28 - Side Effects
“The body swap could have unexpected consequences and it might not affect both of us the same way.”
Shining Armor
Shining Armor ducked behind a tree; using his blue mane to camouflage himself as much as possible, he peered through a fork in the trunk and saw Twilight, about thirty paces off, looking away from him. NO! This couldn't be happening again, it couldn't... but it was. Silently, he drew his two swords from their scabbards and inspected them under the cold light that dribbled through the leaves. The edges of each blade pulled apart from each other until midpoint when they curved back together, forming a wicked hook point at the end of each blade. Both were meticulously clean, solid and absolutely lethal.
Panicking, Shining Armor tried desperately to put them back in their sheaths, but instead, his grip on them only tightened and he began racing around the tree; heading straight for Twilight. He couldn't stop, he couldn't turn; when he had closed half the distance he tried to cry out; to warn her, but no sound came. Twilight didn't move, she didn't run, she just... stood there, oblivious that her life was about to be snuffed out. Finally she saw him. If she ran now, there was a chance she might escape, but her legs only trembled; frozen by terror as her eyes met with his; silently pleading with him not to kill her.
Seconds before he struck a sound finally escaped her throat “DON'T-” but she was cut short as one of Shining Armor's blades sliced her jugular, sending blood spraying across the forest floor, and onto Shining Armor's pristine white fur. Twilight staggered and fell, her face torn with anguish as bright red blood pulsed from her neck. Again her eyes met his, begging him for mercy. “PLEASE, STOP! IT'S ME!” How he wished he could stop! He would have gladly taken her place in an instant, but something else was controlling him; something that thirsted for her blood and refused to let either of them go.
“LIAR!” he yelled as he brought the second sword down on her neck, decapitating her with a sickening 'crack' as steel met spine. It should have been over. Whatever monstrosity possessed him had succeeded in killing Twilight, but that wasn't enough; not by a long shot. As Twilight's body entered into spasms, Shining Armor felt himself raise both swords and began hacking, hacking, hacking, as though whatever force that possessed him found it intolerable that even one bone should remain intact or attached to another. Soon the swords weren’t enough anymore and Shining Armor began rearing again and again, burying his hooves up to the hock into what had been his sister's organs.
Shining Armor tried to stop his hooves but couldn't, he tried to stop his magic but failed, he couldn't even lift his head or close his eyes so he wouldn't be forced to watch his acts of abomination. The one thing he could do was move his control the focus of his attention. Stretching his focus as far as he could to the horizon of his field of vision, Shining Armor could see most of the glade they were in. He reared again and the rest of the glade came into view; a normal, peaceful patch of land just like any other. Shining Armor dropped his hooves again, causing a blood splatter on his face, Shining armor began desperately mapping the forest glade in his mind: four redwoods, forming the shape of a crooked smile; two maple trees, standing in his left field of vision; one lonely rock, ten paces ahead of him. He brought a sword down for another hack and a small shard of bone that had been part of Twilight's leg flew off and got tangled in his mane, beating against his blood soaked chest with merciless repetition. Shining Armor fought to ignore it and placed all of his attention on noticing each detail of the glade as his body continued to mutilate his sister's corpse without thought: an owl's hollow built into the trunk of the third redwood; a small oak tree with a twisted branch stretching out like a claw giving the griffon sign for peace. Another wave of Twilight's blood splashed against his chin, but he hardly noticed it; there were claw marks on the furthest redwood from where a manticore had marked its territory.
On and on went the bloodshed and memorization of the glade until Shining Armor realized he was no longer moving. He tried to raise his head to look straight up and his neck finally obeyed him. Without looking down, he tried raising one leg from what felt like mud and it too yielded. Shining Armor looked his left and right, to each side seeing a sword, dripping blood, hanging from a faint glow of his telekinesis.
Yelling at the top of his voice, Shining Armor threw both swords into the dirt at the base of the closest redwood where they buried themselves half way to the hilt. Then, not daring to look down or back, he began running headlong into the darkness of the forest.
Greenery whizzed by unnoticed as Shining Armor galloped on. He did not know what had made him kill Twilight. He could not explain it, or forget it or forgive himself for it. He would bear her death for the rest of his life, and the shorter it was the better. He charged to the crest of a steep hill, filled with bracken and thorns as it plummeted at a deadly angle into a black abyss, but Shining Armor threw himself off of it without hesitation. He lost his hoofing almost immediately and began tumbling down the hill, banging against trees and scraping through bracken. “Good” he thought, “Maybe I'll die and won't have to remember what I did.”
He rolled again and again, his flesh being torn to shreds as he neared the bottom of the hill. All he saw beyond him was blackness, but as he dropped off the final ledge into the darkness beneath him he landed on his feet on a surface of flat sanded wood. How was he alive!? Now he still had to live with the guilt of... as his eyes adjusted he realized where he was. He was in the tree house. Twilight was sleeping peacefully only a few paces in front of him as though she hadn't a care in the world. Shining Armor collapsed back onto his mattress and buried his face into the pillow.
