//------------------------------// // Redemption // Story: Some Redemption // by Cupzy //------------------------------// The sight wasn't pretty, not from Twilight's point of view anyway. Storm and The Queen both stood adjacent from each other, both of them shooting confused glances at Twilight, Storm had seen better days, several parts of his body that weren't already covered in burn marks donned countless amounts of scratches and bruises. The Queen wasn't in perfect condition either, she had several small cuts across her side as well as a large laceration on her leg, where blood flowed freely. Storm took advantage of the situation and looked down at his injured body, he was surprised when he realized how much damage The Queen had actually done to him, the first thing he recognized was pain, the adrenaline that his body was constantly producing during the battle wore off when the fighting stopped, leaving aching pains all over Storm's body. The Queen appeared to be in the same condition, constantly flinching and wincing at the pain in her cuts. Princess Celestia wasn't sure to be happy or frightened when Twilight arrived, but her expression softened once she saw that Twilight and her friends had brought the Elements along. Storm realized that he had two particularly gruesome-looking wounds near his neck, probably caused when The Queen charged at him twice. He wasn't sure how much blood he was losing, but his vision had started to blur, and he didn't particularly want to participate in anymore fighting. "T-Twilight?" Storm's voice came out raspy and hoarse, leaving him to assume that The Queen had damaged his vocal cords in some way. "Looks like we arrived just in time..." Twilight mumbled. The Queen's pain seemed to subside for a moment, she took the opportunity to let out a small laugh. "W-What's so funny?" Storm asked. The Queen collected herself, shooting a threatening glance at Twilight. "So this is the mare you care so much about... This is the pony who caused this uproar to begin in the first place..." The Queen coughed out before letting out another dry laugh. Twilight gulped nervously. "Don't worry, my dear... Once I'm finished with Shadow Storm, I will make sure that you will be there to watch every agonizing moment of his death..." The Queen said menacingly, causing Twilight to take a few steps back. "Monster..." Twilight muttered. "Yeah! We're not afraid of you! We have the Elements on our side!" Rainbow shouted from the back. The Queen looked puzzled for a minute, before resting her eyes on the jewelry that Twilight and her friends adorned. Her eyes widened, taking a few hoofsteps back, nearly pressing up against the wall. "T-The Elements of Harmony?! I thought they were a myth! I never expected them to be a reality! I thought they were an attempt to make me surrender before a war could erupt!" The Queen shouted. Twilight grew a small smirk on her face, realizing that The Queen wasn't prepared for the Elements to be real. "Ready girls?" Twilight asked, cocking her head back. "You bet we're ready!" Rainbow shouted. "Let's get rid a' that Queen once and fer all!" Applejack exclaimed. "Yes, let's be done with this and get back to our normal lives." Rarity chipped in. "You bet, Twilight! Let's show that meany-face what for!" Pinkie shouted. "Um... I-I'm ready... If all of you girls are..." Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight smiled at her friends and bore a determined expression as she returned her gaze to The Queen. The familiar glow of the Elements started to shine brightly, while The Queen backed herself up to a wall, covering her face with her hooves in a vain attempt to prolong her demise. Twilight felt the magic of the Elements and prepared to land the final blow on The Queen. She was almost finished charging up the spell before she felt a hoof on her side, concentrating greatly on the spell at hand, Twilight had to slowly move her head towards the disturbance. Her attention was captured, however, when she realized that Storm had limped over and placed his hoof on her side. "Don't." Storm coughed out. Twilight couldn't help it, her focus on the spell was lost as she turned her full attention to Storm, a worried expression on her face. "W-What?" Twilight asked. "There was no need to get yourself involved in this, Twilight." Storm said, a small trickle of blood escaping from his mouth. "But... We came here to save you and Celestia..." Twilight responded. "Responsibility need not be taken into your hooves, Twilight..." Storm said as he returned his gaze to The Queen. "I'm the one who started this... And I should be the one that ends it..." Storm said. "Storm..." Twilight muttered. "W-What is the meaning of this, Shadow Storm?" Celestia