A Captain's Purpose
by Present Perfect
WHOOSH! FOOM! KAPOW!
Fireworks coruscated off each other in the sky. Below, three fillies cavorted, cheering and squealing, around a stoic Tempest Shadow. She watched the fruits of her magic with the dispassion bred of familiarity, until her mood at last infected the fillies and they calmed down. Mostly.
"Yeah!"
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Do it again! Do it again!"
Go see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princess Twilight had said. They're the best at finding a pony's special talent. Don't come back without a cutie mark! So had begun the most dreadful afternoon of Tempest's life.
At least something had come of their efforts this time around. The visit to the Ponyville Hospital, for instance, had taught them that cauterization and manual bone-setting were not acceptable medical practices outside a battlefield.
Barking orders at Fluttershy's dogs had turned into them barking back and chasing the fillies up a tree.
A trip to the local grocery market had found Tempest wearing a tiny (stupid) paper hat, hawking soft drinks to ponies too frightened of her to approach.
She did not sing. Her poetry was lacking. Baking eluded her. She was exceptional at physical activity, but her complete domination at sporting events had made other ponies unenthusiastic about playing alongside her. The less said about her gardening skills, the better.
They had all been surprised, Tempest included, when she was able to paint a still life of flowers and fruit both somewhat accurately and in something like a short amount of time. Tempest still didn't understand the Crusaders' dejection when it didn't lead to a mark.
She had drawn the line at silly costumes.
But, as the white filly had said, the usual place to find a unicorn's special talent lay in what magical tricks they could do.
Tempest could do fireworks.
As she stood upon that hill, gazing at the sparks dancing in the sky, Tempest reflected how her once-mighty magic, a single blast of which could take down an airship at a hundred yards, was now reduced to mere foals' entertainment.
"That was so cool!" shouted the orange one, hopping and fluttering her wings. "Those fireworks were even better than Trixie's!"
Far below, somewhere near the heart of Ponyville, a gentle breeze drifted, carrying with it a faint but dismayed cry of "Trixie heard that!"
Tempest rolled her eyes. "Are we done here?"
"Well, that depends," said the yellow earth filly. She gazed up at Tempest with earnest optimism. "Are ya havin' any feelings like maybe them fireworks're your destiny? Are ya perhaps overwhelmed by the sense of accomplishment at discovering your life's one and only truest purpose?"
Her grin stretched across her face.
"No," was the flat reply.
The grin fell, but only for a second.
The white unicorn piped up with, "Well, that's all right! I mean, my special talent isn't related to magic, either. There's still time in the day for us to try wakeboarding, or--"
"Stop," Tempest said. Her irritation must have been showing, as the fillies huddled together, staring at her.
Taking a deep breath, Tempest closed her eyes. "I am not interested in continuing to play your silly games. Princess Twilight sent me to you to earn one of these... nngh, cutie marks. And while I do not intend to disappoint her, neither am I willing to put up with your collective ridiculousness any longer!"
"Aw, Tempest!" the yellow filly pleaded, stepping forward and putting a hoof to Tempest's foreleg. "You can't give up now! Sure we ain't been anythin' like successful yet, but... Maybe we could go back to art! You did real good with that painting, so what about sculp--"
"No!" Tempest yanked her leg back. "I would rather be left to my own devices than put up with you three any longer!"
"W-what?" The yellow filly backed up, confusion and hurt mingling on her face. "You mean you don't want our help no more?"
"What is with you?" The white filly scowled and stamped a hoof. "I don't get you! It's like you don't even care about cutie marks!"
"Now, girls," said the orange one, "let's all calm down and--"
"I don't care about them!" Tempest bared her teeth, and the fillies shrank back from her. "All I care about is fulfilling my princess's wishes! The only reason I want to get this stupid mark is that she ordered me to!"
"Well you don't have to be so mean about it!" It was the yellow filly's turn to glare at her. "Ever since we met you, you been nothin' but a... a jerk to us!"
"Girls, please," said the orange pegasus, sweat running over her brow, "can we not do this?"
