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.

Next Chapter: Chapter 8 Estimated time remaining: 37 Minutes