Some Redemption

by Cupzy


Concealed Feelings

Shadow Storm opened his eyes, realizing his situation, he sat up quickly on the bed that Twilight had provided him with. He was breathing heavily, recollecting the events from yesterday. He calmed down in a few more moments. The royal guard couldn't find him here. He pondered over who could have possibly hinted at his location? His new found "Friends" didn't know anything about him. If anything, he had a positive reputation in Ponyville. He slowly lifted himself out of the bed. He was clearly getting paranoid as he cautiously walked through the library. When he saw Twilight appear from the bookcases, he accidentally drew his sword, causing Twilight to scream and run off. He sighed, he really needed to calm down, but how could he? Certainly not while Celestia was at his throat. He "sheathed" his sword and walked in the direction Twilight ran off to.

Twilight was running for her life around the library. Did he find out? Is he going to kill me? Questions spun around in Twilight's head like a tornado, she ran into some bookcases by accident and knocked a large number of books to the ground. She was knocked over, she rubbed her head in pain. She knew there was no point in running from this pony, not after what she saw him do with the Changelings. She sat firmly on the ground, a single tear dropped from her eyes. She didn't want to die, maybe she should have left him in the Everfree forest. She heard the sound of Shadow Storm walking towards her, was this the end? Was she going to die? She had so many questions that she herself could not answer. She heard Shadow Storm walk directly next to her, she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

"Twilight... Are you okay?" She heard Shadow Storm say. Was he being sympathetic?

"I... I just... A-are you going to hurt me?" Twilight asked, she looked up at Shadow Storm, tears falling from her eyes, making several tapping noises as they hit the wooden floor of the library. Shadow Storm didn't know what to think, why was she acting like this? For the first time in his entire life, he felt truly sorry for another pony.

"No... Why would I do something like that? I'm not going to kill the mare who saved my life." Said Shadow Storm.

"B-But... You were pointing your sword at me..." Twilight responded, breaking eye contact with Shadow Storm.

"I am merely paranoid from the events that occurred yesterday, I would never hurt you..." Shadow Storm said, he wasn't used to acting like this, but seeing Twilight on the ground sobbing to herself made him feel an emotion he had not felt before... Sadness...

"Y-You mean it?" Asked Twilight. Shadow Storm nodded apologetically.

"Of course I do. What gave the impression that I would ever hurt you?" Shadow Storm said, his subconscious was screaming at him to stop acting like this, that it wasn't part of his upbringing, he was bred to kill, not to show sympathetic pity for another pony. Shadow Storm fought it back, should it have been another pony, he wouldn't show any kind of sympathy, he would simply leave them alone to their troubles. But there was something about Twilight, he couldn't put his finger on it, but whenever he saw her sad, he would always feel the need to comfort her. That's when it happened, Shadow Storm had never had anything apart from good manners when speaking and a ruthless personality. It just happened, he had never spoken this way before, but it felt odd, very odd.

"Twilight, you don't have to be afraid of anything. You have your friends to comfort you, including me. I don't like watching you cry, and I don't want to see you doing it again, alright?" Shadow Storm said. Twilight gave a few more sniffles before looking directly at Shadow Storm, her eyes were still red from crying. But when she looked at him, between the tears and the sadness, there was a smile. Shadow Storm didn't know what to do at this point. Twilight spent a few more seconds thoughtfully looking at Shadow Storm with a smile. After a few more seconds, against his own thought process, against what his body wanted, and against everything that he had been taught, Shadow Storm smiled back. He had never been friends with anypony before, but Twilight changed that. The smile lasted a few more seconds until Shadow Storm shook his head, embarrassed at the display of emotions that were long since locked behind anger and ruthlessness.

"Thanks, Shadow Storm. That means a lot to me, I was just worried about you after you dealt with those Changelings, you seemed to just be a blank. You never showed any kind of friendliness towards anyone. But I knew that there was a good colt inside of you somewhere." Twilight said. Shadow Storm's soul was now a battleground of emotions, he didn't know what to feel anymore.