"The only reason we agreed to help you," cried the white one, "is Princess Twilight said you'd changed! And maybe you're not trying to take over Canterlot or enslave ponies anymore, but you're still just a big bully!"
The yellow one stomped and made for the edge of the hill. "You know what? I've had it! I don't even care if you get a cutie mark!"
The white one followed her. "Me neither!"
"Fine!" shouted Tempest, drowning out the orange one's protests. "Then allow me to go back to the castle, where I belong, and resume my guard duties so we never have to see each other again!"
A funny thing happened then.
As Tempest stalked away, the fillies' expressions turned from shock, fear or anger to daft wonderment as they all stared at Tempest's flank. She only noticed because they had gone perfectly silent, which ever so slightly unnerving.
"What are you all..."
She turned her head. She blinked. Her jaw dropped open.
There, upon her flanks, where once had been only bare purple hair now stood a pair of images depicting two silver wings curling up around a pink star.
"You... you got your cutie mark." The yellow filly's voice was reverent.
"By... yelling at us?" The white one was at a total loss.
"Congratulations?" said the orange one tentatively, nudging her friends. "Whoo-hoo, cutie mark, hooray maybe?"
Tempest snorted. "Ah. It seems that wasn't so hard to do after all. I suppose some thanks are in order. You did, after all, at least try to help. Farewell, then!"
"Ugh!" The yellow filly scrunched up her nose, looking ready to get back into the yelling match. Her muzzle was covered by a white hoof.
"Come on, Apple Bloom, we did what we told Princess Twilight we'd do. Let's just go."
"Yeah, you're right. C'mon, Scootaloo, let's go."
As the two fillies and one mare parted the hilltop, the orange pegasus looked between them frantically.
"Girls, wait, stop, we need to... Girls?"
She gave one last glance to them before turning and running off.
"Tempest, hold on!"
Tempest gazed out over the pond. She was just lucky enough to watch a single great, silver fish leap from the water and narrowly miss catching a dragonfly. Other than the splash as it met the water's surface, there were no other sounds in the air this far out from Ponyville proper.
Other than the little orange filly panting and calling her name.
"Tempest! Finally... found... you..."
Tempest only gave the filly a glance before turning back to the pond. After the filly caught her breath, she, too, sat down beside Tempest.
All was quiet.
"I suppose you're here to ask for an apology," Tempest said at length. "I was rather... harsh. With you and your friends."
"Mm. No. At least, that's not why I followed you."
"Oh?" Tempest regarded her out of the corner of her eye. Mussed mane, suggesting a lack of vanity. Wings on the small side, even given her size. She just sat there, gazing out over the water as Tempest had, with no trace of her crazed rambunctiousness from earlier.
"Hnn-nn."
"Mm."
A great bullfrog emerged from the water, scrabbling onto a lilypad. After it had attained purchase and righted itself, it set about croaking, a king upon a throne.
"I have to admit, I was disappointed initially," said Tempest.
The filly didn't move. "By what?"
Leaning back, Tempest shifted her gaze to one of the thin clouds high in the sky. "When the princess told me of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders', I thought... Well, first I thought 'cutie mark' was a silly word."
"Silly how?"
"Well..." Frowning, Tempest looked at the filly. She was still watching the frog. "Where I come from, we called them 'flank marks'. 'Cutie' is just... ridiculous. Childish."
"So you never cared about flank marks, even when you were a filly?"
"Not to the degree I gather you Equestrians do. And my time with the Storm King certainly didn't change that." She cocked her head. "Is getting one some sort of... rite of passage?"
The filly shrugged. "I guess so. They're pretty important. I mean, my friends and I tried forever to get ours."
"I see." Tempest rolled her next words around in her mouth for a bit. "And why was getting your mark so important to you?"
"It's a... a symbol of who you are. Like, who you're supposed to be." She sniffed. "Also, if you get one, other kids can't tease you for being a blank flank anymore." Her ears drooped. "That happened to us a lot."
"Ahh. Children can be most cruel." Tempest scanned the treetops. "I suppose that explains why Princess Twilight gave me the cloak." She tsked. "Yet another reason I was, shall we say, upset with this situation."
