Nine
The glowing orange sun rose above the horizon right in front of Fizzlepop as she continued walking on in the silent desert. The only sound that could be heard for miles was the "trot", "trot" of her swollen hooves, which were turning from their strong crimson colour to a disgusting tar-looking black. The pain couldn't sweep through the filly's body though, for the heat and sweat were the only things on her mind.
Fizzlepop wasn't wandering the empty desert without knowing where she was going. She looked up and saw the sun. This meant she was heading East. That was something that Fizzlepop knew at least, but she had no idea how long it would be until she would reach civilisation. Besides, why would ponies be living in a desert? There was nothing, not even water. Even if there were paths that led to places, the sand would surely cover up the paths when it was windy, right?
It did seem pointless walking through an exposed desert, but Fizzlepop had come all this way and was at the point where she wasn't going back. She pulled out her water bottle and took a sip. She then looked at how much was left. The bottle was already half empty. If Fizzlepop was going to make it out of the desert alive, then she was going to have to keep an eye on how much water she was consuming. If she ran out before she had left the desert, then she would simply die. And with no magic on her, Fizzlepop was defenceless.
It may have been the first full day of her epic adventure, but Fizzlepop had already walked at least twenty miles. Sheknew that she was a good walker; she had been walking on epic treks since she was an infant, so it wasn't really a problem. But she had never walked this far, though. The sand was also difficult to walk on, as it did collapse, causing Fizzlepop to fall down. She sank into the loose sand and started to panic, as Fizzlepop could feel herself falling into the sinking pit. The ground seemed to give way and was replaced by a large hole.
Fizzlepop was walking on quicksand.
The young filly tried to look for something to grab on, but could only see a dead bush with very long and thick branches. However, looking down on how deep she was in the engulfing sand, she had no choice but to bite hard on the branch. Fizzlepop groaned as she pulled herself out of the sand and collapsed on her tummy on a patch of solid sand. Sighing with relief, Fizzlepop got back onto her hooves and continued her epic trek.
The pain from her infected hoof was starting to drive Fizzlepop insane. Desperate to try and ignore it, Fizzlepop tore off a piece of her cloak and wrapped it around her hoof. Immediately, there was a noticeable change in the throbbing pain. It decreased slowly, even though it still caused Fizzlepop to moan whilst she was walking. She continued her journey into the unknown once more.
For three more days, Fizzlepop didn't see anything in front of her. Nothing appeared on the horizon for a long period of time, apart from more sand. Fizzlepop didn't even know if there was a road that led anywhere; if there was, then that would be where she was going. The only sign that anypony was here, were the skeletons of deceased travellers who clearly didn't make it to their desired destinations. Some even still had their travelling equipment on them. Fizzlepop went over to some of the corpses and investigated their belongings; some of them were clothes, water bottles, weapons, bits and currency outside of Equestria. Deciding that all of this would come in handy at some point, Fizzlepop grabbed hold of what she could carry and put all the stolen goods into her saddlebag. She even stole a compass, that was hanging around one of the skeletons and placed it around her neck instead.
The needle on the compass turned East, giving Fizzlepop the urge to keep on going. The filly walked on, trying not to slip on the loose sand and try to walk on compressed sand instead. Fizzlepop looked up where she was walking towards and down again at the compass, every ten steps or so. She was now on a mission; to find a road, or even better, a town. A place where she could sleep and even possibly live. She could run her own business, perhaps, or even become an apprentice to another pony. But then, who would work alongside a unicorn with no horn?
No pony would. Ever.
Fizzlepop came out of thought when some sand was blown into her face and went down her throat. The filly choked, coughing up the sand, along with tiny blobs of blood. The blood landed on the solid sand and sizzled in the fearsome heat of the sun. Fizzlepop gasped at the horrifying sight and kicked herself into a gallop. She ran on, keeping her eyes straight ahead. Her saddlebag banged against her side as she ran, but that didn't stop Fizzlepop from getting to her destination. Any destination in fact, as long as it wasn't in that ghastly desert.
Another hour passed by and Fizzlepop felt that she would surely be close to somewhere civilised, at a place where ponies lived. It didn't even need to be as glamorous as Canterlot or even the legendary Crystal Empire; just a place where nopony cared who lived there or who did what. There, she would be safe and nothing would get in her way. She would find somewhere to rest her scared head and sleep under a roof. Nothing appeared for a further three miles, but then, Fizzlepop's luck struck gold.
A very tall tower appeared in the distance. It looked like a watchtower from where Fizzlepop was standing. She could see a reflective mirror shining brightly from the light of the sun and also an empty pit, where presumably the fuel for the fire would go when it was dark. Fizzlepop smiled at the sign of life and continued on galloping towards the town. She didn't stop running, even when she went through the border of the town. Fizzlepop made sure that her hood was fully up, covering the whole of her head. The only thing that could be seen underneath her hood was the pair of her two green-blue eyes, just bright enough to see. Keeping her head down, Fizzlepop didn't make eye contact with anypony.