What was happening to him?
…........................................................................................................................................................
After the nightmare, Shining Armor hadn't dared go back to sleep, and when the first long-awaited rays of dawn began painting the eastern sky, he woke his companions, shoved a small breakfast into their mouths and began the day’s march. If they made good time, they would make it to the eve of the third dragon wall by sundown.
Behind him Shining Armor thought he heard Twilight telling Rainbow Dash the full story of why he swapped bodies with Storm, but he wasn't really listening. He needed some time to think about why every time he slept, he dreamed of murdering Twilight. Once had been a coincidence, but twice? Could it be due to keeping the shield up for a year? He hadn't had nightmares before he dropped the shield, so why start now? Could the first dream have been chance and the second caused by a terrormonger? The ward in the tree house was still blue. A side effect of swapping bodies with Storm? Possibly, but why?
Twilight was a citizen of Equestria, which meant he was sworn to protect her, even at the cost of his own life, being the personal protégé of the Princess gave the oath double weight, being his sister gave the oath more weight than could be measured; but what if he couldn't protect her from himself? Shining Armor pulled out his swords and examined their straight, clean edges. The swords from his dreams undoubtedly had hooks on the ends, were a different length, and had differently designed grips; it was a small, yet invigorating comfort. He needed more information; if he was in Canterlot he'd be hitting the library, but out here in the forest, his best chance of finding new information was talking to other Rangers.
Something flew towards Shining Armor from the dense foliage beside him. He swung around in what would have been just enough time to see the object smash into his face, if it hadn't been caught by Twilight's magic. Shining Armor recognized the clay jar as one of Zecora's, a quick revealment spell proved it was authentic and so taking the jar in his own magic he smashed it on the ground and walked through the cloud of mist followed by Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pyromite.
“Well, well, well, so it really is Silent Storm.” said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere in particular, “A slight improvement over a changeling... but only slight.” The voice's owner revealed itself to be a large black earth pony stallion in full body armor, that seemed to melt from the side of a tree. As soon as he showed himself, four more ponies also became visible, two pegasi and two more earth ponies. “Have you come back to face judgment for your crimes?” the black stallion asked as he began circling Shining Armor along with another earth pony who was the only mare of the group. The other three Rangers lined themselves opposite of Twilight, Dash and Pyromite and began forcing them backwards and away from Shining Armor. Pyromite gave off a low hiss, begging for permission to take down the pegasus opposite of him, but Twilight hushed him.
“I don't know what you’re talking about,” answered Shining Armor resolutely.
“You know the penalty for breaking your oaths. Don't try to run, this will go a lot easier if you just accept your punishment.”
“Choose your next words very carefully; I have not broken an oath in my life.”
“Then tell me it's not true!” ordered the stallion, still circling Shining Armor with increasing pace.
“Then tell what it is I've been accused of; and for crying out loud cut the second tier interrogation techniques!”
The black earth pony stopped directly in front of Shining Armor and stood hoof to hoof with him “They say when you were in Canterlot, you made contact with Denorious! You caused her to remember us, and now she's dead!”
“Dead?”
“Her body was found Tuesday morning. From the looks of things, she tore out her own mane and then throttled herself. Witnesses say that YOU met with her on Monday: a magic show and dinner it seems, maybe a roll in the hay afterward, depending on who you talk to. Whatever happened, Denorious is DEAD, and you're to blame!
The entire forest is out looking for you. You'll never make it to the fourth dragon wall alive, and if you try to run it won't matter how far you go, or how deeply you hide; the Rangers will find you and kill you. If you have any trace of honor left, you'll make this easy so we don't have to forfeit ground to the terrormongers wasting time looking for you.” The Black Stallion kicked his hoof against his knee and a razor blade slid from his shoe, “Any last words?”
Shining Armor stood dumbfounded. Could Storm have done the things the Ranger was describing? I had been so long since he had known him, maybe Storm had finally snapped. The Ranger brought back his hoof, ready to kick him under his armor “Wait!” he blurted out, “I'm not Silent Storm!”
The Ranger put his hoof back down and looked at him quizzically. “Of course you're not. You’re his twin brother, wearing a replica of his armor.”
“Storm and I had a body swap Monday night. I don't know anything about him meeting Denorious before then. I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard.”
“So you're some innocent bystander who swapped bodies with Storm an hour after he committed his heinous crime? I thought you were meant to be cleaver, Storm, unless guilt has eaten away at your mind until you don't even remember who you are.”
