//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: A Silky Voice 
// Story: OMAI: The Empire of Storms 
// by VeganSpyro97 
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They got separated.
As the ponies and their Avian escorts were traversing a large road that lead through most of town, an influx of foot traffic had pressed between them, barging through the short, easily missable crowd of ponies after having shoved aside Caelano and Boyle. The fillies and Spike managed to stay next to one another, but Celestia, Rainbow, Twilight and Applejack were cut off from the others on one side of the street, while Boyle and Pinkie got stuck on the other. 
Static, Rarity and Fluttershy closed around the fillies and Spike, forced by the crowd to hurry down the street, away from the frantic cries of their crewmates. The crowds shoved them and jostled them along the narrow and twisted pathways of the city, not giving  a care for their smaller size or the teenagers with them. 
The buildings around them grew more cluttered and clustered as they were forced on, Rarity and Fluttershy struggling to keep the fillies between them while Static took the role of spearhead, forcing the crowd to either part to admit them, or be pushed aside in turn. The armour under her cloak saved Static from a few bruises, but one rowdy passerby managed to hit her under her eye as he was pushed aside, a bruise swelling up her cheek a little as she forged on. 
On and on the crowds forced them, before it finally relinquished it’s hold on the group, and they were able to retreat from the road and dip into a side alley without any more shoving. Not wanting to stay out in the open, they journeyed further into the alley before hunkering down to catch their breath, Fluttershy fussing over Static’s cheek. 
“This isn’t good. I don’t recognize this part of the city at all.” Fluttershy worried, dabbing Static’s bruise with a cloth she had wetted with a tiny bit of her water canteen. “The only recognizable landmarks I can see are where we just came from, and I don’t think we should try going back through all those creatures…”
“But what else can we do, darling?” Rarity asked, hugging Sweetie Belle close to her breast with her forelegs, while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo pressed close to her sides. Crystal stood next to her parents, while Spike stood a little further away, keeping an eye on the alley entrance. “If we try to go anywhere else, all we will be doing is aimlessly wandering until we happen across a landmark, which could not only be dangerous, it could get us separated even further.”
“Or it could help us find the marketplace and find the others.” Apple Bloom said, nervously shifting against Rarity’s side. “Where’s miss Tempest? I didn’t see her when we got split up.”
“I’m here.” The group’s eyes all snapped up to see the Unicorn in question standing at the end of the alley, looking a little worse for wear, and one of her forelegs bleeding, her rope bindings torn off of the limb in order to let her move more easily. 
The adults were on their hooves in an instant, but Tempest just limped closer, before sitting down with a puff of air. “I chose to follow you when we were separated. I knew you’d need the help.” She stated simply.
“And your rope?” Rarity asked, warily. 
“You expect me to get through a crowd of creatures with my legs tied together? Even loosely?” Tempest asked, a raised eyebrow the only indication of her amusement. She rubbed her foreleg and winced, the skin where she had pulled the rope off split, and red raw around the wound. Fluttershy’s eyes fixated on that red, her eyes instantly creasing with concern. She moved away from Static and picked up her medkit, carried it to Tempest, and sat down next to her, the Unicorn looking at her with a puzzled expression. “It is nothing, do not bother yourself with my leg.” Tempest started to object, but Fluttershy quietly and firmly grabbed Tempest’s foreleg with her own, pulled it closer, and started to look it over with  a critical eye. 
“If I leave it untreated, it will become infected.” Fluttershy murmured, bringing out ointment and bandages, as well as a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, something that the Skylark had very little of. 
“I have had much worse, miss Fluttershy.” Tempest protested, trying to pull her leg away, but was surprised at the sudden strength from the seemingly frail pegasus. “Do not waste your supplies on-” Tempest hissed in pain as Fluttershy pressed a cloth soaked in the alcohol against the rope burned skin, but only reacted to it for a few moments before she frowned. “You shouldn’t have-”
“You needed it, Tempest. I’m not going to sit by and let you get infections when I can help you.” Fluttershy stated. 
“I’d listen to her, Tempest. She frequently wrestles bears when they get feisty.” Static smirked at Tempest’s surprised face. The Unicorn turned her gaze back to Shy, but now, her eyes were filled with hints of something Static had only seen directed her own way. Respect. 
“So. Now we have four adults, and five teens.” Rarity nodded as Static turned back to face her. “I feel at least a little better about our chances now. On to the market then, if we can locate it?” 
“I remember where to go from here.” Tempest spoke up from where Fluttershy was wrapping a bandage over her leg. “I can lead you there.” 
“Good. We’ll go to the market and try to find the others. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long.” Static decreed. “Once Shy’s done with your leg, and you feel like you can walk a bit better, we’ll get going.”
