into the room with his poise solid, but his eyes soft as he watched his friend.

"Jason!" gasped Twilight— her neurological meltdown nearing its zenith. "We have to get to Th—"

She was interrupted as a loud SMACK filled the room. The ponies looked at Jason in shock as he lowered his arm. He really had not wanted to do that, but he, and certainly everyone else, did not have time for this.

"My goodness! Whatever was that for?!" snapped Rarity in surprise.

Jason simply glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "To calm her down, having a panic attack is going to help no one."

Twilight just blinked for a moment before Dash attempted to tackle Jason to the floor only for him to sidestep her and let the cyan pegasus crash into the bare, white wall. Jason turned his attention to her now. "And you! Can you not recognize the lieutenant for who he is?!"

"Who are you to say that to me?! You just smacked one of our friends! She's only trying to help!" retorted Rainbow Dash. Her emotions were getting out of control, and she could not let herself cry in front of her friends. So, instead, she had become aggressive. "Who do you think you are?!"

Jason bit back very bitter words. He had promised Thunderstorm that he would not slander his cousin. He would remain true to that oath until released of it or death. He was a man who fully held a conviction in keeping his promises. He took a breath and let it go. "His name was once Wind Storm. First Lieutenant Thunderstorm is your cousin Wind Storm. He's been searching for you for the past fifteen years."

The mare seemed to freeze in place, and the color drained from her face.

Then suddenly, the rainbow blur was out the open window before anyone could react, leaving a slowly fading contrail behind.

Jason, being the only one not shocked by the situation, was the first to break the silence that followed. "That was why Storm had pinned her, I gather. However, I think she's just needs some time to herself. I know I would." He could empathize with Rainbow Dash's desire to be alone right now. If he had been in the same situation, he would have certainly bolted out the door to find somewhere to sort himself out.

Twilight was surprisingly the next to speak, her voice strangely calm, "She'll come around, but right now, we need to find Storm. He tends to not think when he's like this and is extremely reckless. We have to find him before he hurts somepony or himself."

"Oh my, this is so tragic!" exclaimed Rarity finally. "I really must apologize to the poor dear! I feel absolutely dreadful for jumping to the conclusions that made this fiasco!"

"We all do, Rares," chipped in Applejack glumly. Then, she eyed Jason. "How'd ya find out 'bout the whole cousin thing anyway?"

"I'll tell you later," the human responded obviously restraining himself still. "Right now, Twilight needs to stay here." He looked pointedly at her. "She's not well enough to go searching for him, and we need someone to tell Sentinel what happened when he wakes up. The doctor told me it should be soon."

"I can help!" cried out the lavender unicorn indignantly. "I may not be able to use my magic, but I can still move!"

"Twi, ah hate sayin' this, but Jay is right. Ya can barely sit up as ya are. Ah'll tie ya'ere if'n ah have to!"

"I'll watch over the poor dear," volunteered Rarity in a sad tone, leaving no room for argument. "I would imagine that the lieutenant wouldn't want to speak with me anyhow. I'm the one to blame for most of this after all. It will also give me time to think of something to make as an apology."

Jason's brow twitched, but he held in his irritation as he turned to Applejack. "Fluttershy should be tailing him right now, but he may have lost her by now if he was that desperate to get away. I would bet he's pretty hell-bent on getting to Canterlot by now. So, we need to get moving." He uncrossed his arms and started out of the room.

"Ah hear ya, partner," the farm pony said as she followed Jason out.

-X-X-X-

Near the edge of Ponyville, the former alicorn Astral Plane and Cutie Mark Crusader Applebloom were approaching the home of Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents. Sweetie Bell galloped from the house the moment she saw the two fillies approach the house with a couple of saddlebags overfilled with various objects.

"Hi, Applebloom! I just got this great idea f—!" she skidded to a halt with a somewhat confused expression as she got a closer look at Astral Plane, who raised a haughty brow in response. "Who are you? You look really familiar."

