Deep in the Everfree Forest a pony lay still. They stirred, and his eyes started to open slowly. As he woke up, he placed a hoof on his aching head and looked around. He saw a shallow pool and got up, and trotted over to it. He took a few quick gulps of water then waited for the water to settle. When it did, he saw a grey and black pony with a matching mane, and storm-grey eyes looking back at him. He also noticed the wings and storm cloud mark on his flank.

“What is going on?” he wondered as he continued to look at his reflection. He tried as hard as he could to remember who he was but nothing came up. As he looked around the clearing he had woken up in, he decided to try to find someone to talk to and see if he could uncover anything about himself.

He spread his wings and took off, amazed at how easily he could fly. He glided over the trees, and noticed a stream, and a ruined old castle that wasn't very far from where he woke up. He found a path, and flew over it so he wouldn't get lost. As he looked around he spotted a town up ahead. He continued flying until he spotted a sign on the ground below. He glided down and landed next to it, hoping it might tell him where he was. Before he could read it however, he noticed a pink pony looking at him. When she saw him looking she immediately gasped and dashed away.

He wondered why she ran away as he walked into the town that the sign had said was called Ponyville. He felt some familiarity with this place but only for a few seconds. As he wandered around he heard his own stomach growl. He looked around and spotted some apple trees, and flew over to get a couple of the apples. Before he could even get close to one, a rope wrapped around his legs and he was pulled from the air.

“What in tarnation do ya think you're doin'!” a pony with three red apples on her flank demanded.

“I was just trying to get some food,” he replied, his voice deep yet soft.

“Well all ya had to do was ask!” she said as she untied his legs.

He stood up and got a better look at her. She was an orange pony with blonde hair that was tied back instead of flowing freely. He also noticed that she wore a hat on her head. She was looking at him with an apologetic look, then she kicked the tree next to him and some apples fell to the ground. He picked one up and rubbed off the dirt before taking a bite.

“Thank you,” said the pony between mouthfuls.

As he ate he heard a whoosh and before he could react he was tackled to the ground. When he opened his eyes again he saw a cyan colored pony with a rainbow mane. She sat there rubbing her head with her hoof while he got up and the orange pony sat there laughing.

“Rainbow Dash what were ya trying to do!?” she asked between giggles.

“I was trying out a new trick and I couldn't pull up in time. It's not funny Applejack,” she replied with a grimace.

When she opened her eyes and saw him she asked, "Who are you?"

“I can't remember,” he replied as he frowned. That comment wiped the looks off their faces in a heartbeat. They stood there staring at the newcomer and wondered if they should really be around him. Rainbow Dash thought he looked like he might belong with the Wonder Bolts because of his storm cloud cutie mark, but she had never heard of a Wonder Bolt who had grey eyes.

“Maybe we should take you to see Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she stopped staring.

“Who's that?” he asked with an inquisitive look.

“She's one of our friends. She might be able to help ya with your memory problem,” Applejack replied.

“Oh, okay,” he said, hoping that this Twilight pony might be able to help him.

“Ah can’t go because Ah have to keep harvestin’ the apples,” Applejack said with another apologetic look.

“I’ll show him where it is,” Rainbow Dash said without hesitation. She spread her wings and jumped into the air, and he hastily followed. She was pretty fast but he managed to keep up with her and it wasn’t very long before they reached the library. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door which was soon answered by a small green and purple dragon.

“Hey Rainbow Dash. Who’s your friend?” he asked when he laid eyes on the new pony.

“That’s what I’m here to try and find out,” he said.

“Who’s at the door Spike?” asked a voice which he presumed belonged to Twilight.

Before he could answer, a purple unicorn walked up behind him. She looked up from Spike to see Rainbow Dash standing beside a pony she had never seen before. His storm grey eyes caught her off guard for a moment, but she quickly got over the feeling.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, your friend Applejack said you might be able to help me,” he said.

“With what?” she asked, wondering what could be wrong with him.

“I have no recollection of anything and I need help remembering,” he replied.

“I’m sorry but I don’t know any spells that deal with memory loss,” she said with a frown.

“I guess I better keep looking then,” he said as he opened his wings, and she got a look at the storm cloud cutie mark on his flank.

“Maybe you should continue looking tomorrow. It’s getting dark right now,” Twilight said as he made a move to jump into the air.

“He could stay with me. I have plenty of room in my house,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Really?” he asked with a surprised look.

“Ya! Anypony who can keep up with me is good in my book,” she replied with a smile.

“Thanks,” he replied, looking tired and relieved. They left and he followed Rainbow Dash through the air to her home. It was made of clouds so he wasn’t sure at first if it would hold, but when he landed, he found it as firm as the ground below. She led him to a spare room that she said she had made for her old friend Gilda the Griffon, but since she didn’t see much of her anymore, he could use it. He walked over to the window and looked out to see a tower in the distance.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the tower with his hoof.

“That’s Canterlot. It’s where Twilight used to live before she came here,” she replied when she saw what he was pointing at. At the mention of Canterlot, a memory flashed through his mind of a pony in grey armor. The memory quickly passed and left him wondering who it had been. He looked at the tower thoughtfully as Rainbow Dash left the room to go to sleep. He continued looking for a few minutes before getting into bed himself and drifting off to sleep.

While he slept he dreamed of the pony in grey armor that he had seen. He was walking along a hallway with the other pony at his side. He looked over and saw that it was a filly and that she looked almost exactly like him. The only difference was the mark on her flank which was a storm cloud like his except it had a bolt of lightning with it.

She looked up at him and asked, “Why do you have to go big brother?”

“I have to help the others get rid of that dragon.” he replied.

“But you might get hurt!” she said with fear in her voice.

“Don’t worry little sis, I’ll be fine.” he replied with a smile.

Suddenly the dream started to distort. He struggled to keep a hold of it but it slipped away as he was awoken by a knocking on the bedroom door. He got up and walked to the door. On his way he looked in the mirror and saw that his mane had gotten messed up during his sleep. He quickly grabbed a brush and combed it into what looked usual for him, spiked a bit up front and straight as it went back. He got to the door and opened it to see Rainbow Dash waiting for him.

“What is it?” He asked.

“I came to see if you were awake.” hhe replied.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“Ya, do you want to go meet my other friends?” she asked.

“Sure.” he replied, though his mind still wandered back to his dream. She led him outside and took off into the air with him following close behind. She led him through Ponyville and he got quite a few strange looks from the ponies in town. They finally arrived at a place called the “Carousel Boutique” and Rainbow Dash led him inside. When he entered he looked around and saw all sorts of dresses and clothes displayed on mannequins. He spotted a white unicorn working on a dress and walked over to her with Rainbow Dash close behind.

“Hey Rarity.” Rainbow Dash said when they got close.

The unicorn jumped at first but turned around with a smile on her face.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. Who’s your new friend?” she asked.

“Well he can’t remember his name so I don’t know what to call him.” Dash replied.

“Well it’s nice to meet you anyway.” Rarity said and held out her hoof. He shook her hoof then continued to look around at the dresses. As he browsed around, Rainbow Dash talked with Rarity.

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Rarity whispered so the stranger wouldn’t hear her.

“Does he look evil to you?” Rainbow Dash countered.

“Well no, but you can never be too safe.” Rarity replied. They continued on for a few minutes then Rainbow Dash took him back outside and led him toward Fluttershy’s house. When they arrived they found Fluttershy talking to her pet bunny and when she turned around to greet Rainbow Dash she froze at the sight of the newcomer.

“It’s ok Fluttershy, he’s friendly.” Rainbow Dash said when she saw the shy pony’s reaction.

She relaxed a little bit and gave a feeble “hello.”

“This is Fluttershy.” Dash said, introducing the stranger to her friend.

“Nice to meet you.” he said. She gave a feeble nod and he decided it was probably best to not scare her any further. He turned around and walked toward Twilight’s library to talk to her about his dream and see if she could understand anything about it.

“Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’m going to see your friend Twilight and talk to her about something.” he replied.

“Ok, I’ll cya later then.” she said.

As he walked through Ponyville he looked around. There weren’t any ponies around, but he didn’t think about it very much, and just continued on his way to the library. He finally reached the library and opened the door. To his surprise, he was greeted by what looked like everypony in Ponyville. Even Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there. Before he could think about it, the Pink Pony he had seen when he was reading the sign came out of nowhere and yelled, “Surprise!”

“What’s going on?” he asked in bewilderment.

“I threw a party for you! I’ve never seen you before so that means you’re new here, because I know everypony in Ponyville, so since you’re new I threw a welcome party for you!” she said very quickly without even pausing to take a breath. “I’m Pinkie Pie. You’ve already met my friends and from what they tell me, you can’t remember your name.” she continued.

“Yes that’s right.” he said.

“Maybe we could give you a name until you remember yours!” she said excitedly.

“No it’s fine. I’ll just wait until I can remember it.” he replied, thinking of what names this pony might come up with.

“Awwww.” she said with a pout on her face. He enjoyed meeting all the other ponies but he tried to avoid Pinkie Pie as much as possible for fear that she might try to name him anyway. He managed to talk to Twilight about his dream and she said that it might be that his memories are starting to come back to him. He hoped that this was the case and that his brain wasn’t just teasing him with the memories just out of his reach.

When he was finished talking with her, he went back downstairs and talked with some of the other ponies. While he talked he also ate some cake and had some punch with the other ponies. When the party was finally over, everypony started to leave until Pinkie Pie was the last one. He shook hoofs with her in goodbye but got a tiny electric shock from it. He looked and saw that she had a joy-buzzer on her hoof. She looked surprised when he didn’t pull his hoof away because the buzzer usually did that to everypony. She didn’t think it even fazed him until she saw the curious look on his face.

“That was the best party ever!” she said with her usual smile when she finally walked out the door.

He waited for her to get out of earshot then said, “Please tell me she doesn’t do that all the time.”

“She doesn’t. Just on special occasions.” Rainbow Dash replied with a giggle. He smiled then walked outside.

“Where you going now?” Dash said as she followed him out.

“Oh nowhere. Just going to fly around and maybe look at some of the scenery.” he replied.

“Ok then.” she said, then turned and walked back inside. He spread his wings and flew as high into the air as he could. He looked in amazement at how small the buildings and trees in Ponyville had become. He raised his head a bit and saw a few mountains in the distance. He gazed at them for a while before turning to look at the tower that Rainbow Dash had identified as Canterlot. He thought about flying over to it but then he saw something fly away from the tower. He followed it with his eyes and saw that it was heading toward the Everfree Forest. It flew over the forest and would occasionally pause at points as if looking around. It continued like this for about an hour then gave up and flew back to Canterlot.

When nothing else appeared from Canterlot he flew back down to find Rainbow Dash waiting for him.

“Want to race back to my house?” she asked.

“Sure, I could do with something to do.” he replied. They both zoomed off toward Dash’s house. He came very close to beating her but she put on a burst of speed to get ahead of him.

“Well that was fun.” she said when they reached her home.

“Sure was.” he agreed. They were both tired from the race but while Dash headed straight for bed, he simply walked to the window in his room and looked up at the tower of Canterlot. He continued to wonder about the strange thing he had seen fly over Everfree Forest. It had looked like it was looking for something. He thought about it for a few minutes before finally getting into bed and drifted asleep.

This time he dreamed that he was walking along a corridor with a pony who he didn’t know. The pony was leading him to a door that was guarded by two Pegasus ponies who were dressed in gold armor with blue plumes and light blue stars on the chests.

“I’m sorry about forcing you into this mission Storm Shadow.” the pony in front of him said.

“It’s just that we need as many good soldiers as we can get so we can get rid of the dragon, and you’re one of the best I know.” he continued.

“I could probably be of better use if there was a storm.” Storm Shadow replied.

“Yes, you and your sister Aerial have that odd ability whenever a storm occurs.” he replied.

“I’m not surprised you didn’t put her in the mission as well. She is a great flyer and all but unless there was a storm she wouldn’t be able to dodge a dragon for long.” he said.

