In the sequel to The Lieutenant, Tempest Shadow goes back to her home town along with Twilight and Celestia. But while on their incredible journey, they come across dark forces outside of Equestria.
The Armada Trilogy: Vol. II
Beautiful Eyes
In the sequel to the successful mystery and second chapter in The Armada Trilogy, Tempest Shadow soon discovers that her past is buried under dust and can only be rediscovered if she returns to her hometown outside of Equestria. Knowing the size of this mad mission of hers, Tempest joins alongside Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia and her trusty assistant Grubber and travels across Equestria and the lands beyond back to her old home.
However, behind everypony's back, Celestia starts to have thoughts that perhaps Tempest is a pony not to be forgiven and thinks of ways on how she can completely end her evil deeds... both harmless and not.
When the time comes for the sun to come down, the giant ball of fire looks as if it's going to explode into multiple rays of beautiful light and dazzling colours among the oncoming darkness from the other side of the dark-blue sky that sweeps over the huge wastelands below. At this time, the sun's temperature is not so warm and a sudden wave of cool air comes in to replace it, sending chills over any traveller's skin and cooling them down from when they were walking in the boiling hot desert. It was, however, not all too horrible to be in that part of the desert; there were pools of water surrounded by a collection of trees, covering the water from the heat of the sun. Animals would go over and relax, drink, bathe or play in the water and the cool shade that the trees provided, as well as the odd traveller who would be crossing the desert on an epic trek from one village to another.
Very little evidence of the desert, which was outside of the land of Equestria, remained of having creatures all great and small crossing from one place to another. The prints of animals and other exotic creatures would appear from its owner and then remain until the wind would blow sand over them, covering up the depth of the print. Nothing would remain in the desert, for nothing could stay alive out alone, without the protection from the pools of water and the plantation around them. Many of these would appear in a row, which at first may seem a little weird, but they would eventually make it to a tiny little village that seemed out of place in the desert, except for the pebbled path that traveled out of the town for about a mile, before disappearing in the desert for good. Bones, fossils and anything that belonged to deceased creatures would be blown away or covered by the bright yellow sand. They would all become a thing of the past; a moment in history, frozen in place and forever forgotten.
One of the villages which stood in the desert was one of the greenest in all of the wastelands that surrounded it. As soon as you walked past its borders, the yellow sand would be replaced by a strong dark green and multiple rays of colours and beautiful patterns, made of different shapes and sizes. Most of these spectacular colours would come from the flowers and strange plants that could never grow inside of Equestria and had to be treated and cared for very carefully in order not for them to die out in the boiling heat. Despite it being warm though, the shade from the trees and the cool atmosphere around the bathing pools was enough to keep the citizens cool enough to live without worry or concern. The plants and trees that grew in the village covered the houses, cottages and other pony-made buildings, so each citizen who lived there was cool and warm enough at the same time.
Today was a Saturday and all the mothers and their colts and foals were either at home or playing in the fields of the village, knowing that they had no homework until Monday when school was starting again. It was also the summer, so the holidays were also coming very soon and all the children of the village would be out of school and go off to other villages, amusement parks, holiday destinations and the very rich colts and fillies would be travelling with their families all the way to Equestria itself and visiting the different places that were part of the Equestrian Kingdom. Princess Celestia, as usually, would also be on break from all her royal duties, making her time off the throne a national holiday for the citizens of the land. Yet, those who weren't living in Equestria didn't necessarily have a ruler, apart from the growing political group better known as the Storm Armada, which was taking over tiny sections of the outside border of Equestria. However, the village wasn't under the power of the Armada, thankfully, so it remained to have its own independent rules and laws. It was an independent village, with no one ruling over it, apart from the few leaders that discussed its laws and events that were running there.
Eleanor Berrytwist was sitting in a rocking chair whilst sowing and watching the village going about their daily business. Mrs Berrytwist was like any other unicorn; reddish-pink fur, mane tied up in a bun, a white shirt with a pearl neckless and a red sun hat on top of her head. On her nose rested a pair of sunglasses, which sloped at a precise angle, so that she could still concentrate on her sowing. It was something that kept herself happy enough to block herself from the outside world around her, muting any noise or sound that past through her pointed ears, which poked out from the side of the sunhat and held the ends of the sunglasses from falling off her face and into her lap. She continued sowing, whilst occasionally watching in secret the teenage fillies and colts who would pass her house and almost shout at the top of their voices about what had happened recently that only teenagers would find fascinating. It didn't interfere with Eleanor, however, as she was in her element and there was nothing on the planet that could disturb her peace.
"Mummy! Mummy! I can't find my travelling trunk anywhere!"
Well, there could be one exception.
Eleanor turned around and saw a seven-year-old crimson filly unicorn in a white dress and a pink bow in her mane and tail. She ran out from the front door of the cottage that she, her mother and father lived in, and galloped over to Eleanor's rocking chair.
"My, my! Whatever's the matter, Fizzlepop? Can't your papa help you instead?"
Mrs Berrytwist knew her daughter very well like the back of her hoof. Whenever there was a problem, Fizzlepop would always go to her, as her excuse would always be:
"Papa is busy in the workshop. He can't help to look for it; it has to be you!"
Knowing that there was no point in arguing back against her daughter, Mrs Berrytwist got up and went over to Fizzlepop, nuzzling her before heading back into the cottage. When inside, Mrs Berrytwist took off her sunglasses and placed them using her magic to the side where she could grab them again, before following her daughter around the cottage.
"So, you can't find your trunk then, dear? Well, perhaps we can have a look around the house."
Even though she really didn't want to do this, Mrs Berrytwist simply smiled and continued looking around. Using her magic, the unicorn mare looked underneath cupboards, chairs, tables and other items that could be hiding the identity of Fizzlepop's trunk. Lifting blankets, bed sheets and mountains of clothes, Mrs Berrytwist tried her hardest to stay as positive as she could to let her daughter know that she knew what she was doing. Except, she really didn't know where the trunk could be, as she had looked in the most obvious places in the cottage, such as underneath Fizzlepop's bed or in Mr Berrytwist's garage. Despite its size, it felt as if they were searching for something small.
Eventually, though, Mrs Berrytwist spotted the trunk underneath a pile of large, dusty blankets that had clearly not been washed for quite some time and were filled with multiple holes and loose ends of thread poking out from the points of each of the blankets. Using her magic, Mrs Berrytwist bashed out the dust and dirt, before sweeping it outdoors using a dustpan and brush. Afterwards, she pulled Fizzlepop's trunk out and placed it in front of her daughter, who immediately gasped with joy and happiness.
"Thank you, mummy, thank you!" Fizzlepop cried, "You found it! What was it doing there, exactly?"
Mrs Berrytwist put a hoof to her chin and looked up in thought as she always did when Fizzlepop asked her a question that involved a lot of thinking to do. However, there could only be one reason why Fizzlepop's trunk wasn't in its correct resting place and that the only reason would have been caused by none other than her own husband. Probably moved when he was looking for one of his tools that were hidden somewhere in the cottage, or chucked in a large box or bin outside ready for the bin collectors to take it away. However, the reason overall was Mr Berrytwist himself.
"I'm sure your father put it there and just forgot to pick it up," Mrs Berrytwist explained, "he's always been doing that; collecting items that he tends to borrow from other ponies and then forgets to give them back or place them in where they should be. He's like a collector or a thief who doesn't think he's actually stealing anything from anypony. Your father is a strange stallion, Fizzlepop, but yet it was enough to make me fall in love with him."
Fizzlepop, who was quite young at that time, struggled to understand what her mother was on about. She knew it was "grown-up talk" and that fillies her age couldn't understand a word of it. It was the sort of conversation that she knew she wasn't allowed to get involved in. There were lots of things that her parents had restricted her on, such as when she needed to go to bed, when she needed to do her homework and when she needed to brush her mane. The borders that her parents had placed upon her made the curiosity of hers get the better of Fizzlepop sometimes and she would always wonder how much she would get away from her parents' backs. Despite being raised quite well, there was always time for a filly to get up to mischief sometimes and that mischief would in be more troublesome whenever it involved other colts and fillies. That would be more interesting to do rather than listen to a bunch of mares and stallions talk non-stop for hours on end, usually about chocolates, wine and bunches of flowers that they buy weekly at the village market.
Market Day. Oh boy, that was the day Fizzlepop would usually find the busiest and probably the worst time of the week. The large stalls portrayed seas of colours and patterns that would match the body colour of the stalls, usually being yellow or green with painted flowers potted around the woodwork. These flowers would also attract large butterflies, bees and other strange creatures that would often tend to scare Fizzlepop, for some reason, who really didn't like tiny insects who would fly around her face and disturb her from what she was doing. She remembered the time when she was about four or five years old and a fly went up one of her nostrils, causing her to sneeze so loudly that she made the whole market fall to silence. Fizzlepop regarded it as the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her, but yet, also perhaps the funniest. Market Day could perhaps be one of her favourite events in her village. After all, it would be the only time that year that she would meet ponies who had stepped out of the village or who weren't locals and came from lands beyond the wastelands; including Equestria. But realistically, though, that would never happen to her, now would it?
"You know when Market Day is, do you?" her mother then said, as if she could read Fizzlepop's mind. Fizzlepop suddenly came out of thought and looked up directly back to the mare who was standing right over her, but not in a menacing way. Trying to lighten the situation, Fizzlepop laughed nervously, but yet quietly, so that it didn't seem as if she was doing it on purpose.
"Of course, mummy," she replied, "of course I know when it is. It's Saturday, isn't it?"
There was a brief silence, which felt longer than it should have been for Fizzlepop. It was like sound had stopped and didn't want to move again, as if time had frozen in place and was holding onto it companion like a fishing hook buried into the flesh of a salmon trying to swim away. However, it was the silence that could be heard and felt; it sounded like there was an empty room and you could almost hear the air itself and you could feel it crawl up your back like an insect and wrap its six legs across your chest and squeeze the breath inside your lungs out of you. The silence also made Fizzlepop blind. She trotted back slightly and turned to face the open window behind her, which revealed the ginormous red-orange sun that shined rays of light and colour all over the village and into the eyes of Fizzlepop, making her blink at the brightness of the light and then replacing that light with beautiful colours of light green and purple. It was a charming pain; it wasn't like getting something solid in your eyes and you had to pick it out, but instead it was a pain that went through your eyes, into your skull and into your mind, making you feel tired, peaceful and proud to be standing in the light of the sunset of that particular evening.
"That's right, dear. You and I will be going there on Saturday to buy some flowers for the dinner table. Do you remember?"
Fizzlepop snapped out from her vision and returned to reality again, focusing her eyes back on her mother's beautiful face and look deeply into those stunning pair of eyes and saw the reflection of the sunlight reflect off of them as if it was bouncing off a mirror. It was like dreaming, but only awake and experiencing it in a way that could never be felt in a dream whilst sleeping.
"I remember," Fizzlepop eventually replied back, "I have written it in my diary somewhere."
But Fizzlepop really didn't listen to the question properly and replied in a quiet voice, which her mother struggled to hear, so she had to repeat herself back.
"I have written it in my diary, mummy."
Mrs Berrytwist brought Fizzlepop into a hug slowly just after her daughter had finished talking. It was a hug that told Fizzlepop that her mother would never give up on her, even if she had to wait for years and years for a miracle to happen.
"I'm so proud of you, Fizzlepop. Remember, dear; you are the greatest and most talented unicorn to have ever lived. You are a loyal, powerful, full of talent and most wise unicorn. You remember in your teacher's class when they said that motto?"
Fizzlepop looked back up at her mother, trying to remember what she was told for the past few days by her teacher in class.
"Unicorns forever?"
Mrs Berrytwist nodded back clearly, to let her daughter know that she had guessed correctly.
"Unicorns forever."
Gasp!
The cold air stunned Tempest Shadow's throat like a viper's bite going into her crimson skin, which made her jump up from lying on her bed. The bed sheets flew into the air, before landing back on her chest and over her back legs. The shock came to her so quickly that Tempest just remained sitting up and looking into the darkness in front of her, seeing the black and ink colour that seemed to go on for infinity and having no sign of stopping and showing any light or life. It was like being in a room full of no living creatures, but also having nothing lying dead next, behind or in front of Tempest. The toxic feeling of being alone and scared was what she could only feel in her veins and have nothing to see what could be staring back at her made the fur on Tempest's back stand on its ends. Fear was an understatement; Tempest wasn't scared of little monsters hiding underneath her bed like she used to when she was a little filly but was instead scared of the memories of her fillyhood past.
They were almost toxic to Tempest, the memories of her home and never leaving it until the day she departed for the first and very last time, not thinking to herself of when she would ever come back to see her family again. However, remembering that she hadn't been there in the last fourteen years, Tempest wondered if the village was still there or if her parents were still alive. Sure, her friends probably were, but after what happened last time, would they ever forgive her for something that happened such a long time ago? It felt as if they would never do so in a thousand years after what happened. After the Ursa attack, Tempest felt that she couldn't have any more friends, in case she got them hurt, killed or twisted in ways that are so unforgiving and tormenting. To live a normal life with a dark cloud following her every hoofsteps would be impossible for Tempest; every hoof step would cause horror and sadness to those who were around her, including none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle and Tempest's oldest current friend, Grubber. They were, probably, the very few creatures who would ever accept her hoof in friendship and would lead her into a world of colour, life and peace, instead of casting her out into the shadows again like what the Storm King did many years ago.
The servant ponies trotted down the hallway with trollies of breakfast meals and important documents towards the dining room where Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna, would be eating in a few minutes time. Trotting as fast as they could, the servants tried their hardest not to spill anything or lose an item on their trays in order to save time, for the princesses both had strict time schedules and could only eat together at certain moments of the working day. A stallion, who was clearly the head servant of the castle, was in front of the long queue of ponies behind him, and he led them down each and every hallway until they reached the set of double doors of the eating quarters, where the princesses were waiting for their breakfast. The stallion used his magic to unlock the protected mechanism, before pushing the large, golden doors with his front hooves and walking through into the presence of the two princesses. After bowing down before the mares, the stallion presented the trollies of food.
"Your Highnesses," he said, "your breakfast has arrived."
The servant ponies pushed the trollies closer to the round table and placed each dish in the correct places where each princess would be eating. In total, there were four spaces; two for Celestia and Luna, and two more for some special guests that would be arriving shortly, Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Each seat had been covered with a crimson robe embedded with golden silk that spelt out the letter, or letters, of the first name of whoever would be sitting in that seat; Celestia's seat had the letters 'Cel', Luna's with the letter 'L', Cadance's with the letters 'Ca' and Twilight's with a 'T'.
Celestia and Luna then seated themselves at the table and pulled their chairs closer, so that there was little space between their stomachs and the edge of the table. The servant ponies then placed a white napkin on top of each of the princesses laps and then the serving began.
The trays of food were brought closer to the table and one by one the plates of food were lifted into the air and then placed on the mats in front of each of the princesses. Celestia always had her favourite fruit, bananas, in her cereal and Luna happily bit into a pineapple without a fuss, not bothering to peel off the hard skin to reveal its yellow flesh inside. They ate their first course of fruit and yoghurt and when they finished, they both stopped and pushed their bowls to the side.
"Does her majesty wish to start on the second course?" the head servant asked. Princess Celestia looked back at him. Originally she was going to say yes, but remembering that her guests had still not arrived yet, she turned down the offer.
"I would prefer if we waited for them," Celestia replied, "but please, as soon as they come, prepare the course immediately. We can't allow them to wait and go hungry."
The servant bowed before Celestia before turning around and leaving along with the other servants. They exited the room and closed the doors behind them, leaving Celestia and Luna in peace. Both princesses started eating their course quietly, only making the odd sipping noise when they put their tea cups to their very lips and allowing the liquid to slip into their mouths, making their tounges react to the hot liquid. Celestia used her magic to levitate the sugar pot over to her teacup and then use a pair of tiny tongs to pick up a single cube of sugar which she dropped into the pool of tea.
"When will we meet Miss Shadow, sister? I thought that she would be visiting us today."
Celestia finished sipping her tea before answering her sister's question.
"Lieutenant Tempest Shadow will be arriving after breakfast. She will be with Princess Twilight and her assistant, Spike, so please don't feel like you have to rush your meal, little sister."
Luna smiled back, before turning her attention back to her meal. She resumed eating quietly, while Celestia then took a newspaper from one of the trays that the servants had given them and started reading it. The first thing that Celestia noticed was the biggest news at the current time that Tempest would be a part-time student at the School of Friendship back in Ponyville, next door to the Castle of Friendship. Due to the growing the success of the school, many of the living quarters were full and only a few were available. Even some of the staff had decided to move out after seeing the huge growth in the number of students coming in. This, of course, meant that Celestia didn't see Twilight as much as she used to anymore. In a way, Celestia had learnt that Twilight was now not only a full-grown mare but also a princess of Equestria who is living in her own castle and was running a school for students. Whenever Celestia ever met Twilight, she would always pretend that she was looking at her own reflection when she was just a teenager; seventeen, probably.
"So, Princess Twilight knows what she's doing, I guess?" Luna asked.
"Well, she was the first pony to befriend Tempest in a very long time, especially having been the first unicorn in recorded history to lose her horn and live to tell the tale. Looking back the previous fourteen years, Tempest's only form of education or work was working as a slave to the Storm King, later working her way up to the army when she was in her mid-teens. She was promoted to his second-in-command lieutenant after he eighteenth birthday and between that and the invasion of Canterlot, Tempest walked alongside the Storm King as he tore down civilisation after civilisation. The banners held on tall poles that would be placed in front of entrances to the cities, towns and villages presented his greed for power, land and the ponies and creatures who would be living in those towns. I have never met a creature before who wouldn't care about who got in his way and how he would dispose of them properly."
The argument, or conversation depending on how it was portrayed, ended as quickly as it started. It would have carried on, but knowing that their guests would arrive very soon, Celestia and Luna couldn't afford to be seen arguing with each other (after all, the last time they did so Starlight Glimmer managed to switch their cutie marks and create an alternative demon version of Celestia, known under the alter ego Daybreaker, who would if succeeded, destroy Luna and turn Equestria on its head). There were many jobs that had to be done for the day, starting from that point; having the remainder of breakfast with Twilight, Spike and Cadance, then later meeting with Tempest and after that, a few things in public. Everything had to run like clockwork if there was to be enough time to relax and not have to worry about royal affairs. Still, a meeting was a meeting, and Celestia couldn't afford to miss it.
"So, we wait for the arrival of Twilight and Cadance, then?"
Celestia looked back up at Luna, now thinking to herself that her little sister was being choleric1 towards her in a playful manner. However, it did seem to be boiling inside Celestia's head; really it could be the usual annoyance of a little sister which she had had to deal with for the majority of her life, especially after her arrival into the world, Celestia always had that sister-love and sister-hate like any jealous big sister would be and Luna was always the copycat and curious little sister who would always want to get involved in what Celestia would be doing. From the day they were in nappies, Celestia would forever be followed by Luna, hoofstep by hoofstep. Still, the annoyance was way past the point of simply being life, so this no longer made Celestia ill-tempered of her little sister's questions.
"That is the plan, dear sister," Celestia replied, "we just have to wait for their arrival, that's all. Cadance has stayed over in one of the hotels in Canterlot, in which she will stay in during her visit from the Crystal Empire. It must be presented at its highest, especially for royalty. I can't afford my niece to have to stay in a place that makes her feel uncomfortable or distasteful."
There was another break in between discussions, allowing both princesses to finish up what they had been munching on and to drink up what was left in their giant, golden goblets. After finishing, Celestia gave a gentle cough, informing the waiters to clear up what she and her sister had both left on their plates and to then leave them completely for the right of privacy and peace. The waiters did as their princess had told them and they cleared up their breakfasts, including their goblets and cutlery, and then left the room. Luna then removed her napkin from her lap and placed it to the side on the table, before getting up and pushing her chair back in underneath the table.
"You seemed troubled." Celestia looked up whilst still sitting in her chair.
"Troubled, you say? How do you mean when you say 'troubled', Luna?"
Luna knew that it would be one of those days when her big sister would struggle to understand what she was on about. Celestia was not a pony who could tell if she looked dreadful towards another civilian or creature and would always dismiss the idea that she "wasn't fine" when anypony asked her. Only when she looked in the mirror, Celestia might notice it but would never go to her sister or ask somepony for help or to ask what's wrong.
"I can sense fear, Celestia, and you are crawling with it. It moves in your body like a toxic chemical or a horrible disease that can never be controlled, unless it is tamed by the one it wishes to control. It destroyed my heart, remember? When I turned into a hideous monster. It's nearly happened to you, it's happened to Tempest and it's happened to Discord."
Celestia shook her head back at her sister, disagreeing with everything that had come out of her mouth. She believed to herself that Luna wasn't telling the 'whole' truth.
"I know that," Celestia replied, "but for goodness sake, I'm fine. Don't start thinking that there's something wrong with me, because there isn't, okay?"
Her voice suddenly turned crooked when she finished her sentence. After a loud cough, Celestia frowned and uprighted her posture, trying to drop what had just happened to everypony. Luna tried to gain Celestia's attention but only received a hard frown from her big sister.
"Celestia, listen to your little sister, for once will you! You haven't looked this depressed ever since mummy and daddy died. I know that there is something that's bothering you and I'll have to find out what it is, even if it means either breaking you apart or seeing inside that head of yours. I sense..."
Luna paused, trying not to say anything, but it was already too late. Celestia's face had now changed from an expression of annoyance to full rage and anger.
"What do you sense, Luna?!" Celestia snapped. She banged her hoof on the table, making Luna jump in fear. A wave of strong power swept through the room which went straight into Luna's chest, making her shudder with fear and confusion. Her lips could not stay still and they moved too quickly at first for Luna to finish her sentence. She had never seen such rage in Celestia's eyes before; they had changed from their original beautiful colour to an orange that looked like a fire blazing out of control. Celestia had thrown her hooves so hard into the table that the marble surface had cracked and pieces were shaken out, landing on the floor below. Luna tried to find the words, but it made her use all the strength that she could use to fight back against her sister.
"I sense darkness."
Celestia's eyes widened to a point where they could no longer get any wider or bigger if it were possible. How could this be possible?! She wasn't evil. Why would there be darkness in her? Was it Tempest? Did she still feel that Tempest should be punished? What was this grudge that she had inside of her?
"Why do you sense darkness within me, Luna? I have no intention of turning evil."
Luna trotted away slowly from where she was originally positioned. Celestia watched, as her sister went over to the balcony of the room that presented the beautiful sunrise of the morning that Celestia had made.
"Celestia, please don't take this the wrong way, but even as a powerful leader such as yourself, every creature has a dark side. I know this, for I have seen the dreams you dream at night. While you were asleep last night, I saw you dreaming about how you were to deal with Tempest's punishment. I saw things that I knew that you would never think of, ever, but yet you see them with Tempest. When I saw those things, I could never imagine you doing those things. Something evil has bitten you, like a snake, and now you see these things."
Celestia raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth in disgust.
"What in Equestria are you talking about, Luna?"
Luna smacked a hoof in her face. "I'm saying that you plan to kill Tempest Shadow!"
The room suddenly turned completely silent and crestfallen. The sound from outside the room that Celestia and Luna were both in had stopped making any form of sound. The ponies outside stopped talking and gossiping about things that perhaps they shouldn't really be talking about.
"Kill Tempest Shadow?! Why would I even think of such a sin that is against our law in Equestria?! This is madness! I would never kill Tempest Shadow! She may have committed hundreds of crimes against Equestria, but I wouldn't make up a plan to murder or assassinate a friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Nonsense! Those dreams that you are having, Luna, are complete lies and I will not accept them to be the truth whatsoever! Why... why would I ever think of something... like... that..."
Celestia suddenly trailed off, becoming quieter and quieter as she talked. She stopped making any sound altogether and remained silent for a very long time as if her own insults had hurt her instead of Luna. Celestia knew that these were things that she would never, or shouldn't, say at all, especially when she was a princess trying to make peace all across Equestria (this was easier said than done, as the other rulers of creatures and other important figures from other parts of the land nearly began a civil war after their students went missing from the School of Friendship).
"Are you sure about that?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow as if her big sister was being sarcastic towards her. Celestia quickly turned around, scowling back in fury.
"Of course I am sure about it!" she replied loudly, "It's silly, anyway. We'll be seeing her very soon, as well as Grubber, Twilight and Spike. All four of them have recently had a private meeting in Twilight's apartment, where Twilight sort of gave an informal interview to Tempest and Grubber. Why would she be against us anymore, Luna?"
Luna, who had been Nightmare Moon for a thousand years, knew about the sequence of reforming and how forgiving another being was the first step in storing peace across Equestria once again. In fact, there hadn't been a civil war since she refused to lower the moon on the day she chose her fate. Seeing her sister acting in the unusual way that she would normally act was just hurtful to Luna, for she was the last pony whom she had loved all her life to still be alive.
"Well, if you seem happy enough to not worry at all," Luna said back, "then, I guess you have my bidding, dear sister."
After a long silence, Luna turned away, looking out through the open window and seeing the morning rush hour in Canterlot and the many carts and taxis pulled by huge stallions, either pulling freight or passengers, galloping past other drivers of pedestrians that were walking in the street and not on the pavement where they should actually be walking on. Luna was just about to look back at Celestia to see if she was really okay but then jumped at the loud sound of the thunder from the rainstorm that was arriving at Canterlot.
"Books; check. Quills; check. Ink; check. Paper and notes; check. Punch and sandwiches; check. Raincoat for myself; check. Spike should have his. Yep, that's everything. Spike, are you ready?!"
Princess Twilight Sparkle was packing up a picnic basket which she was going to take with her to Canterlot Castle in case there was no breakfast left for them and also if in case they were still hungry for some particular reason which couldn't be thought of at first. Still, Twilight felt that it would be friendly and generous of her to do such a thing for the other princesses and Tempest Shadow. Twilight continued packing, before eventually hearing the sound of Spike walking out of the toilet in their accommodation. After checking to see if Spike had indeed washed his claws (which he usually refused to, still being a 'baby dragon'), Twilight put on a large cloak over her lavender body and pulled up the hood, with only the tip of her horn poking out and then wrapped a smaller cloak over Spike.
"I can lift the hood up by myself, thank you very much!" Spike snapped in a friendly sort of way.
Twilight laughed back. "Of course you can, Spike! Come on, we need to get there in good time to see the other princesses."
They then walked over to the door to their room and Twilight used her hoof to push the door open, then stepping back to allow Spike to walk past her and out into the corridor of the hotel. After locking the door with the key they had been given, Twilight signalled Spike to walk on and they began their brisk walk to Canterlot Castle, by stopping and using the lift of the hotel which was at the end of the corridor. Spike pressed one of his fingers on the button for the lift to open up and then waited along with Twilight. The lift quickly shot up to their level, before opening its two doors and giving off a loud "ding!" in which Twilight and Spike both walked in. After Spike pressed the "Ground" button, the doors closed and the lift began its descent down to the ground floor of the hotel.
