//------------------------------// // How the Storm Began Part 2 // Story: Storm Vine // by zalla661 //------------------------------// Tempest was in a good mood. She thought that coming back home after all this time would end in disaster. She never would have guessed how wrong those thoughts were. She was glad she took Princess Twilight’s advice on coming home. She was reunited with her family, She mended a broken bridge with her aunt, and was on good terms with her cousin, and her only one she knew of. Top it all off with her rekindling a kinda friendship with her old foal hood friend Trixie and things were looking up for her. She walked with new renewed confidence in herself. She felt as though her old self burned to ash and a new more energized version of herself took its place. She felt the world was more vibrant and fulfilling. She was happy here, and as she walked home with Pinch and Celaeno she wondered what surprises the world would send her the next day. “So, what did you two do after you hid your ship?” Pinch asked from atop Celaeno’s head snapping Tempest from her thoughts. “Well, that was where things got interesting. You see, I didn’t know Tempest back then. This was the battle that would lead to our first encounter,” Celaeno explained. “Oh~” “Yeah, so after hiding my ship we waited for the Huracan to get into range. We didn’t know the kind of armaments they carried at first, but I can easily say we were out matched the moment we saw the ship up close.” Celaeno explained. “What was it like fighting each other?” Pinch asked, her swishing tail giving away her excitement. The parrot pirate was about to answer but Tempest answered first still keeping ahead of them as they approached the house. “It was utter chaos.” She said dryly. “It’s one thing to go into battle without knowing your opponent, it's another thing to go into a fight recklessly.” *Some Time Ago on the Huracan* Tempest was calm. Calmer than usual, and everyone on her ship knew it. That was usually a bad sign for them. It usually meant lots of collateral damage and a lot of repairs to the ship or medical paperwork. The crew of the Huracan were on edge. The crew was ready for a fight as Tempest took the ship towards the Y-fork in the canyon and slowly began to turn right. Then they noticed the golden frame of the pirates ship hiding behind the wall immediately right after they turned. It was very well hidden but clearly the pirates didn’t know they were ever so slightly exposed. The crew flanked the right side of the ship expecting the pirates to come full force after them from the right. They were all on edge, especially Grubber. However Tempest's personal guards were surrounding her back like a wall of six sentries, and were ready to protect her at all costs. Above them the storm continued to rage sending powerful currents of wind through the canyon and a lot of dust that made it had to see. However, the ravine was deep enough that the dust kicked up from the hurricane was still manageable. “Grubber, go to the lower decks and tell the crew to prepare for battle.” “Yes, commander,” Gruber said with a tentative salute. The little guy waddled as quickly as he could out of sight and headed to the lower decks. Tempest watched as the fur ball disappeared from sight. She then looked over the turn and slowly began to turn the ship. She counted three seconds before the ship managed to turn fully around the first bend. Hidden behind the rocks was the pirate ship with its broadside and cannons loaded and ready by the time the Huracan peeked around the corner. The first volley came swiftly. The cannons roared to life in fiery explosions, sending their munitions flying towards the hull of the Huracan. The first volley of cannon balls hit the Huracan side full on; however they only succeed in denting the metal hull, but one managed to hit the softer wood underbelly of the ship. The Huracan responded in force. The eldritch cannons fired dark pulses of green energy that singed and burned through the pirate ship. The exchange was fierce and fast pace. The smell of burnt wood was quite present despite the strong winds. The smoke from the damaged pirate ship was now funneling through the ravine and making the already poor visibility even worse. The fire change lasted for a few more seconds until the pirate ship suddenly stopped firing all together. That was the moment Tempest made her move. Tempest attempted to turn the ship and try to pin the pirate ship with the Huracan bow through the smoke where they were. The main frontal plate split open and they fired their grappling hook into the pirate ships side. The hook pierced into the ship's hull