The black stallion raised back his hoof again; if Shining Armor did nothing, he had only seconds to live. If he died, chances of Cadance being rescued were slashed. If he fought these Rangers here and won, but even one escaped, word would spread and they would be attacked on sight by the Rangers from now on, making it almost impossible for him to reach Cadance alive. If he ran, Rangers who blamed him for the death of Denorious, would hunt him down to the ends of the earth, and invent a dramatically creative way to kill him. If he defended himself and killed the Rangers coming after him, he would weaken Equestria's borders and possibly destroy the nation he swore to protect.
What about Twilight? If he fought, she would fight to save him, and if she killed a Ranger, her fate would be the same as his. Could he manage to fight through both the Rangers and terrormongers to Storm and Cadance, reswap bodies with Storm and then let Storm take the punishment? Twilight would still have helped him, meaning she would still be hunted.
Thoughts of death flew through Shining Armor's mind; Cadance being found by terrormongers and dying tormented and alone. Twilight being tortured and killed by vengeful Rangers for her association with him. Equestria burning because too many Rangers had left their posts to pursue him, giving the terrormongers a chance to push their advantage.
Someone was laughing.
Everypony turned to see the rainbow maned pegasus snicker at his impending exaction. She thought this was funny!?
“When did you say Denorious's body was found? Tuesday morning, right?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk.
“Yes.” answered the black stallion warily.
“Well then it's rather impressive then that she was able to deliver my mail Wednesday at noon, don't you think? Even for Denorious it seems a little extreme to rise from the dead so she can deliver mail.”
“Who are you!?” yelled the black stallion, suddenly losing any interest in Shining Armor.
“My name's Rainbow Dash, former Captain of the Wonderbolts. Denorious delivered my mail yesterday and was just fine.”
“You’re a Ranger and yet you have regular contact with Denorious!?”
“I'm not a Ranger. I didn't even know about the Rangers before yesterday afternoon, or Denorious's past. I always just knew her as Derpy.”
The black stallion hesitated; strangely he didn't look very relieved to learn that Denorious was alive. “When you saw her, did you show any signs of change? Even the slightest?”
Rainbow gave a curious grin, “She was as Derpy as she could have been.”
“Did you think to check the reports that Denorious was dead before deciding to kill me?” demanded Shining Armor angrily.
“There are photos, in the Canterlot newspaper, of Denorious giving you a hug! Do you deny that!? Even if you didn't kill her, you still broke your oath and put Denorious in mortal jeopardy!”
“Storm saved her life!” retorted Rainbow, “Trixie had humiliated Denorious, and was going to kill her but Storm rescued her.”
“But he still presented himself to her. All it would take would be to see his face or hear his voice and-”
“Storm didn't let that happen!” blurted out Rainbow in excitement, jumping up and down as though she was only just realizing what she was saying “The whole time he never looked her in the face; and he put on a fake accent so she wouldn't recognize him. When I saw her two days later it was like nothing had happened. Storm is innocent.”
The black stallion sniffed the air and regarded Dash carefully, “How do you know this.”
“I was there; I helped Storm rescue Derpy, after that Storm took her to a safe place, and left immediately; and I know for a fact that he didn't go back to see her again, because after that,” she tossed her mane, “He was with me.”
The Ranger looked rather embarrassed; he thought for a few moments to make a response and the best he could come up with was; "...Are you sure about this?"
"Quite sure."
The black stallion backed away in a way that was as amusing and satisfying for Rainbow Dash as it was for Shining Armor. “I... apologize” he said to Shining Armor slowly and then to Rainbow Dash he added, “and if you helped Denorious then I owe you my thanks.” The other rangers quietly neighed in agreement. “If there's nothing else-” he turned to slink away in embarrassment.
“Oh no you don't!” growled Shining Armor once again sounding like the commander he was. “You get back here until I'm done with you.” The black stallion obeyed. “A few moments ago you were going to kill me, now I want some information in compensation for the lost time and irritation you have caused.”
“If I have it.” breathed the black stallion.
“Do you know specifically where Storm lives?”
“...your house?”
“As I said, I'm not Silent Storm, I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. It is imperative that we reach Storm's post as quickly as possible.”
“May I ask why?”
Briefly, very briefly, Shining Armor told him about keeping up the shield to increase his energy, his swap with Storm and the subsequent disappearance of Storm and Cadance through Storm's portgem. The black stallion listened intently and spoke the moment Shining Armor was finished “How strong will your body become if it is allowed to heal.”
“Unknown, it might be fifty percent, could be a hundred percent, could be more.”
“You could change the face of the war.” the black stallion breathed.
“Only if as we find our missing ponies before the terrormongers and changelings. Do you know where Storm's portgem leads to?”
“Recent dragon turnouts from Celestia's students have been good. The fifth dragon wall is almost complete and other Rangers are holding the few remaining gaps. Storm's moved on, to begin preparations for building a sixth dragon wall, about twenty miles south-east of the position Zecora mentioned.”