They didn’t have to wait too long. Tempest was on her hooves with only a slight limp within a few minutes, stepping out into the slightly more empty street now that much of the foot traffic had passed, but there was no sign of Celeano, Twilight and the others, much to Static’s dismay. None of this had gone right since they left the Everfree.
Following Tempest’s lead, they crossed the street and into an alley on the other side, trotting down it at a quick but easy pace, given Tempest’s limp. 
That didn’t stop her though, as the Unicorn carried on through numerous twists and turns until they reached a part of the city that Static actually recognized from their earlier observations at the top of the cliffs. Tempest turned on to and off of several busier streets before the shoddily constructed, ramshackle buildings gave way to several much nicer and larger looking ones, with more uniform and safer shapes, proper supports, even sporting decorative signs and bolts of cloth that hung overhead...all in all, still a bunch of mediocre buildings, but only half of them looked ready to fall over, rather than most of them. There were stalls set up in the streets, vendors selling bits of junk for quick coin, alongside a few bits and pieces of half rotten food, all the best produce reserved for the actual buildings, where fresher fruits and vegetables were being sold at a premium that no one could afford to pay, save for a few better dressed individuals, quite a number of them Jotuns. There was a good mixture though, apples, bananas, oranges, and a purple fruit that didn’t seem to be selling well.  
Rarity couldn’t help but frown and sneer at the contemptuous conditions. “These brutes strut about in their fancy clothes while others go without food. You would hardly be able to find such a sight back home. It is a crime against fabulosity, and generosity!”
“We’ll find some way to sort this lot out, one day.” Static promised, whispering as loudly as she dared. “For now, we blend, and we don’t draw too much attention to our-” Static bumped into a large creature that resembled a fish, or perhaps a shark, given the sharp teeth and five gills he revealed as he turned to snarl at her. 
“You better watch where you’re going, little mare! Ponies like you don’t last long out here. But you look like you’d make quite a good meal!” His wide mouth creased into a fanged grin, and he leaned in to smell Static, who batted him away with her hoof, her sword springing free from her cloak and whipping up to touch, just so, under the Shark’s chin. 
“And you had best not make assumptions about what you can and can’t eat.” Static hissed, the sword in her hoof digging just deeply enough to sting, but not to draw blood. 
The Shark did not look ready to back down, and instead, whipped his finned hands across to brush the blade aside and try to grab the pony who dared to resist him. 
Instead, a paw caught his wrist and an alarmed voice burst from the mouth of the tan coloured feline that seemingly materialized between the pair, clad in a red coat, with a curled tuft of purple hair bouncing gently in place between his fuzzy ears. “You really don’t wanna do that!!” The cat’s voice was vaguely sophisticated, but sounded smooth and rather akin to a purr. “I dunno if you’ve had a good look at these ponies, but they are not good for eatin’, and y’all don't wanna be touching ‘em!” 
“And how would you know?!” The shark demanded, pushing the cat back. The cat splayed his ears and swished his tail nervously, holding his hands up in appeasement. “You eaten many ponies?!”
“Well, no, but look at those two over there?” The cat pointed over to a rather dully coloured pair of ponies standing at a vendor’s booth, watching the incident with curious eyes. “Dull as dirt, sand and rock, that’s how they’re supposed to look!” Rarity ground her teeth and nearly leaped up to the cat to show him how ‘dull’ she was. Thankfully, the cat was able to get to his next sentence before Rarity took drastic action. “These ones here are so much brighter! It ain’t natural folks! They’re sick!” The cat claimed, holding the shark back with a dramatically swept arm and a wide eyed, fearful expression. “They’re infected with….” He paused dramatically, drawing in a hushed breath and whispering out in a dread filled voice as he leaned back from them warily. “Pastelus Colouritus!” 
The cat swept his keen eyes across the crowd before settling on the shark. “It’s alright people, everything’s fine, as long as no one who touched ‘em starts developing bright purple spots on their skin.” 
Someone shouted in alarm, pointing at the shark’s back, and as he turned, Static watched the Cat flick his tail ever so carefully, flicking what looked like a thick dollop of something viscous….and purple. Her gaze flicked over to a nearby store selling fresh produce, a display of bright purple fruits on demand, with what looked like one or two empty spots where there hadn’t been before. 
“Sly kitty…” Static murmured, as the cat continued his skit. 
“What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?!” The Shark yelled. 
The cat stepped away from him with a grimace, which slowly shifted into a grin as he spoke. “Enjoy your last days, my friend, and don’t touch anything or anyone.” The grin turned sly and mischievous, a glint in the cat’s eye as he spoke. “Parts will fall off.”
