Chapter 2: A Restless Shadow

"You need a few days of bed rest, and some light rest for your wing to properly recuperate."

"A few days!" Storm exclaimed, frustrated.

He glanced back at his broken wing, wrapped up in a heavy, bright white cast. He felt his anger rising even further as he glanced at his cutie mark; a silver sword and two white wings.

After a few moments of thought, he calmed down by rationalizing the situation.

"Yes, and constantly shifting and moving isn't going to help," the Doctor retorted with a frown, as he exited the room.

'Great, cooped up in a hospital bed for a week. This is going to suck,' Shadow thought, rolling his eyes. His thoughts were quickly interrupted, as the door slammed open.

Instinctively, Storm jumped up, startled, and prepared for anything. He sat down with a slight sigh, when he saw the rainbow colours he would come to know all too well. Rainbow Dash entered the room, with an excited air about her. Twilight Sparkle followed her, carrying a few small books with her.

"Hey Shadow, how's it going?" Rainbow quickly asked, drawing closer to Storm.

"Alright," the colt replied, sitting up straighter in his bed, "Wasn't expecting any visitors."

"Oh, yeah. We'll I know it's gonna suck being cooped up in here," Dash cheerfully proclaimed, "so Twilight and I brought a few books for you to read in case you get bored."

Storm watched as the stack of books was placed on the table next to his bed. He reached over and grabbed the first one, glancing at its cover.

"Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone," Storm read aloud, a slight smile.

"It's the first story in the series, I own all of them," Rainbow Dash told the injured pegasus, grinning.

"Thanks," Shadow replied, smiling.

Although small, the gesture and visit from the two mares boosted his spirits.

"We'll it was nice seeing you Shadow, but I'd better get going," Twilight said as she started toward the door, "See you later."

As Twilight reached the door, she turned around and frowned.

"Rainbow."

"Oh yeah, later Twilight," replied Dash with glee.

Twilight's frown deepened as she sighed and exited into the hall. Storm looked around his surroundings once more. It was a dark, off white room, poorly lit aside from a window, and a little grungy. His thoughts went into a deep introspective state, only to be pulled back by Rainbow Dash's stare.

Silence. The room remained in thick silence for almost a minute, as Shadow shirked under the intense gaze of Rainbow Dash.

"So tell me about the Wonderbolts, you said you met them," Dash interrogated Storm happily, finally breaking the silence.

Shadow grinned awkwardly, and stammered, "Yeah… I uh…"

"Well, tell me! When, how, why, where," Dash eagerly continued questioning, coming ever closer to Shadow with each word.

"Well, I uh…" Storm answered, leaning backwards to counter Dash's close proximity, "I'm kind of… a… erm… a member myself…"

A sigh of defeat burst out of Shadow, as he watched Rainbow's face light up with more excitement. A smile spread across her face, but was short lived.

"Wait…" Rainbow halted her thoughts, "There's no Shadow Storm in the Wonderbolts. Are you lying to me?"

"We use call signs… aliases if you want," Storm replied, rubbing his eyes in his hooves, as if attempting to shield himself from the world, "Mine is... Hotshot…"

The excitement returned once again to Rainbow Dash's pale blue face, lighting up with a smile that would even impress Pinkie Pie.

"Tell me everything."