//------------------------------// // Aftermath of the Storm // Story: Storm Vine // by zalla661 //------------------------------// There was a somber feeling in the town following the Ursa’s defeat. The fleet had docked at the outskirts of the town in the aftermath of the Ursa attack. Having sustained a insurmountable amount of damage from the giant beast the ships were deemed to unsafe for flight until they were check top to bottom. The Parrot Pirates stayed behind to assist with any repairs, also they came out relatively unscaved. Meanwhile Tempest slowly made her way back home. The town ponies were eager to return home after the attack. Some were distressed to see their homes in ruins, but the kindly ways of the town ponies offered their homes to those without one. Tempest could see the unity this town had. It was at such times of great peril that really brought them together and made them work together to overcome anything that life threw at them. She noticed Trixie, Starlight, and Maud were also helping itn the town. She noticed that Trixie seemed to be taking charge of gathering ponies up and helping them move to new locations if they lost their homes. Maud was helping remove debris while Starlight assisted with the really heavy lifting. She had also ordered her Storm Guards to assist with the towns repairs in the meantime. Grubber was in charge of repairing the ships along with the pirate parrots. The night moon shone brightly over the small town. The fight with the Ursa had taken a long time to settle, but all was at peace. All the residents were settling in, the animals were no longer restless, and Tempest was ready herself to hit the hay. First though, she needed to see if her aunt was okay. She sluggishly wandered back home where she saw the side of the house was still in ruins. She climbed through the rubble careful not to slip on the loose stones under her boots. Even with the extra grip form the boots she found it difficult to navigate through the rubble. She pressed on and eventually reached the interior free of loose debris, stone, and wood. The house seemed empty. There was no candle light, no fire in the fireplace, and even the lights were off. Though admittedly in her tired state she had her eyes fixated on the road until she reached the house, it was possible her family was upstairs. In this small village there was no hospital, so the doctors and nurses made house calls whenever there was an injury. Tempest hoped her aunt was okay. If she needed real medical attention it was a long trip back to anyplace with a hospital. And with the fleet in shambles the risk of losing not only her aunt, but an entire crew with her was took much of a risk. Having taken the time to really think of how dire the situation was she felt a tightness in her chest. The same tightness one felt when faced with an overwhelming sense of dread. The fear was so intense that tempest was almost too afraid to seek the truth of her aunts condition. What if she had perished? What would she do? What would Pinch do without her mother? Sure, the family would happily take her in, but no foal should be without their parent. Tempest had to shake off these feelings and smacked her face once with her good hoof to psyche herself up. She had to search the house and see if her aunt was okay. Fear of the truth or not, Berry Punch was family. Her family. She had to make sure she was alright. Tempest took a single step forward and proceeded slowly upstairs to the second floor. The heavy weight of her armor made the aged wood floors creak under her with each step. She slowly moved up the stairs, step by step, being as stealthy as possible. When Tempest reached the top of the stairs she saw a small glow from one of the rooms down the hall. It was her room. She walked forward but heard nothing. The door to her room was slightly ajar with the light glowing from a small candle no doubt inside. Tempest steeled her heart and inhaled a deep breath mentally preparing herself for whatever was beyond the door. Clenching her eyes shut she stepped forward and gently pushed the door open with her head. The door slowly swings open with a gentle squeaking from the old hinges. Peering inside Tempest saw all her belongings were right where she left them, save for the fact her bed was occupied. Tempest saw gasped and walked inside to stand next to the bed. There laying silently on her back was her Aunt Berry Punch. Tempest looked over her Aunt, covered by a thick blanket with several bandages around her head and shoulders. She had several cuts and a badly bruise nose, but she was breathing and very much alive. Breathing a sigh of relief Tempest looked down at her blanket seeing it slowly rise and lower in synch with her breathing. Feeling a huge sense of relief