"Oh! A smart one! I would be cautious around this one, my little vessel~"

You think I don't realize that? Astra cleared her throat saying coarsely, "Isn't it rude to ask the name of another before introducing yourself first?" Of course, Astra knew exactly who this filly was already, but that did not stop her from ribbing the poor unicorn filly for her poor etiquette all the same.

"Uh… I'm Sweetie Belle," she replied as she gave Astra an odd look before her expression brightened. "Are you a new Cutie Mark Crusader?!"

"I am Astral Plane of Canterlot, and no, I have simply allied myself with your little group for now. Applebloom here will explain all of that shortly. For now, I suggest we get moving."

Sweetie gave Applebloom a questioning look of which the farm filly replied, "Ah'll explain the deal ah made with her once we get Scoots and get ta the club house." Then, she turned to Astra with her own questioning look. "So, yer from Canterlot, huh?"

Astra waved a dismissive hoof. "I don't know why everypony makes such a fuss over it. The only place anything interesting happens is in the mining district, I personally find the nobles and 'upper-crust' ponies too stiff." She almost gave an involuntary shudder as she remembered her own incident she caused her favorite district, but quickly shrugged it off with a joke. "Why I bet they put so much starch in their clothes that it stands by itself when they take it off!"

Sweetie Belle giggled at the joke as well as the native Canterlotian's opinion on her own city that would cause her sister, Rarity, to blow a gasket, while Applebloom was simply left with yet another confused expression.

"A nice recovery, my little vessel, but I'm afraid we have company approaching."

Suddenly, Astra's ears perked up and her eyes widened slightly as she sensed Thunderstorm's powerful aura approaching— true to the nightmare's statement.

"Uh, ya alright, Astral Plane? Ya see—"

Why are you helping me, you old nag? Astra shoved a hoof in front of Applebloom's mouth hissing, "Get into to bushes! One of our targets is approaching!"

"How do ya—"

"No time!" hissed the midnight blue filly as she shoved both of the others into a nearby bush before jumping in herself.

"Oh~ I'm just having some amusement~ It has been soo long since I have been able to watch such suffering~!" An acidic laugh suddenly erupted in Astra's head making her wince.

"What?!" whispered Astra out-loud, too low for the other two fillies to hear. However, she recovered quickly and turned to the other two whispering, "You need to stay quiet. I'll explain when I can."

The other two just nodded as they saw a heavily bandaged pegasus stallion nearly collapse in front of them. It was obvious that the stallion had been through a lot in his life with the various lightning shaped scars running the length of his black furred body where the bandages were absent. However, his battle-hardened appearance was betrayed by his golden eyes. He looked as though he had been crying. He seemed to just catch his breath and start limping off again when a voice called.

"Wind Storm! Wait! Please!"

The stallion instantly turned around to see the one pony he had not expected. "Flutters?! What are you doing here?!"

"I… saw… you… run out of… the hospital…" Fluttershy said between gasps as she landed heavily in front of the stallion. "I…"

Storm caught her with his bad leg as her legs nearly gave out, making his eyes water in pain. "It's okay, just breathe. I'm not going anywhere." He knew that was a lie, however. He had been planning on going all the way to Canterlot. He had not wanted to chance the train. So, he was simply going to walk his way there. This little development stopped those plans cold however. Flutters had obviously pushed herself to her limits to catch up with him. Maybe I still have a reason to be here a little longer after all… If nothing else, to make sure that Flutters gets back okay.

What happened next shocked the stallion and the watching party. Fluttershy hugged him with tears in her eyes. "Oh thank goodness! I thought I'd lose you again!"

"Aw~ How cute~!" cooed the spirit of Night Mare Moon in Astra's mind before her voice became mischievous, "Maybe we can 'spy' on them rutting each other later~!"

Astra scowled. You're disgusting! How did my mother ever put up with you?! Then, she thought that question over again. On second thought, nevermind! I don't want to know! Just shut up, Night Mare!

