//------------------------------// // 23. Starting Work // Story: Like Fireworks in the Sky // by SpyroForLife //------------------------------// Tempest made herself get up early the next morning, as much as she didn’t want to. She had slept very soundly with Discord curled around her, and she was still sleepy as she stretched and moved her pillow back over toward the rest. Discord lifted his head, stretching out each leg. “Mm, good morning.” “Good morning.” Tempest gave him a quick kiss. He wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, morning breath.” She breathed against her wrist and sniffed, then made a face. “Ew. Alright, I’ll brush my teeth.” They climbed out of bed, going to the bathroom to brush their teeth. Discord finished first and picked up Tempest’s hairbrush, tending to her mane. She had gone to sleep with it damp and now strands of hair were sticking up all over the place. “Let me see, I brush it up like this, right?” Discord asked, running the brush from the roots up. “Yeah, that’s right. Just keep doing that, it’ll stay up.” Tempest watched their reflections as Discord worked. She casually touched her cheek, feeling over the scar that crossed her right eye. She was used to it, but every so often she found herself reflecting on how she had gotten it, and how that event changed her life. But it wasn’t so bad. She may have gone down a dark road, but thanks to the kindness of Twilight and her friends, she was brought back to the light. She had a lot to make up for but the journey had certainly granted her a unique perspective on life. The skills she obtained over the past several years have done her well and she planned to keep using them. “Have you ever considered healing that scar?” Discord asked. Tempest shook her head. “Never. My horn was one thing, and I’m glad you fixed it. But this scar tells a story. One that may be harsh, but it’s part of who I am. I never want to lose this.” She gazed at the jagged mark. “It’s a reminder that bad things can happen to good people, and you must always be careful.” “It’s from the Ursa Minor, right?” “Yeah.” “Well, I suppose it could be worse. You could have encountered an Ursa Major.” Tempest snorted. “Yeah. I’m glad it was just a young one.” “How did you even get into a scuffle with one of those anyway?” “I was playing with my friends and our ball rolled into the cave. They were afraid so I volunteered to run in and grab it. And unfortunately, the Ursa Minor was home. And they’re very territorial.” Tempest sighed, and Discord moved to start grooming her tail. “I froze. Then as it raised its paw, fight or flight kicked in, and I chose fight. I was a very brave, aggressive filly. I charged up my horn and prepared to fight back.” She paused for effect, then said, “I promptly got the shit slapped out of me.” Discord laughed, then apologized. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh at that. That must have been awful.” Tempest shrugged. “It could have had a worse ending. See, I may have gotten my horn broken off by the hit, but me charging it up first saved my life. The magic backfired and blew the Ursa Minor back. One of its claws had gotten me across the face but I fired all the magic I could as I felt my horn snap off. It was enough to save me. I ran away in a daze while the Ursa was running around blind.” She pawed at the ground. “I went back for the piece of my horn later. Very carefully of course. But… it couldn’t be reattached.” “I see. I’d imagine not, unicorn horns are very specialized body parts with all these nerves going through them. Reattaching one would take powerful magic even if it was immediate. Let enough time pass and the horn sort of seals up at the place where it broke. You can keep using magic through it but it’ll be harder to control. As you learned.” Tempest nodded. “Yeah. It was hard for a while. But I took advantage of it. Unstable magic is very easy to shape into electricity and fire.” “Haha, it is. You proved that when you invaded Canterlot.” “Yeah.” Tempest turned her head to watch Discord brush her tail. “I think that looks good.” “You think? I could give it some curls.” “It’s fine, thank you.” He straightened up and put the brush down, but she used her magic to pick it back up, and brushed his mane with it. “My mane really doesn’t need much styling,” he said. “I know, but I want to straighten it out a bit,” she replied. So he lowered his head and let her work her way down his neck, grooming his short black mane. “This is nice,” he said, resting his arms on the counter. “It is,” Tempest agreed. “It’s kinda romantic.” “This is what you consider romantic, eh? Helping each other with personal hygiene?” “Well it sounds weird when you