*Turn on webcam*
Me: Hey guys, welcome to chapter 13 of Shadow Storm Adventures. Now today's episode will be about—
*Phone rings and I answer it*
Me: Hello?
?: Hi, is this Sunblast X?
Me: Yeah, who is this?
?: Name's Guestspirit. Big fan of this story by the way.
Me: Uh, thanks. So why'd you call me? More importantly, how did you get this number?
Guestspirit: That second question's not important. That first question though I can answer. I remember you had the fight with Rainbow Dash a few chapters back and I wanted to send you something that'll protect you just in case she comes back for revenge.
Me: Like what?
*Two ghost guards appear on either side of me*
Guestspirit: Does that answer your question?
Me: Uh… yeah. Thanks for the backup, dude. Now to start today's episode.
Chapter 13: We Unlucky Few
I was sleeping soundly in my bed. Sometimes I couldn't believe how soft and cozy it was. Then again, it was made of a very soft material. Same goes for the pillows. Today just might be one of those days where I could just sleep in all—
*RING*
Or not…
I raised my hoof and slammed it down on the clock beside me. I stretched my arms out with a yawn as I rose from my bed. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I hopped out of bed and started my morning routine. Get up, clean myself up and eat breakfast. Today's breakfast consisted of maple-cinnamon flavored oatmeal and buttered toast.
Once I finished up breakfast, I stepped out of my house and stretched out my wings, causing them to make a popping noise.
"Hm. I should probably find a way to sleep without lying on my wing" I said while massaging one of my wings with my hoof.
With that done, I jumped of the small cliff that my house was on and glided down to the ground beneath it. I should ask Blitz if he could install stairs to the cliff. That aside though, I think I'll go see one of my friends. I guess I'll go see Fluttershy; it's been a few days since I've hung out with her. Knowing her, she's probably taking care of her animal friends.
-Fluttershy's Cottage-
"Hey Fluttershy" I said to her as I descended into her backyard.
"Oh, good morning, Shadow Storm" she greeted me back, and then pulled me in for a brief hug.
"What're you up to?" I asked.
"I'm just feeding my little animal friends their breakfast. They can't start the day on an empty stomach, now can they?" she said while throwing bird seed into the chicken coop.
I looked around and noticed that she had barely started feeding her animals. Personally I don't blame her, I mean; it's still pretty early in the morning. Her morning would probably go faster if she had some help.
"You know, I could probably help you if want" I offered my assistance. It wouldn't exactly feel right if I just let Fluttershy do all of this by herself.
"Oh, would you? Thank you so much. With your help I can finish this much faster" Fluttershy said with an appreciative smile.
[30 minutes later]
"Ok, we've fed all of the birds, all of the reptiles, and all of the animals that can dig underground" I listed off all of the creatures we were able to feed so far.
"Good. Now the only one we have left is Angel" Fluttershy added, taking a carrot out of a nearby basket. "I think you should be the one to do it, Shadow"
"Me?" I looked at her with a confused gaze.
"You two got off on a rocky start. Maybe this will teach you to be more open towards each other" she told me.
I was hesitant for a moment as I looked at the vegetable that was in Fluttershy's hoof. His name may be Angel, but he certainly doesn't act like one. Fluttershy had a point though; her pet rabbit and I didn't really start off on the right hoof… or paw in Angel's case. I guess it couldn't hurt to try, right?
"Alright, I'll give it a shot" I said, taking the carrot from her. "Hey there, Angel" I walked up to the little rabbit. "I know you and I didn't make the first good impression on each other, so here's a carrot as a peace offering" I placed the carrot down in front of him. He sniffed it for a moment before chewing on it. "You know what'll make that carrot taste even better?"
Angel looked up at me, wondering what I meant by that. I raised my hoof and zapped the orange colored vegetable with lightning, cooking it to an almost steamed condition. Angel then bit into the carrot once more, only this time it was at a more rapid pace. Everypony knows carrots taste better cooked than when raw.
"Very good, Shadow Storm. I hope you two can get along better in future as well" Fluttershy said.
"Yeah, let's hope so" I said but with less enthusiasm.