The town was huge. It looked more like a little city, but the houses and flats weren't as big as ones that were normally in cities. There were ponies everywhere, doing their laundry, going to work, selling slaves, fighting, gambling or just walking around. Many ponies wore armbands around their front-right legs with a symbol that Fizzlepop had never seen before. It looked like two light-blue lightning bolts, pointing opposite each other. The ponies who wore those armbands looked like they had been in some form of conflict and had seen some haunting images whilst fighting.
Fizzlepop worked her way around the town, one street at a time. She noticed a large grey circus-looking tent, which also was covered by the strange symbols that Fizzlepop saw on some of the ponies. The entrance was large and was constantly guarded by two large strange looking creatures holding very long spears in their right claw. They were wearing masks and the only sign of their face were two blue pinpricks appearing from the eye holes. Every time they breathed, a deep growl came from their mouths, a growl that could scare a timber wolf or even a large, fierce bear. The spears that each guard held pointed directly up towards the blue sky. They looked sharp and dangerous, so Fizzlepop stayed away.
As she kept on walking, Fizzlepop came across a lot more civilians. Some were ponies wearing masks covering their muzzles and others were strange creatures that Fizzlepop had never seen before in her life. One of which was a very tall, brown cat, wearing what seemed to be a large red coat and had a dull purple bandage around his long tail. He had pale green eyes and the smile of a creep. This strange creature seemed to be sitting at a table just outside a cafe, talking to a beautiful white unicorn with an orange mane and a green pear for a cutie mark. The unicorn laughed at every bizarre joke that this cat was saying to her, which caught the interest of Fizzlepop.
Fizzlepop crept closer to the strange couple, trying not to grab their attention. She hid behind a box containing very smelly fish, but it was the only place where she couldn't be seen by them. With her ears targeted towards the conversation, Fizzlepop leaned in to listen.
"Oh Capper, you're so dreamy!" the unicorn said, "I never knew that I would admire a cat as yourself! When did you ever become so handsome? Why am I the only pony who thinks you're the one?"
The anthropomorphic cat gave a scheming chuckle, before admiring his sharp claws in the bright sunlight.
"Well, Little Pear," Capper replied, "I was on the road to fame along with my other pony friends. I remember the days when we became famous gipsies, travelling all over Equestria. It wasn't until that wretched Storm King took over this part of the outlands that I'm now nothing but just a poor, disgraced, charming cat who just loves to find time with the mares out there!"
Capper reached over and stroked Little Pear's mane, making her blush and giggle uncontrollably. The unicorn soon laid on the table, with Capper scratching her muzzle. As soon as she saw that, Fizzlepop rolled her tongue out in disgust, before continuing her walk through the town.
Little Pear and Capper bid farewell to each other, before turning in opposite directions and walking through the congested streets of the town. Capper squeezed his way past the guards that patrolled the streets, trying not to make himself look suspicious. Fizzlepop watched the strange looking creature walk down the busy street, passing many creatures of all kinds, including ponies, griffons and other species that Fizzlepop had never seen before. Avoiding the continuous piles of faeces from ponies, Fizzlepop continued following Capper.
Fizzlepop found it difficult to keep up with the elegant, fast and silent cat. Capper looked like he knew what he was doing. He crept past all the guards and patrol parties, without a single suspicious thought going through their heads. Fizzlepop followed Capper's moves, as she crept up behind him. Capper then jumped onto the wall of a building and started climbing up to a tiny balcony. He climbed up and then walked into the building, closing the balcony curtains as he did so. Fizzlepop stopped in her tracks, seeing that there was no possible way to climb up. Then, she spotted a set of stairs that led up to the top floor of the building and started walking up.
Capper, of course, had no idea that there was a hornless unicorn walking up to his home. He was too busy admiring himself in his mirror, talking into space and at animate objects. Fizzlepop watched from the balcony and couldn't help but chuckle silently at this strange cat.
"Hello, handsome," Capper said, "my, my, you did well with that filly, didn't you?"
Fizzlepop gagged silently. She wasn't a romantic pony. Seeing ponies or other creatures become lovey-hubby wasn't to her taste, nor the sight of seeing a creature talk to himself awkwardly. Fizzlepop stayed as quiet as she could, whilst watching Capper perform to himself.
He does seem a bit dreamy, though, Fizzlepop thought, maybe he could help me.