with ease, and split open like a prong to latch itself inside. The pirates on the ship scurried around as Tempest began to make her ship rise and dragging the pirate ship sluggishly with them. She was sure victory was in her reach, but she soon learned not all things go as smoothly in reality as in one's mind. As the Huracan broke through the smoke, both ships suddenly shook and stopped rising. Tempest and her guards fell over from the sudden shift as the ship leaned over with a tilt on its axis. Getting up Tempest adjusted the ship to make it level again before peering over the side railing. Down below she could see the china that connected to the Huracan was still attached to the pirate ship, however, the pirates had anchored their ship to the rock face of the ravine. Tempest narrowed her eyes with an angry glare down at the pirates. She could not for the life of her figure what they could have been planning. They trapped themselves! What did this accomplish? The answer came from above. Through the winds Tempest could hear the slightest pitch of high pitched screeching. Tempest was sure she recognized the sound. Looking up she noticed several smaller skiffs fly over the rockface and went into nosedives from above them. ‘Attack! Pirates are attacking from above!” She yelled. Her guards were quick to react. Each of them stood with spear and shields up and ready. When the skiffs reached the Huracan, the pirates wasted no time boarding the ship with swords raised and screeching battlecries. The Huracan crew was now atop their ship ready to take action against the invaders, but were scrambling to get into good defensive lines since the attack came so suddenly. The pirates charged the guards and thus began the most chaotic battle Tempest had ever seen as the two crews clashed. The clanging of swords rang through the ear shattering winds and sounds of grinding metal. Tempest ordered her guards to charge into the fray, and so they did without hesitation. Their advanced and personal training under her showed immensely as they rushed the pirates. Unlike standard Storm Guards, her personal guard was trained to strike precisely and strike hard without mercy. Tempest Guards, that’s what she called them. They fought with the same level of ferocity she did. Who needed magic when you had brains and brawn to back it up? In tried and true Tempest Shadow methodology, you needed only these to make it through life in the Badlands. Now, it was about to pay off in spades. She jumped over the railing and charged the closest pirate. He noticed Tempest coming and turned to face her. He was a big one. Green parrot feathers, strong build and very tall wearing thick leather pants, a brown shirt and a red bandana. His beak curled with a grin as he raised his long sword to strike at Tempest. He swung the sword horizontally to try and cut at the mares head. Tempest used her own momentum to roll and spin on her back. In this motion she used her hind legs to sweep the pirate off his claws and send him toppling him over. One of her Tempest Guards rush the pirate and used his two pronged spear to catch the pirates hand to prevent him from going for his sword. Tempest gave him a cruel smile and followed up with a magical blast on his hand at point blank range. This left him grasping at a burnt nub at the end of his arm as he screamed in agony. Tempest then drop kicked him knocking him out cold. Two more pirates attempted to face her after seeing their comrade fall. The unicorn and her guard stood their ground. The Tempest Guard placed his shield over Commander Tempest to protect her but she shoved him aside. The two pirates charged Tempest and her guard splitting to divide their attentions and attack one on one. The Tempest Guard managed to hold back to pirate attacking him, leaving Tempest to fight hers without distraction. The pirate was much like his friend she beat moments ago. Tall green feathers and beak faced with a few subtle differences. He had a eye patch over his right eye, with large red plume feathers on his head and a headband. He swung his sword wildly around his body like tornado of steel which held Tempest back. Tempest easily dodged the attacks but made no effort to advance on him until she knew what he was planning. After several more attempts to hit her Tempest realized something about the pirate. He had no idea what he was doing. Realizing this she charged her broken horn with magic. The pirate then acted lunging at her with the speed of a phantom leopard, and in the blink of an eye, Tempest had the sharp edge of his sword centimeters from her face. Her first instinct was to step back but her gut told her to drop to