This time, unlike what other lifts had produced in the past, there wasn't any lift music playing. Instead, their only entertainment was looking at old and crumbling advertisements that were plastered to the walls of the lift, covering the chestnut wooden planks that connected up the lift to make it look like a cuboid standing on one of its square faces. Every so often, the lift would judder and sometimes feel as if a cable had snapped, making Twilight and Spike feel that at any moment, they would be falling to the very bottom. Thankfully, this didn't happen, and they landed happily on the ground floor.
The doors opened, allowing Twilight and Spike to walk out and head over to the entrance, where they walked through a set of huge glass doors before walking out into the heavy rain that looked as if it wasn't going to be stopping for quite some time at least. When outside, Twilight and Spike lifted their hoods up preventing the rain to land on their heads. They also avoided walking near any puddles in case somepony would walk in one and make a huge splash, making the water fly in all sorts of directions and landing on perhaps a mare's beautiful dress or one of the royal guards' uniform. When on the streets, the water turned a disgusting brown colour and giving off a foul smell. Twilight choked at the smell that flowed through the streets, making her flop out her tongue and giving her a stomach ache. There was even a point where Twilight thought she would have to go to the mares' toilets and throw up what little was left inside of her body, however, she resisted the urge to do so. They walked on.
About fifteen minutes later, Twilight and Spike reached Canterlot Castle. It was heavily guarded, however, at the first sight of the Princess of Friendship walking up the path towards the entrance, the guards lowered their weapons and allowed them to walk on and through the large iron gate that separated the city of Canterlot to Canterlot Castle itself. Twilight and Spike walked past the fenced border of the castle's grounds and headed into the castle itself, which again had long rows of guards walking in queues and marching in certain ranks. Many were Corporals, Sargents and Commanders, all with their different and unique stripes on their uniforms. The colour of their uniforms was brown, with a camouflage green added to it and arranged in all sorts of different patterns. The guards all held long spears that had an arrow-shaped point at the end of them and a little flag attached at the top, which had printed on the official symbol for the Kingdom of Equestria. It was a windy day, so the flag blew in the air quite rapidly and would make a loud flapping noise like a kite that was flying from a string in the sky.
Twilight and Spike eventually made it into the castle building and dumped all their luggage on the marble floor inside, which made a loud thump when the large suitcases and bags collapsed onto the ground. This, of course, alerted those who were inside the castle that a guest had arrived and needed to be welcomed from where they were standing from. After a short wait, a grey pegasus appeared from one of the many doors that were stationary in the room Twilight and Spike were standing in, and wobbled over towards them.
The pegasus mare had a medium-length blonde mane which didn't cover most of her head and had a pair of yellow eyes that crossed in opposite directions, with one looking up and the other looking down. She wore no make-up, but a light yellow royal dress and had a gentle smile, not one that made her almost emotionless but also didn't make her look too happy. Every hoofstep she took, the pegasus would wobble or limp, however, she made no sound to let others know that she was in pain. It was as if she had been doing it for quite some time; perhaps most of her life by this point. The pegasus then trotted slowly over to Twilight and Spike and bowed, but then fell over onto her face. Twilight and Spike then looked at each other, before picking up the grey mare.
"Oooo, I feel dizzy!" the pegasus said. Her voice was sweet, but not smooth. "Thanks very much for helping me up, you two- hey, wait a minute; aren't you Princess Twilight Sparkle?!"
Twilight laughed nervously, before placing a shoulder on the Pegasus. "Yes, I am indeed Princess Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant, Spike. We have been invited to meet with her royal highness Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, along with two other guests whom I can't mention in public."
Spike handed over the invitation to the grey pegasus, who read the papers and then nodded her head back to let her guests know of her decision.
"Everything seems to be in order," the pegasus replied, "I will take you to the princesses. Please, allow me to take your luggage for you. It must have been busy in Canterlot today."
"Thanks," Twilight replied, "where would Princess Celestia be, exactly?" The grey mare had just turned to head up the stairs to the floor where Celestia was having breakfast but turned back to look at Twilight again.
"Her royal highness Princess Celestia is in her private quarters having breakfast, along with her little sister. I have received news that Princess Cadance will be arriving soon, along with her family from the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia has heard this news already, so everything is expected and ready for your arrival, your highness."
Twilight nodded back at the grey pony, before starting to follow her up the large steps to where Celestia and Luna were. Whilst walking up along with Spike by her side, Twilight then thought of something.
"Is Cadance coming with Shining Armour and Flurry Heart?" The Pegasus shook her head back.
"I'm afraid not, no. Apparently, Princess Cadance couldn't find some other pony beside her husband to look after the Crystal Empire while she'd be gone in Canterlot. I'm not surprised, though. No other pony offered to take up the responsibility to do so. It's one of those things, unfortunately, but at least she can come to see you and her aunt."
"Indeed," Twilight responded, not sure how to reply back.
They kept walking on through the huge complex, continuing to follow the grey pegasus to where Celestia was currently at, already beginning to feel quite tired from walking around constantly and not having a chance to sit down. This was a problem especially for Spike, who had smaller legs compared to Twilight's and the grey pony's. Still, they trod on through corridor after corridor inside the castle as they made their way to Celestia's room.
After ten minutes of walking around, Twilight, Spike and the grey pony eventually made it to the front door of Princess Celestia's room and stopped just outside. The mare then walked up and knocked on the door using her left hoof, which came to the response from, surprisingly, Princess Luna.
"Who is it?!" the princess asked from the other side of the door.
"It is Princess Twilight and her assistant, Spike!" the pegasus replied back, "They have an invitation."
A moment's silence followed, as well as the odd murmur from what sounded like the voices of Celestia and Cadance, who sounded like she had just arrived, and it appeared to what sounded like either an energetic conversation or an argument. There was later the sound of glass smashing on either the floor or against a hard surface such as the wall of the room. The argument continued but was then halted when Luna then yelled back at them.
"Will you two stop for a moment?! Twilight and Spike are here."
The arguing stopped and was replaced by silence. The door suddenly opened to reveal Princess Luna looking as if she hadn't slept in a very long time. There were bags under her eyes and her mane looked as if it hadn't been combed or groomed. Instead, it was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, leaving a large puff sticking out. There were ends sticking out and looking as if it needed to be trimmed. She was also wearing what looked to be a dress mixed alongside a sleeping gown.
"I apologise for the state that I'm in," Luna began, "this craze has been going on for quite some time. Breakfast was finished, unfortunately, but we can still have tea and scones if you want. Queen Novo has sent some of the finest tea from Seaquestria for us to try and I dare say that this is something of fine taste. You should try some."
Luna clapped her hooves together and a waiter came in with a tray in his mouth that held a spare cup and saucer. Luna lifted the cup with her magic and poured the tea in, before handing it over to Twilight. After a brief sniff, Twilight put the tea to her lips and sipped slowly, taking in the many flavours. It had a taste of a mixture of seaweed and salt, but for some reason, it didn't taste as weird as it sounded.
"Em, thanks?" Twilight replied, "It's great, I guess?"
Luna gave a quiet chuckle but stopped when she saw her big sister looking down from her left shoulder. Both glared back at each other like wolves preparing to fight each other over some occupied land or a carcass that one of them had found. The sibling rivalry was clearing beginning to come out and had never ceased to exist. Twilight, however, ignored Celestia and Luna's bickering and started discussing what they were really meant to be talking about, instead of drinking tea from Seaquestria of arguing over common ground.
"So, when will Tempest Shadow arrive, then?"
Everypony looked back at Twilight as if she had said something completely irrelevant to what they were meant to be talking about.
"I thought Tempest would be with you, Twilight?" Cadance asked. Twilight shook her head back in disagreement.
"No," she replied, "why? I thought she would be arriving later?"
Another silence followed but was broken by Celestia.
"It doesn't matter, Twilight. We can still wait for Tempest to arrive before we continue."
Spike then sat with Twilight on the same coach, while the princesses each sat on a large chair, continuing to chat happily without worrying about their previous argument. They were all distracted by each other's stories of what happened in the last week and then it came to talking about the further reconstruction of Canterlot since its attack from the Storm Armada. Celestia pulled out a blueprint of one of the main buildings that were severely damaged during the invasion, including a list of materials that were needed to help reconstruct it back to its original form. Cadance then pulled out some Maths equipment, including a compass, a ruler, a pencil and a protractor, and then started drawing lines and measurements onto the blueprint, writing numbers and equations over some of the drawn images.
"I'm afraid that this project isn't going to be cheap," Cadance warned. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"How much, exactly?" she asked. Cadance gulped, before replying back.
"A rough estimate would be around fifty million bits."
Everypony gasped, but then settled down and returned from their tangent from the conversation.
"That is quite a lot of money, I dare say," Luna said, "but I'm sure we can find a way of finding that money. Trouble is that we don't really want to be borrowing any from another nation or civilisation, for example, the Changeling Empire or Griffinstone. We cannot afford another argument between our nations, or worse, a civil war."
Celestia then waved both hooves at everypony to gain their attention, which eventually succeeded.
"Okay, everypony, let's not get ourselves bogged down by this. I think it's best if we put this to the side for now and wait for Lieutenant Tempest Shadow and Grubber to come along."
Cadance then frowned and put the equipment and blueprints back into her bag. "But auntie, I wanted to show everypony-"
"Everypony, including Tempest, my dear niece," Celestia interrupted, "I'm sure that we can wait a little longer?"
Cadance then scrunched up her face for the first time since she was a filly. Celestia always knew that Cadance still had that childish flare inside of her, even as a grown mare. Since taking her in, Celestia had become a loyal mother to Cadance by treating her as if she was her own foal and teaching her the most high class of table manners and on how any princess in the Kingdom of Equestria should act. From highchair to the royal throne, Celestia made Cadance her own daughter, even if she wasn't her biological one.
"Of course, auntie."
The wait continued, mostly in silence, with only the ticking of the clock to entertain them.
"Please, madam, could you hold still for just a moment?! I can't adjust the size of your dress if you keep moving around. You have nothing to worry about, for Celestia's sake!"
A maid was busy inside Tempest Shadow's room trying to get her ready for her visit to Princess Celestia's private quarters for a, now rather late, breakfast, along with some other important guests. This would have been easier, however, if Tempest hadn't woken up so late after suffering from yet another nightmare and having to suffer from a thin body from years of being a hentchpony to the wicked Storm King for the past fourteen years of her life, she struggled to find any clothes to wear that would fit her size. It came to the decision that Tempest would have to wear what looked like, strangely and perhaps awkwardly, a onesie that she could at last fit her. It was, in fact, a very small dress that tightly wrapped itself around the body of the mare wearing it and was connected by a line of three pink buttons just underneath Tempest's neck. It was a pale colour, with a faded pattern of silver ivy that stretched around her legs and looked like a third set of veins travelling around her body.
Since the day before she invaded Canterlot, Tempest hadn't cut or snipped away her mane or tail, allowing it to grow into very long lengths. Her mane was now touching her shoulders and was hanging down the left side of her face, exposing the scar over right eye (which she got from the attack from the Ursa back in her home village) and hanging as low as her knees. At the back of her head, the remainder of Tempest's mane was tied up in a ponytail and was left to hang backwards towards her rump. Her face had also been washed up and cleaned through, with recent battle scars now looking as pale as her large one over her eye. Tempest had also had an operation on her neck and in front of her body, where surgeons had stitched up large cuts that went from the tip of her chest all the way up to her chin. She almost looked like a zombie out of a Gothic fictional novel, apart from that now her eyes had more colour in them, especially the one that had been damaged from the claw of the Ursa.
Tempest had been invited two weeks earlier before the event, after staying quiet for a few months inside her flat in Canterlot away from any ponies who were willing to ask her many questions for the newspapers that were published all across Equestria. She was still seen as not a very popular pony in Canterlot, with lots of the residents giving her a deadly stare back whenever they saw her walking around the city with either Princess Twilight Sparkle or Princess Celestia, usually for a shopping trip or showing her the attractions around Canterlot (after all, Tempest wasn't born in Equestria, so it was like visiting another country to her). Her privacy wasn't as good as perhaps Twilight's privacy was, or even anypony else's as a matter of fact.
"The dress is too tight!" Tempest complained, "You're hurting me!"
The maid suddenly jumped back in shock at Tempest's aggressive behaviour towards her. She suddenly let go of the thread that she was levitating in the air, using her magic, and the dress slumped comfortably towards the floor and rested on Tempest's shoulders. Feeling sorry for herself, the maid quickly grabbed hold of the two pieces of threads and continued tightening them.
"Sorry, miss. It's just that this was the only dress that I could find that was your size," the maid apologised, "you're very thin for your age. Whatever did that Storm King do to you, I wonder! You need to gain some weight, miss."
Tempest took that comment as an offence instead of friendly advice.
"I was a strong and faithful warrior to the almighty Storm King! I have been trained to have a thin body, but to also be strong enough to fight! Why would I exactly go on a diet? My weight is perfectly fine, thank you very much! All the hentchponies were stallions and teenage colts; I was the only mare training alongside the Storm King. Ow!"
The maid quickly tugged again at the threads on Tempest's dress, making her yelp in slight pain and frustration. Eventually, though, the maid finished on Tempest's dress and stood back to see her from a distance.
"You look fabulous! And you smell much better than when you arrived in Canterlot! Ugh! I remember how all of you smelt; petrol, gas, leftover food, rotting flesh-"
"Yes, thank you!" Tempest interrupted, "I don't need a reminder on how I stank!"
The maid held her tongue back from talking any more about the subject. She then trotted slowly back to Tempest and made her turn to face a large rectangular mirror, in which Tempest saw her own reflection and was surprised on how she looked much prettier than she did months ago when she invaded Canterlot along with the Armada. The sleep under her sunken eyes and the horrid scars across her eye, lips and partially her whole face, had turned a pale white and looked swollen and infected. Tempest had felt that she couldn't stand looking at herself any longer and quickly turned away from the mirror and looked back down at her pale dress.
"There!" the maid said, "All done. Now, you said that you were meeting with Princess Celestia and the other princesses?"
Tempest frowned in the mirror and groaned like a spoilt teenager.
"Yes, I was. Can you get Grubber, please? I've just realised that we've missed breakfast."
The door to her majesty's royal quarters rattled against the fist of Spike the Dragon1 as he banged on the hard gold that the door was decorated with and then stopped, waiting for a response from the other side where Princess Celestia and her relatives were. Spike expected when he and Twilight arrived that there would be a delay before somepony would come and serve them, as Princess Cadance was really the central guest for the day. But thankfully, their wait wasn't too long, as the door eventually opened to reveal a white stallion in golden armour. He bowed before Twilight and then stood to the side, opening the door wider for her to come in.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," the stallion said, "and Spike the Dragon; please come in. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are both expecting you. They also have Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire inside."
Twilight and Spike slowly walked past the guard and into the royal quarters of Princess Celestia. More servants went over to them and cleaned off the dirt and dried up their wet overalls, throwing off the loose water and letting it run into the drains that were embedded into the marble floor.
"Thanks," Twilight began, "but really, we're-"
She, unfortunately, didn't have a chance to finish though, as the servants took off Twilight and Spike's cloaks and took them into a steam room. They then wrapped them up in white fluffy dressing gowns, before making them sit down in a chair; one for each of them. Then, a young mare tied up Twilight's mane into two pigtails and then placed two small pink bows into the knot, and another mare brushed Spike's scales until they shone brightly in the light of the room. Before they finished, the mares used a pair of scissors each to trim at Twilight's mane and Spike's hairy chin (after all, he was growing up). After a quick look in the mirror, both Twilight and Spike turned a shade of crimson.
"Oh, my... you really didn't need to do that," Twilight said, "but thanks anyway."
The maids giggled quietly, covering their mouths with their hooves trying not to show their cheeky smiles. Spike also laughed nervously, but then stopped when Twilight gave him what could perhaps be described as the "stare of doom", which made Spike gulp in embarrassment. Thinking that she had perhaps put too much fear into her loving companion and friend, Twilight removed her expression and replaced it with a frown. The maids saw how disappointed their "customers" were and suddenly turned apologetic.
"Sorry, princess," one said, "it was Celestia's idea, not ours."
Twilight rolled her beautiful, lavender eyes before getting out of her chair and picking up Spike with her magic and placing him next to her, before setting off to where the princesses were, knowing that the maids would be trying to stop her from running off while blowing perfume and other bizarre beauty products. Eventually, though, the ponies gave up chasing after her and allowed Twilight and Spike to run off to Celestia's living quarters, trying to dodge past more servent ponies, who turned out to be pegasi, offering tiny samples of food placed on silver trays that they were balancing on their wings. Twilight soon found herself running through the huge maze of corridors that she was faced with and started panting for air. But thankfully, they didn't need to run for too long, as Twilight and Spike arrived at the doors to the room where Celestia, Luna and Cadance were in. Twilight suddenly stopped without warning, making Spike fly off her back and slam into the pair of doors in front of them.
"Ow!"
Spike collapsed to the floor face-first, before getting up again and looking up at the giant, golden doors that were closed in front of him and Twilight. After coming to his senses, Spike knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Twilight, on the other hoof, was a little embarrassed about throwing her companion into a door and was about to apologise before Spike turned around and gave a cheeky laugh.
"It's okay, Twilight. I'm not hurt!"
Twilight smiled, but then straightened her face when the door opened to reveal Princess Cadance, which was unexpected as usually there would be a guard or servant who would answer the door to any guest. Still, it was nice to see her old foal sitter once more.
"Twilight! There you are! Oh, and Spike of course! I'm so glad you two could make it! Please, come in and rest. You both look pretty tired."
Twilight nodded quickly.
"I've been so busy with important legal documents on how Mount Aris and Seaquestria are wanting to join the Kingdom of Equestria back at my apartment. Princess Celestia, I'm sure, is pretty exhausted with all of this, and I've heard that she particularly doesn't want Kludgetown to join the kingdom at the moment. All this political madness has drained all of our energy and patience, to pretty much a point where we can't continue doing this any longer. I just hope that Tempest Shadow has some ideas on her mind."
Cadance made a dissatisfied expression after hearing Twilight's comment. It was clear that each and every ruler in and out of Equestria were all up to their necks with work on how to fix their worlds after the invasion of the Storm Armada, thanks to the insane plan of the Storm King and his Storm Creatures. But before she could make a threatening statement towards the Armada, Cadance remembered that two of those who worked for the Storm King were both now living in Canterlot, very close to where her aunt and Luna were staying.
"I'm so sorry to hear that you have so much on your hooves at the moment," Cadance said, thoughtfully, "I am sure that after we have found a way that we can fix everything that has been destroyed by the invasion, then we can help tie up wounds that we are all suffering at the moment and move on to a bright future in and out of Equestria. I wish that someday we will all live in peace and there will be no hate or discord, not referring to our friend here, within our lands."
They kept walking on until they reached where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were. Princess Cadance opened the doors to the room and bowed before her relatives.
"Auntie, Luna, Princess Twilight and Spike the Brave and Glorious have both arrived."
Twilight and Spike appeared from behind Cadance before walking over to Celestia and Luna. Both Celestia and Luna placed a smile on their faces, trying hard to hide away their disgusted expressions towards each other, however as the Princess of Friendship, Twilight knew very well that they were arguing again. Celestia went over to Twilight and gave her a hug.
"It's good to see you again, Twilight. And it's also nice to see you as well, Spike."
Celestia then pulled away from Twilight and trotted backwards a few feet, before stopping.
"It's good to see you too, princess," Twilight replied, "but I don't get this... er... fashion that you've put me into. Putting my mane into two pigtails and adding bowes as well? Rather strange if you ask me."
Both Celestia, Luna and Cadance giggled.
"Sorry about that, Twilight," Luna said, joining the conversation, "it's just something that we wanted to try. We have thought of having mares and fillies put their manes into pigtails and having all stallions, colts and other male species shaved so that at least every guest looks formal enough to attend these sort-of meetings, let's say."
Twilight raised her left eyebrow.
"Right. Say, when are Tempest and Grubber arriving?"
"Soon," Luna replied, "however, I heard that the traffic is terrible in Canterlot at the moment. It's become worse ever since peace had been restored in Equestria. Again, many of the nations have been demanding a change in their position in the country and wanting to extend the kingdom further and further. We are expecting a referendum soon for the civilians so that we know which lands to include and leave outside of Equestria. Things were simpler when mummy and father were ruling the kingdom, but ever since they passed away, peace has always been a fantasy in and out of Equestria. Both Celestia and I are now old, while you, Twilight are young and wise."
Both Twilight and Spike placed a nervous look on their faces, suddenly feeling worried about what would be happening for the remainder of the day. But before they could protest against Luna, there was another knock on the door. Another guard went over to answer who was knocking and opened, to reveal Tempest Shadow and Grubber standing in the doorway. There was a moment's pause when Twilight and Tempest saw that they both had the same style of mane and accessories that came along with it. Tempest was speechless, but Twilight was able to talk first.
"I see that there's a fashion trend happening here?"
Celestia nodded behind her back.
"Yes, Twilight. I thought it would be nice to see the both of you done up this way. It reminds me of when both Luna and I were young and our deceased mother used to dress us up in these designs of dresses and make up our manes the way that you have yours now. I'm sure you girls won't mind."
Twilight particularly didn't mind, but she could tell by looking at Tempest's facial expressions that she wasn't too pleased about it all. After Twilight gave her a reassuring wink, Tempest grinned back and tried to play along Celestia's vision for the pair of them. Tempest just hoped, though, that that would be the last embarrassing thing that Celestia would do to them.
"So, er, why have you asked me to come here, exactly?" Tempest asked Celestia.
"Come and sit with us, and I will explain why Tempest."
Tempest didn't argue back at Celestia. She trotted over to a large sofa and laid down, stretching her back legs out into the air, leaving room for Grubber to sit at the end. Tempest then turned her head to look at everypony in the room and waited for one of them to start.
"As you know, I have asked all four of you to come and see both myself, Luna and Cadance for an important meeting. I wanted just for a moment to discuss how we are going to nationalise Equestria and which lands should be included in our country. I have heard rumours that Seaquestria wants to be included in the kingdom, under the word of her majesty Queen Novo and her daughter Princess Skystar. However, that is not the only land that wants to be part of the Equestrian Kingdom, as I found out last night."
Twilight and Tempest both looked at each other with confusion.
"And what land wants to be part of the Equestrian Kingdom, your highness?" Tempest asked.
Luna suddenly gulped, catching everyone's attention, before answering the question.
"Well... er... shockingly enough, Tempest... it's your birthplace."
Tempest's jaw opened like a trapdoor that had come off its hinges, but did so in silence, for she was too shocked to find any words that would make sense or relate to what Luna had just said, to come out of her red lips. The topic had suddenly become something that was beyond toxic to Tempest, as she would never think that the princesses of Equestria would be interested with the land that was outside of the country's border lines. However, remembering that after the defeat of the Armada, the lands that were occupied by the Storm King had become independent and were rumouring that they wanted to join the Kingdom of Equestria at some point, then again that wasn't important at that particular time. This was about her birthplace... the one place that for many years she wished that she never went back to, but at that particular time, there was something in her mind that made her think of perhaps seeing what was left of the village that she was raised in before she was taken in as a slave to the Storm King.
"My... my home?" Tempest repeated back, "but, why?! It's just a tiny village in the middle of nowhere! Why do they want to join the Kingdom of Equestria? There's nothing there; we don't do anything for anypony."
Luna looked at Celestia almost anxiously after Tempest's reply, pulling a concerned expression on her face. They were finding out for themselves that this was going to be quite a difficult meeting for them with Tempest. The only hope, or "Plan B" in another point of view, was Twilight herself. Then again, was Twilight any part of this? If then, Tempest knew that she was completely outnumbered in the argument. However, despite the friction that was waving through the room, Princess Celestia simply continued talking on.
"Your village does have history, Tempest, but only a small amount of it," Celestia explained, "you see, a few years after you left, the village wanted to send a message across to the Kingdom of Equestria that they wanted our laws to protect the injured and... well, cursed. This means that any citizen is entitled to be protected from any form of discrimination or harm from another creature... or an invasion from another nation."
There was a short pause, but Tempest quickly responded.
"Right... I see. Strange; I thought everypony would have left there by now. I thought it had become a ghost town years and years ago. There shouldn't be anything left. I thought its civilisation either simply died out or moved on."
Luna shook her head back.
"No, Tempest. Luna can see that there is still life. Luna has seen in a vision that Tempest's village remains alive and well. Its residents still live there and have made more citizens over the last fourteen years. Both your parents are also still alive and are both well."
Tempest's eyes grew wide, stretching out as far as they could. Her right eye, though, began to hurt from stretching, as its scar was being pulled in both directions. Tempest quickly placed a hoof over her eye, trying to stop and ignore the pain, but the stinging continued and caused Tempest to groan. Twilight quickly grabbed some pieces of ice from her glass of water and wrapped the pieces into a thin cloth that was sitting on the table and placed it over Tempest's eyes, before finding a long strip of material and tied the ice pack over her scar. Tempest hissed like a sinister snake at the pain when the ice and the scar connected with each other, but bit her tongue in order not to swear, especially in the presence of the princesses of Equestria.
"Well, that's nice to know, your highness," Tempest replied back, in a sarcastic manner, "but I'm sure that my parents won't want to see me anymore, and if I'm going to be bluntly honest, I don't want to go back to my birthplace, because I know that no pony would want to see me. And if they do, I feel that there's a very high chance that I'll be stoned to death by the residents for my crimes committed when I was working for the Armada for the previous fourteen years. But then, would they have heard of the Armada? The Storm King never went that far, thankfully, so the name of the Armada may never be known in that area outside of Equestria."
Twilight blushed at Tempest's rudeness to Luna, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room. However, Spike, who was happily eating away at the food on the tiny table that they were all sitting around, stopped and frowned at Tempest with disappointment.
"How dare you talk to the Princess of the Night with such ruddiness! You are a mere mortal, and you dare talk to a goddess like me?!"
Tempest and Luna looked at each other's pair of eyes and glared back. Twilight gulped and sunk down in her chair trying not to get involved. However, the tension soon lifted, when Celestia cleared her throat and gained everypony's attention, making Tempest and Luna lose eye-contact with each other.
"Princesses and companions, please. Can we all just calm down for a moment? I understand that we are in a stressful situation. There is no need for throwing threats at each other and blaming ourselves for things that have happened in the past. We can't move on from events that have happened if we can't hold a peaceful discussion with each other! I know that Equestria is still is despair from the invasion of the Storm Armada and the Storm King, but we can't just sit on our flanks and blame each other for things that we barely have done. As the ruler of Equestria, I have come to the decision that Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike the Brave and Glorious, Lieutenant Tempest Shadow and Grubber will come along with me to Tempest's old village and make something work for her village and the Equestrian Kingdom. We will meet up with the current leader of the village or land that it occupies and we will make an agreement of some form. I don't know why this has to be so hard for you all to understand what I'm trying to say!"
