Hurricane Trinity

Chapters

Prologue
Awkward Revival
The Journey Approaches
Trouble in Klugetown
What's In a Name?
Capper The Fighter
Seeking Answers
Ruffled Feathers
On The Way
Oath and Arrival
Meeting With Novo
Tale of The Titanfall
Premonitions
Stratia Engagus
Treacherous

Prologue

PROLOGUE

35 years ago.

“HOLD THE LINE!!!”

The captain’s loud cry of command reached the ears of the old ruler despite the fact the entire world around them was heavily cloaked in snow, and it was still continuing to storm heavily with no chance of letting up anytime soon. Grogar grunted as he placed another cloven hoof forward into the heavy blanket of pillowy-white and pulled himself forward. Despite the fact that he was a goat, snowy mountain ranges were very much not his forte; unfortunately it was not like he had much of a choice to be here in the first place…

“Windcaller!” He finally cried out to the emptiness before him, in hopes that she would hear; all he could see in front of him was the intense blizzard and clouds of gray. The wind wailed in his ears; he flattened them tighter against his skull and attempted to raise his head but the intensity of the storm was making it hard to even draw breath. He lowered his head again, attempting to take another step forward and calling her once more:

“WINDCALLER!”

“Grogar!”

The elderly goat rose his gaze toward the mountainous slope as a bipedal figure came into view amongst the gusting blizzard; he gusted a sigh of relief as Windcaller approached him, her usually fluffy white coat of fur plastered to her body and starting to take on flakes of snow. She was tightly grasping a silver rod in both hands, to which Grogar was relieved, but he had to ask the question regardless.

“Windcaller…thank the gods. Did you manage to get the staff?”

The Yeti female nodded, although it seemed bittersweet. “The entire camp had been destroyed by the time I had arrived…I…my tribe didn’t make it.” She lowered her gaze slightly for a moment before returning eye contact. “B-but…thankfully they didn’t manage to find the staff. I was always sure to keep it well-hidden in case this should ever happen.”

“You’re better than I am at hiding things then.” Grogar tried to force a smile but he could tell that Windcaller was not, at this time, going to be interested in quips. He shut his eyes. “I…I’m sorry, Windcaller. I was hoping all too much that they would have made it to safety in time…”

“I…it…it’s okay.” Windcaller swallowed, although the goat could tell she was attempting to fight back tears. “They…they died fighting. That’s all that matters, right now.” She grasped the silver rod more tightly. “I know that they were trying to protect the staff above all else. We need to attempt this for their sake.”

“R-right.” Grogar nodded firmly in response; he turned his gaze back toward the bottom of the hill. “My men should have bought us enough time for the staff to charge. I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work with only two of us, but…”

“Two is better than nothing,” Windcaller replied; her response was so blunt in tone Grogar couldn’t help but shake his head a bit and blink. “I know the third part is missing, but we don’t really have a choice in the matter right now. We need to drive these…DEMONS…away from Yebit.”

Grogar turned his head back in the direction of the hill’s bottom again; although the soldiers he had stationed were fighting valiantly, it was clear that their grasp on the post was waning. He nodded his head. “We don’t have a lot of time, then. Let’s get down there.”

Windcaller nodded in determination, and the two began racing down the snowy slope toward the bottom, where the enemy awaited. The abominations had slain at least half the soldiers that Grogar had originally brought to embark on this mission and some of them were already beginning to devour the slain, their maws dripping with frothy mixtures of blood and acidic saliva. The remaining were trying their damnedest to hold the line, as the captain had earlier commanded, but even then some of them were already beginning to retreat in sheer terror. Grogar ran to the front, eyeing the destruction in shock, as Windcaller approached from behind.

“Do not give in!!” Grogar cried out, in time for the limp corpse of a slain goat soldier to fly over his head and land headfirst into the snow behind him. Knowing that mere talk was futile at this point in time, he uttered a growl and charged toward the nearest abomination, the swirled runic pattern set in his horns beginning to glow fiercely with orange light as the bell laced around his neck emanated the same aura. He fired an arcane blast from his horns, striking the abomination in the neck and causing the surrounding flesh to explode from the impact. There was no time for it to even shriek; it collapsed in a heap next to the soldier it had been devouring. Grogar raised his head, scanning the area for his next target.

“Leave some of these monsters for me!” Windcaller declared, leaping forward ahead of Grogar and swiftly swinging the staff in an arc, hitting two of the monsters and slicing cuts in both of their bodies. She landed and immediately pushed herself into a leap again, this time using the tip of the staff to impale one of the creatures through the chest and forcefully tear a hole in its tainted flesh. She pulled the staff out, causing a spray of blood to gush forth from the wound in the process, and leapt back, landing on one knee as she, too, looked around, panting.

“There…there are a lot of them,” she declared, as she got to her feet. Grogar backed up beside her, his horns still glowing in case any of these creatures tried something funny. He nodded his head.

“More than I had originally anticipated…good gods, where are they all even coming from?” He looked around at the surrounding battlefield. “We’re way outnumbered at this point…but…” His eyes flashed for a moment. “We won’t let them take Yebit…not in a million centuries.”

“Agreed…” Windcaller gritted her teeth as the abominations closed in, and more were coming by the minute. “But…what do we do, then? We’re horribly outnumbered, and we can’t possibly take on an entire army by ourselves…”

“WE can’t…” Grogar looked up toward her. “But…the staff CAN.”

Windcaller looked down at him, her gaze turning from anger to one of concern. “Grogar…the staff relies on the life energy of the one channeling its power. I—“

“I’m not saying you have to do it, Windcaller.” Grogar’s gaze intensified as he eyed her before he turned his head back toward the approaching abominations. “I brought my men here…this is mostly my fight and my fight alone.”

“Grogar, that is hardly true!” Windcaller retorted angrily, although her lower lip was trembling slightly as she bared her teeth. “They killed MY tribe; I have a right to—“

“Trust in my judgement, Windcaller,” Grogar replied, shifting his gaze toward her, although it appeared trusting and kind. “You are my mate and my wife-to-be…if anything should happen to you…it would ruin the pact we made.” He placed his hoof upon her hand. “Don’t let your need for vengeance cloud your hope for the future.”

Windcaller’s bright blue eyes wavered a bit, and she appeared to be wanting to speak against this, but she knew that her mate had a point. Nodding, she looked toward the approaching army, tears forming in her eyes. She knew what Grogar was about to ask; she wanted more than anything not to do it, but—

“Give me the staff.”

The Yeti female’s soft facial features tightened in sorrow, but she obeyed and handed the staff over; Grogar took it in his teeth and turned to face the oncoming surge. His eyes narrowed into a determined glare as his horns glowed more brightly than before and started to crackle with arcane lightning. Windcaller said nothing, only retreated further back as she looked on with worry.

Vile demons…

Grogar could not speak through the staff’s bulk within his teeth and tongue, but he wanted to convey the message of justice to himself, if not to anyone else. His eyes began to glow as the tip of the staff lit up with orange light.

You have plagued our lands for the past few centuries…you hope to break us…

The light began to intensify as Grogar focused in on the staff’s power.

I do not know about the others in these lands…but…we, the Caprinian people, have stood against your master’s will for all this time. And now, the Yeti of these lands stand with us.

The staff began to rattle slightly in his mouth as it surged with power and the light surrounded the goat as it began to drain his vitality in exchange for such energy. He could feel himself weakening already, but he remained strong against the onslaught.

And…no matter what you throw at us…no matter how many of us you kill…

The first of the demons, a strange-looking humanoid creature with an elongated jaw, began to shamble forward in his direction. Grogar lowered his head and clenched the rattling staff more tightly between his teeth.

We…will never…

The light surged from his body and formed a makeshift barrier of sorts around him, causing the stray creature to screech and withdraw. Rays of gold and orange flickered against the snowy sky; Grogar knew that this last-ditch effort would either greatly weaken him or possibly kill him, but there was no other choice and it was too late to go back. He shut his eyes and braced his body for the coming impact.

…SURRENDER!!!

Windcaller shielded her eyes and winced as an arcane pulse of pure energy surged from Grogar’s body and the staff, enveloping the area in a bright orange light so intense the entire battlefield was lost for a brief moment; in the power, in the light…

Author's Note

Whew...a taste of what's going on so far. Yeah, it's THAT Grogar, you guys. You'll find out more later on; in the meantime I hope you enjoy what I have written so far...fairly new here, and a little rusty with writing, but ah well.

Thank you for reading!

Awkward Revival

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER ONE

Present Day.

Night in Equestria was always something interesting; whether it be the moon glowing faintly in the sky, the nightlife in the local towns, or just the general beauty it brought, there was always something to look upon and ponder. Tonight was not one of those nights for a certain hedgehog, as he had other things to worry about…big things.

“Why do I always get called to do these things?” The stubby gray creature stopped for a moment to rub at the side of his head before continuing to bound down an alleyway. “I mean, I’ve like, been in Canterlot…was that the name…? For like, months now and I still don’t know anything about it.” He paused for a second, sniffing the air, before looking in the direction of an open bakery. “Is…is that chocolate…? Wait.”

Grubber shook his head and attempted with every ounce of willpower he had to turn his attention away from the bakery and toward the back of the alley, where he saw something glinting faintly in the moonlight. Eyes flashing, he crawled in the direction of the source, all the time wondering, assuming…

When he reached the source of the glint, it appeared to be covered by several pieces of worn paper and rotted confetti pieces; brushing them aside, he could see a polished piece of stone, cracked in some places but otherwise perfectly intact. His eyes glimmering brighter than the moon in the sky, Grubber reached down and gently stroked the piece, as if it were something incredibly precious.

“Finally…after so much searching…”

He gently wrapped his tiny paws around the piece and lifted it off the ground; despite its weight he held it as gently as he possibly could and turned around, attempting to conceal it from the gaze of anyone who may have been watching. Turning his head both ways, he snuck out of the alley, still keeping the stone shard tight to his chest as he bounded along the side of the main street, making sure to stay in the shadows just in case.

“Oh man this is so exciting!” He declared aloud as he rushed in the direction of Canterlot palace, attempting to keep his voice down but not really doing a good job of it. “I’m pretty sure this is the LAST piece. They’re gonna be sooo—OOF!”

He was cut off by a hard blow to the face, although to be entirely fair he was the one who ran into it, rather than it was delivered. Startled and injured slightly, he fell backwards, almost sending the stone piece flying but thankfully keeping his grip upon it. Groaning a bit, he rubbed at the bruise-mark on his face and looked up at the figure whom had stopped him. “Gods…what was THAT about?!”

“Sorry.” The figure, a rather slim-looking unicorn in a cloak and hood, lowered his front hoof, grinning slightly despite what had just happened to his companion. “Wasn’t really my fault though. You weren’t exactly paying attention.”

“Well…yeah, but…” Grubber wrinkled his nose and huffed in irritation. “Stop being so, like, SMART, Haze. You weren’t even the one who found, uh—“ He fumbled for the piece and proudly held it aloft. “See? I did it!”

Haze’s cloudy gray eyes glinted as he saw the piece; lowering his hood, he eyed it in anticipation, almost. He felt his tongue running over his teeth, the feeling was so intense. “Is…is it really…” He lowered his horn toward the piece, touching the tip against the dark green surface. A crackle of purple energy radiated from the piece, sending shivers through his body; gasping, he whipped his head upward, though grinning like a madman.

“Y-yes…it’s him…I feel it.”

Grubber looked unamused. “Dude, I could have told you that.”

Haze attempted to brush off the sarcasm and took the piece in his front hooves, stroking it as if it were something soft and gentle. He looked toward Grubber in fascination. “This is legitimately another piece. If this is, indeed, the last one…then…”

“I know, right? It’s so cool!” Grubber declared, grinning in response and pressing his paws against his cheeks; Haze sighed and, levitating the piece gently with his magic, began to make his way down a path near Canterlot palace. He stopped for a moment to look behind him.

“I suggest you make haste,” he told the little gray hedgehog, who seemed a little taken aback by the unicorn’s lack of reaction. “We don’t have much time. The spell HAS to be done under a full moon, otherwise it won’t take full effect. The moon is only fully aligned for five minutes as of tonight; if we mess up—“

“Okay, okay!” Grubber sighed and scurried after the unicorn. “Just, enough with the ‘smart’ stuff already. It’s making my head spin.” He knocked the side of his skull, as if to clarify this. Haze only gave a light smile in response, and the two continued down the path.

Eventually the path led directly behind Canterlot palace, near the fountains; however rather than going straight towards them Haze took a side-turn near the one at the far right, entering what appeared to be some kind of underground tunnel. Grubber followed him and the two kept up their pace, heading further down the tunnel, which dipped into a slope that revealed a hidden cavern.

The cavern appeared to have been around for some time, worn by erosion, but massive in size and beautiful as a cave interior could get. Water gently dripped from the overhead stalactites, making echoing plipping sounds, and the entire interior seemed to have been fully furnished…but with some rather unusual décor, especially for Equestrian origin.

The two bright blue slash-marks—the logo of the former Storm King—were plastered all over the interior of the cave; some were banners, others were posters, and some had even carved the insignia into the walls of the cave. They were everywhere and it was not an understatement at all to say EVERYWHERE. Black-and-gray banners were draped along the cavern walls, and a small shrine was set up in the back, lit by the glowing blue waters of a concentrated magic pool. Several figures, all draped in black cloaks and hoods, were hunched sitting around the shrine; one or two of them raised their heads when Haze and Grubber approached.

“Brother Haze…you have returned.” The tallest figure approached the two, tossing his head back to shift his hood down. His long beard trembled as his amber eyes fell upon the stone shard and his eyes widened. “No…that can’t be the last…is it…”

“It’s totally the last piece,” Grubber exclaimed, bouncing on his feet a bit. “And I was the one who found it. Like, in an alley. At night.” He waited a moment for a response from either stallion, but all he received was silence; he sighed again and threw his arms up. “FINE then, just ignore the fact that I did something for once.”

“We have ALL been working at this for months, to retrieve the pieces.” The old stallion with the amber eyes cast his gaze back toward the shrine, where the others were starting to come to attention. “They were very much scattered about after…the incident...occurred, but finally, at last…”

“It will not be long.” Haze’s eyes glinted as he levitated the piece in front of him, beginning to step towards the direction of the shrine. The others bowed their heads at first as the unicorn approached, but upon seeing the stone piece their gazes turned to surprise and shock, and they began chattering in low voices amongst themselves. Haze only looked at them for a tenth of a second before turning his full attention on what lay on an altar in the center of the shrine’s pool:

The once-shattered remains of the Storm King’s statue, scattered by carelessness and time, had been sought after and intricately, almost lovingly, pieced back together into a whole—only one part was missing, a part in his right side, and that in particular was the exact part Haze now possessed. He looked up toward the ceiling of the cave; the moon would only be aligned for so long, like had had stated to Grubber earlier. There was not much time left to draw out the spell.