The shark took one look at the cat, then one look down at his spot riddled skin. Then, he opened his mouth, screamed at the highest pitch the ponies had frankly ever heard- and they knew Pinkie, so that was an incredible feat- and started sprinting down the street as fast as he could, followed by the other members of the marketplace crowd, who scattered in all directions in order to escape potential “infection”. 
“Well alright.” The cat hummed, taking a moment to retreat back to a small, seedy looking drinks vendor, who’s proprietor was no longer present. He snagged a few bottles of heady smelling liquids and slipped them into the pockets of a maroon coat lying on the counter, which he then slipped over his shoulders. “Sorry for the confusion there, little ponies, but I wasn’t about to let that annoying blowhard start chowing down on some newcomers first thing.”
“Like I’d let Static get eaten. I’d have flame broiled his tail if he tried.” Spike said with a huff. 
“Course you would have.” The cat purred, his chest literally thrumming with the sound. “Capper’s my name, and charming,” He swept his arms out wide in a theatrical bow. “Is my game.”
Rarity tittered, holding a hoof over her mouth to conceal a rather pleased grin. “You certainly are darling, and quite creative too! Thank you ever so much for your timely intervention!”
“Think nothing of it little ponies! But if you and your trigger-happy friend there aren’t gonna cause any more trouble, then I don’t think I should stick around, ya know?” Capper hummed a merry tune as he started to turn away, but Fluttershy was hovering in his face when he turned around. “I’m sorry Butter Wings, but I gotta bounce.”
“Oh, but please sir, we’re looking for our friends. We got separated and-”
“Say no more, sweet thing, I understand. But unfortunately, I can’t help. My little production here will have attracted attention, and dumb as those people are, they won’t stay fooled forever. That means I gotta lay low for a while until they forget about all this.” Capper’s green eyes creased in a firm yet pleasant smile as he brushed Shy aside and started walking away. 
“We’d be willing to pay.” Static said, quickly. “Two bags of Equestrian gold, once we’ve found them.”
Capper stopped, ears twitching. “You say Equestrian?” He asked. 
“Yes?” Static answered, her own curiosity rising. 
“Like, magical land to the north Equestrian?”
“Yes.” Rarity chimed in. “Populated by ponies like us!”
Capper slowly turned back to them. “You got any of that gold on you now, to prove it?” 
Static fished in her saddlebags for a moment, before she unearthed a bit from her bit-bag, and tossed it to him. “Right here, whiskers. Real as it gets.”
Capper glared at her for the name, but gave the metal a quick test bite, and stared at the slight indentation in the surface. “That’s...pretty damn pure.”
“Equestrian bits are about ninety to ninety seven percent gold, depending on year of printing.” Fluttershy offered, producing a bit of her own. “And we all have at least some on us. Just in case.”
“And how many of you ponies are there, exactly?” Capper asked, looking to Static to answer. 
Static stared back, warily, before she gave her reply. “Including the fillies, and Spike here. Thirteen.” 
Capper’s eyes went wide at the large number. “T-that many? There’s that many of you down here? Why?”
“Let’s just say we have our reasons.” Static said. “That a problem?”
“Not at all!” Capper said, quickly. Very quickly. He was quite enthusiastic about this- probably because of how much gold he would be getting. He snagged a few pieces of fresh fruit from the now empty produce store, and placed them in his pockets alongside the bottles. “I do suggest we get going sooner, rather than later. I wasn’t lying about those guards. They’ll be investigating the disturbance by now.” Capper offered his paw to shake. “I say we have a deal. Two bags of gold for helping find your friends.”
Static looked towards the market entrance, where she could make out the shadows of approaching guards on the wall opposite the opening. She could hear them too, armour clanking away as they got closer. “Deal.” She said, grabbing his paw in her hoof and shaking it. 
“Alright, stay low and close, ponies. And don’t get lost.” Capper nodded before he set off at a brisk pace, heading for a narrow  gap between two buildings, with the ponies slipping in after, one by one, with Tempest and Static at the end, with Static looking back at the guards entering the plaza before she slipped between the ramshackle hut walls, following Tempest as closely as she could, which was very, the mulberry tail hairs swishing just inches from her face. 
They followed Capper, back once again through winding alleyways and side streets. But they were not going through as many secret passageways as Static would have thought, instead using the old greasing of palms in order to open a few doors, though Static could have sworn that Capper was mostly using things he had stolen from the market in order to get his way. That and things he picked off of passersby in the side streets, usually by grabbing their purses from their belts before they got out of reach...at least, that’s what it looked like from Static’s point of view, at the back. 
