134. The Storm's Calm
Storm winced when he saw Sir Lightbringer beside Cherry Bomb and Sound Wave at the entrance to the Abbey. If the head paladin had been waiting for him and Guard in that place instead of his office, it could only mean that he had grown impatient.
He was pretty sure he did not want to see Sir Lightbringer impatient.
Fighting off the urge to fly in the opposite direction, Storm folded his wings and dropped down, intending to land beside them. Sir Lightbringer needed to be informed about what had happened in Ponyville.
After he and the others had learned that Zahara was Zecora’s sister, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had somehow relaxed. It said something about how respected and liked that zebra was in Ponyville if the two had warmed up to her sister. They had also mentioned something about knowing that sometimes ponies can make a bad first impression due to misunderstanding.
Big Mac, on the other hoof, continued to glare at Zahara with hostility. Storm couldn’t blame him; he had once been told that he and Nymph were becoming really good friends, so seeing her being shot at must have angered him greatly. Especially if it was because of her merely being a changeling. The pegasus didn’t know Nymph quite as well and still he was upset about the whole ordeal; he could only imagine how pissed Big Mac must have been.
As for the changelings, Nymph appeared to have completely forgiven the zebra for her actions. When Zahara had apologised to Wind Reaver for wounding him so badly, he merely snorted, saying "It was nothing." Shortly after that he disappeared, without anypony noticing him leave.
Guard Shield was the only one who seemed unmoved by everything that had happened, both by the fight and the revelation of its cause. Storm even suspected that his paladin brother wasn’t surprised by the identity of the archer. Being a seasoned royal guard prior to joining the Order of the Celestial Light, Guard had a far greater experience with what lay behind Equestria’s borders than anypony in Ponyville, save maybe for the changelings. Storm did, however, catch him casting a surprise glance at Zahara’s panther, though why that was he did not know.
As he landed, Storm returned with his thoughts to the present moment. Guard was supposed to escort Zahara and her “pet” to the Abbey, and although it would take a while for them to reach it by hoof, Storm knew Sir Lightbringer would want all the information regarding the incident beforehoof.
To his relief, Sir Lightbringer’s face showed surprise and confusion instead of impatience. “I take it there’s some reason why you left Guard behind?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Storm nodded. “Yes, sir. You see…”
“Well, that’s taken care of,” Applejack commented.
Soon after Knight Guard Shield led Zahara away (with her panther walking slowly before them), she and her brother, along with Rainbow Dash and Nymph, had turned their attention back to the apple stand.
Or rather, what was left of it. Somehow, in the heat of battle, when Big Mac had jumped at the panther attacking Nymph, he had forgotten about the stand being in his way and he smashed through it without realizing it. Apples and pieces of wood were spread across the market. Applejack glared at her brother angrily before sighing and saying that they had better get back to repairing it… to which Nymph interjected by saying that there was no need. A few flashes of her horn later and the stand was looking as good as new.
Applejack found herself torn. On one hoof, she was angry at the changeling; she needed only a few seconds to do something that would have taken her much longer with her hooves and mouth. She knew that it was stupid for her to be angry over this, but sometimes she still had pride issues. On the other hoof, however, Applejack could appreciate Nymph wanting to help them, and she was aware that both of her siblings were fond of her.
“Good for ‘er Ah’m still in good humor after last night…”
“Thank you, Nymph, that was mighty kind of ya,” Applejack said out loud, resigned. If everypony else seemed to like her, she really should try to be nice to her.
The changeling flashed her a smile. “It’s nothing, really. Seeing how this mess was sort of my fault, it’s only fair that I’d help.”
“It wasn’t your fault!” Big Mac quickly objected, frowning.
“Yeah, it was a misunderstanding,” Rainbow added. “No biggie.”
Applejack nodded in agreement. Though this time the misunderstanding had led to much more violent events, was it really that much different from how everypony had distrusted, feared, and avoided Zecora, simply because she was a zebra? Except this time a zebra had shown prejudice against a changeling… “Strange times,” Applejack summed up.
“Thank you, all of you,” Nymph bowed her head graciously. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was going over to Rarity’s before all of this had started.”
“Want me to walk ya there?” asked Big Mac almost immediately, concern on his face.
