Chapter 1: Second Verse Same as the First
As the sun rose in the East, the many ponies of Equestria began to rouse from their slumber, and the sounds of breakfast being prepared, along with children crying out in vain for 'just five more minutes' filled the air. All over the beautiful nation, families began to rise and commit themselves to their daily rituals. All except for one.
The glistening rays of early morning sunshine pierced through the shadow of darkness that cascaded itself over the Castle of Friendship, and finally, it's residents began to stir. Twilight lazily rolled out of bed and gave a hefty yawn before rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes with a hoof and making her way over to the shower. Adjacent to her room, a small purple dragon committed himself to the same routine, making sure to waste no time before heading downstairs to make breakfast for the castle's inhabitants.
However, further down the hall, there was significantly less stirring. Instead, the curtains shielded the interior from the light, and a mulberry unicorn mare laid in her bed, unmoved. Her tired eyes stared blankly ahead at the nothingness she knew from a sleepless night, and even the sight of a few rays of white sneaking in through the folds in the curtains did nothing to move her.
The sound of running water quickly filled the castle halls, and unfortunately, the ceiling of Tempest's room was a focus point for all of the water lines in the house. As such, the sound was particularly loud and disruptive.
"Ugh... Why did I ask for this room again..." Tempest muttered under her breath.
Eventually, the sounds of morning preparation came to a halt, and Tempest's ear flicked side to side as she involuntarily scanned for any signs of trouble. She aggressively slapped a hoof over the offending ear, and held it in place.
"For Celestia's sake... I haven't had to fight anyone in over a year. Give it a rest." She chastised her own appendage.
Once she was satisfied that her ear was no longer functioning as a mini radar detector, she brought her hoof back to her side, closed her eyes, and relaxed back into a more restful position. A moment later, there was a knock at the door, and her ear angrily flipped back up at the source of the noise.
"Uggggggggggghhhhhh..." She groaned.
Tempest shot her eyes open and glared out at the dark room as if her piercing gaze alone could set fire to the world around her. When it was clear that she possessed no such power, she tiredly sighed and rolled over in bed. She dropped down to her hooves with a muffled *Clop* and made her way over to the door. Along the way, she snagged her jet black bodysuit and began dressing herself.
Once the last zipper was cinched all the way up, Tempest walked over to the door and paused. She took a deep breath, squared her withers, flexed her back, and straightened her neck to give her the most elite appearance she could before unlocking the door and pulling it open.
Twilight sheepishly smiled back at her from the other side of the door and gave a timid wave. Tempest raised an eyebrow, but kept her expression otherwise unreadable.
"H-Hey, Tempest... Are... Are you feeling any better today?" Twilight asked through multiple stutters.
"I'm fine, thank you, Princess. Was there something you needed?" Tempest coolly asked.
"Uh, no... Not really... I was just wondering if you wanted to come down for breakfast. Spike's making some fantastic omelettes and I don't think I've seen you eat anything since... well... yesterday morning."
Tempest cringed slightly, "W-While I appreciate the gesture, I think I'll pass. I have some things I need to take care of in town today that I need to get started on soon anyways." She quickly replied.
Twilight deflated completely, "Oh... A-are you sure?" She asked, almost pleading.
"I'm sure. Regardless, thank you for th-" Tempest began, only for the sound of gurgling to cut her off.
The both looked down at Tempest's barrel to find that her stomach was, indeed, the culprit. A dark blush immediately formed on her face, and she hastily looked away from Twilight to prevent any further embarrassment. Meanwhile, a look of complete surprise adorned Twilight's face, which quickly turned into one of understanding.
"Tempest... You really haven't eaten anything since yesterday, haven't you?"
A small blush quickly formed on Tempest's neck and face, and she hastily faced away from Twilight before she could notice.
"I'm fine. I'll just get something in town. Really, I'm alright. Thank you." She replied, keeping her face out of Twilight's gaze.
A frown formed on Twilight's face, "A-alright... If you're sure... If you change your mind, we'll be here all day." She replied, noticeably downtrodden.
With that, Twilight turned tail and walked away, leaving the doorway empty for Tempest to proceed. Once she was sure the coast was clear, Tempest turned back around and peaked down both lengths of the hallway.
