Storm Of Secrets

by Beware The Carpenter

25 - Ranger Territory

As the dense foliage rolled past repetitiously, two contrary yet powerful sentiments swirled inside Rainbow Dash's mind. The first was shame; endless, suffocating shame. Against every warning, beyond all sense, without any excuse, she had led a pack of gutless morons into a situation she knew they couldn't deal with. Excuses tried to flourish and drive away her guilt but they were drowned in a river of cold truth. She had known that leading them into the forest was a bad idea, but out of stupid pride, she had insisted they were fit for anything, and now her deception had nearly killed the element of honesty.

The second emotion, contrary yet almost unhindered by her guilt, was ecstasy. She had finally done it. At long last; she had actually quit the Wonderbolts. She had thought so much about leaving, even more then she had once thought about joining them, but had never had the courage to do it before now. For the last several months, she had lived under the shadow of fear that one day a featherweight irritation would cause her to snap and she would go ballistic, bringing everything she had worked for to an ignoble end. Or that she would play out her dark fantasies such as leading the Wonderbolts into the arctic labyrinth, and then leaving them there; seeing if they could navigate their own way out before freezing to death.

To her immeasurable relief, it hadn't been a straw that broke the camel’s back, but a solid case to which she finally said 'no more', and compared to her expectations she had done so in a remarkably calm and dignified manner. Now she was finally rid of them and even if she died that night, she would die as a free pegasi. The thought of freedom imbued her with a feeling of weightlessness as though a pair of heavy shackles had been removed from her wings.

The two emotions danced around each other repeatedly in her mind, slowly connecting into a single idea. The life she had been living had been a disgrace, she had lied to her friends and almost cost Applejack her life; but that was behind her now. She had divorced her past and would never go back. Perhaps now she could start making up for her mistakes; finding Storm and Cadance would make a good start.

Rainbow Dash was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't realize the sun had long since set, until Shining Armor stopped at the base of a mammoth tree “This is where we spend the night.”

“It's a little exposed don't you think?” cautioned Rainbow “Wouldn't we be better off in a dell or in dense thicket where we wouldn't be seen as easily?”

Shining Armor smiled and began charging up his horn, there was a bright flash and the company found themselves in a large wooden room. Looking out the small slits that made for windows, Dash saw nothing but thousands of trees leaves, and guessed from the feel of the air and the slight sway under her hooves that they were high in a tree house.

“This is a base Zecora told us about.” informed Shining Armor “It's never long before the terrormongers find these places, so were always building more, but this one at least is brand new and hasn’t been disturbed.”

“How can you tell?” asked Twilight.

“See that ward?” Shining Armor pointing to what looked like a crystal lantern in the corner of the room giving off a pale blue light. “If a terrormonger or changeling comes near it, it will permanently shift to red. The fact that it's blue means this place hasn't been discovered. We're safe for now, but after tonight we probably will have to start sleeping outside and take turns keeping watch, so enjoy the last night of undisturbed sleep you'll have for a while.”

Half a dozen bunks lined each side of a central isle with a kitchenette on one side, a stack of crates on the other, and a pair of lanterns hanging overhead. Several small doors were places at odd intervals and heights, and Rainbow guessed their placement had more to do with the shape of the tree then convenience for the inhabitants. It was a refreshing difference from the opulent halls of Canterlot where half the room would be filled with fancy looking junk that had no use. Here, nothing was for show, everything had a purpose.

“There should be some spare equipment in those crates” Shining Armor thought aloud, “I'll have a look.” Twilight levitated a sleeping Pyromite off her back and set him down on a perch then shrugged off her saddlebags and placed them under one of the bunks. Rainbow was about to choose the bunk beside Twilight when she heard a jingling sound and saw Shining Armor holding out a quartet of chain mail leggings. “Try these on” he offered.

“I ain't putting on socks for you.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. These are so you don't cut your own legs learning how to use these” Shining Armor held up a pair of thick horseshoes; at the side of each of them was a pair of spikes connected at a right angle on a hinge that attached to the shoe. A set of springs ensured that one of the spikes would always be horizontal to the hoof, while the other spike would be parallel, either pointing in front or behind. Right now the spikes were in the frontal position. Shining Armor clicked the metal into the back position and small blades shot from the base of each shoe. “Kick your right shoe forwards against your left knee to eject the blade from your right shoe, kick backwards to retract; vice-versa for the left shoe, understand?”

“That's... cool.”

“They're yours if you want them, but without the leggings you’re probably going slit your own legs.”