Nymph smiled to him, but shook her head. “No need, there aren’t any more zebras in town, if that’s what you were thinking.” Turning to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, she said: “I will see you all later.” With a nod, she turned around and headed towards the Carousel Boutique.
Almost as soon as Nymph was out of earshot, Rainbow Dash turned to Big Mac. “‘Want me to walk ya there’,” she mimicked his voice, smirking. “Looks like somepony likes someling!”
Big Mac’s cheeks became even redder at the accusation. To spare her brother further embarrassment, Applejack glared at Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, don’t… just don’t,” she finished, not in the mood for pointing out to her just how ridiculous that joke was.
The pegasus mare snickered, but she dropped the subject. Relieved that that was over, Applejack winked at her brother, but before he could thank her, she turned back to Rainbow, suddenly reminded that she needed to talk with her.
“Hey Rainbow,” she started. When Rainbow looked at her, she continued: “Listen… would ya care for a trip for a few days? Ya see, mah sister and her friends wanted to go campin’, and Ah doubt that Rarity and Ah will be enough to handle those little monsters-”
“Wait, Rare’s going too? As in, ‘going camping’ going?”
“Yeah, that did strike me as odd…” she mused, thinking back to how Apple Bloom proposed to invite her friends, Rarity and Rainbow Dash to their camping trip.
“Well, if Rarity is going, then I’ve got to see that,” Rainbow said, pulling her from her thoughts. “Besides, I’ve been thinking about getting away from the town for a few days. You know, so that I could gather my thoughts,” she finished awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.
Applejack nodded with understanding. She knew that her friend planned to “quit” Arthas, and still hadn’t found the right way to do it. Maybe those few days away were just what she needed.
“Sure, sugarcube. Now, Ah need to run the stand, but Ah’ll tell ya exactly where we’ll be campin’ and all later.”
“Cool.”
“This campin’ trip sure promises to be fun!” Applejack said cheerfully, happy that Rarity wasn’t going to be the only other adult there.
In reply, however, Rainbow snickered. “Yeah, you say that now…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack frowned, confused.
“Eh,” the pegasus shrugged, “I’ll explain before tonight’s performance. Catch you later!” she shouted back as she flew into the sky.
Applejack watched her for a while, before she turned back to her stand, shaking her head.
Cold wind attacked him from every side. He covered his eyes from snow and ice as he took another step forward. A voice, both incredibly young and old beyond his understanding at the same time, still called out to him. He had to reach it. Just one more step… only one more step… he reached out, wanting to grab…
With a gasp, Spike woke up.
“Wha…” he muttered, rubbing his eyes and looking at the extended claw.
What did he dream about? It was so… vivid. Spike recalled cold and wanting to grab something, but what was it…
His musing was interrupted by a knock on the door. The baby dragon turned to the sound, noticing that he was, again, in Sweetie Belle’s room.
The door opened, revealing Rarity. A tray with some breakfast was levitating beside her, held by her magic. “Hello again,” the white unicorn greeted him with a smile. “I hoped that you had woken up by now, your breakfast is getting cold.”
She pointed at the tray. Spike nodded and rose from the bed so that he was sitting by the edge of it. He hoped his face didn’t betray how awkward he felt; though he couldn’t remember what his dream was about, he did remember the last thing that happened before he fell asleep.
Rarity trotted towards the bed and sat next to him, placing the tray between them. She nodded to him to start eating.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a bowl of cereal. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Oh, no, darling, I’ve already eaten.”
He didn’t need to ask with whom she ate, he already knew the answer. “With him,” he thought dismayed as he started eating. Was he still there? Spike tried to not think about it, or Storm Clash in general. If Rarity really liked him, there was nothing he could do about it. She and Spike were… just friends.
“So…” he tried to break the silence, “nervous about the date?”
Rarity blinked at him with surprise. She probably had expected him to avoid the subject. “Well… a bit, I suppose.”
“Why?” he asked quickly. He cleared his throat and added: “I mean, what do you have to be nervous about?”
“Spike, the first date’s purpose is - usually - learning more about each other. And although I am far from modest, I do realize that I posses a few… less appealing characteristics. I don’t think there is anything about me that Storm could find off-putting-”
“Of course there isn’t!” Spike put in without thinking.
Rarity smiled and continued: “- but it is normal to feel nervous. You can never be really sure what the other pony is thinking about you.”
