FFF V
The encounter with a second creature of pure magic, has left the ponies concerned for what may lie ahead for them. But none more so, than Tempest Shadow.
Seeing herself through these misfortune souls, Tempest is reminded that she's but a slave to her broken horn.
Though the ponies may have only started their march through the land of Ivalice, Tempest could already tell, that it'll be by the beat of the ever looming weight that crowns her.
Standing at the bow of the boat, Tempest Shadow stares at the horizon as the wind pushes her closer towards it. The corner of her eye catches sight of something sailing on the starboard side, a unicorn sailing in a personal-sized boat. Tempest turns to the right and sees another unicorn in their personal-sized boat as well. A quick spin in her own small craft gives Tempest a view of a fleet of boats being sailed by individual unicorns as they head in her direction.
Shadow shifts her hoof, and suddenly jerks as the wood beneath her breaks open. A loud crack bellows from the boat as it quickly falls apart, sending Tempest into the cold ocean. She frantically kicks her legs, finding it difficult to stay above the surface, yet she ignores the other unicorns in their own boats and searches for something to keep her afloat. She spots a lifesaver ring nearby and manages to fight against the water towards it. She pokes her head through the hole and grips it from the outside, finally able to catch her breath for the time being.
Tempest feels a tap on her forehoof. She turns her head and sees a large crystal attached to the lifesaver, floating there on the surface. She takes another look at the floatation device around her, identifying it to be her necklace.
The accessory suddenly shrinks in a blinding second, clenching tightly around her neck. It feels like a neck collar that's strangling her, but no matter much she tries, her breathing becomes impossible.
Tempest's body jolts with rapid kicking, shaking her eyes open and breaking free from her dream in a state of panic. Her breathing is heavy and she lays a hoof on her throat, feeling it expand and deflate while she gets her fill of air without any hindrance. She traces along her neck, feeling her fur bending with her stroke and ends on the firm mineral hanging by the thread that goes around her neck.
Tempest Shadow refamiliarizes with her surroundings in this mountainous region that's near a low ridge. There are cactuses and dried out bushes in this environment of dirt and gravel, but her vision of the area is limited to what the moon reflects its light on. She views her teammates, though everypony is experiencing their first night in this land, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry are sleeping soundly around the campfire. As for the last member...
"You alright over there?"
...Second Wind is further away with his back turned. Using the moonlight to aid him with another journal entry, he glances over his shoulder to check on the mare.
'Alright' isn't a word Tempest would consider after that dream. She can't find the desire to sleep anymore, and it's still too early in the night to simply ignore the need for it. She needs to get her mind off it, and striking a conversation with the only other pony up could remedy this.
Tempest glances at her sleeping comrades for a moment and softly makes her way over to Wind. Tiphooving past Flash Sentry and stepping over Shining Armor. The tip of her tail tickles Armor, enough to disturb his sleep in the process. He opens his eyes to see nothing of interest, but he listens to Tempest's hoofsteps until she lies down with Wind.
Tempest breathes deeply, settling herself down from that nightmare. She looks down at the Guardian Crystal hanging around her neck. Lifting the crystal closer to her face, she stares deeply into it with an empty look. Getting lost in the illuminating yellow glow it makes.
Second Wind begins to feel like he's just been forgotten and tries to strike up a conversation before she gets too lost, "That's a pretty stone."
"...I thought the same thing upon seeing this as well." Tempest recalls, "Twilight gave me this to help with the matter of my broken horn, as this crystal gives me a better control over my magic." a sigh escapes her, "She meant well, but upon receiving it after hearing that and what she hoped it would compensate for, ...it ...it felt like she was giving me ...giving-"
"A crutch?"
The sudden reply catches Tempest off guard and she turns an astound look at Wind, like something was just lifted off her, "Y-yeah."
Wind opens his prosthetic wing, "I was viewing my wing the same way, back when I got it." he fiddles around at the wing's base, "Outside of the emotional loss, one of the challenges I had to adjust to was being able to simply walk. All the weight on my left side was gone, making me off balanced and falling over on my right side. I got it back with the prosthetic wing; however, I'd often collapse from the strain of carrying it everywhere."
A gentle hissing comes near the spot Wind is messing with. He pulls at his prosthetic wing and it slides effortlessly off the little stub of what's left of his original wing .
