The lands to the south of Equestria are often considered dangerous and, to some, unable to be fully documented on. Records that do exist tend to be vague and even when maps do exist for locations such as beyond the Appaloosan Mountains, they’re often rare and, in some cases, not readily available to the general public. Because of Twilight and her friends, ponies and other creatures have started to become a little bolder and more adventurous, some of them traveling into these lands once considered perilous or even inhospitable to learn more about them and what sorts of settlements may be found and what kind of creatures live there.
One location that has experienced an increase in the number of travelers is Klugetown, a settlement located beyond Equestria’s Forbidden Jungle and across the Bone Dry Desert. Since the end of the Storm King’s reign, the rundown town had seen an influx of new arrivals from Equestria as well as remnants of the Storm Creature Army that chose to settle down in the Army’s old barracks outside of town. Thanks to the Storm Creatures and the Equestrians bringing new goods and the tricks of their trades, especially if they decided to stay, Klugetown was starting to show some new developments and refinement. The buildings looked less dilapidated, new structures were under construction, and the town’s way of life was improving.
Of course, just because the town was getting better didn’t mean everyone who came was going to have an easy time. There were still plenty of con artists looking to swindle newcomers and gangs and organizations that could cause trouble, but there were also friendly faces that looked out for them. Undoubtedly the most well-known fellow to turn to was Capper Dapperpaws, a cat with deep saffron fur, dark gray indigo hair, and green eyes who stood on two legs and was a con artist prior to meeting Rarity and her friends and helping them overthrow the Storm King. Since then, he has become something of a self-help guru, teaching new ponies how to take care of themselves in Klugetown and keeping an eye out for trouble while still occasionally playing tricks and having some fun with them.
It was past midday and Capper was out leaning against the side of a building and looking rather snazzy in the top hat and cape Rarity had given him, his arms crossed over his chest while he eyed passersby. As he watched, he noticed a mare wearing a hooded brown cloak who was taller than most of the ponies he knew coming up the street, a sack of what was likely goods from the market stalls tied around her neck and placed on her back. The hood and cloak hid most of her appearance from view, but he could see the tip of her muzzle was a dark orchid and had a feeling he knew who she was. Her head briefly turned in his direction and he gave her a slight nod, giving a small smirk at the nearly imperceptible nod he received in return. “Yep, that’s her, all right. Wonder how long she’s planning to stay this time,” he thought as he watched her continue on her way out of town.
The mare in question was Fizzlepop Berrytwist, though only a select group of ponies knew her by that name. The rest of the world knew her as Tempest Shadow, a unicorn with a broken horn and a scar that ran down over her right eye who once served as the Storm King’s lieutenant. Since finding redemption and aiding in his downfall, she and her hedgehog companion Grubber had returned to the lands beyond Equestria to spread the word of the Storm King’s defeat and try to spread friendship, but there was more to it than that. Twilight had once offered her to stay in Ponyville, but she had declined because she wasn’t sure she fit in there, that it wasn’t the place for a mare with a history like hers. In spite of Grubber’s occasional protests, she continued to wander because she was trying to find a new purpose, something where all she’d had to learn could be put to good use. So far, she hadn’t managed to find it, but she was still hopeful she’d find something.
She exited Klugetown and soon after reached a building on the outskirts where Grubber ran a tavern and a spot for trading goods. It wasn’t a particularly big building, but it did have a small living area inside and stairs that led to the roof. The building was made of stone save for the top of the entryway to the roof, which had red shingles on it. It had two patched cloth canopies. The tavern side, which was where the building entrance was, had a dark green canopy while the trading post had a lighter green canopy. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was, for the moment, home for the unicorn and her companion. “It almost seems like the kind of place Twilight and her friends would’ve stayed in if they hadn’t been on the run at the time,” Tempest thought as she approached it.
Grubber was seated on a stool behind the counter, a rag in his right hand and a cup in his left hand. He had just finished cleaning one cup and was starting on this next cup when he looked up and noticed Tempest coming. He quickly set the cup and rag down on the counter and stood up on his stool, leaning across the counter as he said, “Tempest! You’re back! That was quick! Did you get-?” Tempest, who had come to a stop when he started talking, swiftly raised her right hoof in front of her muzzle, cutting him off as he realized what she meant and clasped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry,” he uttered as she walked around the counter and went through the entrance behind it, Grubber leaping down from his stool and following her.
The opening led to a small room that was stocked with extra supplies against the side walls for the tavern. Off to the right on the wall opposite the entrance was a door that led into the back room, where the living area was. The back room was rather simple, containing a few wooden chairs, a wooden table, a wooden counter that had several drawers in it and a few cabinets above it against the far wall, a few colorful rugs on the floor, and a doorway that framed the stairs to the roof. The surfaces were just recently dusted and cleaned and the rugs shaken out, making the room seem a little brighter.
