//------------------------------// // 7. Welcome Back // Story: Like Fireworks in the Sky // by SpyroForLife //------------------------------// Tempest stood up eagerly as the train rumbled into the station. She gazed out the window at the rickety buildings and crowded streets of Klugetown. Not much has changed, but the citizens seemed happier. Since joining with Equestria, they've had more pony visitors and have toned back their aggressive, scamming ways. At least, most of them have. She threw her bags back onto her back and led the way out. Discord followed, and a few other passengers left with them. Immediately they were set upon by a large fish person trying to sell them souvenirs. “Look little lady, genuine Klugetown sand globe!” he said dramatically, giving it a shake. Sand swirled inside the globe, covering a little horse figurine. “Oh, it's pretty, but um... no thanks,” Tempest said. “Are you sure? I got dozens, with many different ponies, I bet I could even find one that looks like you!” He started digging into his bag. He leaned to block Tempest's path when she tried to get around him. “Please, sir, I really need to meet up with someone,” she insisted, but he seemed to ignore her, muttering to himself about sand globes while continuing to get in her way. Tempest stomped her hoof down hard. “Have you forgotten the last time I was here and what I'm capable of doing to you?” she demanded. He looked up abruptly, and when he met her eyes, his own widened. He scurried back. “O-oh, you're that unicorn... I'm so sorry miss, please don't hurt me!” She snorted and walked past him. Discord just chortled and hopped over him. Once they were away, he said to Tempest, “That wasn't very friendly.” “He annoyed me,” she replied. But she sighed, rubbing her head. “I guess I still get angry easily. I should... apologize.” She started to turn, but Discord blocked her. “Hey, don't worry about it, he's already back to peddling his wares,” he said. “Going back now would be awkward and plus he was blocking you. Sometimes you have to be firm. Come on, aren't we meeting your friend here?” “Oh, yes!” She turned forward, looking around. “Hm, I wonder where he could be, he said he'd come to the station but maybe he forgot...” “Nope, didn't forget,” a familiar voice said from under her, and she nearly tripped as Grubber emerged from between her front hooves. He grinned up at her, holding out his arms. “Just a little late. Tempest, buddy, get down here and give me a hug!” She laughed and knelt to hug him. “It's so good to see you! Wow, you're looking good.” His mane was longer and spikier. “Thanks, I've discovered sand baths and they really do wonders for the quills!” He ran his hand back over his mane, and it sprung forward again immediately. “But enough about me looking good, look at you! You got your horn back!” “Yeah, I did.” Tempest touched it carefully. “I have my friend Discord to thank for that.” She pointed to him and he straightened up proudly. “Ah.” Grubber stared at him. “So who are you?” “Well as she said, I'm Discord. Spirit of chaos and disharmony. I also like tea parties. Pleased to meet you.” Discord held out his hand. “Ooh, Discord, huh?” Grubber asked, reaching up to shake Discord's hand. “I like that name, that is a good, evil name. Not that I'm saying you're evil, it just... sounds like you could totally be a powerful villain only capable of being defeated by super strong magical artifacts or something silly like that.” Discord crossed his arms. “For the record, I was a totally powerful villain that was defeated by super strong magical artifacts. The elements of harmony are one of the few things that can harm me. But thanks to the persistent kindness of a certain pony, I have learned to appreciate friendship and now use my powers for good. Most of the time.” “Whoa,” Grubber said, amazed. He nudged Tempest's arm. “Pst, Tempest. You two got a lot in common.” She chuckled. “Well yes, that's part of how we bonded. We understand each other.” “So, uh...” Grubber looked Discord up and down. “Are you a pony, or...” “I'm a draconequus.” “Ohh.” He nodded. “I have no idea what that is but rock on!” “It's what I am. Pay attention now.” Tempest laughed. “So, I bet you want to come see how the storm creatures are doing, huh?” “Absolutely,” Tempest replied. “We're here to help them build up their new home, since it's been a long time since they've had somewhere to settle. Are they doing okay?” “Oh yeah, they're doing great.” He began leading the way. “They're a bit feisty, they've got a lot of energy that's no longer being used to beat up our, or rather the Storm King's, enemies. So ya know, I tried getting them into sports. But it's still a work in progress. So far they like soccer and badminton.” “At least they're