"Oh~! But toying with you is such fun, my dear~!" cackled the evil spirit with her acid laugh. "If you insist though, I shall leave thee be~ Besides, you will need me sooner than you think~"

Astral Plane almost shuddered as she swore she felt the spirit wink at her before dissipating into the back of her mind. I hate that nag… she thought as she heard Fluttershy speak again.

"So… What happened?"

Storm blinked. The hug had ended a few minutes ago, and the two of them had simply been staring at each other since trying to make sense of the whole situation. Her voice still had the sweet softness to with a tone of concern, but the usual shyness was… gone— as if she was completely comfortable talking around him. Even back then, she was shy around him and other ponies, but this was a shock. He had never heard her so confidant before.

It was now his turn to be shy as a slight blush reached his muzzle. "W—Well… It started when we split up…"

Astral Plane nudged Applebloom in the side whispering, "We should get going. I got all the information I need for now, and I want to get to your base before day end."

Applebloom blinked a few times as if drawn out of a dream and nodded. She understood what the ebony earth pony was getting at. Then, she nudged Sweetie Belle in the side whispering, "Come on, Sweetie Belle. Let's let'em have some privacy."

"Aw…" quietly whined the white unicorn filly with curly light purple and pink mane and tail. "It's so romantic though…"

Applebloom gave a light shove. "Come on. I'd rather not get Fluttershy's stare."

The filly finally relented and followed Astra and Applebloom out of the other side of the bushes before galloping off with Applebloom in the lead toward the Crusader Club House.

-X-X-X-

Walking through the Whitetail Woods on the northern edge of Ponyville, Jason Nalick was alone again, having split up from Applejack quite a while ago. He was needing his own time alone right now. The frustration and anger building up over the day was coming to a boiling point and he didn't want to scare any ponies… or accidentally hurt someone. Or somepony… he mentally tacked on attempting to adjust himself to the new vernacular yet again, and only frustrating himself more.

"This fuckin' day has been a load of crap!" growled Jason to no one in particular as he entered a clearing with a single large tree. He punched it as hard as he could, skinning his knuckles as he did so.

"Why the fuck am I here?!" He punched the tree again with his other fist, skinning it as well.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?!" He punched again raising his voice to a yell.

"Why can't I remember the rebellion?!" He punched putting more weight behind it.

"How the hell do I get home?!" he screamed as he punched again leaving blood specks to splatter as he split his knuckles.

"Why did I go soft on Twilight?! How the fuck am I supposed to live?! Why do these ponies care about some fucked-up rebel?! Why didn't I stop Thunderstorm?! Why the hell do I care?! Why the hell am I alive?! Why did they have to die?! Why am I such a failure?!" screamed Jason as the shock of the past few days began to grip him, and he continued punching over and over again until he fell to his knees— out of breath. Then, he threw his head up the sky and screamed out the frustration he had been carrying for as long as he could remember.

No words were in the scream. It needed none. It was pure pent up frustration, anger, sorrow, and a lifetime of hurt and guilt. It wanted out, and now… he was letting it free. He just wanted to start over again. He wanted the world to know his pain he had suffered. He wanted to be free, to be himself again. Somewhere deep inside, his mind was fighting something, and he could not figure out what it was. Something wanted him to be free from everything he had ever known. Something about this world conflicted with the very nature he was born into, and he just could not contain it any longer. He wanted to let the old go and accept the old was gone forever, but he also knew that old was what made him who he was today.

He did not know how long he stared up into the sky through that lone tree's branches. The scream had died out long ago, and now there was nothing left to scream about. He stared into the azure blue for what seemed like an eternity, but then, he heard a nearby twig snap. This brought him instinctively into a defensive crouching position and caused both his eyes and his sixth sense into a sweep of the area. Instead of an attacker, however, he found Rainbow Dash staring at him in shock.

