When Will it End?

by Whirl Wind

Chapter Three

Chapter Three: The Meeting

Whirl Wind had had a rough couple of weeks as Shadow Wind made his way back through the frozen north. Whirl did his best to stay fit and well while he was waiting; he did so by doing a standard array of workouts that he would do for Wonderbolt practice. Not only did they keep him limber, but they also kept him warm.

“If this is supposed to be a peaceful meeting, then why are you working so hard to stay fit?” Shadow Wind’s words tore through his mind.

It had been an entire day since he could feel Shadow Wind at all, but those words still rang though his mind as if he was still able to send them. A knock on the door disrupted his train of thought. He stood up from where he was sitting and slowly walked toward the door. Another knock sounded from the door, this one more impatient. Whirl turned the door knob and opened the door slowly.

“Hello Whirl.” Shadow Wind said hatefully as Whirl opened the door.

Whirl remained silent and took a step to the side to let him in. Shadow Wind walked through the door slowly and searched around for any traps. When he was satisfied that he was not going to be strung up by his back hoof, he walked inside. He searched high and low for any signs of betrayal before taking a seat at the table.

“I guess that means you are ready to talk.” Whirl said as he walked over to the table.

“Yes I am. What is your proposition?” Shadow Wind asked coldly.

“Stay a while before we discuss what the plan is. You look starved, would you like something to eat?” Whirl asked kindly.

“Only if you eat it first; I don’t want to eat anything poisoned.” Shadow replied with an evil expression.

“Fair enough.” Whirl said as he started a fire. He poured some water into a pot and started to add sliced vegetables. “Do you have any clue of what I am going to ask of you?”

“That I face justice for my crimes, that I should throw myself at the mercy of your precious princesses.”

“No, that isn’t what I was going to ask at all.”

“I don’t believe you. I killed thousands and your parents. You would not see me behind bars or dead by your hoof?”

“It wasn’t your fault, just like it wasn’t mine. King Sombra did this to you and that wasn’t your fault. I think that our parents would be ashamed of us if we didn’t find a way to fix this.”

Shadow Wind’s horn started to glow and he tore Whirl across the room to face him. “Don’t patronize me! They weren’t our parents, they were yours!”

“We are the same pony, therefore we share parents.” Whirl said as he broke free of Shadow’s bind. “No need to be angry, you are safe here.”

Shadow let out an angry grumble. “We are no longer the same pony.” He said angrily.

“I think you will find that we are, all you have is a horn. That is the only difference.”

“What about the choices we made? I decided to kill thousands of ponies during the war, which was my choice.”

“No, it was King Sombra’s choice. He warped your mind into something he could control easily. What he did to you was monsterous, and I am going to fix it.”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“By showing you that everything he said was a lie. The princesses aren’t evil overlord, they never tortured you. In fact, they defended you when you came home.”

“When YOU came home!”

“We came home together and we shared a mind up until Princess Celestia spilt us apart. I know what you were thinking when we came home, that you would get a chance to relax and heal like you planned to do when the war was over.”

“I…”

“And then we were attacked and you remembered what everypony thought of us. You thought that they would hate us forever. But then something happened that you couldn’t accept. Princess Luna stood up for us.”

“FOR YOU!”

“FOR US! SHE STOOD UP FOR US!”

“WHY WOULD SHE STAND UP FOR ME?! I WANTED HER AND HER SISTER DEAD!”

“Because everypony can be redeemed! Because she knew that it wasn’t your fault!”

Shadow slammed his hoof down on the table. “Lies! All lies!”

“Do you really think that? Or is it the fact that it might make you wrong about them?”

Shadow didn’t respond. He just stared at Whirl slack jawed. Whirl took the pot off of the fire and poured the stew into two bowls. “Sliced carrot soup… just like mom used to make…”

“Just like mom used to make.”

“Why do you care so much about what I do?”

“Because you don’t have to be evil; I want you to be able to do what you truly want.”