“My liege…” Haze looked down upon the pieced-together remains, his irises seeming to waver as he fell upon the look of surprise and terror on the statue’s face; he couldn’t even imagine what could have gone through this beast’s mind as he fell to his seeming death. He shut his eyes for a brief moment before turning around and holding up the stone piece, throwing out his chest and booming loudly:

“My fellow Students of Nimbus!”

The others raised their heads, removing their hoods; most of them were surprisingly creatures of Equestrian origin if not all of them. They turned their full attention to Haze; Grubber plopped down in the back and pulled out a rather haggard-looking cupcake that he starting chewing on as he listened.

“Now that I have your full attention…” Haze took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before continuing; his heart was pounding in his chest. He clenched his teeth. “It has been months…since the attack on Equestria. It has been months…since HER betrayal to our new leader.” He lifted the stone piece higher. “But we have toiled, and we have persevered. Now, the moment of the endless storm is nigh. We have the last piece—“

“Found by me!”

Haze wrinkled his muzzle a bit at Grubber’s abrupt interruption but continued onward: “We have the last piece, and, through the will of Starswirl, we SHALL make him whole again.” He turned toward the statue, beginning to lower the piece in place. “The time will only be right for so long, my fellow Students. Once I lower the piece…prepare to cast the spell.”

The others uttered a low chant in tongues and nodded in response. Haze, using his magic to guide the piece, gently lowered it into place as if putting the final piece into a puzzle; it crackled again with that same purple lightning slightly as it slid into its proper slot. They had done it; the statue was now whole.

There was only one thing left to do.

Raising his head, his horn glowing with bright green arcane energy, he began to chant a spell in old Ponish, as the others joined in, having memorized the spell to perfection. The entire room was filled with the murmuring voices of the ones who desired his return; Haze’s horn glowed ever brighter, his body trembling as the arcane glow spread to his sclera and tinted it neon.

All of their energy, all of their power…Haze felt it within him.

It was working.

One last thing…just one…

Haze took in a breath and, without hesitating for a second, brought his brightly-glowing horn down upon the statue’s chest, sending a shockwave of green energy into the center, which radiated out in cracks of purple energy along the statue’s surface. The cracks split and spread throughout the entire statue, rays of violet light starting to shine through them…until…finally...

“GUH—!”

Indeed, the spell worked; the stone surface began to crumble and disintegrate away to reveal the flesh-and-bone body of the Storm King, who immediately broke out of the pose he had been in and threw up his chest, gasping for air, his eyes still wide as saucers. The entire room broke out into cheers of rejoice as he continued to attempt to draw in breath, and Haze stepped back a few paces, his head lowered in respect.

After a few moments of attempting to breathe again for the first time in months, the furred beast finally became aware of his surroundings, and he slowly sat up, rubbing at his back in the process. “Ugh, geez…” He shook his head. “Wh-where am I, even? I…I barely remember anything…like, I remember that stupid unicorn making me mess up the…OW, my back…”

“My liege, are you injured?” Haze reached out a hoof but the Storm King recoiled from it, looking both disgusted and shocked.

“Who are you?!” he demanded; looking around frantically he could tell he was in an entirely different place than he had recognized before, and could not quite fully wrap his mind around what was going on.

Fortunately, Grubber was there, in a sense. “Oh, right…you see, uh…how do I put this lightly…” He rubbed the back of his head and took another chew of the cupcake he had been eating. “You, uh…kinda DIED earlier, like, months ago.”

The Storm King blinked and eyed Grubber in stupor for a moment, before the memories finally began to float to the surface and everything came back in a tremendous surge of racing thoughts. The invasion, Tempest Shadow, him attempting to disable that purple alicorn, the numbness that shot through his body as he was slowly petrified…uttering a slight yelp of pain, he clutched at his head with both hands, recoiling slightly from the pressure of his mixed emotions. Grubber took another bite of the cupcake, unfazed.

“Yeah, I guess you DO remember.” He looked down at the cupcake before looking back up at his former master and grinning nervously. “S-sorry.”

“I…I failed…” There was a moment of silence before he slapped a hand to his forehead and growled angrily. “I actually FAILED an invasion! How do you even DO that?! If it weren’t for those friggin’ annoying—“

He then noticed that Haze was watching him and whipped his head to face the unicorn, glowering at him; Haze’s eyes flickered with hope and admiration and he bowed his upper body down before the goat-like beast, refusing to take his gaze off of the splendor.

“I…m-my liege…” The Storm King tilted his head slightly at this remark; Haze’s eyes continued to glimmer and waver with admiration as he spoke. “We…all of us…have waited so, so long for this moment. The moment we could speak to you in pony…the moment we could proudly say, that we want you as our ever-powerful Equestrian ruler…”

“I…wait, what?” The beast looked stupefied at this remark; he shifted himself into a sitting position against the altar. “You guys actually WANT me to take over this fluffball place? Uh…” He stopped for a moment and eyed Grubber. “Who are these guys, again…?”

“I think they’re some kinda cult,” Grubber replied; he looked down at his hand and saw that there were only a few crumbs left and his face fell slightly before he continued. “Aww…uh, anyway, they and I, we kinda worked for like, months to repair your body so you could be revived or whatever. It sorta shattered into pieces ‘n stuff when you fell off the balcony.”

Really doesn’t sound like you, Storm thought, but admittedly he was relieved to have his body alive and moving again, and even if they WERE Equestrians, he had them to thank for it. Figuring he should at least attempt proper communication, he cleared his throat, slipping off the altar and getting to his feet. “So, uh…your name…your, uh, cult thing…tell me about it?”

“We are the Students of Nimbus,” Haze replied proudly, puffing out his chest slightly. He smiled knowingly. “I, alongside Stratos—“ He gestured toward the elderly stallion with the amber eyes from earlier—“are believers of a never-ending storm…a storm, that brings not ruin, but change for the better. We believe, that YOU are the one who will ultimately change all of Equestria…make it a properly-run place to live and work.” The goat-beast raised an eyebrow at this statement but said nothing. “Your death was untimely and a foil in our plan; thus we toiled for months, as your friend said, to recover the pieces of your statue after it fell.”

“Huh…nice names, at least.” The Storm King pushed past Haze and pondered a bit at the crowd of admirers. “So, you all support me, huh? Nice. But…not enough for a new army, unfortunately.” He tapped his chin in thought. “Although we could do it as an…INSIDE job, of sorts. Tempest Shadow…” He uttered a low, guttural growl and clenched his fist, as if even saying the name made him irritable. “When I get my hands on her scrawny little neck—“

“I dunno if that’s a good idea, ‘cause, you know, Tempest is backed by the entire Royal Guard here now,” Grubber interrupted, searching around for any more snacks or at least edibles that may have been in the area. “And the Royal Guard, I mean, they kinda weren’t there the first time we invaded for some strange reason, but she kinda…stole the combat training you gave her and used it on them…” He grinned weakly and withdrew slightly when he saw Storm glowering at him. “J-just saying…”

“Great.” The goat-beast huffed in annoyance and folded his arms. “And what became of my other soldiers, then? Surely there must have been some that—“

“Aw no, they’re reformed last I checked. Saw some the other day, you know, when I was searching about for stuff…they were kinda making a dart-throwing game outta one of your images…”

“Are you just saying these things to annoy me, or are you just being too BLUNT?!”

Grubber’s head almost sank into his shoulders, he was so taken aback by the shouting of the last word. His ears flattened a bit as the goat-beast snarled at him. “Geez, don’t take my head off…I’m just trying to fill you in on what happened…”

“Ugh.” The Storm King rubbed at his temples before speaking again. “So, basically, lemme get this entirely straight…you guys revived me, and plan to have me take over again…with no allies, no resources, and NO ARMY?!” He practically screamed the last two words, causing a loud echo to resonate through the cavern and causing the Students to cower in fear. Furiously, he looked over at Haze and Stratos, who already appeared quite distraught. “REALLY don’t bother to think things through, do you!”

“I…but…I worked so hard…to revive you…”

“What is the POINT if I don’t have anything in my power?! You Ponies are useless! I swear, this place isn’t even WORTH taking over at this point…”

“I…”

Haze’s mouth trembled slightly, and he hung his head; though it was in the shadows a few tears were visible dripping from his muzzle and onto the ground. Stratos placed a hoof next to his, before glaring up at the furred beast angrily.

“So this…” His voice trembled as he spoke the words. “THIS is the amount of gratitude we get for sparing your soul from eternal Hell. I now know…” Haze pressed his muzzle against Stratos’s side, still trembling with sorrow, and Stratos looked the Storm King dead in the eye. “I know…what Tempest saw.”

Storm’s eyes widened and he backed up a step; something very faint flashed in his memory but it was gone as quickly as it had surfaced. Whatever it was, however, stirred something within him, and his anger dissipated, to be replaced by the faintest hint of regret. The Students around him had begun talking amongst themselves; though they were whispering he could catch bits and pieces of what they were saying:

“Moronic beast…”

“Can’t believe…”

“Such arrogance…”

The goat-beast’s heart rate began to speed up for some reason, and for a brief moment he felt the urge to collapse, but again, it was only for a short period of time, and he couldn’t quite place a finger on why. He shut his eyes so all that he could do was hear…hear the whispers of hatred, hear the muffled sobs of the one whom he had screamed at. It was all too familiar to him, but this time…it wasn’t right. It wasn’t proper.

Stratos’s gaze turned cold as he pointed a hoof toward the sloping entrance—or in this case, exit—of the cavern. “I suggest that you leave,” he said, his voice emotionless as his stare. “The Students of Nimbus…were wrong, it seems, about you.”

I’m sorry…

Storm heard the voice then; it sounded faint and like it was coming from someone underwater, but it was there. He looked around, attempting to find the source of the strange, childlike anomaly, but it was to no avail. Stratos’s eyes narrowed further.

“I said LEAVE!” he shouted, stomping one hoof into the dirt. “Or are you as dense as you are arrogant?!”

The beast whipped his head in Stratos’s direction angrily, pointing a clawed finger at his muzzle. “You WATCH what you say to me, you old, rotting—“

Forgive me…

The voice echoed again within his consciousness; he winced slightly and stopped mid-sentence, lowering his hand in the process. Seeping in a breath through his teeth, he stepped past Stratos, his head held high and his tail curled upward as he approached the exit.

“Let’s go, Grubber.” He turned back to look at the gray hedgehog, who eyed him with a mixture of curiosity and surprise. “I don’t need a group of…Ponies…to help me regain my hold on what was once mine.”

“But…” Grubber chewed on his lower lip as he eyed the distraught Equestrians, before looking into his former master’s eyes and sensing something within them…something that both made him cower with fear and light up with hope. Whatever the case was, something in the subconscious implied that he follow, and he did so, scrambling to his feet and bounding after him as they left the tunnel, arriving on the surface.

The Storm King immediately looked upward toward the night sky when they stepped upon the grassy terrain; it had been awhile since he had remembered seeing a moonlit sky this bright before…but then again he had been in darkness for months. There was no pain, no noise, and no emotion…just the endless feeling of emptiness that had reflected so much on his own mind.

“It’s something else, isn’t it?”

The goat-beast snapped out of his reverie and looked down at Grubber, who was eyeing him with a bit of suspicion; he forced a cracked smile. “N-no…it’s nothing like that. I, uh…” He crossed his arms and looked upward again, toward the moon. “We need to get out of this sparkle-happy place before anyone spots us, is all I was thinking. We should probably find a proper hiding place tonight…we’ll set out toward the south in the morning---“

“Why the south?”

There was no answer from Storm for quite awhile; he finally sighed and started pacing across the grass, away from the palace. “I rule the lands…well, USED to rule the lands…south of here, remember? Besides…” He briefly clutched a fist to his chest, although Grubber could not see it.

“There’s something there…I need to do…”

The Journey Approaches

Author's Note

Forgot to mention, this story involves quite a bit of interlacing with the past and the present time, so there WILL be a few instances of flashbacks, which are indicated by italic text. But I think you guys knew that already, so, yeah.

Also I thank everyone who has viewed and/or read the story thus far; you are wonderful people and I appreciate any feedback I get on this fairly new project!

The Journey Approaches

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER TWO

“Hold still.”

“Ungh…uff…” Grogar winced in pain as the antiseptic bandage was wrapped around his front leg; although Windcaller’s approach to the situation was gentle, the putrid-smelling formula still burned the surface of his skin—and nostrils, for that matter. He really was attempting not to fidget so much but the stinging made it difficult and he found himself attempting to instinctively draw his foreleg away from the source. Windcaller’s blue eyes flashed and she gave an irritated glance at the old goat.

“I said, hold STILL!”

“GAHHH!” A sound between a cry and a gasp escaped from Grogar’s mouth as he was yanked forward forcefully through the bandage, due to Windcaller tugging on the unwrapped portions. Flopping down onto the cot he was lying on, he grimaced and shuddered slightly as the Yeti female came to realization just exactly what it was she had done. Releasing one of the ends, she clapped a hand over her mouth, blushing slightly in both embarrassment and shock.

“Oh, gods!” she declared; immediately she gently rubbed at Grogar’s foreleg, feeling for anything that might have been further injured or broken in the process. “I am SO sorry, my love…I still need to get used to treating wounds with a gentler touch. The males back in my tribe had…well, a higher threshold for pain, so to speak.”

“Guhhh…it…it’s fine. I’m fine.” That was a bit of a lie actually; Grogar’s foreleg felt like it had been temporarily dislocated from that little incident but he knew that Windcaller would worry all the more about him if he admitted that, and the last thing he wanted right now was for her to fret about him. It had already been terrible enough during the battle for Yebit three years ago, and given her current state she should not be stressed by any means, he figured. He shut his eyes and blew out a heavy breath. “Heh…I mean, it could have been worse. You could have maybe, like, ripped off my leg or something.”

“Would not be surprised if she did end up doing that, actually.”

Both Windcaller and Grogar looked up toward the doorway, where a lavishly-accessorized Caprinian doe with bluish-lavender fur and fluffed bangs was standing; she turned up her nose at the sight of Windcaller and huffed. “I swear to the gods, Grogar…if it were not for the fact that you treat me better than you do HER, I would have left your side a long time ago.”

“Rivvon…” Grogar wanted to say more to his first wife, but he held his tongue; now was not the time to be encouraging this type of behavior on either of their parts. All he could really do was eye her and hope she would get the message to zip her mouth; sadly this wasn’t the case with her, and he should have figured as much:

“I don’t even know why you agreed to allow these…primitive ANIMALS…to stray across our borders in the first place.” She took a few steps into the room, keeping her head raised as she looked upon the two with disdain, specifically Windcaller, who bit her lower lip and attempted to turn her head away. “The only thing they appear to be somewhat decent at is combat, and we already have an army to take care of our fighting needs, should they arise.”

“Rivvon,” Grogar repeated, his tone firmer than before. The doe glanced his way, although he could tell she really was not that intrigued by what he had to say next. Regardless: “I know that you are not quite used to the new set of customs as of right now…but, the Yeti are our allies. You and I both know that—“

“’Not quite used to’ is an understatement!” Rivvon’s bright yellow eyes glinted with anger and she took on an aggressive stance. “I cannot go a single day without having the stench of those horrible beasts lingering around me; cannot go outside the palace gates without seeing their primitive faces and hunched backs…the males are especially bad.