“Yes and that is especially important in this mission. While others distract the dragon we need someone to get close enough to use shrinking powder on it.” he replied.

The guards opened the door for them and they walked into a room that was lined with armor. There were already a few ponies in the room that were helping each other get their armor on. The pony in front of him led him into a side room where there were only two sets of armor that were both a dark grey color. The other pony helped him get his armor on and he found that the armor fit perfectly and almost matched his coat and mane.

As the last piece of armor was being fitted, Storm Shadow jerked back to reality to the sound of thunder outside the window. He looked out the window and, sure enough, there was a storm outside. He galloped out of his room and went outside. The second he was outside he could feel a surge of strength. His coat and mane darkened in color, and his wings became noticeably larger. He thought that this must be the ability that he and his sister possessed. He spread his wings and took off. Smiling at how much faster he had become thanks to the storm around him. He inspected his coat and, instead of its usual grey and black coloring, it had become a very dark grey that matched the storm clouds above him. He looked back at the house and saw Rainbow Dash fly outside looking around frantically. He smiled and flew down to her.

“Miss me?” he said when he was right above her. She started to say something but froze when she saw him.

“What happened to you?” she stammered. He smiled and simply replied by saying.

“This is my special ability.” She simply gawked at how his wings had grown and his much darker coat and mane.

“I also remembered my name finally.” he said when she calmed down a bit.

“Really? What is it?” she asked.

“Storm Shadow.” he replied. She didn’t have to think about why he was named that. His coat and mane matched the color of the storm clouds exactly. If he had been farther away she doubted she would have seen him.

“Let’s go see Twilight and see what she thinks.” he said with a smile.

“Okay. I’ll race you there.” Dash replied, thinking that she could still beat him. She was wrong. He had been fast before but when a storm hits? There’s no getting past him. He rocketed past her with ease, and it still seemed like he could go even faster. He let her catch up, and smiled at her as the wind whipped his hair back.

They arrived at Twilight’s house shortly after, and knocked on the door. Twilight opened the door and started asking questions almost the instant she saw Storm Shadow. He calmly answered the ones that he could, and before long she was satisfied, and they went inside. When Storm Shadow got out of the storm his coat and mane changed back, and his wings became normal again.

Twilight gasped and said, “so you ARE a storm pegasus!”

“What’s a storm pegasus?” he asked.

“A storm pegasus is a pegasus who has special abilities when the weather is stormy. They are usually identified by their cutie marks, which always involve storm clouds. I thought they had died out.” she explained.

“Well apparently not because my sister and I are alive.” he said

“But you don’t know if your sister is alive.” she replied with concern.

“Yes I do. She must’ve been the one looking for me in the Everfree Forest.” he said as he remembered the thing that had been flying over the forest.

“So that’s why you were up there so long.” Dash said, remembering yesterday when he was gone for over an hour. When Storm Shadow got around to mentioning that he was some sort of guard, Twilight instantly thought about the Summer Sun Celebration.

“Maybe we should take you to the Summer Sun Celebration next week.” she said as soon as she could.

“Why? What would be there?” he asked with curiosity.

“Your sister might be there. Princess Celestia always has guards nearby during the celebration so there is a possible chance that your sister could be one of them.” she explained.

“Really?” he asked with a smile.

“Ya, it’s never the same guards two years in a row. They always rotate.” she replied.

At the time, Twilight had no idea how right she was.

Aerial was just getting back from her patrol when one of the captains beckoned her over. She went over to him with an impatient look on her face.

“The commander wanted me to notify you that you will be one of Celestia’s guards during the Summer Sun Celebration.” he said.

“What!?” she exclaimed. “I can’t be one of her guards! I need to be looking for my brother!” She continued. He sighed and explained something to her.

“Aerial you’ve been searching that forest for over a year with no success. Storm Shadow is gone and you have to accept that.”

Her eyes started to tear up at the thought of her brother. He had been missing ever since the battle with the dragon. She had been searching for him above the forest every day after they came back with only his armor. She believed that if they found no body then he must still be alive somewhere in the forest. She finally sighed and replied.

“Fine. I’ll go to the Summer Sun Celebration and do my job, but I’m looking for him again as soon as it’s over.” He only sighed again and let her go on her way. She got to the armory and went into the room where they kept her armor. She looked to the right and saw her brother’s armor displayed in a glass case. It had been fully repaired and placed back in this room. She calmly took off her own armor and placed it where it belonged before walking over to the case. The armor was a dark grey color that was supposed to match his coat during a storm, when it would turn dark and blend perfectly with the clouds. Her armor was the same way though she didn’t need it for the additional camouflage. She knew that she and her brother were a rare kind of pegasus called a storm pegasus. That was why they had special abilities whenever there was a storm. Celestia had helped raise them when their own mother had left them at the castle. Nopony had been able to find their parents so they could only assume they were the last of their kind. With one last look at the armor, she left the armory and went back to her room to get some rest.

Storm Shadow stood outside Rainbow Dash’s house, looking at the mountains that rose out of the forest in the distance. A memory had flashed into his mind of a fight with a dragon. He had managed to get shrinking powder into its mouth but it had clubbed him in the head with its tail before it could get too small. He thought that this must have been the cause of his memory loss. He tore his gaze from the mountains to look at Canterlot. He imagined seeing his sister again and the thought made him smile.

He looked up to see some pegasi clearing the sky. His coat and wings returned to normal as the storm slowly died down. He looked back down at the forest, wondering if he could regain any of his memories by going in. He decided to give it a try and flew to the edge of Ponyville as quietly as he could. He landed on the path and started to walk through the forest. He wandered through the forest until he came to a river. He looked to his left and was surprised to see a large sea serpent with a moustache calmly eating some sort of stones. He quietly flew to the other side of the river so he wouldn’t disturb the serpent. He continued walking and eventually came upon a bridge that looked as if it was over a hundred years old. He decided not to test its strength and instead used his wings to cross to the other side. He looked up as he landed and was surprised to see a very old castle looming up in front of him. The battlements were crumbling and vines were slowly conquering the walls. He flew up to one of the towers to see how big the castle was. As he flew he noticed a light coming from a different tower nearby. He flew over to investigate. He hovered just outside the window and peeked in.

A unicorn with a dark purple coat and a dark blue mane lay inside, reading a book that looked as old as the castle itself. He managed to spot the mark on the unicorn’s flank. It was a black wand with a fireball coming out of it. Suddenly the unicorn whipped around. Storm Shadow froze as the pony looked at him with startling royal blue eyes. He must have blended in with the remaining storm clouds because the unicorn simply frowned and went back to his book. After a few moments a light blue pony came in through the open door.

“What is it?” the unicorn asked impatiently.

“We haven’t been able to find the storm pegasus sir.” he said.

“Well you must keep looking.” he replied calmly.

“Yes sir.” the pony said and walked out of the room.

“I need that storm pegasus. If that dragon knocked him unconscious then there is a possibility that he is suffering from amnesia and I could use that to my advantage. The powers of a storm pegasus are unrivaled by all but the princesses or another storm pegasus.” the unicorn muttered silently to himself as he read. Another pony then came into the room, this one being a dark red color.

“Any luck on finding the storm pegasus Arcane?” she asked.

“No, and I would rather you address me by my full name.” he replied, fixing her with a stare.

“Well sorry for going with an easier name, Mr. Arcane Darkness sir.” she said without trying to hide her sarcasm. He simply smiled a little as his horn began to glow and lifted the other pony into the air.

“Is my name really that difficult? I would think so with the amount of sarcasm you put into that statement.” he said, still smiling as the pony thrashed about in mid-air with a look of terror on her face.

“I’m sorry! Please just put me down.” she pleaded.

“Very well, but watch what you say next time.” he said as he let her crash to the floor. She quickly got up and dashed out of the room, and he just kept smiling, and chuckled to himself as she left. By the time Arcane returned to his book, Storm Shadow was already halfway back to Rainbow Dash’s house.

He arrived at Dash’s house breathing heavily. She hadn’t even come back yet so he could rest and think about what he had seen. The unicorn was obviously looking for him, but why? He kept thinking about it until Dash came home.

“Where have you been?” she asked when she spotted him.

“Oh I just went for a little bit of a walk.” he lied, hoping that she wouldn’t question as to where.

“Oh, okay,” she simply replied, and went to bed. He breathed a sigh of relief before heading to his room. He was exhausted from flying back so quickly. As he climbed into bed he thought about the Summer Sun Celebration. If his sister did attend as a guard then he would have to keep an eye out for her. He smiled at the thought of seeing her again as sleep took a hold on him.

Storm Shadow did not sleep well that night. His dreams were invaded by the unsettling smile that the unicorn had worn. He could not stop thinking about why they would be looking for him. When he finally awoke the next morning, he decided to go to Twilight and see if she knew anything about Arcane Darkness. He combed his mane then walked outside. There were a few clouds in the sky but nothing else to show that there was even a storm yesterday. He spread his wings, and started to fly to Twilight’s place. When he reached her home, he looked up, and saw that the sun was just breaking the horizon. He thought about coming back later but decided against it, seeing that he was already here. He cautiously knocked on the door and waited a minute. He was about to knock again when Twilight opened it.

“Oh, hello Storm Shadow, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m here to ask you something.” he replied.

“What is it?” she asked calmly.

“Do you know anything about a pony that goes by the name “Arcane Darkness”?” he said. She gasped and looked around, as if Arcane would appear out of thin air.

“How do you know that name?” she hissed as she pulled him inside.

“I saw him while I was in the Everfree Forest yesterday.” he replied with concern.

“You SAW him!?” she exclaimed with fear in her voice.

“Yes, he was in one of the towers of the castle that’s in the forest.” he replied.

“This is not good. The last time Arcane was spotted, Princess Celestia had guards posted everywhere around the town.” she said as she searched her shelves for a book with a frantic expression on her face.

“What’s so bad about him?” he asked.

“What’s so bad about him?” she repeated. “He is one of the most dangerous ponies that Equestria has ever known!”

“What did he do?” he asked.

“He tried to take over Canterlot. Princess Celestia was barely been able to stop him. Now that Princess Luna is back, he won’t be able to try again unless he finds extremely powerful allies.” she said.

“I heard him talking with another pony about me. Apparently he is looking for me for some reason.” he said.

“Of course he is looking for you. Do you have any idea how powerful a storm pegasus can be?” she asked.

“No.” he replied.

“Well they are the strongest kind of pony out there. The only ponies who are stronger are the princesses themselves, though the other two elemental pegasi are very close behind.” she explained.

“Elemental pegasi?” he asked curiously.

“Yes, there were three different elemental pegasi that were known to exist. Storm, fire, and ice.” she said.

“So he’s searching for me to try and use me against the princesses?” he asked.

“Most likely.” she said. He thought about this for a second before turning around to leave.

“Where are you going?” Twilight asked.

“Just going to clear my head.” he replied.

“Well stay away from the forest.” she said.

“Don’t worry; I can take care of myself.” he said with a grin as he walked outside.

Arcane wandered through the abandoned halls of the castle. He and his followers had only moved into it a week ago and it was already looking better. The cobwebs were removed and there wasn’t nearly as much dust as there had been. He had told them to ignore the outside of the castle because it would attract less attention without being cleaned. He thought about the storm pegasus that somehow kept eluding his search parties. Perhaps he had found their way to Ponyville. Considering this might be the most likely possibility, he decided to practice his new shape-shifting spell. He had been studying the spell for a few weeks but had never gotten the chance to try it out. He concentrated for what seemed like a few minutes and when he opened his eyes his coat was a light blue color. He walked over to a mirror that hung on a nearby wall and saw that his mane had turned red but his eyes still remained their usual royal blue color. He tried a few different colors and even managed to turn himself into a pegasus. He smiled at the wings and flapped them a couple times before changing back to a unicorn. Being a pegasus just felt too unnatural for him. He concentrated again and opened his eyes to find that his coat and mane were back to their natural colors. Suddenly he remembered his cutie mark. He concentrated on it and when he looked, it had changed to a gardening trowel.