"Stupid stomach... You would wait until then to do that..." She muttered under her breath.
Once both lengths were cleared, Tempest made her way out of her room and locked the door behind her. She headed down the hallway to her right and reached the staircase. Upon reaching the bottom, the sounds of chatter and other ponies enjoying breakfast resonated past her ears. She walked further until she was just outside the dining room and could clearly pick up on the voices and their owners.
"-est isn't coming down. Sorry girls, she's just... not in a good mood." She heard Twilight say.
"She's never in a good mood. I mean, have you like, seen her scowl? I think it's just the way her face is structured." A raspy, yet feminine voice that could only belong to Rainbow Dash replied.
"Now don't be a jerk, Rainbow. Ya know darn good an' well why she's usually in a bad mood. The poor girl hasn't had a fair shake since she got to Ponyville." Applejack replied, her southern twang on full display.
"And let's just say that I didn't exactly help her any..." Twilight dourly added.
Tempest turned away and walked towards the front door before she could hear anymore. Upon exiting the castle, she was met with bright light that forced her to squint her eyes from being cooped up in her room for the past day and a half. She scowled slightly as the return of her sight brought on an immediate headache.
Tempest quickly scanned the surrounding area to find, as usual, that it was quaint, and reticent, what with most ponies still rising from their slumber and eating breakfast. The majority of shops and businesses in town would still be closed for another hour or so. That gave Tempest plenty of time to go grab something to eat and prepare for the day, or so she thought.
Hushed whispers quickly echoed through the air as the early morning residents of Ponyville noticed her presence. A tense look here, and a fearful shake there, and Tempest already knew how this day was going to go. She tiredly sighed and began her trek through town to Sugarcube corner.
All along the trip, ponies of all walks of life stopped dead in their tracks as the mulberry unicorn in a suit of black armor walked past them with her mind on a mission. Her steely gaze made several ponies step back in fear, or match it with their own aggravated stare. With her head held high, Tempest continued onward through the worst of town, that being the most densely populated portion, and proceeded to the front door of Sugarcube corner. She knocked three times, and within a few moments, the door quickly opened to reveal a pink blur that immediately wrapped her in a hug.
Tempest blinked in surprise as she was embraced, and despite her initial reaction being to fight off whatever pillowy creature had latched onto her, she managed to only look around at the ponies watching her from all sides.
"Hi, Tempest!" Pinkie shouted in her ever cheerful tone.
"Uh... Hi, Pinkie," Tempest replied, steadily pushing the pink pony off with her hoof, "Could you... um... let go? Please?"
"Oh, right! Sorry about that. I was just hoping you'd come by and then you did and when I heard you knock I thought, 'Could that be Tempest? No, she wouldn't be up this early! But then again, she's an early riser, so she could totally be up this early! So when I came down the stairs and saw it was you-" A flood of words poured out of the party ponies mouth, only to be stopped by Tempest literally shoving a hoof into the offending orifice.
"Right... Thank you, Pinkie. No need for a recap. Could I come in?" Tempest evenly asked, despite a slight twitch of her eyebrow.
Pinkie leaned back slightly, freeing her mouth from Tempest's horseshoe, "Yes-in-deedily!" She chirped.
Pinkie spun around on her hooves and hopped inside. Tempest stared after her for a moment with a slightly dumbstruck look on her face before sighing and following her inside. The bright colors inside of Sugarcube corner did nothing to help her now pounding headache, and after another particularly drawn out sigh, she continued following Pinkie.
The pink party pony quickly led Tempest towards the guest seating area and pulled a chair out for her. She took the offered seat with a quick word of thanks, before Pinkie again disappeared in a pink blur of motion, only to reappear a few moments later with a tray of food on her back. Pancakes, muffins, croissants, and cinnamon rolls filled the tray and quickly made Tempest's stomach growl in anticipation.
Tempest furiously blushed and cast an angry glare at her mutinous stomach while Pinkie simply giggled and placed the tray down on the table.
"Go ahead. Eat as much as you like." Pinkie chirped.
Tempest took a moment to look over the presented food before giving in to her stomach's demands and grabbing a muffin with her hooves. She bit into the fluffy pastry and nearly moaned from satisfaction. Banana flavor and bits of cinnamon exploded over her taste buds and as she took a few moments just to savor the taste, her stomach growled again in desperation for sustenance.