"It acts a lot like a sphygmomanometer by inflating around my humerus bone and locking itself in place. It's also so it can register the twitches in my muscles, so it can move and act accordingly like my original wing. But wearing it for too long can bring infections, so I'd have my freedom from it every now and then. Eventually, I was able to keep my balance without it, so I saw no reason to wear such a thing anymore. Though, after a couple of days without it, I realized just how much I still needed it. Trying to do things one winged was a lot tougher than I thought, so..."
Tempest looks back to her crystal, "...say, how do you handle things when others get involved?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you received your wing from your uncle, after all those hours he must've placed on it for you, how did you feel about yourself upon receiving your wing?"
"Well..." he scratches his cheek to the odd question while he tries to recall that time, "...I guess I felt a bit special. For him to go out of his way like that, I felt that he really loved me."
"..."
"...why do you ask?"
"..." Tempest drops the crystal, letting it pull at her as it hangs around her neck again, "...no reason."
The flicking of Shining Armor's ear goes unnoticed.
She was seeking for something, that much Wind is certain about, but it looks like Tempest doesn't want to go into details, "...have you ever considered keeping a record about your daily experiences?"
"Naw," Tempest shakes her head, "I never really saw the point to it."
"If I'm allowed to use myself as an example, I tend to find it to be a therapeutic way to get things off my mind."
She humphs, "Such a cheesy answer."
"I suppose it is, but a little cheesiness is really all it takes during the roughest moments."
"..."
"At times, I reflect on the words I've written in this book. Maybe I'm hoping to get a laugh, or seeking a reminder of something I've overlooked. But whenever I ever feel gloomy or ever think that something is hopeless, rereading my thoughts have always helped turn things around for me."
"..."
Their conversation dissolves apart.
Feeling his eyes getting heavy again, Shining Armor shuffles and finds a comfy position to fall back to sleep.
The sun peeks from the horizon the following morning, overlaying its light on the amber colored land. Hot as it may be in this humid environment, Second Wind slips his chest leather on and singes his skin to the heated equipment. Wind seethes at the pain.
"I know it hurts," Shining consoles Wind as he puts on his metal armor, toughing through his own pain, "but this is foreign territory. We don't know what we'll find here, so I want us to be fully prepared for any encounter that may come our way by being equipped and ready."
"Traveling in this heavy thing," Flash stares into his helmet, mentally preparing himself for the heated battle he'll be enduring, "makes me wish I had something lighter like Wind's or Tempest's attire."
"Is she even wearing an attire, or is that just part of her skin?" Shining looks over to the mare in question, sleeping in the equipment she had on the entire night. "Mind waking her, Wind?"
Second Wind obliges and heads over to the resting mare. Tempest was the last one to fall asleep between the two of them last night, waking her from her slumber feels like a harsh thing to do in the pegasus' eyes, but...
Wind gently shakes Tempest's shoulder, "Hey, come on, we're about to head out."
Tempest opens her eyes very subtly. Wind was expecting her to be groggy, but she seems well rested without a hint of a yawn. More awake than he's ever seen her to be.
Wind steps back from Tempest as she gives a stretch, "So how did you sleep? No troubles this time?"
She shakes her head, "No, it went a lot better actually." Tempest gyrates her forelegs, "I feel that a weight is lifted off my shoulder," she lays a hoof on the part she mentions and feels a cold chill. Tempest traces up her neck and starts patting it, feeling her fur every time. She glances down and her face goes pale, "Oh god, where's my crystal?"
Tempest begins to frantically search around herself for the necklace and Second Wind helps her out. She ruffles her mane, wiggles her tail, and spins in circles if it may be on her or around where she slept. Their actions meet a point where Shining Armor and Flash Sentry notices their odd behavior.
"...ah! There it is," Wind points to it.
The necklace is hanging off of a just-under-pony-height plant, looped around a sprouted arm to a green stalk like a tie on a coat rack.
Second Wind reaches for the accessory, "It's just caught on this cactus."
Suddenly, the prickly plant bolts away from the pegasus, catching all four ponies by surprise to see it dashing across the soil. The plant bounces and spins about from a fair distance until it sticks a landing to display that it's no ordinary cactus, "Cunno cmufbugac, pid drec ec seha huf."
Tempest, Wind, Shining, and Flash reevaluate this thing, uncertain if it's creature or plant. It appears biped, but it's a cactus. It has arms and legs, but they're hardly moving them. It just spoke to them, but it didn't even move its oblong mouth. It's posing as if it's ready to run away for dear life, but the black holes that make up its eyes show no life in them at all. The only thing that really comes across to imply that this thing is a sentient creature is that it's wearing clothes; a brown belt and a green bandana that matches with the rest of this living cactus.
