Hurricane Trinity

by Lovesick-Ded

What's In a Name?

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER FOUR

Capper Dapperpaws was normally quite calm, for the most part, but at this moment in time he was feeling pure loathing towards the being he was currently eyeing in the destroyed bar. The fur along his spine bristled and he gritted his teeth in anger before raising a finger in the direction of the flustered Storm King, who was still eyeing him with surprise. He tongue curled and he practically hissed the words out:

“I should kick your—“

“CAPPER!!”

The Abyssinian blinked in surprise and looked over to the side in time to see Marko scrambling towards him, on his hands and knees, obviously looking defeated; the behemoth fish literally fell at his feet and clutched the tail of his jacket, shivering. Capper had absolutely no idea what was going on—usually Marko was the one who would up and spit in his face if he tried anything—but it would soon be made apparent why he was practically groveling:

“Capper…please, I dunno what youse all did, but…”

The fish’s yellow eyes darted in the direction of where the Storm King was currently standing.

“…KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME.”

Capper looked down at Marko for a moment, then up at Storm; his loathing turned into confusion and he eyed the goat-beast for a moment; what had even gone on here? Marko was one of the most problematic citizens in the area, and he had attempted to snap him back in line for months on end now. Granted, he had most likely used more of a “gentle” touch, but still…

“Please.” Marko clawed at the cat-being’s jacket, attempting to regain his attention. “Please, I’m beggin’ ya. Don’t let that guy near me OR my squad, fer that matter. He…he may look like he’s nothin’, but…”

His gaze shot again to the goat-beast and he shuddered. “GODS, does he pack a serious kick.”

Capper’s gaze shifted again from Marko to Storm, and he still could not quite wrap his mind around what could have happened…it was obvious a fight had gone down, judging from the destruction of the place, but there were no clear details other than the fact practically everything was lying in ruin and one of the brute squad’s members was writhing in pain from a bloody nose in the back. The Storm King was a threat in the past, yes…but that was mainly because he had strength in numbers. Marko was at LEAST three times his size, if not more. So how the hell…?

“He’s not lying.” Grubber, who had finished the Gut-Slaughter Special on the table with ease and was now lying back in comfort, licked at one of his paws as he eyed Capper with a calm disposition; then again he was probably in a food-coma. “I saw the whole thing, seriously. Storm here delivered some SERIOUS whoopin’ on these guys. It was fun.” He grinned almost drunkenly and slouched further back against the counter.

Yeah, food-coma. Capper sighed and looked down at Marko, folding his arms. “Marko, y’all know that this bar isn’t your turf, at least not since Verko done fell…”

“I KNOW.” Marko grabbed his shoulders and yanked him downward. “I t’ought youse all wouldn’t do nothin’ towards me…I was wrong, I was HORRIBLY wrong.” He began shaking the cat-being’s shoulders in desperation. “KEEP HIM AWAY. I’ll do anything youse all want. ANYTHING.”

Capper eyed him for a moment, thinking...Marko was, indeed, a problematic citizen, and if he were submitting right here and now, well, it would be foolish to not take advantage of the situation. The Abyssinian grinned. “Anything, y’all say?”

Marko vigorously nodded in response; Capper’s eyes shifted to the side, as if he were mockingly considering the proposal. “Oh, I don’t know about that…maybe I should just let y’all talk things out, you know? Maybe if you’re lucky, he won’t make your nose bleed too…”

“NO.” Marko snagged Capper’s collar and brought his face close to his own, squeezing his cheeks in the process; he was so desperate for the cat to hear him. “I don’t WANNA talk. Look, I’ll leave the bar and never come back if ‘dat’s what it takes…I’ll be a total SAINT. Just, PLEASE…”

“Ya promise?” Capper replied, shifting his gaze back toward Marko and grinning a bit. The fish-beast nodded again, his tail falling between his legs, and Capper responded by motioning one of the guards in the back towards the behemoth. “All right then. Guys, y’all escort these thugs outta here…get ‘em some proper medical attention too.”

The guards surrounded Marko and began to escort him out, as well as head to the back to retrieve the other members of the brute squad, who were either injured or cowering in the corner due to shock and fear. Capper sighed and straightened his jacket before looking back up at the other problem at hand…

Storm was still standing, dumbfounded, in the center of the bar, and he really was not trying anything strange, which the Abyssinian was grateful for at the very least. Despite his inner feelings of loathing, he was a gentleman before all else. Exhaling a bit, he strengthened his resolve to do the right thing and looked the goat-beast in the eyes.