Tempest walked over to the table and set the sack down on top of it before raising her right hoof and pushing back the hood, letting it fall back while she shook her head to get her mane back to its normal look. She then looked to her right at Grubber, who had pulled back one of the chairs and was now struggling to climb onto it, and said, “Grubber, I’ve told you before not to say my name so loud around here. The fewer inhabitants that know I’m here, the better.”
Grubber managed to climb onto the chair and sat down on it before saying, “I know, Tempest, and I know, uh, what you’re concerned about. I just… I was glad to see you made it back okay.”
Tempest sighed and said, “Yes, I’m aware. I just feel this is not a good time to test how friendly everyone in Klugetown is.” She glanced at Grubber, “After all, you’re hungry now, aren’t you?”
The hedgehog perked up at that, saying, “Oh yeah! My tummy definitely wouldn’t mind a little something in it!”
Tempest turned back to the sack and reached for it with her hooves, bringing it a little closer while saying, “So give me a few minutes to put a little something together and we’ll decide what we’re going to do next afterwards.”
A couple of minutes later, the two were seated on the building’s roof as they polished off the last bit of their food while looking towards Klugetown. Grubber raised his plate to his lips and gave it a few licks to get the last bits before he said, “Thanks, Tempest. That was really good.”
Tempest glanced down at him, “There’s no need to be so nice all the time.” She looked forward, “I know my food preparation is average. It passes as food, but that’s about it.”
Grubber replied sincerely, “Well, I like it.” A minute passed with them observing their surroundings before Grubber spoke, “So, uh… I know it’s been a while, but you said that Princess Twilight offered you a place in that new school she opened up. Have you given that any more thought? Or just, like, returning to Equestria at all?”
Tempest let out her breath through her nose and hesitated for a moment before she began, “I know we didn’t spend much time together, but I do feel that Twilight taught me all she needed to. I was so caught up in my own twisted endless loop of wanting to get my broken horn repaired and get back at the ponies that turned their back on me that when I fell out of it and she chose to help me… it really meant a lot to me. I won’t say it completely changed me, but I do feel there’s not much more she could help me with. It’s better if the spot she offered went to someone who needed her help far more than me.”
Grubber waited a moment before asking, “And what about Equestria?”
Tempest closed her eyes, “I’m not ready for that. I have a long checklist that I’m nowhere near finishing, and I still can’t see myself having a normal life like Twilight. All those parties and picnics and other social gatherings… it feels awkward to think about still. And being a guard doesn’t feel like it would be enough.” She opened her eyes, “There has to be a fitting place for all I’ve learned. I just have to find it.”
Grubber reached over and placed his right hand on the side of Tempest’s left leg as he said, “And while you’re looking, I’ll keep being your sidekick and helping you along the way if you still want that.” Tempest didn’t respond, but she did reach over with her right hoof and rest it next to his hand, the two of them letting silence rule the air.
A few minutes later, Tempest and Grubber began making their way down the stairs with Grubber carrying their dishes. They were about halfway down when Tempest suddenly came to a stop and stood up as straight as she could, her eyes shifting to her left. Grubber noticed and came to a stop a few steps before bumping into her. “Te-” he started before Tempest held her left hoof up across her front and shushed him. She then lowered her hoof and pressed her ear against the wall, listening.
“There’s someone outside,” she murmured after a few moments.
“Doing what?” Grubber asked in a normal tone.
“Just… walking, I think. Or maybe pacing,” Tempest answered, still keeping her voice low.
“Well, that’s not so b-” Grubber was cut off when they heard a shattering sound outside almost right next to them, followed by another a few seconds later that came from the front of the tavern.
Tempest stood up straight and said, “Stay inside, Grubber. I’ll go see what’s going on.” She quickly walked down the steps and headed for the door, quietly opening it and sticking her muzzle out through the opening, checking. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she stepped all the way out and quietly shut the door, walking along the wall next to her while keeping her eyes on the entrance. Once she was standing across from it, she walked towards it slowly, bracing herself.
She stood in the entryway as her eyes scanned behind the counter. “Nothing’s been disturbed here,” she assessed after a few moments. She took a few steps out and turned her head to look right and left. To the left she spotted the remains of a brown/green vase sitting a short distance away from the building. She started to walk towards it while still keeping an eye out, noticing some tracks in the dirt as she walked. She raised an eyebrow; they were oddly shaped and seemed to have been left by someone wearing shoes. “I highly doubt anyone has a stylized infinity symbol on the bottom of both feet, hooves, paws, or whatever they claim to have. That would be a very odd birthmark to have, and for it to show up so perfectly in both prints,” she thought as she continued walking and looking for whoever the tracks belonged to.