using their energy for something constructive,” Tempest said. “Sports boost morale and encourages team-building. I bet they're making lots of friends too.” “Eh, sorta. You might need to help them out with that because as far as they're concerned, a friend is just someone you can tolerate standing next to you. They don't know about mutual interests and affection and all that sappy stuff.” “It really is weird and gross at first,” Discord commented. “It's easy to feel like you don't need it. But once you do experience true friendship, you realize how much you've been missing. I hope we can help them see that.” “Me too,” Grubber said. “Alright guys, come on, our section of town is just up ahead.” He gave a few hops and started jogging. They jogged along behind him, turning a corner onto a new street. Discord and Tempest stopped dead in their tracks, and Grubber got several paces ahead before realizing it. He turned around. “What's up?” he asked. Tempest cleared her throat, ears laying back, and Discord gave a drawn out hum as he rubbed his chin and looked at the sight before them. “What?” Grubber repeated. Tempest pawed at the ground with a front hoof, then forced a grin. “Well, they seem to um... have gotten a lot done.” Misshapen houses of hardened mud lined the road, with windows that looked like they had been punched out. Uneven beams awkwardly supported sections of several houses, and even as they watched, someone's roof fell in. Nearby, a storm creature groaned and grasped his head, walking over to fix it. “It's quite a sight, isn't it?” Grubber sighed. “Why are they using mud?” Discord asked. “As much as I appreciate mud and its many applications, using it for housing seems... badly planned.” “Dude, look around you,” Grubber said, gesturing at their surroundings. “We're in a desert. Very little trees. The wood in the rest of the town and in the airships? Scavenged from way to the north, or from other destroyed airships found in the Sea of Clouds to our south. Now that we're connected to Equestria we can import lumber, but it's still hard to come by. But what we do have is sand, lots of sand, which when combined with water makes mud! Which can then be packed into houses!” He pointed out one, and its owner poked their head out of the window and waved. Tempest rubbed her neck. “You didn't even make the mud into bricks? You just... basically made sand castles?” “Is that a problem?” “It's not stable! One strong sandstorm and they'll come crashing down!” Tempest took a breath, composing herself. “Alright, it's fine though, we're here to help.” She followed the road, smiling to the residents. “Hey, everyone, how are you doing?” “Tempest!” several of them shouted, and within minutes she was mobbed, everyone hugging her. “Hm, they don't seem to be struggling too much with friendship,” Discord commented. “Eh, they've always liked Tempest,” Grubber said. “She was nicer than the Storm King so that basically made her their friend.” “Heh, hey, yeah I've missed you too,” Tempest said, laughing as the storm creatures' fur tickled her, and she did her best to greet everyone by name. Then a storm creature even bigger then the rest plowed into the group and swept her up, squeezing her tight. “Commander Tempest!” Tempest grinned and hugged her back. “Lieutenant Curly! How have you been?” “Great!” Curly put her down. “But it's not Lieutenant anymore. Just as you aren't Commander anymore, I suppose.” “Guess not. But that's alright, better to be without rank than continuing to serve the Storm King.” Tempest shuddered. “You've got that right. Wow, are my eyes going bad or is that a fully restored horn on your noggin?” Curl tapped on her horn. “It's my full horn,” Tempest replied. She realized she'll be hearing this question a lot. Maybe she should write a brochure. “It was fixed by my friend Discord.” She waved to him. Curly looked Discord over and nodded. “Well, that is a fine friend you've got there. Thank you very much, sir.” Discord bowed. “Anything for a friend, ma'am!” Curly returned her attention to Tempest. “So, I hear you're here to help us fix this place up?” “Yep. Princess Twilight wanted me to lend you a hoof.” Tempest looked around. “It seems like you need a lot of hooves.” “Yeah, it's been a while since we've had our own places.” Curly watched as someone tried to prop up his roof. “We could really use your help.” “No problem. I think I know how we can fix this.” Tempest walked toward the struggling storm creature. “I know it's difficult to get right now, but you need to pool some money and get wooden planks. You can use those for your roofs, and as for these walls... if you're going to use mud, you need to make it into bricks. The bricks can be arranged more precisely and make a sturdier foundation. And