“When did he move?”
“At least four weeks ago.”
Shining Armor's hopes plummeted. Celestia had sent Storm a blank portgem for him to inscribe himself before beginning his journey to Canterlot. If he moved four weeks ago, then the portgem was almost definitely bound to his new location, placing him and Cadance as far as conceivably possible from safety. “Was anyone else with him at the new post?”
“What do you think? Of course there wasn't.”
“I don't get it,” interjected Rainbow Dash, “Why would Storm be so far into enemy territory with nopony to help him?”
“For Storm's lover you don't seem to know a whole lot about him so let me clue you in; Storm is a Ranger among Rangers. Most of the creatures he's met in his life have been terrormongers and changelings which he was trying to kill at the time, and ever since Silver Thorn ran afoul with a manticore, he hasn’t taken a single vacation, or attended any Ranger gathering that wasn't strictly business.
“Silver Thorn?” asked Rainbow suspiciously, noting the name obviously belonged to a mare.
“Storm's younger sister. They use to hunt together until she was killed in battle five years ago. Since then Storm has unvaryingly stood alone, at most dangerous parts of the forest. His special talent for stealth, allows him to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, ambushing small groups and avoiding any force too big for him to fight alone; and he always seems to know exactly when and where they're coming; it's like... it's like he has the ability to see the future or something.”
“What!?” gasped Shining Armor.
“Well there's gotta be some reason he's lasted this long on his own; knowing the size and strength of every enemy force before you met it is the only way I can think of that what he does could be possible; and his predictions about the larger war have always been uncannily accurate. It would explain a lot of other things about him too, like why he's so reclusive; maybe he just doesn’t like working with ponies who don't share his insights.” The black stallion looked between the company as though he were waiting for another question, when none came he changed the topic “That far into enemy territory will be crawling with resistance; you'll need help reaching Storm and Cadance before the terrormongers do; we'll spread word and put together additional search parties and meet you at Storm's last known coordinates.”
“What are those?” asked Twilight.
The black stallion repeated the coordinates and then retracted the blade from his hoof. “Silently defending the guests of ignorance” he declared and then galloped off into the forest, followed by the rest of his team.
Shining Armor watched them disappear and then turned to Twilight, “You need to go back, now.”
“No.”
“This is not open for negotiation. Go back to Ponyville. That's an order.”
“B.B.” She said softly “Storm and Cadance being further out then we first thought means you need my help more than ever, not less. I'm not leaving.”
“It's not safe.”
“But it's safe for you?”
“I-”
“I'm not frightened, and as long as we're together I know we'll make it. There's not a pony in this world that I would rather have watching my back then you.”
Rainbow Dash watched as Twilight moved forwards and gave her brother a hug before he had the chance to try and send her home again. Shining Armor stood unmoved, but after a long pause, stiffly returned her hug; under his helmet however his eyes were wide and staring and his face seemed to be turning an interesting shade of green.
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I imagine the switching timeliness of Storm's dreams and Shining Armor's memories may make some of the characters ages difficult to follow
so let me spell it out: 
At the time of the story SA is 31, Twilight is 25, Cadance is 34, Storm is 29, RD is 23.
Storm and Silver were orphaned when he was 10 and she was 7, they lived on the streets for 2 years, with Straight Hack for 4 years and then joined the Rangers when Storm was 16 and Silver was 13. (Storm joined immediately and Silver joined a year later, mostly so she could be with her brother.)
Twilight started setting SA and Cadance up on improve dates when SA was 18, Cadance was 22 and Twi was 12. 2 years later Twilight joined Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and SA joined the Rangers where he met Storm for the first time.
Note: this is all guessed/invented by me, I'm not getting the ages from anywhere official. And I'm anthropomorphizing them to human life spans as real horses are mature at 3 yrs and dead of old age by 25.
1674202
Thanks again
1744260
Fair enough, but just for the record I'm planning a sequel where Zecora plays a much larger role. You also find out she has a daughter ten years older then Shining Armor who she left in the Zaharen, for her own safety, when she fled the country.
And now we have backstory! Ooh how I love them
Gives me details that I like to focus on
I love this and very much want more
2029642
I tend to write this in big blocks at the time instead of chapter by chapter. I haven't been feeling well for a long time (otherwise I'd probably be done) but I hope to release the next 5-6 chapters in the next couple of weeks. After that all that will be left will be the finale and the wrapping up.
I'd say this story is
aweso-- Punctually Remarkable :D
Ok, if Batman McJaeger pants The Ever Broodful has a pinkie sense I'm gonna find a way to strangle you psychically. One overbuilt and overdone character(this fics derpy/ditzy/muffin) was hard enough to swallow, Don't need to overdo another.