The tall mare with the broken horn and scar over her right eye slowly crested the snow-covered hill and looked over. “Huh,” she muttered under her breath as she took in the sight. Everything was covered in gaudy baubles and colorful decorations, but there was no mistaking those familiar thatched roofs and the enormous crystal castle standing over everything. “What are the odds that I’d end up back here?”
There was a part of her that wanted to just turn back around and take a different turn at the fork. Not that she was scared, of course. That wasn’t even on the table.
But maybe she just didn’t want to have a conversation with Twilight and her friends. Nothing was wrong with that.
She glanced at her saddlebags and pursed her lips. They were limply hanging against the traveler's cloak she wore. They said an army marched on its stomach, and right now, Tempest felt that. Feeling absolutely no desire to snack on shrubbery like the ponies of old did in winter, she begrudgingly started walking towards Ponyville. She looked up at the castle. So bright and shiny.
What a target.
Sure, the first floor wasn’t bad, a couple big windows but decently spiky hostile architecture otherwise; but she had no guards, so many huge glass windows in the higher levels, and that balcony was just asking for an airship to come drop down and unload a landing party. She even had strings of Hearth's Warming lights along the railing, like a pre-made landing strip. ‘Hey! Invade me here!’.
Her ears pricked. Somepony was behind her!
Reflexes too ingrained to suppress surfaced. She spun around and slammed her stalker against the wall, the other hoof raised in preparation to forcibly rearrange their face.
Pinkie Pie waved back at her cheerfully, making the bells on her pointed red hat jingle. She was looking surprisingly chipper for somepony being pinned by the neck against a wall. “Hi Fizzy!” she said brightly.
She flinched. “I’m… going by Tempest again,” Tempest said, letting her down. “I’m still figuring out who I am, and I think that name fits me better.”
“You got it!” Pinkie said with no hesitation. “What brings you back around these parts, Tempest?”
“The road,” Tempest said flatly.
Pinkie giggled. “Makes sense to me!”
“How did you know I was coming? Did Twilight finally get a rotating system of watchponies running?”
“Nah. Just a bit of Pinkie Sense. It was an ear flop and knee wiggle. That means an old friend coming to town. Not to be confused with a knee jiggle. Very different.”
Tempest looked at Pinkie and considered that she was somewhat like a living headache, and she knew all about headaches. “Right,” she said slowly.
“So, who do you want to see first? Twilight? Starlight? Moonlight? Moonlight Raven isn’t really one of your friends, I guess, but I had already said two -light names and I wanted to keep that theme going. Ooh! Do you want a ‘welcome back to Ponyville’ party? I know it’s almost Hearth's Warming, but I can sneak in a little party.” She nudged Tempest conspiratorially.
“I’m not staying for Hearth's Warming,” Tempest said quickly. Better to give herself an out early.
“An ‘I’m only here in Ponyville temporarily’ party?” Pinkie suggested.
“I’m not feeling a party,” she said, hoping to cut off any further questions.
“Ok. Are you feeling cake?”
Holding the fork in her hoof, Tempest cut a bit off the cupcake and ate it. It was incredibly sweet, almost overbearingly so, and yet it was the most delicious thing she had eaten in weeks, so she quickly took another bite.
Meanwhile, Pinkie chattered on. “It’s gotta be fun, seeing all the ponies and creatures in Equestria and being all ‘guess what, everycreature, the Storm King is gone because I sent him cracking’. Get it? Because usually the phrase is ‘sent him packing’ but he turned to stone and shattered against the ground like boooom, so he was cracking.” She gigglesnorted at her own joke.
Tempest’s ears lowered. Maybe if she left now she could make it to the next town over before it got too dark (and while she still had functioning ears).
Thankfully, an interruption came in the form of Twilight Sparkle. “Tempest!” she said, running up to give her a hug, one Tempest returned with only slight hesitation. “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Yeah,” Tempest said, starting to feel a little overwhelmed again. “I wasn’t planning on staying for long.”
“Right,” Twilight said, sounding a little bit disappointed but remaining cheerful. “You’ve got your mission.” She brightened. “But you’re welcome to stay as long as you like. There’s plenty of room at the castle.”
She looked so earnest that Tempest felt bad turning her down outright. Maybe one night wouldn’t be so bad. “Fine. But I want to pick my room.”
Later that night, all of Twilight’s friends were in the castle. Pinkie had insisted that it wasn’t a party, but Tempest knew a party when she saw one. It was such a pony thing to do. She probably would have found it sickening, were she not currently eating something delicious that Applejack had brought.
“What are these, and what is in them?” she asked as she picked up another.
“Love,” Applejack answered simply.
Tempest gave her a flat look.
“And about three sticks of butter,” she amended.
Tempest looked back at the fritter with suspicious eyes, then decided it was worth it and shoved it into her mouth.
As she turned back to the table and reached for another, something was on the table that wasn’t before. Her horn sparked instinctively.
The owl blinked nonchalantly.
An owl. Inside. She didn’t think most ponies kept owls as pets, not that she had much experience in that regard. “Shoo,” she said, waving a hoof.
The owl looked thoroughly unimpressed. “Hoo?”
“You,” Tempest said. “Go away.”
The owl flapped his wings and began to fly away, but much to Tempest’s surprise, he landed on her head. Her eyes widened as she tried to comprehend the audacity of this overgrown pillow.