They travelled far, skirting around the great hall they had seen, and off towards the river, taking a long, winding route towards the windmill tower that they had spotted from the cliffs. 
“Be careful on this next stairwell, the boards are loose.” Capper called, quietly. 
Tempest’s ears splayed back, the mare frowning as she watched the cat. Rarity seemed trusting though, much to Spike’s annoyance. She followed his every word, listening raptly and watching him move gracefully along every path they took. She followed closely to the cat, the leader of the pony part of the group by a clear margin- a three hoof margin, to be precise- only avoiding stepping on his coat tails by watching where she placed her hooves in between watching him. 
Capper drank in the attention, only getting showier with each street, making his coat tails swish just a little more, sweeping his arms just a little wider as he sweet talked his way through a group of rough looking creatures who had immediately wanted to catch and sell the ponies. He got very into the act, playing up his brilliance for Rarity, who only seemed to want more. 
Spike had his arms crossed for half the trip, staring daggers into Cappers back. 
They reached the river in short order, on a balcony several feet above the gentle currents, the wooden boards half rotted from the moisture in the air. The water vapours drift up in a thin veil, making the sky above seem incredibly pale. The moisture clung to their coats as Capper pointed off to the top of the windmill. 
“Ya see that? That’s my little hidey hole. We still got to go through some pretty nasty streets to get there, but if you trust me, then-”
“I don’t.” Spike snapped, stepping past Tempest and Rarity to get in Capper’s face...or, midriff, due to his shorter height. The young dragon was growling softly, hackles raised and tail thrashing. 
Rarity looked appalled. “Spike!” 
Tempest didn’t say anything, but frowned at Rarity. 
“No, no, it’s alright. I understand, little one. Cause, ya know…” Capper started to say, then broke off, taking a breath and grinning. Raising his voice, he started to sing. 
“This town is not a nice place
For little fillies, all alone
There are lots of twists and corners
That could lead to the unknown
Let me guide your way
And I'll be sure to help you through
You could really use a friend out here
And luckily for you….”
	Static rolled her eyes, while Tempest scrunched up her face in surprise and confusion. “Uh....what’s going on? Why is he singing?”
As Capper reached his chorus, he swept around them in a circle, then darted off ahead along the slippery boards, dancing across a gauntlet of broken and poorly secured boards that bent and flexed beneath his paws, springing him across gaps he couldn’t have managed without the aid. 
“I'm the friend that you need
When you're lost and don't know what to do
I'm your pal, your amigo…”
“It’s all too possible he doesn’t even realise that he is singing. It’s a harmony magic thing. Being around us just makes creatures want to sing.” Tempest stared at Static like she’s just grown three extra heads that were all talking gibberish and drooling caramel sauce from their mouths. Then, to Static’s surprise, she started chuckling, then fully giggling, suppressed peals of laughter making her shoulder’s shake. “What?” Static asked. 
“I just imagined some poor Storm Creature starting to sing in the middle of Black Skull Island because of being near me or the prisoners. They’d be mortified!”
Static took her own moment to stare at Tempest before she started laughing too, imagining the poor sod being led through a dance number while the other Jotunns started throwing sharp things at them. 
“Useful and resourceful, too
And my help, you'll concede
Is a plus, guaranteed
You can call and I'll come running
Just follow my lead
Cuz I'm the friend you need!”
Capper turned back into the streets, ducking between two townsfolk and offering a few pieces of fruit to them both to buy their silence, still singing as he went. “He's a friend!” Cried one, rather enthusiastically, immediately devouring his pieces of fruit so that the juices splattered all over Tempesy. Tempest just grumped on by, glowering at anything that got in her path until it moved. “Quite a friend!” The second of the two villagers opened a door for them to pass through, Capper offering to let them go first with a bow as the first townie sang again. “He's a friend, indeed!” It was a little hard taking that one seriously with apple-juice dribbling down his shirt. 
After they had all climbed through, Capper kept on, while Tempest and Static followed, still snickering.  The dark passage beyond was one that seemed to have been used as storage space of some kind, boxes and barrels by the dozen. Capper strode through them all, before grinning, knocking a widows latch loose and blocking all the windows, casting them into darkness, starting to mime out a small play worth of unfortunate occurrences that he would “supposedly” stop from happening.
“You need a bud to spot the danger” Capper sent a barrel toppling over at them, only to dart in and push them aside like some kind hero.
“A pal to stop the creep.” As Spike passed that fallen barrel, a tentacle slipped free and tried to coil around Spike’s ankles, only for Capper to shoo it away from him, once again passing it off as grand heroics, despite the tentacle being rather small and weak looking. 