the ground. So she did just that. Mid Step backwards she immediately dropped her belly to the floor like a cat ready to pounce. The sword missed her and trimmed her mane a few inches shorter. That made her mad. Before she could respond he kicked her across the cheek and sent her rolling into the side of the deck railing and knocking her into a slight daze. In her daze Tempest's vision blurred. She could barely make out the figure of the pirate walking up to her with a boastful laugh. “Argh, guess I got me a little filly, eh? Don’t worry chickie, I’ll put you down real quick,” He said calmly while raising his sword over his head. “In your dreams, bird brain,” Tempest replied. She then discharged her magic into the poor pirate. The attack started off as a bright light that exploded into a colorful explosion of destructive sparkles that shot out in every direction. These tiny sparks collided with object, pirates, and Storm Guards and each erupted in a colorful chain reaction of magical explosions of death and destruction. The cliffs around them broke apart from the violent magical outburst. Dust and dirt kicked up with the winds of the storm around them and blinded everyone on the ship while they fought, but soon became silent once they realize what happened as rocks fell on them. Screams echoed over the ship and the light show from the magical discharge startled everyone who managed to avoid the attack into silence. Standing up Tempest was the center of attention. Both sides were battered and the Huracan was in worse shape than Tempest had realized. She had been so focused on the fight she failed to notice that the skiffs the pirates rode in on had badly damaged the ship and left gaping holes in several vital areas. *Present Day* At this time Tempest, Pinch, and Celaeno were in the house and enjoying a hearty lunch prepared by Chardonnay. Lunch today consisted of sandwiches, sun dried potato chips, and a sweet white wine, and grape juice for Pinch. Celaeno was humming as she ate, claiming this was the best food she had since the Friendship Festival. “Geez, your mother can really make good food, Tempest!” The female parrot said. “Any chance I can steal her away for a week to teach the cook on my ship how to make better food?” The unicorn let out a hearty laugh that made her tiny cousin jump in her seat. “Ha! As if! You’d have to fight my dad first to get him to let her go,” Tempest leaned over the table, breaking a big house rule in the process. “Besides he’s good a cooking but he loves mothers cooking more. Also, then I’d have to fight you and you know I’d kick your feathered butt easily!” Tempest said in a jovial tone. “I heard that!” The sound of her father's voice echoed from the next room over. “And no! You’re not taking my wife!” He said back after a brief pause. Both the mare and parrot captain shared a laugh while Berry Pinch looked back between them while munching on her sandwich. After the two adults managed to stop laughing they continued to eat in silence for a while until they finished their meals. Once that was done they pushed the plates a side and enjoyed their wine while Pinch sipped her grape juice. After a while Pinch looked at her grape juice and sighed. “What’s wrong, little one?” Celaeno asked the filly patting her head. “It’s nothing. I just wish I was back in Ponyville. It’s Cider Season now!” Pinch said with a hint of excitement in her voice. The filly glanced around as if she were afraid someone would hear her. Once she was sure the area was clear she waved her hoof beckoning Tempest and Celaeno closer. Once both were sufficiently close to her Pinch leaned and whispered to them, “I like apples a lot more than grapes.” Tempest gasped while Celaeno simply shrugged and leaned back in her seat. Tempest was suddenly wide eyed looking around like some monster was about to step out from the darkest corner of the room and eat her whole. She then leaned over and gave her tiny cousin a stern look. “You can’t say stuff like that here!” She said. “What? Why?” Pinch asked looking afraid suddenly. “Because when you say that kind of thing in this house and you get caught, you get in big trouble!” Tempest said, while dramatically waving her hooves in front of her. “T-t-trouble? What kind of trouble, cuz?” “If you say you like apples more than grapes in this house a great purple monster will come after you!” Tempest said leaning over her tiny cousin. “W-what happens if it gets me?” Pinch asked in fear, shivering in her seat and curling up in a ball. Tempest gave her an evil look and a wide toothy grin, unaware of a figure sneaking up behind her. “If you get caught then the great purple monster