“So what makes you qualified for The Friendship Knights?” Tempest asked sitting behind a desk.
“These right here.” Bulk Biceps flexed his massive muscles.
“Right...” Overly muscular ponies grossed Tempest out. “Do you have any military experience?”
“Well i’ve been fighting to get these gains for years. You know I have another.. Big… Hard… muscle you can have a look at.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“NEXT!” Tempest shouted. On the other side of the door Starlight teleported Bulk outside the castle.
“Aww I only got to show her one. Why do mares always get mad when i try to show them my other bicep?” Bulk walked away sad.
“Mister Sentry. Your next.” Starlight said.
The yellow pegasus walked through the door he made it two steps before Tempest looked up from her papers. “Oh hell no!” she was on him in a second before the pegasus could react she threw him out the window. “Stay the hell away from my waifu bitch! Next!”
Starlight poked her head in “Um... Tempest that was everypony.”
“Okay how many applicants did we have?” Tempest asked.
“Well we had almost fifty applicants today.”
“How many did we recruit?”
“None.”
“None? Didn’t I accept that small purple one.”
“Nope that was Spike offering you coffee. You accepted coffee from Spike.”
“Well this is suppose to be a elite unit. I can’t just take any common riff-raff.”
“Flash Sentry was a decorated veteran from the crystal empire. If anything he was almost overqualified.”
“Yeah he’s perfect how lame is that. What a Mary Sue.”
“Oh. Well I guess we’ll see who we get tomorrow.”
“I know exactly what the problem here is.” The two mare looked to see Rainbow Dash walking into the room. “You need to get the word out that's why I hired a artist to draw a recruitment poster.” She gestured to a poster rolled up under her wing.
“Not bad Dash. Show me what you got.” Tempest said.
“Oh I think you’ll like this.” Rainbow unfurled the poster. A beautiful drawing of Twilight Sparkle with her mane soaking wet hanging down giving bedroom eyes to who ever was looking. Above her head it read ‘I Want You.’ in large letters at the bottom in considerably smaller letters ‘to Join The Friendship Knights’.
“Umm I’m not sure that’s the right... appearance we want Twilight to be associated with. Still I’ll take the poster for… safe keeping. Yeah we may use a modified version later. I should go.” Tempest said rushing out of the room her prized poster tucked safely under one leg as she hobbled out on the remaining three.
“Barely two days into your week and your already cheating.” Starlight chastised the young wonderbolt.
“It’s not cheating just hedging my bets a little.” Rainbow defended. “Besides I’ll be very surprised if you play fair yourself. What are you going to do some weird magic lovey dovey stuff. Maybe cast Twilight’s ‘want it need it’ spell on Tempest flank or how bout you just cut out the middle stallion and brainwash them.”
Starlight huffed. “I’m not going to use my magic. I learned those lessons.”
Rainbow back away from the angry magic powerhouse. “Ok, ok I guess you have. Sorry that was rude of me.”
“I forgive you Dash.”
Rainbow pulled out a flask of glowing pink liquid. “You were going to use Zecora’s magic potion.” Rainbow flip the glass and read the back in a bad Zecora impression that may or may not be speciest to Zebras. “If one wishes for love to be found, like a miracle this potion will sound. Just a drop even if small, when drunk in love with the next pony they see they'll fall.”
“Give me that!” Starlight lunged at the laughing pegasus. “I had that locked in my desk you went through my stuff. You thief.”
“Oh so you admit you were going to use it?”
“Only as a last resort. Now give it back.” Starlight managed to get her hooves around Rainbow.
“Whatever happened to learning your lesson?”
“What's a little magic mental and or emotional manipulation between friends? Now give it I payed Zecora good money for that.”
“Yeah money you would have made back from the bet and still have plenty to spend.”
As the two mares wrestled for the potion Starlight smacked it out of Dash’s hooves. It flew in a across the room and right out the window. “Ow.”