"And now that we've finished feeding the animals, I have enough time to catch my spa appointment with Rarity" Fluttershy stated as the two of us walked out of her cottage "Will the girls and I see you at lunch later today?"
"Wouldn't miss it. I'll even bring Blitz along" I told her. Fluttershy and I bumped hooves and she flew off to the Ponyville spa.
-Lunch at Sweet Apple Acres-
It was around midday at Sweet Apple Acres. This was where we decided to have our seven of us decided to have our lunch day today. This being Applejack's farm and all, it was her who brought out the lunch. She brought out apple pies, apple fritters, apple dumplings… you get the idea. Besides AJ I was the first to arrive, along with Blitz as I had stated before to Fluttershy.
Speaking of the timid little Pegasus, she and Rarity were the next ones to arrive, taking in the fact that they both came from their spa appointment together. In fact you could tell by the way their fur, manes and tails glistened in the sunlight.
Finally Rainbow Dash showed up, making an awesome, over the top entrance as usual. She took a seat next to Blitz… which is odd, but whatever.
"So, is everypony here?" AJ asked, wanting to make sure everypony had arrived at the lunch.
"Not everypony. Pinkie and Twilight aren't here" I told her.
"Here I am!" everypony screamed in surprise as Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Ok, now only Twilight is late" Blitz stated.
"We can talk until she gets here" Fluttershy suggested. "How was everypony's morning so far?"
"Meh, my morning was ok. It was bright and sunny all morning, so I didn't really have much to do in terms of weather duty. And even if I did, I would've finished my share in ten… seconds… flat" Rainbow said in her usually cocky manner as she looked down at her hoof.
"I made a giant chocolate lava cake with fudge frosting" Pinkie said.
"Oh, wow, that actually sounds—"
"And then I ate it all in one bite!" She enthusiastically stated with her hooves raised in the air for emphasis.
"Ok, forget what I was about to say then" I said, not going back to what I was about to say about the cake.
"Hi, everypony" we turn our heads to see Twilight coming towards us. "Sorry if I'm late, I got a little sidetracked" she said.
Funny, usually it's Rainbow Dash who's late. I kind of expected Twilight of all ponies to be one of the first to show up. What did she do that was so important?
"So Rarity, Fluttershy, did you have fun at your spa appointment?" I asked the two of them.
"Oh yes, it was very relaxing" Fluttershy said with a nod of her head.
"And we most definitely had a good amount of fun. You could even say it was an almost… pleasurable fun. Right, Fluttershy?" Rarity winked at Fluttershy, to which she winked back.
I grabbed a slice of apple pie and began eating. I have to say AJ makes the best apple pie, even better than the expensive ones in Canterlot. The pie had the sweet taste of the apples and filling, with a cinnamon flavored crust. It was freakin' delicious.
"Well I met a stallion today" Twilight said out of nowhere, almost making me choke on my slice of pie.
"Is that so? Do tell" Rarity said, interested in Twilight's tale.
"Well, he's a periwinkle colored earth pony,average stallion height, blonde mane and tail, blue eyes, and he has a cutie mark of a white star" Twilight described the stallion.
The girls were fascinated at the description of the stallion Twilight had met. I looked at Blitz with a glare and he replied with a shrug.
"What's his name?"
"Is he cute?"
I rolled my eyes at their annoying questions.
"His name's Star Gazer and… he's not too bad on the eyes" Twilight said, looking off to the side while blushing with slight embarrassment.
"I bet he's cuter than Shadow Storm, huh?"
"Hey!" I snapped back at Dash's mocking comment. I heard Twilight giggle under her breath.
[20 minutes later]
That was a good lunch…
Except for the parts where the girls were talking about the guy that Twilight met! Seriously, the whole time they were talking about Star Gazer. It was really annoying.
"Well, lunch was good, but I think I better get going. I have to get ready for tonight" Twilight said as she got up.
"Tonight? What happens tonight?" I asked with a confused look. Oh Faust, I hope it's not going to be what I think it's going to be…
"I'm having a date with Star Gazer" She told us. Aw, crap. "Well, see you later, everypony" Twilight said as she walked off. A few moments later Twilight was out of sight.