Tempest undid her armor and placed it at the foot of the bed. She took great care not to make too much noise out of fear of waking her injured aunt. Once the armor is off she slipped out of her rash guard and tiptoed out of the room and into the bathroom down the dark hallway. Quietly as possible she crept in the darkness like a shadow making out a peep aside from the floors creaking with each step she took. The shadow slinked into the bathroom closing the door behind her and locking it securely. The distinct sound of the mechanical locking gears cut through the ambient silence like a knife but was quick to die out leaving only the silent night in its aftermath. Tempest sighed flexing her shoulders hearing and feeling her joints crack and loosen after the horrendous day with the ursa. She stepped towards the mirror and heaved her body to lay her front hooves on the counter. She looked over her image in the mirror. What she saw was an awfully battered mane that was cut ugly by the ursa, dirt and sweat covered her fur, and she had dark bags under her eyes so thick it could have been mistaken for mascara. Feeling disgusted with herself she glared into her reflections eyes as if telling it off. Then, with a haughty huff she turned her nose up and walked into the shower. It was as simple shower tub hybrid with a frosted glass sliding door and a handle bar to hang a towel. On the towel that was there for her to use was a seafoam green one with a blue seahorse like creature with deep magenta eyes smiling and waving its tiny fin. Tempest slid the door and turned the see through mob of the faucet to cold.Tugging it with her hoof she pulled it outwards and the rush of water poured at her hooves. Pulling a second tiny spigot type leaver the shower head started to rain cold water over her body. The cold water was what she needed. She felt tired even more as the cold water poured over her. To help stand she braced the left side of her body against the wall while she bathed. Slowly she scrubbed the dirt and sweat from her fur with soap, and then she rinsed all that off. She repeated twice more to make sure she got every inch of her body. It was therapeutic for her. As if she were washing the days aches away down to her very soul. Mother was right, a good bath or shower is good for the soul. She thought to herself. After washing herself down one last time she moved onto her mane. She washed her newly trimmed mane twice over making sure to use extra conditioner after her unwanted trim. Once she felt her fur and mae were clean enough she turned the shower off and stood in the tub for a good minute. All she thought about was what happened today. The ursa, her friends, Grubber, her aunt. She had just realized she could have lost it all and there would have been nothing she could do about it. “I really am powerless no matter what I do,” She mumbled to herself lowering her head. Taking her right hoof she clenched it into a small almost fist and smashed it against the wall. She didn’t care if she awoke anypony in the home, she was too disappointed with herself to care. Frustrated she got out of the shower and slowly dried herself off with the seahorse towel. She was so exhausted it took her over ten minutes to dry herself. Her aching body slowed her down and she felt very stiff like she was turning into a solid piece of rock. Her legs felt heavy and sluggish, her response time was way off. Once sufficiently dry Tempest made her way back to her room not bothering to stay quiet for she was too tired to care at this point. All she wanted was to fall asleep in her bed and not wake up for two whole days. Walking back to her room she then thought of the most obvious problem. She didn’t have a place to sleep. Her Aunt Berry Punch was in her bed and the spare bedroom was a pile of rubble now. Her bed was still big enough for her to sleep in but with her aunt it might be a bit cramped for them. Not that she’d have to worry about that since she’d be out like rock. She pushed open the door to her room and entered taking care not to wake her aunt. She stopped right next to the bed looking over her aunts sleeping form. Despite everything that happened she was smiling in her sleep, no doubt happy to be alive after the ursa attack. Tempest leaned over and gentle pressed her nose against her aunt’s cheek nuzzling her. Berry Punch moaned softly and rolled over giving Tempest plenty of room to sneak under the blankets with her. Tempest lifted the sheets with her nose and slipped under them and brought herself to rest against Berry’s back. Now snug in bed Tempest rested on her belly and rested her chin on Berrys shoulder. Closing her eyes Tempest barely registered a few soft words from her aunt as sleep overtook her. “Welcome home, my little grapevine.”