Jason shook his head as his rationality returned and his conscious thought returned with it. The instinctive side of his brain shut down, and he decided to try and speak, "I'm sorry." His voice cracked under the strain, still not recovered from the scream from earlier, as he stood. "I had to do it. I had to free myself."

"Nalick…" said the cyan mare with trepidation and concern. "What in Celestia's name did you do?" She gazed at the bloodied tree, then to the even bloodier paws that seemed as if they had been put through a grinder. The sight of the human's blood made her feel a bit nauseous.

Jason gave her a small smile as he raised one of his hands. "I finally forgave myself. If I am to ever live with myself, or even die, I needed to do it. I've failed so much and committed so many wrongs that it felt like I had a body of fire in me that had the weight of the whole of Earth. If I am to start over…" He let his gaze fall on his hand with a serious expression forming on his face. "Wherever that may lead me. I had to let go. I couldn't carry that burden forever, because it was slowly driving me insane." He looked to her and gave her a comforting smile. "I'm sorry you had to see this. I was hoping it wasn't going to be like this, but I guess this is what happens when you haven't followed who you truly are in… some time."

Rainbow Dash was slightly frightened of the human in front of her now. She had seen the human at his most primal just a few seconds ago— a predator. A true predator of an alien world with no restraint, no boundaries. It had terrified her more than any manticore. She had seen a true apex predator, but now she saw the intelligence she became friends with. The predator was Nalick, and he was the predator. It confused her.

He frowned. "You saw it didn't you?"

Dash could only nod. She knew what he was meaning, but what was he asking?

He nodded with a glum expression on his face. "The first time I saw that… darkness inside someone was the day I first killed someone. I had no intention of doing it, but she was trying to kill me. The wild look in her eyes frightened me to no end. Then, the war came. It was a rush. Kill or be killed, but I made sure not to lose myself to that monster. I never will. I promised myself that the day I saw so my of my fellows fail to do the same. They were so much more efficient than me, but they had lost who they were. They became what you just saw with only a mask hiding it when the war was over. Shell shock, PTSD they call it. No, those people chose to leave themselves behind. I was a witness of it. They come out broken and shattered. You saw I didn't come out unscathed either. It terrifies me everyday to know that it's inside me, but I know it's still a part of me. I'm no fool."

Rainbow Dash looked on even more shocked than before by what Nalick had just confided to her.

Then, he smiled as cheerily as he could manage. "I know you're confused. If you ever see that darkness, push it away. Nothing is worth losing yourself. It will only hurt you in the end. Being a pony I'm sure it would take a lot more than a human to bring it out since your species isn't predatory by nature, but it's within every creature." He turned and started to walk back toward town without even bothering to tend to his hands, but then a thought struck him making him turn his head back and yell hoarsely, "Oh! And make amends whenever you can! You never know when you may lose that opportunity!"

Rainbow merely stared on for a couple moments in the direction her friend had gone off in, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened before giving up. "What was that?! Maybe Twilight can figure it out," she thought out loud as she took to the air. She did a fly-by past the tree one last time before taking off for Ponyville. And I thought I needed to blow off some steam! I should make sure he's alright. His paws did look pretty messed up. A grim slash formed on her muzzle as her next thought reminded her of Nalick's line about amends. Then, I'll find you, Wind Storm.

Nearby on a high branch obscured by a thick shadow of the surrounding canopy, a pair of watchful eyes witnessed the scene end with a hint of disgust as it said, "A pity. I could have used that monster, but it seems as though he's cast that part of himself away."

The equine figure landed lightly and approached the bloodied tree with care. "Or is it gone?" hummed the figure as it touched the blood with a bit of magic. "Such malice and malevolence. I think this will enhance them greatly."

Three smaller shadows flew in next to the first, and the first commanded. "Consume it. Let it make you stronger than ever before! Our time starts now!" It smiled as a star-field mane obscured its features.