"Oui tuh'd uvdah veht dnyjamanc dryd fayn zafamno cu ubahmo," it bends its arm to show the Tempest's necklace wrapped around it.
Tempest glares at the cactus with her horn illuminating and she casts an abrupt 'Firework' spell at it. The green thief bounces aside hastefully and effortlessly, letting the spell pass right on by and explode far out of range.
The cactus scurries off, leaving a cloud of dust trailing behind as it passes by the Tempest and Wind faster than they can react. The two turn around, seeing it circling around Shining and Flash, causing the two stallions trouble as they keep up their guard from a creature they can hardly track.
"Fryd yna oui kioc, y pihlr uv LARPers?"
"Grab that thief!" Tempest beseeches them.
Flash Sentry is hesitant to assist that request, "The needle-covered cactus? You want me to grab that?!"
Shining Armor lights up his horn and clench the cactus in his aura, but his magic isn't slowing the plant down in the slightest, "Tsk, the effects of Magick Kingdom's products is going to be a major issue while we're here."
"Oui kioc tuh'd ryja yhodrehk kuut uh oui," the cactus decides and suddenly bolts off into the distance as it escapes the ponies, "Mydan, LARPers!"
Tempest and the others gallop after it, but any attempt they have on catching up to it is being lost in the dust that's fading further away. The four of them find themselves slowing down to a halt as it becomes clear that they've lost the cactus.
The party catches their breath after that short-lived chase, "How can something so stiff be so fast?" Flash asks.
Staring in the direction the cactus went, Tempest Shadow holds a troubled look on her face. She shifts her head a smidge to the stallions behind her, then lowers her face to the knots she's experiencing throughout her body.
Shining Armor is also feeling very torn to the situation. He sees the plight that engulfs Tempest, but as he thinks about it... "Let's just continue with the mission to get back Equestria's magic."
Reluctant on the idea a moment ago, any hesitance within Tempest immediately vanishes at Armor's orders, "You can't just ignore this!" Shadow franticly panics as she dashes over to Shining, "I need that necklace, I won't be able to control my magic effectively otherwise."
"That's all in your head. You can perform magic just as efficiently if you set your mind to it."
Tempest shakes her head, "It's not that simple."
"You don't want to rely on that crystal forever, do you? Well now's your chance to break free from it."
The idea feels conflicting to Tempest, but... She glances down at the broken sword sheathed along her foreleg. Tempest pulls it out of its casing and lights up her horn. Sparks snap and streaks fall from the edge of the sword, but the portion where her magic forms the blade, isn't manifesting itself. Tempest places more strain on her broken horn, attempting this feat with all that she's got in her. With a final push, Tempest achieves magic from her sword, shooting it out as a bullet. It rams into a dead tree and disperses the magic in a blast. Everyone hears the tree cracking as it slowly tips over as it falls to the ground.
"No, no, it's not possible, Armor," Tempest resumes the disagreement.
"It was your first try, you'll get the hang of it eventually."
"But what if I don't? What if I never succeed by the time where it's really needed? We'd be better off if we spent a few hours hunting down that thief now rather than backtracking later."
"And what if we don't catch them? What if we waste hours, maybe days, hunting that thing down? Equestria would be struggling more and more the longer we preoccupy ourselves with sidequests."
"It isn't a sidequest if it'll help us in the long run. We need to get it back."
"Tempest," a little of Shining's exasperation escapes him through a sigh, he can read the pleading look in Tempest's eyes, an expression that's comparable to his daughter when he was weaning her off of bottles, "you can't keep pushing the bigger problems away by exhorting to the little ones."
Tempest is dumbstruck.
"Is it a hindrance, yes, will it make things difficult, without a doubt, but we can't dwell and attend to our losses if we have any hope of achieving the main objective. We have to look past ourselves and focus on others with their own problems. Equestria is depending on us, and attending to our personal burdens first will only hinder everyone's faith for change."
Tempest maintains her stature, passing a moment in it, feeling the words rooting inside her, and ends it with her glowering at the stallion, "...then I guess we're splitting up from here." Tempest pivots on her hindlegs, "I'll deal with this by myself," and stomps the forelegs in the direction of the cactus.
Shining Armor now bears the dumbstruck look, quickly catching up to a glare that matches with the mare that's marching away, "You're not to break from the group!"
"All of us would be better off if I did."
"That's an order!"
Tempest ignores Armor.