“And YOU.” Her gaze shifted toward Windcaller, and it became clear at that moment in time whom she was going to blame for her irritation. “You’re probably the worst of them all…taking my beloved’s hoof in marriage when you barely knew him to begin with.”

The bridge of Windcaller’s petite nose wrinkled in anger and she defensively clenched her teeth. “That’s—“

“You can claim and declare to the public all you want that it’s not true…but you know that what I said is fact.” Rivvon’s gaze darkened. “Which makes it all the more revolting that a hero of his stature would ‘court’ someone like you as well…although, to be fair, he probably wasn’t even your first. You WERE the matriarch of those wretched Neanderthals, after all.”

Probably the best way to describe Windcaller’s reaction to this would to be if someone had just shattered a glass windowpane; her jaw went slightly slack and her eyes widened in surprise, before shimmering with anger and pure loathing. Her usually-soft features contorted into an expression of hatred and the soft white fur on the back of her neck and tail bristled as she began to rise to her feet.

“Take that back,” she growled, although it was more animal-like than anything else at this moment in time. “Take it back, you dock-tailed, conniving—“

“ENOUGH!”

Grogar’s shout of command was so loud that it rattled the walls of the infirmary, causing both females to snap out of their fight and turn to look at him. The ram’s blue-gray fur was the one to bristle now; it was so ruffled from irritation at this point in time it was practically standing straight up on the back of his neck. Panting a bit, trying to get his own building upset under control, his gaze turned on Windcaller, then shifted over to Rivvon.

“I know…that things are different,” he finally managed to gasp out, although his teeth were angrily bared in the process of doing so. “But…you are both my wives…and I love you both…so, please. Do not test my patience…with either of you.”

The two were silent for a brief moment; finally Windcaller heaved a sigh and gripped her hand tightly to her chest. “I…I’m sorry, Grogar. You…you’re right. It…”

Rivvon, on the other hand, merely sneered and turned up her nose before whipping around and storming towards the doorway; she stopped to look behind her before saying one last thing toward Windcaller:

“Do me a favor…don’t let your mongrel, if and when he’s born, near my son. EVER.”

Before anyone could say anything against her, she was gone. The fur on the nape of Grogar’s neck relaxed and he heaved out a sigh, bringing his head down between his forelegs. Windcaller eyed him with a mixture of both concern and shame.

“She’ll never learn,” Grogar muttered, rubbing at his muzzle with one hoof. “Never in a million years…does like her are way too stubborn to change their view on things so suddenly.”

“It was my fault…I shouldn’t have reacted in that way,” Windcaller replied, shaking her head. She brought her attention back to Grogar’s foreleg; the bandages had started to unravel a bit and she began to work to reprimand this. “It’s just…when she brought up the whole ‘courtship’ thing, I…”

“I know that the Yeti are not like that, Windcaller,” Grogar told her, smiling a bit. “If you were as experienced in that field as she claims you are, you would have both my hind legs in splints.”

The female Yeti blushed in embarrassment and fumbled a bit with the bandages. “Well, I, uh...y-yeah, I suppose that would be true.” She awkwardly tied a knot in the linen and leaned back slightly before feeling a sudden pressure in her belly; wincing, she placed a hand over her abdomen and gritted her teeth. “Ah…”

Grogar tilted his head to one side, his brow furrowing slightly. “What’s wrong? Something with the pup?”

“I, n-no…I think the pup is okay.” She looked up at him, her hand still on her belly. “Actually, it might be more than okay…it just kicked, I think.”

“For the first time?” Grogar’s eyes seemed to light up and he smiled even more brightly than before. “That’s…that’s wonderful news! I was so worried that he wouldn’t be okay…interspecies breeding can sometimes prove difficult for the infants…”

“It’s probably gonna be more difficult for me than for ‘him’,” Windcaller replied, although her voice seemed light-hearted and happy as well. “Your kind have horns, after all. And hooves. And it’s probably going to be different than a normal birth…”

Grogar rolled his eyes playfully. “Fair enough. But, you can’t blame me for being pleased. This is a huge stepping-stone for us…if he is born completely healthy, then I don’t see why…we can’t save both races, as a united people…”

“We’ll see,” Windcaller told him gently, placing one hand upon his front hoof. “We’ll see...what the future will hold in store. For ‘him’, and for us.”

“Are you sure you know how to read that map?”

“Hang on, hang on.” Grubber fumbled with the large piece of parchment, practically hidden entirely behind it as he attempted to read the old Ponish cursive written on the surface. “Why does everyone in existence have to make these stupid things so big…yeah, BIG waste of paper if you ask me.”

Storm folded his arms and hunched over slightly, tapping one hoof in impatience; he blew a stray lock of white fur off of his nose and shifted his gaze to the front of the cargo wagon they were currently hitching a ride in. After spending the night in the Everfree Forest—which, honestly, was less than pleasant even by Storm’s standards—the two had decided that the only way to get out of Equestria without being seen was to not go on foot, as the goat-beast was way too noticeable, but instead to stow away on a traveling wagon out of the country via one of the outside trade routes.

Luckily they didn’t even need to stow away for the most part; an elderly stallion had offered them a ride on his cargo wagon heading toward Klugetown…in exchange for a hefty amount of currency, but, they needed to take what they could get in order to avoid raising awareness to their situation. Now they were almost to the desert and Grubber couldn’t even read a stupid map.

Things were really looking up.

A few moments of time passed as Grubber continued to fumble around with the map and scan it; finally Storm’s patience wore paper-thin and he growled angrily. “If you can’t read the damn map, Grubber, just SAY SO and we’ll get someone to—“

“I can read it, I can read it!” Grubber snapped, shaking his paw; he turned the paper over on its side again for like the fourth time and examined it. “Would help if you said where exactly it was we were going to begin with…”

Storm was pretty sure at that point in time that he was going to burst a blood vessel if not anything else in his system; he threw up both hands and gave a suppressed howl of frustration before snatching the map away from the little gray hedgehog with such force that it almost tore in two. “GIVE me that!”

“Geez—“ Grubber could only say one word before the surprise took him entirely, and he pouted a little at the furred creature before focusing his gaze on the road. Storm attempted to brush this off and scanned over the map, searching the southernmost lands first and foremost, as this is where the desired destination lay. His gaze trailed to the left side of the map, toward the southwest area, but unfortunately there was not much information to be found on this map in particular other than a few landmarks and some scratches of ink.

Figured…this map was pretty much rendered useless at this point. None of the southwestern areas were documented, if at all. Of course he figured as much, from Equestrian explorers…

“Well, it’s no wonder you couldn’t read it. It’s friggin’ incomplete.” He tossed the map over his shoulder and into the wind before placing his chin in both hands, hunching over in slightly irritated defeat. “I know it’s in the southwest, but, without my old documents I can’t figure out where the exact coordinates are. We’ll be going in completely blind unless we can find a better map.”

“So where do we find one then?” Grubber asked, shifting his gaze up toward him; Storm shook his head and clenched his teeth slightly.

“I have absolutely NO idea. We’re headed to Klugetown, I think…maybe someone there will have more of a clue than these friggin’ Equestrian mapmakers.”

“Y-yeah…you know…” Grubber looked down at the road for a few moments before looking back up at Storm. “I gotta admit something…yeah, I followed you instead of staying with that cult group, but…you need to get better with how you treat people, y’know?” He furrowed his brow a little bit. “The way you treated those guys was…really unfair.”

Storm eyed him; for a second Grubber thought he could see a brief flash of emotion within his eyes but it faded rather quickly. The goat-beast instead folded his arms and huffed arrogantly.

“And you expected me to do what? Treat them with gratitude and kindness?” He shook his head and brought his palm to his face. “You really are something, you know that?”

“L-look…” Grubber felt his stomach twisting in anxiety but he had to put the words out there at the very least. “I know you think differently for some reason, but…kindness isn’t weakness…you know? If anything, it’s…it makes you strong. I mean, look at what happened with Tempest—“

“You do NOT bring up Tempest!!” Storm practically roared the words, slamming his fist down upon the bottom of the wagon; Grubber winced as if he had been struck and cowered against the wagon’s side, whimpering slightly. The goat-beast snarled at him, teeth bared, until it happened again:

Listen. Listen…!

Where is that voice even coming from? The former conqueror looked around, searching for the source, but again he found nothing; there was no one in the back of the wagon besides him and Grubber. Deciding upon the idea that it was not important at this time, he drew his attention away from it, as the wagon came to a halt.

“End of the line, boys.” The elderly stallion hopped off of the front of the wagon and trotted toward them, brushing aside the cloth tarp that had been used as cover during the trek through the more populated areas. “I’ll be takin’ my currency and then y’all can make it towards Klugetown.”

“Thanks for taking us all this way,” Grubber told him as he wriggled off of the wagon; Storm hopped to his feet and simply dropped a bagful of bits into the stallion’s outstretched hoof before turning his back and heading toward the giant, looming city. The stallion watched him go with a rather strange expression; Grubber looked up and smiled nervously.

“You, uh…you’ll have to excuse him. He’s…a tad distant.”

“Nah, I know his type.” The stallion pocketed the bits within the worn vest he was wearing and chewed a bit on something within his mouth, probably tobacco of some sort, Grubber was guessing. “He ain’t got much left in him friend-wise, I’d say. Somethin’ bad happened to ‘im…somethin’ in the past, and he just moseys on thinkin’ he’s the best and don’t need no friends.” He shook his head. “Sad things I see in my days…sad things.”

Now it was the little gray hedgehog’s turn to eye him strangely; he looked back toward the direction of Klugetown, then over at the stallion, before turning toward the path of the city in question. Something about the old Equestrian’s words was incredibly unsettling to him, and he didn’t believe it wise to stick around for much longer.

“I, uh…I should be going now, I think.” He began to bound off, pausing to wave frantically. “Thanks again!”

The old stallion waved back in response until both of them were out of sight; he then gave a sigh and spit into the sand below him before heading toward the front of the wagon. He looked back toward Klugetown one last time before snapping the reins and moving onward.

“Y’all are in for a serious rut…y’know that…”

It was the last thing he muttered before the wagon moved on and disappeared into the sands surrounding the area…it was no longer the stallion’s problem at hand; not his burden to bear.

There was still much to come.

Trouble in Klugetown

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER THREE

The sprawling, industrial mass of buildings and shops that formed up Klugetown had never seen brighter days, apparently. In this case it was both literal and figurative, seeing as no one seemed to be as shady as before, nor were there constant demands for currency nor patronage every time someone passed by a booth. It was…unusual, to say the least. The two had currently stationed themselves at the edge of town in a back-alley, trying to keep to the shadows while Grubber worked on a “proper disguise.”

“Gods…” The stubby creature yanked down on the hood of the cloak that Storm was currently wearing, attempting to fully conceal his face but not having much luck. “Your…freakin’ horns are…really hard to deal with…”

“Then just get a bigger cloak,” the taller beast retorted, attempting to pull away in resistance. “It’s pretty obvious that this is NOT working—“

“I can’t afford it though! Do you know how expensive this stuff is around here?! I could barely afford this one!”

“This entire situation is so pathetic…” Storm shook his head in disgust and rolled his eyes as Grubber moved his attention to the back of the cloak instead. The goat-creature clutched at the clasp of the garment and fingered it slightly. “All these years of conquering and I’m back to Square One. I could be on the deck of one of my beautiful airships, but noooo…” He stuck his tongue out in obvious revulsion at his situation. “Instead I’m stuck in friggin’ Klugetown, with one of my lower-ranking minions, trying to blend in because I can’t afford to be spotted.”

“’Lower-ranking’?” Grubber repeated, pouting a bit at this statement. “I thought I was your favorite though.”

“No…Tem…I mean, SHE...was my favorite.” Storm’s eyes clouded over for a moment. “Until she—HRRK!”

His spine was jerked forward as Grubber tightened the strings on the middle of the cloak’s sash, causing it to press around his abdomen and needless to say feeling rather uncomfortable. “T-too tight…” The hedgehog minion rolled his eyes slightly and released the strings; Storm placed a hand on his chest and gasped in a breath. “I…I think we’re fine for now…stop messing around with the cloak. If we keep out of sunlit areas, we should be good enough to blend in.”

“If you say so,” Grubber muttered; he paused for a moment to dust off the small black vest he had been wearing for the past several months…not that it was any different from his old one; it just lacked the Storm King insignia honestly. Mulling things over for a minute, he grabbed a nearby patch of dirt and started rubbing it into the silver spiked fur on his head and back; Storm eyed him with his tongue slightly out, as if getting filth on oneself were the worst thing in existence. The hedgehog glanced at him and shrugged, flipping his head back and forth like a wet dog and sending flecks of dirt flying. “Blendin’ in a little bit myself. Figure, if my fur’s all dirty and messy like this, they won’t suspect anything weird.”

“Er…yeah.” Storm turned his attention to the front of the alleyway. “Makes perfect sense…let’s just get going already; we need to take care of a few things before we can leave this gods-awful place.”

Drawing the cloak tighter around himself, he stepped out of the alley and into the crowd, Grubber close behind him; no one seemed to be making any sort of uproar nor displaying suspicious behavior so he assumed they were safe for now. Curiously, he looked around at the merchandise laid out on the booths; despite the fact that he was the one who had an iron grip on this part of the land prior to his defeat, he had never really bothered to fully explore nor investigate it, which he now considered a shame really. There were a lot of marketing opportunities to be had here...if he could have only—

“Oi, you!”

The goat-beast froze in his tracks, causing Grubber to bump into him from behind; his heartbeat starting to increase in intensity once more, he turned to look toward the source of the voice. A fat, rather homely-looking lizard lady waved a chubby hand at him, gesturing for him to come in the direction of her booth.

“Yeah, you!” She called out again; for some reason she wanted his attention pretty badly. “You with the cloak and the really cute little pet! Come this way!!”

“’Pet’…?” Grubber repeated, obviously quite offended; Storm attempted to keep walking but the woman was tenacious. Before he could take another step forward, she had already zipped up in front of him, holding up what appeared to be a necklace with…

Wait.

“Lookie here!” she declared, jingling the piece of jewelry almost directly in front of his nose. “Storm Armada insignia necklace! Genuine too…used to belong to one of the soldiers of the Storm King himself.”

“I, uh—“ Storm held up his hand and attempted to back away, but the reptile woman continued to invade his personal bubble, her eyes glimmering as she continued to “advertise” her wares:

“Are you sure you don’t want to buy anything, sir? I got lots of trinkets from the dark days…I got keychains, clothing, rations…I even got old pieces of armor off of the Storm Creatures; lemme tell you I was SUPER-lucky to get those babies. They go for a pretty penny at the auction house here nowadays since, you know, the era of the Storm King is over and all. Ugly brute, that guy. Heard somewhere he was actually—“

Enough was enough. “BACK. OFF.”

The sheer amount of venom in his tone surprised even him, but it was enough to get the point across; the woman shrank back in fear, her tail tucked between her legs, and gave him a wavering gaze before rushing back to her booth. Storm remained still for a few moments, before shooting a single glance back in her direction and continuing onward. Grubber gave him a disapproving glare but said nothing as they continued along in silence.

Eventually, though, someone had to break the silence, and the little hedgehog figured he might as well be the one to do it. “You…you wanna get anything to eat or somethin’? I dunno about you, but I’m practically famished. Haven’t had anything to eat since we set out this morning.”

“You always say—“ Storm began to retort, but as if on cue he heard a loud gurgling sound from his companion’s belly, and he sighed; although he was no longer in charge, technically, the needs of his men were still important. “Oh, fine. We’ll stop by someplace…to be honest, I’m a little hungry too.”

“Hooray!” For the first time in awhile Grubber’s eyes lit up like stars; he began to scurry around, eyeing everything there was to offer food-wise in sight. “Oh man, what should we eat first…? You know what, what are you in the mood for, ‘cause like, I’m up for whatever.” He stopped to sniff the air, whipping his head in all directions. “Ooh, ooh! I smell cake. Do you smell cake? ‘Cause, I smell cake.”

“Calm down,” the taller beast told him, shaking his head slightly, although it was rather amusing to see his companion happy for some odd reason. “I’m fine with anything you wish…although, I have to say no on the sweets. I tend to, uh…” His face flushed slightly. “Over-indulge…a bit.”

“Ohhh, right. I remember now.” Grubber attempted to conceal a grin behind one paw. “That was the time two years ago that you gained like, thirty pounds off of those special sugar-cookies you liked so much.” He broke out into a slight giggle-fit, unable to contain himself, and broke into a slight ramble. “Oh man that was too funny. We had to like, literally force you through the doorway that one time, and it took two guards to get you unstuck from—“

“Okay.” Storm hissed through his teeth and looked about nervously. “K…keep it down, will you? I don’t need anyone finding out about my sugar weakness.” He stopped for a second to re-do the cloak’s clasp and recover from his brief moment of embarrassment. “Guh…anyway…let’s just find the first place we come across and sit down there. We need to do some planning anyway, if we’re going to get anything done at all.”

“Alright.” Grubber looked around, tongue lolled out a bit, before fixating his gaze on what appeared to be a bar and grill at the end of the road nearby. “Ooh, how about we eat there? Can we?”

The goat-creature eyed the sign warily. “’Daughters of Slaughter’…” He looked down at Grubber as if his companion had gone legally insane. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re kidding me, right?”

“Hey, don’t judge a book by its cover,” the little gray hedgehog replied, smiling knowingly. He looked toward the building and raised his nose up. “There’ll probably be a lot of locals to get some info from…plus, there’s like, a REALLY good smell coming from there.”

“I bet,” Storm muttered under his breath, looking up in time to see Grubber heading in the direction of the doors. He shook his head and began pacing after him. “I swear to the gods, if this place turns out to be what I think it is…”

Long story short, it wasn’t. The second the two stepped in through the doors an absolutely foul odor hit the goat-beast’s nostrils, causing him to cough slightly and take a step backward; if pure testosterone did indeed have an odor, and if you happened to mix it with sulfur…that was pretty much the scent of the place overall. Not to mention its upkeep was awful: It was littered with post-meal trash, dimly lit, and he could barely hear himself think over all of the clamoring voices—plus the annoying scratching sound of a record player in the back was destroying his hearing the more it went on, he was certain. He shielded one hand over his nose and forced himself to follow his companion to the bar, where he was already attempting to scramble onto one of the barstools.

“Are you SURE you want to eat here…?” Storm paused to gag again slightly, as Grubber finally planted his behind atop the stool’s torn surface and reached for the stack of menus lying nearby. “This place really is…urk…not doing any favors for my appetite.”

“Oh it’s not so bad once you get used to the smell.” Grubber smiled at him in a rather cute manner before managing to grasp the edge of a menu and pull it over towards him. As he began to scan the contents, Storm took his place on a stool adjacent, still feeling—and somewhat looking, for that matter—physically ill. The old phonograph switched to a country tune that grated on his ears the more it played, and he flopped his head down upon the counter in misery.

“You boys all ready to order or what now?”

All that the taller beast could manage to get out was “Idonwannanythankyu,” his stomach twisting a bit, but Grubber, on the other hand, faced the fish-like bartender with great anticipation, licking his chops.

“Yeah, I am! I mean, you know, I looked over the menu and everything…” He pushed the folded-up, slightly-greasy paper in the bartender’s direction. “I REALLY am hungry tonight, so, I wanted your opinion on the menu itself. Like, what’s the biggest thing you have, and how good is it on the sugar content?”

“That’d be the Gut-Slaughter Special,” the bartender replied, grinning at the fact someone seemed interested in ordering it to begin with. He leaned down on one elbow in an attempt to get to Grubber’s level and added quietly: “Just between you and me…no one, and I mean NO one, has managed to down the entire thing without being sick to their stomachs. So I’ll tell you what—if you order it AND can eat the entire thing, it’s free.” He winked and his lips split, revealing rows of yellow teeth. “Just a little something to get y’all interested.”

“You had my full attention at ‘entire thing.’” Grubber’s eyes were sparkling like gems at the concept. “Gimme one. I bet you anything I can eat that sucker in a pinch.”

“I like your style.” The bartender flashed his teeth again before yelling toward the back. “OI, MARGARET! WE GOT ANOTHER VICTIM HERE!!”

The little gray creature bounced up and down in his seat excitedly, his eyes still shining like stars; Storm coughed a bit and attempted to pull himself up from the counter, feeling as if he were drunk already from the atmosphere alone. There was too much going on…he wasn’t quite used to places like this, if at all…

“You’re in my chair.”

“Huh…?” The goat-creature looked up wearily toward the source of the voice, only to come face-to-chest with a behemoth of a fish creature that didn’t look quite that happy to see him at all. The fish’s glazed yellow eyes narrowed and he repeated:

“I said, you’re in my chair.”

Storm was too dizzy from the atmosphere to comprehend what the guy was trying to say at first, and he took a moment to shake off the feeling of illness before looking up at him. “Your chair?”

“Are you deaf or somethin’?” The behemoth of a man slammed a fist into his open hand, baring his fangs in irritation. “I told you like t’ree times that’s MY chair! Anyone wit’ a brain in their head knows I rule the roost durin’ the nights.” He raised his head and hollered. “Ain’t that right, boys!?”

A series of cheers echoed throughout the bar in response; Grubber turned his attention away from the counter and eyed the small crowd of males obviously basking in their masculinity, shuddering slightly. “Ugh…those guys…those guys look bad.”

Despite the intimidation that was being placed upon him Storm was not one to easily submit; he looked up at the giant and glowered. “You may ‘rule the roost’, as you say, during the nights here, but that’s hardly an excuse to badger someone over their SEAT.”

He practically spat the last word as if it were something mundane, and this seemed to heavily trigger the giant; an enormous fist reached out and grabbed the beast by the clasp of his cloak, yanking him forward.

“I don’t like you,” the behemoth snarled, bringing Storm’s face up to his own. “I don’t like your FACE. Come to think of it…you look really familiar.”

The furred beast continued to hold his ground. “Can’t say I’m really a fan of yours, either.”

At that remark half the bar’s patrons gasped as if he had dropped the worst insult possible; Grubber grinned and thrust both paws downward as if to accentuate the current atmosphere. “Ooh, BURNED.”

The brute’s face was stuck in surprise for a moment before it contorted into pure rage, and he tightened his grip, yanking loose a few bits of fur in the process. “You…LITTLE…”

Before Storm knew what was happening he had been hurled across the room, colliding spine-first with the backend wall and falling forward onto one of the booth tables. His right leg twitched in pain and he winced as a shockwave of hurt surged through his back, struggling to raise his upper body and confront the bastard.

He didn’t realize the hood of the cloak had fallen until it was way too late.

There had been enough propaganda he had spread throughout the lands in the past for just about anyone to recognize his image, and now it had become so silent in the bar that you could probably hear a fork drop in the backroom. Every patron in the surrounding area was staring at him, some slack-jawed with disbelief, others angry; yet everyone still looked like they had just seen someone rise from the dead or something.

…Then again, that probably wasn’t too far-fetched, considering the circumstances.

After what seemed like an awkward eternity of them staring, murmurs broke out amongst the patrons and the brute and what appeared to be three other thugs approached the booth where he currently lay, stopping in front of him. The light was already dim but the combined bulk of the shadows completely eclipsed any source of light altogether. The beast looked up into the multi-colored eyes of the thug brigade, his heart beginning to race slightly with growing anxiety.

“You…” The head of the behemoth squad, the one who had thrown him to begin with, narrowed his eyes dangerously. “You’re supposed to be dead. We all heard them tales.”

“Uh…” Storm really did not know how to respond to this, so he said the only thing that came to mind at the moment. “I’m…not?”

The brute growled in response, snorting a breath of hot air into the smaller beast’s face. “Well then, allow me to FIX that.” He slammed his fist into one hand, cracking his knuckles together in preparation. “I been waitin’ to do this for YEARS, ever since you and your damn army took over this joint—“

“Wait, Marko.”

The behemoth (“Marko”, apparently) stepped aside to let one of the smaller members of the brute squad pass in front of him; a rather lanky weasel-like creature with a buffalo-skin coat. He eyed Storm up for a moment, then gave a joking huff and crossed his arms. “Please. He’s not even worth our time. The Almighty Storm King…” He sneered in the goat-beast’s direction and raised a brow tauntingly. “Not so powerful without your fancy staff and your army, now, are ya?”

That hit way too close to home, but before Storm could even open his mouth Marko slammed a fist down beside his body. “I still wanna teach this punk a lesson in manners. No one, and I mean NO ONE, mouths off to Marko and gets away wit’ it.”

“Well I never said anything about the mouthing off.” The weasel creature snickered a bit. “Do with him as you must.”

Marko gave a slightly menacing laugh and raised a fist, preparing to belt Storm one to the jaw. “Oh, I’m gonna ENJOY this.”

The goat-beast knew immediately he was in serious trouble if he did not attempt to defend himself; then and there, he immediately remembered the basics of the training he had originally passed down to Tempest. Just as the behemoth fish brought his fist down, Storm raised both arms up in a block, managing to dull the force of the blow but still sending him sliding backward a bit. Marko’s eyes bulged in shock and he withdrew his fist.

“Wh-what the…”

While the brute was still dumbfounded, Storm leapt off the table and over the small group, landing on one knee beside an upset dining table, and got to his feet, his features set in determination as he eyed Marko and the others. He was prepared for a fight. Grubber, who had been watching the entire thing whilst gorging on the mountain of pure sugar that was his order, pumped his fist in encouragement, the other paw busy shoveling ice cream and various candies into his maw.

“Oh yeah—mmpf.” He stopped to inhale another bite. “You wanna heckin’ razzle-dazzle?!”

“You…friggin’…” Marko roared and lunged in Storm’s direction, both fists raised for attack. “Hold still so’s I can hit you!”

He whipped both fists out in a pair of hard punches; the goat-beast ducked and lunged upward, hitting the fish-giant in the gut with one fist and winding him. The force of the blow caused the two to fall forward and into a nearby booth, Storm landing atop the bigger man’s chest and almost flipping over front-first as it was utterly splintered and destroyed by the combined girth of the two. He grunted and forced himself backward, landing on the floor and leaving Marko completely dazed, his eyes in two different directions.

“Uggghhhh…you…you little…”

It was clear the giant was disoriented for the time being, and for a brief moment the goat-beast let his guard down, only to be tackled from behind by another member of the brute squad. The two were both sent forward and into the record-player—and, yet again, another part of the bar was utterly demolished. The music had stopped playing though, thank the gods…

“So you’re not as weak and helpless as you look.” The other brute, a lizard-man with an ugly, toothy maw, held Storm down as he spoke, raking his clawed feet across the beast’s back. “Yeah, you can dodge a few blows, and take out Marko, but so-friggin’-what. Anyone with a brain in their skull can take out Marko if they just THINK.”

“Good advice,” Storm replied, giving a slightly confident smirk; he then flipped with sheer force onto his side, dislocating the lizard’s claws from his back, and rolled over onto both knees, braced for anything this lug might be able to throw at him. The smirk returned to his face. “Actually, fight me. I’m starting to enjoy this.”

“Don’t be such a cocky little bastard!” The lizard hissed and leapt toward him, whipping his long tail in Storm’s direction in an attempt to knock him off-balance. The goat-beast retaliated by leaping upward and twisting into a kick, slamming down one cloven hoof directly into the nasal cavity of the enemy. A large spray of blood erupted from the brute’s nose and he howled in pain, clutching at his bleeding face with both hands. He glared daggers in Storm’s direction.

“B-bitch…” He could say nothing further than that, as his heavily-bleeding nostrils were beginning to drip mucus and blood into his lower lip. He winced and lowered his head, panting through his mouth. The goat-beast dusted off his hands in a mock-gesture and looked around.

“Well, that brought back some good memories…feels good to actually need to use those again.” He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, eyeing the destruction. “Er…looks like this place has seen better days though…and that’s really honestly saying something…”

Grubber clapped his tiny paws together in praise and was about to say something when the door burst open, and a figure strode in, backed by what appeared to be several superior officers of some sort. It stopped in front of the first pile of wreckage and eyed the area.

“Marko, I’ve told y’all a million times, your brute squad is not welcome in the—“

Its gaze fell upon both Storm and Grubber, then, and there was utter silence. The being took a step forward in curiosity, brushing a strand of navy hair out of one enormous eye as he tried to process what he was seeing. His tail bristled slightly and he raised his shoulders.

“YOU.”

Capper appeared never LESS happy to see someone in his life.

What's In a Name?

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER FOUR

Capper Dapperpaws was normally quite calm, for the most part, but at this moment in time he was feeling pure loathing towards the being he was currently eyeing in the destroyed bar. The fur along his spine bristled and he gritted his teeth in anger before raising a finger in the direction of the flustered Storm King, who was still eyeing him with surprise. He tongue curled and he practically hissed the words out:

“I should kick your—“

“CAPPER!!”

The Abyssinian blinked in surprise and looked over to the side in time to see Marko scrambling towards him, on his hands and knees, obviously looking defeated; the behemoth fish literally fell at his feet and clutched the tail of his jacket, shivering. Capper had absolutely no idea what was going on—usually Marko was the one who would up and spit in his face if he tried anything—but it would soon be made apparent why he was practically groveling:

“Capper…please, I dunno what youse all did, but…”

The fish’s yellow eyes darted in the direction of where the Storm King was currently standing.

“…KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME.”

Capper looked down at Marko for a moment, then up at Storm; his loathing turned into confusion and he eyed the goat-beast for a moment; what had even gone on here? Marko was one of the most problematic citizens in the area, and he had attempted to snap him back in line for months on end now. Granted, he had most likely used more of a “gentle” touch, but still…

“Please.” Marko clawed at the cat-being’s jacket, attempting to regain his attention. “Please, I’m beggin’ ya. Don’t let that guy near me OR my squad, fer that matter. He…he may look like he’s nothin’, but…”

His gaze shot again to the goat-beast and he shuddered. “GODS, does he pack a serious kick.”

Capper’s gaze shifted again from Marko to Storm, and he still could not quite wrap his mind around what could have happened…it was obvious a fight had gone down, judging from the destruction of the place, but there were no clear details other than the fact practically everything was lying in ruin and one of the brute squad’s members was writhing in pain from a bloody nose in the back. The Storm King was a threat in the past, yes…but that was mainly because he had strength in numbers. Marko was at LEAST three times his size, if not more. So how the hell…?

“He’s not lying.” Grubber, who had finished the Gut-Slaughter Special on the table with ease and was now lying back in comfort, licked at one of his paws as he eyed Capper with a calm disposition; then again he was probably in a food-coma. “I saw the whole thing, seriously. Storm here delivered some SERIOUS whoopin’ on these guys. It was fun.” He grinned almost drunkenly and slouched further back against the counter.

Yeah, food-coma. Capper sighed and looked down at Marko, folding his arms. “Marko, y’all know that this bar isn’t your turf, at least not since Verko done fell…”

“I KNOW.” Marko grabbed his shoulders and yanked him downward. “I t’ought youse all wouldn’t do nothin’ towards me…I was wrong, I was HORRIBLY wrong.” He began shaking the cat-being’s shoulders in desperation. “KEEP HIM AWAY. I’ll do anything youse all want. ANYTHING.”

Capper eyed him for a moment, thinking...Marko was, indeed, a problematic citizen, and if he were submitting right here and now, well, it would be foolish to not take advantage of the situation. The Abyssinian grinned. “Anything, y’all say?”

Marko vigorously nodded in response; Capper’s eyes shifted to the side, as if he were mockingly considering the proposal. “Oh, I don’t know about that…maybe I should just let y’all talk things out, you know? Maybe if you’re lucky, he won’t make your nose bleed too…”

“NO.” Marko snagged Capper’s collar and brought his face close to his own, squeezing his cheeks in the process; he was so desperate for the cat to hear him. “I don’t WANNA talk. Look, I’ll leave the bar and never come back if ‘dat’s what it takes…I’ll be a total SAINT. Just, PLEASE…”

“Ya promise?” Capper replied, shifting his gaze back toward Marko and grinning a bit. The fish-beast nodded again, his tail falling between his legs, and Capper responded by motioning one of the guards in the back towards the behemoth. “All right then. Guys, y’all escort these thugs outta here…get ‘em some proper medical attention too.”

The guards surrounded Marko and began to escort him out, as well as head to the back to retrieve the other members of the brute squad, who were either injured or cowering in the corner due to shock and fear. Capper sighed and straightened his jacket before looking back up at the other problem at hand…

Storm was still standing, dumbfounded, in the center of the bar, and he really was not trying anything strange, which the Abyssinian was grateful for at the very least. Despite his inner feelings of loathing, he was a gentleman before all else. Exhaling a bit, he strengthened his resolve to do the right thing and looked the goat-beast in the eyes.

“It…it appears…that, I owe y’all a favor,” he finally managed to admit, despite the fact he was trembling slightly as he said these words. He clenched one paw into a fist. “I…I had been attempting to deal with Marko and his thugs in the past…wasn’t really workin’ right.”

“I, uh…” Storm finally came back to realization and blinked, shaking his head a bit. “Y-yeah. Didn’t really KNOW that this guy was an issue here, but, I, you know, was defending myself, is all.” He squinted a bit, pointing at Capper. “Do…do I know you at all? You look really familiar.”

“Y’all SHOULD know me.” Capper’s eyes narrowed into practical slits and he bared his teeth. “I was there when your army destroyed Abyssinia, after all. I was there when y’all attacked the last Equestrian princess…I was there when you told off our king and queen, you self-centered, egotistical, lawless son of a—“

He stopped then, and pinched at his temples, attempting to regain control of himself. Storm looked as if he had been struck, but he said nothing in response to this fit of rage, as Capper raised his head again, taking a deep breath. He motioned for the two to come near him.

“L-look…” He turned around and began to walk out of the bar, as Storm grabbed a still-drowsy Grubber around the waist and attempted to follow, though uncertain as of why just yet. “You may be a horrible being, but…y’all still handled Marko’s thugs pretty well. Despite my misgivings…I need to respect that.” He stepped out of the bar and began to head to the right. “Follow me.”

Though the uncertainty still clouded his thoughts, something deep within the subconscious insisted that Storm follow the strange cat-man, and he obeyed this ideal, stepping along the roads that led up to a wooden slope and eventually a winding staircase. A gust of nighttime wind swept by, ruffling Capper’s fur as he stopped in front of a worn stone building, the entrance covered by a dirty red tarp.

“This is it.” He gently pushed the tarp aside and entered, his expression still unreadable. “Wipe your feet before entering…I don’t want any bloody footprints on my floor.”

He cast his gaze toward the ceiling and popped open a wooden hatch that was set in the center, hauling himself upward; Storm followed after him, though it was hard to do so whilst holding onto Grubber. He scrambled for his grip as he shifted the little hedgehog to the side and pulled his lower body into the room, looking around in both fascination and awe.

“You…you certainly live fancy,” he commented, as Capper merely shot him a glance and took a seat in a nearby velvet armchair. He crossed his legs and put his paws behind his head.

“I just like collecting stuff,” the cat-being simply told him, his expression still a mix between disdain and apathy. He motioned toward a nearby table. “Just…y’know, make yourselves at home, for the time being. Y’all will probably need to set out at dawn…but, in the meantime, I know you need a place to stay.”

Storm looked up at him, not quite understanding. “What do you mean?”

Capper rolled his eyes. “Pfft. Let’s face it, ‘Storm King’, y’all USED to be powerful, but now you got nothin’. Just one follower and a whole lotta sass, but not much else.”

The goat-beast fell completely silent for a moment, staring at nothing in particular. It had been a rather blunt statement but, he knew that there was no beating around the bush...the young Abyssinian was correct in his assumption. From what he had gathered, and what had been told to him…there really was nothing.

The only reason he was heading toward the west was…because of…

“Ugh…” He clutched at his chest briefly, as if struck in the heart, before looking back up at Capper. Although the cat-being was right, Storm’s pride prevented him from admitting to the truth, and he attempted to retaliate. “I…there has to be something left for me. You…you have NO idea how—“

“Yeah, yeah.” The Abyssinian raised a paw, as if examining his claws, seemingly disinterested. “Y’all want to act like nothin’s wrong, but sooner or later you have to face facts. I know, because one time in my life, I was the same way…” He paused for a moment to finger one of the shining brass buttons on his jacket, his eyes wavering with sentiment as he looked upon the intricate stitching.

“…Until…SHE…showed me the error of my ways.”

The former ruler was now grasping at straws at this point. “B-but…whoever this was…didn’t she make you sacrifice your ambitions? Your goals? Why do you feel the need to—“

“My ‘ambitions’ back then were getting me NOWHERE,” Capper snapped back. He leaned forward slightly. “I’m the leader of Klugetown now, man. What about you? What do YOU have to prove from what y’all just said?!”

Storm winced as if he had been struck, and his eyes wavered slightly before he turned away from Capper and lowered his head, drawing his tail around himself. He was silent for a few moments before he finally admitted, his voice breaking:

“Nothing…I have nothing.”

Capper glowered at him for a moment, but, somehow, seeing a chink in the armor stirred something within him, and his gaze softened, before getting out of the armchair and heading toward a nearby dresser. He pulled open the top drawer and shifted its contents around for a bit, before tossing something in Storm’s direction. The goat-beast looked up in time to see an article of dark clothing land on his shoulder.

“What…?”

“I may not be the most observant one out there, but your clothes are pretty torn-up. And, let’s face it, both of y’all need a bath. It’s like you rolled around in a patch of dust or somethin’.” He cocked his head toward the upper floor. “I got a shower and such up on the second level…if you wanna clean up.”

Grubber yawned and rolled over in his sleep, as the taller beast eyed the cat-being with a look of pure surprise. “Why are you—“

“UP.” The corner of Capper’s mouth split slightly, revealing his teeth. “Unless you want me to change my mind and kick y’all out.”

Storm shook his head and began to shift to his feet. “No, no. I’m okay with a bath. A bath is good.” He gripped the articles of clothing that the young Abyssinian had given him and began to head up the stairs, before turning to the side. “I, uh…I don’t think I caught your name. What is it?”

“Capper.” The cat-being smiled at him, shifting his weight to one leg and folding his arms. “And what about you? I know y’all used to go by the title ‘Storm King’ but, those days are over, I’m guessin’. I need something to call you, if you’re gonna stay here.”

“M-my name…” A brief memory flashed through the beast’s mind before he made a noise that sounded like a mix between a grunt and a sob, and shook his head violently before continuing. “My name is…uh…Storm. J-just…call me Storm.”

“’Storm,’ huh.” The cat-being raised an eyebrow slightly but shrugged and smiled in his direction. “I’m cool with that. Was expectin’ something a little more creative, but, if y’all wanna be called Storm, then, I guess that’s fine.”

The two smiled at each other for a moment, before Capper waved a paw and turned around.

“Now go get yourself a bath before y’all get your dusty hoofprints on my stairs.”

“HE IS BORN!!!”

Grogar, who had been pacing nervously in front of the doorway for the past several hours, jumped back in surprise as the midwife burst through the threshold, her eyes wide with excitement. She whipped her head around in all directions, looking for him, before she finally settled her gaze and grinned; her neck fur ruffled with slight elation.

“King Grogar…your son has arrived. I am pleased to say that he is healthy.”

Grogar eyed her, still slightly wary. “I am glad…but Windcaller…is she okay? There were some troubles with her contractions at first—“

“Merely a small difficulty; she overcame it quite well.” The young doe beamed. “Indeed, there were some…OTHER…issues that appeared during the birthing process, but, she took it like a champion. Never knew the Yeti were so…well…” Her face flushed a bit and she looked off to the side. “STEADFAST.”

“You should see her when she’s at work.” Grogar’s mouth cracked into a slight smile, and he looked toward the open doorway. “Speaking of which, may I see her now? And…my son, as well.”

“Of course, milord.” The doe gave a slight bow and shifted aside, allowing the larger goat to step past her and into the room. The inside was, of course, their shared bedroom in all its majesty; it was fully and lovingly adorned from the oversized bed to the etchings on the walls. Windcaller was lying in the center of the bed, cradling and gently stroking a small bundle of snow-white fluff as her lover approached.

“Grogar…” Windcaller looked at him with tired eyes; she was obviously haggard from the birth but happy nonetheless. She shifted the mewling bundle of fur into one arm and reached out to stroke his cheek. “We…we did it…he is here, and he is just fine.” She turned her attention back to the tiny fluffball. “Look at him…he’s so darling, even for a…”

She trailed off then, but the old goat knew what she meant; he gave her a slightly concerned look before eyeing the little bundle in full detail. Windcaller gave a small smile and shifted him a bit so that the proud father could look upon him fully, and Grogar examined the pup with fascination.

For the most part, he appeared to be Yeti in appearance, at least at first glance. The tiny pup was covered in soft, fluffy fur that was so pure white it almost reflected the light, and he shared the same blue-gray skin on the non-fur parts as his mother, along with a long, fluffy tail that almost made him look like a kitten. However, upon closer examination, Grogar could see the Caprine genes had also taken part; the structure of his face was different from the other male Yeti pups he had seen before, and from the knee downward he had almost digitigrade legs, ending in a pair of small, cloven hooves. Though he was a newborn pup and it was barely noticeable if at all right now, Grogar could also see that on either side of the top front of his head, where the skin met the fur, there were small nubs that were undoubtedly the beginnings of horns. His eyes were shut right now, so Grogar could not make out any details on the eye color, but everything else was in plain view.

“He’s…well, indeed, he is adorable.” Grogar smiled and placed both front hooves atop the side of the bed, reaching over to gently kiss Windcaller’s cheek, before he looked down at the little one again. “Have you thought of any names for him? I agreed that you should pick the name, since I wanted him to reflect the unity of our people.”

“I’m not really sure.” Windcaller looked down at the mewling pup, who was beginning to use his tiny paws to knead at her chest. She smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head. “Normally, my tribe would decide the name based upon the forces surrounding the newborn in question. My name was chosen to be ‘Windcaller’ because there was a windstorm the night of my birth, and they took that as a sign.” She sighed and looked around for a moment. “But…there’s not really anything here to indicate what we should name our son. If anything, it’s…rather isolated.”

The old goat sighed and his ears lowered slightly, as if disappointed. “I see…”

“Obviously, he needs a name; there’s no way around that.” The Yeti female eyed him with slight concern. “But, I can’t decide for the life of me what would be a proper name for him…if only the gods would just—“

“CHUU!”

As if on cue, the pup’s nose was tickled by Windcaller’s chest fur, and he sneezed violently; at the exact moment he did, a bolt of neon-blue lightning surged from his body and lit the room for a moment before crashing into the ceiling. A loud thundering clap was heard as this happened—with such intensity in its booming that it caused the pictures on the wall to vibrate. Grogar gave a cry of surprise and practically leapt backward, his fur bristled in pure shock, and Windcaller gasped.

Then, it was over, in a flash; the little pup sniffled and pawed at his nose a bit before opening his eyes and looking up at his mother, revealing them to be the same intense blue as the aforementioned. He squeaked for attention and began kneading at his mother’s chest again; Windcaller shook her head to clear the shock and looked down at him, her eyes wide.

“He…” She seemed to be at a loss for words at what just happened. “How did he just…”

“The Caprinians are tied to certain sources of energy from the surrounding land.” Grogar seemed to smile a bit as he eyed the little one. “Apparently his ability lies within the Elements themselves. Granted, it’s probably weaker than it normally would be, but it IS there. You saw what he just did.”

“It was…like a miniature storm…”

Windcaller’s eyes glinted a moment, as if coming upon a realization; she looked down at the pup and smiled.

“Stormbreaker.”

“Pardon?” Grogar raised his head, looking up at his mate. Windcaller gave him the same smile.

“His name will be Stormbreaker. If, indeed, his Caprinian genes gave him the ability to manipulate the Elements, it means undoubtedly he has a strong connection to storms.” She reached out with a finger to gently stroke the bridge of the pup’s nose; the pup squealed happily and raised his tiny arms in her direction. “How about that, little one? Do you like your new name?”

“Stormbreaker…” Grogar let the name roll off his tongue for a moment, thinking before finally nodding his head. “It’s a fitting name for him, and undoubtedly he’s going to live up to it in the future, one way or another.” He smiled and placed a hoof on Windcaller’s arm, beside the pup, who yawned and nestled his head against his mother’s chest, apparently tired.

“There are many hopes for you, for the future…”

Grogar smiled and gently nuzzled the pup with his nose, as the pup dozed off, shutting his eyes.

“…Prince Stormbreaker.”

Capper The Fighter

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER FIVE

“Storm.”

“Mmpf…” The goat-creature rolled over slightly onto his side, clutching at the cushion he was using as a makeshift pillow; his back leg twitched slightly and he parted his jaws in a yawn. He raised a hand and waved it, as if to dismiss what he had heard. “No…gimme…a few more minutes…”

“Get yo’ ass up!” Capper grabbed the blanket that was under him and yanked it swiftly, causing the beast to flip over in an almost comical manner and jolting him into the waking world almost instantly. He landed on his back, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment, before rolling onto one side and raising his head, irritated.

“What was that about?!”

“Y’all need to wake up, if you wanna get in on the action. We got ourselves a big day.” Capper looked down at him before smiling and pointing a finger toward the back of the room. “Besides, Grubber made us pancakes.”

Storm gave him a readable look that suggested a rather cynical “really,” but raised himself into a sitting position and rubbed at his head. “Ugh…well, now that I think about it, I didn’t really have a chance to eat last night. Pancakes actually sound okay.” He looked up toward the back, where the little hedgehog was preparing a trio of makeshift plates on the table, covered in batter from head-to-toe; every now and then he would stop to lick a patch off of his fur. It was then Storm noticed the pleasant scent in the room, and his mouth watered slightly. He got to his feet.

“You’re awake!” Grubber declared as Storm and Capper approached; he pushed a pair of fully-stacked plates in their direction with both tiny paws. “Look, I made pancakes. Really good ones too. And the batter tastes awesome.” His eyes glittered like stars. “You should try them!”

“Oh, you bet I will.” Capper took a seat at the table, pulling a plate in his direction. He motioned to the seat beside him, eyeing Storm. “C’mon, sit at the table like a normal guy. Anyone with a brain in their head can sense you’re hungry too.”

The former ruler was a bit hesitant, and he fidgeted his hoof slightly before finally stepping forward and sitting beside the young Abyssinian, who dug into the soft flesh of the pancakes and began devouring them. He stopped to chew and licked his lips, nodding toward Grubber.

“Mmpf…really good.” He stopped to take another bite, and then added, his mouth full, “Never thought about addin’ sugar in the mix. Really…mmm…makes all the difference.”

“I know, right?” Grubber beamed brightly at the cat-being’s praise. “It was a completely original idea. I figured, you know, since pancakes normally taste kinda bland…”

Storm eyed the plate in front of him, his heart pounding with discomfort ever so slightly, before finally breathing in deeply and taking a bite himself; he had to admit the flavor was quite enticing, despite the fact it was so…well, sweet. He looked over at Capper, then at Grubber, before the fact that he hadn’t eaten in awhile took better judgement and he began eagerly devouring the stuff, sometimes not even pausing to chew. The little hedgehog grinned at this and drew his paws modestly behind his back.

“Ooh, you like ‘em, don’t you?” He was grinning so hugely that both other creatures thought his upper jaw was going to dislocate itself from the lower. “This is like the FIRST time I’ve seen you eat my stuff with such intensity…” He paused for a second to think. “Actually, I think it’s the ONLY time.”

“I just—“ Storm began, raising a finger, but Capper shoved his hand aside, interrupting, and winked in Grubber’s direction.

“First time for everything, I guess.” The cat-being shot a glance in the goat-beast’s direction that insisted he not say another word, and looked back toward Grubber. “Now then…down to business at hand. Y’all obviously aren’t here to stay in Klugetown if you were hanging out at a backend bar. Obviously you were headed somewhere…but the question I wanna know is, where.”

“I was actually…kinda wondering the same thing.” Grubber raised an eyebrow, as if suddenly making a realization. “All I really knew was that, we were heading somewhere in the southwest area, but then Storm got all grumpy about the fact the map was—“

“I get it, I GET IT.” Storm rolled his eyes and tapped a claw on the table in irritation. He sighed. “The map was useless anyway. It didn’t mark out the locations on the southwest area…the area we need to go. We had originally STOPPED here so I could find one, but then…well, you know the rest.” He rested his head in one hand and looked in the other direction, glowering.

There was a moment of silence as Capper eyed him with a disapproving glance before speaking. “Well…if y’all need a map, you’re probably in the right place, honestly. Klugetown is a huge trading area for all parts of the world…we get shipments and trades in here from all over yonder, so obviously we need a map of the full area.”

He shifted off of his seat and got up, heading toward a bookshelf in the back corner of the room; his green eyes scanned the shelves before finally he reached up and pulled down a thick book riddled with footnotes, as well as some aged pieces of parchment. Dusting off the cover, he shook his head a bit as the resulting…well, dust…covered his whiskers, and then headed back over toward the table, dropping the book and the parchments in front of the two with a loud THUNK.

“Here,” he said, shifting back onto the chair and folding his arms atop the tabletop. “This is probably all the data I have on the surrounding world. Might as well look through it and see if y’all can find what you’re lookin’ for.”

“Capper…” Storm began; the cat-being eyed him for a moment as he fell silent. The goat-beast shook his head and looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and confusion, and continued. “I don’t…I really don’t get it. You HATE me. How in the name of all that is HOLY do you find the willpower to be so friggin’ NICE?!”

There was yet another, prolonged, moment of silence; the Abyssinian looked at him, head rested calmly in one hand, before shrugging a shoulder and placing a finger on the table. “It’s true, I DO have my own misgivings about y’all. But…try as I might…” He heaved a deep sigh of sentiment and looked down at the ground. “I…I can’t leave someone to fend for themselves…in a world where they have nothing.”

The taller beast fell completely and utterly quiet, his jaw slacking a bit; Capper looked up at him and grinned weakly. “It…it’s true that I feel for ya. I was once the same way. I had nothing to live for, nothing to prove…and nothing to go back to. I was up to my friggin’ NECK in debts to Verko, and then…”

His gaze shifted away, and for a brief moment of time, there was a glimmer in his green eyes; a glimmer that suggested a fond memory. He looked back at Storm and smiled again.

“…What more can I say. I made some friends. That’s really all there is to it.”

It felt like a dead weight had been dropped in the room; for a long time, the only sounds that were audible were the usual sounds of the howling sandstorm outside and the shouts of the citizens. The three beings in the room were almost completely void of sound save for their breathing, Storm especially; he was looking ahead as if there was something within his mind he could simply not fathom. Capper finally looked to the side and raised an eyebrow.

“…Right.” He pulled the book over toward himself and flipped it open, sending up a small cloud of dust. “Let’s look for where y’all need to go.”

“It’s in the southwest, remember,” Grubber piped up, attempting to pull himself up onto the table so he could view. “I dunno where, but…it’s somewhere over there.”

“Mm…we don’t really get a whole lotta shipments from the southwest.” Capper rolled open a piece of parchment and began scanning the lower left side of the surface. “Most of that area is pretty isolated…especially—“

“There.”

Storm almost autonomously pointed to a spot on the map in the far corner; Capper’s gaze traveled over and his eyes became wide with shock. He practically breathed the word, he seemed so taken aback:

“T…TAMBELON.”

He looked up, slack-jawed in disbelief, before shaking his head violently and practically spitting out the next question:

“Are y’all CRAZY?!”

Storm eyed him with no response; Grubber tilted his head slightly and wiggled onto the tabletop, plopping down near the map. “Tambelon…Tambelon…” He stuck his tongue out slightly as he thought. “I really only heard of that place in legends. You know, from the story of The Titanfall.” His eyes glittered a bit. “I REALLY love that story a whole lot. It’s a really cool—“

“The legend is entirely true.” Storm pushed the map aside and got to his feet, folding his arms slightly. He seemed oddly defiant. “I know that it’s mainly a fairy tale to most of you guys, but, The Titanfall WAS a real thing that happened.”

“Never heard much about The Titanfall to begin with, really.” Capper shook his head and got to his feet. “Look, all I know is that Tambelon is DANGEROUS territory, especially nowadays. If we attempt to go in there, we would be riskin’ our LIVES.” He looked off to the side and exhaled. “Not to mention the waters there are uncharted, so really only the Hippogryphs would know anything whatsoever about navigatin’ it…”

“Then we’ll go to Mount Aris and GET their help.”

The goat-beast was incredibly adamant for some reason, and Capper, regardless of how much he desperately needed to know why, continued to ramble: “Do y’all even THINK about what you say before y’all say it?! Queen Novo hates yo’ guts, man. Even if we did get their help, the place is deemed ‘The Realm of Darkness’ for a friggin’ REASON; the place is practically Hell on earth right now—“

“Which is EXACTLY why I need to go there,” Storm retorted; he narrowed his eyes at Capper and his tail swished a bit. “I was headed there to begin with from the start, and I really don’t CARE if you want to come with me or not; I’m going there.” He violently turned around and began to walk toward the hatch; the other two looked after him before looking toward each other. Grubber made a slight whimpering noise and pressed his ears against his head, and Capper nodded in response, looking equally as concerned. He flicked his gaze up toward the furred beast and finally asked the question:

“Why are you so set on this?”

Storm immediately froze mid-step and his shoulders arched slightly, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. He sighed. “Look…I…I can’t let you in on the details right now. All I can tell you, is…this…this is my goal, and I intend to fulfill it.” He continued walking. “’Friend’ or not, I’m not letting anyone get in my way of this. When one has a goal in mind…they’ll do anything to fix it.”

“Fix it…?” Capper repeated. His ears dropped slightly and he looked over at Grubber, as he heard the hatch slam shut from the other side of the room. “Grubber…y’all aren’t a bad sort. Like at all. Even during Storm’s, like, bad days, y’all seemed to be a relatively okay guy.”

The little hedgehog cocked his head again, smiling a bit at the compliment but nevertheless looking confused. “Well, yeah. Never really was the type to be, you know, mean or scary. Let’s face it, I’m not good at either of those.” The two shared a mild laugh before he looked toward the hatch. “But, you know…I had my own goal, at that time.”

“What was that goal?” Capper asked, sitting back down.

“To be…worth something.” Grubber’s eyes wavered slightly and he looked down. “Y’see, where I came from, I was considered a bit of a runt. Technically, I still was in Storm’s army. But…things were kinda different, there.” When Capper eyed him with confusion, he continued: “I wasn’t…treated that badly, at least…not like I was back in my tribe. The guys, yeah, they laughed at me, but…it was because, I kinda…MADE them laugh. Everyone was always in high spirits, during the training, because I was there.”

“Didn’t Storm, like, treat y’all badly though?” Capper asked, resting his head in one paw slightly. “Why didn’t you leave if y’all weren’t the type to fight?”

“That’s the thing…he…didn’t, really.” Grubber’s eyes flashed with a slight hint of memory. “I, you see…I lost my father when I was younger, and the other members of my litter always made fun of me.” He sighed a bit and his ears lowered. “It was because I was so small. But…then, one day…”

Hey…you.

…What’s your name?

The voice echoed in the tiny hedgehog’s memory as he shut his eyes. “Storm...appeared. He…he was looking for recruits, I think…I can’t remember. What I can remember, though, is that…”

…Grubber, huh?

…I like you, Grubber.

“…He didn’t appear to judge me, based on my size or strength. Out of everyone he could have picked, from my litter, as a recruit…”

Let’s go.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Capper, small tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. “…He chose me. Over everyone else. And, I wanted to be strong, and, I wanted to be worth something. So, I chose to follow him. Granted yeah, I was not good at what I was doing, but…despite everything…”

…Because I like you a lot.

I wouldn’t say that…if I didn’t see anything.

“Storm…saw potential in me. And, like, yeah, he was rough, and a major hard-ass at times, but he still kept me around for some reason. It was like, he knew what it felt like to be mistreated, to be shunned by others. And, you know, despite everything he would do sometimes, to the other soldiers and to me…seeing him smile, in genuine…was like...the best thing ever.”

There was a long moment of silence as Capper’s ears dropped and he shut his eyes for a moment, his head falling a bit as if he had just heard something incredible and was unable to process it with the right emotion. He shuddered a bit, as if trying to contain something. “He…he really was like that, huh?”

“That’s…why I want to help. That’s why I wanted to revive him in the first place.” Grubber whimpered a bit and a few tears streaked down his face; his voice choked up. “H-he and Tempest…they were like…the only friends I had for awhile. A-and Tempest got another chance, and I miss her a whole lot, but she’s doing great for herself, so, I figured…”

“Grubber.” Capper reached out to place a paw atop his. His eyes wavered a bit. “There’s…there’s absolutely nothing wrong with believin’ in someone. Storm’s a bit…weird…but if you have faith in him, well…” He looked the little hedgehog in the eyes and smiled wearily. “Then, I do too.”

“So…so we’ll go to Tambelon?” Grubber sniffled and wiped at his nose with the back of his paw.

“I…I dunno if I can promise anything of that sort yet…but…” Capper got to his feet and began heading toward the hatch, motioning for the little gray creature to follow him. “We gotta find him first and bring him back here. I really hope to gods he didn’t try anything stupid…”

The two climbed down the hatch and Capper pulled the tarp aside, as they headed into the general public; the cat-being looked around almost desperately amongst the rabble for any sign whatsoever of the goat-creature, but he had no luck. Ears flattening nervously, he and Grubber ducked into a nearby alleyway…he knew all too well about what this alleyway was called and what wares it dealt, but, there was no other place he could gather this type of information more quickly. Everyone knew what went down in Shade Alley, at least, the ones that were wise enough…

Almost immediately he was met with the crooked, toothy grin of a stunted lizard woman. “Welcome friend,” she gurgled, shifting to the side almost like a snake. She lowered her eyelids at the Abyssinian. “Anything you’d be interested in today, by chance? We got something really interesting here…best deals anywhere.”

“I don’t have time for all this today, Sophie,” Capper replied, almost snapping. He shook his head. “Look, did y’all happen to see a weird-lookin’ goat thing, by any chance? Tall guy, white fur, long tail. Freaky pair of runic horns on his head. We…we were lookin’ for him, and we—“

“Oh, him.” Sophie’s gaze trailed off disapprovingly. She frowned at Capper. “Saw him earlier. He was looking for a compass or something…dumb beast said he was going out into the desert on foot; can you believe that insanity?”

The Abyssinian’s eyes immediately widened in fear and he grabbed the frail creature by the shoulders. “Which way did he say he was goin’, do you know?”

“South, I think.” Sophie seemed surprised by this sudden gesture and she raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care though? You don’t usually seem to be—“

“GODS DAMN IT.” Capper slapped a palm to his forehead and clenched his teeth, then opened his eyes and looked around. “Oh man, I gotta find a weapon or something…” His gaze shifted over to a nearby booth and he immediately grabbed the first pair of daggers he saw lying on the table. “I need to borrow these for a moment; I’ll pay y’all back later.”

“’Ey, those are—“ The merchant protested angrily but Capper seemed too frenzied with dread to hear him; he pocketed the daggers and snagged Grubber around the waist, running at top speed out of the alley and towards the southern edge of Klugetown.

“Wh-where are we going?” Grubber stuttered, as Capper raced out of the town and across the sand, refusing to lessen his speed for one second. He panted hard and looked down at the little hedgehog, who was clinging onto his side for dear life should the cat-being choose to lose his grip.

“There’s…hah…a monster in the southern desert,” Capper explained, his lungs feeling like they were about to give out but continuing to rush nonetheless. He looked up ahead. “It’s called a Sand Kraken by the locals. Really big, really territorial, really voracious. We were done just lettin’ it be since it didn’t seem to come near the town, but…”

He grimaced slightly in fear and his mouth tightened.

“If we don’t get there soon, Storm’s in some serious danger.”

He really did not think this through properly.

The desert heat, combined with the fact he was covered for the most part in a thick coat of fur, was not really doing any wonders for Storm’s current state; he had probably only been out of the town for about twenty minutes and was already feeling on the verge of collapse. He continued, still, to trudge forward, his hooves dragging in the sand and his tail limp, as he looked around and sighed weakly.

“Everything…friggin’…looks the same.” He looked up toward the sun and winced a bit at its intensity, before falling on his knees and struggling to breathe. His entire body was shuddering despite the heat. “Ugh…no. This isn’t going to work. I should have…probably just…”

He lowered his head, attempting to regain his strength; at that moment the ground beneath him shuddered, as if in response to his weakness. His gaze shifted down, befuddled, and he looked around to the best of his ability. “What the…what was…”

The sands shifted again underneath his feet and he attempted to get up; he was thrown forward immediately as an enormous entity emerged from beneath the ground, the sand surging around its tube-like body as it surfaced and gave an earsplitting screech to indicate its presence. Storm rolled over and landed on his side, shaking his head and looking up at what had just appeared:

The thing looked like a mix between some sort of crustacean and a wyrm; it was very snake-like in appearance but had a thick sort of exoskeleton and shrimp-like tendrils covering the sides of its body, wriggling in the dry air as they aided in its emergence. The head…the head was the most terrifying part, however. The thing had absolutely no eyes, or at least not ones that were noticeable, and most if not all of the end of its body consisted of a gaping maw of teeth and tusks. There were at least four sets of tusks aligning the thing’s craw, if not more, and behind those were multiple rows of teeth that looked like they could cut glass. Yellow-green mucus and saliva dripped from the interior of its mouth; no doubt the mucus was the only thing keeping its mouth from drying out, as it didn’t seem able to properly shut it.

“Oh, GODS…”

The thing emitted another screech before its head loomed in Storm’s direction; it paused for a moment as the goat-creature struggled to get to his feet but the most he could do was manage to pull himself up onto all fours. Catching both his scent and the fact that he was weakened, the leviathan of a monster saw an easy meal and its maw dribbled with anticipation before roaring and lunging its head down toward him.

Despite the fact he was, in fact, weakened, Storm refused to allow himself to go down like this; he forced himself to dive to the side as the thing’s enormous, gaping chasm of a mouth crashed down beside him, narrowly missing his tail and hitting the sand instead. The goat-beast rolled into a front-flip due to the inertia and landed on his front, but didn’t have a lot of time to catch himself, as the monster was obviously irritated at the fact he was attempting to fight back and was already shaking the sand out of its mouth as it prepared to lunge again.

Storm managed to roll into another dodge but he was running very low on physical strength, and it was getting harder and harder just to move, let alone drag air into his lungs. His entire body flared up with heat and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse onto his side into the sand. He dragged in another ragged breath before his blue gaze shot up in the monster’s direction; it had its full attention on him now and was preparing to devour its prey once and for all. It gave a low, guttural rattling sound from deep within its throat as it loomed over him, and the goat-creature winced and shut his eyes, preparing for impact.

This is how I die…and so soon, too…

The blackness descended.

D-damn it…

“STORM!!!”

Capper cried out the goat-creature’s name—well, nickname, he supposed—as he finally caught up, racing over the sand at top speed. Without hesitating, he set Grubber down out of harm’s way and, as the surprised little hedgehog looked on, reached for the daggers he had pocketed earlier. His eyes narrowed and he gripped one in each paw, unsheathing them and bundling up his hind legs for a leap. He was terrified, as he had never really done hand-to-hand combat in awhile, let alone against something this big…

But…

Don’t be afraid.

Her voice rang an echo through the young Abyssinian’s heart, and this seemed to strengthen his resolve; emitting a loud, angry roar, he sprang upward in the monster’s direction, managing to gain enough momentum from his leap to reach the middle of the thing’s back. As if it were something he had done for years on end, he swung one of the daggers forward in a sideways arc, hoping and praying that it would strike home—

“GAH!”

A large amount of a dark-green substance splashed across his face and he choked slightly, almost falling backward but managing to land on the monster’s looming back…it took him a moment to realize that it was, in fact, blood. Wiping the stuff out of his eyes and looking down, he could see that the weapon had, miraculously, managed to slice into the thing’s exoskeleton, leaving an intricate slit in its side. Blood sprayed from the wound like he had punctured a firehose, and the monster gave a loud scream of pain and writhed as the effect took hold. Capper sprang again, flipping backward and landing on his feet in the sand as the leviathan turned to face him, roaring in pure rage. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he felt it might burst out, but, despite all this…he couldn’t help but grin.

“Yeah, fight me!” The words rang out before he even was fully aware of the current situation. “I’m a WHOLE lot tastier!!”

The monster practically screamed at him and lunged downward, the first set of teeth within its maw unlocking as it closed in on the young cat-being. Capper’s eyes narrowed and he brought both daggers upward again, in a crossed-arm position, before unleashing them in a crisscross pattern upon the interior of the thing’s mouth. Again, to his fascination, the blades struck through the thing’s flesh as it were like cutting a piece of lukewarm butter…the blows left a pair of wounds this time, one on either side of the creature’s apparent cheek flesh. The thing roared again in Capper’s ears and coughed; it withdrew its attack and reared upward, gurgling as again, blood filled its mouth and began to drip frothily from its bottom “lip.”

“Ugh…” Capper rubbed at one ear; he felt as if his eardrums had just been physically assaulted. He shook his head and looked up as the monster quivered slightly and recoiled in pain, and for a brief, gleaming moment in time, he thought it would just give up and flee. But no, this was a territorial beast, and it was not about to sacrifice its home turf over one small creature’s meddling. Looming towards him, it growled, blood still gurgling in its throat, and prepared for one final strike.

This is it.

A strange aura, almost like a presence of some sort, surrounded the cat-being then; he felt it to the core of his very soul, but for some reason he welcomed it. A strange, green energy, almost like a faint glow, emanated from both blades, and his eyes lit in response to it, almost like…

Almost like the blades were…reacting to him, in a way.

That was impossible though, he thought. He had literally just grabbed the first pair of blades he could find that were appealing. There was no way that they could possibly—

“Capper, look out!!”

Grubber’s cry of alarm pierced his thoughts like an arrow, and he looked up in time to see the guttural interior of the creature’s maw as it crashed down upon him; blood, saliva and mucus all simultaneously splashed onto his body as the monster drew up its fleshy tongue and attempted to swallow its new prey. He grunted in discomfort and almost fell forward down the creature’s gullet; this is what he got for not paying attention for ONE second…

It was NOT going down like this. Not in a million years. Capper growled and swung the blades he was still holding upward, piercing the roof of the monster’s mouth, and twisted them to the side sharply, just so he was positive the beast could feel his determination. Another screech erupted from the vocal cords of the monster and seared his eardrums, but he would not fall that easily this time. Flattening both ears against his skull, he pulled the blades out of the roof of its mouth and felt himself falling as the thing spat him out.

“UGH!” He fell onto his backside on the sand, winded for a brief moment, as a typhoon of blood and saliva rained down upon him; he shook his head and wiped the gunk out of his eyes yet again as the Sand Kraken attempted to attack him again but, it was no use…the monster was bleeding out, and the more of the dark-green substance it lost, the weaker it became. It began to sway back and forth like a charmed cobra, gurgling weakly; Capper ran to the side quickly—

It was over. With a deafening THOOM, the monster’s strength gave out and it fell, curling into a heap upon the sand as the last of its available fluids flowed from its mouth into a small pool, which was quickly absorbed by the heat. The cat-being eyed it, making sure it was dead, before giving a loud gasp of relief and exhaustion and falling forward. He heard the pattering across the sand as Grubber ran to his side, attempting to help him up.

“Are you okay?” The little hedgehog seemed worried; he wrapped Capper’s arm around his own shoulder and attempted to haul him up, but he was only so tall. “Geez that was scary. You weren’t kidding when you said there was a monster out here, huh?”

“Yeah, well…it’s dead now.” Capper sputtered for breath, as he placed a paw upon Grubber’s side and struggled to his feet. “Good gods…that was disgusting. I’m gonna need like, three or more showers after all this.” He attempted to run his paws down his jacket in an attempt to get the gunk the monster had showered upon him off, but, it was no use. The stuff was in there good. Flicking his paws to get the substance off, he shook his head and looked over at where the original objective was currently lying.

“Grubber…Storm…is Storm all right?”

The hedgehog nodded and scurried over to the currently-unconscious goat-creature’s side. “He’s okay, I think. His body temp is like, off the charts though.” He looked at Capper with slight worry. “We should really start to head back and get him some attention…he might have heat stroke.”

“I have no doubt in my mind he does.” Capper placed a hand upon Storm’s cheek; it was searing-hot to the touch and he could sense a severe lack of moisture. “Gods, he’s in bad shape…we gotta get him back into town, or at least get him some water.”

Grubber nodded in agreement, and Capper wrapped an arm around Storm’s body and hauled him upright, leaning the sheer amount of dead weight on his shoulder as he began to trudge back in the direction of town. “C’mon. Hopefully he can hold out a little bit longer. It’s a bit of a trek back, but, we’re gonna make it.”

Author's Note

Random note; so, I'm not gonna lie, I cried like a bitch while writing Grubber's part of this chapter.

That is all. : P

Seeking Answers

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER SIX

“Psst…hey.”

The pup’s small ears tilted toward the whisper that appeared to come from behind the walls. Only three years old, Prince Stormbreaker had already developed quite an acute sense of hearing, most likely from both sides of his heritage. He had been lying on his bed eyeing a picture book, but the interest was waning the second he heard the voice. Tilting his head curiously, he wriggled off of the bed he currently shared with his mother and crept toward the wall.

“I hear you. Come closer, I wanna show you something cool.”

Stormbreaker approached the wall cautiously upon all fours, sniffing a small area of the wall curiously; he could sense something on the other side, but there appeared to be no opening of any sort. How…?

“SURPRISE!”

The pup squeaked in terror and fell backward as a young Caprinian ram sprang forward out of the woodwork, through a small hatch that had been meticulously carved into the wall so it was near-entirely hidden. He landed on his back, his white fur bristling on all sides, his blue eyes open in pure shock. The little ram eyed him and his excitement quickly became a frown.

“S-sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you.” The side of his mouth twisted into an anxious grin as he plodded over to the pup and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, pulling him onto his feet. “This room has a hidden passageway from mine to yours. Mother doesn’t know about it, so, I figured I might as well use that to my advantage.”

“Who are you?” Stormbreaker could not vocally speak that well yet, but he was still able to properly form phrases, of sorts. He looked at the ram curiously. From a standpoint, he appeared to have Grogar’s fur, but it was clear that hints of purple were visible when the moonlight hit it, and he had the beginnings of two small, brown horns growing from his head. His eyes were a brilliant orange and had a certain elderly warmth, even for one so young. The little ram grinned in response.

“My name is Gallyen.” He reached out to ruffle the fur on Stormbreaker’s head. “I’m your big brother…sort of. Rivvon is my mother.”

“Brother?” The pup blinked in response, as if uncertain or surprised. The little ram, Gallyen, nodded, still smiling.

“Yeah. We have the same father, so, we’re brothers. I was really, REALLY excited on the day you were born.” His eyes shifted to the side and he looked down, frowning. “Sadly, Mother forbade me to see you. She said something I didn’t quite understand…something about you being a ‘dirty mongrel,’ whatever the heck that means.”

Stormbreaker looked even more confused than before. “What’s a mongrel?”

“Heck if I know.” Gallyen shrugged and shook his head. “Whatever though…you’re my little brother, and…I know you look different from me, but that’s really not a reason for Mother to act so silly.” The smile returned and he wiggled his docked tail a bit. “I have ALWAYS wanted a brother though! I can’t believe Mother attempted to keep me from you for, like, forever. I’m gonna attempt to talk to Father; see if he can’t get her to let me play with you more often.”

“I’d like that.” Stormbreaker smiled in return and his own long, fluffy tail curled a bit.

“I would too.” Gallyen reached out a hoof, touching Storm’s hand with it. “Hey…let’s do something fun, for our first meeting as brothers. Let’s…like, make a pact or something.” When the little pup only cocked his head in response, Gallyen continued: “It’s like, a really important promise, I think. But, the promise I want us to make, is…”

He nuzzled Stormbreaker’s nose. “I want us to be friends. Like, BEST friends. Forever and ever.”

The pup’s eyes widened when he heard this, and he looked up at Gallyen. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Gallyen flicked out his tongue to affectionately lick the bridge of Stormbreaker’s short muzzle. “We’re gonna go on lots of adventures, and have lots of fun together. And the whole way, we’ll be with each other always. We’re never gonna let anyone get in our way of having fun and becoming really important heroes.” He grinned. “Maybe one day, when I’m the ruler of Tambelon, I’ll make you a king too.”

“A…a king?!” Stormbreaker seemed awestruck by this, and his eyes sparkled like stars at the thought. Gallyen nodded again.

“We’ll rule together. And we’ll be there for each other.”

“Forever?” Stormbreaker smiled and reached out to hug his brother around the neck. Gallyen nuzzled his shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Yeah. Forever.”

“Ugh…I…don’t leave…please…”

The goat-creature fidgeted violently with his legs and his eyelids trembled before he finally came to his senses; something wet and cold immediately slid down onto his nose and he reached up to remove it, only to discover that it was an incredibly damp rag that had been placed on his forehead. He attempted to sit upright but immediate dizziness fell upon him and he collapsed back onto the bed he was currently lying on, grunting in pain.

“So y’all are finally awake.” Capper sighed and approached the side of the bed, fiddling with the rag a bit as he placed it back atop Storm’s forehead. “You suffered some serious heat stroke back in the desert, man. Plus you bruised one of your ribs when y’all fell. I would take it easy, if I were you.”

“I…what…guh.” Storm exhaled painfully and shut his eyes for a second before looking over at the young Abyssinian. “What…what even happened out there? I remember…I passed out in the desert, and there was this…this wyrm thing—“

“Yeah, there was, and I had to risk my neck and kill it to SAVE yo’ sorry ass!” Capper’s tone immediately turned from concern to irritation and he jabbed a finger in Storm’s direction. “You had better thank the GODS that I had arrived when I did, otherwise you’d be in the small intestine of a friggin’ Sand Kraken. What were you even thinking, goin’ out there by yourself?!”