-X-X-X-

Back at the Ponyville Hospital, Sentinel Heart awoke with a sudden gasp. The last thing he remembered was that terrifying image of the thing that was once Twilight Sparkle blasting him with a devastating magic blast.

"How the buck did I survive?!" he whispered to himself as he looked down and saw bandages and casts covering the majority of his body. He also noticed he was strapped down. Had it all been a dream? What in Tartarus happened then if it was? Did I get into another fight with a hydra?

"Oh, Sent dear! It's good to see you've woken up!" said the familiar voice of Rarity as Sentinel shifted his eyes left as much as he could since the neck brace he was wearing prevented him from actually turning his head. "You should ask Celestia to bless your family's fantastic good fortune. I do believe the lieutenant nearly killed you, my dear. You're lucky to be alive."

"Where is Dash?!" he suddenly yelled in a near panic as bits of his memory came back to him. He fought against the restraints, ignoring the pain. "Where is she?!"

Rarity quickly restrained the struggling stallion more with her magic with a strained expression. "She's here, Sentinel! She just left not more than five minutes ago! Calm down!"

With a sigh of relief, the stallion lay still again. He was tired now, but he had to ask, "What happened to Twilight Sparkle and that… Night Guard?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. That is your hoofwork on Twilight's flank, and I do say it obscures her rather impressive cutie mark quite garishly." A piercing glare seemed to bore into Sentinel now as she sat in the seat next to the bed.

Most of Sentinel's memory of the brawl— barring when he went berserk— flashed through his mind, ending with the evil Twilight blasting him. "It wasn't the Night Guard— the sick bastard did a number on me— but it was Twilight that did this. Something… happened to her. She was on fire! An—And, she attacked all of us, including Dash! Twilight was going to kill her if I hadn't put that glyph on he—"

This made Rarity gasp dramatically in horror. "Sent! Twilight would never do such a thing!"

"The Night Guard offered to help me up before she charged in, Rare. He's not a monster. Sick maybe, and I wouldn't mind pounding his gonads into the dirt, but he wasn't using any killing blows. I did research on the Thunderstorm Striker the moment I was aware he was going to be in Ponyville for an extended amount of time. If he wanted to kill somepony, no amount of luck would save them. He's taken dragons on solo and won— granted he wasn't able to kill them— but still won."

The statement had an interesting effect on Rarity. First, that Sentinel Heart had been paranoid enough about the lieutenant to actually take the time from his proverbial mountain of paperwork and his other duties to research the stallion shocked her. The lieutenant seemed like such a proper gentlecolt— though awkward from too much time in the Guard— and the two stallions had seemed to get along so well at the barn. Second, that Sentinel was not showing as much ill-will towards the stallion— even now that the aforementioned Night Guard had been accused of raping the security chief's best friend and crush— made her more than a bit suspicious. Third and final was that what he just told her seemed to match Twilight's lack of memory during her involvement in the brawl. She needed to dig deeper, as well as… make a few corrections.

"Sent…" she started uneasily, telling somepony that you had misunderstood another's intentions was a lot harder than she would like to admitted— especially when the misassumption involved such… unsavory deeds. "There is something I must admit, dear."

Unable to give really any physical indication he was listening, he said, "I would nod, but that would require neck movement. Is Dash alright?"

Rarity nodded. "She's quite fine, darling. A bit of shell shock, perhaps, but that is understandable if what you told me is true. Now, about the lieutenant…"

Sentinel gazed at her with a grim scowl across his muzzle. "What about him?" His final word did seem to carry some acid behind it, but it was controlled.

"Well, it seems we had grossly misunderstood his intentions. Lieutenant Thunderstorm's original name is Wind Storm, and he is Rainbow Dash's cousin. The dear also seems to have been searching for her for quite some time now, and decided to confront her when he saw the opportunity."

"I never knew she had a cousin, but now that you mention it, I do see the family resemblance," admitted the injured, monochromatic unicorn with a sigh. "So, you believe him?"