finally spoke, all eyes fell on her. "Twilight and her friends came all the way through the Everfree Forest to save you. And you deny them an easy way out?" Celestia asked. "Yes... It wasn't Twilight's fault that all of this started... Nor was it yours... It was all me..." Storm slowly explained. "B-But Storm... How do you intend to defeat The Queen by yourself?" Twilight asked, desperately wanting Storm to reconsider. Storm ignored her however, and pointed his hoof at The Queen. "Too many delays have already been made. We can settle this with one more battle. If you heal us both right now, then we can finally see who the better fighter is." Storm said. The Queen had recovered from her cowering state, and bore a smile when Storm uttered the sentence. "Perhaps I misjudged you, Shadow Storm. Maybe you still have some honor left inside you..." The Queen said, openly complimenting Storm for the first time. She started to walk towards Storm, lowering her head and allowing her horn to charge up a healing spell. She touched her horn against Storm's chest and began the healing procedure. Storm felt all of his pain fade away, and his wounds close. Shortly afterwards, he was back to his old self, no more broken hoof or burn mark scorched across his side. The Queen did the same procedure to herself, while Twilight, her friends and Celestia all stared at the duo in astonishment. Storm and The Queen walked to adjacent sides of the throne room, preparing themselves to relive the same battle that happened not a few moments ago. "But Storm... How are you going to kill The Queen?" Twilight asked, following Storm when he walked to his side of the room. Storm turned back around and summoned his long sword, giving it a few practice swings before growing a small smirk on his face. "I'm a Necromanecer, Twilight. I was born to kill." Storm replied. Twilight opened her mouth to contradict Storm, but closed it seconds later, instead settling for a small kiss on Storm's cheek. "Promise me that you'll be okay." Twilight said. "Pinkie promise." Storm responded. Twilight smiled and walked back to her friends. "How touching. I hope you're prepared, Shadow Storm. That was the last sign of affection that you will ever display." The Queen threatened. "We've yet to find that out. Let's see if you're actually as powerful as they say." Storm retaliated. The Queen wasted no time in charging up a spell, quickly firing three consecutive shots directly at Storm, due to his new fleet-footed advantage thanks to his broken hood being mended, Storm could easily dodge out of the way of the projectiles. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Twilight asked Celestia as Storm narrowly dodged another projectile. "I do not know, Twilight Sparkle. Although we must hope for the best." Celestia responded. "I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid." Twilight muttered. "As do I. You two do seem to be perfect for each other." Celestia added. A small blush made it's way onto Twilight's cheek. "P-Princess!" Twilight muttered, embarrassed. With his re-acquired agility, Storm had devised a different tactic for the fight. Assuming he dodged most of The Queen's spells, once she had gotten tired, Storm could easily run in and do some lethal damage as opposed to a small cut every time. It wasn't long before The Queen felt her breathing become more rapid. "No... I can't lose to him..." The Queen thought. Eventually, she was forced to rest for a few moments after a particularly strong spell. Storm took the advantage to rush at The Queen, but before he could get his sword into the right position, The Queen suddenly rose to her hooves quickly, she quickly used her levitation to snatch Storm's sword straight from his magical grip. He had the advantage in agility, but The Queen certainly overpowered him in terms of magic. The Queen wasted no time in aiming the sword straight at Storm, quickly thrusting it in his direction. Storm jumped back as far as he could, but the edge of the blade managed to catch against his chest, making a large cut as the sword moved away. Storm landed on his hooves and covered his wound with his hoof. "Feigning exhaustion... Why didn't I expect you to use tactics like that?" Storm said. The Queen let out another small laugh and lunged at Storm, being the Queen of a cult of warriors, she had a large amount of time to practice with things like swords, and she had quickly become adept with any type of weapon within the first few years of her rule. Although, Storm knew that The Queen was partial to exhaustion, and he also knew that the sword was rather heavy. But until The Queen got tired again, Storm had nothing but his bare hooves and a few magical spells to keep him alive. He quickly dodged