Celestia was thankful that her outburst had finally brought silence and peace to everyone who was sitting around the table, however, it was perhaps a silence that was not as pleasant as it could have been. Nevertheless, Celestia was thankful that the arguing had, at least, come to a halt while she was trying to discuss on what she was intending.
"Now, my decision that those who I have named who will come along with me on this journey is final. Luna and Cadance will stay here and look after the kingdom while I'm gone. I understand that usually, Twilight would bring her other friends along with her on trips like these, but I feel that their presence is irrelevant for this particular journey. We will leave tomorrow morning at daybreak so that when we're wondering out in the desert, it will be cool enough to walk through. So then, on the second day, we can walk the last few miles to Tempest's home before the heat is at its worst at midday."
Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof in thought, thinking of all the possible calculations that could be made whilst attempting this journey to Tempest's birthplace. She also wondered why on earth Tempest's village wanted to be part of the Equestrian Kingdom. Wouldn't that mean they would have to follow under the rules, laws and reconciliations of Princess Celestia instead of their own? Then again, Equestria was one of the few places in the world that weren't completely consumed by war or destruction. Who was even in charge of this village? If its citizens wanted to be part of the Kingdom, then the village would have easily expanded and become well known over the last fourteen years. But surely there was something on a much larger scale than just the thought to be part of a kingdom?
"The weather in the desert won't be pleasant, princess," Twilight said, trying not to be rude, "it's sandstorm season and there could be bounty hunters out there."
Celestia raised an eyebrow, before getting up from her seat and standing up to her full height. She towered over Twilight, Luna, Cadance, Tempest, Spike and Grubber like a bear on its hind legs and glared back at her formal student.
"We have to go back, Twilight. If I am to sort out this business with Tempest's birthplace, then we must travel, regardless of its obstacles. My decision is final."
The sky black colour had been replaced by a beautiful royal blue, making it look like a river of stars and a gathering of faded grey clouds moving slowly around in the air. Its brightness mixed with the lights of Canterlot City and the shadows of the towering buildings covered empty spaces of the greens, the gardens and the hundreds of pavements that traveled through the city like the scribbles of a filly's drawing all mixed and joining up to another every hundred meters or so. There were only a few ponies walking around during the early hours of the morning; mostly guards, however there were a few ponies setting up their stalls for the local market that was neatly placed in one of the larger streets of Canterlot. It was almost silent, apart from the odd note from a bird's song in some of the apple trees that were growing near the city and the wheels of the market stalls turning round and round as they traveled along the cobblestone roads.
In the magnificence of the light, Princess Celestia walked out of the castle's doors and looked down over her city and subjects who were already awake and were starting their business in the streets. She breathed in the fresh air through her nostrils and stood as still as a stone statue, not moving a muscle through her elegant body. Unlike her usual appearance, Celestia wasn't wearing her usual royal clothing or jewelry around her hooves, legs and neck. Instead, she wore a blue cloak, with a hood at the top, allowing Celestia to cover her head and even her face if she wanted to. She wore a breathable white dress underneath and tied up her enchanted mane into a bun, which hid under her hood and wasn't visible from ponies who would walk past her.
Tempest didn't dare allow anypony to notice that it was her. She had recently gone with Rarity to go shopping and find some new clothes to wear, including the black cloak that she was wearing then, decorated with red thread that was shaped into a design of a spider's web that traced all the way over the dress. The dress had also been adapted to Tempest's body shape and size, so no ends were hanging from her legs or neck nor was it too tight for her to wear or move around. She didn't wear much besides that, for Tempest knew that the desert would be hot and deadly, especially without the right equipment that was required for this journey. She was surprised that Celestia even wanted to head out this far outside of Equestria. The only ruler that Tempest could think of who was outside of Equestria was Queen Novo herself, but other than that, her knowledge was very limited on the subject.
Celestia waited in the glow of the sunrise for Twilight and her other companions. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait any longer, when she spotted Twilight, Tempest, Spike and Grubber walk out of the castle and head over to her at a steady and tired pace. All of them looked as if they really didn't want to go out on an epic adventure at that time of the morning. Twilight rubbed her eyes and stood alongside Celestia, as they both watched the sunrise together.
"I'm surprised that you have the energy to raise the sun and then be able to do something like this so early in the morning, princess," Twilight said to Celestia, "how do you do it, exactly?"
Celestia looked down at Twilight and gave her a smile, which Twilight knew very well. It was the smile that told her "I think you know" or "there's no need to tell you that".
"With great skill?" Twilight teased.
"Perhaps."
The two giggled, and then stopped. There was a silence that lasted for a short period of time, but was halted by Tempest who randomly appeared between the two alicorns, along with Grubber and Spike, all looking like they were ready to embark on this epic adventure to Tempest's old home. Twilight looked at Tempest and then Celestia, before looking out to the long path that laid ahead of them. She suddenly felt Tempest walk quietly up to stand alongside her, still looking straight ahead. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but struggled to find the words, and tried to tie a sentence together so that she didn't spill out any gibberish from her mouth.
"Are you sure about this, Tempest?" Twilight asked Tempest, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. You can always tell Celestia that you don't want to do this. We can always go back to the castle and have a cup of tea and a chat, if you want."
Tempest let out a sigh, and saw the carbon dioxide that poured out of her mouth in the fresh coolness of the morning. She looked back into Twilight's eyes, perhaps in a way that made Twilight a little too uncomfortable, looking deep into the circles of violet colours and patterns. From Twilight's view, she could only see one dark, crimson eye on Tempest's left side of her face and the faded grey colour of her right, with the scar crossing over from the top to the bottom, touching her top lip. Tempest calmly placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, almost touching her chin, awkwardly and smiled back silently.
"I am... princess," Tempest whispered back, "I was sure before I woke up this morning and came out into the daybreak."
Twilight smiled back and then stepped away from Tempest's hoof and looked back towards the horizon, in the direction of where they were meant to be heading out to. Celestia, Spike and Grubber all did the same and they all stood on the hill that looked over the landscape that they were about to cross over. All of them, even Celestia, didn't really want to take the first hoofstep on this mission of theirs. However, knowing that they had prepared all of this and knowing that giving up now wasn't an option, Celestia was the first to begin the journey.
"Let's go."
Celestia started walking towards the large area of trees slowly and steadily, signalling the beginning of the journey. Twilight and the others started to follow her down the hill and onto the path that they were meant to travel on. They all tried to be as quiet as possible, so that they didn't wake up anypony else who were sleeping in still. The only sound that they could hear were the singing of birds that flew over their heads and sat in the trees that lay in front of them. Many of these trees were apple trees, many of which were planted by Applejack and her family over the many years. She wondered if any of them were planted by Applejack's parents like the one they planted at their secret wedding*, or any of the members of the Apple family. Nevertheless, the walk through the forest continued.
Twilight pulled out a map from her saddle bag and opened it out to its full size. The map had recently been extended in order to add the extra places that Twilight and her friends visited on their epic adventure to find the residence of the ruler of the Hippogriffs, Queen Novo, and her daughter, Princess Skystar. Spotting Mount Aris and the Kingdom of Seaquestria on the map, Twilight placed a hoof at the spot and then coughed to get everypony's attention. Tempest was the first to turn around.
"What is it, Twilight?" she asked.
Twilight pointed to the map, showing everypony where she was pointing to.
"I've found Mount Aris and Seaquestria on the map. Now, neither of us, apart from you, Tempest, know which way to go, so I entrust you to take the map and hopefully lead us to your hometown."
Twilight levitated the map over to Tempest, who grasped the map using her front hooves and looked at what Twilight had addressed. She thought back to when she left her home fourteen years ago and tried to remember the pain of the heat and the sand when she crossed over to Klugetown. She was only ten years old when she betrayed her friends and family and now she couldn't even remember the name of the place that she was born at. She remembered what it looked like, though; a small village surrounded by plant life and stone roads. No pavements or well maintained paths; just roads, tiny houses and rundown cottages. Only a few ponies would help prevent the village from looking poor or abounded by its residents. There would also be very little colour in the village; only the plantation and animals that roamed around the area, usually rats or desert snakes, would be the most colourful of the civilisation. Also, Tempest couldn't remember if her birthplace had a flag or a banner to represent itself to the rest of the civilisations in the desert and beyond as far as Equestria itself. The rest of her memories were worn away like paint peeling off a wall.
"I will lead you to where I was born," Tempest replied, "if that's alright with you, Princess Celestia?"
Celestia nodded behind her silently.
"We'll be with you on this journey, Tempest." Spike said.
"Same here." Grubber added (Tempest noticed that, for once, Grubber was actually quiet and not as bothering as he usually was).
Tempest started walking in a straight line towards the apple trees and along the pebble path that lead out of Canterlot, after putting the map away in her saddle bag. She looked back and saw everyone still standing and watching her awkwardly. Tempest then sighed and motioned her head to tell the others that she had started walking into what seemed like the unknown. After walking a few hoofsteps, the others caught up and they were all trotting (or walking in Spike and Grubber's case) along the path together step by step. They had began a trip, that almost seemed to be, at first, impossible.
Celestia was in the centre of the group, still wearing her casual clothing. She prayed that nopony would notice her as "Princess Celestia", but instead just as a pony like any other pony from Canterlot. Celestia did manage to transform herself into a Pegasus once**, however it did seem to be inappropriate to be another species when the town that requested her to come over to discuss their interest in joining the Kingdom of Equestria. She instead kept her head low and trusted Twilight and Tempest to direct her to where they were exactly heading to.
"It'll take at least a day to reach the border where we leave Equestria," Twilight explained, "we can camp nearby the toll booth. Hopefully we can all get through without any problems tomorrow. After all, nopony would ever turn away the ruler of Equestria, now would they?"
Celestia rolled her eyes sarcastically, and then laughed awkwardly, which then turned into a snort. "Well, it should be okay. Now that Equestria has returned to peace, security shouldn't be so tough anymore. I will make sure that we can all make it through, because it's very likely that they'll try to stop Tempest and Grubber from going through. We should get going if we're going to make it in time to find a spot to camp. Many others will be doing the same."
Grubber suddenly coughed to get Celestia's attention.
"Your highness, why do we need to camp at the border?"
Celestia continued walking forwards, not looking back at Grubber.
"The border closes at night, for security reasons," she explained, "it'll be open at sunrise. There are sleeping accommodations there, so we can rest. After all, we would be walking all day tomorrow. It would be best if we would manage to arrive there in good time tonight, before there're no rooms left."
"Well, then," Twilight said, "best if we get a move on."
"Let's do this," Tempest agreed, "before I change my mind."
And so they began their journey to the border with Equestria and the abounded lands of what was under the power of the Storm Armada.
The day progressed, but so did the heat. The sun was close to its highest by the time they had walked past the last civilisation of the Equestrian Kingdom. The time had suddenly gone without them even knowing. Walking for hours on end were okay for Twilight, Celestia and Tempest as they could drag themselves on all four legs without getting too tired, but for their two non-pony companions, it was a slight problem. Spike and Grubber struggled to catch up on their two feet, attached to their short and stubby legs. Looking back and seeing the two of them breathing heavily, completely out of breath. Tempest frowned and then groaned.
"If you just stop eating cake all the time, then maybe you wouldn't be struggling!"
Grubber eyed Tempest angrily. "Just because I love cake, it doesn't mean that I'm suffering from walking!"
Twilight looked back at Grubber and shook her head.
"Actually, it does," she explained, "eating too much fatty and sugary foods can be cause you to struggle doing daily activities, Grubber. Perhaps you should go on a diet."
Grubber quickly scoffed and looked away from Twilight. He hated her facts and statistics. Grubber tend to get jealous of other creatures saying and explaining complicated subjects without a fuss. He knew that his brain simply couldn't think of how any mathematical formulas worked. But he knew that Twilight was able to do any work that teachers gave her and then after completing the work, she would ask for more, until her brain eventually gave in. Even the complexity of Twilight's mind was beyond Celestia's thought process.
"I am not fat, Tempest!" Grubber argued, "I'm just... big. That's all."
"The Princess of Friendship is right, Grubber," Tempest added, "you seriously need to lose weight."
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Guys, stop!" Spike said, perhaps to loudly, "We'll be nearly there soon. Besides, we want to make it there before the queue for the hostel rooms becomes too long. However, knowing Twilight, I'm sure that she has it all under control."
Twilight nodded in agreement.
"I do, actually. It won't be too stressful, I promise. Besides, nopony would say no to I, the Princess of Friendship, and Celestia, the ruler of Equestria. We should be able to get there in time, before all the rooms at the youth hostels are taken."
The trek continued, but only at a steady pace. The heat had increased as the day progressed. The Pegasi had been told to clear the sky clear of grey clouds and have no interference with the sun whatsoever. After weeks of heavy rain, the earth had turned into a massive swamp and the fields of the farmlands, especially Sweet Apple Acres, which had been flooded and damaged. Twilight remembered the day she saw Applejack looking at her family's flooded fields; she went over to her and Applejack jumped into her arms and cried out her eyes at the sheer damage that had been caused. It was one of the important moments in her life that she had to be a good friend to somepony. Twilight suddenly pushed the memory away and recalled herself to reality.
"We must keep moving," Celestia warned, "it'll be getting dark soon."
"What about supper?" Grubber asked.
Celestia kept on walking. "We will have something at the border. There will be somewhere to rest. Then, at sunrise, we will continue our journey out of Equestria and off to Tempest's old village."
Tempest had a moment of thought and tried to think back at its original appearance. She tried to think of everything; the sights, the sounds, the smells, the colours and everypony she used to know. Her parents and friends. Would they even remember her? Everypony there would think that she was dead or something. No pony would believe her.
Unless.
Unless... her horn and the scar across her eye.
If only they would recognise her. If only everypony recognised her. If only her friends recognised her. If only her parents recognised her. If only they knew that she was their daughter. If only they knew that she was really Fizzlepop Berrytwist.
Equestrian Border, Night
All of a sudden, what seemed to be the quiet countryside had suddenly become a packed and busy. The space was filled with civilians trying to either exit or enter Equestria. Soldiers, guards and armored ponies were trying to keep the queues of ponies under control, going through each civilian that passed the massive wall that separated the two contraries.
The wall was huge and thick. It stretched as far as the eye could see and had guards patrolling at the top with spears and torches. On the Equestrian side, the flag of the two sisters hung from the wall and the bricks of the wall were maintained. On the other side, however, was nothing, but vines crawling across the brickwork and the remainder of the Storm Armada's flag after their invasion a few months previously. Some ponies on the ground were pushing the brickwork of the wall and were protesting against the guards. It was loud and very uncomfortable to be around in. Very little light helped with everypony's eye sight and many were crashing into each other and causing chaos.
Twilight, Celestia and the others stayed as close as possible to each other in order to not get separated. They all entered the queue to the border and kept their heads underneath the hoods of their cloaks. Tempest especially kept her face hidden from everypony else, as she feared that the guards would notice her. After twenty minutes of trotting towards the border, where on the other side was the accommodation, they all eventually reached the end of the queue. Tempest didn't quite understand why she was in front of the others, but had no choice as the guard ordered her to come forth.
"Keep your head low, Tempest," Celestia whispered, "I'll do the talking."
Tempest trotted over to the guard and as soon as she stopped, the guard (who was a unicorn mare with a shaved mane besides the remains of hair that poured over her face) used her magic to lift up Tempest's hood. Before Tempest could do anything, Celestia jumped in and placed a hoof on her shoulder. The guard looked at Celestia and gave her a frown.
"I'm sorry, madam, but I'm going to have to ask you to step back and allow us to check this pony."
Celestia didn't remove her hoof. The guard began to grow agitated and trotted closer to Celestia, without even knowing that it was even her. But before she could push her away, the guard noticed Celestia's golden horseshoe, the one that she always wore. She noticed its royal engravings and suddenly turned silent. The guard looked deep into Celestia's violet, beautiful eyes and exactly knew who she was talking to.
"I'm quite sure there's no need for that."
The guard identified the figure's haunting and majestic voice, and suddenly began to back away. She gulped in fear and left Tempest alone.
"How... how... many are... are there of... you?"
Celestia looked back at Twilight, Spike and Grubber and then looked back at the mare.
"There are five of us, ma'am. We would like to stay somewhere for the night and will continue onward out of Equestria tomorrow morning. That is all."
The mare quickly picked up a clipboard and read the information that was on there. She looked for spaces in the V.I.P section and drew a line through a name of a living quarter.
"We have... one that is... p... perfect for you... your majesty..." the guard said, "would you like a... p... private section?"
Celestia nodded. The mare instructed Celestia and the others to follow her to the living quarters. They exited the queue and walked along the wall that split up the two countries. The darkness was now thick and little light was used along the pavement towards the night accommodation. The mare took them to the main square, where lots of different cabins were ready to be slept in. It was quiet and peaceful. Celestia and everypony else were taken up some wooden steps and led to a big cuboid shaped building, with something written on the door in gold writing.
VIP Accommodation: For Celebrities and Royalty.
"Here are your keys, Princess," the mare said, "there is a bed for you in there. Princess Twilight! My, what an honer! Please, allow me to take you next door. Your friends will be the cabin after that."
Twilight and the others followed the mare to the next cabin. She then took her keys from the mare and entered her room, along with Spike, who chased after her before the door closed in his face. After Twilight closed the door behind her, Tempest and Grubber followed the mare to the next cabin and were given the keys. The mare then began to leave.
"Hope you all have a good night! Breakfast is at sunrise, by the way. Hope you have a good night!"
The mare left, leaving Tempest and Grubber alone in the dark. Tempest unlocked the door and went inside. She landed on the bed, face first, and then wrapped herself in the bed sheets that were provided for her. The room stank of hay and leftover fragrances from previous guests.
"As soon as it's morning," Tempest said, slightly annoyed, "then we're leaving. I'm sick of being treated like dirt all the time."
Grubber suddenly changed his expression from excitement to disappointment.
"But... what about breakfast? I'm starving! We haven't even had supper yet!"
Tempest looked back at him. "Go to sleep, Grubber. We'll have something to eat in the morning."
Grubber refused and wrapped his arms up in protest like a toddler having a temper-tantrum.
"No!" he said.
"Grubber... go to sleep."
"No!"
"Go... to... sleep."
"I want food."
"We'll have breakfast tomorrow morning."
"I refuse!"
"GRUBBER!"
"Fine!"
Grubber eventually tucked himself into the tiny bed that he was in and quickly fell asleep. Tempest sighed and relaxed in the soft, white bed, thankful to not be hearing her companion groan any longer. Despite the sounds of shouting, thunder and the patter of rain that landed on the roof, Tempest suddenly fell into a deep sleep.
At first, it was too blurry to see around her and what was in her view. It was as bright as looking directly into the sun, except this light was white and not yellow. Tempest twitched at the bright light, making her wake up slowly. It was shining directly into her eyes and started to try and move her tired body, but found it to be a challenge at first. She tried to move her left front hoof and succeeded. Tempest began to find it easier as she did it over and over again. Eventually, Tempest could move her whole left front leg and started to lift herself out of what she thought would be the bed that she was originally sleeping in the youth hostel. But after a quick look, Tempest suddenly found out that she wasn't.
The bed had a pink duvet and white bed sheet, except it was clean and pure, unlike the dirty sheets that Tempest was sleeping on when she was sleeping with all her other friends. It had a threaded flower pattern decorated into the duvet, along with ivory. The pattern was a dark purple, that stood out from the pink background, and covered the length of the of the duvet. It had always been Tempest's favourite duvet, as it was the most comfortable and simply appealed to her the most. There were also her pillow and cuddly toy that she always loved as a filly; a red fox plushie, with black button eyes and a threaded red smile. Tempest picked up the toy and smiled, before clutching it close to her chest. After hugging the toy, Tempest placed the fox back onto her bed and trotted towards the bedroom door.
This place is familiar, Tempest thought, I swear I recognise it from somewhere.
Tempest knew that standing around doing nothing wasn't going to answer any questions, so she started looking around the rest of the room. She noticed that the walls were a mixture of blue and pink, all mixed up together. The patterns were in the shape of flowers and around the patterns were pink dots, representing raspberries, which were all randomly placed across the walls. On one wall, were lots of different photographs of Tempest as a filly and her parents, all placed in frames. Many of the photos showed Tempest blowing out candles on top of a cake; from when she turned a year old to her seventh birthday.
Tempest suddenly shuddered in thought and quickly made her way out of her room and towards the door. She tried to turn the doorknob with her hoof, only then realising that it hadn't been designed to be turned with her hoof yet. Tempest remembered that after coming out of hospital, her parents adapted the house that they all lived in to help Tempest open doors, hold things and do normal activities with her hooves instead of her horn, which was of course broken. Finding the door frustrating, Tempest growled and started to try and push the door instead. Suddenly, though, after trying to push the door open with her force, Tempest noticed that the doorknob had turned by itself and allowed the door to open. Dumbstruck by this event, Tempest quickly walked through the passage and continued exploring the place.
The door led to a single corridor. The staircase that led to the ground floor was stationary to the left and the rest of the rooms were to the right. Tempest was standing in the corridor, wondering which way to go. She struggled to remember which room was where and wherever she should go downstairs or not, but Tempest tried to hear any sign of life in the house and discovered that it was coming from downstairs. The noise that was downstairs sounded like singing; but not just any singing, it was coming from a mare who Tempest could for some reason remember, but couldn't quite put a hoof on who this mare actually was. She decided to find out.
Tempest began the descent to the ground floor, but then stopped at the top of the flight of stairs to discover that they were much bigger than she expected them to be. When she placed a hoof on the first step, Tempest felt her body weight leaning over the step and struggled to stay on all four legs. Wow, this place must be huge in comparison to her! Tempest found out that she needed to jump to each of the steps instead of walking on them. One by one, Tempest leaped onto each of the steps and made her way downstairs to the ground floor.
Once downstairs, Tempest looked around to find something that would give her a sign of where she was and what time period it was. She suddenly tripped on a loose wooden plank on the floor and landed face first. Tempest got up, groaning at the force of the impact, and then found a mirror. After having a glance to see that nopony was watching her, Tempest walked up to the mirror and let her jaw swing open like a trapdoor to an attic.
She was very small. Tempest was the size of a filly. Her mane was long, covering her eyes and pouring over her shoulders, like she used to have it before she became older. Her face was pure and undamaged, with no sign of filth on it whatsoever. There were no scars, not even the one that crossed over her eye and lip. In fact, Tempest could perfectly see through her right eye without any form of damage. But the biggest thing that grasped Tempest's attention like a rattlesnake capturing its prey was that she had her horn. Short and stubby, but there. Tempest rubbed her eyes with her hooves to try and rid herself of fantasising, but it was actually there. A smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"My... my horn! I have my horn! I have my horn!"
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Tempest quickly put her hooves in her jaw. It suddenly came to her that her voice was high pitched and squeaky, something every familiar to Twilight Sparkle's friend, Pinkie Pie. It didn't sound anything like her mature and controlled voice that she had when she was an adult. Tempest had, by this point, discovered that she wasn't the twenty-four year old ex-Armada solider that she previously was. Tempest still had her hooves in her mouth while she was looking at her reflection. She then removed her hooves from her mouth, wiped them on her fur and placed her right hoof on the mirror. Afterwards, Tempest put her hoof on her head and felt the full length of her horn. It was a feeling that she thought that she would never feel again. It was certainly real.
"My voice, though; it's so funny and weird. I must be really young to have my voice that squeaky. This has to be a memory for sure. I wonder if my parents are here. I'll go look for them."
Tempest left the mirror behind and started to look around the home that she remembered from when she was a filly. Pretty much everything was still there; the kitchen, the living room and the remainder of downstairs. Tempest heard the beautiful singing again from the mare and decided to follow it, for she wondered who that mare could be. Even though she could remember some things from her past, the majority of her memories had faded away in time like sand being blown away by the wind. However, after a quick look through the different rooms of her cottage, Tempest eventually discovered the mare in the kitchen singing away while washing up cutlery and plates in a sink. Tempest remembered that her parents had never been able to afford a washing machine in her time while living with them, so could easily remember watching her parents do the washing up after dinner at night.
It was certainly her mother; there was no denying it.
Hiding behind the doorframe, Tempest watched her mother wash up and sing to herself. Tempest recognised the tunes that her mother sang; they were some of the songs that they used to sing together before bed. Many were nursery rhymes or pieces of music that they used to listen when attending a concert in their village hall or at a festival. Especially during the summer months, Tempest and her parents went to all sorts of events in and out of her birthplace. She remembered the days when she went with her two friends, Avon and Star Myth, to one of the festivals and having balloon animals made for them, something similar to what her new friend, Pinkie Pie, usually made at parties. It was one of the happiest moments of her life. She must've been even younger back then.
Tempest's presence caught the attention of her mother and she turned around to see Tempest standing in the doorway. She smiled soon afterwards.
"Fizzlepop, honey! Are you okay, baby? Did you need anything?"
Tempest, at first, didn't really know what to say back. It felt so weird being in the presence of her mother after not seeing her for the past fourteen years, but after a while, it felt such a relief to Tempest. She was home and safe with her mother around. Eventually, Tempest wobbled over, still forgetting that she had tiny filly legs, instead of her adult size legs.
"Can... can I have a hug, mummy?"
The words came out of her mouth too quickly before her brain could think of a sensible sentence to say to the pony who appeared to be her mother. Thankfully, it wasn't too embarrassing for Tempest. She was so happy to see her mother again after all these years. Tempest had missed everything that she left behind; especially her small, but wonderful family. Her mother leaned down and picked Tempest up, holding her in her arms and nuzzling her softly. It felt so wonderful to feel her mother's fur, rubbing against her own. She never wanted to let go, for she feared that she wouldn't see her again.
"Is that better, sweetie?"
Tempest nodded her head in her mother's grip. "Yeah, thanks."
Mrs Berrytwist was still curious about her daughter's behaviour.
"Are you quite sure that you're okay, darling?"
Tempest nodded her head, again, quickly that time.
Mrs Berrytwist carried her daughter in her left hoof, whilst hopping on her right out of the kitchen and into the living room that Tempest remembered very well from her childhood. The cream-coloured curtains, the red furniture, the pot of flowers sitting on the table, the chestnut guitar that her father always played whenever he was sad or depressed. Tempest remembered the day when she was diagnosed with autism and her mother was so upset, that she cried for the remainder of the day. The only thing that would cease her crying was the sound of the guitar played by Tempest's father.
Tempest didn't really mind that she was autistic, because she knew that she was stronger in other areas, rather than the academic side of things. Since starting Junior school, Tempest really struggled to concentrate and learn alongside the other students in class, and her teachers weren't that helpful for her learning. She found subjects, like Maths, almost impossible in her case. Still, being autistic allowed Tempest to discover new things, especially her love for reading fiction and attending singing classes later on. It wasn't until the day that she lost her horn, that Tempest dropped these interests and fell into a long period of despair and loneliness. It was only her mother that kept her company; her father focused after the incident on his work, leaving it behind like it was nothing more than a mere memory.