“What if what I truly want is to wage war?”

“Then you can do that, under the princesses’ command.”

Shadow winced at the mention of the princesses. “I hate them more than anything in this world.” He said softly as he took the first bite of his soup. “Glad to see after all that has happened, you can manage to make a decent soup.”

“War doesn’t change who you are. I choose to be who I was, with more benefits.”

“Yes, you do seem to have everything you want.” Shadow said hatefully.

“You can have what I have, friends, a home, love.”

“Who would love a monster?”

“Somepony who understands and somepony who doesn’t recognize you.”

“Everypony in Equestria knows my face, who wouldn’t recognize me?”

“Everypony after we dye your mane, tail, and coat.”

“What about my cutie mark and my eyes?”

“What about them?” Whirl asked as he walked over to his saddle bag. He reached in and pulled out a pair of dark black sunglasses. “You will wear these, and just make up a story about your cutie mark and stick with it.”

“Sunglasses are your solution?”

“I would also have to tell them that you are dead.”

“What if one day I want to reveal who I am? To no longer hide…”

“Then I will help you on that day. You have to change first though.”

“Change how?”

“I will teach you, but you must trust me and do what I say to the letter.”

Shadow finished his soup with a loud slurp. “I will sleep on it. I will decide tomorrow whether or not we will go through with your plan.”

“Very well, you can have the couch.”

“I assume you will take the witch’s bed.” Shadow said hatefully.

“No, I will take the floor. Zecora’s room is off limits while we are here.”

“Why?”

“Because it is not our house and we should respect hers.”

“I do not respect those who entrap me!”

“You respect those who help you! Now either you respect my wishes or this meeting ends here with you leaving and I know you don’t want that!”

“How do you know what I want?!”

“Because you are looking for the same things I am! A home, a family, a purpose! We have been over this and I know what I say is true because we are the same pony!”

Shadow grunted angrily and walked over to the couch and stumbled up onto it. Whirl brought him over some covers, but he shrugged them off. “I don’t need it.”

“Very well, but it is here if you do.” Whirl said sincerely.

Shadow didn’t respond, he simply fell asleep. Whirl put a couple of logs on the fire before curling up in front of it, making sure he could keep an eye on Shadow. After a couple of hours of not being able to sleep, Whirl stood up and quietly placed the covers over Shadow. “What am I going to do with you?” he thought as he walked back to the fire. With his mind wandering he managed to barely get to sleep.

****

Shadow awoke and felt the covers over him. With a quiet grunt he tossed the covers off of him. He looked over at Whirl, then at the table where Whirl had chopped the carrots. The knife was still sitting there on the table, glinting in the light of the fire. Shadow’s horn started to glow and the knife levitated into the air. He moved the knife over Whirl with the tip pointing down. “It would be so easy, his guard is down and he is asleep. All it would take is one swift blow.” Shadow moved the knife above Whirl’s throat. “One quick slit and he would be dead in seconds.” He moved the knife over Whirl’s heart. “One quick jab and he would be dead in minutes.” Then he moved the knife over Whirl’s gut. “Several stabs and he would suffer before he died.”

“Are you done yet?” Whirl asked calmly.

Shadow flung his head to the left and sent the knife flying into the wall. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I was just watching you sleep.”

“Sure you were, that’s why you had the knife over me right?”

“You are far too suspicious.”

“Right. Well then, since I am not dead, would you like some breakfast?” Whirl asked as he stood up.

“I am surprised you are so calm about me threatening you.”

“No you aren’t. We both knew you weren’t going to do it.”

“Perhaps you are right, then again, maybe you just woke up at the right time.”

“I didn’t sleep; I was too worried about you.”

“You thought I would try to kill you?”

“I thought you were going to have some problems because you had not eaten in a while. I am glad to see you are doing okay.” Whirl said as he took out a skillet. “What fruit do you want in your pancakes?”

“I think you the answer to that question.”

“Bananas it is then.”

