//------------------------------// // Breaking In // Story: The Storm Dragon // by ShowShine //------------------------------// The sun rose over the horizon as a small dark purple filly wearing a saddlebag walked around a large field, looking through the tall grass. She let out a groan and turned around to face the short, chubby, grey hedgehog that stood behind her. “Grubber, why are we doing this again?” The filly asked. Grubber shrugged his shoulders. “Because boss said that there would be a lot of abandoned dragon eggs here. He needs one for his plan.” He explained. He spoke with a lisp, incorrectly pronouncing his T’s. “Are you sure this is the right spot? I can’t find one.” The filly said. “Probably not but I don’t wanna upset the boss, you know how he gets Fizzlepop.” Grubber said. The filly glared at him. “I told you it’s Tempest Shadow, not Fizzlepop Berrytwist!” Tempest exclaimed, her broken horn sparking up a bit. Grubber rolled his eyes. “Tempest, Fizzlepop, whatever, just hurry up and find an egg so we can go. I’m getting hungry.” He said, sitting on an old batter log. Tempest rolled her eyes. “You’re always hungry Grubber.” She stated, searching through more grass. Grubber shrugged her shoulders and picked a piece of bark off of the old log, popping it into his mouth. Tempest grimaced and continued to search through the grass. Her ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps crunching on the grass. Tempest ran over to Grubber and pulled him downwards. “What was that fo-“ Grubber was cut off by Tempest covering his mouth. ” Be quiet, someone’s here.” She whispered. Grubber rolled his eyes. “It’s probably just boss checking up on us.” Grubber stated. Tempest and Grubber laid on the ground, listening to the hoofsteps get closer. A white unicorn stallion wearing golden armor walked through the field, looking around. He was about two feet away from her and Grubber. Tempest held her breath, making sure the stallion didn’t hear her. “Is anypony out here!” The guard exclaimed looking around. He stood still for a few moments, trying to hear something. After about twenty seconds of silence, the guard shrugged his shoulders and started to walk away. He stopped walking when his hoof hit something hard. “Is this an egg?” The guard asked himself. He levitated a purple egg with dark purple spots on them and inspected it closely. Tempest held back a gasp. The guard looked around to see if any creature could have laid the egg. “I better take this to the Princess.” The guard said before walking off. Tempest listened to the guard walk off before his hoofsteps were no longer heard. Tempest peeked her head over the grass, looking around a bit. When she didn’t see anything, she started to speak. “This is just perfect! After hours of searching that dumb guard took the only egg here!” Tempest exclaimed angrily, her horn sparking up. Grubber shrugged his shoulders. “Guess we’re gonna have to tell boss that we failed, let go back to the airship.” Grubber said as he stood up from the ground, brushing his fur off. Tempest shook her head. “I’m not going back until I get that egg. Once Storm King gets the egg he can rule over Equestria and I can get my horn back.” Tempest states sternly. Grubber let out a groan. “Fine but I have to come with you. Storm King wants you alive.” Grubber stated. Tempest looked on the ground to see hoofprints in the dirt. “The guard went that way, we’ll find out what he did with the egg when we catch up to him.” Tempest stayed before following the hoofprints. Grubber let out a sigh and started to follow her. This was going to be a long day. Tempest approached the Canterlot Castle before quickly hiding in a bush. It was well in the afternoon and they had been following the guard for hours. “Grubber, why are you standing in the open?” Tempest asked in a whisper. He shrugged his shoulders, biting into an apple that he found on the ground. Luckily they were just out of sight from any pony. Tempest let out a groan and pointed her hoof towards the castle door. “The guard went in there. If he gave the egg to the Princess, I’m going to assume that she hid it somewhere secure so no one can get it. She wouldn’t want it to get into the wrong hands.” Tempest played out. She looked around. “I just need to find a way in.” She muttered to herself. “How about that open door?” Grubber stated, pointed to a door that was open a bit. It must have been the door for the guards to go start their shifts. “Let’s go,” Tempest whispered before sneaking inside. Grubber walked after her at a slow, calm pace. Tempest around and grimaced at what she saw. They were standing in the stallions locker room. The door swung open, reveal about twenty sweaty stallions. Tempest and Grubber hid behind a cart of dirty towels. ” Oh my god.” Tempest whispered in fear. Grubber gave her a worried look. The sound of armor hit the floor and Tempest covered her face with her