Before Fizzlepop could get down from the balcony, she stepped on a loose tile and slipped, causing her to fall to the ground. A loud thump sounded from the impact, which caught the attention of the cat. Capper scratched, hissed and clawed at the air in shock, before turning around to see what had caused him to lose his attention on himself.
"What in Celestia's name was that?!" Capper cried.
Capper ran over to the balcony and looked out. He gasped, seeing Fizzlepop lying down on the dusty ground. Her eyes were crossed and a stunned expression appeared on her face. Capper jumped down and lifted Fizzlepop. He didn't notice that Fizzlepop had no horn, for her hood didn't fall down when she fell.
"My, my, my!" Capper said, "Little pony, you okay?"
Fizzlepop looked up at Capper and smiled cheekily.
"Yes, thank you!" she replied, "Sorry for scaring you."
Capper then squinted closely at Fizzlepop. He noticed something glowing underneath the hood; presuming it was a horn and that his guest was a unicorn, Capper didn't think anything of it. But it did play at the back of his mind. Trying to be polite, Capper jumped down in front of Fizzlepop and offered a paw. In response, Fizzlepop blushed and gave her hoof to Capper and stood up.
"Wow, I've never seen a unicorn before in my whole life," Capper said, "tell me, little pony, what is your name?"
For the first time, Fizzlepop couldn't think on how to reply to this question. Usually, whenever a stranger asked her name, her mother would say that she didn't wish to give her daughter's name away or make it up. Make it up, of course! Fizzlepop looked around the room, trying to find something to make a new name for herself.
"My... my name is..."
There were posters and newspapers attached to the wall, mostly about the invasion of its new ruler and the change of cargo timetables. All of which seemed to have been stamped with a red design; the same design as the symbols on the armbands and banners. Some were scratched and others were torn, probably by Capper. One newspaper was on about a roaring tempest that almost destroyed the city from existence. It included black and white photographs of ruins of the city walls and buildings that never survived the storm. This gave Fizzlepop her first new name, a name that would surely hide her true personality.
"...Tempest..."
She then trailed off to find another word. Fizzlepop looked all around the room, but couldn't see anything. There didn't seem to be anything that would relate to a name But then, her eyes captured something. Fizzlepop stared at Capper's pitch-black shadow, that pointed directly towards where she was standing. It was as tall as the peculiar talking cat and was as sinister as well. But, it was perfect for Fizzlepop.
"...Shadow."
Capper blinked in surprise. He never met anyone a name like that; not even a pony. It was so... dark. So toxic, like a deadly poison. Tempest Shadow? Why would anypony call a filly Tempest Shadow? A pony named after a storm and something darker. Strange.
"Yes, that is my name. My name is Tempest Shadow, sir."
Capper then grinned.
"Well now, Tempest. It's an honour to meet such a fine filly as yourself, I dare say so myself. Capper's the name, charming's my game."
Capper then moved closer to Fizzlepop (or Tempest as she was now known as) and squeezed her adorable cheeks. Tempest frowned, pulling an expression of disappointment. Capper giggled with joy, seeing how cute that his new friend was, even when she was angry. Tempest couldn't be bothered to push Capper away, for she knew that this was how many creatures treated others; without thinking before doing something.
"Aren't you so cute?! Yes, you are! Yes, you are, Tempest-whempest!" Capper continued.
Tempest-whempest? the unicorn thought to herself. Why, that sneaky, little sh-.
Suddenly, Capper drew Tempest into a huge hug, squeezing the life out of the tiny unicorn. Tempest tried to breathe, as she was hugged tightly by her new friend. At least there was someone in the world that who didn't care who or what she was. Even if he liked squeezing her cheeks like she was some sort of pet or doll.
"So, erm, Capper. This is where you live then?" Tempest asked.
Capper dropped Tempest to the ground and ran around the room like an excited child on Hearth's Warming Day. He laughed, whilst prancing around and throwing pieces of paper all over the floor.
"Welcome to my litter box, Tempest!" Capper cried, "Finally, I have a roommate! I haven't had a roommate since my circus days! I'll make you a room and some dinner. Gosh, you look so hungry and thin! You need food right away!"
Just before Tempest could thank him, Capper grabbed her hoof and took her upstairs to the dining room (and also the living room). He then clapped his paws together and out came from another room was a fat and very short grey creature, that looked like a pug-faced hedgehog.
The creature had a white stripe of hair lining the top of his head, which looked like a hairbrush that had been torn to pieces and glued onto the creature's head. Never, ever, had Fizzlepop seen a creature that didn't care about its beauty and health. It looked like he had spent more time digging out mountains of dirt, rather than taking care of himself. But then again, did this city cared to look after its residents that much, especially if it was run by a dictator? No. Not really.