"I... Thank you." Shadow Storm eventually said. The two just stared into each others eyes for a moment before finally looking away from each other, a large blush was adorning Twilight's face.

"So... Uh... Do you... Have, like a nickname or something?" Twilight asked, desperately trying to change the subject. Shadow Storm thought for a moment, and then he remembered the night he met Rainbow Dash. The name echoed inside of his head. Storm.

"Yes, I suppose you could call me Storm for the time being." "Storm" Said.

"Oh... Um... Alright! I'll just... Uh... I need to organize the books with... Spike! Yeah..." Twilight said, she simply wanted the conversation to be over, her eyes had still sustained their red tint, but one would have to look very close for them to be recognizable. She walked off with a nervous laugh, calling Spike's name. Storm breathed a sigh of relief. Then it hit him.

"W-What did I just do?! I'm not supposed to act like this... But Twilight... That smile... No! You are here on a mission! You can't get involved in matters like this!" He mentally scolded himself. He took the opportunity that Twilight gave him and left the library. He was still wary about going outside, he never truly knew if the guards actually left or not. Some of the townsfolk had probably seen him running last night. A few of the locals gave him odd looks as he walked around town, he decided to go to the Boutique and ask Rarity if she could make him some kind of hood. He didn't actually know where the Boutique was, he ended up asking a colt for directions. After finally reaching the Boutique, Storm gave the door a knock. After a few moments of waiting, Rarity answered the door.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I help yo- Oh! Mr Shadow Storm! It's very nice to see you again darling! Please come in." Rarity said. Shadow Storm walked inside, the Boutique itself was well decorated on the inside, there were clothes on display on mannequins and Storm found himself stepping on some fabric every now and again.

"Oh, Mr Shadow Storm. There are some frightening rumors going around about you running away from the royal guard last night, I for one, did not believe a word of it!" Rarity exclaimed. Storm hesitated, knowing what he was there to ask for.

"Well actually, I was hoping you could possibly make me a hood or some form of clothing that could possibly conceal my face..." Storm said, trailing off at his last words, afraid that Rarity would catch on.

"Are those rumors getting to you Shadow Storm? I could tell everyone that it's not true..." Rarity said, just as she was about to continue her sentence, a devilish grin was spreading across her face.

"Or are those rumors true Mr Shadow Storm?" Rarity asked.

"Certainly not! I merely just wanted to stay incognito until these rumors settled down..." Storm said. Rarity still had a grin across her face, she was certainly catching on.

"Of course I could make you a hood darling." Rarity said, shaking her head and returning to her less curious, more ladylike self.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe I would have the necessary bits to pay for this." Storm said.

"Oh Shadow Storm, I'll gladly make a hood in exchange for some juicy gossip." Rarity said, a victorious smile on her face.

"Could I ask you to refrain from telling this to anyone? My matters are my own business, spreading rumors about me isn't exactly ladylike, Miss Rarity." Storm countered.

"I can just imagine it! Gentlecolt by day! Vigilante by night!" Rarity said, what made matters worse is that what she was saying was actually true. Storm had already turned around, about to leave the Boutique.

"Goodbye Shadow Storm! I shall have your hood done in a few hours!" Rarity shouted just as he closed the door. Storm put a hoof to his forehead.

"First I display unnatural feelings for a mare, and now one is spreading rumors about me..." Storm thought.

Twilight was now having deep thoughts, letting Spike do most of the sorting.

"He's really kind at heart... But he tried to kill the Princess! I can't possibly... Oh, what I would give just to look into those eyes just once more..." Twilight said to herself, luckily not loud enough for Spike to hear.

"I can't possibly consider liking this colt, can I? He tried to assassinate the Princess of Equestria! My mentor! Where did he even come from anyway? Why does he want to kill the Princess?" Twilight continued. So many questions and she didn't have the knowledge to answer, she let out a frustrated moan.

"What's wrong Twilight?" Spike asked, after hearing her moan.

"I... Look, it's nothing." Twilight said.

"Is it about that colt that wanted to assassinate the Princess? I say we turn him in. He's a criminal." Spike said. Leaving a horrified expression on Twilight's face.