“So it even works on cutie marks eh?” he muttered to himself. He changed it back to its usual black wand and fireball combo then continued down the hall. As he rounded a corner he heard somepony walking up behind him. He turned to see one of his captains.

“What is it this time?” he asked.

“Sir, one of my scouts saw a pegasus flying over the Everfree Forest. It looked like it was looking for something.” the captain replied.

“What did the pegasus look like?” Arcane asked, intrigued because the pegasus could possibly be the storm pegasus that he was looking for.

“He couldn’t tell sir. They were flying to high for him to make out any markings or colors.” he answered, and Arcane sighed.

“Very well. Go back to whatever you were doing.” he replied. The captain bowed and walked away.

Arcane continued through the halls when he passed a door that led to the kitchens. He decided to get some food and went through the door. When he entered he found around a dozen chef ponies working on different meals for guards and the other ponies in the castle. He searched around until he spotted a tan colored pony with a dark brown mane.

“Hello Cookie Crisp.” Arcane said as he walked up. Cookie Crisp jumped at the sound, but turned with a smile to Arcane. He was one of the few ponies who didn’t cringe whenever Arcane approached them.

“Hello sir. Would you like anything?” he asked, gesturing to a plate covered with various desserts. Arcane simply nodded and used his magic to grab a plate from a nearby pile. The other chefs turned to look at him, some with worried looks and some with fairly blank faces. He picked through the assorted treats on Crisp’s plate, picking out some of his favorites, including the ponies signature cookies which were surprisingly made with bits of carrot along with the chocolate chips.

“Thank you Cookie Crisp.” he said as he walked out of the kitchen. Cookie Crisp responded with a wave and a smile as he returned to his work.

As Arcane started walking back to his study, he ate one of the cookies that he had picked. He was surprised at how well the carrot went with the chocolate.

“I’ll have to get these more often.” he thought as he started up the stairway that led to his study.

When he was inside his study, he set down the plate then looked through his shelves of various books. He spotted the one on shape-shifting, and used his horn to levitate it off the shelf and down to him, so he could read it. He flipped through the pages until he found the point he had left off when he had finished reading last time. He got to the point where it told that the only thing he couldn’t change was his eye color. He frowned at this but decided it wouldn’t matter much anyway. Nopony would recognize him just by his eyes, since he hadn’t been seen by anypony besides his followers in 5 years.

He continued to toy around with the spell as he ate some more of the cookies. He changed his mane, coat, and cutie mark countless times. He rarely changed into a pegasus or earth pony simply because it felt so unnatural for him when he didn’t have a horn. Once he even managed to turn himself into an alicorn but quickly changed back since he knew it wouldn’t do any good unless he changed into Princess Luna. When he thought of it he froze. He concentrated on the last image he had of her. When he opened his eyes, he trotted over to a mirror. Looking back at him was almost a perfect replica of Princess Luna. Even the mane was moving as if it was in water. The only things missing were the eye color and the moon pendant she wore around her neck. He laughed aloud as he changed back.

“If I can replicate one of the princesses, what chance is there that anypony will recognize me?” he thought to himself. He decided to go into ponyville tomorrow then levitated another cookie to his mouth. He walked back to his book, and continued to read.

Storm Shadow lay on a cloud high over ponyville. He had been thinking about how Twilight reacted about the pony he had seen in the castle. If Arcane was really as bad as she said he is, he would have to be very careful if he went into the forest again. He looked toward the sun, and saw that it was beginning to sink below the horizon. He got up and stretched before jumping off the cloud, and using his wings to glide down to Dash’s house. He landed to find a tired looking Rainbow Dash just getting out the door.

“Hey Dash.” he said.

“Oh hey Storm Shadow. I was just coming out to look for you.” she said, trying to look like she wasn’t tired. She wasn’t doing a very good job in his opinion.

“You should be getting some rest.” he said.

“I’m fine!” she insisted.

“No you’re not. Now come on before you collapse.” he said and gave her a nudge to get her going.

“Oh fine.” she grumbled but she didn’t argue.

He smiled at her then walked to his own room. As he watched the last of the sun’s rays disappear, his thoughts once again returned to his sister. Would he be able to recognize her among the guards during the celebration? He convinced himself that he could because the armor sets he had seen in his dream the previous night had been grey, while the armor that the other ponies had been using was white. He climbed into bed and quickly dozed off to sleep.

Storm Shadow awoke in a small clearing. He looked around, and recognized it as the same clearing he had been in only a few days before. He jumped to his feet, and looked around frantically. He tried to fly but his wings wouldn’t obey.

“Calm down Storm Shadow.” said a calm voice from behind him.

He whirled around to see a grey pony with a jet black mane. His storm-grey eyes regarded him thoughtfully.

“Who are you?” Storm Shadow asked, and the pony laughed.

“I’m not surprised that you don’t know. The last time you saw me was when you and your sister were very young foals. I am your father Storm Shadow.” he replied.

“W-w-what!?” he replied, barely able to speak.

“You seem surprised.” he said with a smile. Storm Shadow just sat in the grass too stunned to say anything.

“I suppose I should explain about abandoning you at Canterlot.” the pony continued.

“Our own home was being threatened and you were too young to get involved. I sent your mother to Canterlot, to leave you in the care of the princesses because it was the safest thing for you. In fact I’m not even here. I died during the battle shortly after your mother returned. But my spirit stayed, and I’ve been following you two ever since.” he explained.

“Why are you appearing to me now?” Storm Shadow asked angrily.

“I’m sorry I haven’t appeared before but this is urgent. It is about Arcane Darkness.” he said. Storm Shadow simply waited for him to continue without saying anything.

“Arcane is possibly the worst pony in Equestria’s history. He almost took over Canterlot not long before you were born. I am here because you are one of the ponies who will defeat him.” he said.

“One of them?” Storm Shadow replied.

“Yes, there are three others. One of them you know already while the other two will be found in time.” he said. The dream started to distort and pieces of the ground fell away. “There isn’t much time. You must find your sister. If either of you is captured by Arcane, it could mean the end of Equestria!” he said as he turned to leave.

“DAD!” Storm Shadow yelled, but the pony had already disappeared into the trees.

He woke up and placed his hooves against his forehead, thinking about his dream. Who were the other two ponies his father had mentioned? His father said that they would be found in time. Did that mean they would come to him or would he have to search for them? He pushed these thoughts out of his head and instead focused on getting through the day and getting closer to the Summer Sun Celebration.

He poked his head out the door and looked around. There was no sign of Rainbow Dash so he figured that she was still asleep. He carefully walked down the hall then went outside. The sky was clear except for a few stray clouds that the pegasi had left. He glided off the cloud and touched down near the center of the town. He looked around and noticed that there weren’t very many ponies out and about. He watched a few of them until he looked toward a pony that was looking directly at him. The pony looked normal with his yellow coat and blue mane but the eyes startled him. They were royal blue. The exact same shade as the unicorn he had seen in the castle. But this pony couldn’t be Arcane. It wasn’t even a unicorn, but a pegasus. The pony smiled and waved at him when he saw him looking. He gave a feeble wave in return then walked off.

Twilight woke from her nap, and wandered over to the window. She saw Storm Shadow wave to a pegasus she had never seen before. The pegasus had a yellow coat and blue mane and his cutie mark was a gardening trowel. As Storm Shadow walked away, the pegasus followed him with his eyes. Twilight gasped when she saw them. She had seen that royal blue before. It had been long ago but she was sure those eyes belonged to Arcane Darkness.

“I have to warn Storm Shadow!” she thought to herself as she ran downstairs and out the door. She ran past a lot of ponies before she finally reached Storm Shadow. He was resting on a bench when she reached him.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” he asked.

“That pegasus you waved at. He was Arcane Darkness! I don’t know how. He must have found some sort of transformation spell but I know those eyes anywhere.” she got out between breaths.

“Well is there anything that we can do to stop him?” he said, jumping off the bench as he did so. She waited a moment to get her breath back.

“If I can get the others then we could try using the Elements of Harmony on him.” she said.

“The Elements of Harmony?” he asked.

“We used them to defeat Nightmare Moon.” she explained.

“Ok, sounds like a good idea, I’ll keep an eye on him.” he replied.

He stayed where he was while Twilight left to gather up her friends.

She hadn’t been gone long when he noticed the pegasus from earlier sitting nearby. His royal blue eyes kept glancing over at him when he thought he wasn’t looking.

Twilight quickly gathered up her friends and they put on their necklaces that bore the same symbols as their cutie marks. Twilight quickly put on her tiara then they all followed her to where Storm Shadow was waiting. The instant the six ponies came around the corner, the pegasus who was watching Storm Shadow raised an eyebrow.

“It’s over Arcane. We know it’s you.” Twilight said. The pegasus smiled and clapped his hooves together, his coat and mane darkening while the wings disappeared and a horn appeared on his head. The cutie mark was last and Storm Shadow watched as it slowly morphed into a black wand and fireball.

“Very good Twilight Sparkle. Very good indeed.” he said. She took a step back, surprised that he knew her name.

“How do you know my name..?” she asked uneasily.

“I am kept well informed about everything that goes on in Canterlot. Including Princess Celestia’s students.” he answered with a smile. The smile snapped Twilight out of her stupor and she closed her eyes. Her friends began to float into the air and their necklaces began to glow.

“Going to try the Elements? Be my guest.” Arcane said with an almost bored tone to his voice. Twilight opened her eyes that were now glowing, then the elements shot a rainbow of energy at Arcane. His horn began to glow as the rainbow sped toward him. The rainbow collided with something about 5 feet in front of him and died.

“How..?” Twilight asked as she and her friends came back down to the ground.

“I’ve studied the Elements for YEARS Twilight. I know how to defend myself, or haven’t you noticed that my special talent is combat magic?” he said with a grin on his face. Ponies around them began to scream and flee in terror from Arcane.

“Well if that’s all you’re going to try then I’m afraid your time is done.” he said, still smiling as his horn glowed and a fireball began to form.

“NO! You won’t hurt them!” Storm Shadow yelled defiantly as he jumped in front of his friends.

“Oh so the storm pegasus is FRIENDS with you ponies is he? Pity. I could have used you.” he said. The fireball launched towards them. Storm Shadow stamped his hooves on the ground in defiance. As the fireball grew closer something unexpected happen. The clear sky suddenly turned cloudy and lightning flashed down and crisscrossed in front of Storm Shadow. The fireball collided with it and dispersed. Rainbow Dash flinched back from the dying flames.

“You can control lightning! That’s rare even for a storm pegasus!” Twilight said in awe. Arcane took a step back, looking slightly worried now.

“No matter. Let’s see what you think of this!” he said, regaining his composure. His horn began to glow again, and a pony made of shadows appeared in front of him. The shadow pony launched itself at them, leaving darkness in its wake.

“Here’s what I think of your fancy pony!” Storm Shadow yelled, sending a bolt of lightning after it. The lightning struck the pony and cleaved it in two. As the shadows dispersed, Arcane looked even more worried than before. Storm Shadow prepared to fire a bolt at Arcane, but the unicorn’s horn glowed, and he vanished in a flash of light.

“He’s gone.” Twilight sighed.

“Not for long if you ask me.” Storm Shadow said bitterly.

“I hope he doesn’t come back.” Fluttershy murmured feebly.

“If he does then he’ll have to deal with the fastest flyer in Equestria!” Rainbow Dash replied confidently. Storm Shadow turned and smiled. Even when things weren’t going their way, Rainbow Dash still acted like the toughest pony out there.

Storm Shadow sat on a hill overlooking Ponyville. He looked up at the stars that were beginning to appear in the night sky. Twilight had already sent a letter to Princess Celestia telling her about Arcane Darkness. He hoped that the Princess would be able to do something, because he wasn’t entirely sure if he could defeat Arcane. The words his father had told him returned to mind.