"Well, it's nice that Twilight is going on a date with somepony" Fluttershy said with a supportive smile.
"I never thought I'd see the day" Rainbow Dash commented with a raised eyebrow.
"Can we stop talking about Twilight's date, please!?" I shouted, slamming my hoof down on the table.
There was a moment of silence between the seven of us. The girls and Blitz looked at each other, and then back at me. I looked down, not wanting to look up at my friends.
"You ok, buddy?" Blitz asked, a hint of concern his voice.
"I… I just don't want to talk anymore about Twilight date, ok?" I looked off to the side, my ears lowered.
There was a pause…
"Oh, I see what's going on here…"
I looked up at Rarity.
"Somepony's jealous!" Pinkie Pie said in a sing-song voice.
"Say what now?!" I looked at them with surprise.
"You care about her, darling" Rarity told me.
"She's my childhood friend; of course I care about her!" I said with my arms folded.
"She means you have feelings for her, sugarcube. To you, she's a bit more than just a friend" Applejack added.
I gave an annoyed glare, my arms crossed as I let out a snort through my nostrils. I didn't think it was possible, but this conversation just became more irritating than it already was.
"You do spend a lot of time with her, dude" Blitz said. Really? You too, Blitz?
"Eh, I think she can do WAY better than you" Rainbow commented. Even more annoyed than I already was, I stretched out my hoof and shot lightning at Rainbow Dash, electrocuting her. "*cough*… was that really necessary? *cough*"
"I don't need this. I'm outta here" I said, taking off into the air at a fast speed.
-Ponyville-
I was now flying over Ponyville. I really needed to blow off some steam. The only way to do that would to…
"Huh?" I interrupted my thoughts when I saw something. Looking down I saw Twilight, and by the looks of it she wasn't alone either. In fact, she was with a periwinkle colored stallion. It might be the Star Gazer dude she was talking about earlier.
I flew downward into a spin and landed on a nearby roof, landing close enough to hear what they were saying and quiet enough for them not to notice I was there. I poked my head out just a bit in order to see what they were doing. By the looks of it they were sitting down talking about something.
"So tonight at 8?" I heard the stallion ask Twilight.
"Sure, this should be fun" she replied to him.
Alright, I would stay longer, but I rather not here anymore of this crap. With a sigh under my breath, I stood on top of the roof and spread my wings in preparation for flight. However, the moment a crouched I slipped on the roofing of the house I was on. This caused me to slide down against the roof, and then fall off the house, hitting the ground with a hard thud.
"Oww…" I groaned in pain, having landed on my back and head when I hit the ground.
"Shadow Storm?" I heard Twilight's voice, looking to see her looking down at me from where she was sitting.
"Oh, uh, hey there, Twilight" I greeted her, giving a somewhat nervous smile as I quickly shot back up to my hooves. "How's it going?" I casually asked her, keeping a cool composure.
"Everything's fine. Oh, this is Star Gazer, the pony I was telling you about earlier" she pointed to stallion next to her, introducing him to me.
He was just as she described him, a periwinkle colored stallion with blue eyes, blonde hair and a white star cutie mark. He was also wearing a light blue shirt with a downward collar. What I also noticed was that, in terms of body size, I was a bit bigger than me. He had a well-toned body, which made sense considering the fact he was an earth pony.
"Star Gazer, this is my good friend Shadow Storm" Twilight then introduced me to the stallion in question.
"Nice to meet you" he said to me.
"Yeah…" I greeted back with a slight narrow eyed look at him. "So how did you two meet?" I asked Twilight as I took a seat on the other side of her.
"He stopped by the library; he said he wanted to check out a book on constellations" Twilight began to tell the short story.
"We began talking and I complimented her until eventually I asked her to dinner tonight" Star Gazer said while looking at Twilight.
"Uh-huh…" I said in a suspicious tone, keeping my glare on the stallion in front of me. That seems nice of him. A little too nice…
Complimenting a mare repeatedly until she accepts a date from you the second you meet her? Something's up… but what?
"Hey Twilight, I just remembered, I have some serious training that I need to do, so I'll talk to you some other time" I told her.