hooves. “Close your eyes, I’ll lead you out of here without anyone seeing.” Grubber whispered. Tempest gave him an uneasy look before nodding her head. She closed her eyes and he grabbed her hoof. Grubber scurried to the corner of the room. The steam from the showers made them blend in perfectly. Grubber looked up to see the door leading to the hallway. “Tempest it’s this way.” Grubber whispered. Tempest peeked her eyes open before speed walking towards the door. She pushed the door open quickly and took in a deep breath, now standing in the hallway. Grubber walked out of the locker room with his arms crossed. “I dropped my apple.” He said grumpily. Tempest gave him a bashful look. “Thanks for helping me out back there.” She said with a small blush. Grubber smiled. “It was nothing.” He stated with a wave of his hand. The sound of squeaky wheels echoed down the hallway, making Tempest freeze. She grabbed Grubber's hand and pulled him under a nearby table. It was very low so anyone passing by wouldn’t be able to see them without crouching down. Four unicorns walked down the hallway, pushing a cart. The single mare in the group read something on a clipboard. “Our next candidate is Twilight Sparkle. Hopefully, she doesn’t waste our time as the other children did.” The mare said in a snooty voice. Tempest squinted at the cart and let out a small gasp. ”They have the egg.” Tempest whispered to Grubber. The ponies rounded the corner and Tempest quickly got up from under the table. “Hurry, before they get away,” Tempest said, running after them. Grubber struggled to get his chubby body from under the table. Once he got from under the table, he followed Tempest with a light jog. Tempest peeked through the window that was on two large doors. A violet unicorn filly stood inside of the room, staring at the egg intensely. She looked about a year or two younger than Tempest. The four unicorns from before sat a few feet away from her, watching her every move. Two unicorns sat next to the door (which she assumed to be the fillies parents) anxiously watching their child. Grubber walked over to Tempest, out of breath and sweating. “How are you so fast?” Grubber asked in between breaths. “I can’t get in, there are too many ponies.” She stated, ignoring Grubber's question. Grubber thought for a moment. “I can distract them, the security in this place is horrible.” Grubber stated. Tempest looked back at the filly inside who was looking at the ground, her ears flat against her head. It looked like she failed the test. “That sounds like a perfect plan,” Tempest muttered. Grubber smiled and stood up. He walked over to a suit of armor that was up for display. He took the shield and the sword from it and started to bang them together, making a loud metallic echo. ” EVERYONE LOOK, I’M MAKING A LOT OF NOISE.” Grubber shouted at the top of his lungs. Tempest stood next to the door, which quickly swung open. The ponies that were inside the room rushed into the hallway to see what all the noise was. At that moment, Tempest slipped into the room without anyone noticing. “I can’t believe that worked,” Tempest muttered to herself. She looked at the egg that sat on the cart, hay surrounding it to keep it safe. Tempest walked over to the delicate egg and placed it in her saddlebag. There was a loud bang from outside, making her jump in surprise. She looked out of one of the large glass windows to see a very beautiful rainbow covering the sky. ” Woah.” Tempest whispered. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She took a step back, only to step on something. She looked to see that she had stepped on a clipboard with the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ on it. Tempest skimmed through the paper. Even though she failed to hatch the egg, she still passed the entry exam. It was all about how far the student was willing to try apparently. “That’s cruel,” Tempest said to herself. Her ears perked up when she heard the metallic clanging had stopped. She quickly turned around and bolted out of the door on the opposite side of the room. She sped walk down the hallway, keeping an eye and ear out for any guards. “Hey, Tempest.” A voice whispered. She turned around to see Grubber peeking through an open window. “I got kicked out, did you get the egg?” Grubber asked. Tempest nodded her head and patted her saddlebag. Tempest hopped out of the window and landed on her hooves into the soft grass. “Boss is gonna be thrilled.” Grubber stated. Tempest smiled. Tempest and Grubber walked down the dark hallways of Storm Kings airship, blue flames lighting the hallway. “Your Excellency,” Tempest said as she walked into the throne room. Storm King said on his throne, tapping his fingers against the throne. “Do you have what I need?” He asked. Tempest took the egg out of her saddlebag and handed it to Storm King. He held the egg in his hands, staring at it for a few moments. ”Perfect.”