will get you… and…” Suddenly Tempest was on to floor laughing as her father Merlot managed to sneak up on her and grabbed Tempest's sides and began tickleing her. “Gah ahah! Dad! STOP!! HA AH!!” Tempest tried to speak between gasps. Suddenly her father moved to her hooves and started tickling her while looking at Pinch. The older stallion smiled at the filly and winked at her playfully. He then released Temepst from his grip and she scurried over to Celaeno and hid behind her. Only when hidden from view did the mare poke her head out to see her father sitting next to Pinch sharing a smile with her at Tempest. “What was that for!?” Tempest yelled glaring at Merlot. “You know I hate being tickled! Much less when caught off guard!” “I know.” He replied not taking his eyes off Tempest. The mare growled at her father. Just then a set of claws from Celaeno gripped her sides. She folded her ears down and glared up with a murderous look on her face at the parrot female. “Do it and I promise I’ll fry your feathers off…” Celaeno chuckled releasing Tempest from her grasp and waved them. “Don’t worry, after the last time you fried me I’m in no hurry to receive it again,” Celaeno said. Both Merlot and Pinch glanced at the parrot female wondering what she meant. As if she could sense the upcoming barrage of questions Celaeno turned the chair towards Merlot and Pinch but placed it behind Tempest. She then leaned on the dark mare’s head, resting her chin on the long soft mane, and in return got a disgruntled groan from the mare. Celaeno giggled, and she gently reached down petting Tempest on the cheek with her clawed hand. “You know you like it.” “Grrr… you’re lucky I like you otherwise I’d fry your furry butt,” Tempest said relenting to eh petting. “You mean feathery butt?’ “Shaddup.” Merlot laughed at the exchange while Pinch seemed more interested in the story. “So, is this the part of the story where you two finally meet? And Tempest fights you in a battle to the death!?” Pinch asked spinning in her seat like a dog chasing its tail. “Uh, no kiddo,” Tempest said moving sideways and letting Celaeno fall on the floor with a thud. “If it were a battle to the death she wouldn’t be here.” The filly rubbed her chin thinking real hard about what she was told. Then the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.“Ooooooh!” Tempest smiled ruffling her mane making the filly giggle. “But yeah, this is the part where we fought and met face to face for the first time. And spoiler alert, I kicked her butt.” *Some time ago on the Huracan* All eyes were on Tempest after she used her magic to attack the pirate parrot. The spectacle of colorful explosions left everyone dumbstruck as dust and rock kicked up around the ship, blinding all from view with the exception of the magical discharge from Tempest’s horn that was barely visible through the dust. Then from the opposite side of the ship came the sound of loud rhythmic clanking approached. Tempest narrowed her eyes at the source of the clanking. From the dust came the form of Captain Celaeno. Now standing face to face the two leaders had the most intense stare down anyone there had ever seen. Here was Commander Tempest, known right hand to the Storm King and his instrument of destruction, facing against the regions most well known pirate captain and smuggler in all the Badlands. And to top it all off was the fact that the two were exceptional fighters, but either knew the full extent of the others abilities. The stand off didn’t last long. Celaeno drew her sword almost immediately after seeing Tempest’s glowing horn through the dust. Tempest herself kept a low posture ready to dodge and counter attack at any moment. Captain Celaeno however had other ideas. The parrot pirate stepped back into the dust and used the low visibility to hide herself from Tempest forcing the unicorn to use her other senses to find the pirate. The metal clanking of her legs made it easy to know what she was doing, but it was impossible to see while the dust was kicking around them. Tempest curse the dust and winds wishing they’d go away. Just then the clanking of the metal stopped followed by a distinct metallic scraping noise. Tempest felt her heart race , she took a deep breath and immediately jumped forward into a front flip. The tip of Celaena's sword scraped against her chest armor only scratching the paint but leaving the unicorn untouched. Halfway through her flip, Tempest shot a magical burst from her horn to the surface of the ship. The resulting explosion kicked away the dust around her revealing Celaeno in the center of the clearing. Tempest landed near her guards and glared at Celaeno