once your houses are made using bricks, well... it'll be easier to make even openings for windows.” She used her magic to sculpt the mud back over the house. “But for now, I hope this helps, Carl.” Carl cast her a grateful look. “Thank you, Tempest.” “Grubber, do you think you could place an order for some lumber?” Tempest asked. “We'll need about, hm...” She looked around. “What do you think, Discord?” Discord took to the air, flying over the houses, and came back down. “We have twenty homes of varying sizes, a church, and what seems to be a community building slash town hall, so we're going to need a lot of wood.” He chuckled. “Honestly, I can fix your houses up immediately if you want me to. It'll be a snap.” “I know you have impressive magic, but we don't want to just be handed everything,” Curly replied. “We prefer working with our own hands.” “Told you,” Tempest said. Discord pouted. “Ohh, fine. I say we order a hundred hardwood beams to use in holding up the roofs and reinforcing the walls, around fifty smaller beams, likely 2x4s, to use for the roofs themselves, and a hundred plywood boards also for the roofing, I mean you really don't want that collapsing in on you. And nails, we'll need lots of nails, I say order ten pounds of them and we'll go from there.” Everyone stared. Then Tempest said, “Uh... okay, um, Grubber? Did you get that?” Grubber blinked. “Uh... yes, absolutely.” He looked to Curly for help. She sighed and said, “I got it. Very good, that should be plenty. Come along Grubber, we need to send for it.” “I'm not sure we have the money,” Grubber said. “I can provide the money,” Discord called. “Please, allow me to at least contribute that much. It'll be no trouble at all, I promise!” “Alright...” Curly said hesitantly. “But only if you allow us to pay you back later, once we've started making money.” Discord started to refuse, but Tempest interrupted him. “Just let them pay you back. It's part of their honor code.” “Oh, alright. Yes, you can pay me back. But no hurry. Now how much will you need?” “I'll let you know once it's ordered,” Curly replied. She and Grubber headed off. Discord continued surveying the town. “Hm, a lot of these houses will need to be remodeled... is this really the storm creature style?” “They prefer simpler homes and close knit communities,” Tempest explained. “They share with each other. At least, they used to. We'll need to work on bringing that back. Still, they don't need a lot of space. You'll notice in their houses that they like rounded edges.” “I thought it just looked like that because they built with mud.” “Haha, nope. They don't like houses with hard corners. And inside the house, they like having big kitchens where they can prepare meals, and large living rooms where they can entertain guests and serve them said meals. Being energetic, they don't tend to spend much time in bedrooms, so those tend to be smaller.” Tempest walked around, stopping to chat with some of the storm creatures. Discord nodded in understanding and landed, placing his hands on his hips. “Well, this is certainly going to be a big project. But I'm willing to take it on!” “I'm glad to hear it. I appreciate your willingness to step out of your comfort zone.” “Well I am the spirit of chaos, am I not? I really do need to mix things up a bit! Poofing things into existence? Blah, cliché! What would be really chaotic is me forgoing my powers and making things the old fashioned way.” Discord took Tempest's bags, throwing them around his neck. “So where are we staying, anyway?” “Oh, well...” Tempest dug lightly at the ground. “I suppose we could build our own place. Or see if one of the storm creatures will let us stay with them.” “Hm, I don't know if any of these places are quite suited for my... extravagant tastes.” Discord gripped Tempest's shoulders. “You know, I can always just poof us back to my house in Chaosville, where we can relax without having to worry about the roof caving in on us.” “If we're going to be helping these people, we should live with them,” Tempest said, gently removing his hands from her. “Plus, if there's an emergency, they need to be able to get to us.” “I suppose that's true.” Discord sighed. “Alright, I guess we should just pick the nicest looking house, otherwise we can just shack up further in town.” “Would you, perhaps, like to stay with me?” a smooth voice asked from behind them. They turned to see a tall cat with amber fur and calm green eyes, sporting a majestic crimson coat, approaching them. Discord just looked confused while Tempest's eyes widened in shock. Capper Dapperpaws bowed dramatically. “Welcome back, Tempest. As long as you're here to help this time instead of beating people up, you're welcome to stay with me as long as you need.”