"How come? Don't you usually wear armor?"
"Armor is for protecting," Tempest said quickly. "Cloaks are for hiding. I resent the implication that I have anything to hide. In my village, getting a flank mark was no big occasion, so no one mocked you for having or not having one. It just... happened sometimes, and if it didn't, well..." She shrugged, waving a hoof at the frog. Startled, it leapt back into the water. "Oh well."
"That's just so weird." The filly chuckled. "Sorry, but I can't imagine not caring whether you get your cutie mark. I mean, that's why we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the first place. But I can maybe see how we got a little more... enthusiastic. Than maybe you wanted."
Tempest nodded softly, turning back to the water. The final ripples from the frog's descent broke against the reeds. Nothing else happened, but slowly, a small smile came to Tempest's lips.
"You know... The word 'crusaders' was perhaps the biggest source of my disappointment."
The filly looked at her, question evident in her expression.
"Part of me was hoping I could win the mark in honorable combat." Tempest chuckled. "But when I heard 'crusader', it..." Tempest leaned back, closing her eyes. "I though about ponies whose life's goal is to protect something important. Warriors, fighters, noble heroes defending an ideal."
She licked her lips. "When I think of 'crusaders', I picture mares in full plate armor. With capes. Bearing inspiring standards as they charge across a battlefield toward their next victory, muscular flanks heaving, sweat coursing over their brows, ready to sweep you off your hooves to some far away..."
Coughing, Tempest sat back up. "Well, you get the idea."
"Oh," said the filly. "I guess I'd be disappointed in us too if I was thinking about, uh, muscular mares. N-not that I am, I swear! I mean, who would, ha ha!"
Tempest peeked at her; she was shifting in place and biting her lip.
"What's your name again?"
"Scootaloo."
"Scootaloo..." Tempest nodded. "And how old are you?"
"I turned twelve this year. Why?"
"I was..." Tempest's mouth went suddenly dry. Her vision tunnelled. "I was eight when I lost my horn."
The filly stilled, gazing at Tempest in soft wonder. "What happened?"
In the center of Tempest's forehead, the old, familiar ache resounded.
"I was playing with some friends. Our ball bounced into a cave in the woods." Her gaze cast downward. "I... ignored the warnings about the cave, the calls from my friends to leave it alone. I was too focused on retrieving the ball. The next thing I knew, there was this... bear monster, covered in stars."
Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You were attacked by an Ursa? And you lived?"
She stood, and it seemed for a moment that she was ready to resume her rambunctious filly routine. But the spark of excitement quickly faded from her eyes, and she shuffled her hooves.
"But... why couldn't they fix it?"
A pang shot through Tempest's chest.
"My village is small and rural. We didn't have a full-time doctor. By the time the old healer passed through on his rounds, it was too late to do anything but let the break heal over." Tempest glanced off to the side. "I left not long after."
"Oh." Scootaloo continued to study her hooves. "What about your friends? Didn't they miss you?"
"Like I said..." Tempest's voice caught in her throat. "Children can be cruel."
As though prompted by some signal, the two turned back to look at the pond. A kingfisher darted out over the water, then back to the branch of a dead floating log, again and again. With each lap out, it would skim the pond's surface, though it had yet to catch anything.
"My wings are too small for me to fly."
Tempest glanced at Scootaloo, saying nothing.
"All my life, all I've ever wanted to do was fly. Even little baby pegasus foals can fly before I can." She ruffled her wings. "The doctors say that, if I practice enough and build my wing strength, then it's possible I could. But..."
Scootaloo licked her lips, leaning forward as though peering intently at something just beyond the kingfisher's perch.
"Sometimes, when it's been a long day, or if Rainbow Dash has been encouraging me a lot, or if I'm just... you know. Just sometimes. Sometimes, I think that I'll probably never fly at all. That there's something wrong with me, and nothing I can do will ever fix it." She closed her eyes. "Sometimes, I know my wings will never grow in."
Not knowing what to say, Tempest said nothing.
"But I also think about Apple Bloom sometimes."
"Is... That's the earth pony. Your friend?"
Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, her. She can't fly either. She wasn't born able to. And there's nothing wrong with her."
She shifted around a bit. "Sometimes I think that means there's nothing wrong with me, either."
A wind blew through the reeds, sounding a soft, unfocused melody.
Tempest smiled. It was small but genuine. "Quite the wise thing to say."
Scootaloo's face reddened, and she looked away.
"Is that why you followed me?"
"I-I..." Scootaloo swallowed. "I wanted to ask about your horn. And I didn't want you to feel, um... What's the word?" She tapped on the side of her head. "Alienated?"
Before Tempest could inquire, she continued. "I mean, my friends and I have had fights before. We've said some really mean things we regretted and apologized for later. So I know this'll blow over. But I thought, maybe if I went with them to try and smooth things out, well, you might feel left out. And that you might need somepony to talk to. Even if maybe you didn't want to see me again so soon."
"Well." Tempest watched the kingfisher fly away with something flopping in its beak. "I certainly can't complain about the conversation."
After a few more moments of watching the bird fly, Scootaloo said, "How come you didn't go right back to the castle?"
Tempest grunted. "This pond is just so tranquil, don't you think?"
"Oh."
The filly licked her lips. "Well, if you ever need somepony to talk to, you know, about whatever, I wouldn't mind. I mean, just if, you know, you're okay with it."
A fin broke the pond's surface, but what it belonged to, neither of them could see.
"I'm supposed to be a Friendship Guard," Tempest said to nopony in particular. "I suppose that means I ought to start practicing friendship. Having a pony to talk about... whatever with. That doesn't sound too bad."
She started as a warm weight wrapped around her leg. She stared down at the filly hugging her.
"I'm sorry Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said mean things to you," she said in a rush. "I'm glad you got your cutie mark, and I think you really have changed."
"I..." Swallowing, Tempest looked around the glade, tracking everything she could lay eyes on. "I suppose I shouldn't judge all foals the same. Or take out my irritation at the princess on them. I am sorry too, for... for treating the three of you so poorly. Now and back in Canterlot." She squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'd never before considered my childhood lost, or cared that it was. And like with the cloak, well..."
"It's okay." The weight released her. "Apology accepted, Tempest. I'm gonna go see how my friends are doing. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"O-okay..." Tempest shook herself.
"Bye, Tempest!" Smiling, Scootaloo dashed off, stopped, waved back at her, shouted, "I'll tell Pinkie Pie to make your party a cute-ceañera, too!" then dashed off back up the hill.
Tempest watched until she disappeared over the crest, wondering just what that had meant.
"I NEED TO THROW A WHAT?"
Somehow, Friendship Castle had never looked more inviting as Tempest approached it, flank marks -- cutie marks -- fresh on her sides. She was even more pleased to see Princess Twilight trotting out the front doors to greet her, smile wide on her face.
When the two were close, Tempest swept the cloak off herself in a dramatic flourish and bowed low.
"One cutie mark, in duplicate," she said, "just as Your Highness commanded."
"Oh wow!" Twilight, grinning clapped her hooves together. "Tempest, this is great! I'm so happy for you! Oh my gosh, and that looks like..."
Tempest flinched as Twilight brought her nose very close to her flanks.
"Is that my cutie mark in your cutie mark? It looks just like my star!" The princess's eyes twinkled with wonder. "Is it even possible to get somepony else's cutie mark as your own? This is so incredible! It's just too bad we won't have any time to study it right now."
Rising, Tempest gave her princess a confused look.
"No time to study it? Why not, Princess?"
Twilight chuckled nervously.
"Ah, well, you see, the reason I came out here to greet you when I saw you coming is..."
Tempest bristled as a pair of hippogriffs, clad in full armor and carrying spears, emerged from the castle's double door. They both bore the scowls of loyal guards carrying out important orders on a time table.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," called one of the guards, voice severe, "can we assume you are now ready to answer for your crimes?"
"Ha ha, yeah, sure!" Twilight waved at them before turning back to Tempest, a fake smile plastered across her face.
"I have some bad news!"