132. Dark Shot
“You do know she’s guilt-tripping you into this camping trip, right?”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Storm dear; of course I know,” Rarity replied, waving her hoof nonchalantly from across the table. “But trust me when I say that I have a little… payback, of sorts, prepared.”
Storm raised an eyebrow, intrigued. They were sitting in Rarity’s kitchen, enjoying the breakfast she had prepared. The three fillies had left a while ago, soon after Sweetie Belle had convinced her sister to come with them (and, as they told Storm when he asked about it, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash) for this camping trip, saying that each needed to prepare.
The paladin wondered briefly if Scootaloo had mentioned to Sir Lightbringer about this whole idea, but the young pegasus had scampered off before he had the chance to remind her of that (as he doubted she had). His worries for her were quickly dispersed, however, as Rarity returned from her bedroom, having quickly picked an outfit - or, as she had mentioned offhoofedly, several outfits from which she would later pick one - for tomorrow and invited him to dine with her. The breakfast, though modest, was really delicious, and the company of the beautiful mare was more than enough to cause the paladin to concentrate on the present moment and nothing else.
There was only one thing that bothered him throughout this experience. Due to his crooked jaw, Storm had to tilt his head a bit while chewing. He feared that this sight might be displeasing for Rarity, but if the white unicorn took any offense, or even noticed it, she hadn’t showed it. Throughout the meal, she continued to smile.
“Light, she even looks beautiful when she’s chewing…” he noticed at some point. “Who looks beautiful when they are chewing?”
“What sort of payback are you talking about?” Storm asked, pushing his now empty plate away.
“Well, let’s just say that I plan to have my sweet little sister agree to carry a few necessities,” Rarity replied, winking. “It’s only fair, seeing how this time we’re doing something she likes and I don’t. I’m sure you’ve been through similar situations with Oak Heart, haven’t you?”
“Yes…” the pegasus said uncomfortably; other than flying, there wasn’t any specific activity that he disliked which his brother liked.
Whether she had noticed his discomposure or not, Rarity changed the subject before he had a chance to continue. “But enough about younger siblings; lets talk about our date. What do you have planned?”
Storm hoped that she hadn’t seen his eyes growing wider. He had no plan whatsoever. Of course, he had a vague idea in his head already: take Rarity out to a fancy restaurant. However, there were several problems with that, the major being that such places required a reservation in advance. Also important was the issue of his jaw: while in Ponyville, Storm caught fewer ponies staring at him than in Canterlot or Manehatten, he hadn’t forgotten what effect his looks had on everypony. In any sort of fancy place, they would scowl at him, and if Rarity was with him...
He was spared the need of answering Rarity’s question - and finishing that train of thoughts - by somepony knocking on the door. Storm glanced at Rarity, and saw her eyes flicker in surprise. Apparently, her little sister and her friends weren’t the only unexpected guests she was going to have today.
As his hostess rose up from the table and trotted to her door, Storm decided to follow her. Not because he feared that she could be in some sort of danger or something. Far from it.
He followed her because of the sinking feeling that whoever was knocking on those doors, they had come for him.
Storm’s suspicion proved to be correct. When Rarity opened the door, she revealed none other than Knight Guard Shield standing behind it.
“Ma’am,” Guard greeted Rarity with a nod before he turned his attention to Storm. His face bore the emotionless stare both paladins had learned during their service in the Royal Guard. “I’ve been ordered to gather you.”
“Um, hi Guard,” Storm said a bit nervously, stepping out from behind Rarity. “I’m… not in trouble, am I?”
He could tell that Rarity was frowning beside him, but before she had a chance to speak her mind, Guard shook his head. “I don’t think you are. However, Sir Lightbringer seemed to be in bad humor when he sent me… and, if I may be so bold to add, annoyed when he had discovered that you hadn’t returned for the night.”
Storm felt himself flush from embarrassment when he caught the meaning behind the older pony’s words. Rarity, on the other hoof, took offense to the implication. She narrowed her eyes on Guard and spoke: “Am I to understand that Sir Lightbringer would have wished me to send away a pony practically dead on his hooves without offering him a chance to rest?”
