//------------------------------//
// The Captain's Friends I 
// Story: The Princess's Captain 
// by PresentPerfect 
//------------------------------//

The Captain's Friends I
by Present Perfect

The breath left Tempest's mouth in a strained rush.

"Forty-eight..."

Her muscles were on fire, but she refused to give up.

"Forty-nine..."

With all her willpower, she loosed a mighty heave, exerting every fiber of her body through her forelegs.

"Fifty!"

The clank of the weightlifting bar settling back into its stirrups signalled her victory.

"Fifty reps at ninety-two horseshoes!" Bulk whistled.  "You really got what it takes, Tempest!"

"I sure do," she said, a breathless smile on her face as lay on the weight bench and took a few moments to recover.  "I'm sorry to say, that took a lot out of me, though."

"Not a problem." Bulk clasped her hoof in his and helped her sit up.  "For a pony your size, that's really impressive.  And real close to my personal best, too!"

She grinned at him and clapped him on the back, sweat trickling down her brow.  "I'll take that as a high compliment."

A tinny ringing interrupted any further conversation.  Bulk lifted his foreleg, revealing a watch affixed to his pastern.  Really, it was two watches rigged in such a way that they held each other in place, but they got the job done.

"Horsefeathers," he said, "I hate to cut things short, but I gotta get to my job.  I promised Ms. Almond I'd do an extra shift today."

Tempest tilted her head to the side for a moment before nodding.  "Mind if I tag along?"

Bulk scratched the back of his head with the watch.  "Well, I can't promise it'll be any fun, but sure, if you wanna."

She gave him a smile and slapped a foreleg around his withers.  "The whole idea's to spend a day together getting to know each other better.  Why not?"





"CINNAMON NUTS!"

Bulk's bellowing echoed from one side of the marketplace to the other, and then halfway back besides.  The volume -- not to mention the enticing smell of almonds and cashews roasting in cinnamon sugar -- attracted as many customers as it drove away.  Thankfully, quite a few returned after a moment's courage-gathering, that smell ultimately completely irresistible.

Tempest had been content to watch all this for the last hour or so from a seat on the grass behind Bulk's movable cart.  That he'd given her a free sample hadn't hurt, either.  These nuts were pretty darn good.

One thing she'd noticed about life in Ponyville so far was that the ponies here ate an awful lot of sugar.  With just about every meal, there seemed to be some sort of accompanying sweet, assuming dinner wasn't just a platter of cupcakes to begin with.

As she crunched slowly through another cinnamon-sugar coated almond, she had to admit to herself that, if all those sweets were this good, she was doomed to become as soft as the rest of these ponies.

"...So after my old man passed," Bulk said, continuing their earlier conversation, "I basically had to take over as the stallion of the house.  Ma did her best, but raising two kids alone ain't easy for a widow."

Tempest swallowed her bite.  "No family nearby to help out?"

"Nah.  Or at least, I guess my dad's mom never saw eye-to-eye with Ma for some reason and they weren't on speaking terms.  Dunno, never met her.  CINNAMON NUTS!"

A passing stallion turned his head at the outburst, looking rather startled, but continued walking.  Tempest shuffled to the side a bit more, to put Bulk between herself and the passing crowd, lest her mien dissuade the more skittish potential customers.

"Must've been hard for a kid," she said, fully aware that whatever experiences Bulk had gone through during his foalhood no doubt paled in comparison to her own.  She chose not to mention this.  Twilight would likely have approved.

Bulk gave a short, wry laugh.  "Sure was.  Quit school, got a job, and had to learn a lot about raising a foal besides.  Nothing I'd wish on any kid, even the mean one.  And it's around that time when I got into..." He took a few furtive looks around in their immediate vicinity before leaning in and whispering, "Performance enhancers."

Tempest raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Yeah, I know, right?" He chuckled, again mirthlessly.  "I wanted to follow in Pa's hoofsteps, y'know?  He was always real strong.  I remember watching him carry huge trees he ripped out of the ground himself for his logging company." His eyes grew misty and unfocused for a bit.  "I always wanted to be like him.  And Ma's real strong, too, even though she's tiny.  Me and my brother both take after her, if you can believe it.  And when you grow up with strong parents like that...

"Well, it wasn't too long before I looked more or less like I do now." He flexed a foreleg, flashing his usual self-assured grin.  "And then it took me a looooong time to realize that wasn't what real strength was.  But at least I can say I got better.  Cleaned up, started working out for real.  Nowadays, I'm pretty sure most of this is genuine Bulk." He poked his bicep, which reacted much like a bicep should.