Starlight looked out the window while Rainbow was busy laughing at her misfortune and lost investment. She saw Flash at the bottom rubbing his head a broken glass next to him. “Sorry Flash.”
“Oh it’s ok. I’m fine, nothing serious.” He yelled back.
Now certain she wasn’t about to face another lawsuit Starlight stuck her head back in the room.
“I never noticed how beautiful Starlight is.” Flash said blushing a few drops of love potion dripping out of his mouth. “I should buy her flowers and ask her out.” He walked away with hearts in his eyes.
A few moments later a blue unicorn with a cape and hat covered in stars trotted up. “Uh who poured out a perfectly good soda and broke the glass? That littering.” She looked around to see if anyone was watching. “Well the great and environmentally friendly Trixie will clean this up and get free soda as payment.” Trixie levitated a bit of glass with some potion still in it above her mouth letting it pour down into her mouth. “Ewww! Gross! Trixie doesn't like bitter soda.” She dropped the glass and stared at the pink liquid with contempt. “Buck the environment.” She walked off towards the entrance of the castle. “Lets see what Starlight is up to and if she want to go to a restaurant. Trixie is hungry and needs somepony to buy her lunch. Ugh but what if I have to deal with other ponies.” Trixie thought for a moment before she came to a genius solution. “If Trixie doesn't see anypony she won’t have to deal with them.” Trixie pulled her hat down over her eyes and walked to the door almost tripping on the steps and smacking face first into the door.
While this dumb love triangle side plot was going on Tempest walked down the halls trying to get back to her room for some alone time with Rainbow’s poster. Of course since her life's a comedy now she first had to bump into some creature when she turned a corner. “Ugh my bad.” She heard a scared squeak and looked up. “Oh buck me it’s you.”
Silverstream was quickly trying to gather her books and other possession without looking at Tempest.
Tempest realized this was going to be annoying if this hippogriff lived in fear of her. She was suppose to take care of these kids not traumatize them. ‘Okay Tempest tap into those maternal instincts they say ever mare has.’ Tempest thought.
“If you’re afraid of me you shouldn’t take you eyes off me it just makes you easier to kill.” Tempest said in her menacing evil commander voice. It froze Silverstream in the middle of picking up some homework. She now looked at Tempest eyes wide scared to even blink. ‘Hoof meet mouth I’m sure you to will get along great’ Tempest kicked herself she forgot she traded in mothering instincts for badass military commander instincts.
“That's not what I meant. Ok look I am probably going to be really bad at this but listen. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.” Tempest said pushing the last of the papers over to the hippogriff and standing as the girl did the same.
“I-I-I’m n-n-n-o-t a-f-f-raid o-f-f-f y-o-o-o-u.” Silverstream stutterd her whole body quaking in terror looking like she was about to wet herself.
“Ok so that’s obviously a lie. Look I get it I attacked Mount Aries when you were a weak helpless child. I marched in with a unstoppable army and wrecked everything. Maybe you watched me burn you family’s house down or blast your mommy or daddy with magic. I was strong and you were weak. Now the tables have turned. Do you see my unstoppable army?” Silverstream actually looked before she shook her head no. “That's because a few losers hiding in a cake stopped it so it wasn’t very unstoppable was it? Now are you a helpless child because I was told you and your friends saved this school and probably all of Equestria in the process.”
Silverstream slowly started to stand straight some confidence came back to her. “Yeah I’m not a little kid.”
“You couldn’t fight back then but you can now. You and your friends could probably beat me especially without the Storm King’s minions. I know what to expect from Twilight and her friends but you’re a wild card. That’s a serious advantage.”
Silverstream didn’t look as afraid anymore. “You’re right. We kick evil butt.”
Tempest smiled as the kid did a little hoof (Claw?) pump. “Damn right kid. Now, prove it? Hit me.”
“What!?”
Tempest stuck her head towards the girl. “Punch me. Right in the face.”