away from a large swipe from the long sword, barely touching him. He took the opportunity to counterattack, charging up and firing a quick fire spell at The Queen. While she was straightening herself from swiping the sword, the fire spell managed to make a collision with her hoof, causing her to let out a quick grunt of pain and release her magical hold on Storm's long sword, he took initiative and dived for the sword, quickly grabbing it and running away before The Queen could react. Storm took note of The Queen's aggressive nature and took it into thought, although it was a risky move, he ran forward, narrowly avoiding another projectile by The Queen. Before she could try and take the sword from Storm's grasp, he released his magical hold on the sword and let it drop down into his hooves, he jumped down onto the floor, letting himself slide quickly towards The Queen, who was still baffled as to where Storm had actually gone. As she realized him, however, Storm took the opportunity to use all of his upper arm strength to swing the sword upwards, violently making collision with The Queen's muzzle and forcing her to grasp it in pain. He pulled the long sword down again and slid directly underneath The Queen. The huge size of her Alicorn figure making it easy for Storm to easily fit underneath. Storm brought the sword close to him and stabbed it upwards, directly into The Queen's chest. He continued to slide underneath The Queen until he finally had enough space to pull himself upwards and jumping back, landing him a few good meters away from The Queen. The Queen herself wasn't in very good shape, she was holding her muzzle with one hoof and her chest with another, making constant grunts of pain and inaudible curses aimed at Storm. He had acquired a few injuries from the initial charge into The Queen; A few of her spells managing to brush against his side. But otherwise, he was in good condition. The Queen pulled her hoof away from her two injuries and glared menacingly at Storm, her muzzle bleeding profusely from a bloody scar that covered the vast majority of her chin and very nearly, her mouth. A torrent of blood escaped from her chest, leaking onto the floor from a humongous puncture that probably went through the vast majority of her organs. "I think it would be fair to assume that I have won." Storm said. The Queen answered by firing off a terribly inaccurate spell that missed Storm by a few inches. "You can either admit defeat now, and I will end your life quickly, or you can continue to fight, and let the agonizing torture of those wounds put you into a miserable death." Storm explained. The Queen looked down at this, staring at the floor while she pondered her options. "You know, Shadow Storm..." The Queen began, barely opening her mouth to avoid further injury from her nearly split-open chin. "..You were intended to be the greatest warrior that I have ever seen... Better than Redblade... Better than me..." The Queen continued before releasing a violent cough, a large amount of blood stained the floor where she aimed. "...It's good to see... That even after regaining all of your emotions... You still live up to that name..." The Queen said. Storm remained silent. The large majority of the Elements had their hooves over their faces, shielding their eyes from the gruesome sight that Storm had created. The faint noise of hooves quickly rushing towards the throne room seemed to draw the attention of the Elements. They looked back to see another particularly gruesome sight; It was Redblade. But his condition was what made the Elements re-shield their eyes. He had a large cut that appeared to have been medically treated on his side. It was hard to tell, but it seemed that his entire coat had been stained a blood-red, rather than the dark red that he usually donned. He was furthermore limping while he ran, stifling grunts of pain as he approached the throne room. He stopped at the door where the Elements were waiting. His eyes widened at the sight that he saw. He saw Storm, mostly uninjured, standing adjacent to a mortally wounded Queen. His eyes moved to the right, where he saw something that almost made him explode with happiness, Celestia was standing next to the wall completely unharmed. He rushed over to her, pulling her into a hug immediately, which a teary-eyed Celestia returned happily. "Celestia... I was so worried about you..." Redblade said. "As was I, Redblade. Goodness me, what happened to you?" Celestia asked worriedly as she rested her eyes upon Redblade's injury. "I ran into that captain that we saw back in the castle. I beat him, but he managed to land a lucky hit on me. But let's not focus on that right now." Redblade said. "I am glad to see you again