Her mother placed Tempest into an armchair and sat with her, wrapping themselves in a rainbow-designed blanket, covered with different beautiful colours all arranged in lovely squares. Mrs Berrytwist tucked the blanket underneath the pair of them and allowed Tempest rest her head on her red chest. Mrs Berrytwist smiled and leaned her head down, so she could whisper into Tempest's ears.
"Remember, Fizzlepop, you'll always be my daughter, no matter what happens to you. Nopony can change that. Ever."
Tempest smiled happily in her mother's cuddle and felt herself go sleepy for a second. It was almost too perfect.
Except, it wasn't.
All of a sudden, Tempest felt what seemed to be a claw, furry and monster-like. Tempest knew who it belonged to. She had felt it when the creature stroked the top of her mane when he had captured Princess Twilight when the Armada took over Canterlot and her leader had complemented on the building where the remainder of the princesses had been captured. Before she could do anything, the claw grabbed the back of her head and yanked it back hard, making a loud "cracking" sound as it did so. Tempest didn't have enough time to scream, for by then, everything went dark.
As quickly as her dream ended, Tempest woke up breathing heavily and hysterically in complete shock, making the bed shake as she sat up. Everything, from that moment, started to fade back into place; Tempest started to visually see the room that she was sleeping in and slowly took in her surroundings, where she was and what she could feel. Reality soon started to sweep back into Tempest's head, waking her mind and body up. She then quickly kicked off the duvet, pushing it to the end of the bed, and got back onto all four hooves. A big wave of nausea travelled through Tempest's body; it made her wobble over to the corner of the room where her travelling clothes were dumped and not left in a neat fashion. She stumbled and fell while trying to get to her clothes, but got up without a fuss and grabbed hold of her clothes using her jaw, and then carried them over to the bed and started to get changed.
Tempest took off the nightgown that had been offered for her to use that was standing on a coat hanger from one of the four walls inside her room and threw it to the floor near the front door. She then took off the remainder of her clothes, until she was completely naked and went into the shower. Tempest found this to be harder than expected, as the tap was designed to be used by the magic of a unicorn's, and of course Tempest had lost her horn at the age of ten, so she had to widen her jaw to grasp hold of the tap and turned the water on, later adjusting the temperature and the amount of water that would be coming out.
The water brushed over Tempest's mane and body, washing out all the dirt that had embedded itself into her fur. There was a bottle of shower gel for mares on the rack that was attached to the opposite wall that was holding the shower and another bottle for shampoo. Tempest started on the shampoo first; she squeezed the bottle gently, in order to not waste all of it, and rubbed it into her mane. Her mane, which was originally standing up straight in a Mohican, was now flopped to her side. Tempest then came out of the shower, dried up and put on her robes for travelling. She then opened the curtains, neatened up her room, collected her belongings and trotted out of the room, locking the door behind her with her keys (again, harder than what it seemed at first).
Twilight, Celestia, Spike and Grubber were already outside waiting for her, all with their belongings and equipment for them to survive the desert. Celestia had a map and tour guide of the lands beyond Equestria. She read the guide, while Twilight was estimating how long it would take them to cross each part of the bound-lands and which route would be the one they would use. Tempest waved to grab their attention and Twilight waved back. When Celestia saw Tempest, she quickly faced away from her and focused on the map she was holding with her magic.
"Stop it, Celestia," Celestia whispered to herself, "why would you have a problem with Tempest? She's our friend, now. Stop being such a silly filly!"
Before Celestia could continue her argument with herself, Twilight trotted up behind her with Spike on her back and coughed to gain her attention.
Celestia quickly shook her head, before smiling back at Twilight and nodding in agreement, even if it wasn't the truthful answer that Twilight would have preferred.
"Yes, Twilight. I'm perfectly fine, thanks for asking."
When Celestia looked at something else that caught her attention, Twilight scowled.
You're lying, Twilight thought to herself, you're not fine. Stop saying that. Why do you keep saying that?
Twilight was then interrupted with her thinking when she noticed that Tempest had trotted right up next to her and then gave a friendly hug in return. After taking her arms away from Tempest's neck, Twilight gathered her things and she and Tempest joined the rest of the group. Princess Celestia had organised everything for when they were going to cross the border, including the travel papers, and went over to the security ponies who were standing patiently at the exit to the outside of Equestria.
"We're ready, everypony! Spike, Grubber! Come on, we're going to carry on!"
Now having a chance to talk, Twilight trotted alongside Tempest, while Celestia carried on walking in front of them and Spike and Grubber hung back behind them, probably talking about Spike's lifelong story of how he was devoted to Twilight since he was a hatchling from an egg and Grubber's addictive taste for food. They all walked up to the path and walked along the pavement towards the long and silent queue to the toll booths.
It started as a long, long queue. The tops of ponies heads were still and solid, like statues made of sapphire. The only sound that could be heard was the strong wind that blew into the walls of the border crossing, the tinkling of glass jars containing candles that were waving from the force of the weather and the crunching of the ponies' hooves when they made contact with the crisp and hard sound that came from underneath. It was like hearing marching; whenever a soldier gives commands to his comrades to move one step in either direction. The queue continued to slowly progress in an orderly fashion, whenever a civilian or a group of creatures travelled through the border crossing into the unknown territory of the bound lands.
As time passed on, Twilight and the rest of her friends eventually reached the end of the queue. A guard called them up and immediately stood in front of them, blocking their path to the bridge that connected the two countries together.
"Papers, please," the guard said. It was a white Pegasus mare, wearing red armour and a helmet with rubies decorated around it. On her uniform, it said: Chief Guard. Celestia, keeping her hood and identity down, handed them over and the guard took them using her left wing. In her right, she scribbled something down on a clipboard. "Follow me please, your highness. Please tell your friends to come along as well."
The mare turned away in the opposite direction and went towards the border crossing, where she saluted to the guards who were standing in the way of the doorway to the lands beyond. While she did this, Celestia nodded her head in the direction of the crossing, letting Twilight and the others know that they had just been given the "okay" to cross over the bridge over to the other side. Once they were ready, they started their long walk across the bridge.
Past the barriers, there was a long piece of earth sticking out of the surface of the ground, pointing off into the distance. Along the bridge were rows of guards, all standing still and facing another guard. In their right arm, each guard held a spear and they were all wearing uniform from head to foot. All the guards were either earth ponies, unicorns or pegasi and each of their uniform had been adapted to fit their body. Not one moved or looked at Twilight or the others when they were walking across the bridge. If Princess Celestia had been exposed, then Twilight would at least have thought that they would either be saluting or be bowing before her, but not a single guard moved.
They kept walking on. It seemed endless while walking along the bridge; the scenery hadn't changed, still surrounded by its grey fog and dull colours, and the light from the sun was pale. To Twilight, it felt a little bit like limbo, but not as mysterious and perhaps as frightening. In the distance, a gathering of storm clouds raged in the sky like they were at war with the brightness of the sun and all colours in the world. Thunder and lightning filled the sky, producing the only brightness that could be seen. Twilight and Celestia lit up their horns for extra light, but then noticed that the weather was now becoming extremely violent, and they had barely been outside of Equestria for a few minutes.
"Princess!" Twilight cried out to Celestia, "Why is the weather out here so awful?! Aren't the Pegasi trying to calm the storm?"
There was a brief silence before Celestia responded back.
"Twilight, my dear! The Pegasi don't go this far out of Equestria! The storms form by themselves and there is nothing for miles. No civilisation is around in these parts for hundreds of miles! However, saying that, my knowledge of the lands beyond Equestria is quite poor. Unfortunately, my parents didn't really pay much attention to teaching me about it, despite the fact that Luna and I received the best education back in Canterlot."
"I see," Twilight replied quickly, "well, I hope we can get through this before it gets too strong to travel across... this wasteland."
Twilight's description of the outside of Equestria was right. Even though the Armada had been defeated, what it once had control of was now nothing. The desert was not its usual sandy texture, but rather what felt like dirt and dust, blowing about across what was once beautiful lands, was now a wreak and almost completely lifeless. When walking through the desert, Twilight couldn't help but notice that she would fall into soft sand and sometimes even quicksand, but Twilight managed to pull herself out with her own magic and did the same to her other friends whenever they got stuck.
They kept walking on. And on. And on.
As the day progressed, so did the heat. The sun was reaching its highest point in the sky (Celestia had time to raise the sun that morning before the others woke up), making the journey more difficult than it should have been. Sweat was pouring down Tempest's neck, making her fur smell and looking untidy. Tempest flopped her tongue out like a dog while walking in the head and dribbled, leaving a path of saliva behind that sparkled in the sunshine. Spike and Grubber, who were far behind, trundled along slowly, wading across the scorched sand like lifeless zombies. Celestia looked back and quickly called to Twilight and Tempest.
"Stop! Spike and Grubber are suffering from the heat!"
Celestia leapt over to the baby dragon and the pug-faced hedgehog and quickly produced a magical forcefield around them. Then, inside the magical forcefield, the temperature dropped low enough for it to be comfortable for Spike and Grubber. Immediately, the two of them started to get back on their feet and walk normally again, without struggling against the roaring heat in the desert. A quick breeze in the forcefield added more cool air before Celestia dragged Spike and Grubber along over to Twilight and Tempest, who were ahead of them at a faster pace. They were soon catching up the miles that they had lost in the last couple of hours.
Nothing for miles, but sand. Lots and lots of sand.
The group then stopped, giving them a chance to rest and reserve their energy. While standing, watching at the horizon, Twilight then turned her head around and looked at Celestia.
"How far is the nearest place to stay and rest? We've been walking for hours!"
Celestia used her magic to conjure a pair of binoculars and peered into them, looking directly into the distance. At first, Celestia couldn't see anything, apart from the sand that flew in the strong wind and the odd desert bush that stood abandoned and lifeless. But then, after adjusting the binoculars, Celestia managed to see a tiny dot in the distance which would occasionally appear when the sandstorm wore off a little, to reveal its shape. Not much could be made out, but Celestia then spotted a flagpole with a ripped flag blowing in the wind. However hard she tried, though, Celestia couldn't make out the design on the flag.
"I see civilisation straight ahead!"
Celestia passed the binoculars to Twilight, who looked through them and gasped with joy. Tempest, Spike and Grubber caught up and looked into the distance and saw the tiny dot that was plonked on the horizon. It was clear that is was some-what a place of civilisation, due to the shapes of buildings that could be seen and the flagpole. Looking down, Twilight spotted a road leading to the buildings; large brown paving stones all made into a long path, purposefully organised to fit that purpose.
"Look, princess!" Twilight said excitedly, "I see a road!"
As Twilight hopped along exactly the way Pinkie Pie did all the time, Celestia waited for the others. Spike started running after Twilight, passing Celestia and ignoring her. Tempest and Grubber simply smiled, before sniggering quietly behind Celestia's back, but failed to notice that Celestia was looking back at them. Tempest looked up, seeing Celestia's expression, and immediately stopped laughing. She nudged Grubber who also stopped and they smiled innocently.
"Well, at least we've finally spotted somewhere to stop for a while," Tempest said.
Celestia nodded her head in agreement. She looked up at the sun and estimated that they had been walking for six hours at least. Celestia had to rest and she knew that everyone else would need to take the same amount of time to recover from the fierce heat. Even with the force field around them to keep them cool, it was draining all of Celestia's energy and eventually, she needed to rest. Her breathing increased and Twilight noticed that Celestia was beginning to seriously struggle walking through the desert. Suddenly, without warning, Celestia collapsed into the hot sand and the force field that she was holding around the others disappeared completely. Twilight, of course, was the first to react.
"Princess Celestia!"
Twilight rushed over to Celestia and used her magic to try and pick her up, but she was just too heavy. Tempest and the other rushed over as quickly as possible. They threw Tempest's cloak over Celestia and blocked her face from the sun. Looking through her fur, Twilight noticed that Celestia had been burnt from the sun, which was surprising for the pony who raises it every morning. Her power must really be draining out in this wasteland.
"Quickly!" Twilight cried, "Give her some water! We need to get her out of here!"
"But Twilight, she's too heavy!" Spike replied, "We can't lift up an alicorn princess!"
"We can if we hold her altogether," Twilight argued back, "now lift!"
Twilight used her magic to lift Celestia's body while Spike, Tempest and Grubber grabbed hold three of Celestia's legs and started to carry her towards the civilisation which was now only six hundred metres off into the distance. Thankfully, as they got closer, the ground started to form and become solid and the path that led into the town appeared from the sand. Twilight stepped on one, to make sure that it was actually solid, and discovered that it was. The others followed close behind, walking one hoofstep at a time towards the town, seeing the colourless houses and cottages that stood to the side of paths that travelled like snakes through the whole complex.
Once they were walking on solid pavements that led into the town, Celestia managed to place her hooves back on the ground and straightened herself, but wobbled to her side. Thankfully this time, however, Twilight and the others were quick enough to prevent her from falling onto the hard surface. They lifted her back upright and continued they way into the labyrinth, made of the strange looking buildings that shaped the town in which they had just entered.
They all looked around; it seemed that all kind of creatures lived there. Not just ponies, but griffins, dragons, changelings, yaks, hippogriffs and what seemed to be the last of the Armada soldiers, now wearing huge black cloaks to cover their body from the rest of the public. No creature smiled at one another. On the walls were abandoned banners with the Armada logo on, either ripped, burnt or vandalised badly. The streets were filled with rubbish; lemonade cans, plastic bags and even the rubbish bins themselves had been spilt over and left at the mercy of the weather. Many residents were wearing masks to either protect their faces from the blowing sand or hide their identity. Nopony really knew exactly which reason it could be, and practically, nopony cared.
As Twilight and the others continued walking through the streets, the residents started to take interest in them. Firstly, they started to watch or follow them, slowly but sneakily. Some had the ability to watch over them by hanging onto the walls of the buildings and hide in the shadows, whilst others pretended to be doing their daily business by faking conversations whenever Twilight or her friends turned back to look at them. Nevertheless, they continued walking. It wasn't until they reached a large empty area that they stopped.
"Is this your hometown, Tempest?" Spike asked. The hornless unicorn shook her head back in response.
"No, it isn't. I lived in a village full of different plants, caves, surrounded by wildlife. This place was never my home. I only remember coming here to make camp before we attacked the border into Equestria many months ago now."
"Oh, okay then. Well, what did you do here when you made camp?"
Grubber had finally found a conversation to join into, but Tempest was the first to respond.
"The Storm King ordered that we would make the residents make up the different weapons that we were going to use during the invasion. In fact, we had a loading bay of skiffs, where we redeveloped them into skiffs designed purposefully for war instead of cargo. The newly designed skiffs were not just big enough to carry even more supplies, but could also be used in combat. After Canterlot, we would then invade Ponyville and the rest of the civilisations that are within the kingdom, until we reached the one place that the Storm King had in mind of ruling; the Crystal Empire. And with Cadance turned to stone in Canterlot, the Crystal Empire would be no match against the Storm King and his fierce army. Including myself and Grubber."
"I see," Spike replied, "so now it's turned back into an independent town then? It's under the ownership of the original leaders?"
"Correct, Spike. That is what I intend to happen with the places we took over. Give them the right to turn independent and make their own rules and laws."
Twilight coughed loudly to catch Spike, Tempest and Grubber's attention while they continued walking.
"Perhaps we could stay here overnight, but maybe we should find somepony to ask if there's another place that we can visit?"
At the town centre, Twilight stopped. The others slowed down behind her and watched as the residents continued to look at them with their pale eyes and pale, white faces. They all looked like they had seen better days, with scars across certain areas of their bodies, bandages covering injuries and the rags that they wore around their torso. Some were busy working, collecting rocks that they dragged along in a cart behind them. However, on the plus side, the other residents didn't look so rough and looked like normal residents that you would find in Equestria. They seemed to look much healthier and stronger than the other ponies.
Twilight decided to ask somepony if there was an inn nearby, so she spotted a red stallion, slightly like Big Mac apart from the green mane, standing behind a stall that sold fruit and went over to him. Twilight stood in the queue that led up to the stall and approached it slowly. When it was her turn to be served, Twilight trotted closer to the stallion and gave off a friendly smile. At first, the stallion didn't notice her approach him. He was busy re-arranging his stall. In order to catch his attention, Twilight gave a gentle cough and the stallion eventually looked up, with a very tired expression plastered on his face.
"Can I help you, miss?" the stallion asked.
The stallion's voice was weak, rusty and unnatural. His lips looked like chipped china and whenever he talked, it looked as if his lips would eventually fall off and crumble into a small pile on the floor. Twilight tried, yet she smiled and laughed nervously, to not react to the stallion appearance.
"I was wondering if you could tell us if there's somewhere to rest for a while, like an inn. Perhaps somewhere we can get something to drink and eat?"
The stallion looked at Twilight and sighed.
"Sorry, miss, there're no places for any foreigners to stay. I apologise."
Twilight frowned, before stepping out of the queue and heading back over to the group to reveal the bad news.
"Nevermind, Twilight," Celestia said, "we'll just have to continue on with our journey. Perhaps we can find a guide and mode of transport to take us there so that we don't have to walk any further. Besides, I feel that my hooves can't take me any further."
Celestia was about to continue walking through the many streets that crisscrossed through the town but was stopped when Spike froze in place and pointed over to someone in the distance. When Celestia saw where he was looking, she looked back at Twilight to see if she recognised the figure leaning against a building.
"Do you know who that is, Twilight?" Celestia asked.
Twilight squinted but knew exactly who it was by noticing his large red coat, the purple-grey bandage around his brown tail and the emerald, green eyes that stood out from all the other citizens. He was clearly visible, not bothering to shield his face or identity from any creature that would pass him by. The cat's sly smile would appear whenever a beautiful mare would pass and notice him, sometimes even blowing a kiss towards him or making a funny sound like an awkward laugh or a snort. Through his charm and sinister personality, Twilight dared to say his name.
"Is that... Capper?"
It was indeed Capper. All his features were the same, including his choice of wear (apart from the odd extra finishes done by Rarity when they were celebrating their victory over the Armada back in Canterlot) and he still looked like a dodgy character in all ways. Then again, at least he wasn't constantly charming over everyone who would cross his path. Whenever one of the ex-Armada guards would pass, Capper would try to blend into the background, still always the scaredy-cat. As soon as Twilight know that it was indeed Capper, she cringed and at first refused to go over to talk to him.
"I remember seeing him with Rarity at the celebrations after our victory back in Canterlot," Celestia said, "isn't he one of your new friends. I didn't realise that he had left Equestria."
"Neither did I," Twilight replied, "hopefully he hasn't gone back to his old con-ways."
"Wait a minute," Spike said, "are you suggesting that we should ask him to help us... after he tried to sell us?"
"He no longer sells anyone, Spike," Grubber explained, "after all, now that we no longer work for the Storm King, who would want to buy you as slaves?"
"I guess."
Twilight and Tempest made their way over to Capper, who at first didn't notice them until they had come up to a comfortable distance. He was busily admiring himself in the reflection of a nearby window, quietly giving himself complements and brushing his brown fur with his paws. Twilight gave a cough to grab Capper's attention, which successfully worked. Capper turned his head and noticed who it was and smiled back.
"Ah, Princess Twilight and Commander Tempest! What a lovely surprise! Long time no see, huh? And, oh, you've brought your dragon and hedgehog along with you two. How adorable!"
Both Twilight and Tempest rolled their eyes at Capper's complement, knowing that he was the same creepy charmer that he had always been. However, he did help them defeat the Storm King during the battle at Canterlot. Twilight decided to give him a chance to explain himself.
"Hello, Capper. May I ask what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in Canterlot."
"Apologises, your highness, I decided to head back out to the desert to find something for me to do. It does get quite boring doing nothing. But thankfully, thanks to the lovely residents here, I now have myself a job!"
Spike wasn't completely convinced on Capper, especially after when he dragged them straight into the path of Tempest Shadow when she was looking for them, while on their way to the hippogriffs. But he also rightfully remembered that they forgave Capper when he helped them sneak into Canterlot and defeat the Storm King.
"I see. So you no longer try to find ponies and sell them as slaves anymore?"
Capper quickly waved his paws at Twilight's face frantically and laughed with nerve as he tried to state his opinion.
"No, no, no, no, no! I don't steal civilians anymore! I take them to where they want to go. I'm a taxi driver if I don't mind saying. I drive the old Armada skiffs to all manner of places! I even go as far as Mount Aris! If I may be assistance, may I take you all to where you wish to go, princess? I won't charge you, my little ponies. The honour will be mine."
Twilight raised her eyebrow, before looking at each of her friends. When she looked at Celestia, the princess winked back at her, and then Twilight looked back at Capper.
"Can I trust you?" Twilight asked, "Or more importantly, can we trust you?"
"I thought that we were friends, princess? I guess if not, then I'll just-."
"Alright then, Capper!" Twilight replied, quickly, "We trust you. I trust you! Please, take us to Tempest's birthplace, will you?"
Capper smiled, before clapping his paws together and waving his arms towards where he would be heading to, signalling the others to follow him. He then stood beside Princess Celestia and bowed as they continued walking.
"Princess Celestia! Well, we never had the chance to meet properly, now did we?"
Celestia looked down to Capper's eye level and smiled back.
"No, I don't believe we have. It's wonderful to meet you at last, Capper, especially after everything you did to save Equestria all those months back. You are always welcome to return if you wish to."
Capper laughed in response to Celestia's reply.
"I would love to live in Equestria one day, your highness. But I tend to struggle to find somewhere to work these days, as I have very little to offer. Driving my skiff around the boundlands pleasures me enough as it is; seeing the beauty beyond Equestria."
"Well, I'm sure as the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle would be the one to help a friend out."
Twilight suddenly heard Celestia's conversation at that moment and smiled back nervously at them. Capper grinned back, almost awkwardly, which put Twilight off. Changing the subject, Capper raced on ahead towards the docks where all the skiffs were kept. Twilight, Celestia and the others ran after him from behind, apart from Grubber who had underestimated his fitness and struggled to keep up.
"Wait for me, guys!" Grubber said, "Aw man! I shouldn't have eaten all that cake back in the youth hostel!"
"Excuse me! Coming through! Make way for the princesses of Equestria!"
Capper was squeezing through the many civilians, all different shapes and sizes while making his way to the skiffbay at the edge of town. Unlike Twilight, Celestia, Spike, Tempest and Grubber who were politely passing through the sea of creatures, Capper was pushing and quickly squeezing past each and everything that got in his way. Many of the civilians were huge and muscular, while others were small and thin. In the aftermath of his path, Capper left behind lots of disappointed locals all of whom groaned and moaned back at him.
"We're almost there, your highnesses!"
After the next corner, Twilight recognised where they were. In front of them was an open doorway. On the other side was the skiffport, where hundreds of skiffs were lined up in loading bays, all numbered with a three digit code starting with 001. The skiffs that were in the parking bays also had a code on, which was the same as the one in the bay. Capper led the group on a long, thin pavement that stretched along the many parking bays, some of which were full of skiffs while others were empty. Capper took them to Parking Bay 007, where he introduced his skiff to Twilight and the others.
"Wait a minute; that's yours?!" Twilight asked, surprised. Capper walked on the wooden path that led to his skiff and pulled out the ladder to get on. Afterwards, he waited for everyone to join him.
"It sure is, princess!" Capper replied, "This baby can reach 135mph if I really wanted to, but don't worry there are only speed restrictions in towns, cities and on popular routes. If we take the lesser-known routes, we can reach... er... where are we exactly heading to?"
Tempest put a hoof to her chin, trying to remember the name of her village.
"I think it was called Waterville*, but then again the last time I saw that name was fourteen years ago. I have no idea what it will look like now today. Does it still exist?"
Capper gave off his cheerful grin again and pulled out a map from his red coat.
"It sure does, Miss Shadow!"
Tempest gasped and gave off a wide grin. "Really?!"
Capper stretched out the map to show Tempest and the rest of the group. Capper orientated it to the ground, before pointing at different places on the map.
"Here is Kludgetown and here is Waterville, about four hundred miles in between each civilisation. It will take at least two days to reach it if the weather is good. This will be your last chance to change your minds about going there, because from here onwards there's no going back."
Everypony looked at Tempest who looked down at the floor for a moment, before looking back at Capper and the others.
"We'll be with you all the way, Tempest," Twilight said.
"All of us will," Celestia added.
Tempest grinned back and then looked to Capper.
"We've come this far already," Tempest replied, "let's go."
Capper smiled back, before immediately stepping behind his group of "friends" and starting to push them towards his skiff.
"Glad all of you have agreed to join me on this daring adventure of ours. Just to let you know for health and safety purposes that all passengers will need to be strapped into their seats when taking off and landing, after the seatbelt sign has been switched off feel free to wander around the deck. The cockpit is cut off to all passengers, however, on board Capper's Amazing, Awesome, Fabulous 007 Skiff you will receive bedding for overnight travelling, refreshments and entertainment along the way! As my passengers feature two of those who saved Equestria from certain doom, Miss Sparkle and "the Dragon", travel will be free from here onwards!"
When Capper eventually stopped talking, Twilight and the others squeezed their way through the tiny door that led into the skiff. When inside, Twilight saw how well build the skiff was. Its walls were made of magic-proof aluminium, along with ship-style windows to look through, and the furniture looked like something that would be most comfortable in a restaurant, rather than a skiff. There was a table placed in the centre of the passengers' room, which had empty glasses and weirdly shaped bottles of drinks placed on top of it, along with some muffins and cakes. Nearby on a wall, there was a hanging portrait of an explore with Capper's face stuck over the figure's identity.
"And who exactly did you buy this skiff from, Capper?" Twilight asked.
"Honestly, little pony," Capper replied, "it was stolen from the Armada many years ago by a very old friend of mine when we were both young, handsome and dashing. He gave it to me for some of the town's currency in return."
"So, that's where my skiffs have been going then!" Tempest added, jokingly. Capper gulped but relaxed after Twilight and Tempest both started laughing.
"It's in good condition. We can start by heading to Tempest's homeland now if you want. The tank's full and the engine is ready."
Capper raced off to the top deck where the steering wheel was, while the others started to relax in the many armchairs that were plonked across the floor of the room. Celestia was completely baffled.
"So, let me get this straight; Capper is now no longer capturing civilians and selling them to the now-dissolved Armada, but is now a taxi driver?"
Twilight gave off her nervous laugh again. "Oh, I'm sure that's what he is! Heh, heh!"
"Does anypony else think that we should have gotten someone else to take us to Waterville?" Spike asked the group. Everypony else nodded back, but before they could mention anything else, they felt the skiff begin to shake with power, before hearing Capper's voice from above.
"Are you all ready to see me give this baby the juice?!"