say it like that but yeah.” “I see. Well then.” Discord picked up Tempest’s hoof pick. “In that case do you need me to help you clean your hooves?” She laughed. “No thanks, I’m good on that for now.” He set it back down. “Well, let's take on the day.” They went outside. Though it was early, plenty of storm creatures were up, socializing and taking care of chores. A few were fishing, wanting to gather fish before it got too hot and they retreated into the deeper, cooler water. Tempest and Discord decided to just ask around town to see if anyone needed their help. Tempest was drawn one way to help pull weeds while Discord headed over to examine the tree farm. They ended up meeting back up again to check out a house that was being built, offering their advice. When asked to help measure and cut wood for it, they agreed. They were still working when Dusty found them. “Good morning,” he greeted them. “Hi,” Tempest said, lifting a beam and carrying it over to the house to help prop up the roof. “Already helping us out, I see. Do you have a minute?” “Sure.” Tempest made sure the beam was sturdy, and returned to Dusty. “What do you need?” “So I talked to some of the main fishermen and they agreed that a fishing outpost and piers is just what they need. Do you think you or Discord could help them design those?” Tempest waved Discord over and passed along the information. He quickly agreed. “I would be happy to help! In fact I also have a plan for a fish hatchery!” Discord said. “Oh, wonderful,” Dusty replied. “In that case, I want you to go to the lake and meet up with Hook. You can't miss him, he's kinda scrawny but tall and wears a fishing hat with several hooks on it.” “Got it, I'll go see him.” Discord opened his wings and flew away. “And Tempest, once you're done with the house, I want to talk to you about this bowling alley idea. And I could also use some advice on ordering supplies, I know you hate logistics but it is one of the most vital parts of running... well, anything.” Tempest groaned, but nodded. “Right. I can help with that.” She pulled over a plank of wood and a saw, cutting it. “I'll head over once I'm done here.” “Great. But no rush, houses are way more important.” Dusty headed back to the town hall and Tempest returned to her work. The house was soon stood up, its roof and walls in place, and Tempest helped hammer in nails using her precise magic. There was the occasional argument about proper house building procedure, but it was nothing serious. Tempest was able to calm them, but there was something hilarious about listening to a bunch of her old soldiers fight over board sizes and nail locations. It was only a few minutes later that she left them to finish up, going to talk to Dusty. He invited her into his office and set out tea and biscuits, before laying out some papers. “I'm not much of an architect but I think have some good ideas for the bowling alley,” he said. “What do you think of this one?” They went over designs together, debating the pros and cons of different layouts for the building. They eventually settled on one, and then discussed who was going to build it. Dusty wanted it to be handled locally, but Tempest insisted that they bring in a professional crew for this, as bowling alleys required very specialized equipment and she wanted to make sure it was perfect. They argued over it for a while, before Dusty conceded that none of the storm creatures knew how to build a bowling pin setting machine and he didn't want anyone to get hurt trying. They would have a company from Equestria build for them. With that taken care of they started talking about the bar section of the alley. How big they wanted it to be, what the prices will need to be, how they'll keep the kids out, and so on. Dusty was a stickler for detail, and he kept Tempest busy as he came up with new situations and diverged into what-ifs, and she finally had to reach across and pet his hand, telling him to just relax and worry about it once the alley was actually running. He bashfully agreed, and finally turned the topic to the school he wanted to build one day. They were still holed up in his office when Discord came to find them. “We've built a pier and have started building a sidewalk around the lake,” he said. “Have you two been in here all day?” “Unfortunately,” Tempest replied, pushing a paper aside. “There's a lot of little things to running a town. Man, I'm glad I'm not mayor.” “It's a lot but you get used to it,” Dusty assured her. “Discord, good to see you! You got the pier done already?” “Yep! A bunch of people were willing to help me out, we brought in some trees, cut them into planks, and built a decent-sized pier. Now you can catch