When she reached the vase, she stood over it and examined it. She knew it was one of the vases that had been on the trading post side, so someone had either brought it over to this spot or thrown it there so she would notice it. She looked towards the trading post and saw that the other vase that had been sitting out, a larger blue one, was still there but it had been smashed as well. Clearly whoever had done this had wanted to make sure she came outside, but why? And where did they go? Her uncanny sense for picking up on the presence of others and danger had suddenly gone silent. She began to slowly step back towards the building, still searching for their mysterious vandal.
She was almost back to the front counter when she heard a voice behind her and came to a stop, “Containers. So-called ‘works of art’. In reality, worthless trinkets. Hardly worth preserving.” Tempest turned her head to the left and looked behind her, seeing Infinite walk into view from the side of the building a few seconds later. She watched him as he continued to walk, observing the way he carried himself and eying his attire as she made notes in her head. He stopped walking when he was standing opposite her and turned to face her. “Are you Tempest Shadow?” he asked, giving her last name a minor but noticeable emphasis.
Tempest didn’t flinch or move much at all at his words. She didn’t know who he was or what he wanted, but she didn’t need to know what he was referring to or her years of experience to know that he wasn’t someone from Klugetown or a wanderer. The thinly veiled sharp tone behind his words, the pointed tips of his gloves and shoes, the way he walked like everyone was beneath him, the weird designs on his mask… actually, his mask in general. Aside from a few things, particularly the mask, it all brought up memories of her time serving the Storm King. She needed to find out more about him, and to do that, she’d have to tread carefully. “What if I am?” she asked back in a calm tone.
Infinite crossed his arms, “You’re not much to look at, but I suppose you horses never are, even with a history like yours. Horn broken at a young age, disappeared for years, returned to Equestria under the Storm King’s command and nearly conquered it… Now look at you: reduced to living in these conditions, no doubt just barely getting by and trying to believe the world can’t get to you while believing what someone beneath you implanted in your mind. How far you’ve fallen.”
Tempest had turned around fully to look at him while he was speaking, still maintaining her composure despite his evaluation of her. “One can’t fall much further when they hit the bottom of a pit, and I have no intention of going back to the one that I spent many years in. It’s all yours now,” she replied evenly.
“I don’t remember anything about that. Something you’ve never told anyone, Tempest Shadow?” Infinite asked.
“Hmph. That shows what you know. I have far more now than I ever had for years. What do you claim to have?” Tempest retorted.
Infinite held up his left hand and closed it into a fist as he spoke, “Far more. Far greater power than I ever had before, power that I alone control and use against whoever I please. Weren’t you also close to having that as well, Tempest Shadow? Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of power and possibly even more again?”
Tempest was silent for a moment before saying, “It may seem like it was just a source of power to you, but I feel that the Staff of Sacanus would at least have more practical uses as well compared to whatever you have.” She eyed his mask and the gem on his chest as she added, “And I wouldn’t have to dress up and look tacky with it either.”
Infinite gave a dry laugh and said, “You are quite the funny one, Tempest Shadow.”
By this time, Tempest was getting rather annoyed by how he kept saying her name and was wondering why he said it the way he did, one part in particular. “You seem to be fixated on the name Shadow. What is your fascination with it?” she asked.
Infinite lowered his fist as he answered, “I’ve only ever met one other who had that name. When I met him, I still cared to show my face as much as you seem to care about showing your pathetic broken horn to the world. After that, I gave up my unsightly face and abandoned my old weak self so that, unlike you, I might be reborn as something stronger.” He held up both fists and looked up as he went on, “And now I have that power. The power to make all yield to my will!” He blinked when he heard a slight scuffing sound and looked down to see Tempest tapping her right hoof against the ground.
She pretended to notice him looking at her a few moments later and said, “Oh, excuse me. I’m just applauding. Applauding that guy, to be exact.” She stopped tapping her hoof, “Whatever he did to you, it sounds like he had you cleaning both the front and back of your legs when he was done.”
Infinite dropped his hands to his sides and his tone grew darker, “What did you just say?”
Tempest could tell she hit a particularly sensitive nerve for the jackal and decided to keep going with it. Anger often led to making mistakes; she knew that quite well. “Sure, I stopped using my birth name and became the lieutenant of the Storm King’s forces, aiding him in his conquests. I’ve done things I wasn’t proud of even then. I was even scared for my life at times. And yet I ultimately never tried to hide it; everyone I came across knew who I was and could see my scar and broken horn. You? I may not know anything about you, but I have a feeling that mask is all you’ve got,” she said.