"Miss Shadow, I would like you to meet my assistance," Capper said, "this is Grubber. He's the one who has helped me escape the continuous interruptions from the Storm King's soldiers and has helped me stay out of debt, for now. So I understand that you're not from these parts, aren't you?"
Tempest Shadow looked around Capper's apartment whilst listening to her new friend. She noticed that Capper had received a pile of letters from the city's council, ordering all residents to pay a new enforced tax. It seemed that Capper wasn't really taking it seriously and instead just left the warning letters somewhere out of the way. All of which had included the signature of the demon-like Storm King, who added something to the bottom of Capper's letter in red ink.
You have been warned.
"Care for any food, miss?" Grubber asked.
Tempest pulled her gaze away from the heap of letters and looked back at Grubber. He was holding a tray of tea and dried cake, that looked like it had gone past its Best Before date. But Tempest was hungry, so she accepted Grubber's offer. She leaned forward and grabbed a cake with her mouth and gulped the whole thing down her tiny throat. The cake squeezed its way through into Tempest's stomach, feeding her tired and exhausted body. It was so good to taste food again, especially if it was cake.
"Is she staying with us, Capper?" Grubber asked. He performed his puppy eyes towards his master, which made Capper sigh and purr with thought.
"Do you have anywhere to go, Tempest?" Capper said to Tempest.
Tempest shook her head, before dumping her things to the side of the room.
"No sir," she replied, "I am homeless."
Capper thought to himself, before grabbing Grubber and having a conversation with him. Tempest tried to listen, but couldn't hear what they were talking about. Eventually, the conversation ended, when Capper turned to face his guest.
"Dearest Tempest," Capper began, "would you care to stay with me for the time being. Just for a while, until we can find you a place to stay... and a job, I must add. Anyone who is not in education must be either doing an apprenticeship or working somewhere. I cannot stress it enough!"
Tempest's eyes lit up and she smiled for the first time in days. She started bouncing up and down with hoy, giggling and laughing, before going over to Capper and giving him a hug.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Tempest cried, "You're the kindest creature I've ever met! Thank you so much!"
Capper blushed, before returning the hug to Tempest. He squeezed her gently, before lifting her up in the air and swinging his new roommate about. After all, Tempest wasn't a heavy pony.
"You're... welcome... please, allow me to take you to your room."
Capper took Tempest's belongings and led her towards where she would be sleeping. Tempest was still jumping about like a mad kangaroo, laughing and smiling like she just didn't care.
Who knows, Tempest thought, maybe it was a good idea to leave home after all.
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Holy cats! There's a Capper cameo in this story?!
Okay, in all honesty, I actually wasn't too terribly fond of him in the movie. Really, the only reason I wrote this comment at all was to make that pun. I'm sorry if I caused you guys to waste 5 seconds of your life reading this. That, and Capper was kinda...touchy with Fizzlepop/Tempest. It actually might have made me like him less.
But this is actually really interesting so far. I didn't think this is where you're version of Grubber would show up. I look forward to seeing the next chapter!
8687765
Glad you enjoyed Chapter Nine. I did want to include some cameos in The Lieutenant, including Capper and Grubber. There's more to come; I assure you!
Have you by any chance read the movie prequel book about Tempest at all? It covers a lot of her background and her first meeting the hippogriffs.
8703973
No, I haven't. This all came from my imagination. I have heard of the book, but I've never had the chance to read it:(
I wish not to read other people's work (not in a horrible way) about Tempest's past because I want to be as original as I can.
I get confused so often here, I thought she was to young and now he is trying to flirt with her? ahh I noticed he talked with his mirror.
I hope this wasn't the " he looks good so everybody needs to blush or think like that thing", honestly I would have prefered if she wasn't affected if she just said she wasn't really a pony for that kind of stuff. In that chase I image someone would have to try to drive the point home if he/she was hitting on her.
I admit it is not bad, but I have to get used to some of your ideas, not sure if Tempest being younger than Twilight was a joke thing or something the comic tries to play of as real, but I keep imaging her as slightly older, but not in this story of course.
I don't mind a possible romance between him and her later, but I don't exactly like the characters who seems to are able to charm everyone and not only some like in a harem chliche story.
8904782
Sorry if that was a little too strange for you. Capper is a jerk, just saying, so he'll do anything to get attention, even from Tempest who was ten in that scene. Yes, he was talking at the mirror/himself when he was flirting. No romance in this story!!!
Just to say, I'm the guy who tries to be original in his writing. I am not the best writer in the world, I admit. I always try to improve my writing, because otherwise, I know people would find it frustrating to see me doing the same thing over and over again. Again, this is not a romantic story.
I liked capper in the Movie. His cunning Plan, a Child suiting Trojan Horse tactic, that's Genius!
9890701
He had such a handsome voice too!