//------------------------------// // The Plan Comes Together? // Story: Some Redemption // by Cupzy //------------------------------// "That dead pony took some time to get past, but by some miracle, I've managed to get him behind me." Storm thought, wincing in pain at his broken hoof. He continued moving through the hole. He had been inside the hole for Celestia-knows how long, his stomach grumbled loudly, he decided to pick up the pace a little, he didn't want to end up like that pony he had just gotten past. It wasn't a very pleasurable experience, his nose had already gotten used to the smell of rotting flesh. He wasn't sure if the hole continued on for minutes or hours, his mind was still plagued by thoughts of Twilight. He prayed to Celestia that she was okay, and hopefully The Queen hadn't begun the attack yet. He was so lost in thought, he barely felt it when his head collided with something solid. He looked up, his heart did a leap in his chest when he saw what it was. A grate; slightly rusted from years of dilapidation and negligence. He pulled himself closer and looked out of the grate, there appeared to be a small corridor outside of the grate. He stared for a few more minutes to make sure that no warriors were stationed outside of the grate. He attempted to push the grate open to no avail, the neglected hunk of metal was rusted shut. He brought his good hoof back and threw it at the grate, making a loud *CLANG* as his hoof made contact with the cold metal. A small cracking sound was heard, and the grate opened up from the bottom, allowing access to any who desired. Storm thanked his good luck before shoving his head out of the grate, looking around for any signs of trouble, once he had decided that the coast was clear, he shuffled the rest of his body out of the grate. It was too late before he realized how high up he was, his body gave way to the forces of gravity, his hoof scrambling around looking for four horizontal surfaces to cling to. He made the better decision and raised his broken hoof into the air, preventing any further pain or injuries from it. He hid the ground with a resonating *THUD* The carpet that decorated the floor of the corridor cushioned his fall slightly, but not enough so that he didn't feel any pain. Storm raised himself up, his back making a satisfied *CRACK* as his bones shifted back into their original positions. He quickly realized how much noise he had just made, and quickly started walking towards a set of double doors that he could see in the distance. Once he had reached the door, he pressed his ear up against it, expecting to hear some warriors on the opposite side. Once he was satisfied without hearing anything for a few moments. He slowly creaked the door open. Peeking into the small crack he had just made. The room he was looking into resembled the room at the front of the mansion, but he came in from a different direction this time around. He almost jumped for joy once he realized escape was almost in his grasp, but he quickly remembered that a large amount of warriors were positioned outside of the doors, waiting for Storm to try and escape. Storm opened the door completely, stepping into the large living room. He walked up to the large fireplace situated between two comfortable-looking chairs, he realized a large book was resting on the arms of one of the chairs. It was huge, to say the least, the book being slightly larger than Storm's head. Surely it had to be a dictionary or something along those lines. Storm opened the book, a cloud of dust hitting his face as he flicked to a random page. Day number 174 of year number 1649 Oh woe is me. I've had to lock the poor stallion up in a cage, like the ignorant animal that he is. But... I'm sure he will provide some fun before he perishes, he was one of my most trusted warriors, after all. It's such a shame that he had to go and awake all those pointless emotions that I trained him to lock up. The plan is going smoothly, I will send one of my captains along with a batch of Pegasi guards to ponynap Celestia... It's only a matter of time before my plan comes to fruition. I'll be sure to make Shadow Storm's death slow... All while his precious mare will be watching the entire thing. Storm's eyes widened as he read further into the book. Was he... Reading the journal of The Queen? Why would she carelessly leave it somewhere where somepony is bound to pick it up? A hint of curiosity came over Storm as he flicked some pages back. He narrowed his eyes to look at a certain entry. Day number 64 of year number 1622 The legacy lives on, it seems. A young colt by the name of Shadow Storm had caught my eye, he is only young, but he already surpasses skill levels beyond anyone of a higher age than him. From what I've heard, he came from the same family as the stallion who murdered Redblade. I can't say I do not despise him for what his ancestor did to Redblade, but I can't let history get in the way of things. I think I will give this colt some... Special training... The poor thing doesn't even have a cutie mark yet. He is a Pegasus, but I can feel some magic within him, something that goes beyond natural magic levels for a Pegasus... He is... intriguing... To say the least. Storm closed the book. The Queen hated him for what his ancestor did to Redblade. She never truly liked him in any way, it would explain why she was always more tolerable to other ponies of a lower level than him when they failed