Chapter 1
How long had it been?
That was a question that came with many answers, but the long and short of it was about six months. Six months since she had diverted from her journey of self discovery across the land of Equestria. Six months since she had answered the call to defend Equestria from three of the most power villains the world had ever seen. Six months since she slipped back into the shadows from all the sideways glances and whispers they thought she could not hear.
Fizzlepop Berrytwist knew how the ponies of Canterlot felt about her. She did not really care about their feelings and the unease was to be expected. One does not storm the castle grounds and nearly single hooved take down the greatest and most powerful rulers of the entire land dooming them all to slavery or worse and expect the citizens to forgive and forget like a pegasus raining on a parade for prank. To the residents of Canterlot she would always be Commander Tempest Shadow and honestly, that suited her just fine. However, if her suspicions were correct on why Princess Twilight Sparkle had summoned her back to Canterlot, Tempest would need to reforge her name and the image that accompanied it.
Tempest could have hidden underneath a heavy cloak, probably should have. However, she was a proud warrior and unicorn of no small magnitude of power. She had no intention of hiding who she was and if they had the stones to confront her beyond their occasional dirty looks then so be it. Tempest strolled through the streets of Canterlot at a casual pace with her head held high and rolled parchment of invitation signed by the princess herself tucked in an easy access compartment on her armor in case any guard or official asked to state her business. She had removed the sigil of the Storm King from the hind plating months ago, but there was no way she was going to give up her enchanted battle armor, unless it was for an upgrade. Still, thankfully, no creature approached her or tried harass or strike from a distance. Those that did make eye contact simple backed away or pretended she was as interesting as the stones beneath their hooves.
The guards at the palace grounds gate did give her and the invitation extra scrutiny, which she had expected and would have been disappointed otherwise. The guards directed her to follow the path around the construction zone to the CSGU primary auditorium that was being used as Princess Twilight’s temporary throne room/meeting room.
Most of the city had escaped damage from the destruction of the palace except for the buildings closest to the grounds and campus. It was a minor miracle no lives were lost in the explosion as most of the debris rained down the side of the mountain to the valley below after the staff had fled.
Tempest could see through the scaffolding that most of the palace had been restored from the outside. The damage was by far more severe than when the Storm King had unleashed his tornado during the siege. Magic alone could not make up for the level of damage that had been wrought upon the structure.
Upon Princess Twilight Sparkle’s official decree, the castle was being rebuilt as close to the original as possible, much of it from new materials. However, she did upgrade a few things here and there or so Tempest had heard. The outside looked good, but Tempest knew they were still many months away from having the inside complete enough to live in again. Not to mention how long it would take to redo the décor once all the walls were back in place.
It was strange, Tempest thought, being on a school campus. Most of the students paid her no mind, which was fine by Tempest. Fillies and colts tended to annoy her with their prattle. She had never finished grade school let alone any higher learning. At least officially. During her years on the road, Tempest had furthered her education through book learning and trial and error out in the world at large. Eventually she came into the service of the Storm King who had promised he had the resources to repair her horn or at least could obtain them through conquest if she served. Like many of the things he promised they were all broken lies. Of course, now what is left of him lies broken in the bottom of a crate in a dangerous magic storage closet somewhere inside the Canterhorn mountain. The thought of the tyrant collecting dust in an unremarkable box, forgotten, brought a brief smile to her face.
Once through the outer gates of the school, Tempest was met by a small cream colored unicorn with neatly kept mouse brown hair, glasses, and a smart looking neckerchief. She had met the mare once before, but it was unfortunately to imprison her after they stormed the palace to secure it. The mare in question put up one heck of a fight against the troops, more than Tempest had expected until her minion, Grubber, had brought Celestia, Luna, and Cadenza inside on a wagon. That took the fight right out of her and she surrendered.
Raven Inkwell regarded Tempest evenly, not warmly, but not with scorn either. Could she be reserving judgment? Perhaps.
“Good morning, Miss Shadow,” Raven said in her refined Canterlot accent, “The princess is expecting you and you have been prescreened to meet with her during the serving of breakfast. She had also delayed the morning meeting with the council to further discuss personal business with you. I hope you appreciate that Her Majesty’s time is valuable and what such a gesture implies.”
Tempest nodded, keeping her own expression reserved and even. “I will use the time Princess Twilight has reserved quickly and efficiently so that she can return to business as usual.” Tempest paused and grimaced for a moment as she walked side by side with the older mare. “So, how have things been? You know, since the battle and with Twilight now sitting on the throne?”
“In a word, hectic.”
That single word summed up much of Tempest’s life as well, but she kept that to herself. She did not feel the need to burden others with what was on her mind. The two mares continued to walk in silence. As they approached the auditorium Tempest took note of the increased number of guards. They did not impress her before and still failed to impress her now.
“May I ask you something, Miss Shadow?”
“Just Tempest is fine and yes, you can ask.”
Raven nodded. “Tempest, do you consider Princess Twilight your friend?”
“Absolutely, without question,” she replied immediately.
“Good. She needs all the friends she can get right now. While the element bearers will always be there for Her Majesty at a moment’s notice, they have their own lives to live as well. Twilight needs friends here, in Canterlot, for her own peace of mind and possibly, for her own safety. I ask that whatever she plans to discuss or offer you, you take serious consideration of.”
“I will keep that in mind, Miss Inkwell.”
Raven smiled for just a brief moment. “You may call me Raven.”
Tempest nodded. The guards opened the door at Raven’s signal and the two mares entered.