more fish! Also we're starting on the outpost and I wanted your opinion on whether the fish prefer worms or raw liver around here. Or smaller fish? Either way I need to know so we can start getting stocked on bait.” “Oh, well...” Dusty thought about it, then said, “I've caught some pretty big ones with just worms. I think you'll be good to go stocking up on those, go out to the desert and start digging, there are big night crawlers out there that will be perfect. Though, perhaps keeping some cans of liver from previously caught fish will help too.” “Sounds perfect, thank you!” Discord set his hand on Tempest's shoulder. “Well, good luck. Bye!” He headed back out. Tempest sighed and pressed her head against the desk. “You know, I think we've gotten a lot done today. You should head out to help Discord.” “Really?” she asked, looking back up. A piece of paper stuck to her face and came up with her. “Sure! We can get back to this tomorrow.” Dusty reached over to peel the paper off. “Go have fun.” She smiled and got up. “See you later, then.” She waved to him as she left, and as soon as she was out the door, she took off trotting before he could think of a reason to call her back in. She briefly said hi to Mary, and then went outside. It had grown hot while she was inside, but it wasn't as unbearable as the heat in Klugetown. She went to the lake, where Discord was setting up a building near the pier. It had a small door leading into it and a wide counter where people could come up to buy things. Nearby, a storm creature was writing out a list of products and the prices. “Need help with anything?” Tempest asked. “Do you want to put the roof together?” Discord asked. “Once these walls are finished we simply have to lower the roof onto it and nail it into place.” “Got it.” She checked out the dimensions of the building, and then started working on the roof. She preferred the physical work over writing plans and arguing. Not to mention, she could listen to Discord muttering as he worked, making little quips about what he was doing. He would also occasionally run the end of his tail across her back, which made her smile. As he finished his work, he started doing it more often, and she casually moved so she was closer to him, pulling the partly-finished roof over with her. The next time his tail touched her, she reached over with a foreleg and grabbed it, hugging it close and nuzzling. Discord's shoulders went up, and he looked back at her. He seemed surprised, then smiled. “Feeling affectionate, are we?” “You're one to talk,” she replied. She examined the red scales covering his tail, and prodded her hoof against some of the spikes, before letting go. “Is that wall done yet?” “Just about. It'd already be done by now but you know how the storm creatures are. I can't just snap my fingers and make it happen.” “Yeah, but at least it keeps us busy. I know how you get when you're bored.” “Hmph. Just finish that roof.” “Sure thing.” She went back to nailing a beam into place. It only took a few more minutes before she was ready to attach it to the building. She levitated it up, and with Discord's guidance, lowered it into place. He went inside to put the nails in. Finally the hut was done, and they stepped back to admire it. “Simple but functional,” Tempest said. “Yep! Now Hook can start providing supplies to the other citizens.” Discord walked around to the side of the shack. “Now then, I think I'm gonna set up the fish farm over here. I'll get some barrels and set up a whole system for moving them between them as they grow... Hm, yes, this'll be great!” He already had one barrel, and swept water into it and plunked it down. “Hook! Let's catch some fish!” Tempest laughed as he dove into the water to go fishing. He seemed to have no interest in using a pole, instead snaking underwater and catching them by hand. She settled down to watch as he and a few storm creatures worked to gather fish, focusing on tilapia. They were able to gather a few barrels worth of fish, and left them inside the shack for the night. “We can set the farm up more properly tomorrow,” Discord said, going to pet Tempest's neck. “I hope I didn't bore you while I was fishing.” “Nah, I liked getting to relax and just watch you. But maybe I can help you with the farm tomorrow.” “I'd love that!” “And you can help me with the park and playground,” Tempest suggested. “Absolutely. Do kids like slides into bottomless pits?” “I think I'd leave that kind of thing for when we build the amusement park.” “Amusement park?” Tempest smiled and nuzzled him. “You never know, they might get enough tourism to warrant it one day.” “I'm holding you to that.” They walked together back toward their house.