“W-WHAT!?”
“Deck me. Punch me right in the jaw, or nose, or eye I don’t care. It’s one thing to say you can take me but this will make it real for you.”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“A punch is when you take your claw in your case make a fist and hit me with it. Come on kid I’m getting a crick in my neck from sticking my head out for you.”
“But Professor Fluttershy said violence is never the answer.”
“Buck Fluttershy! look violence is wrong and all but sometimes hitting things is fast and pretty much just as effective. You can get the same results with one punch as Starlight can give you with weeks of therapy. Plus that mare friendship lasers most of her problems and shooting some creature with a rainbow laser of friendship sounds pretty violent to me.”
“I don’t know if this is a good ideal.”
“Look kid. You’re still scared of me and until you see for yourself I’m not unstoppable you always will be at least a little scared. I know a thing or to about fear I use to think it was a weakness but I see now how wrong I was. Fear makes your heart beat faster supplying blood to your muscles. It makes you take deeper or sometimes faster breaths to fill your lungs with air so that blood has plenty of oxygen. It makes your pupils dilate so you take in more light. It pumps you full of adrenaline and primes you to either fight or flight and both are very useful in the right circumstance. Fear isn’t a weakness it’s a bucking superpower if you learn to use it right. So I want you to see even if your still scared that's ok because even if your still scared of me you're definitely not helpless. And who know once you realize that maybe you won’t be afraid at all. So what do you say feel like being known as the hippogriff who knocked Tempest Shadows lights out?”
Silverstream sat her books on the floor. “If you're sure this will help. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” She stood on her back legs and balled her right claw into a fist.
Tempest smiled. ‘How hard can a kid with no combat training punch.’ “Give me your best shot kid.” ‘I’ll show her how to throw a proper punch after what ever weak hit she gives me. It’ll be a great bonding experience.’
“Good thing I took those underwater boxing classes back in Seaquestria. I bet without the water resistance I can hit a lot harder.”
‘Buck!’ Tempest couldn’t call this off after that big speech. The kid needed this so all Tempest could do was watch in horror as Silverstream stepped back on her right leg. She twisted her entire body rotating her hips and throwing the mother of all right hooks pivoting on her foot a bad move in a real fight but great technique for a free hit. Tempest braced herself as she saw the fist heading right for her. Soon all was dark.
A far away voice called out in the darkness. “Tempest are you okay?”
Why was there a horrible throbbing in her eye. “Tempest please wake up.”
Tempest didn’t know what she’d done but it must have been pretty stupid. “Please Miss Tempest be ok.”
Almost as stupid as that time she went out drinking with her army judging by the fact her head hurt almost as bad as the day after. “Oh buck I killed her. I killed Tempest.”
Oh yeah that's what happened. Better calm the kid down. “You know my friends call me Fizzlepop Berrytwist. You should to kid.”
“Pffh! Sorry it’s just that that's a really silly name. Are you ok?” Silverstream helped Tempest up onto her hooves.
“Never better kid. And I know it’s a silly name. Perfect for a silly pony like me. So are we friends?” Tempest asked.
Silverstream pulled the broken and now bruised unicorn into a hug. “The best of friends. Well not like best friends the other members of the Young Six win out but you're definitely top ten material.”
Tempest laughed, she made sure it wasn’t her evil one l. Maniacal laughter is a hard habit to kick. “I’ll take that kid.” She said returning the hug. “Now I need to go get ice or something for my face you got me right between the eyes.”
“Yeah I dropped you like a sack of sea cucumbers. You were right I don’t fear helpless or scared. You’re really smart Miss Tempest.”
“Ahhhh! Evil Pony is attacking Yona’s friend!” The two hugging girls turn at the sound of hooves thundering towards them.
Tempest sees a charging Yak heading right for her. She has enough time to push Silverstream out of harm's way and mutter a resigned. “Buck.” before again all was black.