“Yeah, well, I still think you have nothing to worry about. Storm is gonna adore you,” Spike said, despite how heavy his chest felt.
“Thank you, Spikey-wikey. It really means a lot to me to hear you say it.”
Spike couldn’t help but smile back to her. Even if he could no longer even dream of being with her, Rarity was still his friend, and friends supported one another and wished them well.
“I hope that when you will ask somepony out one day, I will be able to return the favor,” Rarity added, winking.
He tried to picture it - him going out with some other mare - and he just… couldn’t. Spike tried to imagine the dream he often had, of taking Rarity to an ice cream house, except instead of Rarity he tried to conjure an image of a different mare. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even imagine Rarity there. There was nopony there.
Only him.
He swallowed another spoon of cereal to hide his anxiety from Rarity. “If that would happen, I would probably come for some advice rather than words of encouragement.”
“And I would be happy to help you.”
Despite having his emotions in turmoil, Spike noticed that Rarity’s voice had shifted a bit. She looked as if she was about to add something but didn’t know how. Spike, who was already uncomfortable with this conversation, didn’t want to know what that could be.
“You don’t have to sit with me just because you feel bad about… you know,” he explained awkwardly. “You must have many things to do today…”
“Oh Spike, dear, I’ve already wrapped up what little I had to do today,” Rarity assured him. “My schedule is free for the next two hours; after that Fluttershy and I are taking Nymph to the spa.”
“Wait, two hours?” Spike repeated. He knew Rarity’s daily schedule by heart, and he knew that she and Fluttershy usually would go to the spa around twelve o’clock. But if that was true, this meant… “What time is it?”
“It’s ten in the morning.”
“Ten in the morning!?” Spike echoed, panicking. “By the Light, Twilight is going to be so upset that I overslept!”
When you grow up with a control freak, who lives her life according to a second-precise schedule, you fear oversleeping. Twilight had never - so far - punished him whenever he was late with anything, but every time she fumed, Spike felt like dropping on the floor and begging for forgiveness.
“I don’t think she-” Rarity tried to calm him down, but he wasn’t listening to her.
“Thank you for the breakfast Rarity, and for letting me sleep here,” Spike told her, jumping from the bed and grabbing one of the haywiches. “I’ll catch you later!” As he ran past the door, he stopped, hit by a thought. “But if I don’t,” Spike said, turning back, “good luck on your date.”
Rarity, who was slightly shocked by his actions, smiled warmly hearing him. Knowing that time was of the essence, Spike waved goodbye and ran down the hall and down the stairs, past the kitchen and through the door…
… and nearly collided with Nymph.
In the last second he managed to stop himself. “Oh, hi Nymph, sorry I nearly ran into you.”
“Well,” the changeling, although startled by his sudden appearance, smiled, “you wouldn’t be the first to attack me this morning.”
Her reply confused Spike, but he didn’t have the time to ask her what she meant. “Sorry, I need to go to Twilight, bye-”
“Spike, wait!” she called as he was about to run off. Surprised, he stopped and looked at her. “Are you alright?” Nymph asked, her voice full of sympathy and worry. “You’re… hurting.”
“Oh, that’s right, changelings can sense emotions,” Spike realized. “She must have sensed how I feel about Rarity going out with…”
At first he thought of answering that he was alright, but, even before he opened his mouth, Spike had realized how futile it would be to try and lie to Nymph. “N-no, I’m not,” he said, but he quickly smiled and added: “But I will be.”
“Huh,” Sir Lightbringer said, once Storm finished telling him and the two guards what had transpired in Ponyville, “I guess this means I should visit the market more often.”
Cherry Bomb, on the other hoof, had a different comment. “Wow, she totally kicked your flanks there,” he said with a snicker.
Storm’s ears dropped, as he knew the royal guard to be right. However, before he could find any words to reply to Bomb, Sir Lightbringer turned to the guard. “If she is Zecora’s sister, then it doesn’t come to me as a surprise. I always felt that our resident hermit was dangerous, so Zahara, being an older sibling, might be even more so.”
“Wait, so you’re saying that ponies here were right to fear Zecora when she first came to live here?” Sound Wave asked.
“No, I’m saying that they were right to become friends with her instead of coming to her hut with pitchforks and torches,” Sir Lightbringer replied calmly, and his tone of voice clearly indicated that he thought it to be obvious. “As for her sister… Nymph was certain that Zahara wasn’t trying to kill her?”