"It's too early for this," Shining mumbles his irritation, "Wind, follow Tempest and provide any assistance she needs."
"I don't need or want the rookie's help!" Tempest yells.
The pique expression on Wind's face tells that Shadow might as well throw him under the chariot while she's at it.
"Well I'm enforcing it regardless. You obviously feel that you're incapable without your necklace, so I'm going to assign backup for that sullen envision you have for yourself."
Tempest pauses. She twinges as she suppresses her scorn, but it escapes as a furious growl at Shining, "FINE!!! At least he'll be following somepony who won't lead them by optimistic ignorance!" She turns to look at Second Wind as he approaches, getting him to stop with the unwanting look on her face. She displays her fury once more in a groan and continues towards the cactus with Wind following at a safe distance behind her.
Hours pass with the sun climbing up the sky. Tempest Shadow hasn't made any progress since she began her search for the thieving cactus, nor any success at taming her temper. She's calmer than she was before, but Second Wind can still see the tension through her pacing and glare.
Wind has been silent this entire time as he follows her, but it's beginning to drive at him for doing nothing and simply following her like a puppy, "...so outside of the locals, this is quite a majestic place." Wind directs attention towards their surroundings , "Beautiful landscape, exotic environment, ...rolling tumbleweeds."
"It looks like any other place," Tempest bluntly comments.
"This awe invoking sight?"
"I've galloped through places like this on a daily basis, and when you travel for as long as I have, everything begins to mesh together that arouses no sensation."
Wind muffles a groan, "...so this isn't your first adventure."
"Adventure? You call what we're doing an adventure?"
"Well can you blame me? Traveling through lands foreign to us, facing difficult challenges that come our way, gambling our lives for the sake of saving others. It's the kind of tale you hear when you're a foal, the ones you look towards to find inspiration from."
"You're romanticizing the idea. Most of what happens in my travels are shallow at best. Gaining sores and scratches from walking miles, fighting against nature's many obstacles, managing off of limited supplies you can carry, making due with hardly any currency on you, facing the following day as it approaches anew. There's no real glow in my travels."
Tempest's description leaves an impression on Wind, "...so then, why are you travelling all the time if you don't like it?"
"I do it so I can spread the word of the Storm King's fall."
"The Storm King's fall? But he fell years ago. That kind of news must be common knowledge by now, so why are you still doing something like that?"
Tempest freezes up. Her eyes wide, there's a lack of any real sign of surprise or fear coming from the expression she's making, "..." Tempest bats her eyes and shakes her head back to the question, "I... I just want to make certain that everyone knows."
"...okay," Wind tries to divert from pushing in that area, "...so, going off your experience, what are some noteworthy things to keep in mind within an environment like this?"
"Don't get close to any plants."
Second Wind gives an awkward chuckle, "I see that you're honed on answering a death wish."
"You'll be answering your own too, if you go anywhere near those plants."
Tempest points to a bed of ankle-high stalks that strongly resemble Cobra Lilies. Focusing off one, it has a mossy color with a darken yellow pigmentation across the head. There's a silver colored leaf that glistens on the head's underside, giving the impression that the plant is imitating a claw.
"Ochu Stalks appear to be native in this area. Those things have a strong toxin coating the 'talon' portion of its body, one brush by it and your entire nerve system paralyzes in seconds. It takes hours before you're able to move again, so don't get caught up in them."
"A plant that paralyzes you..." Wind ponders aloud, "...hey, I have an idea on how to catch that cactus."
"Then dispose the thought of it, because I'm going to be handling this alone," Tempest insists. "This is my own punishment for failing at being attentive with my surroundings."
"You were asleep."
"That isn't an excuse."
"It is if that nightmare that woke you halfway through your first attempt is taken into account."
Tempest groans, "My point is that I've brought this upon us, so I should be doing all the work to fix it! This isn't the first time I've hunted down a creature, so let me handle things from here on out."
Second Wind gives off a short sigh, "...but just how are you going to find a mobile cactus by yourself in a place like this?"
Tempest takes a moment to survey the area. They're in a twisting canyon with various spots where the sunlight is hitting, but there are plenty of shaded locations to hide in. The bottom layer they stand in is covered in sand, making things easier to follow tracks, but branching paths that lead to higher altitude are rough and rigid with unflatten routes. Many locations are potential spots to ambush others from and plenty of caverns around to escape them through darkness.