“It…it appears…that, I owe y’all a favor,” he finally managed to admit, despite the fact he was trembling slightly as he said these words. He clenched one paw into a fist. “I…I had been attempting to deal with Marko and his thugs in the past…wasn’t really workin’ right.”

“I, uh…” Storm finally came back to realization and blinked, shaking his head a bit. “Y-yeah. Didn’t really KNOW that this guy was an issue here, but, I, you know, was defending myself, is all.” He squinted a bit, pointing at Capper. “Do…do I know you at all? You look really familiar.”

“Y’all SHOULD know me.” Capper’s eyes narrowed into practical slits and he bared his teeth. “I was there when your army destroyed Abyssinia, after all. I was there when y’all attacked the last Equestrian princess…I was there when you told off our king and queen, you self-centered, egotistical, lawless son of a—“

He stopped then, and pinched at his temples, attempting to regain control of himself. Storm looked as if he had been struck, but he said nothing in response to this fit of rage, as Capper raised his head again, taking a deep breath. He motioned for the two to come near him.

“L-look…” He turned around and began to walk out of the bar, as Storm grabbed a still-drowsy Grubber around the waist and attempted to follow, though uncertain as of why just yet. “You may be a horrible being, but…y’all still handled Marko’s thugs pretty well. Despite my misgivings…I need to respect that.” He stepped out of the bar and began to head to the right. “Follow me.”

Though the uncertainty still clouded his thoughts, something deep within the subconscious insisted that Storm follow the strange cat-man, and he obeyed this ideal, stepping along the roads that led up to a wooden slope and eventually a winding staircase. A gust of nighttime wind swept by, ruffling Capper’s fur as he stopped in front of a worn stone building, the entrance covered by a dirty red tarp.

“This is it.” He gently pushed the tarp aside and entered, his expression still unreadable. “Wipe your feet before entering…I don’t want any bloody footprints on my floor.”

He cast his gaze toward the ceiling and popped open a wooden hatch that was set in the center, hauling himself upward; Storm followed after him, though it was hard to do so whilst holding onto Grubber. He scrambled for his grip as he shifted the little hedgehog to the side and pulled his lower body into the room, looking around in both fascination and awe.

“You…you certainly live fancy,” he commented, as Capper merely shot him a glance and took a seat in a nearby velvet armchair. He crossed his legs and put his paws behind his head.

“I just like collecting stuff,” the cat-being simply told him, his expression still a mix between disdain and apathy. He motioned toward a nearby table. “Just…y’know, make yourselves at home, for the time being. Y’all will probably need to set out at dawn…but, in the meantime, I know you need a place to stay.”

Storm looked up at him, not quite understanding. “What do you mean?”

Capper rolled his eyes. “Pfft. Let’s face it, ‘Storm King’, y’all USED to be powerful, but now you got nothin’. Just one follower and a whole lotta sass, but not much else.”

The goat-beast fell completely silent for a moment, staring at nothing in particular. It had been a rather blunt statement but, he knew that there was no beating around the bush...the young Abyssinian was correct in his assumption. From what he had gathered, and what had been told to him…there really was nothing.

The only reason he was heading toward the west was…because of…

“Ugh…” He clutched at his chest briefly, as if struck in the heart, before looking back up at Capper. Although the cat-being was right, Storm’s pride prevented him from admitting to the truth, and he attempted to retaliate. “I…there has to be something left for me. You…you have NO idea how—“

“Yeah, yeah.” The Abyssinian raised a paw, as if examining his claws, seemingly disinterested. “Y’all want to act like nothin’s wrong, but sooner or later you have to face facts. I know, because one time in my life, I was the same way…” He paused for a moment to finger one of the shining brass buttons on his jacket, his eyes wavering with sentiment as he looked upon the intricate stitching.

“…Until…SHE…showed me the error of my ways.”

The former ruler was now grasping at straws at this point. “B-but…whoever this was…didn’t she make you sacrifice your ambitions? Your goals? Why do you feel the need to—“

“My ‘ambitions’ back then were getting me NOWHERE,” Capper snapped back. He leaned forward slightly. “I’m the leader of Klugetown now, man. What about you? What do YOU have to prove from what y’all just said?!”