Rarity put a hoof up to her chin in thought. "Well, it was actually Tiberius who brought us the information that the dear was of relation to Rainbow Dash. He didn't say how he got the information, but I suspect he had a conversation of his own with the lieutenant. While I was waiting for you to wake up, I decided to use my contacts to attempt to find the truth behind the matter. What I found was… unexpected…"

"Oh?" hummed Sentinel with his eyes now partially closed as he started to slip away again.

"Why, yes…" started Rarity, but then she noticed that Sentinel had closed his eyes again. "Are you awake, darling?"

Upon not receiving a response, she rose from the chair and looked at the machinery he was hooked up to. Nothing seemed wrong, but she was not a physician either. She had no choice, but to assume he had fallen back asleep.

This left the mare a bit frustrated, seeing as she still needed to tell him about what she had found out, but decided he needed his rest more.

"Another time, I suppose," she said at length before leaving the room. She still had to talk with Tiberius, who had returned only fifteen minutes ago via Rainbow Dash dragging him in and insisting to him getting himself checked, over what exactly he had done to himself as well as the earlier incident with Twilight. "Ah~ So much to do, so little time."

-X-X-X-

Thunderstorm watched the fillies go out of the corner of his eye, and gave a small sigh of relief. Now that those three were out of danger, he could make a true confrontation. He changed his mannerisms as instantly and naturally as one would bat an eyelash as he turned to Fluttershy and said, "You're good at impersonating her, I'll give you that much. You must have spent an awfully long time studying her, but you forgot something…"

The butter yellow pegasus's eyes grew wide at the implied accusation. "W—Wind Storm? W—What… What are saying?!"

Thunderstorm sent a small electrical charge into the small puddle of water they were both standing in as he stated, "The real Flutters would have noticed the fillies and would not have been so dramatic. Also, she would not be affected by this."

Then, a flash of green fire surrounded the impostor as it let out a ear-splitting screech and changed back into its Changeling base form from the sudden electrocution. The lieutenant did not give the insectoid time to recover for even a moment as he tackled it to the ground. It struggled to free itself from the injured stallion, but it had underestimated how strong Thunderstorm's relatively trim form really was.

I'm glad I had built-up enough static electricity while running to pull that off, he thought to himself absently as he let the creature tire itself out. After a few moments, he decided to speak, "Where. Is. She? Where is Fluttershy?" His tone was low and dangerous, and it instantly made the creature stop its struggles as it looked him in the eyes… and spat.

The Night Guard internally applauded the creature for its tenacity, but he had no time for the green goop that came out of its mouth. He merely punched its face to the side as it started the motions of spitting, making the projectile fly over his shoulder instead as well as cracked some of the insectoid's exoskeleton.

"I'll ask you again. Where is Fluttershy, you miserable insect?" He paused as he raised his hoof again. "If you lie, I'll show you what the Dragon Repeller does to smaller creatures."

The Changeling's eyes widened as it recognized the name of one of the Thunderstorm Striker's signature attacks. However, all it did was screech in reply, and this made the lieutenant frown.

"It can't speak in base form, kiddo. Didn't they teach you that at the seminar?" said a male voice with a Whinniapolis region accent*.

Thunderstorm quickly looked to his left to see a white stallion with a brown mustache standing there with a straw hat and three hoofballs** as his cutie mark. The Night Guard fought the compulsion to stand at attention as he said, "Drill Sergeant Magnum! What are you doing here?!"

The stallion laughed. "I live here! I'm retired, remember?!" Then, his tone grew serious. "What are you doing here, Centurion First Lieutenant Thunderstorm? Is Ponyville really under threat, or did you just find a straggler?"

Storm huffed at the old terminology. Centurion had been the original term for the members of the Royal Night Guard back before the Royal Armed Forces had been consolidated into the modern Royal Guard. There were bad connotations with that older term, and most had abandoned using it, preferring the term Night Guard instead. However, his old drill sergeant always used that term when addressing the members of the Night Guard; he called it a show of respect to the old ways.