"Spike! He's a pony and he had the same freedom as all of us! I just... Argh! I can't stop thinking about him." Twilight said.

"If you had the intention of turning him in, then why did you protect him when he came here?" Spike asked.

"He just had an... Aura around him, I don't know Spike. I just get really weirder out whenever I see him... Especially from what he did this morning..." Twilight said, she covered her mouth, she had said that last part a little louder than she had hoped.

"Wait, what? What did he do Twilight? Did he hurt you or anything?" Spike said, now abandoning his sorting to sit next to Twilight.

"I thought he was going to. But when he found me, he just turned into a completely different pony, he said things like "I would never hurt you" And "Why would I do something like that?" But he tried to assassinate the Princess! Why WOULDN'T he do something like that?!" Twilight shouted, she felt the tears starting to run down her cheeks again.

"I don't know Twilight, he could like you. I mean, you kind of did save his life. Twice." Spike said.

"But he knows that I'm Celestia's student! Wouldn't killing me help with whatever he's doing?" Twilight said, she was now quietly sobbing to herself. Spike leaned in and gave her a hug, or at least where he could stretch his arms out to.

"It's alright Twilight. You should probably talk to him about it tonight or something." Spike said.

"Yeah, *Sniff* You're right Spike. When he comes here again, I'll talk to him about it." Twilight said. Spike gave her a reassuring nod and walked off. Twilight went back to sorting the books herself. Meanwhile, Storm had bypassed the time by conversing with Ponyville's less suspicious inhabitants, after a few hours, he started to walk back towards the Carousel Boutique to pick up his hood. He was still trying to piece together last night, how did Celestia know where he was? Did somebody in Ponyville tell her? No. That wouldn't be possible, it would have to be a pony with strong bonds between them and Celestia. A name suddenly popped into his brain. Twilight Sparkle. She didn't know about him, and what purpose would she have to turn him in? He started to think back to the scene that he created in the library. He couldn't stop thinking about it for some reason, whenever he had the slightest thought of Twilight, he would think back to that. It was plaguing his mind on the walk to the Boutique.

He eventually shook his head once he finally arrived, he knocked on the door and drained the thought out from his head. Rarity answered within a few moments.

"Ah! Hello Shadow Storm, I have finished the order that you requested!" Rarity said, she quickly ran behind the counter of the Boutique, coming back a few moments later with a hood. The hood itself was a dark black with red lacing, Rarity certainly tried to infuse the wearer's personality with he clothing itself.

"I do hope that you are happy with what I made, I had no idea what to base it on so I just thought of you and inspiration struck!" Rarity explained. The hood fit perfectly, it was actually comfortable.

"Thank you Rarity, if you'll excuse me, I must be returning... Home..."Storm said, saying "home" like it was some kind of alien planet. Rarity nodded and gave a wave as Storm left the Boutique, the sun was setting over the horizon, a sight that Storm rarely got to see from living in the forest where the vegetation was blocking the sun's rays. He started walking back to the library, he was still worried about how Twilight would react when he came back. The hood seemed to be working wonders, it stopped the large majority of the populace from giving him odd looks. He eventually came back to the town library. He gave a sigh and reached for the door, it made a large creaking noise as it opened. Storm closed the door and lowered his hood, the library appeared to have been sorted, some of the books that were originally on the floor were now placed neatly on the bookcases.

Storm continued walking around the library until he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Um... Storm?" He heard Twilight say, almost as quiet as Fluttershy, Storm turned around, Twilight's eyes were red again, but she wasn't crying.

"Hello Twilight Sparkle." Storm replied.

"Uh... Can I... Talk to you about something?" Twilight said nervously, dragging her hoof along the ground.

"Yes, what do you wish to talk about?" Storm replied. He noticed that Twilight was shaking a little.

"Well... You know how the royal guards were chasing you last night?" Twilight asked.

"Yes... What of it?" Storm replied, he was now getting worried. Did she know anything about them?

"Well, last night, before the royal guard started chasing you. I sent a letter to Celestia about how I found you in the Everfree forest... I described you and everything..." Twilight said. Storm was now extremely suspicious.