He was impressed when Guard didn’t react to her tone. Storm would have at least cringed. Instead, the earth pony simply nodded. “I am sure Sir Lightbringer must have realized the reasoning behind the delay in Storm’s return and his annoyance was caused by another matter.” The paladin glanced back at Storm and added: “However, I’ve been ordered to threaten you with hoofcuffs if you wouldn’t hurry.”
To emphasize his words, Guard reached back and from a saddlebag strapped to his armor he took out a pair of hoofcuffs. His face lost his emotionless state as he did so, and showed clear bemusement and bewilderment at what Storm quickly realized was nothing but Sir Lightbringer’s humor.
Rarity, though she must have also realized such, opened her mouth to chasten - either Guard or Sir Lightbringer - but Guard stopped her. “And to prevent you from undermining his deference, Ma’am, I am to say ‘Altomare’. Whatever that means,” he added, confused, as he hid the hoofcuffs back in his saddlebag.
Storm, also confused as to why a name of city would stop Rarity from voicing her opinion, looked at her. To his surprise, the white unicorn was staring speechless at Guard, and her coat became slightly pink. She quickly recovered, though, and cleared her throat. “Well, yes, I suppose I deserved that one from our good Sir Lightbringer.”
“I hope I haven’t offended you, Ma’am, just following orders.”
“No no, it’s fine, Knight Guard Shield,” Rarity assured him.
Guard nodded to her respectfully. “Five minutes,” he told Storm before he turned around and stood at attention next to the boutique’s door.
Storm sighed with embarrassment as Rarity closed the door. He knew that Sir Lightbringer must have heard that he made it out of the forest - he had flown above the Abbey, and either Sound or Cherry simply must have seen him - but it somehow escaped his mind that his commander might be annoyed by him being away for so long. And what Guard had suggested…
“He… he cannot think that me and Rarity had… right?” he pondered nervously. “I mean, he knows I wouldn’t have tried to… and Rarity wouldn’t… I’m dead.”
As if reading his mind, Rarity tapped his shoulder playfully. “Oh, don’t you worry your handsome head. Arthas, that is, Sir Lightbringer - long story,” she added when he shot her a confused look. “- won’t cause you any problems for going on a date with me.”
“I wasn’t worried!” Storm quickly protested, not wanting her to think him a coward. However, when Rarity simply raised an eyebrow, he confessed. “Maybe a bit… he can be really scary sometimes.”
Rarity giggled, and although Storm knew he should feel embarrassed, the sound of her laughter made his heart beat faster. “Which is why I think you should hurry up,” she said, leading him back to the living room, where he left his armor and weapons. As Storm quickly put the armor on - and felt surprisingly nervous for doing so in front of Rarity - the unicorn asked him: “So, our date?”
Storm gulped nervously. The best thing that came to his mind in the last few minutes was going to the local restaurant, but he wasn’t sure if Rarity would like that. “It’s not like I have much of a choice…” he remarked as he strapped on the armor. Sighing, he turned around…
… just in time to see Rarity straighten up and blush slightly.
“Was she… looking at my flank?” Storm thought, confused. “... Nah,” he finally decided; Rarity was a lady, she would never do something like that.
He cleared his throat before he spoke. “Well, I, um, thought that maybe we could… um…” Storm stammered. He had enough of a hard time just thinking about what he was supposed to say, but now that he was actually speaking to Rarity, his thoughts became muddled as he gazed into her blue eyes.
Much to his delight, the beautiful mare once again giggled. “You are so cute,” she whispered, coming a bit close to him. Their noses almost touched. “Seeing how you have problems articulating, how about I will choose where we will go?”
The proximity of her body, combined with the sight of her eyes and her scent, made Storm able to respond only with: “Umghmrrbemhmm…”
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”
Nymph did her best to ignore the stares she received during her walk through Ponyville. The irony of how conspicuous she, a changeling and heir to Queen Chrysalis, was right now was not lost upon her. “I wouldn’t even need to shapeshift to hide myself, I could cast an Invisibility Spell on myself,” she thought with mild annoyance.