The auditorium was still set up in classroom format with numerous empty chairs in an amphitheater format. There were several guards, each at the fire exits and up on the center stage was Princess Twilight Sparkle sitting at a long table that had food already set upon it. Once she looked up from what appeared to be a newspaper, the purple alicorn with her new crown on that was almost too big for her head smiled broadly and began to wave.
“Tempest! It’s so good to see you again!” The mulberry unicorn could not keep from smiling. There was just something infectious about how Twilight could brighten a room just by being in it. She probably learned it from Pinkie Pie.
Tempest took the seat that was offered to her, just to Twilight’s right and her stomach growled at the scent of fresh waffles, fruit, and buttered toast. Raven nodded and bowed, retreating several feet away, but not out of earshot. Tempest hesitated for a moment, looking to Twilight to see if it was okay to eat or if there was a protocol to follow.
“Oh!” Twilight said sheepishly when she realized that Tempest was waiting on her for permission. “Please, eat, I can finish this article and then we can begin.” With a soldier’s appetite and efficiency Tempest polished off the plate and a small bowl of raspberries in a matter of minutes.
Twilight let out a small giggle that was far too adorable, in Tempest’s opinion, for the ruler of an entire nation. “You know, no one was going to take the plate from you. You could have eaten slower.”
Tempest shrugged and sipped the coffee that was still plenty warm and then added a few cubes of sugar and a splash of cream. “I was told your time is precious and honestly, I have eaten this way for so many years I have more trouble slowing down. Regardless, I’m ready to hear why you asked me to come. I mean, not that I would have refused, but it was a surprise when a letter magically appeared in my face in a puff of green fire.”
“Dragon fire messaging, courtesy of Spike. Was the fastest and easiest way to contact you since you don’t have a mailbox in any town that I’m aware of. In fact, where have you been staying?”
Tempest shrugged. “Honestly, I’ve just been traveling again. I’ve been seeing what it’s like out there, seeing how other ponies live. I help where I can and sleep in inns or sometimes just under the stars. All the worldly possessions I did have were left back in the old Storm Hold, which, according to Grubber, was sacked and torn apart by deserters and scavengers after the fall of the Storm King. Doesn’t matter really, there… there was nothing really worth going back for.”
“No family photos? No keepsakes or mementos? Not even a favorite weapon?”
Tempest smirked at that last one. “No, when I ran… when I left home, I traveled light and never grew any sentimental attachment to other objects. As far as weapons, no, my four hooves and my magic have always been the only weapons I’ve ever really needed. I mean, I’ve trained with other class of weapons, but still prefer to just keep it personal.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, I guess that simplifies things.” Tempest waited for Twilight to continue, the alicorn seeming to contemplate how she wanted to proceed. “As you can see, we are still putting everything here back together. But more than just the buildings we are also rebuilding how the government is administered. While some ponies chose to stay on following the coronation, like Raven, others chose to retire as Celestia and Luna retired. Kibitz for instance.”
“Okay, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t ask me here to talk about Celestia’s old butler.”
“No,” Twilight acknowledged. She paused a moment and encased the table with the two of them in a privacy bubble, “I asked you here because Celestia’s last Captain of the Guard, Quick Strike, who had been promoted and endorsed by my brother, has also chosen to step down. Now, he did leave me a list of officers with potential who could fill the role and I could even ask Shining Armor to come visit to help with the selection, but I know without even looking that none would give me the confidence that a princess should have in their captain. I am confident they are all good guards, but I don’t know them. All I know is that I need somepony I can trust to not only lead, but that will not just tell me what I want to hear for the sake of saving face or playing politics with the nobility.
“As you can imagine many ponies loved Celestia and in Canterlot they loved how little she directly interfered in the status quo. My ascension to the throne has… disrupted that even more than the last battle or the fact that Celestia has a daughter.”
Tempest blinked twice. “Celestia has a daughter?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yes, in fact I’ve known her for a few years now and she is a close personal friend, but neither of us were aware of her true heritage until less than a year ago. A shame really, because I could really use her help now, but she… lives far away from here and I have to limit how much I can contact her for… reasons. That’s a story for another day, however.
“Back to what I was saying earlier. I don’t want to question the loyalty or integrity of the guard, but I know some of the guards are bought and paid for. Turning a blind eye to certain happenings when encouraged to do so. Shining tried to crack down on the corruption when he could, but Celestia never seemed that concerned with it. Probably because an alicorn as old and powerful as her believed that the guard was more about crowd control and looking good in ceremonial armor than an actual force. But I’m not Celestia. I know we are not ready for the next big thing.”
“You don’t want to get caught flathoofed again and be invaded and defeated in a single afternoon… again,” Tempest said with a smirk.
Twilight nodded. “This isn’t something I can ask my other friends to do. Even Rainbow Dash as a Wonderbolt doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a soldier. Not a real one. You do. And more so, you know what it will take to whip the entire guard into a force that does not just stand around looking pretty in shiny gold armor.”
Tempest relaxed ever so slightly, the subject matter shifting back to something she was comfortable with. “Alright, Twilight, you have my attention. You know I prefer things said plainly and to the point. Tell me what you need of me.”
“I’m asking you to become my new Captain of the Guard.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
1,064 users online
2,053,811 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This is going to be great. Pony versions of Sour and sugarcoat too
Yes! The Tempest Fic has arrived!
On another note
Subtle name drop.
Having Kibitz retire doesn't surprise me as he seems older than Raven, while Raven could stick around a while longer until her successor. Considering there's around a century between Incarnate and Gods and Monsters, I would imagine Twilight's had at least one assistant in between her and Isa.
Great start, nice to know what's been going on in Equestria while Sunset and co. are in college.