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.

Next Chapter: Chapter 10 Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes