//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five 
// Story: A Tempest Tossed 
// by LotusTeaDragon 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Five

City of Manehattan
Time: Dusk


Violet sat quietly as Candela checked her bandages.

"You're doing very well," the earth pony said as she glanced underneath the gauze surrounding Violet's midsection. "I expect that you'll be able to move about in the next day or so."

Violet sighed in relief, feeling a twinge in her side as she did so. "Thank you," she said. Aside from being helped to the bathroom a few times, she had spent the majority of the past two days on the divan, and it was starting to get somewhat irritating.

She was no closer to finding out where anypony else was, where she was, and when asked, Candela had no idea that there had even been a crash in the first place. She seemed to have no inkling of what was going on more than a few hoofsteps outside her home.

Violet's gratitude had been accepted on the premise that she was simply a wayward traveler that Candela had found lying outside of the building, someone who had been injured in the storm, and had simply collapsed near the closest shelter she could find.

What bothered her, still, was that since the other night, she hadn't seen Candela use unicorn magic of any kind. She had started to wonder if her eyes had just played tricks on her, but she also recalled being physically lifted and placed on the divan. Had it all been in her head?

It seemed as if the mystery just kept growing, and Violet didn't have even the faintest idea of what to do because she was still relatively immobile in somepony's home, and unable to explore her environment beyond the confines of Candela's sitting room. 

"Would you care for some tea?" 

Candela's voice broke into Violet's ruminating. To be honest, it was a welcome intrusion, because the constant looping thoughts had begun to drive her up the wall.

"Yes, please," Violet replied, and gave Candela a small smile as she watched the lovely mare place a cup and saucer on the small wooden box she had managed to find and set by the divan so she could eat and drink with minimum difficulty.

Candela had been a gracious host up to this point, and had shared everything she had with Violet without asking for anything in return. Violet knew that could change at any moment, but she had a feeling the earth pony wasn't the type to throw somepony out, especially a pony who had been injured just outside her own front door, wherever that was.

Still, it was clear that she had very little in the way of personal possessions, and unless she was hoarding it somewhere else, she doubted the mare had more than a pocketful of bits. It showed all around her. 

The shelter they were in wasn't much of anything beyond a barebones structure. It was just sturdy enough to stand up to the raging storm outside, but that was about the long and short of it. It lacked most creature comforts, and though Violet was curious to find out more about it, she felt broaching the subject would be rude toward her host.

Fortunately, her host seemed inclined to do it for her.

"I'm sorry about all of this," she said, her foreleg motioning to the rest of the room. "It's the best I could manage on such short notice."

Violet shook her head gently. "You don't need to explain yourself," she said. When Candela said nothing, she continued. "You know, I believe you saved my life the other day. I would hope you have seen, so far, that I'm grateful, and wouldn't base my understanding of you on where you live."

Candela's gaze dropped to the floor, a small smile on her face. 

"I don't know if I saved your life," she began quietly, "but I am glad I investigated the loud noise outside of my front door instead of cowering in a corner somewhere."

Violet's confused expression compelled Candela to continue.

"You see," the tan pony responded to the look with an air of exasperation, "I'm not what you'd call a courageous pony. I... I don't like dealing with other ponies. It's not that I don't like them, I just don't like talking to them. They make me nervous, and when I have to be around them for too long, I start to feel tired and kind of cranky. You're the, uh" she looked away from Violet and continued, "you're the first stranger I've talked to in over a year."

Violet raised an eyebrow in response, but a warm smile edged onto her face. "It was very kind what you did, and I must be taxing you by requiring so much from you. I'm so sorry about that, and I don't mean to do it," Violet replied, her tone apologetic.

She hated being a burden, and until she could get back on all four hooves, she knew she was consuming the meager resources of her companion.

"No, no!" Candela objected, "you're not a drain at all! No, you're hurt. That's a little different than somepony spending hours nattering away with small talk. No, you're not at all taxing, you're, um, rather nice, actually."

Violet blushed at the quiet compliment.

"It must seem odd," she opined, "to have the survivor of a shipwreck here recovering in your own living room. It would seem very surreal to me."

"It is a little weird, yeah," she replied, following the statement with a nervous chuckle, while rubbing her withers with a forehoof. Then she caught herself.

"Not that you're weird," she stated emphatically, "I mean, no weirder than anypony else would be." She started at her own statement. "Oh wait, that's not what I meant!" She groaned.

Violet laughed, a warmth spreading in her chest. She couldn't help but notice that Candela had some of the same mannerisms as her friend Twilight: shy, self-effacing, bookish, sometimes awkward to the point of adorkability, and it was all rather endearing, if she was being honest with herself.

"How will you find out what happened to your friends?" the tan earth pony asked her.

Violet's good mood evaporated instantly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be clumsy, I just-"

"No, it's okay," Violet interrupted, waving a hoof to dispel any concerns her newfound friend may have been entertaining in her own mind. "I've tried not to think about it, honestly. It's just... what do you do when you're laid up, when there's a storm outside that is too dangerous for pony or beast? I feel so useless."

Candela moved from her chair, and sat in front of Violet, putting a hoof on the young mare's withers. "You're not useless, Violet. Don't think that. You sound like a good friend. We're just in the middle of this... I don't know... overwhelming situation, and it's going to take more than one pony to get the job done."

"What do you mean?" asked the pegasus.

Candela shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I'd like to help you. If you'll let me. I may not be a brilliant scientist, or a powerful warrior, but I'm pretty good with a pack of bandages, and I make some great tea."

Violet couldn't help but laugh at the mare's impish nature. "You have patched me up most efficiently, I have to say, and yes, I would like having your help in finding my friends." 

She placed her hoof on Candela's shoulder. "You also make some great tea."

Candela blushed. A few moments passed as she gathered her thoughts, and stood gently, letting Violet's hoof fall back to the bed.

"I'm going to go prepare a few things just in case we have to get moving. Then I can scrounge up something for us to eat. After that, we'll begin working on plans. I figure that by the time you're healed enough, we'll have something firmly in place."

She left the room as Violet stewed in her own thoughts. She had an ally now, somepony who would help her look for the ponies she loved the most, along with everypony else who may have been stranded by the ship crash. It seemed like a pretty solid start to a good plan.

If there was anything that bothered her, it was the fact that she hadn't heard a sound from anypony else about what had happened to the ship and crew. Even in a storm such as this one, surely somepony would have been spreading the news about a great airship crash. It's not like it would have been subtle and gone unnoticed. 

That was only the first of a dozen questions she had about her situation, and while they still nagged at the back of her mind, she took comfort in the fact that she wouldn't be seeking those answers alone. Even in the midst of a maelstrom, it was good to know you could always count on a friend to step up and improve the odds.

For now, though, she was a bit hungry, and eagerly anticipated Candela's return.

/)*(\