Storm opened his eyes and stretched his forelegs. Today was the day that he went to Canterlot. He had decided to start walking to the station around 12:30. He didn't know the time exactly, he imagined it to be around 8:00 right now. He stood up, he had to go back to the blacksmith to get his sword back from Bright Spark, he set off towards the blacksmiths. He wondered how Twilight was doing, anypony in the right mind would have probably forgotten about him by now. But she did know of his plans to assassinate Celestia... She had probably sent a letter in advance, tonight was going to be harder than he had previously thought. He eventually came across the blacksmiths. He opened the door, making a large creaking noise as he entered the building. Bright Spark was sitting at the counter, he had a hoof on his chin and he was about to fall asleep just as Storm walked in. He shook his head and perked up as soon as Bright Spark saw him.
"Ah, hello Shadow Storm! I've finished the repair of your weapon!" He exclaimed as he entered a small room to the right of the anvil. He came back with a familiar looking long sword, he set it down on the counter with a heavy sigh. He had surely improved the weapon, several chips on the weapon's edge had been fixed and the hilt was now upgraded, looking slightly more regal than Storm had anticipated.
"Wow... I don't even want to know how somepony like you could even handle something that heavy..." Bright Spark said, panting heavily. Storm made the sword disappear, returning to his possession.
"Thank you for the help, Bright Spark. This will help me in the near future." Storm said.
"Oh it's no problem." Bright Spark replied, shaking a hoof. Storm walked back outside. All he needed to do now was go to the train station. He had no idea when the next train to Canterlot was, so he had better check. He didn't know where the station was, so he found himself asking several ponies for directions. After about an hour, he finally came to the station. He went up to the counter and ringed a small bell. A white earth pony came up to the counter after a few moments.
"Hello sir, welcome to the Ponyville train station. How may I help you?" The pony said rather half-flanked.
"I wish to buy a ticket for the next train to Canterlot." Storm replied. The pony went up to some charts on the wall and gave them a quick look, she returned after a few moments.
"You're in luck. The next train's at 12:45. You've got ten minutes to waste." The pony said.
"And how much would a ticket cost?" Storm asked.
"It'll cost you twenty bits." She replied. Storm brought out the necessary bits and put them on the counter. The pony handed over a ticket after walking away for a few moments.
"Thank you." Storm said. He walked out to the platform. Ten minutes wasn't a long time to waste. He could spend it simply by just thinking about recent events. He sat down on a nearby bench. After a few minuted had past, he heard the door to the station open again, but instead there being just one set of hooves walking, there were multiple hooves. Storm interpreted there to be about five... No, six hooves. Probably a large group of Canterlot citizens going home. That was, until he heard a familiar voice.
"Whew! Looks like we made it in time girls. We can just wait here until Storm arrives." He heard a familiar voice say. He started panicking, he reached for a newspaper and buried his face into it. Hopefully they wouldn't recognize him until the train came along. He heard the six move onto the platform, probably surveying the area to make sure he wasn't already there.
"Looks like he isn't here yet. We might as well make ourselves comfortable until he comes." He heard Twilight say. He heard somepony sitting on the bench right next to him. He kept his eyes locked on the newspaper, bringing one of the pages across the exposed side of his face. He waited a few minuted before he heard the mare speak.
"Wow. Ya'll must be interested in that there page on the newspaper." He heard the voice say. Applejack. Storm knew what she was talking about, he hadn't turned the page of the newspaper yet, no doubt he was arousing suspicion.
"So, what train are Ya'll waitin' on?" Applejack asked. Storm cleared his throat, trying to erase the menacing edge he had. He heard his voice crack, with any luck, he should sound like a different pony without the cold edge he had to his voice.
"I'm waiting for the next train to Canterlot." Storm replied, thankfully his voice had changed, he sounded completely different without the menace.
"Ah see... Well, if Ya'll see a stallion called Shadow Storm then give us a holler alright?" Applejack said. Storm nodded his head, although he wasn't sure if Applejack could see it or not. After a few more minuted had past, he heard the sound of the train approaching the station. How was he going to do this? He couldn't simply walk onto the train when there were six angry mares hungry for his blood. He heard the train skid to a halt at the station. He waited a few moments before he heard the ringing of the bell signalling that the train was about to leave. As soon as he heard the first wheel starting to move, he instantly threw away the newspaper, running as fast as he could towards the train. Applejack didn't have time to react as he threw himself towards the almost closed doors of the train. Twilight was the first to react, she leaped forward towards Storm, grabbing onto his his left foreleg. Storm managed to pull himself into the train, along with Twilight.
He was immediately greeted by the warm carpet of the train. It took him a few seconds to register what he had just done. He noticed Twilight, so why didn't he just kick her off once she had grabbed him? He shook his head, raising himself to his hooves, he looked out of the nearest window, Twilight's friends all had a look of shock and worry for their friend. They shot a deadly glance at Storm, he ducked under the window, moving back to where Twilight was, she was dizzy, shaking her head to clear her mind. There weren't many passengers on the train, so thankfully, they weren't attracting too much attention. Storm looked around to make sure that nobody was giving him any strange looks. He felt a sudden blow to the back of his head, he turned around to see Twilight looking at him with a tear filled face.
Storm looked away and started to walk towards an empty seat. He sat down and started to look outside of the window, he was surprised by the sight outside of the window. Rainbow Dash's face was pressed up against the window, shouting some inaudible curses at him. He pulled on the small rope at the side of the window which made the curtains cover them. He turned back around to see Twilight, still with her tear-eyed expression.
