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.

Next Chapter: Chapter 9 Estimated time remaining: 30 Minutes