Everyone on board fell silent with worry and held onto whatever felt wasn't going to move about in the cabin. Twilight watched in horror as she saw Celestia give off an angry expression and mouth something which Twilight knew would best be not mentioned out loud. The sound of engines grew louder until, eventually, the skiff starting pulling out of the skiffport at a ridiculous speed which caused Twilight and the others to be thrown out into the back wall of the skiff, knocking Capper's painting off at the force of the impact.
"Capper! Ugh! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!"
Twilight tried to say more but was silenced by the loud noise that the skiff was making, while racing on ahead into the gold, yellow sky ahead and off into the distance towards their desired destination.
"Well..." Twilight tried to say, but struggled at the speed that she was going at, "...at least... we don't need to walk any further!"
Mount Aris Midday
It was raining heavily all over the mountains and the sea that surrounded the beautiful kingdom of Mount Aris. Raindrops falling constantly, flooding the fields of the hills that managed to poke up to the sky itself and into the clouds, especially the tallest sculpture that was plonked in the middle of the island. All the hippogriffs were on the ground, for the rain would weigh them down as they flew about in the sky and around the mountains. Around Mount Aris was a beach and on that beach was a group of parrots wearing pirate clothing either sitting or standing under some shelter that had been made by the hippogriffs.
One of the parrots was a female; tall with multicoloured clothing and standing on a fake leg, made of emeralds while holding a pair of binoculars in her claws. Her main body was a shade of light gambogeish grey and her eyes were a moderate raspberry. Appearing from the back of her coat was a sap green tail which would drag on the floor. Her bird-like ears flopped to the sides of her head as her hat was plonked on top with the biggest red feather which hung from the back.
Adjusting her binoculars, the parrot looked up into the grey sky looking for any sign of light from the sun. Next to her was Grin, a slightly shorter green parrot with red feathers poking out at the back of his head like a Mohican and also had a long, green tail. He had yellow and red rings around his eyes and wore a brown waistcoat and green-brown shorts. Grin could only see with his left eye, as his right was covered by an eyepatch.
"What's happening out there, Captain Celaeno?" Grin asked.
Celaeno kept looking through the binoculars for a while, without answering Grin's question, but then pulled the binoculars away from her eyes and looked at her companion.
"I only see seagulls flying," Celaeno replied, "these won't do. Hand me the telescope, please, Grin."
Grin took the binoculars away from Celaeno and replaced it with a long, red telescope covered with blue gemstones. Celaeno adjusted the telescope to the correct distance and peered into it, trying to avoid looking directly at the sun. She could see further into the thick, grey clouds that were beginning to steal away all colour that was remaining in the sky. A flock of seagulls appeared from the thick clouds which formed around them and flew towards the trees that covered the island. The thunder was getting louder and the waves were becoming stronger, crashing into the rocks of the beautiful and majestic hills of Mount Aris.
"That's better. Now we can find out what's making all those birds fly off their course to where they're meant to be heading to."
For a while, nothing happened. But then, after sounding its horn, a skiff appeared from the labyrinth of clouds and started to slow down as it drew closer to the land. Unlike skiffs that Celaeno had seen in the past, this skiff didn't look like one that belonged to the Armada. Instead, it looked less frightening than the ones Celaeno saw and drove when she was working for the Storm King before the Mane Six came and saved everyone from certain doom.
"Who in Celestia's name could that be?" Grin asked. It didn't, however, take Celaeno long to figure out who was on board the skiff.
"I think I may know," Celaeno replied, "allow them to touch down on the beach. Let's go and welcome them like proper guests, Grin."
Grin ran over to an empty skiff bay, where Celaeno's new ship was parked and waved his arms at the oncoming skiff to grab its driver's attention.
Meanwhile, inside the skiff, Capper saw Grin waving his arms about and presumed that would be where he was told to land. He grinned and started to land. He looked back and saw Twilight, Spike, Celestia, Tempest and Grubber all on top of each other, looking a shade of green.
"We're here, my little ponies!"
The others groaned, before getting back onto their hooves (or feet in Spike and Grubber's case) and peering out of the windows, realising that they had indeed arrived at Mount Aris. They all gasped in awe at how beautiful the home of the hippogriffs had become in only a few months. Twilight spotted hundreds of hippogriffs flying around in the sky and a few seaponies poking their heads above the water's surface. Many of them had come over to see what was happening or who exactly was coming to their land.
Capper landed the skiff, perhaps not as carefully as he should have done (knocking a flagpole in the process), onto the loading bay. As soon as he touched down onto the ground, Capper turned off the engines and rushed out to be greeted by Celaeno, while the others walked out at a normal pace. Capper and Celaeno hugged each other, and then Celaeno welcomed Twilight and her friends when they appeared by Capper's side.
"Well, princess," Celaeno said, "it's been a while."
"It has, Celaeno," Twilight replied, "I've always wanted to come back to Mount Aris**."
"And I'm glad that you could come. Queen Novo and Princess Skystar have allowed us to live here. I know that Celestia did offer somewhere for us to stay, but Mount Aris has spoken to us."
"The honer was still mine!" Celestia said from behind Twilight, "I'm glad to see Mount Aris back to its former glory. At some point, while we're here, I would wish to speak to Queen Novo and her daughter, Princess Skystar. It would be the first time we've properly met, without having to suffer from the aftermath of the Storm King."
"Her Majesty, Queen Novo, and Princess Skystar are still in Seaquestria at the moment," Celaeno explained, "however as the sister of Queen Novo, Ocean Flow could get hold of them."
"Of course!" Twilight replied, "Go ahead, Celaeno! Apologises, Princess Celestia, if this did seem a little too rushed."
"No, no, not at all!" Celestia replied.
Celaeno and Grin raced off, leaving Twilight, Celestia, Spike, Tempest, Grubber and Capper standing on the shores of Mount Aris, waiting for the arrival of Novo and Skystar. There wasn't really anything to sit on while they waited, apart from some seaweed covered rocks, so they resisted and kept standing on. Little did they know, though, of what was actually happening below the water's surface.
"May I ask, Celestia," Twilight directly said to Celestia, "do you know what's happening with Queen Novo?"
Celestia gave a heavy sigh.
"I honestly have no idea, Twilight. That queen is quite a handful sometimes and it doesn't take a lot to tick her off. Especially in front of her only daughter..."
A party was happening underwater in the throne room of Seaquestria, which was one of the first to ever take place since the arrival of their first guests. Hundreds of seaponies were swimming around playing musical instruments and wearing party clothing, such as huge pink sunglasses and party hats. All seaponies big and small, old and young were getting involved. Well, apart from two that was.
Sitting on the biggest throne which looked down at the party floor, was Queen Novo herself. Next to her was a tiny red-orange octopus holding a tray in one of his tentacles, portraying a range of fishy snacks and seaweed drinks, which were protected in a magical bubble that didn't mix with the salty sea water that was around them. Jamal, the octopus, offered the tray to Queen Novo, who refused and returned to lying on her throne dramatically. Jamal seemed puzzled by his queen's behaviour and swam closer to her face, examining Novo's expressions. He noticed that she was bored, displeased and quite frankly, annoyed. Jamal quickly swam back as Novo sat up and stretched her fishy arms in the water.
"Oh, Jamal!" Queen Novo cried, "I'm so tired of sitting on my throne and watching the kingdom that I rule pass by. I'm tired of my seaweed wraps, I'm tired of nothing happening and I'm tired of my daughter constantly raving on about the 'world above'! Am I going mad, Jamal?"
Novo only got a bubbly response from her favourite octopus. Sometimes, when she was alone with him, Novo did forget that Jamal was an octopus and couldn't really talk Equis Common (English in Ponyish), and instead had conversations with him about how she was feeling secretly away from all the civilians who lived in either Seaquestria or Mount Aris above the water's surface. Each day, she would see seaponies swim up and out of the water and turn into beautiful hippogriffs in the open air. But yet, even now it had no longer become a pleasure but something that Novo would see every single day and have done ever since peace had been restored in and out of Equestria.
"If I ever had the chance to head back to Equestria, then I would take the opportunity. It's changed ever so a lot since I stayed over with Celestia when we were both young in Canterlot for the first time. A time before the Storm King came to the throne after the fall of his father and destroyed the beautiful land that we all called home!"
Jamal replied with exclaimed bubbling, flapping his tentacles about in the water.
"I know! I know! Mamma's not happy! If you would Jamal, I wish to be alone with my daughter."
As Jamal swam off, Queen Novo sighed and swam away from her throne and off to a large, smooth rock. Unlike the other dull, grey rocks that sat around the room, this rock had a painting on it. The painting showed a family image of Novo, a very small Skystar and her late husband. It was colourful, bright and very well maintained. Novo put one of her fins onto the painting, rubbing over Skystar's chest directly where her heart would be. She then moved her fin across onto her husband's heart and held it there while she rested her head on the wall, but was then interrupted by the sound of a shell being blown into making a musical note. Novo turned and saw two guards, one with the shell in his fin and another beside him.
"Your majesty, Queen Novo! Your daughter has arrived!"
Novo quickly rubbed her eyes out of all emotion and replaced her upset expression with a stern look. She swam away from the picture and in front of the guards, whom both of which bowed.
"Bring her in here, please."
The guards quickly swam off to the seaweed-covered doorway in which they came out and went through into the black abyss. While they were gone, Novo returned to Jamal who was waiting patiently with his tray of delicious treats for to have. Novo picked some up with her fins and stuffed them into her mouth, crunching them perhaps too quickly to swallow. She burped loudly and coughed. Novo bashed her chest with her fist, making the contents in her mouth fire out into the water and float around her. Jamal, not being too pleased, quickly swam up to clean up the regarded food.
It wasn't long, thankfully, until the guards eventually returned with a yellow seapony in between them at their sides. Princess Skystar was slightly older now and bigger in height and size. Her fins were longer, mixed with a darker blue, and her body had reflective fish scales which would bounce off any light, making her look even more stunning than before. Before, Skystar had a red flower perked to the side of her head, but now she wore a tiny golden tiara with glistering jewels that sat just on top of her head. Despite looking as beautiful, Skystar was feeling her usual self; depressed, bored and annoyed.
Since she returned to Mount Aris and Seaquestria, Skystar had been grounded by her mother for leaving her home without telling where she was heading to. Skystar, of course, was helping in the Battle of Canterlot after the Mane Six and Spike were kicked out when Twilight stole their magic pearl. She was the only hippogriff to help defeat the Storm King, which did make Novo slightly jealous that she didn't agree to help Twilight in the first place.
"You called for me, mother?" Skystar said. Queen Novo took her daughter by her fin and carefully dragged her along. After using her other fin to wave off the guards, Novo swam back up to her throne and told Skystar to sit in hers.
"Yes, darling. I wanted to just have a discussion; just between the two of us. I don't want you to get too excited, but I have received news this morning that the Princess of Equestria and the Princess of Friendship have landed on our shores."
Skystar gasped with joy and clapped her fins together.
"Princess Celestia and... Princess Twilight! I don't believe it! It's been, like, forever since I last saw Twilight and her friends!"
Novo scowled at the mention of Twilight's name. That retched pony! She was the one she hated the most. Her attitude towards her kingdom was beyond toxic; it was completely disgraceful. Princess of Friendship? She didn't deserve that title! Queen Novo remembered clearly when Twilight's friends distracted her and Skystar while Twilight sneaked up to the pearl and tried to take it, only to gain electrical burns across her body. In Novo's mind, she deserved it.
"Oh, of course. The princess who attempted to steal our kingdom's pearl, the only thing that has prevented us from falling apart and into the darkness of the past. The Storm King stretched across the boundlands and Equestria, destroying all beauty and love from the world! And I lost the seapony whom I loved and Mount Aris, and an alicorn came and nearly took everything away from me! From us!"
Princess Skystar frowned. She thought that her mother had now left the past behind her and had forgiven the ponies who came begging for help, yet to leave and head home with nothing in their hooves. Skystar knew that her mother was strict on sharing the power that she held, even after peace had been declared in Equestria.
"But... they're our friends... aren't they?"
Skystar swam closer to her mother and put a fin on her shoulder in which her mother smiled and sighed heavily. Novo's eyes glimmered, sparkling brightly like diamonds. Many emotions were hitting her hard as if she had been in an accident and went head first into a brick wall. Twisting her lips, Novo folded her arms and put her back to Skystar in frustration.
"They're only our friends if they promise not to betray our kind. The princess and her friends are still not welcome to return to my kingdom unless they promise never to commit any more crimes against Seaquestria. Princess Twilight Sparkle may not visit us again until she has apologised for her actions."
Novo looked away from her daughter again, which made Skystar feel upset and abandoned. She knew that her mother wasn't the same as she used to be ever since her father died. Even though they had Mount Aris back in their power, Novo still looked back to the happier times in the past. Skystar swam up to her mother again, placing a fin on her chin and making Novo look directly into her eyes.
"Mum, please. Twilight saved our home. She defeated the Storm King and gave us a place to call 'home' again. How can you hate somepony who did that all for us? They're waiting for us, above the surface!"
Skystar's pupils then suddenly widened and her face changed to look like an adorable puppy begging to be picked and taken home by a curious pony willing to buy it. She clasped her flippers together and bent her tail, making it look as if she was kneeling to her mother when instead she remained floating in the water and off the steps that lead to her mother's throne. Novo nudged back into her throne at the sight of her daughter kneeling to her. She felt embarrassed, as Novo noticed that many of her guards had been watching them the whole time. Jamal had come back, holding strings of seaweed on one of his tentacles, and stopped dead in his tracks. He made some rather bizarre noises out of his parrot-shaped mouth from underneath his tentacles and then started to back up slightly.
"Please?" Skystar asked again.
Queen Novo groaned loudly. There was no point arguing anymore against her daughter, as she knew they would never stop doing so. There was a brief pause, with every sea creature watching Novo and Skystar silently in the background.
"Fine!" Novo snapped, perhaps too aggressively, "I'll go back to Mount Aris... and meet the princess."
Skystar suddenly lit up with joy and excitement and quickly swam in circles, laughing with joy. Finally, after months of being grounded, she was able to see her friends again.
"Horray! Thank you, mother! Thank you!"
The excited teenage princess swam back to her mum and gave her a hug, in which Novo returned the favour, wrapping her arms around Skystar's neck. Both laughed happily, swimming around in the water gracefully as if they were dancing in a ballroom back on land. Knowing their queen's decision, the other seaponies, fish and other sea creatures, including Jamal, started cheering and celebrating. The guards cried with joy and clapped on Novo and Skystar, as they made their way out of the throne room.
"We're going now?" Skystar asked, still excited.
"Well, of course, dear! The sooner we clear things up between the Princess of Friendship and I, the better. Come, Skystar; we must leave at once!"
Grabbing hold of Skystar's fin, Queen Novo started swimming towards the exit of the chamber, leaving Jamal and the rest of the civilians inside. They swam through the many dark tunnels that led up to the water's surface, right next to the beach where their "guests" were waiting.
Mount Aris
Meanwhile, above the surface, Twilight was sitting on a large boulder completely motionless as she watched the waves move towards her and crash into the large boulders that were placed around the beach. Despite the sound of the water, and the bird-like cries of the hippogriffs as they flew around in the sky, it was almost silent on the shores of Mount Aris. Twilight looked up and saw the hippogriffs fly in circles above her head like birds surrounding their prey in the emptiness of the desert.
The desert.
The last land that Twilight and the rest of the convoy had to go through before they reached Tempest's hometown was yet another desert, the one that Tempest herself had to cross when she left her village for the last time. It was filled with scorpions and rattlesnakes, extremely poisonous and life-threatening if an unexpected hoof landed right on top of them. During the day, the heat was unbelievably strong. Twilight wondered while she was sitting down if Celestia could lower the sun in the sky to a more controlled temperature The sand was the worst; it stung Twilight's hooves while walking through its vast emptiness. It rubbed into her fur, causing blisters, and the dripping sweat from her mane would sink into them. Even an alicorn could feel pain and Twilight remembered how painful it was.
Snapping out of thought, Twilight looked behind her and saw Tempest and Celestia walking side by side towards her boulder. Tempest seemed to be her usual self, but Celestia had bags under eyes and had a massive frown on her face. Her expression looked as if the smallest thing could easily set her off and every time she looked at somepony, Celestia looked as if she was giving off a deadly scowl.
"Any sign of Queen Novo yet?" Tempest asked.
Twilight shook her head in response.
"I'm afraid not. I don't understand what could be taking them so long. I was told by one of the hippogriffs that they've received word that we've landed on Mount Aris, so hopefully, they should emerge soon from Seaquestria."
It was then Twilight noticed that Celestia looked terrible and extremly tired.
"You seem... tired, princess..." Twilight began but was cut off by Celestia's attitude.
"I am. I had a distasteful dream, Twilight! And the night before that, and the night before! I have been suffering from nightmares for the past month or so!"
"Nightmares?" Tempest asked.
Celestia then realised that the pony in which she still had a grudge on was standing next to her. Sweat began to drip down her neck and suddenly Celestia started to feel really hot. Twilight and Tempest looked at each other, both presenting confused expressions.
"Why have you been getting nightmares, princess?" Twilight asked, raising a hoof to her chin.
Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, Twilight, Tempest; everypony and creature in fact. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few nights or so. I know that what I'm about to say is not what you'd expect me to say, but I... I still have..."
"Yes?"
Everypony fell completely silent. They leaned in closer, stretching their necks as far out as they could until they started to make Celestia uncomfortably invading her space. Twilight frowned in dread as what she was about to hear, wasn't going to be pleasant. Eventually, after a gruelling silence, Celestia spoke again.
"It's nothing important. I swear."
The group all sighed in disappointment at the dissolved excitement that led up to what Celestia was going to say. Becoming slightly annoyed, Celestia started to trot away from the group and onto the seashore of Mount Aris. At first, no one tried to get into her way and allowed Celestia to walk on, with her head low and her wings weighed down towards the ground. Twilight had never seen Celestia like this before. Usually, Celestia was the pony every creature in Equestria knew and loved; kind, generous and elegant in every way possible. This was the first time Twilight had seen Celestia so upset before and troubled.
"Celestia, wait!"
Leaving the others behind, Twilight trotted after Celestia as quickly as her hooves could take her. She galloped through some thick thorny branches and larger plants until she arrived on the beach. Twilight ran onto the sand and screeched to a halt when she was close enough for Celestia to hear her.
"Where are you going? What's wrong?"
Celestia stopped walking along the beach and turned around. She looked upset. Twilight noticed that there were tears in Celestia's eyes, reflecting in the sunshine. They looked like diamonds instead of dirty tears, shining brightly, and showing different colours instead of a natural grey colour which would normally be expected to appear in tears. The drips of tears created long lines down Celestia's cheeks; they poured down the sides of her mouth, some of which went into her mouth, and then transferred down her neck.
"I'm sorry, Twilight."
Twilight couldn't do anything, but give her a hug around the neck. Celestia accepted the embrace and pulled Twilight in closer, using her front left leg. It had been a while since they last hugged each other, but the wait was worth it. Twilight then pulled away and sat herself down on a dry bolder with seaweed attached to its sides, while Celestia sat on another bolder with starfish attached to it, hanging over a small rockpool full of different sea creatures.
"What I'm about to say must stay between you and I and no other pony. I can't afford... anypony else to know, because I mustn't risk any more problems with... with our friends."
Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I'm... I'm confused, princess. Is this about Tempest and Grubber?"
Celestia, at first, nodded but then stopped and bit her lip. "Well, not so much Grubber. I'm more concerned about Tempest. You see, I don't... it's very difficult for me to explain."
"I understand."
For a moment, they remained silent. Sitting as still as possible, Twilight and Celestia simply listened to the sound of nearby waves that crashed into the rocks along the beach, the cries of seagulls as they flew over the cliffs of Mount Aris, the laughter of the hippogriffs in the villages in the mountains and the music of the Harmonising Heights that played the most beautiful and charming of all music pieces. All of these things put together made Mount Aris look like the perfect place to live and the most spectacular of all kingdoms. A gust of wind blew over the water towards Twilight and Celestia; it was cool, making them shiver. Celestia pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, covering up her blue-green mane and her white ears. Twilight felt goosebumps pop all over her body, and suddenly she became very cold.
Slightly turning her head, Twilight looked back at Celestia, but she didn't move. Celestia continued to stare down at the grey water while wrapping herself in her cloak and lifting the hood up over her head. Splashes from the waves of the sea landed as drops onto Celestia's cloak and sometimes into her loose mane. Celestia licked her lips, tasting the sea salt that had landed near her muzzle and jaw, and shivered whenever a light breeze passed her.
"I was talking to my sister, Luna, this morning at breakfast," Celestia said, seeming quieter than usual, "she says... she says that there is something... dark... inside of me."
Twilight put a hoof to her chin and thought for a while, trying to think back to anything that she could relate to what Celestia had mentioned. She then remembered something.
"Is this about... you know... your alter ego that Starlight mentioned?"
Celestia looked back at Twilight again. "You mean, Daybreaker?"
Twilight nodded. "Starlight told me this when she returned to my castle. More specifically, an evil counterpart. Starlight said that she went under the pseudonym of Daybreaker and had a similar look to you, with the addition of sun-related designs over her body and an orange colour that resembled the sun."
Celestia shuddered at the thought of it. "I never want to become that hideous beast! Never in my years will I want to become something that could easily destroy Equestria in the blink of an eye. I am meant to be the Princess of the Sun, not the Princess of Destruction."
Another pause followed. Twilight struggled to find the words that would make a constructive sentence, rather than something that was going to make everything worse. Really, this was too far away from home and wasn't the place to sort out Celestia's problem. But, being a good friend, Twilight tried her best to comfort her. Leaning over to her, Twilight awkwardly rested her head on Celestia's chest, feeling her soft white fur and placing a hoof directly on top of her physical heart.
"Celestia," Twilight began, "you are the greatest teacher to have taught me, especially the important value of friendship. I never listened to you, because of my stubbornness and addiction to the value of learning. If anything, you would be the least likely pony to destroy the land we both know and love."
Celestia looked up at the grey sky and watched the tiny dots flying about, recognising them as hippogriffs. They would disappear into the clouds and then reappear, swooping down at speed. Celestia exhaled, before closing her eyes and leaning back onto the rock. The atmosphere around her was relaxing; hearing the sound of the waves and the cries of the hippogriffs was a glorious change from what she normally heard in the busy streets of Canterlot. Her ears flopped down to her sides and she smiled.
"You really think so, Twilight?" Celestia asked.
"Of course, princess."
They lay together, not too close but close enough that they were comfortable with. They didn't move for a while. Celestia wrapped her cloak around Twilight, who was beginning to shiver from the cold. The water continued to crash against the rocks and splash them, as the clouds continued to gather and turn the sky a dark grey.
On the shore, back where Capper had parked his skiff, Spike, Tempest, Grubber, Capper and Celaeno all gathered together underneath some shelter from the freezing wind that was sweeping across Mount Aris. Capper and Celaeno were thankful that they were still wearing their long thick coats, but Spike and Grubber were exposed as they wore nothing. Tempest still wore the cloak that she wore everywhere she went, but it was old and had holes across it. More water splashed near them, making Spike and Grubber jump out of the way and hiding behind the others.
"Queen Novo is obviously taking longer than I imagined," Tempest said. The others looked back at her. "I thought that now the Storm King has been defeated and that there is peace among us now, that she wouldn't have to live in... what is it called again?"
Captain Celaeno scratched the back of her head, trying to remember the name of the place. "I believe it was called 'Seaquestria'."
Tempest's eyes narrowed until they were approximately the shapes of semi-circles, making her face emotionless. "The one place that we tried to track down and find. The Storm King wanted the power of the hippogriffs for himself after he would defeat the four princesses, including Twilight. Of course, it never worked."
Capper coughed loudly, which managed to silence the group.
"If I know my Queen Novo and her daughter, Skystar, they'd be happy to help out any day, now that the Storm King has been defeated."
Tempest then rubbed the back of her mane with one of her hooves and blushed. "Well, this would be the first proper time that we've met in fourteen years when I took her place in the Armada. I can't imagine what they would have done to Skystar if they put her into the Storm King's army. It would have crushed Queen Novo's heart for sure, especially after losing her husband."
Spike quickly looked at Tempest in surprise. "She had a husband?"
"He was lost in combat years ago," Grubber explained, "it was a war between the hippogriffs and the Armada. Of course, the Storm King swooped in and made them leave here. Queen Novo's husband tried to distract the Storm King from hurting her and Princess Skystar, but... he didn't make it."
"Oh," Spike replied, sounding grave, "I see."
"My parents were killed in an invasion by the Armada," Celaeno added, "I was only a teenager then. The Storm Guards threw me into the Armada, but I escaped and joined a crew of, well, pirates as you say. All of whom had lost something or someone. So we did what pirates did; found treasure, explored the skies, all that stuff that happens in stories. But then the Storm King found us again and forced us to work for him. Hense why we became delivery guys and gals."
Spike nodded. He then looked at Grubber. "What about you?"
Grubber licked his lips, looking up at the sky, presumably in thought. At first, he didn't say anything, but after a while, he eventually started his story.
"Well, looking back, all I can remember is meeting Capper when I was abandoned by my parents. Capper took me in and raised me as his own. It stayed that way for a few years and then we met Tempest after she ran away from her home. It's a blur after that; I don't remember the rest until we started planning the attack on Canterlot. That's all I got."
"I see," Spike replied, intrigued, "and you, Capper?"
Capper sighed and leaned on a large boulder. He then started to fiddle with his paws, crisscrossing each of his anthropomorphic fingers and picking at the tips of his claws.
"I come from far, far away from Equestria, a place where there isn't a pony in sight, but all different and fantastic creatures living and working together. I was in a band since I was in my mid-teens, the name of which I can't remember, which was my main income. But when the Storm King came to the throne, he rose the taxes and we split up and went our separate ways. I was broke, hence why I started selling slaves to him. I must have been sixteen."
After Capper finished, everyone fell silent for a while. But it didn't last long.
"So, when is Queen Novo and Princess Skystar coming again?" Celaeno asked.
"Twilight hopes that they'll be arriving soon from Seaquestria and landing here on Mount Aris," Spike replied, "but we know that Queen Novo is a difficult hippogriff to persuade. She's probably still down there, arguing with Skystar."
Everyone suddenly jumped at the surprised sound of thunder, crashing loudly up in the sky. The clouds became a darker grey and morphed closer together. It became very dark and little light was visible. A single raindrop then fell from the sky and landed into a tiny puddle on the hard rock surface. More followed, bouncing on the hard surface. The rain also landed on the sandy beach at the edge of the island, making it soggy and clay-like.
Spike rushed under a large tree with huge leaves, in which everyone else followed from behind. Even though it wasn't the most efficient way of staying dry, there was very little to hide underneath. Still, they got wet, especially Capper, whose fur had become completely drenched.
"I hope they arrive soon," Capper added, "I hate rain, and I hate getting wet."
"That's because you're a cat!" Tempest said, "And cats hate water, especially when they get covered in it. It's biological."