"Let me guess," said Tempest, looking at him sideways, "it was still too late to save your wings."

Bulk sighed, though he was still smiling.  "Yeah.  It's a nice reminder of what's important in life, at least.  And I sure won't make that mistake twice.  COME GET YOUR FRESH, HOT CINNAMON NUTS!"

A pair of mares trotted up to them, chattering excitedly, and made a sizable purchase.

"And hey," said Bulk, after the sale had closed, "at least none of that matters for a job like this, right?  There's lots of ways I can make ponies smile."

Tempest remove the last nut from her cone, crunching down on it, feeling the hard clumps of cinnamon sugar grind between her teeth.  She watched the two mares walk away from Bulk's cart, laughing and chatting, even more animated than they had been, their tails twining together.

Maybe if becoming soft meant sampling that degree of happiness, she could deal with a little sugar.





Thinking back over the day, Tempest was still surprised to discover that the series of events had led her to hanging out around the Ponyville schoolhouse.  It was just the last place she would have ever pictured herself being.  But, Bulk had insisted she come meet his brother when it was time to pick him up from school, and now the bells were ringing, foals laughing and cheering as they ran from the front door.

In hindsight, Tempest should not have been surprised that Bulk's brother turned out to be a tiny kid with a bowl cut and buckteeth.  He was at that age where skinny and gawky were just the way the body worked, and he wore both with a certain inborn, adorable earnestness.

The two brother exchanged a series of hoof bumps before the junior flapped up and landed on Bulk's back.  He trotted them over, grinning.

"Tempest, meet my li'l bro, Featherweight!  Feather, this here's my friend Tempest!"

Tempest gave what she hoped was a calm, reassuring, and not at all intimidating smile.  "Nice to meet you," she said, and meant it.

"Whoa!" said Featherweight, eyes and mouth agape.  "Bulk, you know her?  I've seen her around town a bunch!"

She glanced at Bulk, wondering just what this could mean.  He didn't seem to know, either.

Featherweight buzzed his wings and alighted on the ground next to Tempest.  "Can I take your picture, Miss Tempest?  I think you're really pretty!"

A hot blush wormed its way over Tempest's cheeks, and she backpedalled just a bit.

"D-- I-- Uh, uh, I, wha--"

"Hey, don't sweat it," Bulk said, absorbing his brother's enthusiasm.  "Feather's a real hot shot camera jockey.  He can even make me look good!"

Bulk laughed, and Featherweight's camera went 'click!'

After the flashbulb stars had cleared from her eyes, Tempest was presented with a photomatic picture of herself looking considerably more put-together and confident than she had been feeling just moments prior.  Had this kid really been able to capture this single good moment amidst all her flustered stammering?

She looked from the photo to Featherweight, his face alight with youthful anticipation.

"Your brother's right," she finally said, casting a glance at Bulk.  "This is some kind of magic."

"Told ya!" Bulk barked.

"You really like it?" Featherweight said, all but falling on his face, he was leaning toward her so sharply.

"I really do," Tempest said, and this time, her smile came more naturally.  "As a matter of fact, it gives me an idea, if you're up for it..."

Featherweight nodded so fast, she feared his head might fly off.





That evening, Tempest returned to the Castle of Friendship, a bit drained from the day's activity, yet somehow at the same completely mentally and physically refreshed.  Twilight greeted her from the dining room.

"How was your day off, Tempest?"

Tempest smiled and bowed her head.  "Enjoyable, Your Highness, and a most excellent idea.  I'll have to take further advantage of such off time in the future."

Twilight smiled at her.  "Glad to hear it!  Oh, what's that you're carrying?"

Tempest shimmied over to the table and shouldered the stack of photographs off her back.  They spread out across the surface, and Twilight picked one up in her magic, studying it.

"As it happens, I met quite the promising young photographer today," Tempest said, letting her eyes roam over the photos.  "He gave me an idea, and we had a little photoshoot."

"Hm." Twilight picked up three more and scrutinized them.  "I wondered why you'd come back for your armor.  These are pretty good.  Great, as a matter of fact!  And you look really, I don't know... Cool?  Inspiring?"

"I'd been hoping you'd think so." Tempest grinned and moved one particular image to the front of the pile.

"Should we ever wish to expand the Friendship Guard," she said, "here's what we use to make recruitment posters."

Twilight laughed, sudden and sharp, and dragged Tempest over to her with her magic so she could put a foreleg around her withers.

"And that, my Captain," she said, "is just one example of many why it's so great to have friends."