Storm winced as if he had been struck, and his eyes wavered slightly before he turned away from Capper and lowered his head, drawing his tail around himself. He was silent for a few moments before he finally admitted, his voice breaking:

“Nothing…I have nothing.”

Capper glowered at him for a moment, but, somehow, seeing a chink in the armor stirred something within him, and his gaze softened, before getting out of the armchair and heading toward a nearby dresser. He pulled open the top drawer and shifted its contents around for a bit, before tossing something in Storm’s direction. The goat-beast looked up in time to see an article of dark clothing land on his shoulder.

“What…?”

“I may not be the most observant one out there, but your clothes are pretty torn-up. And, let’s face it, both of y’all need a bath. It’s like you rolled around in a patch of dust or somethin’.” He cocked his head toward the upper floor. “I got a shower and such up on the second level…if you wanna clean up.”

Grubber yawned and rolled over in his sleep, as the taller beast eyed the cat-being with a look of pure surprise. “Why are you—“

“UP.” The corner of Capper’s mouth split slightly, revealing his teeth. “Unless you want me to change my mind and kick y’all out.”

Storm shook his head and began to shift to his feet. “No, no. I’m okay with a bath. A bath is good.” He gripped the articles of clothing that the young Abyssinian had given him and began to head up the stairs, before turning to the side. “I, uh…I don’t think I caught your name. What is it?”

“Capper.” The cat-being smiled at him, shifting his weight to one leg and folding his arms. “And what about you? I know y’all used to go by the title ‘Storm King’ but, those days are over, I’m guessin’. I need something to call you, if you’re gonna stay here.”

“M-my name…” A brief memory flashed through the beast’s mind before he made a noise that sounded like a mix between a grunt and a sob, and shook his head violently before continuing. “My name is…uh…Storm. J-just…call me Storm.”

“’Storm,’ huh.” The cat-being raised an eyebrow slightly but shrugged and smiled in his direction. “I’m cool with that. Was expectin’ something a little more creative, but, if y’all wanna be called Storm, then, I guess that’s fine.”

The two smiled at each other for a moment, before Capper waved a paw and turned around.

“Now go get yourself a bath before y’all get your dusty hoofprints on my stairs.”

*

“HE IS BORN!!!”

Grogar, who had been pacing nervously in front of the doorway for the past several hours, jumped back in surprise as the midwife burst through the threshold, her eyes wide with excitement. She whipped her head around in all directions, looking for him, before she finally settled her gaze and grinned; her neck fur ruffled with slight elation.

“King Grogar…your son has arrived. I am pleased to say that he is healthy.”

Grogar eyed her, still slightly wary. “I am glad…but Windcaller…is she okay? There were some troubles with her contractions at first—“

“Merely a small difficulty; she overcame it quite well.” The young doe beamed. “Indeed, there were some…OTHER…issues that appeared during the birthing process, but, she took it like a champion. Never knew the Yeti were so…well…” Her face flushed a bit and she looked off to the side. “STEADFAST.”

“You should see her when she’s at work.” Grogar’s mouth cracked into a slight smile, and he looked toward the open doorway. “Speaking of which, may I see her now? And…my son, as well.”

“Of course, milord.” The doe gave a slight bow and shifted aside, allowing the larger goat to step past her and into the room. The inside was, of course, their shared bedroom in all its majesty; it was fully and lovingly adorned from the oversized bed to the etchings on the walls. Windcaller was lying in the center of the bed, cradling and gently stroking a small bundle of snow-white fluff as her lover approached.

“Grogar…” Windcaller looked at him with tired eyes; she was obviously haggard from the birth but happy nonetheless. She shifted the mewling bundle of fur into one arm and reached out to stroke his cheek. “We…we did it…he is here, and he is just fine.” She turned her attention back to the tiny fluffball. “Look at him…he’s so darling, even for a…”

She trailed off then, but the old goat knew what she meant; he gave her a slightly concerned look before eyeing the little bundle in full detail. Windcaller gave a small smile and shifted him a bit so that the proud father could look upon him fully, and Grogar examined the pup with fascination.

