//------------------------------// // In a Corner // Story: Princess Twilight's Escorts // by FerociousCreation //------------------------------// The first thing I noticed was the tears rolling down his long face. And despite the two small teeth poking out from the bottom of Groak’s mouth, nothing about how he looked was intimidating for some reason. It never occurred to me the white fur around the Storm Creature’s neck was actually a part of them; I thought it was from their armor. But that theory was disproved as I saw white pricks spotting his upper neck. As for Groak’s face, it was an oval shape that had a healthy and strong jawline. What would be the whites of my eyes, Groak’s was a light-blue, and his iris’ had a darker shade of blue. If I were to have met Groak without his mask when he and the other Storm Creatures arrived, I would have definitely been afraid of his face. But the tears made him look gentle. Curious where the others were, I looked behind me. And everyone I had become acquainted with stood at my backside, looking up at their crying captor. Not one, not even the stallions, gave Groak a look of anger. We were all curious about what Fluttershy said that made him cry. Because I was the closest one to Groak, I spoke up and offered, “Come inside.” The tall creature blinked and smiled while several more tears accompanied the change of expression. I backed up as Groak stepped into the home. He didn’t bother with closing the door; there was nothing to hide. “Why are you sorry?” I asked. My mind went to earlier when I confessed to Groak that I was in love with Twilight, and he told me he was sorry. Maybe there was a reason for the earlier statement. “Because…” The firm muscles in Groak’s face sagged. “...I never liked hurting you, Horse-” Groak shook his head, “No. No more calling you that. I need to know your real name.” Two shocking blows to my mind almost knocked me off my feet, and I wasn't punched by anything. First, Groak tells me he never liked beating me down, then he wanted to know my name. The Storm Creature continued to loom over me, waiting for me to speak. “C-Caramel,” I said. My eyes shied away from Groak to the others behind me. Some whispered among themselves, while the rest either looked at me or Groak. A small filly’s voice from the ground spoke up, “But why were you so mean to Caramel if you didn’t want to hurt him?” Everypony, including myself, looked down at the little girl. Her knees quaked, nervous at how all eyes were on her. Groak took a knee and said, “Because where I come from, the strongest rule. Kindness is not common in my country. Those who assert and put others down is what is expected from me and my comrades. Any sign of weakness will get you…” Groak’s eyes fell upon me as if the filly intimidated him. “...hurt.” “What did Fluttershy tell you?” a colt said next. “What did she say that made you cry?” It amused me to see the children being braver to ask the questions than the adults. “She asked me, ‘Why do you fight?’ My answer was simply, ‘My King.’ That yellow pony then asked me if I was afraid of my king. I then asked her, ‘Why does it matter?’” A big paw slapped Groak’s face as he shamefully began to cry again. “And then she asked me, ‘Do you like to hurt others just like Tempest and the rest of the Storm Creatures?’ That is what that pony, Fluttershy, told me. Her kind words broke me. And now I am afraid…” After everything Groak had put me through, even though I had to endure so much of his strength, he never meant to hurt me out of malice. He only did it to impress the others. The same filly from before spoke up again, “But why are you scared?” The large voice me and the other ponies were very familiar with roared out of Groak, “Because I have this flaw that will get me in trouble! I can’t be nice! I have to be cruel, or else the other Storm Creatures will see my kindness as weakness, and they will take you all away!” Groak removed his paw from his face and pointed a finger at himself. “I know what fear is! The Storm King is good at suppressing fear! And if I am not good at delivering fear like my King, you can say I wouldn’t last much longer among the other Storm Creatures…” My heart took control of my voice, “I… never thought you were so scared. You seemed so proud to have me every time you boasted about me.” “I am glad to have somepony like you, Horse- Caramel.” Groak’s smile made the room glow just a little brighter, as well as embarrass me. “Never in my life have I enjoyed myself as much as I have in the time I gathered you and the others. When the siege of Canterlot happened, I wanted to make sure I could get as many ponies as I could so you all could avoid the harsh cruelty the others could do to you.” The grin faded away as Groak asked me, “Do you remember what happened when I cornered you and the others?” How could I forget? Me and the other fourteen were chased into an alleyway by Groak. I could still remember the foals crying at my legs. “Yes,” I answered. “And when you stepped forward, I begged you not to hurt the others as long as I gave you entertainment.” “That moment, when you were so brave to step forward and protect the others, I knew I found a unique pony: one who rises and one who falls.” “So that's why you never hurt anypony else other than Caramel,” a mare said from the group. “Correct,” Groak nodded. “And the reason why I boasted about him was that he deserved some praise.” The Storm Creature gave me a light push. “You can take a punch from me after all. And that is impressive. Most of the others would never stand a chance against my might.” Again, the compliments continued to fluster me. Though, I never thought Groak would see so much in me. “I appreciate the compliments,” I said, “ and every word of encouragement you told me when I was down.” “It does make me happy to know you don't hate me, Caramel.” The large Storm Creature only used one arm to bring me closer to him. “Also,” he whispered into my ear, “that Princess is lucky to have you love her.” “She… doesn't know that I do,” I admit, though breathing was difficult because of how Groak was pressing me against his body. “But that's okay…” The sound of thunder cracked through the air. The foals screamed and huddled together, startled by the spontaneous sound. My heart jumped and began pounding against my ribcage, and I almost yelped myself. “Look! The castle!” somepony cried. I had to peak around Groak’s massive