“You are one of the ponies who will defeat him.” he had said. How did he know that? Did you gain an insight to the future as a spirit? He was thinking about it so hard that he didn’t notice Rainbow Dash sit next to him.

“Hey.” she said, breaking him out of his stupor.

“Oh hey Dash.” he replied when he got over his surprise.

“I just wanted to say thanks for saving us from Arcane.” she said quietly.

“It’s not a problem. I just wanted to protect my friends.” he replied with a smile. She returned his smile then looked up at the stars. He looked up as well and stood there for a few minutes. He was about to get up when he felt Dash’s head on his shoulder. He glanced down and saw her looking at the sky with a dreamy expression on her face. He smiled and nuzzled her gently.

Over in the bushes, Applejack was talking with Twilight.

“See I told you that Dash liked ‘im. It’s probably the reason she invited him to stay wit’ her in the first place.” she said.

“Yes I remember what you said. For now we should just leave them alone.” Twilight replied, getting up to leave. Applejack nodded then followed Twilight.

Storm Shadow stayed with Dash until they both felt tired. He helped her up then they took off side by side into the air. They landed at her house a few minutes later. He gave her a quick nuzzle which she returned before he headed into his room. He gave a quick look out the window at Canterlot before climbing into bed and falling asleep.

Author's note: Don't you just love shipping? I like it when the characters being shipped are actually different genders for once :D. Just something to think about.

Storm Shadow rested on a bench outside the tower of Canterlot. He had just finished his patrol, and had decided to rest for a few minutes. He saw his sister returning from her patrol as well, and waved her over. She gave him a wide smile, and sat down next to him.

“How’s it going sis?” he asked.

“Same as always. Patrol is possibly one of the most boring jobs ever!” she replied, which got Storm to laugh.

“That is true but it has to be done.” he replied. They rested there for a few minutes until another guard came along.

“Aerial may I talk to your brother for a moment?” he asked kindly.

“Sure.” she said and walked off toward the tower.

“So are you ready to fight the dragon tomorrow Storm Shadow?” the guard asked when he was sure that Aerial was out of earshot.

“Sure am.” Storm Shadow replied eagerly.

“Good. We have made all the necessary preparations for the battle. Everypony will carry a bag with some shrinking powder in it, and whoever gets close enough must use the chance to throw it onto him, or better yet, into his mouth.” he said.

“Into its mouth?” Storm Shadow asked.

“Yes, the powder will have a much stronger effect if it is ingested.” he replied. Storm Shadow simply nodded because he didn’t understand the workings of any of it. He talked a little bit more with the guard before getting up, and walking into the tower. He found his sister in the armory, and started to help her get off her armor. It was a silent process, and they didn’t talk during it. Once her armor was off, she helped him with his until all their armor was back on the stands. They walked out of the armory, then he told her goodnight as he walked up a stairwell, and she continued down a separate one. The dream began to distort and crumble as he reached the top of the stairwell. His last glimpse was of an elaborate window depicting Twilight and her friends using the Elements of Harmony to defeat a pony that he guessed was Nightmare Moon.

He woke with a slight groan and crawled out of bed. He looked out the window in time to see the sun begin to break the horizon. He stood there for a moment and let the warmth from the sun’s rays seep in before combing his mane and walking out into the hall. He didn’t get very far before he was tackled from behind by Rainbow Dash.

“This seems familiar.” he said teasingly as he picked himself up.

“Sorry about that.” she said with a giggle.

“Not a problem.” he replied with a smile. She gave him a quick nuzzle then they both walked outside. The day was still young so there weren’t very many ponies out. He got her attention and pointed at a cloud that was high above them. She got the clue and shot off into the air with him close behind. She landed on the cloud a moment later and waited for him.

When he appeared she put on a bored look and said, “It’s about time you got here slowpoke.” getting him to smile.

“Sorry if I’m not fast enough for you your highness.” his voice dripped with sarcasm.

They both started laughing for a few minutes before settling down on the cloud and watching the sunrise. Storm Shadow wasn’t surprised this time when Rainbow Dash rested her head on his shoulder. Instead he nuzzled her again, and turned his head so he could watch the sunrise with her.

Aerial woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Yawning, she got up and walked over to the window. As she watched the sunrise, she remembered the times she would sit with her brother and watch it raise. Those days were long past however, as he was still missing. She had vowed not to give up hope though. She believed that he was out there somewhere. If not in the forest, then possibly in Ponyville. If he was in Ponyville, then there was a possibility that she would spot him during the Summer Sun Celebration. The possibilities were good because she knew that grey and black wasn’t a very common color for ponies, so he would be easy to spot in a crowd. As she thought about this, the door slowly opened behind her and a ponies head poked inside.

“Hey Aerial.” the pony said. She jumped a little and turned around.

“Oh hey Swift.” she said when she saw who it was. He gave her a friendly smile, his green eyes flashing.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“I just wanted to talk.” he said defensively.

“Sorry, I’m just grumpy since I just woke up.” she replied.

“That’s understandable. Sleep is important after all.” he said, opening the door wider so he could get in. She looked him over. He was a dark blue color with a light red mane that was a little spiked but otherwise very laid back.

“Still thinking about Storm Shadow?” he asked.

“What do you think? Of course I’m still thinking about him. He’s my brother.” she replied with annoyance.

“Well maybe one of us will spot him at the Summer Sun Celebration.” he said. He was one of the few ponies who didn’t pull her down by saying she should stop looking.

“You think so?” she asked.

“Of course. Searching the forest has turned up nothing so he might be in Ponyville.” he replied. She stared out the window at the sunset and didn’t say anything.

“Well I better get going. I have to get to patrol duty in a few minutes.” he said after a couple minutes. She nodded but still didn’t answer and he eventually left and closed the door behind him.

“I won’t give up hope brother. I will find you.” she murmured to herself.

Storm Shadow dozed peacefully on the cloud. Rainbow Dash looked at him. He hadn’t been getting much sleep so he drifted off a few minutes ago. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder again.

“What will happen if he is recognized at the Celebration? Will he have to move back into Canterlot and stay there?” she asked herself quietly. Storm Shadow shifted, and she tensed up. She relaxed again when he showed no sign of getting up. She snuggled up closer to him and fell asleep herself.

Arcane paced back and forth across the floor of his study. He couldn’t stop thinking about the storm pegasus. He had been much more powerful than any elemental pegasus he had ever seen. The ability to control lightning itself was almost unheard of. Perhaps this pony was one of the four from his dream.

“No, it couldn’t be. He still needs the ice, and fire elemental pegasi, and they haven’t been seen in over a hundred years.” he told himself, even though storm pegasi had been missing just as long, and yet, here was the most powerful one he has ever seen. A pony gently opened the door to the study and poked his head in.

“What is it Cookie Crisp?” Arcane asked without even looking.

“I just came to bring you some food.” he replied with his usual smile.

“Okay, please set it on the table by the door.” Arcane said, gesturing at the table as he did so. Cookie Crisp walked in, and set it on the table before turning to Arcane.

“Is something troubling you?” he asked.

“Yes, the storm pegasus I have been looking for has sided with Ponyville, and is stronger than I expected.” he said.

“How so?” the chef asked.

“He is the only pony I have ever seen that could control LIGHTNING. He even countered my two best spells with it!” Arcane replied angrily.

“Well I’m sure he won’t be able to defeat you without the other elementals.” Cookie Crisp said confidently.

“True, but I will have to watch my step from now on.” he replied as one of his captains walked into the room. Cookie Crisp smiled at the captain before quickly walking out of the room. Arcane turned to look at the captain. He was a strong pony with a deep red coat, and a lighter red mane. His matching red eyes glinted in the light.

“What is it?” he asked impatiently.

“Sir, the preparations for the attack on Ponyville are almost complete. The unicorns have managed to take control of a few Hydras, and an Ursa Minor. Our soldiers are almost prepared and we should all be ready to go when the attack starts during the Summer Sun Celebration.” The captain said.

“Excellent.” Arcane said. The captain bowed, and left the room.

Arcane began imagining the attack. Celestia would be there but she wouldn’t have very many guards with her. If he played his cards right he might be able to defeat both Celestia AND the storm pegasus. He laughed at the thought, and levitated a cookie from the tray over to himself.

“Oh this will be a celebration that Equestria will not soon forget.” he said to himself as he ate the cookie.

Storm Shadow sat on a cloud watching ponies walking around below. He hadn’t done anything except eat a little bit, and sleep most of the day. He couldn’t believe how tired he had been, until he woke up and found it was already getting close to night time. He had woken up about an hour earlier to find Rainbow Dash fast asleep with her head still resting on his shoulder. He only smiled and spread his wing across her sleeping form to give her at least a little bit of warmth. As the sun had continued across the sky she had woken up. She got a very embarrassed look on her face, as she noticed his wing.

“You didn’t need to do that.” she said.

“You’re right, I didn’t have to, but I did.” he replied with a smile. She simply sighed and they left the cloud to get something to eat.

When they were done eating they flew back up to the cloud, and watched the sunset. Storm Shadow spread his wing over Rainbow Dash again, and she rested her head on his shoulder for possibly the 5th time that day. As the sun set beneath the horizon they flew back down to Dash’s house and he followed her inside.

“Storm Shadow look at this.” she said as he was just about to enter his room.

“What is i-?” he said, unable to finish, because Dash kissed him when he turned. When she pulled away, she giggled at the stunned look on his face.

“Good night Storm Shadow.” she said, and gave him another kiss on the cheek before heading to her own room.

He stood there for a minute with the stunned look still stuck on his face before finally managing to move his legs, and get into his room. He didn’t even bother looking out the window this time. He just climbed into bed, and went to sleep as quickly as possible.

Aerial walked through Ponyville, wondering how she had gotten here. Before long she began to hear screams and ponies ran past her. She looked back the way they were coming from and saw an Ursa Minor lumbering towards her. She tried to run but her legs wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, a lightning bolt flashed from the sky and struck the Ursa Minor in the chest, which sent it crashing to the ground. She looked around and spotted her brother flying in the air with an angry look on his face. She tried to call out to him but she couldn’t talk. She could only watch helplessly as he struck down three hydras before turning to the forest. Out of the trees walked ponies clad in dark armor. At the head of the line was a dark purple unicorn, with a dark blue mane. He sneered up at Storm Shadow before turning to look at her.

“Looks like you’re just in time! I’m afraid you won’t live long enough to enjoy the show however.” he said with an unsettling grin. A fireball began to form in front of him and Aerial once again tried to move but found she couldn’t. The fireball flew at her and almost had her when the sound of thunder shook her awake.

She lay in her bed breathing heavily. Cautiously, she looked around her room to make sure there was nothing, and nopony else in there with her.

“It was just a dream.” she assured herself as she dozed back to sleep.

Storm Shadow jolted awake to the sound of thunder from outside.

“Another storm already?” he grumbled to himself as he climbed out of bed. He looked out the window and, sure enough, there was a large storm outside. He walked out into the hall, and went towards the front door. He was almost close enough to open it when it swung open to reveal a very tired Rainbow Dash.

“I can’t believe they scheduled another storm so EARLY!” she muttered to herself.

“What’s wrong?” Storm Shadow asked because he couldn’t make out her muttering.

“The other pegasi had scheduled a storm only four days after the last one, and it’s not easy getting all those clouds together to make one.” she said.

“Well you get some rest. I don’t want to see you doing anything else until you do.” he said with a smile.

“I don’t need to rest!” she said indignantly.

“Yes you do.” he replied and started to nudge her toward her room. She didn’t resist and fell asleep in her bed a couple minutes later.

He walked outside and felt a surge of strength as his coat and mane darkened, and his wings grew larger again. He flapped his wings a couple times, then flew up towards the clouds. He saw a flash, and felt a slight tingle.

“What the..?” he said and looked down.