Capper frowned and folded his arms. "That's offensive."
Tempest snorted angrily. Since they first met fourteen years ago, she and Capper had been constant rivals. From Capper selling Tempest to Tempest taking everything away from Capper, they had been non-stop enemies. Even after peace had been restored in Equestria, the two of them knew that it would take a miracle to bring them together again. Spike, Grubber and Celaeno backed up to give the two some space.
"I thought that you were my friend! I thought that you would help me after I left my home. But then you sold me to the Storm King when I was just a filly!" Tempest shouted.
"Well, I wasn't the one who destroyed someone else's skiff while their 'friend' was still on board!" Capper argued back.
"Guys, shut up," Celaeno snapped, stern enough to grasp both their attention, "just in case you two have forgotten, we're still waiting for Queen Novo and Princess Skystar. I think the last thing Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight need are pointless arguments that just aren't going to get us anywhere."
Tempest and Capper immediately stopped fighting. Both had a sudden wave of guilt wash over them like nausea or a headache. They looked away from each other in opposite directions and didn't give eye contact. Celaeno sighed and walked away, heading her way back to the princesses.
"It won't be long soon," Celaeno said to herself, "I know Queen Novo will be coming soon. Her daughter, Princess Skystar, would surely persuade her to surface from the water."
Twilight and Celestia were still sitting on the same rocks, watching the water move closer towards them as the day moved on. The reflection of the sun's light had changed from a white-yellow to a golden orange, and it had become much warmer than it was previously. Celestia removed her hood from her head and let her enchanted mane wave in the wind like a flag tied to its pole, and then she breathed in the strong smell of sea salt.
Suddenly, a patch of bubbles arose to the surface about a metre away from Twilight and Celestia, before popping out of existence, which caught the attention of the two princesses.
"What was that?" Twilight asked. Celestia scratched the back of her head with her hoof and stuck her lower lip out.
"Could it be...?" she said, trailing off, "...I can't really tell from this far away."
Twilight and Celestia jumped off from their rock and inched forwards towards the water's edge. Another sequence of bubbles followed, forming in exactly the same place where the previous bubbles appeared.
"Could it be a fish, perhaps?" Twilight asked.
They were then distracted when Spike, Tempest, Grubber, Capper and Celaeno appeared from behind a long row of boulders placed purposely together to form a wall, which trailed from the sea to the cliff face at the bottom of the mountain. They walked up to Twilight and Celestia, before stopping on the wet sand.
"Anything yet?" Spike asked.
"Look there!" Twilight replied, pointing her hoof to the bubbles.
More appeared, until then a glowing golden light formed from underneath the water's surface. Another light appeared next to it but was instead white. Then, two creatures floated up from the two lights into the air and started to change shape from a seapony to a hippogriff. Twilight and the others watched from below in amazement and then stepped back to give space for the two creatures to land onto the beach.
One of the hippogriffs was yellow, with a blue silk-like mane and the other was white and slightly bigger, with large feathers across her body. Both were wearing crowns and had majestic eyes, shining brightly like polished jewels and other treasures that would be found under the sea. The white one stepped forwards and smiled elegantly, looking more beautiful than ever.
"Princess Celestia," Queen Novo said, "it's been a while."
Queen Novo walked up towards Princess Celestia slowly and gracefully along the wet sand of the beach, followed by the bubbly and excitable princess, Skystar. Leaving trails of prints behind in the sand, Queen Novo and her daughter jumped onto a flat boulder, where the pair of them stood together. Then, moments later, four seapony guards leapt into the air and transformed into hippogriffs, holding sharp spears and pointing them directly at their opponents' chests once they landed on the ground. When Celestia and Novo were eye level, they bowed before each other. Celestia then turned round to see Twilight, Spike, Tempest, Grubber, Capper and Celaeno not bowing, but standing and watching her as if they didn't know what to do.
"Bow!" Celestia whispered sharply.
Twilight quickly bent her front legs and the rest followed suit. The guards behind Queen Novo made a fist shape with their claws and bashed their chest pieces, before coming to ease again. Twilight and the rest of the others didn't get up, even when Celestia and Novo walked up to each other and shook hoof and claw in a friendly and informal way, and started to have their own conversation.
"It's good to see you again, Tia!" Novo whispered, "Especially after all these years!"
"I'm glad as well that we've crossed paths again, Novo," Celestia replied, "and perhaps this would be the first time we've met without any... obstacles in our way for a very long time. I'm honoured to visit Mount Aris again and see it in its former glory!"
After they had finished greeting each other, Celestia and Novo flew over to the grassy embankment, where the others were waiting for them. Novo soon noticed the many creatures that were already on Mount Aris awaiting for their arrival and saw the many tents that were pitched around the mountain, with many creatures inhabiting them.
"I knew that I had allowed for a few creatures to stay here, especially after their help in the Battle for Canterlot," Novo said, "but I didn't expect there to be this many. I thought that they were staying in Equestria now."
"Well, that's what I thought would have happened, Novo," Celestia replied, "but I guess they've kind of decided that this would be their home now. Capper still lives in Kludgetown, even after I welcomed him to live with us in Equestria. I apologise that this still hasn't been fixed yet. We're trying to get to Tempest's birthplace at the moment, though it is taking a rather long time."
Princess Celestia and Queen Novo continued walking around Mount Aris at a steady pace, in which the queen herself gave what seemed like a very shallow tour of her kingdom. Many of the things she mentioned were that she was one of the few hippogriffs to ever be allowed in the Harmonising Heights before they fled to safety underwater. She recalled the music that played there and the day when it fell silent for what felt like would be the last time. That was, really, the only thing that Novo shed a tear too, while other things didn't receive a single reaction.
"The anthropomorphic parrot and her crew," Novo continued, "have been the most helpful to me. They have helped rebuild Mount Aris. I see them as great companions now and honoured servants to my throne. This will especially be important in the future when my daughter, Princess Skystar, takes after me on the day I pass on. She has been much happier now. She misses the ponies whom she helped defeat the Storm King, and... er... your friend, Tempest Shadow. So, you're visiting her birthplace, then?"
"Indeed," Celestia replied, "by request from its current leaders, I'm making my way to visit them on some political matters, shall we say? That is why I have brought along Tempest Shadow, as well as her other friends. We stopped by Kludgetown and met up with Capper, a cat whom I hear 'helped', so to say, Twilight and her friends find your kingdom."
"So Tempest has been pardoned, yes?" Novo asked, curious, "Have you... made amends with her yet?"
Celestia suddenly gulped and felt as if something was trapped in her throat. Clearly, Queen Novo had triggered something in her to make it feel as if she was going to be sick. Celestia always felt such hatred towards criminals in and out of Equestria, and Tempest had indeed broken vast amount of laws back in the days of the Armada. But then Celestia also remembered that Tempest was only a child when the Storm King brought her into his army and only became the mare she was from the Armada itself. Even though the death penalty was now abolished in Equestria, imprisonment was not, and as soon the party ended at Equestria's victory, Tempest was thrown into the dungeon of Canterlot itself and left until Twilight eventually pleaded for her release. It wasn't until two weeks later that Tempest was eventually freed.
"So?"
Celestia suddenly snapped back to the present. She tried to remember the question and hesitated at first. Her mind went blank.
"I, er, yes!" Celestia replied quickly, "She is now free. Twilight has also become great friends with her, making Tempest feel welcome in Canterlot. This has been the first time that we've properly hung out together; like a family field trip, or holiday let's say!"
Novo looked back and saw Twilight and the others still at the edge of the beach, waiting for some kind of command or sign that it was okay leave their spot. Novo chuckled slightly and stopped, with Celestia stopping next to her. Novo then leaned in closer to Celestia's ear and lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Have we finished our little chat together, Celestia?" Novo asked.
Celestia cocked her head to one side and looked back. She noticed the small group of creatures standing not too far away from the sea, waiting for her to say something or give a sign that she was fine to have them snooping around and listening to their conversation.
"I think so," Celestia replied, "why don't we hang around with the others for a while? Now would be a good time to catch up with what I've missed."
Novo didn't respond and continued walking towards Capper and Celaeno's crew, while Celestia stopped in her tracks. Twilight, Tempest, Spike and Grubber caught up with Celestia. As they had heard the conversation between Celestia and Novo, there was no need to speak up. Turning her head around, Twilight saw Skystar slowly walked up behind her and smiled, about to probably say something instead.
Twilight immediately lit up at the sound of the conversation switching to something a little less formal and not being related to her incident with Novo months previously. Twilight and Spike stopped following Celestia and Novo, and hung around Skystar, while Tempest and Grubber continued walking on. "She's fine, thank you for asking. Still working in Ponyville at Suger Cube Corner. Nothing exciting has happened in a while, though."
Skystar nodded. "I see, that's good. Sorry if my mum's being a little insecure at the moment. She's still a little unimpressed at... er... well..."
"Me?" Twilight finished. She frowned. "I'm so sorry. I... I seriously messed up. Your mum is right about something; I am a thief."
Twilight lowered her head in guilt and looked down at the rock that she was standing on. She stroked its smooth surface with her hoof like a soft furry animal, feeling the cold water that had washed over the rock like a blanket covering over an object.
"Twilight was only doing what she thought was right," Spike added, placing a claw on her shoulder, "even though, afterwards, she understood her mistakes. Twilight wouldn't have meant to hurt any creature's feelings. you believe us, right?"
Skystar scoffed. "Well, duh! Of course, I believe you guys! I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't. I know that my mum can be like this sometimes, but she really is thankful for you saving our home from the Storm King, even if she doesn't show it."
Twilight smiled. She leaned into Skystar, who brought her into a hug. Spike, who was in between the two of them, squeezed into their embrace and experienced the favour. After a while, they separated from each other and chuckled happily.
"Thanks for being there for us, Skystar," Twilight said, "I don't know what we've would have done without you at the battle of Canterlot. Or Celano. Or even Capper. It's been too long since we last saw you."
Jumping onto a taller boulder, Skystar giggled, snorting while she did so, and pulled out her "pet" shell, Shelly, from her pocket and presented her to Twilight and Spike.
"Don't worry, you two!" Skystar replied, cheerfully, "Shelly's been keeping me company, as well as Sheldon. He gets jealous, though, sometimes, as I spend more time with Shelly. Even though mum allows me to spend more time with the other seaponies and hippogriffs, I still miss all of you guys. I really would like to go back to Equestria someday and see all of you guys again."
"Well, I'm sure that I can organise a time when you can come along. There's always something to do in Canterlot! Oh, and come to Ponyville when you have the chance! Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity would love to see you again, Skystar!"
Skystar sighed happily and placed her fins together in a praying position and looked up to the sky. "Oh, I just wish that mother would allow me to go and explore the world with you, Twilight! Though she probably won't, knowing her. She still struggles to let me go and explore anywhere that isn't part of Seaquestria or Mount Aris. The furthest that I've gotten is Kludgetown and then after a few hours or so, her guards take me home. Mum only cares about the throne and me being its next leader and nothing else. Ever since dad died... I've been the thing that she protects the most, besides that stupid pearl that she used to transform us into seaponies. You're so lucky to live in a world where you don't have to fear about being discovered, Twilight. That's why I always wanted to leave and go my own way to see the world... and Equestria."
Twilight hung a hoof around Skystar's neck, forcing her head towards her. "You know, Skystar, you're still young and curious about the world around you. I can understand how you're feeling; I was excited about going to magic school with Princess Celestia herself! It wasn't until after I graduated that I realised I didn't know what I was going to do next. If I didn't wait for time to pass and go to Ponyville at the right time in my life, then I wouldn't have truly discovered who I really am. Perhaps it will be the same for you, in some case."
Skystar thought for a moment but then shook her head. "But I want to explore now! It's not fair! I'm so curious about everything that you guys are doing. I wish..." She paused. "I wish that I could come with you guys."
Spike shrugged. "Really, you can't ask your mum, because she'll just say no?"
Skystar nodded. "Exactly! I don't see why I can't go my own way; the Storm King's defeated, Mount Aris is ours again and we're at peace. I still don't understand why I can go with my friends to different places and spend time there, like..."
"A holiday?" Twilight finished.
"Yeah! I think that would be the perfect thing for mum and I. We would have a chance to actually spend time together, instead of just sitting around underwater, doing nothing. It's so boring!"
Twilight and Spike looked at each other, as if guilty for what Skystar had gone through.
"I hear that you guys are going to Tempest's birthplace..." Skystar continued.
Twilight shrugged. "You could come along as well if you wanted. I mean, I don't know if your mum will allow it, though. But it would mean everything if we had another friend to come along."
Skystar suddenly lit up and squealed excitedly like a youngster at a sweet shop. She jumped forwards and gave Twilight and Spike a tight hug, squeezing them with delight, like they were two soft toys that she got for Hearth's Warming.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, both, so much!" Skystar cried. "I... love you two so much."
Twilight and Spike laughed and wrapped themselves around Skystar to return the favour of the hug. Never, did the two of them, expected Skystar to treat them like a second family and to even say the words 'I love you'. After experiencing their long hug, Twilight and Spike broke away from Skystar. They were about to turn around and try to persuade Novo to allow Skystar to join them, but Twilight and Spike noticed that Celestia and Novo had trotted off somewhere.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Celestia and Novo had, by this point, stopped to rest along with Capper, Celaeno and her crew. They were now inside a medium-sized marquee tent that had been propped up near Capper and Celaeno's skiffs. It wasn't properly fixed to the ground, nor was constructed correctly, causing the marquee to lean to one side. Celestia kept her cloak on, with her hood rested on the back half of her head, while Novo wrapped herself in a white silk cloak, that hung from her arms. While the two rulers sat opposite each other, the other creatures sat on the other sides of the table listening to their rather serious conversation.
"You mean you don't know?" Novo replied angrily, her expression near to a scowl.
Celestia leaned back in her chair, taken by shock at her friend's outburst. "No, I don't. What ever's the matter, Novo? You now live in peace, we are able to meet again; there isn't anything wrong... is there?"
Novo grumbled, looking away from Celestia and down towards the sand. "Your former student... Princess Twilight Sparkle... is not who she seems."
By this point, Celestia had the sudden urge to get up and leave without a word, feeling irked with what she believed to be untrue and mere rumours.
"I don't understand," Celestia replied, "what's wrong with Twilight? She saved you from the Storm King, along with her other friends. Why would you be angry with her?"
Novo then reached down and pulled out a small pouch that she, somehow, had been carrying without Celestia realising what it was. There, Novo reached into the pouch and pulled out the pearl. Celestia's jaw opened like a trap door at this sudden discovery.
"Is that...?" she began but froze.
Novo nodded. "This is the pearl, Celestia. Twilight stole this from behind my back, or at least attempted to steal it. I thought that she and her friends had come for help. After I explained that I couldn't do anything-"
"Could you, though?" Celestia interrupted.
Novo froze, with a guilty expression. "Well... perhaps, I could have. I was... scared, Celestia... and perhaps greedy. But, after I said that anyway, Twilight and her friends then went to hang out with my daughter, Skystar. Behind our backs, Twilight tried to take the pearl."
Celestia had become gobsmacked and struggled to believe the truth. At first, she thought that Novo was falsifying this drama, but by the look in her eyes, Celestia began to realise that she was telling the truth. "Twilight stole the pearl from you?!"
Novo nodded. "A traitor to our kind and a thief at heart."
Celestia, at first, tried to refuse to believe Novo's story. She felt that something wasn't right, something was lost between the story and what she believed to be a reality. Sure, Twilight wasn't the perfect pony; nopony was. But to hear those words, was, haunting.
'Traitor'. 'Thief'.
Sure, Celestia knew Novo to be grumpy sometimes, especially when they were younger and hung out together, but to call one of her other friends those horrible names was... distasteful.
"No, I wouldn't say that, Novo," Celestia said, trying to change the queen's opinion, "sure, twilight can be full of herself sometimes, but she isn't a criminal. Not at heart anyway."
Novo groaned and rubbed her eyes with her claws. "Look, I may have been despicable and full of myself, but wouldn't you feel the same thing if some creature took something that means everything to you? The pearl kept our home safe, it provided protection, warmth and love. And for a pony like Twilight to come and take it is the worst possible thing to happen to me. That pearl is everything."
Whilst listening, Celestia raised an eyebrow and leaned forwards. "That pearl, you say, is everything to you?" They remained silent for a moment, holding their tongues back like they were going to pounce like snakes and attack one another as if they were worthless prey. Before Novo had a chance to reply, Celestia added; "Then is it more important than your own daughter?"
"No, no, no, I didn't say that!" Novo argued, waving her arms in front of Celestia. "Of course Skystar is important to me. She means everything. But the pearl is also what holds the kingdom together. Even now after the defeat of the Armada, a form of threat could be around the corner, waiting to strike. The pearl is still as important as... as my family."
A tear poured down Novo's right cheek and dripped into her drink, causing a circle of ripples to form and spread to the edge of the cup, like the effect of a raindrop landing in either a puddle or a lake. Identifying her friend's sadness, Celestia leaned in and squeezed Novo in a tight hug. Suprised by this sign of affection, Novo, at first, refused to throw her arms around Celestia. However, as sudden memories of their younger selves being the best of friends, Novo eventually gave in and wrapped her arms around Celestia. They didn't think of it while they continued to hug, but after a while, Novo thought that she could sense some creature behind her, watching everything that was happening.
Capper and Celaeno looked like statues trapped in a walking position while they watched Celestia and Novo. Noticing the two unexpected guests, Novo broke free of Celestia and stood up, with Celestia later doing the same.
"Sorry if this isn't the right time," Capper said, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head, "but Celaeno heard about us heading to our desired destination and we wondered if... well, you know..."
Celestia and Novo looked at each other, puzzled, and then back to Capper. Celaeno, disappointed that Capper couldn't spell out what he wanted to say, joined the conversation.
"What Capper is trying to say, is that I was wondering if I could come along as well?" Celaeno asked, "It would be an honour to travel alongside the princess herself on her journey."
At first, neither Celestia or Novo replied. Novo found it rather disrespectful for creatures of a lower status to interrupt a conversation that she was having, especially with another member of royalty. But this then gave Novo an idea.
"Interesting thought, miss. You have been a loyal servant to me, Celaeno. I find you to be one of my most trusted subjects on Mount Aris. I, sadly, can't join Celestia on her journey. I have important things to attend to here, so it looks like you'll need to be the one to go along with her. Is that okay with you, Tia?"
Celestia nodded. "I don't have a problem with that."
Celaeno saluted. "I won't let you down, ma'am."
Before Novo could add anything else, Capper coughed loudly, grabbing every creature's attention.
"If I may suggest something, your highness and majesty, I do know a lot about the type of landscape, the residents and obstacles that you could be facing out there. There are Ursas, giant spider, undead creatures; anything that could easily sabotage our journey. I think I should lead you on this adventure!"
Celaeno scoffed. "Please! Like a cat would be able to lead a strong, powerful group of creatures such as ourselves! I shall lead every creature on this journey, and I will be able to avoid the monsters that lie ahead of us!"
"I have travelled across the whole of the desert near Kludgetown and know it like the back of my paw!"
"Well, I have driven skiffs into the Storm King's palace itself! Beat that!"
Novo shook her head, while Celestia groaned and smacked her hoof into her face.
"Morons."
"So, you're heading home?"
Princess Skystar was still asking her friends about what she had missed while they were still in Equestria. Twilight was lying on her front, her head resting on her front legs whilst listening to the pair of them chatting away, while Spike and Grubber were busy playing noughts and crosses in the sand. Tempest nodded at Skystar and then pointed her hoof off into the distance. Skystar looked in the direction of where Tempest's hoof was pointing to and saw that the land beyond was darker and seemed unhabitable.
"It's somewhere over there," she replied, "over the horizon. Hundreds of miles away. Hidden from all other forms of civilisations. That's my home."
"Celestia has some important business to attend to there," Twilight added, "she asked Tempest to join her on her journey. Spike, Grubber and I have also agreed to come along."
"That's so cool!" Skystar said, "That does sound like a holiday to me. Have you been there recently?"
Tempest shook her head. "No, I haven't. I left my village for the first and last time when I was ten years old. I don't remember much of it. I presume it's been long forgotten to most ponies, but Celestia somehow managed to find it. I bet nopony will remember or recognise me."
"But surely your friends and family will still be there?" Twilight asked, trying to be supportive.
Tempest froze with thought, as many memories were starting to fill her head like a sudden illness striking her hard. She remembered the pain of when the Ursa swiped its claw and sliced her horn from her head. The vision of her magic vanishing from existence for eternity and the pain that had remained with her for the last fourteen years. She remembered, after the bandages coming off her head, that she could only see through one eye and seeing her reflection in the mirror, to find her other eye having a long, deadly scar across it and the colour of her eye pale and lifeless.
The scar she still carried was long, reaching from the tip of her eyebrow down to her lower lip. She looked like some kind of creature from a ghost story or a badly stitched up doll. Her horn was jagged and looked as if it had been snapped off. The stitching covered most of her face and her mane was a mess. It was surprising that her friends didn't scream at the sight of her, especially after her return to normal life.
Fourteen years later, Tempest could still clearly visualise her living nightmare.
"My friends and family?" Tempest repeated, "Yeah, right. What have they done for me?"
Central Hall, Tempest's birthplace Fourteen years ago
The hall was small, but it was packed with lots of different ponies. Earth, Pegasi and unicorns were all inside banging their back hooves down on the wooden floorboards, whilst shouting and arguing with the opposite bench. There were three rows of benches, one behind the other going up towards the ceiling, on each side of the room. All of the benches were completely filled up with ponies, all of which were wearing smart clothing, and had pieces of paper, scribbled with notes and photographs which they believed to be their evidence in the event of an argument. Needless to say, it had come too soon.
"Order! Order!" A middle-aged unicorn stallion was in the judge's seat, banging his gavel hard onto his desk. No pony listened to him for the first time, continuing to throw insults at their components. "I SAID ORDER! Everypony sit down this instant and be silent! We'll never get anywhere if we act like this."
Inside, the room was hugely decorated. There were large portraits of ponies, some of which unnamed, while others were, including none other than Princess Celestia, which hung over the entrance of the courtroom. Diamond chandeliers and stands of candles were positioned all over the room, consuming all substances of darkness and shadows. behind the judge's chair, was a large, golden statue of Celestia, covered with sparkling diamonds. Her eyes were made of pure Wittelsbach-Graff, Equestria's most beautiful of all diamonds. The beautiful eyes of Celestia stared down directly to the podium of where a defendant would stand; almost as fierce and deadly as sharp spears pointing towards one's cold and black heart.
Eventually, the room's atmosphere died down and one by one, the ponies sat down in their seats and stopped talking. The judge cleared his throat and placed a tiny pair of glasses onto the tip of his muzzle. Whilst reading his notes, a dark red stallion rushed out of the main doors and raced across the room towards his seating position. Adjusting his glasses, Mr Berrytwist squeezed his way past the other candidates already sitting down and sat down in his seat. He placed his notes down and started to listen to the judge.
Each seat was made out of blue fabric, with golden thread strewn through creating decorative patterns and the initials of the candidate who would be sitting there. Sandals Berrytwist's was coded with the letters S.B. and had an additional symbol of Princess Celestia's head, mane, horn and huge wings. Around his shoulders, Sandals wore a furry judge's coat, that hung over the back of his seat.
"Sorry to interrupt!" Sandals whispered to the nearest ponies.
They ignored him and started to listen to the judge. Other important ponies, such as security guards, lawyers, witnesses and members of the public made their way in, and as soon as the last civilian sat down, the judge began.
"In the name of Princess Celestia, Equestria and lands beyond, will each and every one of you speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
"WE WILL!" the audience replied.
An old grey mare was sitting next to the judge and occasionally whispered into his ear at random moments, usually about new information that had just come in. After she finished, the judge continued.
"We, as a civilisation, have come today in our Court of Law to discuss a rather serious subject among our kind. No less than a few days ago, there had been the sighting of a baby Ursa wandering around our village. Many witnesses have said that it lives in a cave, somewhere in the centre of our forest. It has been stated, in the secret police's report, that the baby Ursa was awoken accidentally by three ten-year-old students while they were on, quote, "a picnic", end quote. One filly, under the full name of Miss Fizzlepop Eleanor Berrytwist, was severely attacked by the Ursa. Her horn was, quote, "slashed off by the claw of the beast", end quote, causing her to have serious, but not fatal injuries. Witnesses include Miss Avon and Mr Star Myth, said to be fellow students and friends of Fizzlepop."
The sound of quills scribbling notes, typewriters tapping away and the odd conversation between two ponies filled the room as soon as the judge finished. Sandals Berrytwist, slightly embarrassed by this whole drama, slid down in his seat and pretended to not be present. Unfortunately, the judge then continued.
"Bring in the witnesses!"
Two security guards then walked into the court hall wearing sunglasses and black clothing. Behind them, two rather frightened ponies. One of which was a filly, light green, and the other was a colt, light blue. The guards directed the two ponies near to the front, where everypony could watch them. Before the judge continued, he was interrupted by the old grey mare again, whispering in his ear some more information. After she finished, the mare sat down and the judge continued.
"And would Mr Sandals Berrytwist, the father of Miss Fizzlepop Berrytwist, step forwards as well?"
Everypony stared at Mr Berrytwist, who sunk into his chair to the point where he couldn't sink any further. He tried to cover his face using one of his notebooks, but the pony next to him grabbed hold of it and placed it to the side.
"Stop trying to hide, Sandals. You're not going to get arrested."
Hearing those rather thankful words, Sandals got up from his flank and made his way past the ponies sitting in the same row as he was, before trotting down the stairs towards the centre of the court. There, just next to him, were Avon and Star Myth. Sandals tried to give a reassuring smile back to them before facing back towards the judge and everypony else who watched him with deadly stares.
"My daughter, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, was just enjoying herself with her two friends. It was meant to be a lovely day for them to hang out; no school, good weather. As a father, I thought that she would be fine."
A pony that sat underneath the judge's chair tapped away at a typewriter, coping every word that Mr Berrytwist had just said. The pony then stopped and nodded towards the judge, who nodded back and moved onto the next question.
"So, you trusted your daughter to go out at this time of the year, along with her two friends? When it was snowy and dangerous?"
Sweat began to drip down Sandals' neck. The stallion started to fiddle with his hooves nervously. If Sandals had fingernails, he would already be clipping them away slowly. He sought reassurance from his wife, however, Eleanor wasn't beside him this time, just Avon, who looked as if she had no idea what was going on.
"I... we... there wasn't any warning about the baby Ursa, honest! We just thought the kids were going to spend some time together, that's all. Eleanor and I didn't know anything about the Ursa or where it was sleeping."
The pony at the typewriter tapped away, coping every exact word from Sandal's response. The judge waited for the continuous sound of the typewriter to cease before he continued.
"As a parent, you should have had the complete responsibility, including your wife, to watch your daughter and even her friends. Is it true that none of the parents of these two ponies was there to look after them? I find it shocking that a parent would allow a ten-year-old to go off with her friends, without the eyes of a responsible adult to watch them while they were out."