“Why worry about me? What am I worth to you?”

“You are the only family I have left, even if we are the same pony. I am risking my life to help you, if I get caught harboring you it will be the end of my life.”

“I’m not worth it. I am too far gone.” Shadow said as he sat down.

“Anypony can be redeemed; I believe that more than anything now.”

“Believe what you want, it is the truth you will see.”

“That is the good thing about believing, you can see what you want and still believe in it. I believe you can be turned good with some time and live your life as you want.”

“Sounds unlikely.” Shadow said defiantly.

“Believe what you want, it’s the truth you will see.” Whirl said with a chuckle.

“Very funny.”

“I thought so. Pancakes are up.” Whirl said as he brought a plate of banana pancakes over.

Shadow took one and put it on his plate. “You first.” He said sternly as his eyes narrowed.

Whirl chuckled and took a bite out of his pancake. “Better?”

“I am still skeptical.”

“Suit yourself; if you don’t trust me you can make your own pancakes.” Whirl said as he took a bite.

Shadow sighed and took a bite out of his pancake. “If you wanted me dead… you would have killed me in my sleep.” He said stubbornly.

“I thought about it to tell the truth. But I figured it would be technical suicide.”

Shadow let out a laugh. “I didn’t think of it that way but you are right! Why would I kill myself?!”

“Exactly what I though, doesn’t make much sense huh?”

Shadow took another bite from his pancake and shook his head. “How would you explain me being an alicorn? I think that it is something everypony would notice.”

“You are from another unknown part of this world. Simple as that.”

“You really think that they will believe that?”

“In all honesty, do you think that they would believe that I brought YOU back to them?”

“Point taken.”

“Once I tell them I killed you that will be the end of it. You can start your new life, doing whatever you want.”

“I was thinking about using my alicorn status to join the Wonderbolts. I am sure they wouldn’t turn me down.”

“If you think you can pull it off that easily, more power to you. If that doesn’t pan out then I can help you find something to do.”

“What makes you think I will have anything to do with you once I am gone?”

“I’m your only family too. That means something to you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…” Shadow said quietly.

“You felt guilty when you killed our family, didn’t you?”

“It was only your guilt that made me feel guilty.”

“I didn’t feel guilty when you killed our family; I knew it wasn’t my fault. That guilt you felt was your own.”

“Monsters don’t feel guilt…”

“Guess that means you aren’t really a monster. The only monster that was in us was King Sombra and now that he is dead we don’t need to worry about him controlling us.”

“King Sombra was a great pony!” Shadow said angrily.

“At what point did he ever do anything good for you? Look at what he made you do! He made you kill our parents! He made you wage a war! The worst thing was, he didn’t care about you! If you would have died, no one would have cared!”

“I didn’t need anypony!”

“Well you do now!”

Shadow grunted angrily. “Why do you always have to be right?!”

“Because you know you are wrong before you say anything.”

Shadow stood up and started to pace back and forth. “Why does he care?! What does he gain from this?! Is this some kind of sick revenge?! What is he planning?!” “I can’t trust you! I can’t trust anypony!” Shadow said as his head started to hurt. He fell to his flank, held his head with his fore hooves and closed his eyes. He felt something grab him around his neck, not menacingly, gently. His eyes slowly opened and he saw Whirl holding him. “What are you doing?”

“You were panicking; remember what mom said about panicking?”

“A hug will always calm you down…”

“Did it work?” Whirl asked softly.

“Yes… yes it did… I… I feel much better…” Shadow said with a concerned tone. Something hit him at that moment, like an overflow of emotion that was spiraling out of control. He wrapped his fore hooves around Whirl and started to sob.

“That’s it, let it all out.” Whirl said as he rubbed Shadow’s back. “This will help you.”

Shadow’s tears were as green as his eyes as they trickled down his face. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I never wanted any of this… he lied to me… he made me betray myself…” he said as he continued to sob.