A lightning bolt had struck him directly in the chest, and had left a mark that was easily removed. He should’ve been dead, but he guessed immunity to lightning was just another perk of being a storm pegasus. He looked over towards Canterlot with longing. He wanted to fly over there right now. He wanted to see his sister. Somehow, he knew that needed to wait until the Summer Sun Celebration though, so he held back. Instead he flew over to a nearby storm cloud, and sat down to rest, and look around for a while.

Swift walked up the crumbling staircase to an old wooden door. He knocked on the door, and waited.

“Come in.” said a voice from inside. He cautiously opened the door, and walked into the ancient study. The room was filled with books that he didn’t even recognize. In the middle of the room sat a dark purple unicorn with a dark blue mane, who was reading a book. He looked up from his book and turned to the pony that just came in.

“What is it Swift?” he asked, and Swift bowed.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to report recently, but I have been assigned to be one of Celestia’s guards during the summer sun celebration.”

“Excellent! Anything else?” he asked curiously.

“Yes, the sister of the storm pegasus you fought is also one of the guards.” he replied. At the mention of the storm pegasus, the unicorn’s horn began to glow but faded a moment later.

“No matter. Our attack will still go as planned, and when Celestia is defeated, the only thing standing between us and Canterlot will be Princess Luna, and we all know that she isn’t NEARLY as powerful as her sister.” he said with a smirk. Swift thought for a moment about asking a question that has been bugging him for a long time, but he decided against it, and instead bowed again before leaving the room.

Aerial sat on the bench where her brother had sat the day before he left to fight the dragon. She calmly breathed in the cool air, and looked up at the storm. Her coat and mane had darkened, and her wings had grown a little bit bigger. It was the same ability that Storm Shadow had, but not as big of a change. She looked back down to see Swift landing outside the tower doors.

“Where have you been Swift?” she asked. He jumped and looked around. When he located her he gave a nervous smile.

“I was just flying around to clear my head.”

“Okay.” she said. She had done the same thing many times before when she was feeling down. She watched Swift as he walked into the tower, then turned her attention back to the storm. Suddenly lightning flashed across the sky, and she saw a faint silhouette in the distance above Ponyville. She jumped off the bench, and soared into the air. She flew to where she had seen the silhouette only to find nothing. As she turned and flew back to Canterlot, she held onto the hope that it had been Storm Shadow that she had seen.

Arcane pondered the news that Swift had brought him. Having two storm pegasi present could be problematic to his plan. Especially if the sister is as strong as the one he had faced. It would be even worse if there was a storm that day, but he knew there wouldn’t be one. The skies were always kept clear during the Summer Sun Celebration. The storm that was taking place today was most likely scheduled, and therefore nothing to worry about. He looked back at his book. It was filled with ancient spells of massive power, but most of them required rituals and ingredients that he had never even heard of before.

He closed the book, and walked over to the window. He looked out to see the tower of Canterlot far in the distance. He placed his hoof gently on the glass, and looked at the tower with longing when a flashback suddenly struck him.

He had been a little foal when it happened. His parents had disappeared and he was left in the care of the princess, because his parents had been close friends with her. He had grown up in secret, and was frustrated when his cutie mark never appeared. Celestia had taught him for many years but he found none of the spells interesting. They were all simple, like levitation or teleporting, and he mastered them quickly. He began to look for spell books in the massive libraries of the castle. When he found none that interested him he used his magic to unlock the gate leading to a section that was restricted to everypony but the princesses, and a few choice scientists. There he found spell books beyond count. It had been when he practiced the fireball spell that his cutie mark appeared. After that, the spell became his favorite and he used it on a number of occasions. When Celestia learned of what he was doing it was already too late. He stole as many books as he could carry, and fled the castle. He moved from place to place, gathering followers. When he believed he was ready, he and his followers attacked Canterlot. The princess had managed to defeat him with a spell that she alone was able to cast, pushing his followers back and forcing them to retreat.

“It will not happen this time.” he muttered to himself.

Storm Shadow had fallen asleep on his cloud, and almost jumped when he felt something rub up against him. He opened one of his eyes and wasn’t surprised to see Rainbow Dash lying right next to him.

“Is there ever going to be a time where you’re NOT snuggling up against me while I sleep?” he teased. She just looked at him with her magenta colored eyes and smiled. He returned it and spread a wing across her before going back to his nap.

He woke up a few hours later and got up to stretch. He turned his head and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was still fast asleep. She didn’t stir, so he decided to pull a little prank on her. He jumped into the air, and flew over to a nearby cloud to hide. He waited until he heard her yawn, then peeked around his hiding place. She had gotten up to stretch, and was now looking around frantically for him. He snickered, and flew above her as quietly as possible. She kept looking around and he slowly came closer until he was only a couple feet above her.

“Looking for something?” he asked. She jumped and turned around.

“Don’t do that!” she said, though he could detect the relief in her voice.” He laughed and landed beside her. This time he shocked her by kissing her on the cheek before taking off, and hovering in the air a few feet away with a large grin on his face. She quickly recovered and flew over to him. They flew away, and never noticed the gray shape that was flying towards Canterlot. As they flew, Rainbow Dash kept trying to catch up to Storm, but he would always manage to stay a couple feet in front of her. She finally managed to get close, and grabbed his tail to pull him backwards. He quickly retook his place and gave Dash a mischievous smile over his shoulder.

They continued flying together for a couple hours before they got tired. He saw that she was becoming exhausted, so he slowed down, and they started to fly back to her house. They landed just as the other pegasi began to clear the skies. Storm Shadow yawned as his coat, mane, and wings all returned to normal, and he walked inside with Dash. They were both so tired that they didn’t say anything, and instead went directly to their separate rooms to go to sleep.

Swift paced back and forth in his room. He couldn’t get any sleep because he couldn’t stop thinking about the question he had been going to ask Arcane. Arcane would most likely say no, but it was still worth a try. Anything was worth it for her. He’d been in love with her for years, but he had never gotten the courage to tell her. If Arcane’s attack on the Summer Sun Celebration went as planned, she could possibly get in the way and be killed. He could not let that happen.

“I’ll come up with an excuse for her to be somewhere else when the fighting starts. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.” he murmured to himself as he continued his pacing. He didn’t care that he was pacing past midnight. He didn’t care what his commander would say when he showed up late and tired. All he cared about right now was what to do about her to keep her safe from Arcane.

Storm Shadow slowly opened his eyes and looked out the window. The sun was shining into the room, and he couldn’t spot any clouds. He climbed out of bed, and combed his hair before walking outside. He took a quick breath of fresh air before looking down at Ponyville. Surprisingly, there were guards walking along the ground with a few flying in the air. He glided down to the ground and tried to get their attention, but they ignored him. They kept glancing toward the Everfree Forest, as if expecting Arcane to jump out of the trees at any moment. The inhabitants of Ponyville were wary around the guards, and stayed out of their way as much as possible. Storm Shadow spotted one that was talking with a couple others, and walked up behind him.

“What’s going on?” he asked when he got close enough to discern what color the guard was. He had a light blue coat with an even lighter blue mane that had a dark blue streak in it. The guard jumped and turned around. His eyes, which were a light blue that was only slightly darker than his coat, widened at the sight of Storm Shadow.

“Storm Shadow!?” he gasped.

“What is it?” Storm Shadow asked in reply.

“We thought you were dead!” the guard said.

“Well do I look dead to you?” he replied with annoyance.

“No you don’t but you’ve been missing for at least a month!”

“A month!?” he exclaimed.

“Yes, you disappeared after the dragon struck you with its tail.” the guard said.

“Ok I remember that I fought a dragon at some point but not much else.” he said.

“So THAT’S why you never came back. You had amnesia!” he replied.

“Yes. Sorry about having to ask but who are you?” he asked.

“Oh yes, I probably should mention my name again. I’m Cerulean.” he replied, holding out his hoof. They shook and the guard thought for a moment, before his eyes widened.

“We need to get you to your sister! She’s been worried ever since you disappeared!”

“She’s not here?” he asked.

“What? No, she’s at the tower. We had to leave most of the guards to defend Canterlot.” the guard replied.

“Then what are you ponies doing here?” Storm Shadow asked.

“We’re only here to provide assistance if Arcane ever attacks again.” he replied. Storm Shadow nodded and walked away. The guard didn’t stop him.

Arcane nodded his head, not even listening to the captain who was giving a report. His mind dwelled on other things today, like his plan for the Summer Sun Celebration. He kept running the plan through his head, looking for any possible flaws. He didn’t want to be defeated again by that storm pegasus OR the princess.

“Sir are you even listening?” the captain asked when Arcane’s eyes began to get a glazed look to them.

“Yes yes, continue.” Arcane said with a wave of his hoof. The captain gave him a skeptical look before continuing with his report. Arcane listened for a few minutes before his mind began to drift to other matters once again.

Storm Shadow was sitting on a cloud with Rainbow Dash beside him when Cerulean appeared again.

“Storm Shadow I’m glad I found you. I’ve received orders that you are to be brought to the castle.” he said.

“For what?” Storm Shadow asked.

“The princess wants to talk with you.” he replied. He looked over at Dash who motioned for him to get going.

“Ok let’s go.” he said. He jumped into the air and followed Cerulean toward Canterlot.

They reached the castle a few minutes later and Cerulean led him to the throne room. He motioned for him to enter and Storm Shadow walked in alone. He was greeted by a white pony with wings and a horn, her rainbow mane and tail moved in the air as if they were suspended in water.

“Princess Celestia I presume?” he said.

“You are quite right Storm Shadow. I would be even more impressed if you knew why you were here.” she replied with a gentle smile.

“That I don’t know.” he said.

“I wanted to talk to you about Arcane Darkness.” she said.

“I’ll answer any questions you have princess.” he replied.

“Good but for now let me tell you a little history about him.” she said. She frowned as she began to talk about it, as if the memory was painful.

“His parents and I were good friends, but they had disappeared while he was still a foal, so I took him in. He was a brilliant foal, always ready to learn. I taught him many spells, which he eagerly mastered, but eventually he began to get bored. He started to wander into the library at times to look for spell books. We had quite a few spell books in the library, so he had plenty to learn. It was not enough for him however. One night, he broke into the restricted area of the library, and stole spell books that had spells that are older than this castle. I caught him practicing with one of the spells, and I tried to stop him, but he simply vanished, along with all the books he had with him. The last time I saw him was when he had tried to conquer Canterlot. He came very close to succeeding, but I chose to resort to a spell that only I can cast. I used it to push his forces back, and he was forced to retreat. The encounter you had with him only a couple days ago is the first time he has been seen anywhere near Canterlot in years.” she finished. Storm Shadow was stunned that Arcane had actually been Celestia’s student so he said nothing.

“Do you know anything about where he is hiding or any useful information?” She asked.

“Y-yes,” he stammered. “He’s hiding in a castle in the Everfree Forest.”

“Interesting.” She began to say but was interrupted by the door swinging open.

Storm Shadow turned his head just in time to see his sister rushing towards him. She tackled him in a strong hug and he could see tears flowing from her eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much!” she sobbed.

“Well I’m here now sis.” he smiled and hugged her back.

“How did you know I was here anyway?” he said after they separated.

“Cerulean told me.” she said. He looked past her, and Cerulean was standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

“Well I think I’ll let you two get reacquainted.” the princess said. His sister smiled, and he followed her outside.

“Well I better get back down to Ponyville.” Cerulean said when they got outside, and he flew off.

“Hey sis, since it doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything, do you want to come meet someone in Ponyville?” asked Storm Shadow.

“Sure big brother!” she said.

They took off, and he rediscovered why she had a lightning bolt with her storm cloud mark. She was FAST. Even without a storm she could easily out distance him anytime she wanted. She had to slow herself down just so he could catch up. He led her down to Dash’s house, and knocked on the door. Dash answered a moment later.

“You’re back already?” she asked with surprise in her voice.

“Ya, what, did you think I was going to stay in Canterlot?” he replied with a smile.

“Ya kinda. Who’s this?” she asked when she saw Aerial.

“She’s my sister.” he said.