Infinite’s right hand closed into a fist and started shaking as she finished speaking. He began to walk to the left and Tempest did the same, both keeping their eyes on each other. “You dare mock me? I am far more powerful than you ever could’ve been! I am the sole reason the planet is now in an iron grasp! I strike fear into the hearts of all who cross my path! The empire has never been stronger, and I fear nothing! I am NOT WEAK!” he growled, his voice rising in pitch as he finished.
“And yet here you are, out in the middle of nowhere, hiding behind a mask while you make such elaborate claims and try to convince a former enemy of Equestria to join your cause. Equestria may be full of bright colors and parties, but it does have a shortage of evildoers who are afraid to show their faces. Why did you come here? If you’re as powerful as you claim and you’re so proud of your ability to instill terror and take what you want, then why bother with me?” Tempest questioned, coming to a stop and glaring at Infinite as he stood in front of the tavern’s counter.
Infinite unclenched his hand and swung it backwards, imbedding his claws into the wood and shaking it enough to knock some of the glasses off of the shelves. A loud cracking sound filled the air and he ripped a piece of wood off. “You weak-minded FOOL!” he yelled as he shifted the wood to his hand and whipped his arm around towards Tempest, sending the wood flying at her. It came faster than she expected, but she was able to turn to avoid being hit by it, the splintered end of the wood only making a tear that ran across her brown cloak. She glanced down at it briefly before looking back up at Infinite. “You disappoint me. I thought perhaps there was one horse in this world that knew better than all the rest, but your mind has clearly been poisoned by them already.” He held out his hands, “I’ll grant you one mercy… and put you out of your misery!”
Tempest regarded him for a moment before turning slightly away from him, the right side of her body now facing him. “Are you going to show me your great power now?” she asked.
“Foolish horse. I was once known as the Ultimate Mercenary. I don’t need my power to defeat you; I’ll crush you with my bare hands!” he declared.
Tempest raised her right hoof to her cloak and turned around to face him again as she threw it off, revealing… a shorter cloak without a hood that was about the same black color as her old uniform. “Impress me, then,” she taunted as she lowered her hoof to the ground.
With a growl and a burst of anger, Infinite turned briefly to kick one of the sticks holding up the canopy over the bar and grab it, turning back to Tempest and throwing it at her like a spear. She made a short dash forward and leapt over it, getting a little closer to him. She didn’t continue moving after she landed, instead opting to watch to see what he would do next. He rushed her suddenly, surprising her a bit with how quickly he closed the gap, but all the things she’d picked up from her years of tough training and harsh lessons hadn’t gotten rusty yet. When he swung his fists at her three times in succession, she easily moved to the sides to avoid the first two and backed away to evade the third. He seemed a bit surprised by her agility and wasn’t prepared when she said “My turn” and hit him in the middle of the face with her right hoof, causing him to reel back.
He recovered after a moment and faced her again while remarking, “Hm. Almost felt something. Do you have anything worth my time?” Tempest responded by delivering a hook across his left eye with her right hoof and followed it up with a blow to his torso just below the gem on his chest. She finished up with another strike to his face with her right hoof, making him stagger back with a grunt. He glared at her and moved forward, punching at her twice while she stepped back. When he tried to kick her, she jumped back and slid back a little when she landed. She then charged at him and he did the same, leaping at her with his claws extended. She managed to get between his hands before she leapt, slamming her right shoulder up against his front. She may have been a pony, but her years of physical training clearly exceeded those of the comparatively weaker jackal.
Infinite was sent flying backwards and tumbled over once when he hit the ground, stopping on his front. He got up on his hands and knees and let out an angry shout before jumping to his feet. While they stared each other down for several seconds, Grubber, who had been getting worried because of all the loud noises he heard outside, came out and peered around the side of the bar, watching them. Infinite suddenly rushed at Tempest, swinging his right fist at her. She sidestepped to the left and grabbed his arm with her hooves, flipping him over onto his back. He tried to retaliate by swinging his left leg up to kick her, but she blocked his foot with her forelegs as she stepped back. He rolled over onto his front and stood up slowly, keeping his right hand behind his back as the gem on his chest glowed weakly. “Playtime’s over,” he declared as he stood up all the way.
He brought his right hand out from behind his back a moment later, revealing a short red sword that was curved near the tip and a had a blue spot in the center of its crossguard with two blue lines on each side and a blue hilt. Tempest blinked and stared at it as he shifted it from a reverse grip to a normal grip. “Where did he get that from? There’s no way he could’ve had it on his back this entire time; I would’ve noticed it!” she thought. Despite her confusion, she wasn’t about to let him intimidate her and it seemed like he picked up on that given the way his left eye narrowed after looking at her for a few moments.