Seemingly incognizant of the danger he’d just put himself in, he settled in her mane. “Hoo,” he said contentedly.
Her horn sparked as she prepared to forcibly remove him, but before she got that far, Fluttershy noticed and gasped. “Aw, Tempest! You made a friend!”
Sensing that she would not like it if she were to turn him into a pile of ash and feathers, Tempest let her horn glow fade. “I’m… flattered,” she said uncertainly.
Spike chuckled knowingly. Apparently, he and the owl had had history.
“Owlowiscious,” Twilight chided. “Maybe get to know somepony before using her head as a perch?”
“Hoo,” the owl seemingly conceded, and flew back over to the table.
Tempest gave him a sideways look.
Twilight neared and picked up a fritter of her own. She looked at Tempest wryly. “Three sticks of butter,” she said, before taking a bite.
Tempest had to crack a smile. It was a little bit like an inside joke, maybe? She thought she liked that.
“You’re welcome to stay for a while,” Twilight offered. “If you’d like, you could even pick up some classes at the School of Friendship, once the semester starts up again. I’m sure we could find a class you’d enjoy teaching.”
“Ok,” Tempest said. “What does your current hoof-to-hoof combat curriculum look like?”
Twilight laughed before realizing that Tempest wasn’t. “Uh, that… I mean…”
Tempest maintained her blank expression for a brief moment before snickering. She began to laugh, and Twilight realized she’d been teasing her, and she quickly joined in.
The bed had been nice. Too nice. Tempest was used to roughing it, sleeping on the grass or under a tree like the ponies of old. It was… comfortable. It almost felt like something was wrong.
This is why she was outside, punching one of the trees. It was something familiar, it hurt a little bit, and it made her feel better.
“Hoo?”
Tempest turned to see the owl looking at her. “Don’t tell me,” she said flatly. “This is your tree?”
“Hoo.”
Tempest frowned and turned back to the tree. “I don’t know why I asked,” she muttered. “I don’t speak bird.”
“Hoo.”
Tempest returned to the castle and made it to the kitchen. Breakfast looked like it was going to be a simpler affair, pancakes topped with strawberries.
At least, until the door burst open. “Good morning from the Great and Powerful Trixie!” the unicorn there announced.
Tempest set down the butter knife she had been prepared to throw. Her eyes flicked over her and she quickly drew her conclusions. Flashy, loud, probably enjoyed hearing herself talk more than anything else.
And she was right.
Tempest leaned down to Spike. “How much trouble will I get in if I stuff her in a toilet?” she asked.
“Depends on who catches you,” Spike answered cheekily. “I won’t say a word.”
She glanced over and saw the owl. He gave her a narrow look.
Well, he would.
Tempest looked out at the road. Here wasn’t… bad, it was just… a lot. And part of her did feel a little bit bad skipping out already, but not bad enough to stay.
Applejack came galloping up. “Hey, Tempest,” she said breathlessly. “You know where you’re going yet?”
“Wherever the road takes me, I guess,” Tempest answered.
“If you’re not headed anywhere in particular, think you could do me the mother of all favors and make a delivery for me?”
“Sure. Where’s the airship?”
“Ha,” Applejack said. “Turns out there’s a village of bat ponies, in the mountains past the fire swamp.”
“Oh, bat ponies,” Tempest said, holding her hoof up to her ear to emulate their tufted ears. “They’re sensitive to loud sounds. They get very disoriented.”
There was a brief pause.
“I’m gonna pretend that’s just common knowledge and continue,” Applejack said. “We did a Hearth’s Warming fundraiser with our pies, and a whole bushel of our bat pony students took orders, and I didn’t realize Hollow Shades and Hollow Spires were two different villages. We already made the stuff, just need somepony to take it over.”
An excuse to leave, and also be helpful? Perfect. “Sure,” Tempest said.
“Oh, you’re a lifesaver,” Applejack said, relieved.
Tempest regretted her words when she saw the cart she would be pulling. It had a green and white striped roof and a pie bouncing jauntily on a spring on top, and then somepony had even hung festive streamers along the side. Tempest’s lip curled subconsciously. It was cute, and she hated it already.
“I really appreciate you doing this,” Applejack said, not noticing her disgust. She lifted one of the doors to show her a basket clearly overflowing with food. “I threw in a bushel of snacks for you, too, just as a thank you.”
Tempest nodded, subconsciously licking her lips. That was acceptable.
“And here’s the map.”
Tempest’s eyes scanned over it. “Forest, fire swamp, mountain, cross the bridge, caves, drop off pies. Easy enough.” Now she had a mission with an end goal (and a lot of snacks). She was feeling good about this.
Then the owl landed on top of the cart. “Hoo.”
Good feeling gone.
“Heh,” Applejack said. “I think he wants to come with you.”
“I don’t need a foalsitter,” Tempest said flatly. “Begone, bird.”
“Hoo?”
“You.”
“Hoo?”
“Don’t play this game,” Tempest said firmly, giving him a dark glower. “You are not coming with me and that is final.”
Twilight waved. “Bye, Tempest! Bye, Owlowiscious!”
Tempest sighed and looked up at the owl perched on the pie. “Just don’t slow me down,” she said.
“Hoo.”