"Ok, see you—"
She was cut off midsentence by me taking off into the air. Sorry, Twilight, but this guy's up to something. And I'm going to find out what.
[Spying on Star Gazer]
This is it. Now was the time to see who this guy really is. I had waited a moment for Star Gazer to separate from Twilight, knowing Twilight would want to prepare and get ready.
Descending from the sky, I landed and hid around the corner of a nearby building. Poking my head around the corner, I saw him walking down the road.
I saw that he was buying flowers from a florist. And not just any flowers. Roses, the cliché type of flowers you'd bring on the first date you'd have with somepony.
Star Gazer then placed some bits on the florist's counter and went his way. Making sure he wouldn't spot me spying on him, I quietly trotted behind him at a safe distance.
"You following that guy?" I turned to the florist who asked me the question.
"In a sense. Do you know anything about him?" I asked with a curious eyebrow raised.
"I really shouldn't be giving out information about my customers…" she said. My ears lowered in disappointment. "However…" she began, probably lightening up at my situation. "I do know that he likes to buy flowers every other week for mares that he's planned on dating. But you didn't hear that from me" she told me.
That little bit of information could be useful. "Thanks for the help, umm…"
"Roseluck"
"Thanks, Roseluck" I said appreciatively.
With that done, I took to the air again to find where Star Gazer had gone. He only left a few minutes ago so he couldn't have gotten far. I looked down to see that he had turned a corner. Not only that, but up ahead were the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking in the opposite direction towards him.
Eventually though, both Star Gazer and the Crusaders had bumped into each other, the middle one being Sweetie Belle being the one who bumped into him. I sat on a cloud to get a better look at the scene.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mister" Sweetie Belle said in an apologetic tone with a look to match.
"Look at what you did, you little twerp!" Star Gazer yelled at her, pointing at the damaged roses on the ground.
"She didn't to damage your flowers" Apple Bloom said, placing a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder.
"Yeah, well, because of you were too stupid to watch where you were going I have nothing to give my hot date later tonight!" He shouted at them. "Stupid-ass unicorn filly" he muttered under his breath before walking past them.
I waited until was far enough away to drop down to the ground.
"Sweetie Belle, you ok?" I caringly asked the little unicorn. All Sweetie could do was sob and sniff sadly, tears swelling up in her eyes. Upsetting a filly like Sweetie Belle just because your flowers got messed up? Oh, that's just low… "It's alright, Sweetie Belle. Here, go buy yourself a treat" I said, giving her some bits. I then walked in direction Star Gazer walked in.
I had a feeling there was something up with that guy, he's a total asshole. If he's pretending to be nice guy, then I'm going to need more evidence if I'm going to expose him before he ends up hurting Twilight.
-Shadow's house-
I sat in front of my house. Looking up at the sky with my arms crossed, I waited patiently for Twilight to show up. I told Spike to tell her to meet me by my place when she had some time. That was about an hour or two ago.
"Shadow Storm" I heard my name being called. I turned my head in the direction of the pony calling my name.
"Twilight. You finally showed up" I said to her as she walked up the slope to my house. Seriously, I should really have Blitz install a staircase or something.
"Spike said you wanted to see me?" she asked.
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that Star Gazer guy" I said.
"What about him?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Well, Star Gazer, he's… *sigh*… he's not who you think he is…" I began, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck. "You see, it turns out he's a real jerk"
"Uh-huh. And do you any proof?" She asked me in a suspiciously.
"Physically? No… but I heard him yelling at Sweetie Belle, and then I saw him steal an apple from an apple cart when nopony was looking, and then—"
My statements were cut off midway by Twilight putting one of her hooves to my mouth. "I think I get it" She said. "Shadow, are you trying to tell me you're jealous of Star Gazer?" she asked me. I slapped her hoof away.
"No, I'm not jealous. For Faust's sake, I'm trying to tell you this guy's an asshole and that you shouldn't be going on a date with him!" I said, raising my voice, giving her a glare.
"I'm a full grown mare, Shadow Storm. I can go out with whoever I want" Twilight snapped back, shooting me a glare of her own.