Infinite ran towards her and tried to stab Tempest with the sword, only for to step to her right to avoid it and hit him across the face with her right hoof. He alternated between trying to slash at her and trying to stab her several times with her moving around his attacks to avoid the blade. He attempted to stab her one more time, but this time, she moved to the left and grabbed his arm with her right foreleg as she kept moving. Infinite let out a pained groan seconds later as she brought it a full one hundred eighty degrees behind him, the shock and pain causing him to drop his sword even as she got behind him and pushed him to the ground. She kicked the sword away with her right back hoof before she used all but her right front hoof to hold his legs and left arm down.
Grubber had to hold his hands over his mouth to keep his cheers in check as he watched Tempest keep Infinite essentially pinned despite his struggles. She placed her right hoof on the ground between his head and his right arm and he tried to hit it away with his right fist while still struggling. She thought about pinning that arm down as well, but then she had another thought. She placed her hoof on his mask instead and began to pull it off. Almost immediately, his hand moved to grab the mask and keep it on. While they both struggled with the mask, Tempest leaned forward and spoke, “You see? I was right. Your whole identity, your entire world even, is this mask. Are you so wrapped up in it that you’ve lost sight of what’s real and what’s an illusion?” Infinite froze and his left eye visibly widened at her words, but it narrowed again a moment later.
Tempest felt him go rigid and thought she might have a chance to pull the mask off, but she had barely started pulling it when Infinite’s right elbow connected with her neck, surprising her and causing her to step off of him. Now freed, he kicked her in the side to further throw her off balance and got up as she regained her footing, moving towards her in a blind rage. She started backing away when she saw him coming, but he was coming at her with his claws faster and angrier than before. He managed to make some tears in the front of her cloak and a few of his slashes left red marks on her chest, finishing up with a punch to the face that knocked her onto her side. She started to get up, but he leapt on her before she could, pushing her back down and rolling her onto her back before pushing down again so the back of her head hit the ground. “You want to know what’s real?” he sneered. Tempest shook off her disorientation and looked up to see him raising his right fist back above his head, “I never end. You on the other hand…”
He was interrupted when something hit against his mask, Tempest hearing a shattering sound and seeing bits of glass rain down. She glanced up behind her and Infinite looked up too to see Grubber had come out from behind the bar and he was holding some of the glasses in his arms. “You leave Tempest alone, you… tall, mean creepy guy!” he yelled while grabbing another glass in his right hand and holding it up. Infinite stared at him for a moment… then he suddenly shot towards him. Grubber panicked and began throwing glasses as fast as he could, but none of them hit the jackal and he soon found himself snatched up by his cupcake tabard and slammed down on top of the counter.
When the pain in his butt subsided, he looked up to see Infinite glaring down at him, the jackal’s hands gripping his sides, though they didn’t pin his arms against them. Despite his fear, he began pounding his fists against Infinite’s hands, but to no avail. “So, you fashion yourself a companion to her. Caring for an insignificant speck like you… no wonder she’s acting the way she is,” he said. He began to tighten his grip on the hedgehog, “Once I’ve taken care of you, she should start to behave normally again.” Grubber let out a loud whine of pain and discomfort as the pressure increased.
All of a sudden, Tempest got up behind Infinite and brought her forelegs up underneath his arms and smacked them away, causing him to release Grubber. She then wrapped her forelegs around Infinite’s torso and pulled back quickly, slamming the top of his head against the ground while she landed on her back. He flopped onto his front and quickly stood up, only to see that Tempest had already gotten up and was glaring at him with an angry look he hadn’t seen her make before.
Before he could react, she began striking him in the face with her hooves, not giving him a chance to recover. “DON’T!” she hit the right side of his mask, leaving a dent in the black lightning bolt. “YOU!” she struck the left side, causing the visor to develop a multitude of cracks. “DARE!” she brought both hooves down on top of his head. “THREATEN!” both hooves struck the bottom of where his chin would be. “HIM!” she quickly whirled around and bucked him both hooves, sending him flying and knocking his mask clean off of his face. He spun over as he flew and landed on his front, his mask landing a short distance away.
Tempest panted heavily for several moments as she calmed down while Grubber stared breathlessly at what he had just witnessed. The unicorn soon calmed down enough to breathe normally and stand up straight. She looked over at where Infinite had landed and saw him not moving. She looked back at Grubber and held up her right hoof, saying, “Stay here.” She carefully walked over to Infinite, watching him for any signs of movement. When she was standing over him and he still hadn’t moved, she raised her right hoof and said, “Hey…” Suddenly Infinite flipped over onto his back and swiped his left hand across the tip of the gem on his chest, causing a bright glow that sent Tempest flying backwards.