Redblade. But what of the royal guard?" Celestia asked, Redblade went silent for a minute. "The battle was bloody, but casualties remained minimal. Only a few of them fell, and by Celestia, they'll be honored." Redblade answered. "It's nice to know that you have experience with these kind of things." Celestia remarked. "I aim to please. I'm just glad that you're okay." Redblade said. "I wouldn't be okay were it not for Shadow Storm. He convinced The Queen to heal my injuries before they did battle." Celestia said. "S-She harmed you? I'll kill her..." Redblade said menacingly, looking at The Queen." "Actually... Sir Redblade... It was me who harmed Celestia." Storm confessed. Redblade's ears perked up, he pulled away from the hug, shooting an unbelieving gaze at Storm. "C-Celestia? Is this true?!" Redblade shouted. "Calm yourself, Redblade. The Queen used me as a human shield... Storm did not know what he was doing..." Celestia said. Redblade relaxed a little at this. "I see... At least she healed your wounds... If she didn't... Oh, by the sun would she have suffered..." Redblade said. "I-I'm... Suffering enough already..." The Queen said. All eyes in the room remained on her. "Have you made a decision yet?" Storm asked. The Queen raised her head, smiling directly at Storm. He couldn't believe what he saw at that point, he rubbed his eyes with his hooves to make sure he wasn't seeing things. From The Queen's eye fell a single tear, black as the deepest pits of Tartarus. It made a hollow *drip* as it made collision with the floor. "Yes Shadow Storm... I am ready to accept my fate..." The Queen admitted. Storm almost fainted from the sheer weakness of The Queen, this was the lowest he had seen her go. He walked slowly up to the bloody Queen, raising his sword in the air, preparing to bring down the final blow. "Oh... And Shadow Storm?" The Queen said. "Yes?" Storm replied. "It doesn't matter what you say... Or what you do... You will always remain in my mind... As the strongest warrior I have ever faced... I'm proud of you, Shadow Storm..." The Queen said solemnly. Storm lowered his head, almost shedding tears of his own. "Your dream... Dies with you..." Storm muttered before bringing the sword down, he heard a faint grunt coming from The Queen before it was quickly suppressed, Storm kept his head faced downwards the entire time, letting tears stream down his face. After a few seconds, Storm pulled the sword away, he heard a loud *THUMP* as The Queen's body hit the floor. He released his magical grip on the long sword, letting it fall to the floor. He was silent for a few minutes before finally raising his head. "It... Is done..." Storm muttered. Redblade and Twilight were the only two who walked towards him, being the only ones who could bear to see Storm in his current state. "You've surpassed The Queen and... Quite possibly, me Shadow Storm... But you made the right decision in the end." Redblade muttered before walking back to comfort Celestia. Twilight and Storm were left staring into each others eyes, after a few moments of staring, Twilight fell forward and caught Storm in a tight hug. "Don't... EVER... Do anything that dangerous ever again." Twilight said, Storm could feel the mare crying under his coat. "It's finished now, Twilight... We can return home..." Storm replied. "Why... Why didn't you just let us use the Elements on her? It would have been faster..." Twilight asked. "She would have labeled me a coward before she died. I have a feeling that deep inside her heart, she was happy to have her life ended by me." Storm replied. Twilight tightened the hug, more tears streaming down from her face. "I was so worried about you... When you didn't come back to the library." Twilight said. "I worried about you as well, Twilight. With the things that The Queen promised to do to you... I think I'd rather die before I let any of that happen." Storm said, another tear managing to find it's way to his face. "Are... Are you crying?" Twilight asked, a small smile across her face as she stared at Storm. He quickly rubbed his hoof over his eye, erasing the tear. "No... Of course not..." Storm replied. "You don't have to stop yourself from crying... The Queen isn't here anymore..." Twilight said. Storm felt touched by Twilight's words, but for the sake of his own reputation, he decided to continue holding back the tears. Storm stared at the corpse of The Queen, lying lifeless on the stone cold floor. "Redblade... Would it be too much to ask to give her a proper burial?" Storm asked. "We would have to do it in the Forest... I don't think anypony will benefit from her in a graveyard..." Redblade explained. "I understand." Storm replied. "Can we head home now?" Twilight asked. Storm smiled