and the remaining few of her crew that were left. With a simple nod Tempest’s guards charged the pirates without hesitation with her leading the charge. Weaving through the bodies of her guards and the pirates, Tempest made her way to Celaeno like a snake weaving through grass. Tempest lunged at her foe. Celaeno sidestepped deflecting a strong kick with the face of her sword, and then tried to counter attack with a strong downward cut. All the felt was the sinking of metal as she struck the hull of the Huracan and missed Tempest all together. By the time she realized what was happening, Tempest was behind her and grabbed the female parrot around the throat and gave a strong arm squeeze. Celaeno struggled against the unicorn’s strong iron grip and tried stabbing behind her but Temepst’s small figure made it completley impossible to do. Adjusting the same tactic Celaeno started to shake herself to try and swing Tempst to the side to get a nice clean hit in. When Tempest realized this she let go of her foe and kicked her forward and down the stairs to the lower decks. Not waiting to allow her to recover Tempest jumped down leading with her dominant hoof to punch Celaeno in the chest. She trike was hard and true, but the female parrot was able to recover quickly from this attack and kicked upward with both her gem leg and claw to send tempest over the railing down into the hot steam engine core room. After taking a moment to recover, Celeano stood up and dusted herself off and walked down the stairs to the lowest deck. Here in a large circular room with metal grating at the feet stood Tempest in the center. Celaeno noticed a large almost bell shaped cage suspended by a huge chain above her swinging gently back and forth above Tempest. The two leader entered a stare down. Celaeno slowly walked, step by step, down the stairs drawing her sword. She drew nearer to Tempest keeping her sword poised at the unicorn. With a curious tilt of her head Tempest watched calmly as Celano circled around her never taking her eyes off her foe. “So, you’re the one chasing after us all this time?” Celaeno asked casually. “Not very smart.” Tempest replied with a chuckle. “Heh, a mindless moron like you leading this band? Ha, it’s a wonder the Storm King’s Army hasn't caught you up to this point.” “Before we met you, the Storm King's Army was soft and lazy. Then about ten months ago they started cracking down. Stricter guard shifts, more ships, better control over the sky lanes. Guess I have you to thank for that?” Tempest gave a casual look at her hoof giving Celaeno the opening she had been waiting for. Without a word she rushed the unicorn swinging the sword in a wide arch. Tempest short hopped over the blade until it was just under her hooves, then with all the force she could muster she stomped down. Between the massive force of her body and the sturdy metal base of the Huracan, the sword bent into an L shape surprising Celaeno. Tempest followed up with a swift kick to the parrots beak and sent her stumbling back a few paces. Discarding her sword the parrot and pony faced off in hand to hand combat. Tempest moved in bucking with her back legs at Celaeno. The parrot caught her hooves and twisted them making the unicorn spin and land on her back. Tempest had no time to recover when Celaeno grabbed her with her talon foot by the neck and threw her across the room. The unicorn hit the wall hard, and her armor made a loud echoed thud against the metal hull. She rolled off the wall and onto her side and then felt a sharp kick to her unarmored gut. The kick lifted her off the ground a few inches giving her enough time to see the hot core underneath the metal gratings before falling face first into them. She was then kicked again from the side, and again, and again. With each blow she counted the beats like a rhythm in a song. One beat, two beat, three beats, on the fifth she reached down with her neck and bit the exposed flesh on Celaeno's foot and gnawed it like a rabid animal twisting and yanking in every conceivable direction. On her gem pegged leg Celaeno couldn't keep her balance. One misstep lead to another and she felt her gem leg get stuck in the gratings. Realizing her mistake she struggled to kick the angry unicorn off her good leg when she heard a snap and a tidal wave of pain in her ankle. Celaeno screeched loud enough for both her and Tempest to wince. The echoing of her screech was too loud even for her to handle as she covered her large sensitive ears. However when she recovered she had just enough time to register a dark armored hoof punching her in the beak and then there was just black. After the punch Tempest