Heads of the candidates sitting down in the row of seats turned their heads towards Sandals. The already-blushing red stallion straightened himself in his seat and gulped loudly.
"My wife said that it would be okay. We're friends with each of the Avon and Star Myth's parents; they didn't have a problem allowing their children to hang out with my daughter. There was no serious warning until after the attack, that is. My knowledge of Ursas is, should I say, limited."
The nodding of heads in the room reassured Sandals that he was starting to be trusted as somepony who would hopefully be truthful in this unsettling event. The judge was going to continue but was interrupted by the rising sound of chatter among the long row of seats the stretched across the room. He waved his arms gently in the air, which brought the room back to its substantial silence.
"Well... er... we didn't know that there was a baby Ursa in the area, honest, your honour!" Sandals pleaded, "There was no news of its presence."
The judge straightened his glasses and cleared his throat. "As much as you seem to give us at least some information, Mr Berrytwist, the consequences of your actions have forced us to restrict young ponies from travelling alone, and the forest of which the incident took place is now forbidden to all civilians. It has come to my decision, including this village's government, that we have forced ourselves to seek help from beyond our home, looking as far as Equestria itself."
Mr Berrytwist shuddered as he spoke; "But... but, it was only an accident! Ursas haven't been seen in this area for years, let alone baby ones! It could have been prevented-!"
"Indeed it could have been prevented, Mr Berrytwist," the judge interrupted, "but thanks to your careless actions, we are left with a partially blind and hornless filly, including endangering the lives of two young ponies. It is an embarrassment to this village's history, especially your personal embarrassment, Mr Berrytwist."
Knowing that he could no longer argue, Sandals Berrytwist sat down in his seat and remained silent. Many of the Berrytwist's supporters started to argue back.
"It wasn't his fault!" cried one.
"The beast hadn't been seen before in this village!" cried another, "How do we protect ourselves? You blame this stallion for your job of protection?!"
Shouting and screaming at the judges for mercy, the crowd soon started to riot and protest loudly and caused mayhem all over the courtroom, only to be drowned by the sound of the judge's gavel banging against his desk loudly, ordering the chaotic crowd to sit down and silence themselves.
"What's going on in there?!"
"I can't see. Let me have a look."
"Ow! Your hoof's in my eye!"
Just outside the courtroom was a dark, unused storage room which was just tall enough for a full grown pony to stand upright. There was no light, apart from some coming from a grate that allowed cool air to travel through the room and release hot air out. Three young ponies, one of which stood on top of the other two, were leaning on the grate, watching and listening to everything that was happening outside.
Fizzlepop Berrytwist had her right eye completely bandaged up, including the top of her head, so she used her right to peer through the metal grates that separated her from the courtroom. The top section of her scar peeked out from underneath her bandage, while the bottom part reached down over her lips and down to the tip of her chin. It was better, now, but was still clearly seen to be a scar, but her eyeball was still cloudy and its colour was replaced with a deadly grey.
Down below, Fizzlepop could see her father, being the centre of attention. The two sides fought against one another, with the judges throwing insults towards the stallion, while the civilians of the village tried to stand up for him, refusing to believe anything that the judge was trying to say.
"Daddy's in real trouble," Fizzlepop said, "they keep yelling at him. They think it's his fault... it wasn't, because it was..."
"Ours?" Star Myth finished, "Come on, Fizzlepop, nopony knew about the Ursa, especially a baby one! We just came past it by accident. It was never planned for you to be attacked and have your horn chopped off."
"Star Myth, please," Avon whispered, trying not to sound so loud, "that really doesn't help Fizzlepop."
"No, no, he has a point," Fizzlepop replied, trying to calm the tension between her two friends, "neither the three of us knew about the baby Ursa, nor where it was sleeping. My knowledge of Ursas is limited; there aren't many documented sightings of Ursas, especially baby ones. Oh, if only our school focused more on Equestrian beasts and creatures beyond the lands, instead of stupid stories of how many years it took ponies to discover fire or when Force Newton discovered gravity!"
Upset by her friend's anger, Avon collapsed onto her side, making the others fall beside her, and curled up into a ball.
"This is stupid," she said, tears welling up in her eyes, "all we wanted was to have a picnic, but instead we've caused the whole village to fight against one another and make this all one big deal."
Fizzlepop and Star Myth went over to their friend and helped Avon back onto her hooves. She smiled back and gave them a group hug.
"Don't worry, Avon!" Fizzlepop said, cheerfully, "As friends, we can solve the problem! Besides, now that I'm not staying in hospital 24/7, we can prove that we were the ones who did this and not my father!"
Avon and Star Myth looked at each other and then back to Fizzlepop. "Which means we get into trouble instead."
Fizzlepop frowned. "Oh, yeah, I didn't think of that."
The two fillies and colt looked back and continued to watch the session below. Everypony was still arguing and fighting against one another, making it seem as if what was going to be just a morning meeting would actually stretch into the afternoon. Avon looked at her ankle, where a small watch was wrapped around her. She looked at the time; it read fifteen minutes past one.
"The meeting should be ending soon," Avon informed the others, "We just need to wait a little longer-"
Unfortunately, Avon was then interrupted by the sound of the door opening quickly, banging against the wall. The three young ponies gasped in shock, almost traumatised by the unexpected surprise. All three ponies fell onto their backs like skittles that had been knocked down by a bowling ball, but managed to keep their heads up to see who had made them jump.
Standing in the doorway was the silhouette of Eleanor Berrytwist. Her bright red-pink eyes illuminated in the dark fill of her body, moving left to right, looking all over the room like a security camera. Spotting the three young ponies still lying on the floor, Mrs Berrytwist used her magic to flick on the light switch, illuminating the room and causing Fizzlepop to cover her eyes from the bright light. At first, Fizzlepop thought that her mother would be furious at them for running off and sneaking into the court, but she didn't raise her voice or sound angry at all.
"There you are, my little ponies!" Eleanor said, "What are you three doing here?! I've been searching all over the village for you lot! Your teachers said that left school and wandered off in opposite direction to your homes. I guess I did have some idea that you lot would be heading here, though."
At first, Fizzlepop, Avon and Star Myth struggled to think of a reply. They expected Fizzlepop's mum to be much more serious and angry at them; but after hearing her speak so calmly, they didn't know exactly what to say. Fizzlepop then trotted up towards her mother, but stopped just short of a metre away.
"We... I couldn't just let Papa go there and have ponies shout at him without me being there!" Fizzlepop explained, sounding upset and slightly frightened, "They're all so horrible to him. It... it was our fault, not his! Now thanks to us, nopony feels safe with a baby Ursa wandering around our village!"
"Avon and I were supporting Fizzlepop and her father, Mrs Berrytwist," Star Myth added, "We didn't mean trouble, honest!"
Mrs Berrytwist grinned, rolling her eyes in the expectancy of the reaction from her daughter and her friends. "I know that you lot weren't meant to cause trouble. You little ponies didn't know about the baby Ursa; nor did anypony else. At least I've found you three; that's all that matters. Just... don't go running off again, will you?"
The three small ponies pulled apologetic expressions on their faces and lowered their heads with guilt. "We're sorry." They said together, almost as if they planned it.
Pleased by their politeness, Mrs Berrytwist decided to change the mood. "Here's an idea; why don't I take the three of you for some ice cream or a drink at the cafe? It'll certainly be somewhere better than in this dark and damp room, now won't it? I'm sure Mr Berrytwist won't be long. Does that sound like a fun idea?"
Fizzlepop, Avon and Star Myth nodded together. Mrs Berrytwist then led the three ponies outside, before switching off the light and closing the door behind her.
The snow had become worse during winter. It covered the ground like a thick blanket, seeming to be a struggle to remove. The temperature was well below freezing. Even with fur, ponies in the village had raided every winter resort shop, leaving its stocks nearly empty besides a few pairs of skis, moth-eaten furry coats and an out-of-season woolly hat. Ponies in the town mostly wore snow shoes or skis, either lumbering along or sliding across the snowy surface. In the distance, on top of the hills, ponies skied down the mountains and would either fly up or use a gondolier to travel up the mountain to the very top.
The wind was the worst part of it all; it blew across the village like an unsettling storm, raging across the land like it was taking part in a long-during battle. Some ponies were wearing balaclavas, covering their faces from the snow that would blow into their faces. Snow would pile up on top of houses and even block doorways, making ponies grab their shovels and dig for most of the day, dumping snow into large piles set in the middle of the road.
Luckily, the cafe was still open. Fizzlepop, her mother, Avon and Star Myth waited patiently in the queue leading up to the counter in the cafe. It was one of the few businesses in the town to have central heating insides, as many other shops, restaurants and amusement centres had their heating bust. On top of the shop was chimney producing smoke. A light breeze went flew past them, making Fizzlepop shiver in the cold.
"How long did they say it would be snowing, mummy?" Fizzlepop asked.
Mrs Berrytwist placed a hoof to her chin and tried to think. "I believe that the weather forecasters said that it would be snowing non-stop for a few days. There's been no news of when it'll end."
Fizzlepop and Avon sighed.
"Well, at least we can play in the snow while it lasts," Star Myth added, "besides, thick snow means no school!"
Fizzlepop lit up. "Yeah! Besides; who would want to be in a freezing-cold classroom, learning boring stuff, while having all of this on our doorstep?!"
Avon, though looking as if she agreed with the opinion, seemed unsure wherever it would be practically, as many of the students were forced to stay at home by their parents, after the rumours of the Ursa attack and the possible rise of sightings later to follow. After the large quantities of propaganda had spread across their village, the civilians feared about every small possible thing that they believed could go wrong. Especially with a large blizzard near to hitting the village very soon, nopony really had the urge to stay outdoors long in the freezing cold weather.
Making their way down the queue slowly did take an awful lot of time, but eventually, they made it to the front desk. Mrs Berrytwist placed her front hooves onto the desk and the mare on duty started serving them.
"Welcome to the Pony's Cart Cafe! What would you like to buy, miss?"
Mrs Berrytwist listed out all the different flavours of drinks that Fizzlepop and her friends wanted, before handing over her bits and collecting her order from the counter. With the fillies and colt by her side, Mrs Berrytwist levitated the tray of drinks from the counter and trotted to a nearby table, where she sat down with the young ponies. She handed the drinks over to Fizzlepop and her friends, before starting to drink a coffee placed in a large cup. A white marshmallow floated in Mrs Berrytwist's hot pool of coffee like an iceberg, slowly melting into a marshmallow liquid, leaving a white spiral design in the drink.
"Do you two ski?"
Avon and Star Myth look at each other and then back to Mrs Berrytwist.
"Yeah, sometimes, with mum..." Avon replied.
Star Myth shook his head. "No, not yet. I would like to, though."
"Ah, you should have a go at it, Star Myth!" Mrs Berrytwist suggested, "You should love it! It's great to just ski down the hill and feel the cold air brush in your face. Oh, and the cabins up there provide the best hospitality, including food and accommodation. This Hearth's Warming, we'll be going up there for a little holiday, one to get away from all the stresses! Oh, and mustn't forget to mention that there's a spa up there!"
Fizzlepop nodded. "Papa knows a lot of the ponies up there. When he was younger, he used to work up there and worked on the machines that take skiers up to the top of the mountain. That's where he met my mum, and they've been together ever since!"
Avon gasped excellently. "You met at a ski resort?!"
Mrs Berrytwist laughed. "Well, it was all an accident really. I was still a student and my class were on a holiday trip to the resort during the winter. The first time I laid my eyes on Sandals was when he was completely covered with dirt after working on the gondola lift that took us to the mountain. We were friends for a while, but it wasn't until a few Hearth's Warming holidays later that, on New Year Day's, we had our first kiss in front of the fireworks."
"That sounds awesome!" Star Myth said, "What's it used during the summer, though?"
"I believe it's used for summer camps," Fizzlepop replied, "like the Colts' Brigade, the Cadets, Scouts and other fun activities. Plus, when it's Hearth's Warming, they place a huge, tall tree in the centre of the village up there and we sing carols and get presents!"
"We sometimes meet up with Fizzlepop as well!" Avon added, "I remember when I was sick, and Fizzlepop and her parents came to visit me and my mum in my room for Hearth's Warming Day. Honestly, Star Myth, you should come along as well!"
Star Myth smiled. "Well, I could ask my parents for this year's Hearth Warming. We haven't booked anything yet, so it's still possible."
"Always dream big, kids," Mrs Berrytwist said, "when this chaos with the loose baby Ursa wears off, we'll have the chance to go and try lots of different things.
Fizzlepop sipped her drink and wrapped her arms around her friends' shoulders.
"Don't worry, you lot. If I can survive an Ursa attack, then we sure can easily have the holiday of a lifetime! And if we can't all do Hearth's Warming, then we can go up there for the summer holidays instead! There's camping, eating great food, lots of different activities, places where we can go walking, lakes where we can fish and swim."
"You know, Fizzlepop?" Avon said, poking a hoof gently at her friend's chest, "I think you'd be a great holiday planner. You just seem to know every possible thing that's out there to do! No wonder you spend so much time in the school library!"
Fizzlepop blushed. "Ah, chucks, you guys! I wouldn't call myself of a nerd, though. I'm not the best student at school."
Avon raised her eyebrow. A shocked expression pulled on her face. "Are you kidding?! Fizzlepop, you manage to even take control of the lesson sometimes! Every history lesson, fictional works lecture, maths workshop; how can you say that you're not the best?! We're your best friends, remember?"
Slowly, Fizzlepop smiled, suddenly staring into the distance. "Friends." She looked out of the window; it was nearly dark and there was more snow pouring down. Hearth's Warming decorations were being placed up, lighting up the darkness, and everypony outside, despite the freezing cold that rippled through the village, looked so happy. A pony was pulling a cart along the road, with another pony at the back picking up snow and placing it into the back of the cart. Near to them, a group of fillies were singing Hearth's Warming carols, and two ponies, a mare and a stallion, were kissing under a hanging mistletoe.
Best friends, Fizzlepop thought, unicorns forever.
Tempest suddenly shook her head and tried to settle back to the physical world that she was in. Her surroundings began to sweep back from what was the old village that she used to call home was then into the beach and greenery of Mount Aris, that loomed over her like a tower. Everything kicked back when she heard the sea again crashing against the rocks, the sound of the wind blowing over and the smell of the sea salt that had risen into the air.
"Are you okay there, Tempest?"
Twilight waved a hoof in front of her friend, which made Tempest flinch and forcefully move her friend's hoof out of way. Tempest looked at Twilight, trying to refocus on what was actually there in front of her, rather than a simple trick in the eye or a memory playing on her mind. Everything was a blur for a moment, but slowly the physical world started to fill around Tempest and eventually settled down to its natural cause.
She began to visualise Twilight's face again, adjusting her eyes to every detail of her friend and recognising her as somepony she knew, rather than a complete stranger who had decided to wander up towards her. Tempest, at first, backed away, but then stopped, surprised that her reaction was so subtle.
"Oh... I... er..."
Twilight looked confused. She noticed that Tempest had been acting weirdly recently, as well as Celestia. Unaware of what the main cause was, Twilight pursed her lips and rubbed her chin with her hoof.
"Well?"
A smile appeared on Tempest's face, which somehow made her laugh. Twilight, who at first didn't understand what was wrong with her friend, started to laugh as well, which turned into a mixture of laughing fits. Both mares collapsed onto the ground, laughing away loudly and in a way that only a filly would laugh like.
"Go on then! Tell me!"
Twilight eagerly waited for Tempest to reply, but only got more laughing fits as a response. Tempest eventually managed to control her and got up, dusting away the sand that had stuck to her body.
"Oh, it's nothing, Twilight. You shouldn't always worry about me. I just was thinking of something that happened a while back, that's all. Besides; why should I explain it all to you now, when we're actually heading back to my village?"
Twilight nodded, still trying to stop laughing. "Well, you have a good point there, Tempest. I bet it's so beautiful, your hometown."
Tempest looked towards the direction of where her birthplace was, squinting to see if she could recognise anything in the distance. There wasn't much to see, though.
Behind Mount Aris were a few more islands, slightly smaller, but still inhabited with hippogriffs. They were all in random spots all over the ocean, all different sizes and structures. Beyond the islands, there was barely anything else. The sea that was once a dull grey transformed into a glistening blue, that sparkled the sunlight. Everything that once looked as if threatening, had suddenly turned calm, peaceful and innocent. Twilight looked into the engulfing fog that was approaching, beginning to question wherever they would make it through there without any struggle.
"Beyond the most dangerous of islands, past the most fearsome of storms and across the deadliest of all deserts... that is where my home is."
Twilight then looked at Tempest quite surprised. She hadn't expected her friend to be able to cross such dangerous of lands, especially for a ten-year-old little filly. A vision suddenly occurred in Twilight's mind; a storm, so fierce that no pegasus could fly through it. And with the raging sea below them, Twilight could only imagine water being sprayed into their faces, flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and the possible outcome of their skiff going down into the dark ocean below. Twilight tried to remember any creature from the hundreds of books she had read that had been able to cross these frightening parts beyond Mount Aris. It was no wonder that Queen Novo was especially strict of who went beyond there, as she would surely fear that no creature would be able to make it over alive.
"You managed to cross all of this?" Twilight asked.
Tempest shook her head. "Not all of it, no. Remember, that I only made it to Kludgetown... by going the long way around. I wasn't able to travel either by boat or skiff across the ocean. It would have been far too dangerous."
Twilight nodded, understanding the obstacles that were hidden away in the desert. She wouldn't be surprised if some kind of monster would appear out of the abyss and attempt to attack them. It was like an Daring Do adventure, except this time it was all real. Anypony could get hurt. Anypony could even get killed.
"The sand was so hot that my hooves were cooking. It was so painful not wearing any horseshoes and I was exposed to the heat of the sun. If I was lucky, I would find an oasis and sleep in the shade near a pool of water. Seeing my reflection was not a pretty sight when I woke up in the morning, though. I looked terrible before I reached Kludgetown, the first civilisation I came across on my whole journey before I, purposely, stepped into the claws of the Storm King. Yet, I remember each and every day I was in that training room, each success, each failure, each achievement, each and every injury that I got from training to be a soldier."
"Sounds dangerous." Tempest waited for Twilight to continue, but she remained silent.
"I couldn't ever imagine going back. It's like going back in time. You expect everything to be the same, but it won't be. I've seen so many changes in Equestria and beyond when I used to patrol the skies in my skiff. I got to meet the most powerful and probably the most dangerous leaders, rulers and creatures. Yet... never in a million years would I ever think of returning home."
"Understandable," Twilight replied, "when I left my parents to study at college, I felt extremely lost. I was terrible at friendship and I dismayed my friends, like Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkle Shine. There were others as well whom I could list out, but honestly, I was the worst at friendship. I felt, some days, that friendship had abandoned me as well, Tempest. But remember that you are still their daughter, no matter what happens."
Twilight placed a hoof on Tempest's shoulder, who placed her hoof on Twilight's.
"Thanks, Twilight. Just sometimes... I think it takes a friend to let you know what really is important. It doesn't matter if my village wants to be involved with Equestria or not, or that Celestia is coming with us on this journey. I think this is just one of those trips which I believe we're going to enjoy, no matter what happens."
Tempest smiled back and leaned in for a hug. Twilight hugged her back and then separated when a familiar face appeared next to them. Queen Novo leaned her head down and looked at Twilight and Tempest, with robotic-like eyes moving from left to right. Feeling embarrassed, both mares blushed, and inched away from each other, leaving some space between them. Queen Novo, however, looked as if she didn't care and didn't smile either.
"Did Celestia ask you to come on this... journey?"
Twilight and Tempest looked at each other, at first not knowing who Novo was referring to. But after a while and a brief suggestion, Tempest nudged Twilight. Novo looked directly towards Twilight, who looked back at her and tried to say anything that was able to come from her mouth.
"Well, yes, she did. She asked both of us, including Spike and Grubber. She's really the pony, though, who has been organising everything. For once, it actually isn't me!"
Novo squinted her eyes towards Twilight like sharp shards of glass. Unlike any pair of eyes Twilight had seen before, Novo's were an unusual and haunting strong magenta, and her eyelashes pointing away like the end of a feather, so elegant and enchanted. It was almost impossible to not stare directly into them; they were nearly hypnotic, yet so beautiful. As Novo narrowed her eyes, they became sharper. Sometimes, you could mistake Novo to be a marble statue that had been trapped under the sea for years on end, because of well she looked.
"Yet I thought you wouldn't want to return to my kingdom, Princess Twilight," Novo explained, "I thought after our... sensitive meeting last time that coming back here would be... quite sensitive, shall we say. I always knew that you were trouble since the first day we met and that you would be the same the second time we met."
Twilight gasped, angry at Novo's distasteful comments. She, the Princess of Friendship, was trouble?! Sure, stealing the pearl was wrong, but she had learnt her mistakes by this point. Heck, it had been months since Equestria had been restored to peace again and surely Novo would be happy that she and her friends had managed to defeat the Storm King. Then again, it was Tempest that had saved them from being turned into solid marble.
"I came on a very important journey with Princess Celestia and Tempest Shadow, as well as my other friends. I have come a long way on my journey with friendship. It has made me a better pony, Queen Novo, and that's why I trust it. If I didn't want to apologise to you for what I caused, then I wouldn't have come all the way here, now would I?"
Queen Novo inched forward towards Twilight, suddenly looking much taller than she originally was. Twilight backed off slightly but stopped when Princess Skystar quickly jumped in between them and held out her claws.
"Mother, please! I thought that we had all become friends again? Princess Twilight and her friends saved us from the Storm King, even after he took their home as well! Let her be; Celestia has already said that she did it for the good of all of us."
Novo groaned, irritated by the disruption that her daughter had caused. "Please move out of the way, child! This pony is nothing but trouble!"
Skystar shook her head and frowned.
"No, mother."
Novo scowled, making Skystar back up into Twilight, who was beginning to feel intimidated and extremely frightened. Novo slammed her front claws into the sand and leaned her neck in closer, making her look like a wild animal stalking its prey.
"I told you to move, Skystar! I'm tired of this alicorn. She has done nothing, but caused me pain-!"
"You think that it's all about you, isn't it?" Skystar interrupted, "It's all about your kingdom and your pearl! Twilight was only trying to get the pearl so that we could have saved every creature who was still above the water! If she and her friends didn't stop the Armada from destroying all of Equestria, then we wouldn't be here today, mother! Twilight didn't cause any pain whatsoever... you are the one who has caused the pain!"
Everypony fell suddenly silent, including Celestia, as they all couldn't believe Skystar's sudden outburst. Novo growled like a fierce tiger ready to pounce, but then quickly turned away.
"Friends forgive each other, Queen Novo," Twilight explained, "so... I forgive you... would you, as a queen to your kingdom, forgive me?"
There was a brief pause. Novo didn't respond for a while and just stared into space as if she had been frozen in time. She hesitated multiple times, but eventually reached her arm out and spread out her claw. Twilight looked at Celestia, who smiled back.
"Forgiving is part of friendship, Novo," Celestia added, "remember those days when we studied together under the supervision of Starswirl the Bearded? We were great friends back then! You and I got on so well and we had so much fun back in Canterlot. I really do want to go back to that time when we were so close together and were the best of friends... but I can't do that if we don't put this scenario behind."
Novo stomped the ground and went up close to Celestia's face. Celestia didn't flinch, but inside she was starting to not only doubt herself but also Novo. Novo's guards were still waiting for their queen near the water's edge and were in the defence position, pointing their spears towards Celestia and the others.
"This isn't the end, Tia. Twilight Sparkle will pay for stealing the pearl that protected our kingdom. We will meet again after your journey beyond Mount Aris, as well as the rest of these creatures!"
"Stop it, mother!" Skystar interrupted her patience now at its lowest. "Why can't you just move on from that. We should be happy! We are free from the slavery of the Storm King."
In frustration at this ongoing fight, Novo growled loudly and flicked her tail towards everyone, before making her way off towards the seashore. Completely shocked at what she was witnessing, Skystar raced up towards her mother, but then stopped suddenly.
"Mother! Where... where are you going?! I didn't mean to snap-!"
Skystar's words couldn't stop her mother from making her way back into the water, as she knew that by this point nothing would be able to get past her character. Novo's expression was beyond fury; a shade of red appeared just above her muzzle and she was shaking her legs, trying to hold any unforgiving action that she might cause.
"Go on this journey with you 'friends', Skystar! It is your choice who becomes your friends and who you trust most. But hear me now, for I won't come with any of you! Your mission does not interest me the least!"
Novo then turned her gaze towards Twilight, who was watching with her jaw opened, completely in shock and disappointment at how Novo had portrayed herself. Twilight knew exactly what was coming next.
"And for you, Princess Twilight, this isn't that last you've seen of me! I swear to you... we will meet again! And the next time we do, it won't be pretty! You, Twilight Sparkle, are hereby forbidden to enter my kingdom or step hoof on Mount Aris, EVER AGAIN!"
And with that final performance, Queen Novo majestically lept into the air and transformed back into a seapony, before diving into the ocean and back down to Seaquestria, without another word. The water bounced back up into the air, before crashing back down onto the water's surface.
Princess Skystar reached out her hippogriff claw but soon realised that she couldn't do anything else. Her mother was gone now, and it would take a lot to convince her to surface again (besides telling her that Twilight and her friends had left, although Novo could easily tell if non-residents of Mount Aris and Seaquestria were still present). Skystar couldn't do anything else but simply stand and watch the ripples in the sea fade away.
Twilight quietly trotted up beside Skystar and looked in the same direction as she did, monitoring the sea and its oncoming waves that continued to hit the edge of the beach. Twilight didn't turn her head to look at Skystar, as she knew that she was standing right next to her. Struggling to find the words, Twilight at first mumbled something, but then found the confidence to speak up.
"I'm so sorry, Skystar..."
That was all she could say. Twilight felt, personally, responsible for her actions and there was a dark guilt inside her stomach, slowly rising up to a point where she could have easily just collapsed onto the sand and fallen into a deep sleep. A tear appeared in the corner of her right eye, though Skystar didn't attempt to wipe it away.
"It's okay... Twilight... there was nothing that you could have done..."
Skystar continued to look straight into the distance, not making the effort to look around her or look back at Twilight. She didn't flinch when the splashes of the sea went onto her feathers or when droplets of salt water landed near her eyes. Twilight then, without realising so, lifted up her hoof and wrapped it round Skystar's neck and pulled her in closer. Skystar didn't resist, but simply leaned in closer and both of them rested on each other's shoulders.
"So... I'm guessing you won't be going back down there for a while then?"
Skystar nodded, sniffling quietly. "I don't really want to, no. I don't want to see mother for now... maybe later... but I feel... that I don't want to at the moment. I also don't think that I want to go anywhere near Mount Aris either. But, then, where do I go? I just don't understand why mother and I have been fighting all the time, recently. Before father died, we never fought. I miss him, my father, but mother misses him more, so maybe she doesn't tolerate it as much as I do."