She sighed and closed her eyes. Not that it helped: she could feel everypony around her, and she was thankful that most of them only emanated suspiciousness instead of any harsher emotions. But it did prevent her from seeing ponies scowling at her…
Nymph once again pondered the idea of simply teleporting to her destination - Rarity’s boutique - but she reminded herself once more that getting ponies accustomed to her presence would yield better results in the long run, rather than avoiding them. Also, she planned to make a stop at the market, where she hoped to catch Big Mac.
The thought of the red stallion with green eyes made her brighten up. Tonight the two of them would go on a date! She still could scarcely believe it… or that Rarity had offered her to give her a few tips, which was why she was coming to see her. They had made an appointment with Fluttershy to meet at the spa, but that was still hours away. Nymph was too nervous to wait.
“I hope I won’t be imposing…” she worried, but soon that thought was completely forgotten by her as her eyes spot a certain stallion helping to set up baskets with apples at the market stand.
Nymph happily trotted towards the Apple’s stand. She was still aware of the ponies around her, but she no longer cared. Big Mac was there! That was all that mattered to her at the moment.
“Hi!” she greeted him. The big stallion turned around at the sound of her voice and when his eyes rested on her, he smiled. He mouthed ‘hello’ around the basket’s handle he had in his teeth. Nymph had to suppress a giggle: for some reason, that amused her greatly. “How are you?”
“Haven’t ya two seen each other just the other day?” his sister asked her sternly as Big Mac put down the basket.
Despite the tone of Applejack’s voice being gentler than when she usually spoke to her, Nymph winced. It occurred to her how stupid her questions sounded, as the mare was right; they had seen each other just yesterday.
“Um, I aahh… I mean if you are feeling nervous!” she quickly amended, turning back to Big Mac. “About the Ponytones’ performance!” Nymph added… and immediately wanted to facehoof.
“Applejack doesn’t know that we are going out on a date, what else would he be nervous about other than the performance!?” she chided herself, burning with embarrassment. “Stupid, stupid, stupid...”
Big Mac, oblivious to her mental beration, smiled, a barely noticeable blush covering his cheeks. “A bit,” he admitted, and Nymph felt a subtle hint of fear in him.
“I’m sure you will do fine,” she blurted before she could stop herself; of course he was going to be fine, he had such a lovely voice…
The pang of fear disappeared from Big Mac as his smile grew wider and warmer. “As if all he needed was my assurance…” Nymph thought, losing herself in the depth of his loving green eyes…
She snapped out of it with a sharp shake of her head. What was wrong with her? She liked Big Mac a lot, true, and the thought of him made her heart beat faster, but now just talking with him… her heart had skipped a beat, her body felt hotter and her head was spinning… and she had this urge to just curl up against him… How could she feel so strongly about someling she had met only recently? And not a someling but somepony no less?! This… this denied a changeling’s common sense!
Nymph wasn’t sure how long she had stood there, staring into Big Mac’s eyes while the maelstrom of those confusing thoughts raced through her head. It couldn’t have been too long, however; otherwise Applejack’s next words would have been undoubtedly much harsher.
“It’s nice of ya to say so, Nymph, but we’re hopin’ to sell some apples ‘ere today. And Ah mean no offense, but ya ain’t exactly good for advertisin’ by standin’ ‘ere doin’ nothin’.”
Although Big Mac scowled at his sister, taking offense at her words, Nymph instead turned to her with surprise. Again, Applejack spoke to her more kindly than she would have expected her to do, even discounting the fact that Nymph had almost all but drooled while staring at her brother. There was something off with her…
Dispelling the lingering effects of her daydream, the changeling focused. She scanned Applejack with her eyes as the pony arranged her stand. There was something odd about her. Nymph tilted her head in confusion, but as she pondered if she should question Applejack about it, she felt something different. Something stirred at the edge of her consciousness, and this sensation caused the fake fur at the back of her neck to ruffle up.
She looked back.
Rainbow Dash yawned as she stretched out on the cloud. Today was going to be a good day; she was already done with her job for today, and the weather was going to be fine, despite the slowly approaching winter. Now all she wanted to do for several hours was to take a long, relaxing nap.