Grubber gasped and stood up, leaping out of the way as she hit the top of the counter and bounced off of it, managing to miss hitting the top of the doorway behind the bar and coming to a stop on her side in the room past it. Grubber leapt down and ran to her, stopping near the back of her head. “Tempest?! Tempest!” he cried frantically as he tried to wake her, seeing her mouth hanging open slightly but not seeing a barely visible pink-purple glow over her pupils.
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Tempest squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, feeling a sudden disorientation. She slowly blinked several times as she uttered, “Ugh, what…?” As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a cavern full of large reflective crystals and she could hear the sound of machinery somewhere off in the distance. “What? Where am I? How did I get here?” she asked as she quickly turned in a circle looking at her surroundings. As her gaze stopped on one of the crystals close to her, she realized she was clad in her old Storm Army uniform, which confused her further.
Before she could say anything, she heard Grubber calling, “Tempest! TEMPEST!”
She turned and looked in the direction it sounded like his voice was coming from before exclaiming, “Grubber?!”
She heard him call back, “Tempest! What are you doing?! You gotta help! Twilight’s been trapped down here for months, and now I’m stuck too! Hurry!” The urgency in his voice was unmistakable. Tempest immediately broke out into a run, making her way through the cave towards Grubber’s voice.
As she ran, she began to see the machinery she’d been hearing to her sides against the walls and amidst the crystals. She could see large gears turning to make conveyor belts move, the belts carrying devices she wasn’t exactly familiar with but had a general idea of what they were. “Are they making weapons down here? I need to put a stop to this as soon as I find Grubber and Twilight and get them out of here!” she thought as she ran.
It didn’t take Tempest long to reach a flat stone ledge that seemed to be where the cave ended. She could see a light shining in through a nearby hole in the wall and there didn’t seem to be anywhere else she could go. She was getting really worried as she looked around, hoping she had missed something. There had only been one path available to take and it seemed to lead to where Grubber’s voice was coming from, but she hadn’t seen him or Twilight at any point. “Where could they be?! Grubber said he and Twilight were down here!” she muttered.
She then heard a voice say, “Oh, is that what you thought, my dear Tempest? Because unfortunately for you, that’s completely wrong!”
Tempest gasped and looked towards the hole in the wall, where it seemed to be coming from. She knew that voice. “The Storm King?! But… you were turned to stone! And shattered!” she exclaimed.
The Storm King let out a raucous laugh at that before he spoke, “Aw, what’s the matter, little pony? Did you hit your head? Or did my lying about fixing your poor broken horn make you unable to see what’s real and what’s an illusion? I’ve controlled Equestria and the weather for three months now! Come outside now and see what you’ve been missing!” Not sure what else to do, Tempest did as he instructed and leapt into the hole to get out of the cave.
Upon landing on something soft, she looked around and saw that she was in the royal gardens near Canterlot Castle. The sky above was filled with swirling dark clouds, exactly like when the Storm King had the fully powered Staff of Sacanus in his possession. She didn’t see the Storm King or anyone else around, so she made her way out of the gardens and into the city itself, where she found Storm Creatures standing guard and ponies locked in cages. Tempest couldn’t believe what she was seeing as she walked down one of the streets. Canterlot looked exactly as she remembered it prior to the Storm King’s defeat. She came to a stop after a moment and thought about that. Exactly as she remembered it…
She looked at the Storm Creatures. They simply stood in place staring straight ahead. None of them seemed to notice her; at the very least, they didn’t turn their heads to look at her. She then looked at the ponies in some nearby cages. They were sitting down and had their heads bowed down, but other than that, they were acting like statues just like the Storm Creatures. She heard a thudding sound behind her and turned to see the Storm King on top of a fountain. The crown atop his head and the armor that mainly covered his upper body were just as she remembered, along with his white fur and blue eyes. He held the Staff of Sacanus in his right hand, the blue gem atop it glowing brightly but otherwise doing little else.
The Storm King stood up straight and grinned down at her. “Do you remember now? I took the magic from Equestria’s princesses and had them all destroyed! The little invasion attempt was squashed like a bug! I’ve dealt with all other challenges to my power the same way, including your attempt to steal my staff! And now that you’re back, I have to ask: do you like what I’ve done with the place?” he taunted.
Tempest stared up at him for a moment before she narrowed her eyes, “No! I don’t know how this happened, but that’s not what happened! Your last-ditch attempt resulted in you being turned to stone and shattered! You were defeated!”
The Storm King’s grin disappeared and he seemed to freeze up at her words. After a few seconds, he put on a smile that seemed a bit wide and forced as he spoke, “Defeated? Oh, you must be mistaken! I have never known d-d-de-defeat!”