"Look, Twilight, I'm just trying to keep you from making a huge mistake" I told her.
"Well, I don't need you watching me like I'm a helpless filly. So do me a favor and leave Star Gazer and I alone" She turned her back towards me.
"Twilight…" I said in disbelief, stepping back a bit from where I stood. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was she serious into this douchebag? I don't believe this…
"You can talk to me again when you've learned to trust ponies" Twilight, not even looking over her shoulder at me, said in a scolding tone.
She then used her magic to teleport away and to the ground below my house. She looked over her shoulder at me with a final irritated glare and began walking away from me.
Once she was out of the line of sight, I exhaled a sigh under my breath.
"Well, well, well, having a little girl trouble are we?"
That voice… I know that voice from anywhere…
"Hmph. Nice to see you too… Nightstalker" I said without even turning my head.
"Aw, is that any way to greet an old friend?" he jokingly said. I looked back at him, glaring daggers.
He was sitting on a tree branch with his arms crossed and a smirk o his face. I remember this guy from a long time ago. He was an all-black unicorn with black hair and silver colored eyes. His cutie mark was a scythe with a crescent moon in front of it. To complete his look he wore a black hoodie with the hood having a beak tip.
He then lit his horn up with a black aura and used his magic teleport in front of me in a black and silver light.
"Oh, I'm sorry friend, but I'm not exactly in an excited mood" I said in an irritated tone with a roll of my eyes. "How long were you sitting there anyway?" I asked.
"A few minutes after Twilight showed up. Gotta say, I found your little lovers' quarrel rather entertaining" Nightstalker said with a sly smirk. I growled under my breath, my cheeks turning a light shade of red with irritation.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Nightstalker, she and I are just friends… nothing more" I looked off to the side.
"Uh-huh. Because friends totally get jealous of each other when the other friend goes on a date with another pony" he mockingly and sarcastically told me.
"Why does everypony keep saying that?!" I groaned, slapping my face with a hoof.
"Because you are. Face it, dude, you care about Twilight and her feelings because you… like her. She's your first love" Nightstalker told me. "If I were you, I'd find a way to make it up to her" he suggested, which sounded strange come from somepony like him. "…Or you could just watch this backfire, blowup in her face and tell her you told her so. Your choice" ok, now THAT sounded more like the Nightstalker I know.
"Oh, please. What would you know about—" I turned my head to face him, only to see he had vanished out of sight, nowhere to be seen. I'm not gonna lie, I picked that trick up from him. "*sigh*… Faust dammit…" I stared down at the ground, my ears lowered in defeat. Honestly, can this day get any worse?
*BOOM*
The sound of thunder echoed through the sky as rain fell down from above. Apparently it can... Thanks a lot my pegasi brethren.
-Twilight's date-
I don't what's worse the fact that my friend is going a date with a jerk, that feel guilty about what I did for some reason and I'm going to apologize for it, or that it's raining and everypony else might've been right about me being jealous.
I trotted through Ponyville to the location of where Twilight's date was being held. I was able to get some information from Pinkie Pie about where she was and her date took place at the Hayburger. Geez, I know Ponyville isn't the most high class town, but come on.
I might as well trot because I didn't really feel flying, especially with all this rain. Ok, Shadow Storm, just go in there and apologize to Twilight for being a jerk. I hate this day, I really do. I looked ahead to see the hayburger in front of me. I sighed and took a step forward. I would've walked into the restaurant too, if it weren't for the fact that I heard somepony crying. Looking ahead I saw that the pony who was crying was none other than… Twilight…?
"Twilight? Twilight, what's wrong?" I asked with concern as she ran up to me with tears in her eyes.
"*sob*… *sob*… Oh, Shadow *sob*… you we're right…" Twilight said between sobs.
"Huh?" I gave a confused look.
"Star Gazer… he was a real jerk, just like you said" she told me. "He only went out with me because of my looks"
Oh… Under normal circumstances I would've said I told her so or something. But for one reason or another, the guilt of seeing her cry like this was tugging at my heart. Curse me and my kind-hearted nature!
"Stay here, Twilight" I said, walking past her with a serious glare upon my face. No one hurts my friend emotionally and gets away with it. It's time I do what I should've done earlier. It's time I put Star Gazer in his place.