As her mind began trailing off, despite the quiet buzzing of a fly somewhere below her, Rainbow Dash found her thoughts being drawn to her recent problems. Namely, her orientation and Matt. “Arthas,” she corrected her mind lazily.
Rainbow Dash yawned, the thought of her problems preventing her from falling asleep. She still had to both tell her friends about being bisexual, and break up with Arthas. The former she planned to do today, despite how awkward she felt about it, but the latter… Rainbow Dash had been putting that off for a while now, hoping that she would figure out some plausible excuse other than “Twilight tried to shove me through a wall for sleeping with you”.
“This would’ve been so much easier if those two would just buck,” she thought, rolling her eyes under her closed eyelids as she shifted her body on the cloud to be more comfortable. “Maybe they got drunk enough yesterday and did that? Would get a load off my mind…”
To make things more complicated, in a little more than a week from now Rainbow Dash would be leaving for Wonderbolt Academy. On the off chance that she was going to meet somepony interesting there, she would prefer to have this business with Arthas wrapped up already. While her night with Daring was immensely fun, and she hadn’t broken any rules of their “relationship”, Rainbow Dash had felt a little bit… dirty afterwards; which, oddly enough, had nothing to do with any of the things they did.
The buzzing below her grew louder, but Rainbow ignored it. She knew she had to tell Arthas that their activities were over, and sometime soon. She couldn’t avoid him forever. “Ugh, I wish I could just get away from Ponyville for a few days,” Rainbow thought in mild irritation. “Just enough to collect my thoughts-”
Chirrrrrrr!
“Gah!!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the weird noise sounded just right beside her ear. She jumped into the air in fear and turned around… just to see a changeling’s head sticking out of the cloud next to where her head laid. “What the hell was that?!” Rainbow shouted a moment before Wind Reaver bursted with laughter.
“Oh, I can’t... you should have seen yourself!” he cried as he flew out of the cloud and fell on his back, laughing his head off.
Rainbow fought off the urge to strangle him on the spot and settled for glaring at him. She hadn’t seen Wind since the memorable day when he had changed into her and tried making out with her. Even though back then she had given him quite a trashing, the cyan pegasus was still not satisfied with how she repaid him.
“What do you want?” she snarled when he had somewhat calmed down. She sat on the opposite end of the cloud, as far away as possible.
“Why so aggressive?” the changeling asked, rolling onto his chest.
“Well, gee, let me think: there’s what you did now, and there’s also what you did the last time.”
“You’re still mad about that?” Wind asked with a raised eyebrow. “By Ashvattha, you ponies can really hold a grudge.”
“I’ll ask again:” Rainbow growled, getting more and more annoyed, “what do you want?”
Wind Reaver opened his mouth to reply, but before he could a small jolt of electricity ran through his body. Rainbow grinned as his wings buzzed, lifting him a foot above the now gray cloud.
The changeling scowled at her. “That’s not fair.”
“Right, because doing some disgusting bug sounds right into a napping pony’s ear is?”
“You used your pegasi magic!”
“And you used your changeling magic to make out with me!”
“Are you seriously going to bring it up?” Wind asked her with a smirk. “You know, considering who I was at the time?”
“You…” Rainbow Dash growled through clenched teeth, before she sighed and facehoofed. “Just tell me what you want and get out.”
“I was wondering if you were up for another race anytime soon?”
The question was so unexpected that Rainbow’s jaw actually dropped. She looked at the the hovering changeling who waited for her answer. “No,” she told him, snarling. “Now get lost.”
“Oh come on, please?” he asked, dropping a bit closer to her. “I am getting really bored at the Hivespeaker’s place. I like sparring with Tucker, but I need to do something more challenging!”
“Not my problem,” Rainbow Dash told him. “Go race with Al’ar.”
“You mean that giant, flaming bird? Right, as if I wasn’t unsettled by the way he looks at me on a daily basis, not to mention today…” Wind trailed off, shaking with dread. He quickly recovered and tried again. “C’mon, please? Are you really that mad at me?”
