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.

Next Chapter: Chapter 11 Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes