The Tempest

by Orkus

Rating: everyone
Tags: Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Adventure, Tempest Shadow, Twilight Sparkle, Discord
Length: 6720

Upon the Storm King's defeat, the scarred unicorn once known as the leader of his forces attempts to readjust to life as a pony of Equestria -- with a little help from a particular Princess of Friendship. And a little hindrance from a new foe...

Contains spoilers for the movie.
You have been warned, interlopers.
Featured 10/17/2017

Following the events of the Storm King's invasion of Canterlot, peace returns to Equestria. Apologetic and disheartened from their failed offense, all of the shattered king's servants and soldiers collect themselves, pack their things up and return to their homeland from whence they came.

All except one.

The unicorn mare, who formerly called herself commander of the Storm King's army, decides to stay with the people she had once abandoned so very long ago. And with this decision, she finds not only forgiveness, friendship and long-lost belonging, but something more. And that something lays in someone who not only showed her all these things, but forever changed her life for the better.

However, just as the dust begins to settle, it seems as though a tremendous, if subtle problem starts to loom over Canterlot no sooner than had it averted disaster...

Published 2017-10-16 17:00:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-16 17:00:06 UTC

Prologue

The sounds of the Friendship Festival, once more put on with the victory over the Storm King and his forces, sparked the night air with a sense of energy not common at its time.

Together, ponies of all kinds, hippogriffs with features like that of eagles, adventurous pirates, and even the large, brutish Storm Guard of the shattered king's army joined in on the celebrations with mirth and merriment abound. As they danced and cheered they were entertained by the exquisite songs of the famed pegasus pop star, Songbird Serenade, her angelic voice matched by a scarce few, if any in the land.

As the night reached its climax and all the partygoers rooted again for the valor and bravery displayed by their heroes who had saved all of Equestria from certain destruction and tyranny most vile, a sizzling bolt of sapphire light shot forth from one of them to the air. The screaming projectile was not a firework, but a bolt of magic. And as it reached the pinnacle of its ascent, much like the firework it resembled, it exploded in a burst of fantastic, beautiful color, sending off another bolt in an unstable reaction that did the same thing, and another after that one, like a chain. Each was ablaze with a vibrant, breathtaking hue of its own that provoked gasps of awe from the observing crowd below. And for lack of anything they could compare with what they witnessed, what they saw was an absolutely incredible rainbow in everything but shape.

As the magic faded and the sky was again rendered clear, the festival continued with newfound life. And while everyone and everypony danced and skipped about, immersing themselves in all that could be offered in their joyous freedom, a small orb of light only barely distinguishable in shape and size from the minuscule specks of stars it seemed to descend from, floated down from the heavens in a steady stream before pausing in its movements.

It merely stayed up there for a time, looming over the oblivious masses like a disembodied eye observing them all. Sometimes it was motionless, sometimes it bobbed to and fro as though dancing to the beat of the music, but it was quiet throughout. Quiet in the most insidious manner obtainable, perhaps, but quiet nonetheless.

It stayed where it was until a sense of calmness began to set over the land and all that went on in the festival began to die down. The hippogriffs were still as full of vigor as when they arrived, but they, too, soon readied themselves to depart back to their kingdom in the far south. As many of them started speaking their earnest good-byes and took to the sky on their great, powerful wings, the wispy orb stealthily descended upon the city in silence.

Well... near-silence, anyway.

"Nee-hee-hee!" An ecstatic laugh escaped the orb of light, unheard by anyone other than itself. It continued its journey down to the earth, floating around like a lost, demented bubble bouncing into some of the more currently-unoccupied parts of the city.

"A place of warmth, so recently touched by malice. So... good to see," it said to itself in a high and delighted voice that was not exactly male in sound, but also not quite feminine in pitch either. It drifted lower, its radiant light dimming into almost nothing as it chose a spot to bed down for the night, giddy at the prospect of what sorts of strings it could pull once daybreak came to greet it. "So recently touched by extraneous havoc. So good, yes... for me. Nee-hee-hee!"

A New Day, a Fresh Beginning

The unicorn mare who was once known as Tempest Shadow awoke with a start, exiting her sleep with a gasp and inhaling a large breath of air into her lungs with it. She was a unicorn, bearing a broken horn upon her forehead and a wicked scar over her right eye. Where she laid -- where she had slept for the night -- was a bed held within Canterlot's Castle. A large bed, bearing a mattress and sheets as soft as down.

Yawning and groaning, she pulled a forehoof out from under the crimson blanket covering her and ran it through the long, rich fuchsia mane that ran down the back of her neck. Though wide awake after a few minutes traipsed by, she stayed where she was, waiting patiently, or perhaps impatiently for the first signs of dawn to officially come about. If there was any reason why she chose this, it was that she didn't want to become active before the inhabitants of this castle that she had been permitted to stay in. She sent her pallid, blueish-green eyes to a window a few feet from her, pining for its eventual presence. It was when she at last witnessed the sun finally poked the very first portion of its lazy, golden head over the horizon from it that she did arise from her bed, her movements quick and precise.

Touching the clear, stone-tiled floor with a hoof, she was beset upon by a faint, but noticeable sensation in it, having affected her limbs with that typical sense of morning weakness from being well-rested. Upon standing and gaining a proper footing she moved toward the edge of the room, to the window she had stared toward while anticipating the sun's return to the world. Seeking fresh air, she pushed it open a small ways and allowed the cool winds from outside to enter.

Her eyelids hanging low and overall expression stolid, she stared out of the window, to the few figures walking about outside below the castle in these early hours. Past the ponies going about their morning business and recovering from the festivities of the night before to the decidedly non-pony Storm Guard. Their hulking, darkly-armored, upright shapes were all marching in an orderly, but leisurely fashion, packing up the last of their equipment and trudging toward the airships that they, and the broken-horned unicorn observing them from so high, had first arrived in when they launched their invasion. What few were still intact, anyhow, given the level of destruction received after the Storm King got his paws on the full-powered Staff of Sacanas. While nearly all of the destruction he wrought had been fixed by the return of the staff's powers to their rightful owners, the princesses, most of the airships had not been so lucky. There were still enough left to transport the entirety of the army away from here, though.

The mare formerly known as their commander continued looking their way until her roving eyes came upon a particular, squat shape marching alongside them. Squinting, she made the shape out to be Grubber, one of Storm King's chiefest lieutenants and the unicorn's own former subordinate. While just as loyal as the rest of them, he was smaller than the other Storm Guard by a great margin, and also unlike the others, he was one of a much more vocal disposition.

The scarred unicorn closed her eyes and inhaled another, deeper breath, taking the moment to reflect on the choices she had made that brought her where she was now. Instead of leaving elsewhere as Grubber and the Storm Guard did, she chose to stay here, in Canterlot, if only make amends with the ponies who lived within it.

And maybe, just maybe, find a new belonging she could call her own.

Opening her eyes and turning away from the window, the unicorn cleared her mind as best as she could and started to stretch her limber, but strong legs and body out in an effort to loosen her joints and prepare them for the day ahead. A new day, and a fresh beginning. As she started to finish the activity up, her view came across her hind section in the midst of the activity, and the cutie mark that rested upon it.

It was easy to see that her cutie mark was a strange thing among her kind, representing a crackling bolt of blazing, uncontrolled magic, or possibly an imploding firework of sorts, set in a great storm should one compare the purple, velvety fur it sat upon to a swirling maelstrom. In some ways it was a reflection of her unstable powers. In other ways it was a refection of what she was due to her handicap. But whoever she was before this day... all of it was behind her now. Ever since the events of yesterday, it was all behind her now. And she had the mark to eternally remind her of that fact.

Completing the last of her stretches, a sigh left the scarred unicorn. She was still used to waking up so early and preparing for all the orders she would need to carry out at the hours just before twilight came and went. Every day for many a year she went by that code. Living as she did was hard and bitter, but somewhat fair, and it all served to strengthen her resolve. The Storm King's army was built that way by the Storm King; built to be strong as a herd of oxen, tough as iron, and (mostly) disciplined as any army should be. In a calm stride she walked to the washroom her bedroom was connected to and looked around, to the counters, the sink, and the shower that sat in the back of it.