“I know, I know. It is all okay now, you will be safe with me.”

“What about… Derpy…?”

“I will tell her everything; I can’t lie to her…”

“She… will… hate… me…”

“No she won’t; I will make sure she doesn’t.”

Shadow let out a loud sob and held Whirl tighter. He buried his head into Whirl’s chest and continued to sob for quite a while before calming down a bit. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Just calm down a bit and we can talk.”

“Do you really think this will work? Do you think I can live a normal life?” Shadow asked as he pulled away from Whirl.

Whirl stood up and dug through his saddle bag. “What color do you want your coat?” Whirl asked happily as he pulled out an assortment of dyes.

“Where did you get all these?”

“Zecora got them for me on request. We have, red, blue, light blue, dark blue, light green, yellow, beige and a couple more.” Whirl said happily as he pointed to each color.

“Yellow coat, white mane…”

“This is the same stuff I used on my mane when we went to Canterlot to get Flare that tea cup. Huh, I just realized he never did get one.” Whirl said with a chuckle. He grabbed the yellow and white dyes and brought them over to Shadow. “Hold still, this is going to take a while.”

“What should I be called? I can’t go by the name Shadow Wind if I am to return…”

“It’s your name; you should be the one to think of it.” Whirl said as he started to apply the dye to Shadow’s coat.

“Did you pick your name?”

“Good point… uhhhhh… Give me some time to think; I will have a name for you when I am done dying your mane.”

“You really do care about me don’t you?”

“Of course I do, you still don’t get that do you?”

“It is hard to believe. I guess I just have to get used to being treated kindly.”

“You will get used to it quickly. Let’s rehearse our story. We just left the forest and we are both a bit battered. Yes, we are going to have to rough each other up.”

“Maybe you can be helping me walk or something? Where do we go first?”

“The hospital, so we can get treated for minor injuries. Once we are discharged we will go straight to Derpy’s to talk to her.”

“Should I do anything?”

“She may hit you, just a warning.”

“I expected that. Are you sure she won’t go blabbing to the first guard she sees?”

“I am sure. Close your eyes so I can get your face done.” Shadow closed his eyes and kept his mouth shut. “Keep them closed for about five minutes. Okay, so now that we have a plan we can talk about where you are going to stay. I think that you should stay with Derpy and I until we get you a job.” Shadow nodded when he felt Whirl’s hoof leave his face. Five minutes passed and Shadow finally spoke again.

“When do we leave?”

“I was thinking tomorrow if you think you are ready.”

“I think waiting would make things harder. I will be ready to go tomorrow.”

“Remember to keep your anger in check; one outburst could cause ponies to recoil. Also, you might want to think of changing your voice somehow.”

Shadow’s horn started to glow. “How’s this?” he said in a completely different tone.

“Perfect. Alright, we are all done.” Whirl said as he scrubbed in the last bit of dye into Shadow’s mane.

“So, what is my name?”

“Sunny Plains, does that sound good?”

“Sunny Plains it is. What if I get discovered? Should I just go back to using Shadow Wind?”

“That will be up to you when or if that time comes.”

“I have to admit, I am a bit scared of that prospect… everypony will want me dead if they ever find out.”

“Which is why it is important that we work to keep your identity a secret. It shouldn’t be too hard, as long as you keep you act up. However, there may come a time when you want to reveal yourself, if that time comes I want you to tell the princesses first.”

“THEM?! WHY WOULD I GO TO…?!”

Whirl put his hoof to Shadow’s mouth. “Keep that temper in check. You are going to have to get used to seeing the princesses and you will have to get used to the fact that they are not what you think they are.”

“They…!”

“Are no longer your enemy. You have to accept that now or we are going to delay returning.”

Shadow let out an angry grunt. “Fine, I will give them a chance to prove me wrong.”

“They will, I guarantee it.”

Comments

[DustyLightning]

Another interesting thing in this story; redemption. Much more important to the storyline, and much more surprising too.