“I can see the resemblance. The name’s Rainbow Dash.” she said and held out her hoof.

“Mine’s Aerial.” his sister replied and shook her hoof. They all walked inside and Aerial began to tell Storm Shadow about everything that had happened while he was missing.

Swift flew through the air, trying to stay awake. He was still tired from lack of sleep. His commander had made him fly laps around the training area, and right now he was just flying to stay awake, and clear his head. He looked down to see somepony walking into the tower. He glided down to get a closer look and saw that it was Aerial.

“Going to bed Aerial?” he asked.

“Ya it’s been a long day. I’ve finally found Storm Shadow!” she said excitedly, as she turned around.

“Really? Where?” he asked excitedly.

“He was talking to the princess when Cerulean told me. I was so happy to see him.” she replied.

“I bet you were.” he said with a smile.

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow Swift.” she said and walked off.

“Goodnight Aerial.” he called after her, then flew away.

Aerial had been talking for a few hours, and Storm Shadow had patiently listened. When she asked him if he was going to stay at Canterlot for the night, he shook his head. She gave him a final hug before leaving with a smile on her face. She could guess that he liked Rainbow Dash since it was all over his face. She was just happy that he was alive and safe.

Storm Shadow watched her go then started to walk to his room. He said goodnight to Dash, and gave her a kiss before going, and climbed into bed. His final thought before he went to sleep was how happy his sister had been to see him.

Rainbow Dash flew over the desolate remains of Ponyville looking for her friends. There were ponies fighting everywhere. She spotted the pony named Cerulean, fighting with a pony that was colored different shades of red, and wearing dark armor. The two were grappling with each other in the air, and yelling as they fought. She flew to the edge of the Everfree Forest where the fighting was the fiercest. She spotted guards fighting ponies clad in the same dark armor as the red pony. As she flew along the edge of the forest, she finally spotted her friends grouped in a circle fending off attackers. She tried to fly down to help but her wings wouldn’t obey. She looked over to see Storm Shadow fighting other ponies with his sister Aerial, when suddenly a fireball came hurtling towards them. Suddenly something streaked passed her directly into the fireballs path. She tried to move again but could only watch as the fireball struck the figure as it passed. The pony had sacrificed their own safety to protect Storm Shadow and his sister. Then somepony began to laugh.

It was the laughter that woke her from her dream. It was a cruel laugh that stuck in her head even as the dream vanished.

Storm Shadow jerked awake to the sound of a scream from the other room. He burst into the hall and ran into Dash’s room to see her curled up in a corner.

“What’s wrong Dash?” he asked with concern.

“What?” she asked, not even realizing she had screamed, or that she was curled up.

“I heard you scream.” he said.

“Oh it was just a bad dream.” she replied.

“Well don’t get another one. I won’t get very much sleep if I have to rush to your side every night.” he teased and nuzzled her gently. She nuzzled him back and smiled.

“You should probably get back to sleep. We still have a few hours before the day begins.” he said, after taking a look out the window.

“Could I sleep next to you?” she asked, losing her usual confident tone, as she remembered the dream.

“If it will help you sleep then sure.” he said. A moment later she was curled up next to Storm Shadow in his bed, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

Cerulean woke up in the tent that he was staying in. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and looked at the picture on his night stand. It was a picture of two foals playing together. One was Cerulean himself, and the other was his brother Cardinal who had been missing even longer than Storm Shadow. He kept the picture so he could remember the times they had spent together. He smiled at the young Cardinal in the picture. His dark red coat and light red mane were so different from Cerulean’s light blue coat and even lighter blue mane that most didn’t even think they were related.

“Cerulean are you up yet?” asked a pony who was just outside.

“Yes just a moment.” he said. He gave the picture one final look before heading outside.

Storm Shadow slowly woke up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked over his shoulder to see Rainbow Dash, still cuddled up next to him sleeping peacefully. He smiled, and quietly got out of the bed. The motion caused her to stir, and she drowsily opened her eyes.

“And where do you think you’re going?” she asked sleepily.

“Well I was going to let you sleep, and maybe go have a talk with my sister, but since you’re awake what do you want to do?” he replied.

“Maybe your sister could watch the sunrise with us.” she said as she got up, and stretched.

“Good idea. I’ll fly to the tower and get her.” he said, and walked out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with Aerial close behind him.

They all flew up onto a cloud, and Storm covered them both with his wings as they watched the sunrise.

“It’s been so long since we’ve done this together.” Aerial said as she moved closer to her brother.

“When was the last time?” he asked.

“The day just before you disappeared.” she said with a tear in her eyes. He frowned and wiped the tear out of her eye.

“Don’t start crying on me. You should be tougher than that.” he teased. She only gave a faint smile then turned back to the sunrise. Dash looked from Aerial to Storm Shadow. The two were almost identical. The only differences that she could spot were the cutie marks, Storm only had a storm cloud while Aerial had a lightning bolt with it, and their hair styles were different. She looked at the pair once more before she cuddled up closer to Storm Shadow and watched the rest of the sunrise with them.

Swift opened the secret compartment in his bedroom wall and looked at the dark armor that lay inside. The attack was only a day away and he would have to be ready. He planned to slip away, just before it began so he would have enough time to get his armor then meet up with the others. On the other hoof, if he chose to stay, he could protect her or even better, get her to escape with him. He picked up the pieces of the armor and threw them out his bedroom window, one by one.

“I’ll take my chances with him. Anything to make sure she is safe.” he muttered to himself.

Arcane studied his spell books all day. The captains tried to get his attention, but none of them succeeded. Whenever they even tried to enter the room, they were met with a glow from his horn, and the door slamming in their faces. They eventually gave up, and didn’t try to disturb him.

“I know the spell was in one of these books.” he muttered as he used his magic to put the book he just finished back on the shelf. He hit the book case by accident and a book he had never seen before fell off the very top.

“What’s this?” he wondered as he levitated it over to him. He flipped it to the first page to find a note that must have been hastily written.

We are sorry that we couldn’t have raised you properly. We had seen what was destined to be, and we were forced to give you up. Please try to find it in your heart to forgive us. By the time you read this, you will be all grown up, and we will likely be long gone. We only wish we could’ve changed the future, but we of all ponies should know that it is impossible. We love you son.

He turned the page to see a family of ponies. The father was a dark blue color with a brown mane. His cutie mark was a scroll and quill. The mother was a light purple color with a yellow mane. Her cutie mark was an eye, and she had a far off look in her own. Sitting between them was a foal, with a dark purple coat, and dark blue mane. His royal blue eyes filled with happiness as he sat with his parents.

Arcane became enraged, and tears began to sting his eyes. He threw the book against a wall, and put his head in his hooves. The sobs came swiftly, and without resistance. He lay there sobbing, until he couldn’t cry any longer. He picked himself up, and levitated the book over to him. Erasing all signs of crying, he walked through the halls of the castle until he reached his personal chambers. As he climbed into bed, he opened the book to the picture of his family. He stared at it then hugged the book close to his body as he began to fall asleep.

Storm Shadow watched Rainbow Dash and Aerial soar through the air. The sunrise had finished long ago, and they had gotten something to eat before Dash challenged Aerial to a race. The two pegasi were pretty evenly matched, and the race ended in a tie. They flew over to him, laughing on the way.

“Did you two have fun?” he asked with a grin.

“Sure did!” they said in unison. He laughed and smiled at the look of pure joy that his sister had on her face. She couldn’t be happier even if she tried. Suddenly he heard a poof and looked around.

“Darn depth perception!” said a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a grey pony with a blonde mane. She got up and he saw that her eyes were misaligned. Both eyes looked in separate directions, never quite focusing on the same thing.

“Derpy you’re always crashing into things.” Rainbow Dash said when she saw who it was.

“It’s not my fault that my eyes are messed up!” she replied with a hint of frustration in her voice. Dash laughed a little while Derpy flew off towards a place that Dash said was called ‘Sugarcube Corner.’

“Pinkie Pie works there making cupcakes and all sorts of stuff.” she had once said.

“Well she was certainly… different.” he said when she was out of earshot.

“Ya, her eyes have always been messed up. She’s a good flyer at times, though she does get confused often.” Dash said. He nodded and turned to his sister.

“Think my old armor still fits?” he asked.

“Why do you ask? Do you want to go and try it on?” she asked.

“Ya I do.” he said.

Rainbow Dash didn’t follow them at first, but came along after Storm Shadow insisted. They arrived at the tower of Canterlot a few moments later, and continued to the armory. The guards at the doors were surprised to see Storm Shadow, and hurried to open the doors. Aerial led them into a room off to the side, where one set of armor sat on a stand while another set was enclosed in a glass case.

“They restored your armor after they found it and put it back in this room.” she said.

“Well that was nice of them.” he replied as one of the other guards removed the glass case. The guard finished removing the case then began helping Storm Shadow get the armor on. It still fit perfectly and he was fully clad a moment later.

“Looks like it still fits.” he said. He walked over to a mirror and looked at his reflection. The armor was a dark grey that looked exactly the same as what his coat had looked like during the storm.

“Designed to make me invisible in a storm eh?” he asked.

“Ya, mine is too but I don’t really need the camouflage when I have my speed.” his sister replied.

When they were done looking at him in the armor, the guard helped him remove it, and they left the tower. Aerial hugged her brother, and told him goodnight because the sun was setting now, and she had to be up early for the celebration in the morning. She watched with a smile as Storm Shadow and Rainbow Dash took off into the air.

Storm Shadow arrived at Dash’s house a moment later with Dash close behind. They were both tired and excited about the celebration, so they went to bed as quickly as they could.

Storm Shadow slept peacefully until Rainbow Dash shook him awake.

“What is it?” he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

“Well you don’t want to miss the celebration do you?” she said. He looked out the window and turned back to Rainbow.

“It’s not even morning yet.” he pointed out, making her laugh.

“The Summer Sun Celebration is when the princess raises the sun, silly.”

“Makes sense I guess.” he said. Storm Shadow climbed out of bed, and combed his hair before following Rainbow Dash outside. They flew down to the ground, and followed other ponies to a large building in the middle of town. There were guard ponies everywhere, around, and inside the building. Most of them were pegasi, but a few of the guards inside were unicorns. They spotted Cerulean sitting near the entrance, and he gave them a friendly smile, and waved before looking toward the forest.

“Expecting an attack?” asked Storm Shadow.

“You can never be too careful.” Cerulean replied with his gaze still locked on the forest. Storm Shadow nodded and looked around the building. Everyone in Ponyville was present and waiting patiently for the Celebration to start. He looked at one of the balconies to see a pony wearing a cloak and hood.

“Who’s that?” he asked Dash and pointed at the pony. She looked at the spot, but with a confused stare.

“There’s nopony there. Are you okay?” He looked back and the hooded pony had disappeared.

“Probably just need to get more sleep.” he said.

“Ya, you probably do.” she said. He continued walking until he noticed that it had gone quiet. He turned to see Dash frozen in place, along with everyone else. Not moving at all.

“Nice trick eh?” said a voice. He jumped and turned around to find the hooded pony sitting next to him.

The pony removed the hood to reveal a jet black unicorn with snow white hair. Her crimson red eyes regarded Storm Shadow with a mischievous look in them.

“Who are you?” he asked uneasily.

“Name’s Final Hour.” she said and held out her hoof. He shook but didn’t say anything.

“What? Are you nervous Storm Shadow?” she asked.

“How do you know my name?” he whispered.

“I know everyponies name. Not a single pony in Equestria that I don’t know.” she said.

“So why are you here?” he asked.

“To warn you. I can’t have you killed in the battle that’s to come. Your time is still scheduled long after this is over.” she said.

“My time?” he asked curiously.

“As in your death. I’m in charge of sending ponies to the afterlife when they die. Unfortunately, that also means nopony is very happy to see me.” she replied as she pulled off her cloak. He looked to see the mark on her flank was a pair of crossed scythes.

“So why are you talking to me?” he asked.