It would be difficult doing this alone, but for Tempest, she refuses to resort to anything else. "A thief in an area like this would rely on the 'stand hunting' technique by watching from afar until they see a target suited to their liking for an ambush."
"So something like fishing, but without the bait."
Tempest nods, "Our thief is also a cactus, so they would likely want their hiding spot to be sunny all day long. With everything down here being shaded at some point of the day, the only locations would be..."
The two look up at the cliffs around them and they identify a green figure standing on the edge of one of them. Five stories high and half a dozen yards away on a small plateau, they easily identify that it's the same cactus they're looking for, because it's looking at them in the same pose it ran away in.
"Fuimt oui kioc rinno ib yht bycc po ymnayto?" the cactus asks of them, letting their echo speak loud enough for the two ponies to hear, "Oui'na tecdinpehk dra vecr."
Tempest Shadow abruptly lets loose a 'Firework' spell towards the mocking cactus, who in turn scrunches up to jump out of the way. The compressed bullet of magic makes contact with the cliff and blasts off a portion of the rocky surface, sending only that portion to fall as the cactus pushes back to a stationed surface. Tempest continues to cast 'Firework' as she approaches the plateau, repeating the same results she got from the first attempt. It's really the only option she has at the moment, a direct strike with her magic wouldn't result in anything, given the anti-Equestrian magic equipment it has on.
Rocks of various sizes are flying off towards her, some as big as her hoof, few the size of her head, and plenty the size of herself. Despite the danger, Tempest gallops forward, slowly chipping out the places the cactus can run to.
Second Wind attempts to keep up with Tempest, but evading these rocks are starting to become a problem. "Easy," Wind uses his metallic wing to block an incoming rock, "not all of us have 'Protect' cast over themselves."
"I don't have it cast over me either."
Wind staggers at Tempest's reply.
"Without that necklace, the only magic I can perform is an up-close shock and the spell 'Firework'."
Tempest's capabilities are the least concerning matter on Second Wind's mind. He took her to be more cautious before taking action, but this behavior of thrusting herself in the center of danger is a bit too abrupt for her to pull, especially without any magical protection.
One of the shots eventually knocks the cactus off with the falling rubble, sending it into freefall. Tempest sprints ahead, jumping and leaping on the rocks to be there when the plant hits the ground. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it in time, but she does see the thief cartwheeling to the floor.
The cactus lands on one of its limbs and spins on it to see an upside-down Tempest charging at them. It springs to its legs and scampers into a nearby cave. The plant shortly meets up with a dead end and runs back to encounter Tempest as she blocks the entrance.
The cactus skitters back to the dead end as Tempest steadily approaches the trapped thief with her horn at the ready, "Time to return that crystal, you bristled canteen."
"Dryd ec y rika secluhlabdeuh yht E's uvvahtat po dryd dedma!"
"Look, anything you say to me isn't going to save you now, let alone be understood."
"Drah ruf ypuid fa bmyo y kysa uv, 'Count the Needles'?"
Tempest hesitates, "I understood that one."
The cactus leans forward and gyrates their arms, throwing hundreds of its needles at the mare. Tempest shuts her eyes, lowers her ears back, and lifts a foreleg over her face before feeling a barrage of needles pricking at her. She winces as the needles pierce into her with no sign of it stopping, enough to get her to walk back to the cave entrance.
Brushing up on her side and hearing the sound of clinking, Tempest notices Second Wind pushing into her, using his metal wing to cover a portion of the both of them from the rain of needles. The two make their way outside and cover next to the entrance as the cactus continues.
The Equestrians take a moment to relax, now that they're out of the line of fire. Tempest looks at the needles embedded into her, "Why did I think I would be safe with such little armor?" the mare wonders aloud.
"Speaking about reevaluating our choices, mind if we give my plan a go?" Wind requests, "I'm just going to-"
"No!" Tempest interjects.
The needles stop flying out of the cave, and a second later, the cactus zips past them.
Tempest staggers, adjusting to the irritating sensation of the needles as she attempts another chase.
"You need to mend those wounds," Second Wind informs.
She can't deny that the pain is really starting to get to her.
Wind is already searching his wing for the first aid kit, "Just sit down and I'll attend to yo-"
Tempest rushes after the cactus, leaving Wind to drop what he's doing and scrambles to catch up with her.
The two of them gallop in what seems like will be a repeat of the first time it escaped, but the cactus breaks before falling into danger. A narrow gorge, too far to jump, too steep to climb, and too deep to land in safely is before the thief. The cactus spins towards the ponies, they're only seconds away, so the cactus does the only sensible thing and jumps off the cliff.