"Why did you follow me?" Storm asked. Twilight was literally about to break down into tears.
"I...I d-don't want you to die." Twilight said, her voice stifled by her depression. Storm looked at her with a serious expression.
"I told you. I will not die." Storm said. Twilight grabbed his arm, looking at him with a slightly more angry expression.
"You say stuff like that but you know as well as me that you're going to be killed by Celestia! S-She sent me a reply to my letter... I was going to show you it..." Twilight said.
"Letter? What letter?" Storm asked.
"The letter saying that you were going to Canterlot in a few days time to try and kill her again..." Twilight replied. Her horn glowed with a purple aura and a scroll appeared, floating in mid-air. Storm began to read it.
Dear Twilight Sparkle
You needn't worry about me. I have already taken precautions to stop this vile stallion. The security in the castle is as alert as ever. There is no way that the stallion could enter again. Should he succeed in entering the castle, however. I will deal with him... Personally.
Your mentor, Princess Celestia
Storm finished reading the letter. A pony came up to them asking for their tickets. After explaining that she didn't have a ticket, the pony said that she had to get off on the next stop, which happened to be Canterlot. Once the pony had left, they resumed their conversation.
"Don't you see Storm? Celestia won't let you get into the castle! And if you do, she'll kill you!" Twilight exclaimed, she had found the strength to ward off the tears.
"Nothing's perfect. The castle will have one minor flaw that I can exploit." Storm replied.
"I'm not worried about you getting into the castle! I'm worried about you!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I'll be fine. Once we get to Canterlot you'd better start heading back. Your friends are probably worried about you." Storm said, he saw Twilight shaking her head.
"I'm not leaving you..." Twilight said, she wrapped her forelegs around Storm, pulling him into a deep hug. Storm moved his hoof to the back of her head, stroking her mane.
"There's no need to worry about me so much. I'm just a stallion who you bandaged up." Storm said. Twilight pulled away from the hug.
"Is that all you think you are to me?" Twilight asked.
"I have a completely different life from you. I was born and raised to plot the demise of Princess Celestia, nothing more." Storm said.
"But you can change! You don't have to be a pawn anymore!" Twilight said.
"I... I'm not a pawn. I can act of my own accord." Storm said.
"Then make this decision! Do you want to stay with me, or do you want to get yourself killed?" Twilight asked, hugging Storm again.
"I love you Storm. I don't want to lose someone like you." Twilight continued, she had started to sob again.
"Twilight... If I did decide to stop this. What would become of you? Princess Celestia will be outraged." Storm said, Twilight perked up, knowing that this was her only chance to stop Storm.
"She would understand! She's forgiving! If I explained everything to her then it would all be okay!" Twilight said. Storm went quiet for a moment, not sure what to believe.
"I... I need some time to think about this..." Storm said. Twilight looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. She moved in closer, so that their lips were barely touching. Storm could feel Twilight's every breath on his lips.
"I love you Storm, try to remember that when you make a decision." Twilight said. Storm felt his lips touch hers, Storm felt all of his troubles melt away as soon as Twilight kissed him. He truly did love another pony. But at the cost of losing his original home, his honor and his upbringing. All to be happy with one mare. Storm pulled away from the kiss. Twilight gave him a warm smile, a scarlet red adorning her cheeks. They both sat in silence for the rest of the train trip, simply staring into each others eyes. It was almost as if time had lost all meaning when the two were together. They were both knocked out of their senses when the train skidded to a halt. They both left the train. The train station in Canterlot looked more glamorous than Ponyville itself. Storm and Twilight walked out of the train station, into the might sky of the city.
"We had better find a place to stay for the night" Storm said.
"You mean... You're okay with me staying with you?" Twilight asked. Storm nodded Twilight led Storm towards a glamorous hotel which looked much too expensive for either of them. They walked inside, Storm had trouble taking in the extreme sense of high class once they walked inside. Twilight walked up to the receptionist and started to explain to him that she was Celestia's student and she had come for a visit. The receptionist understood the situation and gave them both a room free of charge. Twilight led Storm up to the hotel room. If the hallways and the lobby of the hotel were high class. Then the rooms were absolutely spectacular. The room combined the colors red, gold and purple to make a design that looked surprisingly more glamorous than it sounds. The one thing that caught Storm's eye was the large double bed that was against the wall of the room.
"Unfortunately, the receptionist said that this was the only room that wasn't reserved. So we had to take this one." Twilight said, Storm let out a quiet chuckle. He knew she was lying, but he honestly wasn't complaining. Storm and Twilight were both tired, they made their way into the bed, Storm making sure that there was quite a distance between him and Twilight. He reached over to turn the lamp off, once he had turned it off. The room was in complete darkness. The luxurious designs on he walls turned to pure black. And a large majority of the room couldn't be seen. Storm turned back around and felt a heat source directly next to him. He moved his hoof towards the right and it made contact with Twilight's mane. She let out a small giggle as she curled up beside Storm.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm a little afraid of the dark." She said teasingly. Storm merely sighed and lay his head against the pillow, he was surprised when his whole head was nearly engulfed by the pillow, the hotel certainly made the beds comfortable. He heard Twilight stifle a giggle at him. He was still relaxed, he had been sleeping with his back against a tree for the last two days and now he was sleeping in one of Canterlot's most luxurious hotels. He sighed and turned his head towards Twilight, although he could only make out a slight part of her facial features. Twilight leaned over and nuzzled his chest.
"Goodnight Storm." Twilight said.
"Goodnight Twilight." Storm replied.