Twilight could understand Skystar's feelings. She, herself, had gone on the wrong side of Novo, ever since they first met. They never got on, and it seemed that they never would. Though, she did get on with Skystar and the rest of the seaponies in Seaquestria and the hippogriffs on Mount Aris. Trying to remain positive, Twilight moved away from Skystar and made her look directly at her, face to face.
"You are an amazing princess, Skystar. I may not understand completely how you may be feeling, because Celestia isn't a queen, but just because your mother watches over you perhaps too protectively, that doesn't mean you are no less of a creature than I am, she is or any other being."
Skystar nodded and smiled, before wiping away the remainder of her tears that made her cheeks sticky and dirty. She gave Twilight another hug, in which Twilight wrapped her hooves around her neck and brought her closer. An idea suddenly came to her mind and she let go of Skystar and held her right front claw in her hooves.
"Tell you what, why don't you come with us on an amazing adventure to Tempest's hometown? It would be like an exciting holiday!"
Twilight shook her head. "Don't worry about her. We'll take you back home before she even bothers to surface. We could do with an extra traveller, especially as we'll be travelling in Capper's skiff."
"Sounds great!"
Twilight and Skystar made their way over to the skiff, where every other creature was. Capper was on the top deck at the steering wheel, of course, Celaeno was repairing some damaged parts on the skiff, Spike and Grubber were loading some exotic fruit that they had found on Mount Aris, and Tempest was busy checking things off the list of things that needed to be done before they left. When Twilight and Skystar walked up to Tempest, she looked up and raised an eyebrow, perhaps not surprised by what she was seeing.
"I see that we have a new passenger," she said, "it's nice to see that you're coming along with us, Princess Skystar."
Skystar smiled back. "It's nice to properly meet you as well, Tempest Shadow."
"Please, allow me."
Tempest led Skystar up the skiff's plank and onto the top deck, where Capper was busy admiring himself in some fancy pirate uniform that he had found in the crew's wardrobe somewhere on the skiff. Celaeno jumped up onto the deck, which made Capper jump. Capper turned around and frowned at Celaeno, who sniggered in the fact that Capper was very easy to scare. Capper frowned and crossed his arms.
"That wasn't funny."
Celaeno stepped forwards, her peg leg thumping against the wooden deck. She then stopped at a point where she was close enough to Capper and smiled.
"Since we first met, Capper, you've always made me laugh... even when you don't try to. But just a reminder that I'm still the captain of my crew here, including this skiff."
Capper frowned. "Oh really? Is that so? I was the one who brought Princess Twilight and her little friends over from Kludgetown all the way here, so I believe that I'll be driving this vessel."
Celaeno grunted loudly, kicking her left bottom claw on the deck, causing scratches along the wooden planks. This made Capper very angry.
"Hey! This has just been painted!"
Celaeno stopped but grinned mischievously. She enjoyed annoying Capper, though Celaeno did find him a pain when it was his turn to annoy her.
"Yeah, well, what's a skiff that doesn't show who's been on board and who's been driving it? Besides, you deserved that, fleabag."
Capper hissed back, before presenting his claws to Celaeno. "Why you little-!"
"ENOUGH!"
Capper and Celaeno looked down and saw Twilight and every other creature watching them from below on the ground. Twilight had scrolled up her scroll, which she used to point towards Capper and Celaeno as she complained about their fighting.
"None of us are going to get anywhere if we all want to play 'captain'! It would be useful if you could at least decide between the two of you on who will drive the skiff when we head off to Tempest's town, rather than having your own war on who gets to drive! Celestia needs to get there for serious political matters and it would cause the whole of Equestria embarrassment if we arrive arguing and fighting with each other over things that aren't important whatsoever!"
Capper and Celaeno looked at each other and then back to Twilight. Celestia, who had been helping Tempest, Grubber and Spike pack the rest of the things for their journey on the skiff. Once everything had been loaded, Celaeno jumped down and went to say farewell to her crew. After hugging each one of her crew members, Celaeno moved away and started her way to the skiff, but was stopped by Grin, who grabbed her wrist.
"Are you sure that you won't need us, Captain?"
Celaeno turned around and sighed. "It will be fine, Grin. Celestia just asked me to come along. We'll be back before you know it, I promise."
Grin shook Celaeno's claw and smiled. "Whatever you say, captain."
Celaeno made her way onto the skiff and helped the others collect everything that they needed. Once everything and every creature had been boarded, Capper removed the walkway to the skiff and closed the doors that led to the lower deck. Twilight and every creature else stood on the top deck and waved, shouting farewells and best wishes to every creature who was watching from below.
"It was great to see you all again!" Twilight called.
The skiff's engines started up, roaring into motion. Fumes appeared from behind, including the odd blast of fire, from the exhaust pipes. Capper blew the horn and the skiff slowly hovered up into the air. The back engines then turned from a fiery orange to a bright light blue and then blasted energy into the air. The skiff then slowly made its way to the sea behind Mount Aris, as it emerged from the many trees that had their branches leaning over like some kind of tunnel. As the skiff skimmed over the water's surface, ripples appeared and spread over the sea, scaring some of the fish underwater.
Capper then flew slightly higher into the air, before it leaned to its side as it made its way over the ocean. The bright blue water revealed seaponies leaping up and performing acrobatics in the air, and all the other marine life that was below. Everything was surprisingly clear for miles and miles, as Capper drove the skiff straight into the distance. The warmth of the sun made the start of the journey seem so peaceful and enjoyable, the sort of expectancy if one was travelling on a cruise or Zeppelin.
"Full speed ahead!" Capper cried, "Let's eat up those miles, shall we?!"
Pressing his foot against the accelerator, Capper drove the skiff over the ocean and across the coral reefs below. He blew the horn again, disturbing the peaceful quiet atmosphere around them and speeding towards their destination. Twilight, who had rushed up beside Capper, looked over the map and over his shoulder.
"If we keep going straight ahead, then we should arrive at Tempest's town by the next day. How much petrol does this thing have, Capper?"
Capper looked at the fuel dial, which was shaking madly at the control desk, as well as the other dials. The red needle was halfway between an empty and full tank. Smiling happily, Capper changed gear and continued to look straight ahead.
"By my estimate, we should arrive there before the skiff runs out of fuel. Probably we'll get there by either late at night or sunrise tomorrow. We just need to avoid any obstacles and we'll be fine."
The skiff bumped and shook at the speed that Capper was driving at. Twilight looked at the speed dial, shocked at how fast they were actually travelling at. Estimating how far they needed to run and reading the Armada designed speed dial, Twilight reckoned that they were going at around seventy miles per hour. The scenery past them so fast, that they didn't have a chance to every small detail around them. Twilight's mane waved about in her face and every creature else on board was thrown about or attempted at least to try and hold on.
Hours passed and Capper braked in a dark and gloomy area, filled with sharp rocks pointing out of the water from below. Not much life remained; barely any plant life remained on the rocks or growing out of the water. There wasn't even a hint of movement from a fish. Capper looked down at his compass and found that it started to spin out of control, pointing in different directions. He tapped it with his paw and the needle suddenly spun back into its natural position.
"Something's not right..." Capper whispered. He looked around and felt a shiver go down his spine. "...we should be going in the same direction. The desert that surrounds Tempest's village is straight ahead."
Tempest jumped up beside Capper and peered into the distance with her one good eye. She gasped and attempted to grab the skiff's wheel, but was pushed aside by Capper.
"We're going to crash into one of those deadly rocks!" Tempest cried, shaking Capper's arm, hoping in some way that would make him listen to her. "Go a different way!"
Capper didn't respond to Tempest's restraints and continued driving through the large sharp rocks that obstructed their path. And with the thick fog that swept through over the water, Tempest realised that they were travelling blind, winding through an endless and deadly maze that was preventing them from making any real progress. The waves of the water below were bigger than the ones back at Mount Aris and caused more damage to the things that they hit, including the skiff.
Twilight yelped at the sight of a wave coming over the skiff and created a force field around her, bouncing the water back.
"The waves are getting stronger! They'll crush the skiff!"
Suddenly, Capper drove the skiff into a sharp turn, just missing a large rock that was in their path. Everypony on board was thrown to the side and crashed against the wall of the skiff. The rain poured down heavily and the sprays of water from the waves splashed over the deck, making it slippery and dangerous.
"We can make it!" Capper cried, "We just need to make it through this storm!"
A flash of lightening appeared right next to the skiff, making Tempest jump and fall onto her flank. She tried to grab on, which was very difficult, using her hooves to grasp around a secure object. Spike and Grubber had been thrown to the back of the skiff, Celaeno and Skystar were trying to control the skiff's sails and Celestia ran out of the cabin and made her way to the skiff's wheel.
"What's happening?!" Celestia asked. She looked straight ahead and saw nothing but a foggy darkness that seemed to go on endlessly.
"The storm..." Capper explained, fighting against the spray of water that was going into his face, "...it's a strong one! But we can make it!"
Celestia looked around her and noticed that the weather had become too intense, that eventually, sure enough, the skiff would be torn to parts and they would be left defenceless to the fierce sea that they would be swimming in. Knowing that they were heading not for the next land but for certain doom, Tempest pushed Capper away from the steering wheel and started steering the ship away from the rocks and up towards the sky. Capper was thrown down to the floor and spun around, discovering that the deck was completely soaked and was very slippery. He then spun into some barrels, where he bumped his head and was knocked out cold.
Tempest, now in charge of the skiff, tried to find a way out of the storm but struggled in the strong winds that blew them about. Celestia stood beside her, zapping lightning bolts and waves that came too near them. She then created a protective bubble around herself and Tempest, before they continued to focus on driving the skiff through the storm.
"We're so close!" Tempest said, "We can make it to the desert. Then we can walk to my village! We just need to make it through this storm!"
The skiff continued to struggle in the storm, as the weather and the environment around them got worse. Heavy sprays of water crashed into the walls to the skiff, until, eventually, Tempest completely lost control and started to spin out of control.
"We're going to crash!" Tempest cried, "Hopefully we can just make it to the edge of the desert!"
Celestia shook her head. "No, we won't! We can land the skiff if we just go a different way!"
Without having a chance to react, Tempest watched as Celestia used her magic to steer the skiff's wheel towards the right, which headed away from where they originally wanted to go. Tempest disagreed with Celestia's choice of route and grabbed hold of the wheel, pulling it against Celestia's strength.
"My home is this way! I can get us out of here!"
Tempest fought against Celestia and managed to pull the wheel to the left, making the skiff turn so quickly that they ended travelling at an angle.
"That way isn't safe, Tempest!" Celestia argued, pulling the wheel towards her, "We need to go the long way round!"
"No!" Tempest replied, yanking the wheel to her side, "Home is this way!"
Both ponies argued back and forth until they both lit up their horns and created a spark that threw both of them away from the wheel and into the skiff's sides. The wheel shook and quickly turned to one side, causing the whole skiff to lean over and angle as it hovered over the ground. Sand blew from underneath the bottom of the skiff and went into everypony's eyes and mouths, before eventually crashing into the sand and flipping onto its side.
Celestia and Tempest continued to shoot magic at each other, lighting up the whole scene. It wasn't until the skiff was flipped into the air and crashed back down into the ground, that the two ponies stopped fighting and tried to hang onto the skiff. Celestia was buried in sand, while Tempest was swept down the sand dune along with Twilight and every other creature, including the knocked out Capper, and landed in a heap on the ground. The skiff continued to slide down the mountain of sand until it eventually stopped halfway down and everything went completely dark.
Celestia gasped for air, as her head popped out of the sand, looking around to see the remains of the destroyed skiff. Rumble poked out from the mounds of sand, appearing around her, and the sound of the engines flickering away at what power remained in their circuits. Sparks shot out and the sound of electrical waves hovered around in the air. Trying to get away, Celestia fought her way through the thick sand but failed to notice that she was on top of a tall mountain of sand. When she leaned forwards, Celestia was dragged down by the sand and thrown down to the bottom of the mound.
Shooting the sand with her magic, Celestia jumped out and collapsed, sliding down the hill along with the loose sand where she popped up from. Celestia slid down and eventually stopped when she reached flat and more level sand. She placed her hoof and then her whole body weight onto the sand, and discovered that it was actually solid enough to walk across. Looking back behind her, Celestia saw the destruction of the skiff, suddenly realising what she had done.
The skiff was now a wreck, leaving nothing but the metal skeleton and its frames that once held everything in place. The walls were scorched with burnt marks and it smelt of fire. Despite her efforts, Celestia couldn't do anything to save the skiff. She jumped into the air, flapped her wings and landed on some solid sand. Twilight then used her magic to lift Spike, Tempest, Grubber, Capper, Skystar and Celaeno, and place them on some sand. Twilight tried to go back to the skiff, but another explosion from the engine appeared and forced the Princess of Friendship to stay back.
"Ugh... is... anypony there?" Twilight asked.
At first, there was a brief silence. But then, a green head appeared from the sand, followed by a pair of claws and the scales of a young dragon. Twilight sighed with relief, as she rushed over to Spike, picking him up in her hooves.
"Spike! Oh, thank goodness! Are you okay?!"
Hearing Twilight's voice, Spike responded, slowly moving his head. He coughed and grasped onto Twilight like a small child not wanting to leave his mother. Twilight gasped and smiled, before leaning in closer and giving Spike a hug, crying with relief that her life-long friend was okay.
"Yeah... I'm... okay, Twi."
Twilight giggled, crying more tears. She held Spike close to her as he was a soft toy that she could never give away. Twilight looked around and tried to recognise any other forms of movement in the chaos that surrounded them. For a while, nothing moved, apart from the odd piece of fabric that was blowing around in the wind.
"Oh, Spike... how could this have happened?! Who did-?!"
Twilight suddenly cut herself off, as she realised the two missing ponies, Celestia and Tempest, including Capper, Grubber and Skystar, were somewhere buried in the sand and just underneath the wreckage of the skiff. Twilight, who was frantically looking to see if any of her friends were okay, noticed some arms poking out from some of the wreckage. Using her magic, Twilight tried to pull one of them out. It was hard work, as the metal frame was heavy and was weighed down by other wreckage. Twilight then swung round and threw the metal frame to the side, to reveal a slightly dusty and shaken Capper.
Twilight helped Capper climb out and then went over the remainder of the wreckage to find the remainder of her friends. She managed to uncover Skystar trapped deep in a hole and then found Grubber with his head trapped in a container. After she pulled them back onto the steady ground, Twilight then tried to look for Celestia and Tempest, who were still missing under the large mess that they had caused.
"Princess Celestia?!" Twilight cried.
No reply.
"Tempest, where are you?! Is everypony alright?!"
There was still no response from underneath the rubble. Panicking, Twilight rubbed her hooves over her face, only to suddenly realised that she had spread some drops of blood, although thankfully the sight wasn't too gruesome. Twilight collapsed again and was dragged down by the large mounds of sand. Trapped underneath a thick layer of sand, Twilight looked up and noticed the top of Celestia's horn appearing from above the sand. It was still, lifeless and looked more like a monument rather than something from a living creature.
"Is that... her?" Skystar asked, pointing towards Celestia.
Twilight galloped over and dug her hooves into the sand, rummaging around, trying to dig out as much as Celestia's body as she could. Twilight's friends helped her dig out what was Celestia's head and tried to pull her out from the thick, sinking sand that was slowly engulfing her. Skystar, Capper and Spike tried to pull Celestia out of the sand. After doing so, they carried the princess over to some of the wreckage of the skiff, hiding her from the heat of the sun, and made her lie down on the soft sand.
"Celestia? Are you okay? Please, say something!"
There was no response from Celestia whatsoever. Capper tried to find a pulse around Celestia's neck, hoping that he could still feel a heartbeat. After a moment of silence, Capper sighed with relief.
"She's fine... she's just unconscious."
Everypony else, especially Twilight, sighed happily. Skystar and Celaeno then went over to Celestia and held up a sheet of cloth above her head, hoping that it would provide some shade from the sun.
"If only she could use her magic to bring down the sun," Capper said, tapping a paw against his chin, "unfortunately, Luna has the power to raise the moon and she's in Canterlot. So we're just going to have to wait for when it's dark before we can carry on."
Another spark shot out from the smashed skiff, making every creature jump. The skiff continued to burn, with fire shooting out of its engines.
"Clearly, we won't be travelling in the skiff any longer," Spike added, pointing his claw towards the wreckage.
Twilight shook her head. "I may be no mechanic, Spike, but that skiff looks like it's going nowhere."
Celaeno walked around the wreckage of the skiff, looking around and squinted into the distance. Everywhere looked the same, apart from the horizon which went into the sunset, where a thin trail of hooves wandered off to where no naked eye could see. Peering down at the tracks, Celaeno recognised them to be the tracks of hooves. The hoofprints of a pony.
"No sign of Tempest?"
Celaeno turned around and saw Skystar behind her. The hippogriff walked up beside Celaeno and both stared into the distance. It wasn't until Celaeno pointed towards the tracks, that Skystar knew what she was on about.
"Well... maybe just one sign..."
Twilight got up and went to see what Celaeno and Skystar were looking at. Once she recognised it as hoofprints, she turned around and went to check on Celestia. Grubber was helping Spike to try and make Celestia as comfortable as possible. Grubber wrapped Celestia in some cloth, before adding more cushioning to rest her head.
"I guess we should follow her, then," Twilight said, "...Tempest knows where her village is anyways."
"One... last... hill..."
Suddenly, Tempest noticed that the sand was slowly turning to a grey rock and that the surface was solid. She stumbled a little, but eventually, she made it to the rocky ground. Placing one hoof before the other, Tempest slowly made her way across the dead valley towards a patch of greenery, where all of a sudden the ground suddenly became wet and moist. It felt as if it had recently rained and there were giant puddles which looked more to be tiny ponds. Frogs hopped around, enjoying the wet territory, and it was then when Tempest could hear the rain coming down, hard and fast.
"Great..." Tempest thought, "...that's all I need now."
The willows were tall and their branches hung down like long arms protecting something below. They dripped heavy droplets of water and made the ground below wet and slippery. The mud was easy to turn from something solid into a brown liquid and what looked like a dirty stream of water. The rain hit the flowers that poked out of the ground like cannonballs trying to destroy something, but yet the flowers remained standing and refused to come down so easily. The temperature was warm and moist; it was like inside a greenhouse, but yet it was outside.
A cricket's tune could be heard from about a few metres away. It was soothing, yet reminded Tempest of a tropical rainforest. She had forgotten the exotic scenery that surrounded her home. After all, it had been fourteen years. While looking around, though, Tempest noticed that not much had changed. Sure, there were a new few trees that had grown over the last fourteen years and some areas were heavily overgrown, but Tempest could recognise the same path that would eventually end up at her hometown. There were hoofprints in the original path, all of which belonged to the ponies who lived in the village. Tempest saw some that went towards the village and away, while others went to the left and then to the right, some going up and some going down, some going on forever and some that just stop somewhere, indicating that the pony who owned those tracks didn't finish their journey.
Tempest lifted her mane out of her face and looked straight ahead. There, in the distance, was a tower of smoke, appearing from a hidden valley. There was mist covering the rest of the town, keeping it hidden from Tempest's view. She wondered if it really was her home, though. Everything looked so different and... wrong. Everything seemed to be overgrown and untouched for perhaps during the time she had been away. Things looked so simpler when she was a ten-year-old filly, but now they looked so mysterious and different. Staring straight ahead, Tempest couldn't see much, but the thick, white mist that lay before her. She placed one hoof in front of her.
Squelch!
It was so wet and mucky. Tempest lifted her hoof and saw that it was now covered in a dull green clay. It dripped from her hoof and splatted back on the ground. Unknowing of what was actually there, Tempest simply stood still and refused to continue onward. She thought about turning back and seeing if her friends were okay, especially Princess Celestia. Turning her head around, Tempest looked back and saw the small hole that escaped back the way she came. It was the last bit of land that she felt was free and not a dark, dangerous labyrinth of dangers that lay ahead. But something held Tempest back from returning to her friends.
"I'm almost there. I know that I'm almost there."
Tempest voice shivered in the cold weather. The hot temperature of the desert was far behind her and though it was easy to think and focus, Tempest struggled against the cold wind that blew against her fur. It hurt so much. The urge to just give up was playing on Tempest's mind, but she refused. She could see the tower of smoke rising in the distance; it was black and consumed most of the sky, including its clouds that were producing more rain than ever.
Just as she neared the civilisation in the near distance, Tempest froze as she spotted a figure wrapped around in a brown, scruffy cloak, standing still just ahead of her. The figure was clearly a pony, but most of their features were hidden from underneath the cloak, including its face. As Tempest trotted closer, she noticed that the pony was busy digging up the ground with its hooves. Then, using its magic, the pony pulled out some potatoes from the ground and placed them into a sack. Tempest clearly knew then that this pony was a unicorn; she remembered that the majority of residents at her birthplace were unicorns. For a while, the pony didn't notice Tempest watching it and continued doing its daily business. It wasn't when Tempest backed up behind a rock when she stepped on a branch, which snapped loudly. Shocked by her own disruption, Tempest hid from the pony, who turned its head back and looked around.
"WHO'S THERE?!"
Tempest shuddered at the pony's voice. It was sharp and sounded disturbed. Although, something was oddly similar about her voice that Tempest noticed. It suddenly reacted a memory in her head as soon as she heard it. Where did she hear that voice before? Hiding behind the rock, Tempest responded back.
"It's okay..." Tempest replied, trying to find the words, "...I'm harmless, I swear. I have no weapons on me. Besides... my magic doesn't work anyways."
There was a brief pause. The cloaked mare inched forwards, as if curious of Tempest. She lowered herself to the ground on her hooves and tried to look larger than she really was. Tempest lifted the hood of her cloak up and tried to hide her face as well. She didn't want to scare this pony by showing the face of one of Equestria's ex-criminals towards an innocent pony. Hiding behind the rock, Tempest waited for the other pony to speak.
"What are you doing here?! No creature has ever set hoof in this town for years. There hasn't been a single resident for the last fourteen years."
Tempest swallowed the nerves down her throat, feeling the stinging inside her body and causing her to panic slightly. Though this pony looked quite ancient at first site, Tempest was beginning to sense that could be strong enough to throw her out of this vast wilderness. She was threatening and seemed as if she was business.
"I'm... it's complicated..." Tempest explained, "I've come from Equestria on behalf of Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. They had been asked to come to a village near here to discuss some political matters. I swear that I am a meer companion, with no intention to harm to you or to anypony."
Peering to the side of the rock, Tempest noticed that the pony had underneath its cloak a small knife that was pointing towards her, whilst being levitated by the pony's magic. She had to come in slow and seem like an innocent traveller, rather than a threat.
"Where are Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, then? If you say that the ruler of Equestria is coming, then why isn't she here... with you?"
The regrets of her actions brought a tear to Tempest's eye. If she had just remained calm whilst facing against Celestia on the skiff, then none of this mess would have happened.
"We crashed... a few miles back... I... I escaped and continued on hoof. I just want somewhere to stay for a while. I hear that you're from a town. It's not far from here, is it? Could it be the town that I have been seeking?"
There was a moment's silence. The only sound was in the background, where Tempest could hear the sound of the rushing wind and the drops of rain. She waited for a response, but the pony didn't reply. Trying to prove her innocence, Tempest lifted her two front hooves in the air, just above the rock she was behind.
"It could be..." the mare replied, "...how can I know that I can trust you..."
Slightly frustrated by not being trusted, Tempest huffed and kept her front hooves in the air, still behind the rock.
"See? I have nothing on me. I'm just a simple traveller. I don't even have my magic anymore, well, what it used to be. It's a complicated story. My horn... it's-"
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HOOVES EMPTY!" the mare interrupted, her horn lighting up, ready to attack.
Tempest slowly got up onto her hooves and sneaked around from behind the boulder, still with her hood up and the features of the top half of her face hidden away. She trotted out and then stood a distance of five metres away from the pony she was encountering with.
"See?! I'm just a pony. A simple mare travelling somewhere. I mean no danger or offence to you or to anypony here. Please let me pass. I need to find... somepony."
Unexpectantly, the mare then tilted her head to the side, as if examining Tempest. She showed an expression, that somehow, showed as if she had seen Tempest before. The mare looked down, seeing the crimson (now rather muddy) hooves and looked as if a memory was suddenly falling into place. She suddenly dropped back and looked as if she had seen a ghost. The mare was speechless but managed to release a breath.
"Yeah, I expected that. Everypony hates me, don't they? I'm trying to sort things out that I messed up. It will be very kind of you if you stopped threatening me and took me to the place that I have been looking for with my other friends back there. I left them behind, though, and... after this, I need to go back and get them."
The mare staggered back and Tempest frowned. She didn't look scared or terrified, but rather surprised. However, this surprise looked as if this mare could recognise Tempest like... like she knew her from somewhere. Tempest, now rather worried, stepped a hoof back and closed her jaw shut. She breathed through her nostrils and shuddered in fear. Tempest was now afraid that this mare could run off and cause an alarm or try to find something to take her down. After all, now that she wasn't fighting anymore, Tempest had lost some of her strength and could only last for a small fight before she was taken down.
"Why...? Why are you looking at me like that?" Tempest asked, "I'm... I'm not a freak you know! I'M NOT A FREAK! I get it now; YOU ALL HATE ME! But I'm not a freak!"
Tears started to well in Tempest's eyes, turning into streams of dirty water and dropping into the ground, disappearing forever. Tempest whimpered, before starting to cry properly now. Her lips shuddered as if they had lost control and were panicking in this rather emotional situation. Everything suddenly felt as if it was all closing into Tempest, hunting her down and pinning her to the last point. Tempest then sat on her flank and cried, like a filly who had lost her mother and couldn't find her. Except, that was exactly the case for Tempest.
Unless.
Unless.
Unless.
"You're not a freak, Fizzlepop. And you most certainly are not a monster."
Tempest then froze at the sound of her real name being said. She removed her hooves from her face and looked up towards the other mare. At first, the emotion and thickness of the tears in her eyes prevented Tempest from recognising the pony she was looking at, but when the mare removed the hood from her head, Tempest's heart suddenly stopped.
The mare was a slightly darker crimson to Tempest's fur but looked rather similar, as if it were somehow connected in some way or another. Her mane was short and hung just above the mare's beautiful eyes, a bright red that somehow reflected in the light of the sun. She looked like she was in her mid forties, but yet somehow her skin showed no wrinkles or signs of ageing. When the mare moved in front of the sun and blocked its sunlight, Tempest saw certainly knew who exactly was standing in front of her.
"You look beautiful."
Those words freed Tempest from her trance, making her stand on her hooves again and looking directly at the mare's face. There was no need to speak, no need to cause any action and there was no need to make a sound. But Tempest couldn't hold the word back, which had been at the tip of her tongue for fourteen years.