“Well I’m really not supposed to converse with ponies, but my job is so very dull at times, that I can’t help myself. That, and your father wanted to talk to you.” she said. Storm Shadow looked past her to see his dad walking through the crowd of ponies.

“I didn’t realize how much you have grown Storm Shadow. Almost as tall as me.” he said when he reached them.

“What are you doing here!?” Storm Shadow asked as he looked up at his father.

“Same reason as she is. To warn you.” he said.

“Warn me about what?” he asked.

“Arcane is going to attack Ponyville. You, and everypony else here, will have to be ready. If he captures or kills you, your sister, or the princess, then he will win, and that will not bode well.” he replied.

“So we’ll have to fight him?” he asked after a moment.

“Yes you will. Along with his followers. I have faith that you will come out on top though.” he answered.

“I think that’s enough for now.” Final Hour interjected. He looked at her and sighed.

“Well it was nice talking to you son.” he said and walked away again.

“Ya it was nice to meet you Storm Shadow.” she said with a mischievous grin.

“Oh and you might want to stand where you were before I froze everypony. Just so it doesn’t seem like you teleported.” she added before she disappeared. He walked back to Dash and stood by her side. A moment later everypony unfroze and they began talking again.

“What’s the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost.” Rainbow Dash asked him after a few moments.

“Oh it’s nothing.” he said.

Arcane walked through the trees of the Everfree Forest, his followers close behind. Their dark armor blended with the darkness of the trees, making them almost invisible, if it wasn’t for their natural colorings. The three captains nearby each led between twenty to forty soldiers. A considerable force considering what they were doing. He looked ahead to see the end of the tree line. He raised his hoof, and everyone stopped in their tracks, and waited. The sun would rise soon. Then Ponyville would receive a pleasant surprise.

He smiled at the thought of the attack.

Everyone in the building stopped talking as the curtain on the main balcony was pulled back to reveal, Princess Celestia. She smiled at everypony before opening her wings. Flying into the air, she closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. Everypony cheered as the moon began to dip below the horizon, and the sun began its rise into the sky.

Suddenly, there was shouting outside, and everypony ran out to see what was going on. Ponies clad in dark armor were battling with Celestia’s guards. Most of the ponies screamed, and ran away, but a few chose to stay and fight. Among them, were Storm Shadow, and his sister. Aerial flew up to him in her armor.

“We should’ve gotten your armor before we left.” she said.

“I’ll be fine.” he replied as he spread his wings. An Ursa Minor, accompanied by a few hydras, burst through the trees, only to be stopped by lightning bolts. Cerulean flew up to Storm Shadow.

“Nice one Storm Shadow! Keep that up and we could push them back.” The blue pegasus then turned and gasped. Storm Shadow looked past him to see a pegasus that was completely red, only different shades of it. Cerulean zoomed after the unknown pegasus, leaving Storm Shadow alone with his sister.

“Cardinal.” Cerulean muttered as he zoomed toward the red pegasus. The pegasus turned at the last moment, and his eyes widened in recognition and surprise. They collided, and went tumbling to the ground.

“I thought you were dead!” Cerulean said, as he held the pegasus down.

“I guess you shouldn’t believe everything you think.” the pegasus said, struggling to get up.

“Why would you do this? Why would you join HIM!?” he asked desperately.

“Power. That’s what I wanted.” he replied, and broke free of Cerulean’s grasp.

“But you’re going against your own friends! Your Family! Everypony who has cared for you is hurt because of this!” he said, causing Cardinal to laugh.

“What have they EVER done for me? You were the one who got all the praise. Everypony always liked you the minute they saw you. Me? Everypony thought I was a scary freak because of my colors. Nopony thinks red looks good.”

“That’s not true! I didn’t think you were scary, and our parents didn’t think that. We all loved you!” Cerulean said as tears began to sting his eyes.

“HA! You, and our parents, just wanted me gone.” he said. Cardinal flew into the air, and Cerulean jumped after him. They collided in mid-air, and yelled at each other as they fought.

Storm Shadow fought furiously, sending lightning bolts at times, while at others he simply used his hooves. His sister was very agile, and dodged every attack the enemies threw at her, often twirling onto their backs, then knocking them out with a swift knock to the head. The fighting was getting closer to the main building, and he could see Arcane walking past fighting ponies with a grin on his face.

“Got another shadow pony for me to cut in half?” he yelled at the unicorn. Arcane turned and sneered at Storm Shadow.

“No, but I hope your sister enjoys this.” he replied and a fireball began to form. The fireball shot forward before Storm Shadow could react, and headed straight for his sister.

“No!” cried a pegasus that was nearby. Storm Shadow turned to see the pegasus shoot in front of the fireballs path and watched in horror as it exploded, sending the pony into a brick wall. Arcane shook his head.

“Foalish. Very foalish.” Aerial looked at the unconscious pegasus on the ground, and recognition dawned on her face.

“Swift!” she yelled, and shot toward him. Arcane laughed before turning back toward the main building.

Several of the guards tried to attack Arcane, but they smacked into an invisible wall that surrounded him. Storm Shadow also tried to reach him but there were too many enemies in his way. Arcane entered the building, and closed the large door behind him.

“Hello Arcane.” Celestia said when she heard the door close.

“Oh so you remembered my name! I feel flattered.” he said with as much sarcasm as he could. “You probably know why I’m here.” he continued after a pause.

“To defeat me and take over Equestria if I’m not mistaken.” she replied. He sneered, but didn’t say anything else. His horn began to glow, and a fireball began to form. Suddenly the door burst open, throwing off his concentration, and sending the fireball careening into a wall. He turned to see Storm Shadow flying towards him. His eyes widened in surprise as he was tackled to the ground.

“Stay away from the princess.” he said.

“Well you’re no fun at all.” Arcane said with a sneer, and his horn began to glow again. Storm Shadow was thrown off of Arcane and almost hit a wall but managed to steady himself with his wings. Arcane got to his hooves when he heard something zooming towards him. His magic stopped the thing mere inches from him. He turned to find a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow mane.

“Well what do we have here?” he asked.

“Rainbow Dash!” Storm Shadow gasped.

“Oh so you know this little mare? Don’t I recall you being one of the Elements of Harmony?” Arcane asked with a sneer before using his magic to throw her to the side. She didn’t get time to steady herself and slammed into the wall. Storm Shadow watched as she slipped to the floor unconscious. His eyes blazed with fury and electricity began to crackle through his mane.

“You’re going to pay for that.” he said, barely containing his rage. Before Arcane could respond, he was thrown through a wall by a lightning bolt that came directly from Storm Shadow himself. He coughed from the dust, and the enraged pegasus landed on top of him. He used his magic to lift the storm pegasus into the air but was electrocuted once more. Some of his followers gaped at him as he got zapped repeatedly.

“Brother no!” Aerial gasped as she tackled Storm Shadow. Arcane took the opportunity to call his troops and limped back into the Everfree Forest, looking over his shoulder as he went to make sure the pegasus didn’t follow.

Cerulean watched in horror, as Storm Shadow electrocuted Arcane Darkness until he was finally stopped by Aerial.

“I wouldn’t want to fight him like that.” he muttered as he wiped away a bit of blood from his mouth. Cardinal had put up a good fight before Cerulean managed to knock him out. The pegasus was currently being cuffed and restrained for questioning.

Cerulean sighed and flew back to his tent.

“Get off of me!” Storm Shadow yelled at his sister, as he watched Arcane limp away.

“No, you can’t kill him! It’s not the right thing to do!” she said.

“He deserves it!” he said, as tears began to sting his eyes.

“Calm down Storm Shadow. Everything will be all right.” Celestia said, as she came up to him. He slowly stopped struggling, then Aerial released him. He got up and walked over to Rainbow Dash.

“I have to do something.” he muttered as he looked at her unconscious form. Gingerly, he picked her up, and flew her to a nearby nurse.

“She’ll be alright, but she will have to be careful when she wakes up. Her wing has been damaged, and it will need time to heal.” she said.

“Thank you.” he replied, relieved that she was okay. He carefully picked her up again, and carried her up to her house. He floated silently through the halls to her room, and placed her under the covers as gently as possible. He only left her side twice during the rest of the day to get food. The rest of the time he sat by her side, not wanting to leave unless absolutely necessary.

When he was just about to fall asleep he looked over to see Final Hour smiling at him.

“Don’t worry, her time doesn’t come for a long while.” she said, and placed a hoof on his shoulder. Her touch was ice cold, and he pulled away.

“Oh, sorry about that. I forget that my touch is like touching ice.” she said as her cheeks turned a light red.

“Don’t worry about Arcane either. With the shocking you gave him, he won’t come back for a long time.” she continued, before turning to leave.

He watched her go then walked to his own room and climbed into bed.

Rainbow Dash groaned as she woke up. She placed a hoof against her aching head, and looked around.

“Oh it must have been a dream.” she said as she recognized her room. She tried to move her wings but instantly regretted it. It was extremely painful, and she looked to see that one of her wings was badly injured.

“So it wasn’t a dream.” she muttered. She crawled out of bed, and walked down the hall to Storm Shadow’s room. Quietly, she opened the door, and poked her head into the room. Storm Shadow was sleeping in the bed facing away from her. Happy from the fact that he was safe, she went back to her room, and went back to sleep.

Celestia sat in the throne room, thinking about the attack that had occurred, when a pony appeared out of nowhere.

“Hello Final Hour.” she said.

“Oh come on. How do you always know?” she asked with a grin.

“You’re the only pony who can appear anywhere you please.” the princess replied.

“Good point.” she said. There was a moment of silence before the princess spoke again.

“You shouldn’t have warned him. You know you’re not supposed to interfere with the living.” she said.

“I probably saved your ungrateful rump by doing so.” she replied.

“True but Storm Shadow must reach his own destiny just like everypony else.” the princess said.

“Aw you’re no fun anymore Tia.” she said then vanished. The princess only sighed, and returned to thinking.

Storm Shadow woke up with a yawn and stretched as he got out of bed. He walked out into the hall, and down to Rainbow Dash’s room. Suddenly, he heard something moving on the other side of the door. Cautiously, he eased it open, and peered inside.

“You’re awake!” he gasped when he saw Rainbow Dash.

“Yah, I woke up last night. What happened?” she asked.

“You were knocked unconscious when Arcane threw you into the wall. The nurse I took you to says that you need to be careful because your wing was damaged.” he explained.

“I could see that for myself. I’m not crazy Storm Shadow.” she replied.

“Oh, so it wasn’t considered crazy to attack Arcane like you did? I was worried about you.” he said.

“Well I’m not very happy since I can’t fly with this wing. How am I supposed to practice my tricks like this?” she asked.

“You won’t be doing any stunts until you get better.” he answered.

“So not cool…” she said.

“Let’s go get something to eat. I’ll carry you so you don’t have to fly.” he replied.

“Oh fine.” she replied as she followed him out of the house.

Arcane muttered impatiently to himself, as he worked on fixing his limp, and getting rid of the electricity in his body. Every so often, he would twitch from the electricity, but it happened less the longer he concentrated.

“I hate that accursed storm pegasus.” he muttered after another twitch.

After the electricity was removed and his leg was fixed, he levitated the book containing the picture of his family from its shelf. He gingerly opened it, and began to look through the rest of the pages. They each contained a different picture. Some were of his father, while some were of his mother. Most of them were pictures of him doing something with them. Be it playing, napping, or eating. He turned to the very first picture, and shed a few silent tears, before putting the book back.

Aerial paced back and forth in front of the doors until the nurse finally came out.

“Is Swift alright?” she asked.

“Yes, he will be okay. You can go in to see him if you like.” the nurse replied. Aerial walked in to see Swift lying on the table, as if he were asleep. His armor had taken most of the hit, but the fireball had not left him unscathed. His left side had been singed a little, and his red hair was covered with soot. Some of his feathers had been burned away as well, and she could see the gaps between them.