Having knives that came out of her shoes would be awesome, Rainbow couldn't deny that, but there was still a problem, “We don't have a farrier.”

“I could do it if you let me.” Shining Armor offered, levitating up a set of nails.

What!? No way was she letting him anywhere near her hooves! Dash raised her right hoof to tell him to back off and tried to verbalize an argument, but almost inhaled a fly that was buzzing past, Dash clamped her mouth shut and spit it – click – Dash felt a small tap on her hoof and retracted it before Shining Armor could wreck her hoof, but as her hoof hit the wood it made a distinguishable 'clank'. Dash looked down in horror and wonder to see her hoof was already shod, she'd... hardly felt a thing.

“The next one?”

Dash couldn't go around with just one shoe on, and trying to pull the one out was as likely to cause harm as putting in a new one, so with teeth grit; Dash offered her other hooves which Shining Armor shod just as easily. Rainbow Dash trotted up and down a few times to get a feel for her new shoes, then donned the thin suit of chain mail that went with them.

“Now these to finish the set these-” offered Shining Armor holding up two long razor blades, each with a small hinge in the middle, “Are for your wings.” For once, Rainbow didn't resist but stretched out her wings for Shining Armor to adjust the straps and fit the blades around her wings. The blades were incredibly light, and fit like a dream.

Shining Armor stepped back to inspect her in her new suit of armor, “Now you look a little bit like a Ranger.” his horn glowed again and three apples floated out and hovered mid air at one end of the room. “Let's see if you can use your new weapons.”

Dash ran forwards, flicking her bladed wings at the apples, slicing through each of them effortlessly. “Good, now try it when they're moving” he said levitating another three apples in midair bobbing up and down. Dash turned on them with a vengeance, slicing them in half as well. “Dinner is served,” said Shining Armor, dividing the apple pieces between the three of them. Shining Armor teleported out of his armor, placing it on the bed opposite Rainbow Dash, then lay down on the bed opposite Twilight and started eating his apples. Rainbow and Twilight followed suit and the three ate in silence.

“You should fold the spikes under and into the shoe, locking the blade in the retracted position, that way there's nothing to poke you and you won't accidentally eject your blade while you sleep.” Shining Armor instructed as he shifted his pillow to make it more comfortable. “Anything else before we say goodnight?”

“Wait!” protested Twilight, “Aren’t you going to tell us more about the Rangers?”

Shining Armor groaned, “We won't have time to answer all your questions tonight Twily.”

“Just a few questions?”

“Your idea of 'a few questions' would take till tomorrow afternoon.”

“A very few questions?”

“Alright,” Shining Armor sighed, “What do you want to know?”

“Where do the Rangers come from? How are they recruited?”

“Most of them come from the Royal Guard like I did. Ponies willing to fight to defend Equestria are drawn to the Guard, where we shift the strong from the weak. The strong recruits get sent here to fight in the forest; the weak are kept in Canterlot where duties are mostly ceremonial. Retired and off duty Rangers keep an eye out for potential recruits in exchange for a spotter’s fee. Sometimes recruits find us, and some ponies just get recruited accidentally, I guess you two would fit into that last category.

Once somepony is recruited, they typically go through several months of training before they're sent past the first dragon wall. As they gain experience, they're gradually sent to the more dangerous parts of the forest where they stay for longer. Raw recruits are rarely sent beyond the first dragon wall and seldom more than for one week at a time.”

“Why, what happens if they stay longer?”

“It varies from pony to pony but typically violent insanity. There's only so long you can live in a world where half of what you see isn't real, killing images of your family and friends before losing your mind. For veteran Rangers, one month is considered the safe limit before going insane, if they’re in a group; for those very few, very elite Rangers who hunt alone, the recommended limit is fifteen days. Sometimes lost Rangers can be helped, others spend the rest of their lives in mental hospitals, and some have grown so used to having things that look like their friends and family, they have to be put down to prevent them from going on killing sprees when they get back to Equestria. A hay of a reward for the sacrifices they've made.”

“So... how many of the Rangers are insane?”

Shining Armor thought, “Sometimes I think any pony who chooses to be a Ranger would have to be at least partially crazy, other times it seem like the Rangers are the sanest ponies in the world. As for going violently insane it usually depends on what steps they take to defend their sanity.”

“Like what?”

“Well, music tends to be one of the most popular forms of therapy practiced by the Rangers, storytelling is another, drawing a third. Despite the twisted nature of their lives, or maybe because of it, the Rangers seem to have a remarkable knack for creativity. The Diamond Dog stronghold of Uthraig is one of the few places where Rangers can safely gather on a regular basis and has played host to many war councils, and has borne witness to countless works of art which would shame the great halls of Canterlot by comparison.