Going inside of the restaurant, I looked around to see where Star Gazer was. As luck would have it he was sitting at a nearby table. Walking up behind him I tapped on his shoulder. The moment he turned his head I punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Ow! What the-? Oh, it's you…"
"You son of a bitch, just who the hell do you think you are? Do you have any idea what you did to Twilight?!" I shouted at him, rage in my voice.
"Oh, you mean that unicorn? I got what I wanted, she was just another useless mare on my list" he said.
"You…" I pounced on top of him.
Rage filling my mind I beat his face in with a barrage of punches. I beat him up until his face was all bloody and my hooves were covered in his blood. By the time I was done with he was bleeding out of his mouth, nose and eyes, and his eyes were all swollen and black. I guess pretty boy doesn't know how to fight back. I then grabbed him by the collar and leaned into his ear.
"If I ever catch you hurting any of my friends in any way, I'll make sure the only way they keep you alive is on life support" I whispered threateningly, and then threw him across the restaurant, sending him hurling into the wall and on to the floor, knocking him unconscious.
*sigh*. I've wanted to do that all day. Glad I got that out of my system. Now, there's only one thing left to do.
I walked out of the restaurant and back into the outside, the rain quickly washing away the blood off of my hooves. Twilight was still there like I asked. A look of sympathy on my face, I calmly walked up to her.
"Twilight, I…"
"Shut up, Shadow Storm. Just… shut up…!" she said between sobs as I held her in my arms in an embrace, Twilight resting her head and hooves on my chest as tears rolled down her cheeks as it poured hard on us.
-Golden Oaks Library (3rd person P.O.V)-
"It'll be alright, Twilight" Shadow Storm said as he carried Twilight into her house. The unicorn said nothing as she continued to cry in her friend's arms. Shadow Storm then flew upstairs to Twilight's bedroom and gently placed her in the bed, putting the blanket over her. "Rest easy, Twilight" he said, stroking the side of her head.
"Shadow, wait" Twilight stopped him as he was about to walk away. Shadow looked over his shoulder at her. "Do you think you could stay with me for tonight?" she asked him. There was a short pause between them…
Shadow gave a light sympathetic smirk. "Sure, if that's what you want. I'll be on the couch if you need me" he told her.
"Um, actually…"
"Oh. I get what you're saying" he said, quickly taking the hint. Shadow got in on the opposite side of Twilight's bed and pulled the blanket over himself. Twilight turned over to look her Pegasus friend in the eyes.
"Shadow, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" Twilight said as tears began to well up in her eyes again.
"Hey, it's fine. You didn't know Star Gazer was a douchebag, you've got nothing to apologize for" he said casually, wiping the tears from her face. "If you ask me, Star Gazer just blew his chance with somepony amazing. Without sounding cliché, you're a smart, beautiful mare and you're fun to be around. Any stallion would be lucky to have you" he told her.
"Do you really mean that?" Twilight asked him.
"Of course I do. And if Star Gazer can't see that, well then that's his loss" he said, putting a hoof under her chin for her to look into his eyes.
Shadow Storm then leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead. Twilight gasped lightly under her breath. At this moment, at this very moment, Twilight felt a connection to Shadow. This didn't feel like their standard friendship connection though. No, this connection felt… different in a way, as if her heart was telling her that, with Shadow Storm, she could feel safe.
"Oh, Shadow Storm…" Twilight buried head into his chest for second or third time in a row. It wasn't long before she soon fell asleep in Shadow's arms.
"Good night, Twi" Shadow whispered to her quietly as he held her close in his embrace. After what happened today, Shadow Storm would be there to comfort Twilight.
His beloved Twilight…
Me: Damn, this probably the longest chapter for this story to date. I've got to say even I'm impressed with myself this time. Anyway, thank you Guestspirit for the ghost guards, I'm sure they'll come in handy.
Me: This took me a long time to complete and I'll try to make sure the next chapter doesn't take as long.
Me: Remember to Read, Review, and Favorite/Follow
Me: See you all in the next chapter.
*Turn off computer*