“His feathers will grow back of course, and his coat will return to its normal color.” the nurse said. Suddenly his eyes opened drowsily.

“Aerial?” he whispered.

“I’m here Swift. You’re okay. You’re in the nurse’s care right now.” she said. He smiled weakly.

“Good. I would hate for something to happen to you.”

“Oh Swift.” she said, and hugged him tightly.

“You’re not helping my breathing. I hope you know that.” he whispered.

“Oh, sorry about that.” she said, and let go with a blush.

“I never said you had to let go.” he replied.

“You’re crazy. You know that right?” she said with a smile.

“Crazy in love maybe.” he replied with as wide a grin as he could manage, making her blush even harder.

“You love me?” she asked.

“Always have. Only problem I had was being able to tell you.” he said. She smiled and kissed him. His eyes shot open in surprise and she giggled when she pulled away.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“For saving my brother, and for admitting that you loved me.” she replied with a smile. He smiled back and began to get up. She tried to stop him, but he waved her off. A moment later he stood, looking at her with his emerald green eyes.

“Let’s get out of here.” He said.

“Okay. Don’t try to fly though.” she warned.

“Why not? Oh…” he said as he looked at his wings.

“Just be glad that feathers grow back.” she said. He laughed a little then walked out of the building with Aerial by his side.

Storm Shadow and Rainbow Dash were just finishing their meal when Aerial walked up with a pony that Storm Shadow didn’t recognize.

“Hey sis. Who’s your friend?” he asked.

“This is Swift.” she said.

Storm Shadow noticed that a lot of Swift’s hair had been singed and some of his feathers had been burned away.

“So you’re the one who flew in front of the fireball?” he asked.

“Yep, that was me.” Swift replied.

“Thanks for risking your life like that. It probably would’ve hit us if you hadn’t.” he said.

“No problem.” he replied. They talked for a while, until they noticed how quiet it had gotten.

“How’s it going ponies?” said a jet black unicorn with snow white hair, her crimson red eyes surveying the group.

“What are you doing here Final Hour?” Storm Shadow asked.

“I got bored so I thought I’d pay you a visit.” she replied. Her eyes landed on Swift and she grinned.

“I could fix those burns you know.” she said.

“Really?” he asked skeptically.

“Sure, just hold still for a moment.” she replied and her horn began to glow. The group watched in awe as the burn marks disappeared and new feathers instantly grew into place.

“I could fix you too if you want, Rainbow Dash.” Final Hour said when she was finished.

“Sure, whatever.” she replied nonchalantly, though her look said, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Final Hour only grinned again as her horn glowed once more. Rainbow Dash winced, as her wing snapped and popped back into place, and all the soreness went away.

“Sheesh, you must have hit that wall HARD to dislocate your wing like that.” Final Hour commented when she was finished.

“Well I have to get going. I’ve got plenty of work to do!” she said as she turned and vanished.

“Well she was… interesting…” Swift said. They all nodded in answer, and continued talking.

After about an hour, Swift told everyone goodbye, and flew off to go to sleep.

“I bet he’s tired. He wasn’t even supposed to be moving around yet.” Aerial said.

“So is he your coltfriend?” asked Rainbow Dash, making her blush once more.

“Yes.” she murmured.

“I knew it from the look on your face.” Dash said with a triumphant grin.

“I just hope that you’re happy.” Storm Shadow said with a small smile.

“I am.” she replied, and returned her brother’s smile.

It began to get dark, so they decided to watch the sunset. They flew to a cloud high above Ponyville, and watched as the sun began its descent below the horizon.

“I hope that Arcane won’t come back for a long time.” Aerial said, as she lay next to her brother.

“If he does we’ll kick his flank again.” said Rainbow Dash.

“Oh I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of him. He’ll be back.” Storm Shadow said matter-of-factly. The sun set moments later and Aerial flew back to Canterlot. Storm Shadow flew to Rainbow Dash’s house, with Dash close behind, and held the door open for her.

“It felt weird when I couldn’t fly.” she said, as she flapped her healed wing a few more times.

“Well you are a pegasus. Most of what you do is flying.” he replied as he walked inside. She didn’t reply, but kissed him before going to her room. He went into his own room and climbed into bed.

“He’ll be back.” he muttered to himself as he fell asleep.

Storm Shadow woke up in his room in the tower of Canterlot. All his memories had returned, and Arcane had not been seen since the Summer Sun Celebration. Everything was going well. Cerulean’s brother had turned out to be under a spell and the red pegasus was now doing all he could to make up for the trouble he had caused in the past. Yawning, he got out of his bed and looked out the window. He had a spectacular view that included Ponyville, and the Everfree Forest.

“Nice view.” said a voice from behind him. He sighed, and turned around to see Final Hour grinning at him. She visited often enough that he was now used to her visits.

“What is it this time?” he asked.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going on a trip tomorrow.” she said.

“This concerns me how?” he asked tiredly.

“I won’t be coming back alone, and the pony I bring back will interest you.” she replied with a mischievous grin. This got his attention, and he was about to say something, when she turned and vanished.

“I hate it when she does that.” he grumbled to himself as he walked out of his room. He met up with his sister Aerial at the entrance to the tower.

“How’s it going sis?” he asked.

“I’m tired! Why do we have to wake up so early anyway?” she replied with annoyance.

“Well you can’t watch a sunrise if the sun has already risen, now can you?” he countered. She was about to say something, when Swift alighted besides them.

“Hey Storm Shadow! Hey Aerial!” he said with a grin.

“Hey Swift.” they replied in unison.

“Have either of you seen Cardinal?” he asked.

“I’m over here.” said a voice, and they turned to see Cardinal walking behind his brother Cerulean.

“How are you doing?” asked Swift.

“I’ve been doing a lot better since they removed that spell.” he said, without even trying to smile.

They talked for a while longer until Cardinal left with his brother and Swift flew off to patrol duty.

“I’ll talk to you later sis.” Storm Shadow said as he took to the sky. She waved in response and turned back to the tower.

He soared through the air, enjoying the freedom that flight provided. He flew until he saw a streak of color coming towards him.

“Hey Rainbow Dash.” he said as the cyan pony slowed to a stop next to him.

“Hey Storm Shadow, how’s it going?” she replied.

“Not too bad, though guard duty gets very boring at times.” he said.

“Well duh! All you do is stand around!” she replied. They laughed for a few moments before flying over to a nearby cloud to watch the rest of the sunrise.

Final Hour twirled her scythe as she watched Storm Shadow and Rainbow Dash. The sight of the two of them made her wish for a normal life. One where she could get a coltfriend for herself. She sighed as she vanished from the cloud she had been sitting on. Reappearing in the Everfree Forest, she began to walk along the path between the trees. The forest always calmed her down, and the inhabitants never disturbed her. She pondered her upcoming trip. It wouldn’t take long to reach her destination, but then she would have to bring the pony back to Ponyville. She had seen the pony in one of her dreams. Light blue coat with a snow white mane, ice blue eyes, and a snow flake with an icicle behind it for his cutie mark. Not a bad looking stallion in her opinion. It always snowed in the area where he lived, so a blizzard would probably go unnoticed.

“This should be fun.” She murmured to herself as she passed the hut of a zebra that annoyed her with her constant rhyming.

“Can’t she ever speak normally?” she wondered as she looked back at it. She continued walking for a few hours, before she got tired and vanished once more.

Storm Shadow watched Rainbow Dash fly away before he flew toward Canterlot. He had patrol duty in a few minutes, and he had to get his armor. Once he reached the armory and had his armor fitted, he walked to his place, and waited for his partner to show up. They never assigned him the same partner twice in a row for some reason. After a few minutes of waiting, he heard someone walking towards him, and turned to see Cardinal clad in white armor.

“Hey Cardinal.” he said.

“Hey Storm Shadow.” he muttered in reply.

“How are you coming along?” asked Storm Shadow.

“A lot better now that the spell is gone, but I’m still kind of nervous being here.” he replied. Storm Shadow nodded then sat down. He noticed Cardinal’s eyes continually looked down, and he hadn’t smiled once since the spell had been broken. Lots of ponies had tried to cheer him up, but none had succeeded.

“Listen Cardinal,” he said, “it wasn’t you doing all that stuff. The spell was controlling you. None of it was your fault.” Cardinal didn’t respond, but Storm Shadow thought he saw the faint flicker of a smile. Their shift ended a few hours later, and Storm Shadow headed toward the training area. He entered to find a female guard, easily dodging attacks from two other guards. When the two guards spotted him they stopped attacking and saluted. Noticing the salute, the female guard turned around and spotted Storm Shadow. She was a light yellow color with a blue mane that had a couple streaks of green in it. Her cutie mark was revealed to be crossed swords with a shield in the middle.

“Well who is this? A new guy?” she asked, looking at him with bright blue eyes.

“No, you haven’t met him because he was missing for a long time.” One of the guards told her. “This is probably the first time he’s been down here in over a month.”

“Oh, well in that case, welcome back!” she said with a grin. “My name’s Sideswipe.”

“I’m Storm Shadow.” he replied.

“So are you here to train, or just stand there?” she asked a moment later.

“I’m here to train of course.” He replied.

“Bring it on then!” she exclaimed confidently as she soared into the air.

He happily obliged, and soared after her. They met in mid air and practiced countering, dodging, and other important aspects of fighting. She, of course, dodged all his attacks, but he managed to dodge most of hers, which impressed her quite a bit. When they were done, they talked for a while before he left to go to his second guard duty of the day. This time his partner was Cerulean.

“Hey Cerulean.” said Storm Shadow as the light blue pegasus walked up. He nodded, but didn’t say anything. Storm Shadow tried to start up a conversation multiple times, but Cerulean never answered, and he eventually gave up. A few hours later after their shift ended, Storm Shadow was walking back to the tower when he spotted clouds moving over the Everfree Forest.

“That doesn’t look very natural.” he muttered under his breath, watching as the clouds moved toward some unknown destination.

Final Hour twirled her scythe absentmindedly as she led the clouds above her. It took longer to get to her destination this way, but it had to be done to get a good blizzard that she needed.

“Who can resist following a mysterious hooded pony? Especially during a blizzard.” She said to herself with a mischievous grin. She continued walking through the Everfree Forest, her crimson eyes scanning the trees with an ever present mischief in them.

“Oh this going to be so much fun!” she thought happily.

Storm Shadow watched the clouds disappear behind a mountain before continuing back to the tower. He was just about to enter when Swift landed next to him.

“How’s it going Storm Shadow?” he asked.

“Oh, good so far. how about you?” he replied.

“Same here. I heard you met the new combat trainer today.” he said.

“You mean Sideswipe? Ya, I met her. Why?” he wondered.

“One of the guards was talking about how you were able to dodge her so much. Nopony has been able to dodge her for very long, so I was surprised when I heard.” he said with a grin. Storm Shadow heard someone coming, and turned to see Sideswipe coming towards them.

“Hey guys! Did you hear? There’s a huge blizzard going over the Everfree Forest!” she exclaimed.

“What? It’s still summer though, how can there be a blizzard?” asked Storm Shadow.

“I don’t know but it just started a couple minutes ago. It’s heading away from us though.” she replied.

“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about it.” Swift said with relief, before walking to his room.

“Oh, I highly doubt that…” Storm Shadow muttered.

End of The Mysterious Newcomer.

Keep an eye out for my second fanfic in this series! Darkness Strikes!

Giving credit where credit is due.
People who thought of names-
Storm Shadow-Half credit to gamerboi26 (I edited one of his ideas to get this name)
Aerial-gamerboi26
Arcane Darkness-gamerboi26
Cookie Crisp-me
Swift-me
Cerulean-me
Cardinal-me
Final Hour-me
Sideswipe-gamerboi26
Awesome description made by Vason.
Inspiration for elemental ponies came from the story "Through The Eyes of Another Pony."
Picture was made by Yonathin.

(gamerboi26 is a friend of mine on Steam and on globalequestria.com
same goes for Vason and Yonathin.)