Another important aspect of keeping your sanity lies in knowing how to pace yourself, and take long periods of downtime between tours. The more experienced you are the longer your allowed to stay in the forest, but even I spend at least twice as long outside the forest as I do inside. Most Rangers go back and forth from the forest to relaxed positions in the Royal Guard, but many others have ordinary jobs like what Applejack’s father probably had. Rangers come from all over Equestria, but mostly they live near the outskirts to the forest so they can be close to their posts in case of an emergency; while living normal lives in between tours, often with marefriends or even wives who don’t know the truth about the Rangers.”

“Or coltfriends” added Rainbow Dash

“What's that?”

“You said ‘marefriends’ when you talked about the Rangers families; you're assuming that the Rangers are all stallions.”

“The overwhelming majority of them are.”

“What!?” asked both mares together, shocked at the concept of a male majority in anything.

“By how much?” asked Rainbow.

“Maybe... four or five to one.”

Twilight looked at him in confusion and then her mind started baking sense of it. “B.B. you said that most Rangers live near the edge of the forest when they're off duty, so they're closer to their posts?”

“True.”

“And off duty Rangers, are always on the lookout for new recruits?”

“Correct.”

“Then, recruitment would be higher; the closer somepony was to the forest?”

“Also right.”

Twilight's eyes widened and then finally put the last pieces together. “In the last Ponyville census, there were five mares for every stallion, despite the similar birth rate of colts and fillies. Is that-...”

“Yes” finished Shining Armor. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that one out.” Shining Armor recognized the look on Twilight's face. She had come to a realization, totally new and unexpected that would take her several hours to digest. If he finished the conversation now then there'd be time to get to sleep before she thought of anymore questions. “Are we done for the night?” he asked with a yawn.

“Yes.” answered Twilight after a pause.

Shining Armor smiled lay his head down. “Goodnight.”

“How do you know Storm?” asked Rainbow suddenly.

Shining Armor lifted his head back up and pricked his ears towards Rainbow and scrutinized her carefully, “I'll give you an answer for an answer; I'll tell you what I know about him, if you tell me what you know.”

Dash turned silent.

“Are you his wife?”

“No.”

“His marefriend?”

“Ummm, I'm not sure.”

“You don't know if your his marefriend or not?” giggled Twilight. “I don't know much about relationships, but that sounds like something you should know. Do you want to be his marefriend?” Rainbow said nothing but the deepening shades of pink her face was impossible to hide. “When did you meet him?”

“Monday.”

“So you only knew him for one day? He must have made quite an impression. What happened?”

“Um... well..., it started with Storm bashing up a bunch of evil ponies, and then... he didn't tell you about the theater did he?”

He raised an eyebrow, “What theater?”

“Nothing!” Dash insisted quickly, “It's... personal, between me and him.”

Twilight's looked at her concernedly, “... you have one strange idea of courtship Rainbow Dash!”

“Be careful.” warned Shining Armor, “So far as I know, for the last few years he's been living alone killing more things then he speaks to. Every few weeks he brings a bag of ears to confirm kills to a Ranger forward base, re-supplies; and that equates his socialization for that month.”

“So what about you, how do you know Storm?” asked Rainbow eager to focus the attention back to Shining Armor before he inquired of the details of the theater, and decided she did deserve punishment after all.

“What you said was hardly a detailed description.” objected Shining Armor

“Well... I bet you couldn't give a better story.”

“How stupid do you think I am?”

“Well...”

Shining Armor glared at Rainbow.

“Come on B.B.” pleaded Twilight, “Tell us a story.”

“...Fine;” he conceded “I'll tell you.”

Chapter twelve >>> Tales of the Past

Comments

[Beware The Carpenter]

For anyone who's thinking of judging Shining Armor a bit too harshly, don't. Their relationship is more complicated then Canterlot trumps marriage.

[Beware The Carpenter]

1586486

Thanks. For anyone who want's to skip over to where they've read, I think the only other important edit is adding dates. The story is going to take place over about a week; Prologue -Ch 2 is Monday, Cahapter 3 and the first part of 4 are Tuesday and after that so far is Wednesday.

[the other sans]

And you had to cut it off there You damn, damn cliffhangery person you

[Akantia]

“They're yours if you want them, but without the leggings you’re probably slit your own legs.”
add in going to after probably <3
Sorry about these random add words or change them posts. I'm enjoying the story I just notice these every now and then haha ^^;;