Tempest raised an eyebrow at the way he finished his sentence and how his head shook as he tilted it to the side. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.
The Storm King straightened up and glared down at her as he said, “I was not defeated! I am not weak! I am not weak. I AM NOT WEAK… I AM NOT WEAK…! I AAAAAAAMMMMMM NOOOOOOOOTTT WEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!” His voice became higher pitched and sounded more like he was droning as he went on and raised his head to look at the sky. Towards the end, it started to sound like another voice entirely. One she’d heard before…
Suddenly, Tempest remembered Infinite and what had happened before her mind became hazy. Seeing that the Storm King seemed to be stuck for the moment, she looked around once before looking up at the Storm King and then down at the ground. “This… isn’t really happening,” she murmured. She looked up at the Storm King again and said, “I need to get out of here.” Her broken horn filled with magic, sparks shooting out as she tried to keep it in check, “And I have a feeling you’re the way.”
The Storm King seemed to return to normal at her words. He glared down at her and took the Staff of Sacanus in both hands, pointing its tip at her. He fired a bolt of lightning at her, but Tempest had anticipated this and leapt to the side to avoid it. The Storm King kept firing at her, but she kept making good use of her agility and evasiveness to dodge his bolts as she worked her way to him. When she almost reached the fountain, he fired a bolt directly down at her, but instead of moving to the side, she jumped towards him, narrowly missing the bolt as it streaked under her. The Storm King let out a yell as she got closer and unleashed the magic that she was holding at him, the sound of fireworks going off being heard as everything started to fade to white…
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“…Snap out of it! Come on, Tempest! Tempest!” Grubber cried, still trying to rouse the unicorn. Slowly, the pink-purple glow over her pupils faded away and she blinked, finding herself back in the backroom of the tavern outside of Klugetown. Grubber calmed down a little when he saw her raise her head since it wasn’t a frantic movement like he’d been seeing her doing for a while and it was more movement than no movement at all, but he was still worried.
Tempest suddenly rolled onto her back, causing Grubber to leap back in alarm, and placed her hooves on the sides of her head as she grit her teeth. “Ah, my head… What… What did that guy do to me?” she groaned.
She and Grubber heard Infinite speak a moment later, “So you managed to overcome it as well.” They both turned to see him standing outside on top of the bar, his arms crossed and his mask back on his face. “You really are just like him. I guess I made it too easy for you. Hope you enjoyed the show all the same, though.”
Tempest rocked herself forward back onto her hooves and turned to face him. “You! What did you do?! What are you planning?!”
Infinite simply replied, “I have no time for any more games. My time in this world grows short, and I still have things to do. Before I return, I have a gathering to break up and one... no, several disgustingly brightly colored links to you that I must remove from the equation. Perhaps then you’ll come to your senses. Not to worry, though; I have a parting gift for you: a much greater display of the power I possess. If you survive, perhaps you’ll beg to join me when I return.” He swung his right arm out and broke the other stick supporting the canopy before leaping back as it flopped down.
Tempest growled and ran forward, leaping over the bar and tearing the canopy off, bringing it with her as she landed on her hooves a second later. Grubber ran outside a moment later and stopped next to her as she shook the canopy off and threw it to the side. She then growled as she glared at Infinite, seeing him hovering just above the ground a short distance away. Before either of them could move towards him, what appeared to be a large yellow star suddenly fell just in front of them and exploded. They weren’t caught in the blast, but it did keep them from running towards Infinite. Temporarily forgetting the jackal, they both looked up as the smoke cleared, wondering where the star had come from. When they looked back towards the building, their eyes widened and their mouths fell open.
There was a large, mechanical silver sphere hanging above the building that sort of looked like the Moon and had a face on it that had two purple eyes with black scleras and a mouth that looked to be full of serrated teeth with a blue glow behind them. It seemed to be sentient since its eyes and mouth moved and, as soon as it noticed them looking at it, it began shooting more exploding yellow stars out of its mouth. It shot them quickly too, the stars landing close to Tempest and Grubber and forcing them to duck inside the building as it began to spin around and blanket the area with them.
They could still hear the explosions going off all around as they got into the living area. “Tempest, what are we going to do?!” Grubber cried.
“I’m not sure yet, Grubber! I don’t know what that thing is or where it came from! I guess I could try to attack it from underneath, but it could probably still shoot those exploding stars down and destroy the building!” Tempest grunted.
“Well, it could still do that now, but it has to stop at some point, right? Maybe then…” Grubber paused as he realized he suddenly couldn’t hear any more explosions. “Hey, you hear that? Sounds like they stopped! So now…” He stopped again when he felt the ground beginning to rumble beneath his feet. “Uh, why is the floor shaking?” he asked.