She quickly swallowed the bite and satiated her stomach for a brief moment. Without missing a beat, she took another bite, and another. Soon the muffin was completely gone and she was greedily grabbing another, completely ignoring the beaming pink party pony watching her with glee.
After a few minutes, and four muffins in total, Tempest finally set the tray aside. She gave a happy sigh and turned to Pinkie with a grateful smile.
"Thank you. I needed that." She said.
"No problemo, Tempest. You sounded like you needed some good food." Pinkie coolly replied.
"Right. How much for the muffins?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that, Tempest. Friends don't pay for silly things like that." Pinkie explained, dismissively waving a hoof.
"A-are you sure? I mean, I have some bits. I can pay for this-" Tempest began, only to be cut off by Pinkie's hoof covering her mouth.
"Like I said, friends don't pay." Pinkie confidently asserted before removing her hoof from Tempest's mouth.
The mulberry unicorn stared back at the pink earth pony for a few moments while she tried to decide if her words were genuine. One her gaze met those baby blues, she was certain of it. There was no deception behind those eyes. No lies. Only the honest truth.
Tempest felt a slight tingle in her heart before she had to turn away from Pinkie, "Thank you. I really appreciate that."
"Anytime, Tempest! But, could I ask you a quick question?" Pinkie replied.
"Sure."
"Why'd you come over here for breakfast? I know Twilight was having all of us over this morning. I wrote it on every calendar I own! And that's a lot!" Pinkie questioned, pointing at several calenders with the current date circled.
Tempest immediately cringed and began to fidget in her seat.
"W-well... I just... I had some things I wanted to do today and I didn't really have the time..." She stammered, pointedly averting her eyes from Pinkie's.
"Uh-huh... But... why didn't you just ask Twilight to start breakfast a little earlier? You're usually up super early." Pinkie replied, tilting her head to the side.
"I just... didn't want to be a bother to Princess Twilight or Spike... Besides, I am in a rush, so I should just get going anyways." She hastily replied before hopping out of her chair and making way for the door.
"But Tempest-" Pinkie tried to say.
"I really appreciate the food and hospitality, Pinkie. Really, I do. I'm sorry to leave so quickly, but I have a lot I need to get done today. I'll talk to you some other time. Goodbye." Tempest cut her off before heading out through the front door and closing it behind her, ending any chance for a rebuttal from the pink party pony.
Pinkie deflated slightly at Tempest's departure, but just as she was about to pursue her outside, she took a look at the clock to find that it was already seven o' clock.
"Oh no! I'm gonna be late to Twilight's!" She shrieked before hastily gathering a saddlebag's worth of pastries and dashing out the door.
Pinkie dashed right through the growing crowd of morning ponies and arrived at Twilight's castle in record time. She hastily pounded on the front door until it was pulled open by a small purple dragon.
"Hey Pinkie." Spike greeted.
"Heya, Spike! Is everypony still here? I know I'm running late and I really, really didn't mean to but I was busy helping Tempest with her breakfast and I forgot to look at the time and I had to rush all the way across town but there was one pony who-" Pinkie quickly explained in one breath.
"Pinkie! It's fine. Fluttershy just got here a few minutes ago. You're good. Breakfast is just starting now." Spike interrupted, far too tired at this early hour for Pinkie's marathon explanation.
"Oh!" Okie dokey lokie!" She replied before bouncing inside.
Spike rubbed the bridge of his nose while she bounced down the hall and closed the door.
"It's gonna be a long day..." He muttered.
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lets do this
A solid start, or potentially a chapter 2 depending on how you want to count Scars.... The characters still feel solid, Tempest seems like she's going to be a very real character with real emotions and reactions, and I'm looking forward to getting into it!
Tracking this
9756018
I'm glad to finally be at this point ^_^
9756051
I hope it meets expectations. I've tried my hardest to make Tempest as realistic as I could.
Always happy to see something new from you!
9757086
Thank you ^_^
that title though, is that an emgo316 reference?
"...the Freaking Geek himself..."
'reference' is probably the wrong word for it but I've not seen that phrase anywhere else.