The mare formerly known as Tempest Shadow entered the shower and closed its curtain behind her. Only after inspecting the device for a few seconds did she turn its glass handle on. She nearly gasped in alarm as the water from the metal nozzle above sprinkled upon her furred form, the feeling soft and warm, though not too hot. What had frightened her the most was the sheer pleasantness she experienced from the thing. Such feelings were more alien to her now, having gone so long without being able to undergo pleasure in a casual display. Biting her lip, she tried as best as she could to actually enjoy it, only finding marginal success in the endeavor.

Within a short while she had rinsed and cleaned herself off to her liking. Upon finishing the routine she hurriedly turned the shower off, exited it, wiped herself off with a nearby towel and donned a whitish bathrobe waiting for her on a rack just across the washroom. It fit her snugly, and like the shower, it only served to perturb her numbed senses with its pleasing warmth.

She wore the robe around the room as she tried to plot out what the next few hours would most likely resemble until she felt fully dried off, mane, fur and all. Putting away the robe, she decided she was now ready for the day, and intended to meet it head-on. Opening the door to her room she slid out of it and into the hallway, which resembled an expansive passageway, its stone floor covered by a red, soft carpet that went on as far as could be seen, while the side facing the outdoors possessed numerous windows that let in the morning light. After venturing down the long corridor for a short time, passing by many a stained glass window artistically portraying what seemed to be events from the past, she turned to the first corner that presented itself and spotted a figure several feet from her. This pony was slightly taller than her and possessing a darker coloration to her fur and mane, as well as a crown upon her head.

Seeing that she bore both the horn and wings, as well as a cutie mark on her flank resembling a crescent moon, the unicorn instantly recognized her as Princess Luna -- the alicorn princess of the knight. Luna was tending to the last touches to some purple-colored flowers she was adding on a wall sconce above this portion of the hall, the flowers themselves filling the surrounding area with a lightly fragrant, and strangely soothing scent.

"Good morning, Princess Luna." Walking closer to the princess until she took notice of her, the unicorn bid this to her with a humble bow, her eyes closing for a few seconds and voice light, as to not seem impolite, given the incident from the day prior.

"And my sincere greetings to you. Tempest Shadow, I presume?" Luna asked in a calm, pleasant tone as the unicorn rose. "I apologize; I am still not quite familiar with your name. There was much to be done last night, and I had many duties to tend to, given the havoc that had occurred before then. The sun had been in the sky for a time much longer than it should have been, and that leaves a great many negative effects on what happens after nightfall."

She looked back to the flowers and used her horn's magic to levitate her final bunch in the sconce above, fixating them in place to her liking. "However, I still had time this morning to spruce up the hallways with some lavender. Lavender aids in giving those who dream a restorative sleep, you know. I set them up every night throughout the castle, Tempest. But since I don't think I'll have time to set them up this coming night with all that I have scheduled, I'm doing it now, while I can."

The unicorn gave off a loose smirk as her lesson concluded. "Please, princess, call me Fizzlepop Berrytwist, if you wish. It's my real name. I think you, of just about all ponies, deserves to know that much about me before most others do."

A half-suppressed laugh seeping through her lips as little more than a puff of dry air, to this, Luna gave a friendly smile of her own. "Is it now?"

Fizzlepop nodded her head once, a frank look coming over her. "To be honest, I believe I'm more used to the other title, but I don't want it anymore. I want to change for the better, and I think the best way to do that is by retaking the identity of who I was before I became Tempest Shadow."

"Then very well," Luna said, respectfully bowing her head a small ways. "I shall do so, Lady Berrytwist."

As Fizzle hummed in a mixture of agreement and minor vexation at the harmless jest, Luna lifted her head and motioned it down the hall. "Would you care to follow me to the royal dining room? My sister has indubitably whipped up some delicious pancakes. I'm sure she's made some for you as well."

"Pancakes?" Fizzle questioned curiously, following behind her as she started walking. "Is she sure that she feels in good enough shape to... do that? She was enveloped in obsidian yesterday."

"Rain or shine, invasion or peace, my sister loves to express her pancake-making abilities. I do not think recovering from a stone-bound prison would stop her. From my own experience, all I feel now after my petrification is a little stiff around the neck, but that's it. I'm certain Celestia feels little different."

As they went around a corner, Luna glanced Fizzlepop's way, inquisitiveness radiating from her. "Twilight told me she managed to make wonderful friends with you. But how do you feel about her in return, now that all is still?"

"I'm only surprised at how magnanimous toward me she was. I had done so much to impede her. I went against my own people, I petrified you and the other two princesses -- I captured her, even and then stole all of your powers -- and yet she still found it in her heart to forgive me..."

"And you chose to accept it. Of all the villainous beings she has bested and forgiven, there are far, far fewer who decided not to take her offer of friendship than you might believe. Trust me, I was once such a threat, before Twilight and her friends defeated my evil persona through their combined magic." Luna chuckled to herself, but no sooner had she done so, her visage slowly faltered to something more serious. "And either way, her friends told me of how you nearly gave your life to mend your mistakes. Such a courageous act is something few would forget. Fewer still emerge from them alive to savor the gratitude."

"I had only a second to act, princess. And so I acted." Fizzle spoke this a most blunt manner, like a cold fact that needed to be stated. "It was a more reckless move than anything. But I saw no other choice. I saw the Storm King readying an obsidian orb when they weren't looking. Before I knew it, I leapt in front of them and took the orb myself when he threw it."

"Reckless as it may have been, you performed it nonetheless. Your mind may not have chosen for you, but your heart did. And if not for it, I fear to think of what could have happened instead."

As Luna's sentence ended, the pair came across the large door that surely led to the area the princess was attempting to lead Fizzlepop to. Four guards in total stood in front of the entrance, their armor of a regal golden coloration and stances poised. Upon their stern faces were expressions of firm and stalwart vigilance, most likely extra vigilant on their duty since the invasion. And their visages only hardened as they saw the unicorn accompanying their princess.

"Worry not, soldiers. She is with me," Luna spoke up in a fair voice, realizing their unease. Exchanging assured nods to one another, the guards listened to her words and let their guard down slightly, taking their wary eyes from Fizzle. The doors pushing open, the princess and Fizzlepop walked into another hall, and after another minute of walking, went through a smaller doorway and came into the dining area.

Right off Fizzlepop saw it was a spacious room, big enough for a family to move around in with leeway to spare. At the center of it was a long table draped in a white cloth, and on one end of it, a plate of pancakes stacked on a plate in front of her, sat the purple form of Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship was apparently waiting patiently for something before digging into the meal, while several feet off from her stood Princess Celestia, arranging some miscellaneous items on a shelf. It was as soon as Luna and Tempest pushed the door open when Twilight's head spun their direction, her eyes widening slightly when she saw just who it was accompanying the latter.

"Fizzle!" she exclaimed joyfully, also bringing Celestia's attention onto them. Without hesitation she pushed her chair out with a squeak of its legs and began trotting happily over to her newest friend. Fizzlepop stood tall, expecting a simple greeting, but to her utter surprise she was enveloped in a great, warm hug as Twilight wrapped a hoof around her and brought her close. "Good morning! How are you doing right now? Did you sleep well in the castle?"

Fizzle could only react in stunned silence, unknowing as to whether or not she should try to break free from the embrace or accept it. A small smile slowly snaked its way over her lips as she gave in and chose the latter, and raising a hoof of her own, she hugged Twilight back sincerely. Both eventually separating, Twilight parted with a glimmering smile while Fizzle dusted herself off.

"I slept well, Twilight. And it's good to see you again too." She laughed uneasily, straightening herself back out. "I admit, I wasn't too used to the comfiness provided to me, but I managed." Her look then went out to the rest of the room, as she noticed something was a little off. "If I may ask; where have all your friends gone? And where is Princess Cadence?"

"Oh, they're elsewhere right now, just packing their things up. As much as we all like staying in Canterlot, we all have homes back in the town of Ponyville. And Cadence is heading back to her kingdom and family in the Crystal Empire."

"Fair enough. Will you be joining your friends soon?"

"My assistant, Spike, will. But I won't be yet." Twilight said. She began to turn about and walk back to her seat at the table, inviting Fizzle without words if she wanted to follow her to it after she politely pulled out the chair in front of a second plate of pancakes, clearly meant for her. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, but keeping her grin, Fizzle did so as her friend continued. "Seeing how you chose to stay here, I've asked Princess Celestia and Princess Luna if I could remain a little longer too, to help you adjust to everything. And maybe, just maybe, teach you some more of the things I learned about friendship. There are plenty of friends to be made in Canterlot, that I know for sure."

Sitting down and eyeing the smiley face of raspberries and blueberries sitting atop the rich, brown surface of the flapjacks suspiciously, Fizzle eventually traded an odd look to Celestia after Twilight's mention. The Princess of the Day merely shrugged. "She is the Princess of Friendship. She was my student once, and given all the lessons she's managed to teach me on the subject, I would heed whatever advice she sends your way. One of her own students was able to fix a dreadful rift between Luna and I almost three months ago, in fact."

"And who could forget it?" Luna agreed. She trotted over and gave Celestia playful, tackling hug, nearly sending both of themselves to the floor in a heap of fur and sisterly laughter. "If there's anything I learned from it, it's that I wont be so quick to compare my position and duties to your own any longer."

"And speaking of which..." Managing to squeeze out a hoof from her younger sibling's grip, Celestia rubbed her chin in a most inquisitive way. "Luna, have you been practicing your smiles lately?"

"You know I could never match one of mine with the strength and radiance of yours under the duress of a crowd throughout the day, Sister," Luna complimented with a goodhearted chuckle.

"And I could never match that strength and radiance with your skill and determination at defeating nightmares and shaping dreams into works of beauty and tranquility," Celestia returned. Giggling in unison, the two sisters let go of each other, but made sure to rub the sides of their heads together affectionately before doing so.

As the princesses reminisced on the moment, Fizzle had lifted her fork up with a hoof and used it to take a bite from one of her pancakes. From the moment it entered her mouth did she realize just what she had bitten into. It was so sickeningly sweet that she almost wanted to spit it out, but it slid down her throat before she could think to do so. Twilight noticed her bout of brief jerking movements, and without hesitation she voiced her concerns.

"Fizzlepop? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm alright," she replied. "These, uh... pancakes are good, huh?"

"Aren't they?" Twilight smirked. She dug her fork into her own and snapped up another piece with visible glee. "If you ever wake up in a sour mood, these are definitely the things you should eat to change that."

By the time she swallowed and looked back to Fizzlepop, her friend's face had again turned into something most off. This time, though, it was clearly not about pancakes. Her eyes were widened and jaw agape, staring off at the other side of the room. Twilight looked at her strangely until she noticed that the vacant stare was aimed at something beyond either of them. Overcome by curiosity she turned her head in the direction Fizzle looked in, and was greeted by a most perplexing sight indeed.

There, at the back of the dining room and running a roving claw along the wall and cabinets there, stood the long, spindly shape Twilight recognized immediately (and with no short amount of surprise) as Discord; the spirit of disharmony and chaos. He was standing there with his face looking away from Twilight and Fizzlepop, dressed in an exotic safari outfit of sorts, and holding what appeared to be an oversized butterfly net in his off claw. His attention was not on the aware or oblivious ponies in the room he shared, instead it was focused on just about everything else, quite clearly hunting for something.

"Are you here? Nope. What about here? Nope again..." He seemed to mutter this every time he peeked around a corner or overturned something, lifting vases and floating tables above his horned and antlered head. By the time a minute had passed, the other two princesses had noticed him as well, and thusly gave their own expressions of astonishment at his unexpected presence.

"Discord?" Twilight was the first to question aloud. Hearing her, the titular draconequus' ears pricked up, a bright red, cartoonish exclamation point of alarm appearing and then vanishing over his head. Spinning his head around, Discord put his zany, yellow, red-pupiled eyes upon the ponies.

"Celestia! Luna! Twilight Sparkle! Well, isn't it good to see you all!" Merrily walking closer to them in a frisky motion on his short legs, Discord greeted the friends and allies he was known to tease ever so often with opened arms and a wide smile upon his goat-esque, snaggletoothed maw. His clothing and net vanished as he did so, poofing away in a brief flash of light. Eventually reaching them, his brow lowered in minor confusion when his eyes came upon Fizzlepop, who could only look at him with a startled glare on her face. "And a heart hello to you, too... you! Oh, where was I? Ah, yes! How are you all doing? Have you been busy? I heard that party yesterday was an absolute blast!"

"A party did happen, Discord. But it happened after Canterlot was attacked and taken over by the forces of a wicked creature." Celestia's words were blunt, but true. "And it seems rather strange that you were nowhere in sight when it happened. We sent you an invitation to come to the Friendship Festival, but it seems as though you turned it down, given the fact that you failed to appear."

"All that happened, did it?" Discord's brow lowered and he cast his gaze all over the room. "Well, everything looks spick and span as of this second, if what you say is true."

"And it's thanks to Twilight and her friends," the princess continued on. "It's a pity that you refrained from helping them."

"Apologies, Cay-Cay. I've been a very busy boy the past week. Very, very, very busy. Yes, exceptionally so! You believe me, don't you?" Clasping his hands together as a golden halo floated over his head from out of nowhere, he batted his eyelashes at her in a way meant to be cherubic and innocent. "Surely ones of such high and constantly active dispositions can understand, yes?"

"Pray tell, what made you so 'busy'?" Luna inquired in a monotonous tone, taking a single step forward, skeptic to his excuse. The halo detaching from his crown and floating away elsewhere, Discord churlishly folded his arms and flashed his tongue at her.

"As a matter of fact, I've been looking for someone. His name is Ariel," said the draconequus. Extending a paw their way, a minuscule poster appeared in the opened palm, expanded in size and unraveled. Upon its paper surface was a picture resembling a wanted poster, a colorless, pixie-esque figure bearing a devilish grin on its minuscule face at its fore. "An abstract relative of mine, I personally think. Given what I already know about him, he's a sprite who revels in causing havoc for others. A spirit of disharmony and chaos, for lack of a better term."

As he said this, Celestia turned to Luna and gave her sister a most concerned glance. While Fizzlepop tried in vain to make sense of the situation, Twilight put on a quizzical expression, her eyes squinting as she noticed one very odd fact in Discord's statement. "But... you're the spirit of disharmony and chaos, Discord. How is this possible?"

"I'm the spirit of chaos in general, my dear Twilight." Discord cackled as he saw he puzzled look, bending over to pat her twice upon her purple-furred head with a talon-like claw. "Ariel, as far as I've witnessed, is a sprite whose area lies in more discreet, but no less tormenting forms of manipulation and mind games. He's a chaotic entity of a more... subtle variety, some might say. He gets his kicks causing conflicts between individuals, slowly and steadily desecrating locations, disrupting feelings of all sorts, jaywalking, all that good jazz. Honestly, I had no idea he existed until he invaded Chaosville the other day..."

"This thing broke into Chaosville? The dimension you created to serve as your home?" Luna spoke up, puzzled and disbelieving to his statement.

"The very same. And it's actually much easier to get into on your own than you think."

"Assuming this isn't some joke, this does sound troubling, Discord," Celestia said to him, deciding to humor him out of caution. "I have never heard of this 'Ariel' before. But you tell us that he is in Canterlot. What sort of threat is he? What can we expect from him?"

"Well, he's been a big hassle for me, I'll say that much. It all started when I noticed he was changing around some of my own chaotic creations to his own designs." The draconequus said this in a tone riddled with mild hostility, clearly not seeing the being he was describing in fond tastes. "It's a good thing I caught him in the act quickly, or else I might never have realized I had such an impudent, uninvited guest in my midst. But then, after he explained just who he was and what he liked to do, he slipped through my grasp and fled in a puff of light."

Chuckling like he had just told a funny story to himself, he wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. "I mean, can you just imagine how annoying it must be for someone or somepony to just 'poof' things and themselves everywhere in bright flashes of light? I certainly cannot." He giggled again, and with a snap from his paw, his gear from before poofed into existence in a bright flash of light. His hunting clothing covered his lengthy, serpentine form and his net popped into his mismatched, clawed hands. "In as much seriousness as I can muster up for you, I've been tracking him diligently since then. However, as you might have noticed by now, my trail ran cold at the start of this morning. The last place I sensed his presence before he fell off of the grid was Canterlot. So here I came."

His teeth clicking together as his mind ran, Discord's expression turned thoughtful. "And I now know why. At first I thought he was attracted here by the fantastic party you were scheduled to throw, but now, upon hearing of that most dreadful conundrum that befell you all, I think I see the real reason. He wasn't simply attracted to this location. No, he was outright drawn here, like a moth to a flame."

"And you believe you can catch him?" Luna queried.

"Indeed, Luna!" Dicord gave her a theatrical bow. "So long as he doesn't slip anywhere, I should have him soon. Until then, if you or anypony else sees something you might attribute to Ariel and his actions, please, be a kind dear and inform me of it." He then gave a parting wave to the alicorns and unicorn, keeping his mischievous posture as he did the mundane action. "Well, good luck to you all on that! For now, I'm hunting spwites..."

Another, bigger flash of light then occurred. By the time it cleared and all was visible again, Discord was gone with it. Twilight stared at the empty spot for just a few seconds longer before looking to the princesses, and then Fizzlepop. The unicorn blinked twice while her eyes stared dead ahead of herself, the face she now wore bearing a loosened jaw of pure befuddlement. A hundred questions were surely swirling around in her mind now, all of them aimed at what just happened.

"Hehe... Don't mind him, if you can," Twilight told her, waving her hoof easily and quickly gaining her attention. "He's just Discord. He started out mean, but he's become a lot nicer since Fluttershy befriended him, if not a hooffull from time to time."

"Oh, I've... heard of who Discord is," Fizzle replied in a shaken tone, recalling the tales she had been told as a filly. "I just had no idea he was free from his prison and... on your side. Or how he acted."

"Yep. He's chaotic, alright," Twilight snickered. "But I promise you; he means no harm."

"What about that creature he mentioned? Have you any idea on what should be done about it?"

Twilight kept her face cheerful, picking up her fork once again. "Whatever it really is, it's a problem that can wait while Discord's on the case. For now, let's finish our pancakes before they get cold."

"Well... if you insist," Fizzlepop shrugged. She picked up her own fork in a hoof, traded a comforted smile Twilight's way, and carved another sugary piece from her breakfast before making an effort to consume it.

As they went on and peace returned to its fullest in the room, Celestia and Luna walked to the corner of it, whispering their worries to one another as to not disturb the mares who had resumed eating their breakfast. Fizzle was only able to eat a third of the pancake stack before lacking to stomach to have any more, pushing her plate a few inches forward and using a napkin to wipe her mouth off.

Twilight had finished her own as well and cast another glance the unicorn's way. "Fizzlepop," she started, while the princesses in the background finished their conversation and returned closer to them. "What do you have planned for today?"

"Of that, I'm not entirely sure."

"Want to... see if we can find something you might find talent in?" suggested her friend.

"Perhaps." Fizzle sighed. "But I don't think we'll really find anything, assuming creating magical fireworks isn't a common job."

Twilight's brow lowered, her head tilting a small ways. "Why would you say that?"

The unicorn paused for a second, looking up to the ceiling. "Ever since I entered the Storm King's service, I've only known a strict, martial lifestyle," said she, turning back to Twilight. "Please, forgive me if I at all sound curt. I just don't believe that I would be able to find something fitting of someone like me after being away from this land for so long. I just... I don't know what kind of place here would best suit me now."

"Well... if I know anything that might best fit somepony of that kind, there is one, particular opening in Canterlot's Royal Guard," Celestia brought up, smiling brightly as she said this. Both Fizzle and Twilight looked to her as she went on. "The captain's, in fact. That position has remained vacant since Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, moved to the Crystal Empire with his wife, Princess Cadence. He's retained his voice over it, but it's become more ceremonial than serious, given that he now also holds command over another type of royal guard entirely. He's been thinking of finally passing it down to someone truly worthy of its title."

Fizzlepop blinked once, then twice, silence surrounding her. Upon her face was a look of pure disbelief, no different than the one she gave Discord a short time ago, doing well to show how she was no less than shocked by the major proposition and struggling to process the information. "Captain of your Royal Guard?" she was finally able to utter. "You... you would entrust me with such a position? So soon after all that has happened?"

"It was Twilight's own wish, actually," the princess brought up, while Luna gave her sister a confused visage of her own.

"Hehe... it was a just a... passing suggestion, Princess." Twilight laughed nervously, afraid of Fizzlepop not brightening up to the idea. "Fizzle, if you don't want the position, I'm perfectly fine with that. But... yes, I did bring it up."

The unicorn looked to Twilight, then Luna, and then Celestia. "Princesses... I would be honored to take it. I merely want to know why you think I'm the pony you would want for it."

"Yes..." Luna concurred, eyeing Celestia closely, her brow furrowing. "Sister, what have you based this proposal on, so out of the blue?"

"Trust," Celestia plainly answered, before placing her attention solely upon Fizzlepop. "It's only natural that I should take up Twilight's advice, with her having witnessed your tenacity, and courage, firsthoof, Fizzlepop. She mentioned that after observing all you did to fix what you caused, she thinks you're far more worthy of being trusted than the king you once served. So why would I not allow you a chance to show us this valor?"

"I... I accept it. I accept this position with only then most humble conviction I can possibly give, Princess Celestia," Fizzlepop agreed, quickly bowing her head her way with only sincerity in the movement. It rose after a short time, the movement less quick than when she lowered it. "I couldn't possibly thank you enough for this tremendous opportunity. I will do my best to live up to what it entails. But... but if you will all excuse me, I... need to think some things over now..."

Pushing herself from the table, Fizzlepop stood up slowly from her chair. Inhaling a deep breath and respectfully regarding all in the room, she began walking past Celestia and Luna, to the doorway leading out of the dining area, her view held to the floor as she moved. As she walked through the door and closed it behind herself, Twilight and the other two princesses looked to her, then to one another with unsure looks adorning their faces.

Fizzlepop Berrytwist, formerly known as Tempest Shadow, walked into the hallway by her lone self. Every step she took seemed to get progressively heavier, but she trudged onward at the sluggish pace nonetheless. Onward she moved, going through the next door she came across, past the carefully-watching guards and beyond them, until she rounded the first corner she came across.

Huffing once, she finally stopped and decided to mull over her predicament here. She had been so certain that there was very little that could be offered to her here, but they had just gone and given her a chance to show off something she possessed in its fullest. But what would become of it? Fizzle's eyes traveled to the wall opposite of her, coming across a stained glass window portraying the image of Twilight and her friends ringed about most harmoniously upon its glowing surface.

All she hoped now for certain was that everything would go well for her. Her eyes looked up next to the broken horn that protruded from her forehead, its splintered tip acting like a festering wound in her side since the day she lost it. And it was a dreadful wound that marked her disability from the rest of her kind. The vain hope to end this wretched curse of hers had driven her so far down a dark path. A dark, twisting path she was able to turn away from before it became far too late. And yet, even with a new course charted out for her on waters of a more placid variety, she knew good and well that it would take a vast amount of time to fully accept it, and who she was for it.

Perhaps this indeed was the next step she had to take to ensure such a thing...