Tempest could feel the vibrations as well and looked down wondering. She gasped as she suddenly had an idea and looked up at the ceiling. Grubber looked up as well when they started to hear crunching and snapping sounds overhead that began to steadily get louder. The ceiling began to cave in seconds later and Tempest leapt over onto Grubber, wrapping her forelegs around him as she braced herself.
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What was going on at the tavern hadn’t gone completely unnoticed by the denizens of Klugetown, but it was only when the sphere of death appeared and began raining explosions down around it that nobody could even pretend that they didn’t see what was happening. Capper was one of the first to notice, having seen Tempest and Infinite fighting off in the distance. He had decided to stay out of it since he was confident that his unicorn pal could beat the catnip out of whoever it was and he could get the gist of what happened later, but the big ball that was dropping explosions was starting to make him regret not going up there to help.
That regret became even worse when the sphere suddenly came crashing down on top of the building and exploded, causing him and everyone else looking to look away. When the light died down and he looked back, all he could see was a pile of rubble where the tavern used to be. As Capper stared, Infinite suddenly flew past him, laughing manically all the while. Capper whirled around in time to see him turn left and disappear down the main street before turning and running towards the tavern, almost losing his hat in his haste. A couple of ponies and a few other creatures did the same as him.
When he got closer to the tavern, he was able to better see that the entire structure had collapsed and the rubble was burnt from the explosion. “Tempest? Grubber?” he called as he and the others began sifting through the remains. Suddenly, they all heard a muffled shout followed by a dark orchid hoof knocking a piece of rubble away that was on top of it. They all looked over and saw Tempest knock some small rubble off of her as she rolled onto her haunches, Grubber curled up into a ball against her abdomen.
Capper breathed a sigh of relief and looked them over as he made his way over to them and they disentangled and sat up. Tempest seemed to be somewhat singed, her mane and tail were frizzy, and her cloak was even more torn, though it was holding together well enough to cover her flanks. Grubber's tabard looked a bit damaged, but otherwise, he didn’t look as bad as Tempest and based on his position, Capper could guess that she did her best to shield him. “Thank goodness. You two okay?” he asked as he knelt down next to them.
Tempest and Grubber looked at each other for a moment before the former said, “I think so.”
Capper spoke, “That’s a relief. What happened? What was that thing just now?’
Tempest sighed as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, “I don’t know. All I know is it had to have been called upon by… him…” She slowed down as she finished and then turned to Capper, grabbing his right arm with her left hoof as she asked, “Capper, you didn’t happen to see him on your way here, did you? He had black fur and was wearing a strange mask.”
The feline nodded a moment later, “Yeah, yeah I did. He was… a jackal, I think. He flew past me before I made my way over here. And I mean he actually looked like he was flying, even though I don’t remember seeing any wings.” He looked back at her, “Who was he?”
Tempest sighed and let go of his arm, “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me his name. He… made it sound like what just happened was just a fraction of his power.”
Capper stared at her with concern, “Well, that's not good at all.”
Tempest held a hoof to her forehead. “He said something before that. What did he say?” she muttered, closing her eyes and trying to think. She remembered his words clear as day after a few seconds.
“Before I return, I have a gathering to break up and one, or rather several disgustingly brightly colored links to you that I must remove from the equation. Perhaps then you’ll come to your senses.”
Her eyes shot open as she realized what he must’ve meant. “No…” she uttered.
Grubber beat Capper to the punch, asking, “What is it, Tempest?”
Tempest looked down at him, “What he said, about a gathering, and bright colors that I would know…” She looked at both Grubber and Capper, “I think he was talking about Ponyville. He must be going after Twilight and her friends!”
Capper blinked, “Whoa, you sure about that?”
Tempest replied, “If he’s planning to do something bad to Equestria, the smart thing to do would be to get them out of the way so they wouldn’t try to interfere!” She looked back at Grubber and said, “Climb on and hold tight.”
Grubber stared, “What…” He wasn’t picking up on it fast enough for Tempest’s liking since she dipped her head and managed to get her broken horn underneath him, tilting her head up afterwards to make him go over her head. He let out a yelp as he fell and then a grunt as he landed on her back. Now getting it, he sat up and quickly turning around to place his hands on her neck. Tempest then stood up and, after shaking off a little dust, leapt to get on top of the rubble and began moving towards Klugetown.
Capper stood up and turned to look at her, holding his right hand out towards her as he called, “Hey, Tempest!”
The unicorn came to a stop past the rubble and looked back at him, saying, “If you don’t hear from either of us in a couple of days, then something bad happened!” She then took off running towards Klugetown as Grubber struggled to hold on, “They have to be warned about him, and every second counts!” Capper and the other could only watch silently as she and Grubber left their sight.