Tempest and Wind skid to a halt before they could fall off with it. Looking into the gorge, they're speechless to see the cactus using its limbs as a cushion against one wall and springs off it to do the same with the other side, rebounding itself as it gets deeper until it finally lands at the bottom. Tempest and Wind can only watch as the thief dashes down the path, eventually disappearing from their sight in another successful escape.
"I guess the advantage of being a plant is that you have no bones to break," Second Wind leans back feeling cheated, "and having cell walls help with the inertia... this cactus is a real prick. So what's our next move, Tempes-" the question ends as an apocope the moment he eyes her.
Tempest is staring down at the one-way drop into the gorge, practically frozen solid without any shifting in her stance. It's as if her brain has shut down all control over her body, all except the eyes. It doesn't come across as if she's scared, it doesn't really come across as anything, but there's something faint to the way they're dilated. It's like she's soaking in the site, every last bit of detailed information like a newborn foal implanting the first image they see into their mind.
Second Wind tries processing what could be going on in her head, but a vague answer breaks into his mind upon seeing Tempest subtly crouching her hind legs, "Tempest!"
She shakes her head and stomps away from the cliff, giving a roar as she begins to pace about, "It's expressionless, it's quirky, I can't even understand what it's saying! This walking weed is impossible to figure out!!!"
Wind is now more reluctant than ever to make any kind of a disturbance for Tempest. There's no doubt that any interaction he makes with her will result in something abrupt and likely unpleasant, but if he doesn't try to assist her in some way, then it'll only get worse.
Second Wind clears his throat, "Now I know you said that you'll be handling things from here on out, but I have an idea."
Tempest pauses.
"It's not the greatest idea, but it's something that'll work."
She shuts her eyes, taking a deep breath to the rising antipathy.
"If you could give me a minute to explain it, I'm sure that it'll help yo-"
Tempest bares her teeth, "STOP TRYING TO TURN ME INTO A BURDEN!"
Her deathly leer shrivels Second Wind back, but after a moment to reflect, he loosens up, "Wait... make you a burden?"
"..." Tempest averts her eyes toward the ground, "...I don't feel the same way as you do when somebody helps me. I don't gain a special sensation from others assisting me in things that could be solved by levitating or creating barriers. I don't think I'm loved for others filling in to compensate for my broken horn. ...I see myself as being a nuisance, and I feel ashamed that the problems my broken horn brings is now being carried with others as well."
"Isn't that what 'helping' is all about?"
"That's what 'attending' is all about. This horn isn't going to work right after one act of kindness. It's going to keep going and going, constantly needing to be worked around as it brings everyone down along with me again and again. I don't want to live like this, but I have to; why would anyone else say different when they're free to escape it? And even though I have to bite the bit at times to ask for help, I'd rather handle things on my own than to receive assistance, just to avoid that feeling of being a burden."
"So Shining Armor was onto something when he said that you push away the bigger problems for the little ones. This isn't so much getting your necklace back for you to perform, it's about getting your necklace back so you can keep your dignity."
"Me? Attempting to reclaim that necklace for my dignity?" Tempest shakes her head to Wind's reasoning, "...I despise that necklace. I want to turn around and never think about that thing ever again, but I need it regardless. I ravish the thought of destroying it, and yet, I've been doing the exact opposite. I've been making it better, been depending on it more, only to keep a fragment of what it feels like to be a normal unicorn. That's what I'd call, ‘an addiction’. I'm solely relying on something so measly, just to function in life as a normal unicorn, even if it's just partially."
Second Wind is now at a complete loss on how to converse with Tempest. She's miserable with the necklace, she feels incapable without the necklace, he can't even help her in any way without her belittling herself because of it. They may have similar circumstances when it comes to their disfigurement, but their viewpoints on it are drastically different.
"I won't lie that I'm focused more on the little problems than I am with the big ones, but just doing those small problems first makes me..." Tempest searches for the word, "...it ...it makes me feel... protected."
Wind really wants to help Tempest out on reclaiming her necklace, but she'll just take it as an insult if he does. Her persistence on doing this without help is making things difficult for the two of them, that can't be denied, but if he can just get by that stubborn nature of hers... he just can't see any way of reaching her.
Tempest walks past him in the direction the cactus ran for, "Please, just, let me handle this on my own, rookie."
Wind lays a hoof on his forehead, shaking his head at her choice of word with an amusing smile, "...so instead, I have to play the part of the burden, again."