"And... S-She sent me a letter back saying that... That..." Twilight could barely finish her sentence, she was a mixture of sadness and fear and Storm was clearly noticing it. Her eyes were welling up with tears again, the familiar sound of water droplets hitting the wooden floor was now resurfacing.

"Twilight..." Storm said.

"S-She said that you tried to... Kill her!" Twilight said, she finished her sentence then instantly placed her hooves over her head, she lowered herself to the floor, still sobbing to herself. Storm didn't know what to do.

"...She did it..." Storm thought, the thought kept repeating itself in his mind, almost like his subconscious was trying to torture him. His mind screamed at him to end her life, she was the one who caused the disturbance, she interfered with his plans. Storm shook his head, denying his mind power over his body. He should kill Twilight, but he didn't want to. Through the turmoil and hardship his brain was causing him, he managed to let out one word.

"Why?" Was all that Storm could say. Twilight was truly sorry about what she had done, she was awaiting the final blow that would be her end, but it never came. She was surprised when Storm muttered that word.

"I... I-I didn't want to lie to the Princess. I had to tell her where you were. You're a criminal..." Twilight said. Storm was used to being shouted at, insulted, but what Twilight just said pierced through his heart.

"But why? Why did you want to kill the Princess?" Twilight said, still sniffling and sobbing.

"I was born and raised to plot against Equestria. My people-" Storm said before cutting off, knowing that he had said too much.

"You said it again... "Your people" What does that mean?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight... I... I didn't come from Canterlot... I'm not a part of civilized society... I'm part of a cult... We were banished after Discord's rule for still wanting to freely commit crimes, I was born into them... Bred to kill, nothing more..." Storm explained. An eerie silence filled the room, albeit from Twilight's tears still hitting the ground.

"So that's why..." She said. Storm nodded. He walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"I told you before, I don't like seeing you cry... I was born without any emotion, only hate. But you..." Storm said as he brushed the part of Twilight's mane that was covering her eyes. Looking directly into them.

"You made me feel bad about myself. Sadness, and even a short burst of happiness... You helped me see these things." Storm said. Twilight had stopped sobbing, only a few sniffles could be heard in the silence of the library. Twilight still felt bad about herself, she thought that he was a heartless criminal, but on the inside, he was a gentlecolt. Twilight continued to look into Storm's eyes. Eventually, once again, against everything he stood for. Storm smiled directly at Twilight. She responded with a slightly half-hearted smile, she was still recovering from her recent crying fit.

Storm noticed that Twilight was moving herself closer to him.

"Ever since this morning, ever since I saw her cry... I've felt something different when I looked at her..." Storm thought to himself. Twilight's face was now almost touching Storm's, so close that her breath could be heard and felt. Twilight certainly didn't know what she was feeling, but she felt at ease whenever Storm comforted her. Storm didn't know why he didn't stop her, he didn't know why he let her do it. But within a few seconds, Twilight had moved in for a kiss. Storm didn't retaliate, his entire body wanted this to happen. He moved in himself. The duo's lips felt them touch each other, it was both Twilight's and Storm's first kiss, but they knew what they were doing. Storm's subconscious was in shock. It had given up trying to persuade him otherwise.

After a few seconds, the duo pulled away from their kiss. Twilight had a warming smile on her face. And Storm felt the need to return it. The aftermath suddenly struck Twilight, a huge blush formed on her face.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking and I-" Twilight was cut off by a hoof on her mouth. Storm looked at her, smiling.

"There's no need to apologize, Twilight Sparkle." Storm said, the cold malice in his voice appeared to disappear, leaving behind a strong Manehatten accent.

"I- I'm going to head to bed, It's pretty late." Twilight said. Storm nodded, Twilight walked upstairs, the blush still on her face. Storm decided to head to the spare room. He assumed that he was permitted to stay in the library tonight. His mind was filled with thoughts. What did this mean? Did he have genuine interest in a mare? He was too tired to answer any of these questions. He crawled into the bed and drifted off to sleep with ease. For once, he might have a good day tomorrow.