gave her unconcious captive a few more punches for good measure. Once she was sure her captive was out cold, she sat on her haunches and breathed a sigh of relief. She felt her armor pressing uncomfortably against the back of her neck and adjusted herself accordingly. She glanced down at the unconscious form of Celaeno next to her and smiled. Heh, guess I win after all.” *Present Day* “And that was how I defeated bird brain here and captured her crew!” Tempest said with pride, after finishing her story. “Wow! You kicked her butt!” Pinch said hopping around her cousin. Celaeno scoffed crossing her legs and sipping more wine from her glass. “Yeah, yeah. You just got lucky that I went easy on you.” “Wow, sore loser much?” Tempest said back with a smirk. “So what did you do with her next?” Pinch asked, while sitting on Merlot’s lap. “I chained her and her crew up and towed their ship back to my Base. There we punished them accordingly, and the rest were… indoctrinated into the Storm King’s Army.” Tempest said sipping her wine. “Yeah, as slave labor,” Celaeno replied bitterly. “But it sure beats being thrown overboard at 10,000 feet I guess.” Both Merlot and Pinch looked at the female parrot in surprise then back at Tempest who blinked and shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t throw anyone overboard. It was the Storm King who ordered the crew to have their wings clipped and thrown overboard. I actually spoke out against it.” Tempest said defensively. “And I’m glad you did.” Both Celaeno and Tempest smiled at that and tapped their glasses together in a friendly gesture. Both downed the last of their wine glasses in one gulp and both let out sighs of content. Celaeno then went ahead and filled both glasses up again while Merlot grabbed Pinch and placed her on his back. “Come on little one, let’s go check on your mother.” “Aww, okay Uncle Merlot.” Pinch sighed waving. “Bye Captain Celaeno! See you and Tempest later.” Merlot then took Pinch out of the room and up the stairs. Tempest listened to the sounds of her father’s hoof steps as he walked. Once she heard the sound of the bedroom close she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes letting out a exasperated sigh. “Something wrong?” Tempest opened one eye and saw her feathered friend looking at her concerned. She waved it off with a hoof and nestled herself into the soft cushions of her seat. “Nah, I’m fine, bird brain.” She said in a calm tone. “Just wondering something.” “Oh? And what pray tell would that be?” Celaeno asked sipping her wine more. “Just thoughts that I’d rather not share at this time.” The unicorn replied dryly. “Hmm? Well, if you ever need to talk, you know I’m here for you right, Tempest?” Celaeno reached over her seat and placed her talon hand over tempest’s hoof. The unicorn blushed and thought about pulling away, but she stayed her hoof and allowed the contact. She even reached over with her other hoof and patted the claw gently. This earned her a soft smile from Celaeno and a deep blush for herself. “If you ever tell anyone about this I WILL throw you off my ship,” Tempest said threateningly. “Aww, don’t be that way. We both know without me you’d have no snuggle buddy!” Celaeno said playfully. Her response was a dark angry glare from her unicorn friend and a dangerous sparking from her broken horn. “You promised not to tell anyone about that!” She snarled quietly hoping no one could hear. “Daw, don’t worry. There’s nobody here. You have nothing to fear. Your secret is safe with me.” Tempest thought whether or not she would try a gut punch or a magical attack to fry Celaeno for what she said. Instead after a good minute, she opted to get up hop off her seat and proceeded to walk and sit on Celaeno’s lap. She made sure to slap her mane into the female parrots face. To add to the insult she shook her head using her long mohawk mane as a way of slapping her in the face. “Pfft! Pfft! Really Tempest? So childish.” “Humph! You should be grateful that I the Great and Powerful Tempest Shadow, Commander of the Storm King’s Army wold grace you with my presence!” The unicorn said with great bravado. “Heh, careful Tempest. Your ego is showing!” Celaeno jested punching her friend’s shoulder playfully. “Ha! My ego is perfectly in check-” *Flash CLICK!* Suddenly from the corner of the room there was a bright flash followed by a discernible clicking noise. Tempest froze and felt her blush intensify ten fold as a feminine snicker came from the same corner. The mares’ head snapped towards the sound of the snicker to see her mother barely in view from the kitchen with that infernal camera, trying hard not to laugh. “MOM!!”