Tempest Shadow stops, giving the pegasus an inquiring look.
"Do you recall how our team was decided? How the four of us left that day to stop a queen from harassing Equestria? Do you remember the part each of us provided to the team, and are still providing? You provide the experience in offensive tactics to the team, Shining's is his years with defensive strategy, Flash displays his training through the dexterity for almost any given situation. And what do I bring? I'm just the guy that carries the supplies. You three are the professional soldiers that take the spotlight and dive into the action, I'm just the luggage boy, the new guy, the tagalong, ...the rookie."
Tempest's expression changes to an unamusing one.
"If you ask me, I think I have the bigger reason to be labeled as a burden. A nobody that stands in the background, catching the glow off the main stars of the show."
"...do you think your audience has caught on to what you're insinuating?"
"Come on, Tempest." Wind tries to push his velleity through, "If not because you don't want the help, then allow it because you'll be helping me instead."
Tempest Shadow turns her gaze, rattling the thought.
"Shining Armor said, 'We have to look past ourselves and focus on others with their own problems. Attending to our personal burdens first will only hinder everyone's faith for change.' Through all your years as a commander, all the experience you've gained by it, do you think that he may be onto something?"
She looks down at her chest. Though her crystal is absent, the memory of the other day comes to mind. When they were on the boat, turning her gaze from the enormous tsunami towards her broken sword by her hooves. Tempest recalls that tension leaving her mind as she went to sheath it, the resentment she felt from the necklace tempting her, and the familiar looks on the faces around her. Their frustration, their fear, their sorrow, and the coaxing sensation she was receiving from it.
Resting her eyes for a moment, she expresses a lamenting sigh just as she did before in the comparable situation, "...you were saying something about an idea."
In the late hours of the morning, Tempest Shadow has encountered the cactus once again and she makes an effort into taking down the swift thief. She attempts to whip it with her tail, trample it with her hoof guards, but she's just no match against this quick plant.
The cactus runs around Tempest, kicking the ground to surround her inside of a dust cloud and makes another escape by hiding behind a rock formation close by.
Tempest clears out the dust with a hoof and scans from where she stands for any sign of the thief. Having no success, she gallops off in search.
The cactus peeks from its hiding spot, watching the pony galloping away, "Cra'c rihdehk sa tufh yc ev cra fana yh Endwalker!"
"She's a hoofful alright."
The cactus jumps to the reply and immediately aims its needles in a firing position towards the voice's direction. Resting his side against the wall, Second Wind's interest lies on the berries that he's eating in his prosthetic wing. There's a few left, bright red berries with green curly stems cupped in his wing.
Wind picks a few berries with the feathers from his other wing and tosses them inside his mouth, "Sorry for speaking with my mouth full, we've been chasing you all morning that we've missed out on having breakfast. Hope you don't mind."
"Fydlrehk oui tajuin panneac? Oui'na tacbelypma!" lashes the cactus.
"Hey, I'd offer some, but I'm assuming that you photosynthesis for your nutrients." Wind eats the rest of the berries, "Anyway, I wanna have a talk, about possibly striking a deal between the two of us."
The cactus swings the stolen necklace around its arm in an attempt to tighten the grip.
"That's right, I want that necklace back, and I'm willing to trade for it with the best accessory I have up my wing." Lifting his prosthetic wing over himself to cover the process from the thieving cactus' gaze, Second Wind searches through his inventory, "How would you... like to have... your personal... one-of-a-kind..." he pulls out a rosy-colored strap of cloth, tied up as a cute bow, "...ribbon?"
The cactus stares at the fabric accessory being presented. It slowly spins on its grounded foot to face Wind, "...ev E luimt uhmo asuda."
"This is no ordinary ribbon. Hailing from Equestria, this baby has been magically infused to withstand any form of status ailments that may come your way. Poison, petrification, paralysis, blindness, transformation, even the common cold can't penetrate through these defenses. Confused? You won't be, as long as you carry this ribbon on you."
"Var," the cactus expresses, "tu oui dyga sa vun y vuum? E'ja vypnelydat paddan meac eh so holdehycdo."
"I take that remark as something of a disbelief in what I claim this ribbon can do. Well..." Second Wind lifts up his left foreleg and ties the ribbon around it, "I'll prove to you that it works as I said it does. And I see the perfect thing that'll do it, right over there," Wind nods in the direction where a large patch of ochu stalks have taken residence at, "With this ribbon, not even the highly infectious ochu stalks can influence me with its paralyzing effects."