“Yes, she said that the first arrow would have passed right before her eyes if I hadn’t shielded her.”
“So she wasn’t even trying to wound her…” Sir Lightbringer murmured, frowning. “Did it look so from where you stood?”
“Sir?” Storm asked, not understanding the question.
“I’m asking if you, a trained and experienced fighter, could have told that the arrow wasn’t going to hurt her,” he explained, his brow still furrowed.
“Um… no, Sir, I wouldn’t have been able to,” Storm admitted, not sure where the head paladin was going with it. “I saw an arrow fired at her and acted on instinct.”
To his relief, Sir Lightbringer nodded. “Yes, in your place I would have done the same. As for Zahara,” he turned to the guards, “when Knight Guard Shield brings her here, tell him to escort her to Zecora’s hut. If Zecora does confirm that this hunter is indeed her sister, then he will let her know that for now she - along with that pet of hers - is her responsibility. Zahara might have not tried to kill Nymph, but it doesn’t change the fact that in the light of law she had attacked a representative of a foreign nation, wounded another one and an equestrian citizen, and resisted the defenders of the realm. If it weren’t for Nymph forgiving her, I would have been forced to arrest her. I want Guard to make sure our zebra siblings know that.”
As the two royal guards nodded, Storm frowned, confused. Couldn’t Sir Lightbringer tell her that himself? Storm had assumed that the head paladin would have liked to meet her personally.
Almost as if reading his mind, Sir Lightbringer added: “Also, tell her that I’m sorry I cannot tell her that in person, but I have duties that I must take care of. Speaking of; Storm, with me.”
With those words, Sir Lightbringer turned around and marched towards the barracks, motioning for Storm to follow him. The pegasus gulped nervously, certain that they were going to speak about Rarity.
“Well, at least I’ll be able to tell him about Provato and Tirek,” he thought as he quickly caught up with the head of the order. As he did so, he looked up; ever since he reached the Abbey, he could see with his own eyes what Guard had mentioned. Al’ar was circling around the Chapel’s spire and was occasionally puffing up his chest. Seeing how the other three ponies were ignoring it during their conversation, he must have been at it for a while now; Storm, on the other hoof, had problems trying not to look at it, it was just so plain weird.
True to his suspicion, almost at once Sir Lightbringer asked him calmly, as if casually: “How did it go with Rarity?”
“Um, very well, Sir,” Storm stammered, taking eyes off Al’ar. “We’re-”
But the earth pony stopped him with a wave of his hoof. “Spare me the details; I’m sure I’ll hear them from Rainbow later, anyway.”
Storm tilted his head, not understanding what he meant, but the mention of Rainbow Dash made him recall what else he had to tell him.
“Oh, Sir, there is something I wanted to ask you. Were you aware that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going camping?”
Sir Lightbringer’s head turned to him with wide eyes. “No, I wasn’t,” he said as they trotted through the barrack’s corridors. “How do you know?”
“They came to Rarity earlier, her sister asked her to come as well, saying that Applejack was going with Apple Bloom, and later I learned that Rainbow Dash will be going as well.”
“Scootaloo should have discussed this with me first,” Sir Lightbringer said, and Storm detected a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I will have to catch her later; for now, we have more important matters to discuss with you.”
“‘We’, Sir?” Storm asked, confused, as they stopped. They had reached the door leading to Sir Lightbringer’s office.
The earth pony opened the door, not answering his question. Storm was about to repeat it, when suddenly there was no need for that.
“Ah, Knight Storm Clash,” said the voice all too familiar to the former royal guard. “I see you have arrived at last. Come in, please.”
Inside Sir Lightbringer’s office, sitting on the pillows before the desk, were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna . Storm was so shocked that he was barely aware of following Sir Lightbringer inside. Next to the two alicorns was a tray with two cups of tea and a kettle, indicating that they must have been there for a while.
“Your Majesties,” he said, saluting.
Princess Celestia nodded and said: “You can make yourself comfortable, Knight. My sister and I wanted to talk with you.”
Despite being allowed to sit down, Storm continued to stand. It just wouldn’t feel right to him to sit when being addressed by the princesses. Sir Lightbringer was apparently of the same mind, as when he joined the two alicorns and turned to look at him from beside Princess Celestia, he was also standing.