“Yes!” she replied, not believing that a guy that can supposedly sense emotions had to ask that question.
“I’m sorry, okay? I was just… I dunno,” he said, looking down. “I try to distract myself from thinking about my intended mate, and sometimes I… don’t think about the consequences.” Wind Reaver sighed. “You would not believe how many problems I’ve gotten myself into back in the Hive before I volunteered for this assignment.”
“It’s bit too late to play the sympathy card,” Rainbow told him, although her tone softened a touch.
She hadn’t thought that he might have done that to distract himself. To be honest, most of the time Wind Reaver acted as if he really was not thinking about his intended mate, to the point that Rainbow nearly forgot about that issue. She tried to imagine how she would feel if one of her friends was lost for months, and there was little she could do to help them. “I think I would go crazy.”
“What would she think if she saw what you did last time?” Rainbow asked, hoping that maybe mentioning that would at least prevent that scenario from happening again.
Wind brushed his chin as he pondered her question, then he smirked. “Seeing how much it annoyed you? She would probably take your shape, then waited for me to do the same and we would start making out right before you.”
“Ugh!” Rainbow grunted, facehoofing again. “I should’ve figured. So she’s a lot like you, huh?”
“Are you kidding? We have more differences than similarities.”
“But you’re still both perverts.”
“No, we are both changelings,” Wind corrected her. “We have little to no shame when sex is involved. Jelly?” he asked with a smirk.
“Of what?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Of basically all of you being sluts?”
Wind chuckled, landing on the cloud. “No… of having no shame. No moral barriers, no fear of ponies looking disapprovingly…” he chuckled as he took a step closer. “Admit it, a part of you would like that.”
Rainbow, who had to back her head so that Wind wouldn’t be all up in her muzzle, pressed a hoof against his face and pushed him away. “No, a part of me would like to punch you again. A big part, actually.”
The changeling chuckled, though he did take a step back. “Fine, let’s say I believe you-”
Rainbow looked at Wind with confusion as he stopped abruptly. The changeling’s pupiless eyes grew wide in shock. Without warning, his wings started buzzing as his body shifted over to the edge of the cloud. Before he dove right down, Rainbow heard him say one word:
“Shit!”
Once Rarity had closed her door behind him, Storm turned to Guard. “So, how much trouble do you think I am in?” he asked the older stallion as they started trotting through the streets of Ponyville.
“That depends,” Guard replied, keeping his voice calm. “Do you think Sir Lightbringer has some sort of overprotective big brother’s instinct, like Prince Shining Armor?”
“W-well… he sort of already warned me to not break Rarity’s heart…” Storm murmured nervously.
“Then I suppose you should be fine… for now,” he added. “Speaking of, how did it go?”
“Oh, great! We’re going on a date later tonight!”
“Good for you, lad,” Guard said, a touch of good humor warming his voice. “She seems like a fine mare.”
“Yeah… so,” Storm started awkwardly, “got any advice?”
Guard Shield didn’t turn his head, just one eye to stare at him with a look that said “Are you kidding, lad?”, making Storm cringe in embarrassment. However, when Guard’s eyes shifted back to look in front of him, he said: “Just one: don’t ask Tucker for advice.”
The remark took Storm by such surprise that he snorted. “You don’t have to tell me that,” he chuckled humorously when he recovered.
“Just making sure,” Guard smirked. “On another subject; what exactly have you been doing all day yesterday? Cause I somehow doubt what Sir Lightbringer told us about sending you on some assignment.”
“It’s… well, a long and complicated story. Suffice to say for now that I went to get Rarity a birthday gift, I suppose,” he said, not sure what to take on his adventures in the forest. Storm felt that it would be best to first report about them to Sir Lightbringer. “Did I miss anything interesting?”
“Other than Al’ar acting weirdly this morning, not much,” Guard shrugged. When Storm shot him a questioning look, he elaborated: “He’s been flying around the chapel’s spire; every now and then he stops, puffs his chest out in the direction of the Everfree Forest, and then returns to flying in circles.”