The ribbon tightly secured around his foreleg, Wind heads to the bed of ochus to prove his word. "Dra LARPing ryc kuddah dra paddan uv res," remarks the thief.
Second Wind ignores the cactus, stomping on the first stalk as he makes his way to the center of the patch. The paralyzing leaves cling to the fur around Wind's ankles and the pony feels a sudden chill as the toxin enters him through his skin. His entire body feels the paralyzing effects coursing through him, and with that, Second Wind continues to walk casually to the center.
"Hyhe?!"
Wind plucks a stalk with his right wing and waves it at the cactus, burying any doubts it had on the accessory's capabilities. Tossing the ochu aside, Wind makes it out of the bedding of plants, "My friend really needs that necklace back, so I'll ask again," Wind slides off the ribbon, holding it in his wing as an offer, "will you be willing to trade it for this?"
"...E drehg E vuiht so delgad du muca draca kioc!"
"So was that a 'yes'?"
The cactus swipes the ribbon and bolts the scene. leaving Second Wind to watch as his plan plays out.
The cactus turns the corner and flips back through the air to the shocking surprise that Tempest Shadow is blocking its path. She's been anticipating the cactus to come her way with her horn at the ready, displaying her rage through sparks of magic.
"Yr, zicd dra LARPer E fyhdat du caa," the cactus spins in place with blinding speed. It stops, facing the mare with the ribbon tied around its torso, "Mad'c ku vnumelgehk drnuikr dra cdymgc."
The cactus dashes to the patch of ochu stalks, bouncing to taunt Tempest to follow, "Lusa, tyhla fedr s-"
Frozen in place, the cactus continues to hold its pose as it stands there in silence until a gentle breeze pushes it over.
Second Wind strolls into the patch of ochu stalks, still unaffected by the plant's paralyzing toxin. He wraps his metal wing around one of the cactus' spiny limbs and starts dragging the thief over the stalks.
"F... fro?" the cactus mutters.
"I don't need to know what you're saying for me to identify your character," Second Wind informs, "and despite your display of cockiness, you're very skittish when it comes to close confrontations. I don't know why a cactus would be scared of anything when it's covered in needles, but then again, I've never seen a walking cactus before. Our physical makeup must be completely different, but when I learned about the ochu stalks and their paralyzing effect, I wondered why a skittish plant who's familiar with the area didn't use this stalk on us in the attempt to steal our belongings. You obviously have agility over us, just one brush of the stalk and we'd be helpless, unless you were vulnerable to toxins just as much as we are. ...well ...as long as we didn't skip out on our breakfast."
"...dra panneac," it groans.
"'Cheri berries,' to be exact. They're known to cure many forms of paralysis, and I took a shot at the possibility that it might be strong enough to withstand the ochu."
Second Wind pulls the cactus out of the bed of ochu stalks and leaves it in the dirt to bask in the sun. Wind retrieves Tempest's necklace from the paralyze thief.
"It'll be hours before you can move again, so you can keep the red ribbon. Having one tied around a cactus is supposed to ward off evil spirits, you know."
"...LARPers."
Wind turns to Tempest, she's already avoiding eye contact with a guilty look on her face. It's obvious to him that she's still uncomfortable about the fact that he's helping her, even if it's a roundabout tactic they're trying to commit to.
Second Wind ponders over his next words, "...this is pretty fun," he says smiling, "being the one that can make a difference at bringing solace for others."
"..."
He extends the necklace to Tempest, "I wouldn't mind being that leading pony again, no matter what that circumstance may be."
"..."
Tempest extends her hoof, leaving it to Wind to place the accessory in it as she upholds this one-sided eye contact.
"...thanks, Wind."
His smile immediately drops to a surprise look on his face.
"..." she glances at him, "...what?"
"That was the first time I've ever heard you address me by my name."
"..." Tempest turns away with an unamused look.
"Now if only I can get you to say my full name."
"Let's just hurry and catch up with Shining and Flash," Tempest flips the lace of her necklace over her head, "one can only guess what trouble Armor got the two of them into."
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You will always have to accept what has transpired, you have no control over it. But what you do have control of, is how you'll let it effect you.
I think it's affect than effect.
My Little review & Feedback Also I did this review.
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To Google
*Batman transition*
...huh... the subtlety is so faint, but you're correct on your assumption. Thank you.
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I was thinking of it for a moment and thought of it as if it was a million dollar question.
The pressure is lifted.