Both princesses glared at Sir Lightbringer, as if he had offended them somehow, but the earth pony just looked back at them with an expressionless face worthy of a royal guard. Before Storm could ponder on that, all three turned to him.
“Knight Storm Clash,” Princess Luna started, “perhaps you would find it of interest that my sister and I had felt an unusual magical disturbance yesterday, emanating from somewhere deep within the Everfree Forest.”
“Which,” Princess Celestia continued, “as we were informed by Sir Lightbringer, is where you spend the entire day in.”
“And,” Princess Luna resumed, “as if that weren’t enough, shortly before I woke up to raise the moon yesterday, I had a vision. A vision which involved you and one of the creatures mentioned in the legends surrounding Stars Swirl the Bearded.”
“The Princesses and I were hoping you could shed some light on what happened to you in the forest,” explained Sir Lightbringer.
To say that Storm Clash was surprised would have been an understatement. He didn’t expect that the Princesses would have known that something unusual had happened in the Everfree Forest. Nevertheless, he quickly shook of the shock and straightened up.
“Of course, Sir, Your Majesties,” he said, bowing his head. “Where would you want me to start?”
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I hate cliffhangers. I want to see the reaction on their faces so bad right now. Also, can't wait to see Druid Flutershy in action.
I want a Death Knight Spike so bad....
Return the sword. Complete the cycle.
5197329
I think its Nefarian calling out to him. Remeber a few chapters ago that unnamed voice spoke with Nef's mannerisms and completely dominated those 3 teen dragons.
Love the chapter.
5197290 I can't help but wonder what her tree form looks like.
Gotta wonder what Nefarian's up to in the background. He may not be a demigod, but black dragon magic is nothing to laugh at.
An enjoyable little chapter, and I am sincerely hoping that the next chapter is either Storm Clash's retelling of the events of the forest, or the reactions of Celestia and Luna upon hearing of Tirek's demise at Storm Clash's hooves. That is the next event that I really want to see. After that, the camping shenanigans should prove most amusing. As well should Rarity and Storm's date.
swietnie teraz pora na reakcję kucyków na wiesć o Tireku
5197477 Maybe, yeah! I just love the idea of Spike getting greedy and hateful, falling into corruption and dying, only to return as a Death Knight, but instead of being evil like Arthus was, or like an in-game Death Knight with clear allegiances, I'd love a morally ambiguous Spike, who, due to an early death, only grew to a bit larger than say a Minotaur or something.
5197290
What was once the ability to speak with fauna, will soon be the ability to talk with all life.
I wonder how much fun there will be on that camping trip, and Scootaloos excuses or get out from her superior finding out from someone else, indirectly.
I wonder if Spike trained his greed with Pinkie, could he and up with some of her abilites as well.
Your new editors must be good xD
this will be entertaining as hell.
*yells off screen*QUICK GET THE POPCORN!
5200028 nah, we're shit, borsuq is way more awesome than we could ever be.
5197638 My mind keeps showing her tree form as the disguise she used in "Hurricane Fluttershy"
Hell to the fuck yeah
Aww, Spike...
th08.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/i/2011/350/5/2/if_only_you_knew_by_aerosocks-d4jbqhv.png
I honestly wonder how he's going to cope with this, if at all.
On a related note, no good can come of dreams of voices and the mercilessly cold wind and snow. I imagine this whole situation is a shock to his system, and maybe the dreams are just a product of his mind trying to come to terms with things. On another level, however, I can't shake the feeling that this might have impacted Spike on a deeper level, leaving him feeling sort of empty, or injuring his very being; perhaps even marring his soul. If so, it certainly does beg the question:
Does Frostmourne hunger once more?
5201321 haha
5213860 ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........................................
5203724
Unlikely, as i think Storm clash Purified Equestria's Frostmoune equivalent.
5169431 true
5234585 I would argue that he's not stupid, he had a very good plan and just got overenthusiastic at the end, and for damn good reason. Good point about the Light, though.
5234628
Pretty decent game, liked how you could make your own character. That and the reeking boxes.
Druid fluttershy is definently something I really wanna see and hopefully soon as well as the fact of why Al'ar and acting like he is, this is surely turning out to be a very interesting story. Can't wait to see what happens next...And stop using such damnable good cliffhangers! It makes me wanna read more of it! lol, I jest, but still keep it up.