Storm pictured the giant phoenix doing those things. “That… sounds like some sort of bird’s mating dance.”
“Well, seeing how the closest phoenix female is in the opposite direction, I doubt it. Sir Lightbringer was also confused by it, but he said he had more important things to do than worry about his strange behaviour.”
Storm would have liked to ask Guard for more details regarding Al’ar’s actions, but they were passing through the market at the moment. There were more ponies around them, and the paladin had figured that it wouldn’t do much good if one of them would overhear that a giant phoenix living nearby was acting weird.
Deciding to drop the conversation for the moment, the pegasus looked around, watching as ponies carried on their daily lives. He thought back to his encounter with Tirek, and wondered how this place would have looked if something went wrong. His eyes slid from one pony to another, and felt his heart swell with pride for helping preserve this peace.
However, just when he was about to whisper his thanks to the Light, he saw something that made him stop. Upon the many shapes his eyes laid on, one stood out. It was pony-shaped, but its features were masked by a coat. There were saddlebags visible under it, and strapped upon the stranger’s back was a bow.
Neither of those were what made Storm concentrate on this pony, however. What made the stranger particularly stand out in his eyes had been the intensity with which it stared at something across the street.
Storm followed its gaze. To his surprise, he saw an apple stand, run by Applejack and Big Macintosh. Beside them stood another figure, a black unicorn, which Storm easily recognized as Nymph’s usual disguise.
He turned his eyes back on the cloaked stranger, and saw that during the one second that he had looked away, the pony had grabbed its bow and notched an arrow.
By the time Storm opened his mouth to shout - a warning or order, he did not know - he fired the arrow at Nymph.
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OH snap!
Man, that chapter was interesting. I do feel curious as to the identidy of mystery pony and Al'Ar's odd behavior. Also, I wonder how RD will come out of the (double
) closet to the girls and how she will deal with her relationship with Arthas. This has been a great chapter.
Great...somebody put a huntard in the story.
Nymph ! Oh no ! D:
F*** you, this cliffhanger is NOT WHAT I WANTED. You had better update quickly, because I now have to know what's next.
Please don't kill Nymph
well then, the shots been fired. lets wait for the effect.
Oh no, Nymph! She'd better be okay. A bunch of paladins are around and she has an exoskeleton, she'll be okay right? Right?!
Philomena x Al'ar. You know you want to.
GODS DAMN MOTHER EFFING CLIFF-HANGING PIECE OF...FFFFUUUUUU!!
Damn your cliffhanger...
Cliffhangers usually don't bother me much.This one does.
I wonder if Philomena and Al'ar were ever in the same place,
<sunglasses>
They'd get on like a castle on fire.
Im wondering if the circling has something to do with Storms interactions in the Heart Of The Forest, for that flower?
As for strange cloaked person and in flight arrow, wonder how fast AJs reactions are, or a unicorns casting, TK? Either way, theres a god chance Nymph is going to hurt, as well as dark and brooding over on the side.
Warning! Nuclear missi...uh...i meant arrow launched!
Damn you cliffhanger! I gonna murder something if you don't update quick enough!
Urah!
“Was she… looking at my flank?” Storm thought, confused. “... Nah,” he finally decided; Rarity was a lady, she would never do something like that- HAHAHAHA o Storm u have no idea
And then they all fucked.
The end.
Oh oh we might see some pally resurrections
Thanks for the mention xD
Altomare? Hmm, Altomare Altomare......!!!!!!!!!!!
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I may not be able to murder these cliffhangers, but at the very least I'll manage to kill my boredom.
You may ask, "How will he do such a thing?" The answer?
Guns. Lots and lots of guns. And blood. And explosions. And pnuematic fists made out of metal.
In case it's not obvious by now, I just bought a copy of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and I'm going to be playing it non-stop for the next few months.
The Overbat helped proofread this chapter? (talking about Sixkiller5)
Oh shite, things began to escalate, I knew things were going down the moment Nymph felt something behind her; going to reread the entire story since I haven't read the story for awhile - rereading mostly because I enjoy this story and wanting to catch up with certain important plot points in the story