and stroked Twilight's mane softly. "Whenever you're ready, Twilight." Storm replied. "We'd best get going, the guards are probably still worried about us outside." Redblade explained. Storm and Twilight nodded and followed Redblade and Celestia back through the castle, shortly followed by the rest of the Elements. Knowing that things had calmed down for the time being, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to take advantage of Storm and Twilight. "Twilight's got a coltfriend!" She sang merrily, eliciting some giggled from the Elements. "I'm sorry, but have any of you girls ever had a special somepony?" Twilight asked with a sly grin on her face. "I... I uh... I've went on a few dates with some colts..." Rainbow mumbled. "Well of course I have, Twilight! What about Prince Blueblo- Er... Tom? No... Oh deary me..." Rarity said, trailing off into a conversation with herself. Twilight let out a small giggle and continued walking down the long hallway. Needless to say, the guards almost destroyed Storm's eardrums once they set foot outside, their cry of victory probably reaching to the Griffon Kingdom. Redblade gave a short victory speech to calm the guards down and ordered them to continue back to Canterlot, eliciting another ear-shattering cry from the crowd. After a few hours of walking through the forest, the familiar sight of Canterlot could be viewed in the distance. Luna had raised the sun in the time it took them to get all the way to the edge of the Everfree Forest. Redblade ordered the guards to return to their respective homes, to which they gladly obliged, walking back to whatever town that they resided in. "Well, I suppose this is where we part ways for a while, isn't it, Shadow Storm?" Redblade asked, causing Storm to raise an eyebrow. "Hm? What do you mean, Redblade?" Storm asked. "Well, royal duties coupled with the newly averted crisis and Celestia's pregnancy are going to be taking up a lot of my time from here on out. We may not see each other for a few weeks." Redblade explained. "I see. Well, I hope for the best, Sir Redblade." Storm answered. "Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that? Technically, it should be me who's calling YOU sir." Redblade said, Storm let out a small chuckle before turning back to Twilight. "Goodbye Princess! I'll be sure to catch up on all my friendship reports!" Twilight said. Celestia let out a small laugh. "Do not push yourself so hard, Twilight Sparkle. You should rest for the next few days." She said. "Okay! I'll try and keep my hooves off the paper and quill!" Twilight replied. "I shall have Shadow Storm hold you to that, Twilight Sparkle. Take good care of Twilight, Shadow Storm, she tends to forget to eat whenever she starts to study." Celestia said jokingly. "I'll keep her well-fed, Princess." Storm replied. Celestia and Redblade let out laughs before starting to walk back towards Canterlot. "I think the Princess was exaggerating a little bit." Twilight said sarcastically. "I beg to differ. I've seen you when it comes to books." Storm replied. Twilight giggled and pulled Storm into another hug. "I'll be spending a lot less time studying now that I have you." Twilight said. "I'm flattered. We should get back to the library, I'm sure some of my wounds are infected." Storm said. "Oh... You're still hurt, aren't you?" Twilight asked worriedly. "It's nothing Twilight. I've brushed off bigger wounds than this." Storm replied. "I don't care. We just fixed everything and I'm not letting you come down with any diseases just yet." Twilight joked. Storm smiled at Twilight warmly. They started walking back towards Ponyville; Hoof in hoof as the Elements followed shortly after, whispering and giggling to each other. Storm ignored them and continued his walk back to Ponyville with Twilight. Every one of his old problems had been solved, and no new ones seemed to be coming anytime soon. He had a whole new life waiting for him, and by Celestia, he was going to live it to the fullest. "My name is Shadow Storm. I used to be under the rule of a tyrannous Queen. She sent me on a mission to murder Princess Celestia herself. On my mission, I discovered a mare named Twilight Sparkle, who developed feelings for me while I was on my mission. She helped me reawaken emotions that had been locked in my soul and showed me how evil my Queen really was. I eventually gave up on the mission, determined to protect the ones I love, I struck down The Queen in a fierce battle and was then free to do whatever I pleased with my life. I decided to stay with Twilight, where a new and more happy life could be led. I'm no longer a Necromanecer, I'm simply an average colt." Storm told himself, maybe he would write a book on this one day.