physique to whiteness a horrible whirlwind began to engulf the tall castle. Princess Twilight was the first pony that came to mind. I was sure that a whirlwind was not the sign of anything good, and I worried that Twilight was- No! I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to admit it. Twilight would never allow herself to be defeated. The only reason why the whirlwind existed was because… I couldn't think of a reason what was happening to Canterlot Castle. All I could do was hope that Twilight’s friends would get to her in time. Before my mind could think about anything else, Groak yelled, “Get down!” A horrible sound of glass shattering exploded from inside the home. The mares and children screamed while several stallions let loose a few swears. The wind from outside had quickly increased to dangerous speeds. And the wind threw something into the windows. Groak did not let me go as he tried to close the door. But the strength of the whirlwind grew too strong and tore the door off the hinges. “We need to stay low!” Groak ordered. “Hold hooves and move to where there aren't any windows!” The order was said, and everypony grabbed hooves and began to crawl toward the back of the room. As for myself, I was not allowed to join the other fourteen. I was still within Groak’s hold. “You are with me, Caramel. I won't let go.” “Thanks!” I shouted over the wind’s growing whistle. I was glad to have a living anchor keep me close, while also not liking how Groak held my body in a painful grip. When he managed to get to the corner where everypony huddled in, Groak faced them, guarding them and myself from as much of the wind as possible. The wind was very cold, even though Groak’s body heat did what it could to prevent me from freezing. I cracked my eyes to see the group holding each other close. I marveled at the sight of how, despite the winds, Groak, myself, and the others, all stood together in what seemed to be another hopeless situation. More glass from inside the house began to break, causing me to grip one of Groak’s large fingers tightly. A stallion to my right had his arm entangled with a mare. I extended my hoof to him to ensure extra security for him. Just as he cracked his eyes open, the stallion saw my offer and snatched it up. Time began to move at an unknown rate. It was hard to know how long the wind was blowing, and how long my group was huddled in the corner. However, the will to survive was within us all. And with the help of Groak, nopony was moved by the whirlwind. It was subtle, but I began to notice the harsh winds were beginning to dim. Soon, the harsh gusts became a breeze, then faded to nothing. The departure of the wind did not make anypony break hold of the pony they held onto. All we did was look among each other, wondering what caused the wind to go away. A light that was once lost began to creep into the tattered home. Groak’s hold loosened, and I was free to escape his arm. I walked to the doorway and saw the terrible damage done by the wind. Carts were turned over, holes riddled the rooftops, and even a few Storm Creatures laid limp in the streets. “Get out of the way, Caramel!” Groak cried as he shoved me aside. After recovering from Groak’s push, I watched him run over to the nearest Storm Creature. “D-Discrete! Get up!” Discrete replied with silence; he or she did not move. My heart began to break as Groak ran to every Storm Creature on the road, trying to see if any were… alive. “Momma!” A cold shiver trickled down my spine as a filly’s voice shattered the quiet air. Down the street, a mare who glittered like gold rested on the ground as two foals shook her shoulder. “Wake up, Momma!” the child cried again. I couldn’t hold still any longer; they needed my help. I charged down the street, my hoofsteps echoing off the walls that still stood. When I came close, I noticed the mother and children were Crystal Ponies. “Help us!” the colt begged me, his hoof yanking me toward the mare. “Mom won’t get up!” My first instinct was to see if she was breathing. My eyes darted to her belly, and thank Celestia, it was still moving up and down. “She is…” I didn’t want to say the wrong words to further worry the foals, so I collected the best thought I could muster. “...She is unconscious.” The light in the filly’s eyes shined, though her brows furrowed with worry. “Will she wake up?” That was a question I did not know. But I knew a child didn’t want to hear any bad news. “Of course she will.” Not wanting to abandon the little ponies, I sat down with them as the foals rested against their mother to keep her warm. As we sat, I looked at the sky to see beams of light cracking through the dark-green fog. It was a sight to behold. Hope bloomed in my heart as I turned my attention toward Canterlot Castle. An even larger spotlight shined down on the old architecture as I watched a spec fly through the air. “Look!” I said, my voice alerting the foals. I pointed a hoof at the castle and said, “I think that is Princess Twilight!” What was I saying? Of course that was her. The siblings looked at each other with joy. “Does that mean she will help Momma?” the filly asked. Without a doubt, I answered, “Yes. And not just your Mom, but the entire kingdom.” A wonderful power began to engulf Canterlot Castle in a beautiful spectacle. My mind recalled the memory of when Princess Twilight’s own castle was birthed from the ground. It was such a glorious sight to see her earn a wonderful reward after defeating the evil Tirek. Once again, I was falling in love with Twilight, amazed by her ability to save the day once again from the most terrible scenarios. Magical wisps began to weave their way from the castle and into the kingdom. I watched the essences crawl up every building, every kart, and everybody they touched. Cracks began to heal. Properties became revitalized. Even the Storm Creatures started to move. The sound of Groak’s boastful joy roared throughout the kingdom. One wisp sped past me and paused at the foals. They looked at it with such amazement as it quickly spun around their mother before speeding away. A moan escaped the mare, stirring from her sleep. “Momma!” “Mom!” Both son and daughter leaped onto their mother with joy only a child can create. The golden mare was startled by their pounce and asked them, “What happened? Where are we?” I knew just how to answer her question. “You are safe; all thanks to Princess Twilight Sparkle.”