For the most part, he appeared to be Yeti in appearance, at least at first glance. The tiny pup was covered in soft, fluffy fur that was so pure white it almost reflected the light, and he shared the same blue-gray skin on the non-fur parts as his mother, along with a long, fluffy tail that almost made him look like a kitten. However, upon closer examination, Grogar could see the Caprine genes had also taken part; the structure of his face was different from the other male Yeti pups he had seen before, and from the knee downward he had almost digitigrade legs, ending in a pair of small, cloven hooves. Though he was a newborn pup and it was barely noticeable if at all right now, Grogar could also see that on either side of the top front of his head, where the skin met the fur, there were small nubs that were undoubtedly the beginnings of horns. His eyes were shut right now, so Grogar could not make out any details on the eye color, but everything else was in plain view.

“He’s…well, indeed, he is adorable.” Grogar smiled and placed both front hooves atop the side of the bed, reaching over to gently kiss Windcaller’s cheek, before he looked down at the little one again. “Have you thought of any names for him? I agreed that you should pick the name, since I wanted him to reflect the unity of our people.”

“I’m not really sure.” Windcaller looked down at the mewling pup, who was beginning to use his tiny paws to knead at her chest. She smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head. “Normally, my tribe would decide the name based upon the forces surrounding the newborn in question. My name was chosen to be ‘Windcaller’ because there was a windstorm the night of my birth, and they took that as a sign.” She sighed and looked around for a moment. “But…there’s not really anything here to indicate what we should name our son. If anything, it’s…rather isolated.”

The old goat sighed and his ears lowered slightly, as if disappointed. “I see…”

“Obviously, he needs a name; there’s no way around that.” The Yeti female eyed him with slight concern. “But, I can’t decide for the life of me what would be a proper name for him…if only the gods would just—“

“CHUU!”

As if on cue, the pup’s nose was tickled by Windcaller’s chest fur, and he sneezed violently; at the exact moment he did, a bolt of neon-blue lightning surged from his body and lit the room for a moment before crashing into the ceiling. A loud thundering clap was heard as this happened—with such intensity in its booming that it caused the pictures on the wall to vibrate. Grogar gave a cry of surprise and practically leapt backward, his fur bristled in pure shock, and Windcaller gasped.

Then, it was over, in a flash; the little pup sniffled and pawed at his nose a bit before opening his eyes and looking up at his mother, revealing them to be the same intense blue as the aforementioned. He squeaked for attention and began kneading at his mother’s chest again; Windcaller shook her head to clear the shock and looked down at him, her eyes wide.

“He…” She seemed to be at a loss for words at what just happened. “How did he just…”

“The Caprinians are tied to certain sources of energy from the surrounding land.” Grogar seemed to smile a bit as he eyed the little one. “Apparently his ability lies within the Elements themselves. Granted, it’s probably weaker than it normally would be, but it IS there. You saw what he just did.”

“It was…like a miniature storm…”

Windcaller’s eyes glinted a moment, as if coming upon a realization; she looked down at the pup and smiled.

“Stormbreaker.”

“Pardon?” Grogar raised his head, looking up at his mate. Windcaller gave him the same smile.

“His name will be Stormbreaker. If, indeed, his Caprinian genes gave him the ability to manipulate the Elements, it means undoubtedly he has a strong connection to storms.” She reached out with a finger to gently stroke the bridge of the pup’s nose; the pup squealed happily and raised his tiny arms in her direction. “How about that, little one? Do you like your new name?”

“Stormbreaker…” Grogar let the name roll off his tongue for a moment, thinking before finally nodding his head. “It’s a fitting name for him, and undoubtedly he’s going to live up to it in the future, one way or another.” He smiled and placed a hoof on Windcaller’s arm, beside the pup, who yawned and nestled his head against his mother’s chest, apparently tired.

“There are many hopes for you, for the future…”

Grogar smiled and gently nuzzled the pup with his nose, as the pup dozed off, shutting his eyes.

“…Prince Stormbreaker.”

Comments

[Lovesick-Ded]

8587864
He wouldn't be there if not for a reason, which will be revealed later in the story.

[Flufux]

FINALLY a story about the Storm King! He was such a great villain, and I've been looking for a story that expanded on the little we saw of him in the movie. Nice to also give Grubber something to do as well.

Also, the idea that Storm would be the son of Grogar and a yeti is pretty interesting. It would make a lot of sense given his unusual appearance, and I'm curious about how this story will go on from here.

By the way, I saw that this is your first story on this site, and I got to say that this is really well-written so far. Everyone feels in character, the pacing is damn-near perfect, and honestly, I'm surprised more people aren't reading this.

Now, I gotta go to bed. I'll continue reading this tomorrow.