their missions. Usually replied with an angry "You will not receive any rations tonight" was usually the punishment for failing a mission. But whenever he failed a mission of even small proportions, The Queen would unleash her anger at him, she would bruise him, cut him, and take away any supply of food he would get for a week. He now had another reason for leaving the Banished, as if his current reasons weren't already good enough. His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He flicked back to the previous page, examining it carefully. "I will send one of my captains along with a batch of Pegasi guards to ponynap Celestia." The entry read. Storm examined the ink on the page closely, it was dry, but was certainly written yesterday at the very least. Storm gulped as he put together the pieces. Had The Queen already kidnapped Celestia? Storm dreaded at the thought of a helpless Celestia in The Queen's clutches. Storm certainly couldn't leave now. Not knowing that Celestia might be somewhere in the mansion! He walked back to the door he had came in through, and set about exploring the mansion for any signs of Celestia (Hah, geddit? Signs? Like, as in "celestial signs" oh man I'm hilarious, right?... Right?... Oh fuck off.) "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Twilight. Redblade had assembled a large number of the Equestrian royal guard, he had positioned them to stand at the edge of the Everfree Forest. "It's the only way to get Celestia and Shadow Storm back." Redblade replied. Twilight was about to open her mouth to speak, but backed down before she could say anything. Her only option was to comply, if it were to get Storm back. "I... I understand... I just think there's a... Less violent way of doing this." Twilight declared. Redblade gave her a look of confusion. "The fate of Equestria is at stake here, Twilight Sparkle. We can't waste any time worrying about how much blood is shed." Redblade said. He cursed himself silently for making such a crude remark. Twilight was silent for a few moments, trying to think of a less violent alternative to getting Storm and Celestia back, nothing came to mind. "Just... Tell the royal guard not to hurt anypony they don't have to. If they start running, then don't chase them." Twilight retorted eventually. "That sounds reasonable. Although we can't afford to hold back on anypony who willingly attacks us." Redblade responded. Twilight nodded solemnly, not exactly pleased with the response that Redblade came up with. Redblade moved to the front of the humongous group of guards that surrounded the Everfree Forest. "My fellow Equestrians! Our fair Princess is being held in the sadistic hooves of my former Queen. If my memory serves me correctly, I should be able to lead us to the mansion that we need to search. Twilight Sparkle wishes for you to restrain yourselves from killing anypony who is wounded or unarmed. If they start to retreat further into the forest, so be it. We have three main objectives that we wish to fulfill. The first is to rescue Princess Celestia from the clutches of The Queen. The second objective is to rescue a stallion named Shadow Storm. You will recognize him by his dark blue coat, along with the fact that he fights better than anypony in that entire building. If a stallion disarms you, then you are either unprepared for the trial of combat, or you have provoked Shadow Storm. The third objective is to escort the Elements of Harmony to The Queen, where the combined power of the elements should be enough to lock The Queen away forever. Any questions?" Redblade shouted into the crowd. Twilight retreated back into her friends when the large group of guards stomped their hooves and saluted Redblade. "Good! Now, the protection of the Elements of Harmony..." Redblade said as he pointed a hoof towards Twilight and her friends, who waved awkwardly in response. "...Is absolutely mandatory, you must protect these mares with your lives!" Redblade shouted. A large amount of "Sir, yes sir!" Was heard from the group of guards. "Good! Now, follow me!" Redblade said as he turned towards the Everfree Forest, motioning for Twilight and her friends to stick by his side. "Seven" Storm mentally counted as he choked out another guard. The Queen made a smart decision and placed a weapon spell-lock on Storm, which essentially meant that The Queen had permanently un-enchanted his long sword, the only way to get it back would be to simply find it. He added "Find my sword" to his mental list of things to do. Storm had been wandering the mansion for about an hour now, the guards were sparse, with the others probably out looking for Storm, probably realizing that he had escaped from the prison cell. He released his choke hold on the guard, letting him fall to the ground, unconscious. Storm had covered quite a lot of the mansion, with only a few rooms left to check. He walked up to another door and opened it, making sure to be as quiet as possible. It was simply another guard room, Storm let out a frustrated sigh before slamming the door on his way out, not caring how much noise he made. Storm had yet to check the throne room or the dungeons, as probably half the guards were stationed there already. Storm decided to make his way towards the throne room, hoping that The Queen wouldn't be waiting for him. Once he had made his way through the complexity of the mansion, he eventually came to the large double doors that led to the throne room. He