“A chum, and not a stranger, to assist.
You need a bro who is cunning,
That can help you take the leap!”
By now, Static was wishing she had popcorn, while Capper danced around, leading the group to a deep pit before leaping across. He hoisted up a long wooden board and slid it over the gap for the ground bound ponies to trot over, the wood clunking with the sounds of hooves 
“A friend who knows what's lying in the mist.” Oddly, enough, the Abyssinian was able to find a stretch of hallway that was full of a thick miasma of drifting water vapour, thick enough to allow Capper to vanish through it with the brief flashing of a grin. 
“Don't fear these darkened alleys,
They're scary, yes, I know.” 
Capper was attempting to scare Fluttershy with some bats when his performance started to lag behind his lyrics a little, as instead of being scared of the bats, the bats all stopped at her delighted smile and were soon hanging upside down from her wings and clinging to her chest, snuggling up to her s she cooed and petted them with a bright smile on her face the entire time. Static grinned as Capper’s song faltered a little, the cat visibly sagging in disbelief at the sight of the shy pony being swarmed by bats that were vying for her attention. In fact, as Static looked at her fiance, she could have sworn she saw her ears were fuzzier than normal, and that a pointed fang was poking past her lip….
A second later, and the moment was gone, and the bats all flew back up to their roost, all squeaking and chirping happily. 
The corridors lead them back out onto the streets soon enough, but there was sand and whipping winds everywhere, a fierce gale having tossed up a dust storm all throughout the city. Capper lead them on anyway, nearly vanishing among the dust particles thanks to his similarly coloured coat of fur. He kept on singing despite the wind tearing away at their cloaks and ruining all chance of them properly hearing him. 
“Why, you could use a friend,
To protect you wherever you go.”
Ducking back off the streets and into a closed in alleyway, the group shook themselves off, dust falling to the floor in a thick blanket. Unfortunately, this pile of dust did not clean them all, leaving an unfortunate Rarity a pale, dusty brown instead of her usual pristine white. 
“And such a dazzling beauty
Covered in dirt and muck.”
Rarity shrieked at the coating of brown that was plastered in her coat, and Capper started dusting the grateful mare off with his tail and paws, while Spike rolled his eyes again. 
“But now, your fate is changing,
Now you are in luck!” 
Capper danced out into the open once more, his outstretched arm snagging a bright red roll of carpet. The cat brought it across his chest before throwing it out, dropping the end he was holding down in front of Rarity, while the roll continued to unfurl, stretching all the way to a gap in a rickety wooden fence up ahead. The fence was curled around the base of a familiar structure, one comprised of stacked boxes of wood and beams of supporting metal that braced against each other and the center of the structure as the load bearing walls did not do a particularly spectacular job of sitting atop one another, thus requiring the structure’s many braces. Gears poked out of the various parts of the building at odd intervals, barely consistent in any manner at all, the largest of which were on the bottom floor and partially buried.
Capper raised his voice and started doing a step-dance in time with the beats of his song, traversing the unrolled carpet with flair and poise. 
“Cuz I'm the friend that you need,
When you're lost and don't know what to do,
I'm your pal, your amigo,
Lookin' out for friends like you!”
The ponies followed along behind him, all of them forced to follow in time, thanks to Capper’s speed being slower than their own, thanks to his own dancing. Tempest stared flatly at the back of Capper’s head as he popped his coat collar as he grinned broadly, turning to direct the ponies to hop onto one of the large gears that was rotating towards the windmill.
“And my help, you'll concede,
Is a plus, guaranteed!
Just call and I'll come running,
We'll say it's agreed…”
One by one, Rarity, then Fluttershy, the fillies and Spike, jumped onto one of the gears massive teeth, which were so large they could have held all of their friends, had they been present. As Static climbed up, Tempest’s ear twitched at the sound of paws crunching gravel just outside the fence, and started to turn back. 
Capper was gone. 
Tempest snorted and stalked back towards the fence, her instinctive distrust flaring.
As she was about to round the corner, however, Capper burst back out from behind the fence, ushering her towards the gears while he sprinted towards the wall and squirreled his way up a pipe next to the gears, leaving Tempest and her furrowed brow down below, wondering just what the cat had been up to. 
“Cause I’m the friend you need!” Capper crooned as he settled on the gear, the younger ponies all looking up at him with smiles. 
“He’s a friend!” The fillies sang, in nearly perfect harmony, adolescent voices raised in praise of their new guide. 
“Quite a friend!” Rarity cooed, dramatically.
“He’s a friend indeed!” Rarity was joined by the fillies for the last part, as the group ascended higher up the tower, climbing high into the air, with Tempest lagging behind. 


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