"Too early to tell, but this one has abducted the Element of Kindness, and we need to find her fast. I was here on vacation by the way."

Magnum smiled. "Ah, meeting up with some of your old friends I see." Then, his expression returned to its usual neutral. "I'll round up some of the others 'round town, and we'll see what we can dig up. You have caused this town enough fuss already and should get back to hospital before you hurt yourself anymore, kiddo."

"I'm going to help you before I go back to Canterlot," stated Thunderstorm as he knocked the Changeling out with a solid punch before standing. "Flutters is one of my oldest friends… and… I owe her."

"Well, just don't go making a scene of it like you did with your cousin. I doubt the town even knows you're related, let alone that you were just confronting her," said Magnum nonchalantly as he walked up to get a better look at the unconscious Changeling now that the lieutenant was no longer pinning it.

"Wait! You knew she was my cousin?!"

Magnum glanced at the younger stallion with an incredulous brow. "And you didn't? Honestly, I thought you would've made the connection ages ago, kid. You might want to clear that up with the security chief though. That pony holds one Celestia's bane of a grudge, and you, Lieutenant, have made one very bad impression on him I would guess." The white stallion proceeded to shrug his shoulders as he continued, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they'd been rutting each other too, but my daughter says otherwise."

Thunderstorm nodded absently as he listened before looking back at the Changeling for a moment. Then, he did a double take. "What?!"

Magnum laughed again. "Your reactions are priceless, kiddo! Do you honestly think she is the same filly she was back in your foalhood?"

Thunderstorm looked at his hooves and coughed awkwardly. "Well—"

He was not able to finish his sentence as four fillies ran out of the woods with three of them screaming and the fourth, which Thunderstorm recognized as the troublemaker Astral Plane, with a determined scowl on her muzzle as they made a beeline right toward them.

What surprised both Storm and Magnum, however, was the authority in the midnight blue filly's voice as she yelled, "Lieutenant! Those Changeling creatures are right on our tails! We need to go befo—"

A green burst of energy and dirt flew up into the air, drowning her out, as a Changeling impacted the ground not more than a few lengths to the left of the fillies.

Magnum stepped forward, but was surprised as a butter yellow blur smashed into the creature screaming, "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH THEM!!!"

All the ponies turned in time to see Fluttershy stumble off the unconscious insectoid acting surprised herself. "U—Um… S—Sorry, but I—I couldn't let you hurt my friends. I… I hope you understand…"

Magnum and Storm traded a look before Magnum cleared his throat to gain the Element Bearer's attention. "Um, miss, I don't think it can hear ya."

"Oh…" was all she had time to say before three more Changelings cratered themselves nearby, making her "Eep!" and hide behind Storm with the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"I think we should head to the Hospital or Town Hall," suggested Astra as she stepped forward and slammed her front hooves into the ground making two crystal spires to erupt from the ground, impaling two of the offending creatures immediately. Her accuracy and calmness about the matter made the entire party show a variety of expressions from awe, to disgust, to surprise. "There's more where these came from, and we're going to need aid."

Then, Magnum took off his hat and used a telekinetic blast to smash the third through a tree. "I have to agree with the little lady. I think this is just the scouting party."

Storm nodded as he slid into the best offensive stance he could manage. "Get your wife, quick! We have more incoming!" he snarled as he drew what static electricity he could to his core. I can only pray to the Princesses these are rogues… he thought as he watched six more impacts flash in front of them.

* The accent is similar to that found in the northern American Midwest
** Hoofball is the Equestrian vernacular for an American football was well as the sport itself.

Author's Note:

Here's the new chapter everypony! I have had extensive help with this with MoonriseUnicorn aiding me as well in my proofing of this chapter. Thank you, Moonrise!

Anyway, hope y'all enjoy the chapter and please review and comment!