held his breath as he moved his hoof towards the door, half expecting The Queen to knock the doors down herself. He slowly pushed open the door, every second felt like an eternity while Storm was praying for his life. His broken hoof had stopped throbbing in pain, and after a while, just went completely limp. Once the door was opened, Storm breathed a sigh of relief before he stepped into the throne room, still expecting The Queen to jump at him any second. When the event never occurred, Storm looked around the throne room, he quickly scanned the vicinity for any signs of his long sword. He was about to turn back around when a bright glint caught his eye, he looked in the direction from where the small light had come from, he eventually saw it; Lying on a weapon rack among other deadly-looking weapons was his long sword, The Queen had kept it in good condition, Storm hadn't seen his weapon in a long time, and actually admired how the sword looked for once. A bright grey steel blade rose up from the golden handle, with a bright red streak running up the middle of the blade. The sword was originally a gift for Storm's 8th birthday. He was overwhelmed with joy to own his own sword and never again having to use the awful swords that were provided to them for training. Storm moved his hoof forward and picked the sword up by it's handle. He had never actually used his hooves to fight with it, he always preferred using his magic to levitate it in the heat of battle. He crossed "Find my sword" off his mentally-prepared checklist and started to move towards the exit to the throne room. Getting his sword back proved to be easier than he'd thought. "Going somewhere, Shadow Storm?" A ghastly voice said. Way too easy. Storm's eyes became pin needles, and his heart started racing almost immediately. He heard the sound of something flying through the air and jumped to his left, taking special precautions as to avoid damaging his broken hoof. He heard a loud crashing noise once he landed, he looked over to where he was originally standing, a smoking scorch mark burned through a large portion of the wall he was standing next to. He would have surely died were it not for his quick reflexes. Storm quickly looked back to see the one figure he despised the most, especially at a time like this; The Queen was sitting on her throne with a large smile across her face, her horn glowing a demonic black color that seemed to engulf the horn altogether. He quickly stood up before standing face-to-face with The Queen. "I was simply paying a visit, I really should be going now." Storm said, almost expecting the excuse to work for a moment before mentally slapping himself for even considering it. The Queen let out a small chuckle before arising from her throne, trotting slowly towards Storm. "But Shadow Storm, you appear to brandish one of my belongings. I never thought stealing was ever your style." The Queen retorted. "Unfortunately, your "belonging" happens to be my pride and joy." Storm replied, playing along with The Queen's mocking ignorance in an attempt to prolong his already-doomed life. "You call that sword your pride and joy, Shadow Storm. But I thought your pride and joy had moved over to that mare of yours, no?" The Queen asked. Turning her head sideways in a small filly's fashion at the word "no?" "...She doesn't belong to me... She is hardly an inanimate object." Storm replied. "Nonetheless, Shadow Storm. I'm afraid I can't let you leave with that sword..." The Queen said, lowering her head to point her horn at Storm. "And I'm afraid I can't let you leave with your head." Storm shot back. Eliciting a short laugh from The Queen. "Foolish Stallion!" The Queen shouted before some kind of unremarkable spell shot from her horn, which Storm dodged with general ease. With the aid of his wings, he quickly dashed towards The Queen. She was caught off guard for once, probably from being too full of herself. Storm managed to actually hurt The Queen, for once. He landed a small cut on her chest, hearing a shriek of surprised pain in response. Storm took the chance as soon as he landed to instantly charge at The Queen again, but before he could land a hit on her, The Queen was suddenly engulfed in a bright white light. Storm had to simply hold his sword in front of him and hope that he landed a hit on her again. His sword was quickly retracted, however. When he realized what The Queen had done. Storm didn't see The Queen, but instead saw the figures of another Alicorn standing in front of The Queen, restrained by The Queen's strong hooves around her neck stood Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria. She was whimpering to herself quietly, a tear managing to form in her eye, dropping to the floor with a loud *DRIP* but the tear wasn't the only thing that was escaping from Celestia. A small cut was made near her abdomen, barely missing her unborn baby. Storm held his sword up in horror, noticing the edge of the blade had contracted a large amount of blood near the tip, a lot more that what he did to The Queen. A small trickle of blood escaped from the cut on Celestia's abdomen. But not before Storm had lowered himself to the ground, both shocked and horrified at what he had just accomplished. The Queen watched on with a sadistic smile across her face, clearly enjoying the show. "...What have I done..." Storm thought to himself, for the first time in his entire life, Storm regretted harming another pony.