“Wait, you killed it?” The goat-creature looked genuinely surprised. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “How did you manage to do something like that?”

“With those babies.” The cat-being pointed to the daggers, which had since been cleaned of wyrm blood and were lying atop the table; their ebony color took on a peculiar sheen in the sunset warmth. “I really dunno why, but, they seemed to, somehow…how do I put this without it soundin’ all weird and such.” He shut his eyes for a moment, gently tugging at a whisker in thought. “They were literally like the first pair of daggers I grabbed back in Shade Alley, where we found out about what y’all were doin’. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but…for some reason…”

Capper’s eyes traveled back to the daggers, and the pupils of his eyes literally seemed to emanate a strange glow for a moment, before it faded just as quickly as it had appeared. He shook his head slightly. “I know this sounds really weird, but…holdin’ ‘em, they gave me…some sort of weird feeling. Like, they felt good in my hands. And not only that…I was somehow able to wield them without any trouble, sorta.”

Storm eyed him before shrugging a shoulder in apathy. “You’ve probably just wielded similar daggers before. It’s nothing to really—“

“This was DIFFERENT.” Capper emphasized the last word immensely, and an almost nervous look crossed his features. “I may not look it but I have never touched anything beyond a standard hunting knife in my LIFE. I only grabbed the daggers as a self-defense purpose in case I did end up having to save y’all…which I did…” He sneered a bit and looked off to the side for a second. “But, anyway, for some weird reason, when I was fightin’ that wyrm out there, everything seemed to come to me NATURALLY. Like, I knew what I was doin’ the second I did it. And, the whole time, I kept feeling this, like, strange energy coursing through me…like, somethin’ was controlling my ability to fight.”

“That’s…” Something within Storm’s memory seemed to flicker briefly, but, yet again, it was snuffed out. He cast his gaze toward the daggers. “They’re…quite admirably made, I have to say. I hardly ever see that type of material used in modern-day weapons, if at all.”

“Material?” Capper raised a brow. “You mean y’all have a clue as to what this is?”

“No, but…” Storm attempted to shift into an upright sitting position but his bruised rib flared violently and he clutched at his side, sucking in a breath through his teeth and wincing. “Ah…but, I do know what that type of material is. I’d recognize that texture and sheen anywhere.”

“Do fill us all in,” Capper encouraged, as he approached the table and picked up one of the daggers, admiring the pale green runes etched into its hilt. Storm explained:

“The material has a more…intricate nickname, but, it’s normally referred to as ‘Argosteel.’ Strong, sturdy, and when properly sharpened, it can slice through anything. It’s, kinda…well, like diamond, but a tad more commonplace. I, uh…used to use it when, I was, you know…still making weapons and such. The thing is…well…” He chewed his lip nervously and looked off to the side. “…There’s…really only one place you can get the material for it, and one place only.”

“And what place would that be?” Capper asked, folding his arms.

Storm sighed heavily, rubbing at his injured rib again. “The…the material for Argosteel to be properly forged…it comes from volcanic rock fragments surrounding a certain area. One that is no longer accessible to mortal souls, for reasons that are…”

Argon

“…Er, let’s just say that…it’s not really…an active volcano anymore.”

“Uhhh…” Capper seemed genuinely befuddled by the entire explanation that had just been given, but he decided not to prod any further and instead held the dagger up to the window, letting the sunset’s rays strike its surface. He grinned as he turned it in his paw. “So, this thing must be pretty valuable, huh? No wonder the merchant was so angry with me for takin’ it. Ah well…I did promise him half the gold from my next shipment, anyway.”

“I really don’t understand, though.” The goat-creature shook his head, almost as if he were in disbelief of some sort. “I haven’t seen a weapon forged from Argosteel in years, let alone in the northern areas. And the only dagger-type weapons I have ever seen, or heard of, forged from it are—“

He stopped then, as if coming upon a realization, and his eyes widened greatly before he whipped his head in Capper’s direction so quickly that the cat-being thought he was going to dislocate his neck for a second.

“Capper, the merchant or whatever. Do you remember him at all?”

“I just know he works in Shade Alley…and that he’s some kinda sheep-thing. Think he goes by the name ‘Baalade’ or some ridiculous shenanigan-type name like that.”

“We need to see him.” Storm began to shift to his feet. “I need to know more about—OH GODS, OW!”

The sudden shift had irritated his injured rib, and he recoiled back onto the bed, clutching at it and kicking his leg slightly in agony. Capper rolled his eyes and approached the side of the bed, placing a paw on one hip and placing his weight on one leg a bit.

“Y’all aren’t going anywhere,” the cat-being chided him. He nodded toward Grubber, who was currently in the back immersed in a storybook of some sort. “Grubber and I will take care of the info-gettin’. You need to rest that friggin’ rib before it kills ya.”

“Don’t order me around—“

“Whose place is this?!” Capper retorted irritably, waving a paw as if to set an example. Storm eyed him with an angry look and muttered something under his breath before lying back down on the bed, rolling to one side in order to keep pressure off of the injured rib. The cat-being gave an irritated grunt before turning his attention to the back of the room. “Oi, Grubber.”

“Huh?” The little gray hedgehog managed to tear his gaze away from the book and meet Capper’s gaze. “What’s up?”

“Y’all gotta come with me.” The young Abyssinian knelt down to pop open the hatch that led to the outside. When Grubber gave him a strange look, he replied only with a coy grin, and added:

“We got some mutton to grill.”

“I swear, I dunno where they came from.”

Baalade, a strange creature with a stocky build and a sheep-like appearance, held up his front hooves and took a step away from Capper and Grubber; Capper was eyeing him with incredible intensity and determination and this unnerved the dealer for whatever reason may be. His yellow eyes nervously shifting from side to side, the strange sheep pressed his head into his neck slightly and tapped the tips of his hooves together. “I…I take it that’s not gonna be a good enough answer for ya.”

“Damn straight.” Capper raised an eyebrow, then withdrew the daggers, which he had decided to keep with him, in case something arose. He held them up in Baalade’s direction, and the sheep whined and winced a bit. “A…well, an ally of mine, kinda…he claims that these are forged from some kinda metal that is no longer on the market, and hasn’t been for YEARS. I want to know if these things hold some kind of strange significance, or if they’re just knockoff items.” He scoffed and looked to the side. “Y’know, like the ones you usually sell ‘round here.”

“No, no, no knockoffs!” Baalade smiled weakly and approached him, clasping his hooves. “I would never sell anything like that in my shop, Sir Capper. All the items I possess are genuine relics of great history!”

“Then explain the history of these to me.”

“I…” The sheep-creature bit his lower lip and shied off to the side, eyeing the cat-being with a mix of regret and fear. “You…you probably wouldn’t believe me, if I told you about them.”

“Try me.”

“Ugh…I…” Baalade shut his eyes for a moment. “They’re…I got them from some weirdo at Mount Aris, after the return of the Hippogryphs. He—he said something about how they’re apparently the blades wielded at the battle of The Titanfall. Like, the actual ones.”

Grubber’s ears perked and he brought both paws to his chest in excitement. “Really?!”

Again with this Titanfall stuff? Capper’s ears flicked in irritation but he was happy that Baalade was cooperating with him, at the very least. He leaned forward slightly. “Tell me a little more about this.”

“W-well, um…” Baalade flattened his ears against his skull and shrank back. “I…I can’t dispose any names, but, I can explain a little bit about the blades themselves. You see…the two blades that you currently hold, were wielded by a champion who lived centuries ago.” His eyes flashed with excitement ever so slightly. “Not much is known about this champion…except that he was a rogue-like creature of great skill, and that the two daggers, apparently those exact ones, were the ones he used during the great battle itself.”

“So…they were wielded by some warrior?” Capper looked at the blades with interest, then frowned and shook his head. “Doesn’t really give me a lot to go on, though. Like, I know legit nothing about this Titanfall thing y’all keep mentioning. It was probably long before my time.”

“You don’t know?” Grubber looked surprised. “Oh, but it’s such a good story though!”

“The Titanfall is merely a legend, but there are far too many renditions of it for me to give you a proper telling of the tale, sadly.” Baalade frowned and turned his eyes down. “The only ones amongst our current world that would know the truth, are the Hippogryphs…apparently in one version of the tale, their kind were amongst the fighting races. B-but Mount Aris is a long way away, and going there just to hear a simple folktale would be ridiculousness in its entirety.”

Capper eyed Baalade for a moment, then looked down at the blades he currently held within his paws; they seemed to vibrate slightly and the familiar sensation pulsed through him again…the strange, yet welcoming presence of something powerful.

Go.

The whisper was a hoarse, rattling echo inside his skull, and he shivered a bit as the energy overwhelmed his senses for a brief period of time, before fading again as if they had never existed. He shut his eyes and drew in a breath, before looking over at Baalade.

“We got any trade routes headin’ to Mount Aris anytime soon?”

The sheep’s jaw went slack and he shook his head slightly. “You…you can’t be serious.”

The young Abyssinian grinned. “Then you really don’t know me all that well, do ya?”

Baalade gave him a slightly cynical look before answering. “Well, we have ONE trade route going there, but, Celaeno’s crew was put in charge of the delivery. I have absolutely no idea how that’s gonna go if you end up with her on board. She’s a pirate, after all, during most of her days...I swear, so reckless.” He shook his head in disapproval.

“Feathers is in charge of this one, huh?” The cat tapped his muzzle slightly in thought, before shooting the sheep an incredibly cocky grin. “Sounds alright to me. I mean, I hired her for a reason, after all…she’s reckless, yeah, but she gets the job done and done GOOD.” As Baalade continued to eye him with mild irritation, Capper turned his attention down to Grubber, who looked as bright-eyed as a young kitten in a candy store.

“Hey, Grubber, what say we go back and tell Storm the good news?”

“Are…are we headed there? To Mount Aris?” Grubber’s eyes were so wide with glee and wonder that for a moment Capper thought he had just seen something magical; he sighed and reached down to ruffle the little hedgehog’s fluffy fur.

“It appears…well, yeah, we are I guess.” Capper shielded his ears for the shout of glee that erupted from the little creature, then proceeded to prod slightly at one eardrum. “Ah…well, we’re only goin’ there for a visit, mind you. I know Storm has some real important business to take care of, but…”

He looked down at the daggers again, eyeing the runic patterns etched into each one; a whisper, in a language he could not fully understand for the life of him, caressed his ears, and he twitched them slightly in response. A strange look, one of both worry and determination, formed itself into his features.

“…Apparently, so do I.”

Author's Note

Filler chapter is filler. :B Ah well. At least we got some interesting tidbits, didn't we?

Stay tuned; also PLEASE leave feedback if you have any questions and/or comments. I'd rather have a captive audience than a silent one.

Thanks in advance and more to come soon <3

Ruffled Feathers

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER SEVEN

The night sky in Klugetown, the locals knew, was always best seen from the airship docks, as the stars were the brightest there due to the lack of light from the town itself. This was where Storm was, as his rib was feeling slightly better—merely slightly, but enough to properly move at least—and he had wanted some time to contemplate. Capper had told him the news yesterday, and, although he could barely contain his excitement that they were finally going to Mount Aris to get what they needed…

…Something…felt off.

The stars above flickered in the royal purple sky and almost seemed to dance, as the goat-creature cast his gaze upward. Another memory surfaced within his psyche, and he shut his eyes for a moment as he remembered the pale yellow eyes of what had once stood before him in his time of need. Echoes gently murmured in the darkness, echoes of past events and possible events yet to come. He sighed and opened his eyes toward the stars.

Is this really right…what I’m doing…

“Storm.”

The goat-being turned his head away for a moment to look at Capper and Grubber, who had appeared near the dock where he was currently sitting; the cat-being gave an almost timid smile and stepped forward in his direction.

“Mind if we join you? It’s…well, it’s a nice night, after all. Wouldn’t wanna miss it.”

“You don’t need to beat around the bush, Capper.” Storm sighed and shook his head. “Go ahead. I can’t stop you…not anymore.” He turned his gaze back toward the stars, falling silent; the young cat-being lowered his ears slightly and began to step toward him, walking down along the dock as Grubber scurried after the cat, mildly confused but choosing not to say anything for the moment. Capper took a seat at the edge of the dock next to Storm, looking down at the desert that lay before them.

“It’s a big place, isn’t it?” The Abyssinian leaned forward slightly to get a better view of the vast expanse of sand and stone. “Hard to believe, that Klugetown came to be here, of all places…y’know? Like, you wouldn’t normally expect a desert to be a trade district and all.” When the goat-being did not respond, Capper sighed and lowered his head a bit, swinging one hind leg off the edge of the dock.

“Storm…listen. I know we have a big, long journey ahead of us, and there’s a lot more to come yet. Mount Aris…is probably only gonna be our first stop, honestly. And, even though I was mad at y’all at first, called ya crazy, I still—“

“First stop?” Storm repeated the words as if he had absolutely no idea what the young cat-being was talking about, and raised an eyebrow slightly. “I thought we were just going there to get info for you…you said you didn’t want to go to Tambelon in the first place…claimed we’d be—“ He held up his fingers in quotation and gave an unamused expression—“’Risking our lives.’”

Capper furrowed his brow slightly. “Yeah, well…look. Those daggers back there…I don’t know why or how, but they somehow hold some kinda significance towards me, like, me as a whole. And yeah, Tambelon is still a living hell, like really literally, but something in me is just…sayin’, I need to go there. I need to find out more…about myself, and the weapons I chose to wield a few days ago.” Suddenly becoming a bit flustered at Storm’s apparent apathy, he shook his head and raised up his paws in a rapid gesture. “’Sides, a guy can change his mind, can’t he?! Gods.”

“So primarily we’re going there because you found a strange pair of daggers out of nowhere, and want to go to its source to get the info.” Storm’s summary of the cat-being’s intentions came off as sounding rather bland in nature as he looked up at the sky. He shrugged a shoulder. “Works for me.”

Capper rested his elbows on his knees. “I expected you to be more excited.”

“Yeah, what gives?” Grubber piped up, settling himself in-between where Capper and Storm currently sat at the edge of the dock. He looked up at his former master. “I thought you really, really wanted to go to Tambelon. Isn’t that what we were doing in the first place anyway?”

“We were…I mean, we are. I just…” The goat-creature’s gaze traveled to the side, as if he were nervous or embarrassed. “I really…was not expecting us to actually GO to Tambelon after Capper, well, kinda blew up the first time.” He smiled at the young Abyssinian warily. “You have to admit, you were some kind of crazy mad about that situation when I first brought it up.”

“Wasn’t that crazy…” Capper muttered, obviously disgruntled, but Storm could easily sense the harmless intent behind his tone of voice. The side of his mouth opened a bit into a sideways grin.

“Like, yeah, I was really intent on going at first, and I even went so far as to venture out into the desert to go there, where…well…you kinda saved my tail,” Storm admitted, looking at Capper like a dog that had just been scolded. He sheepishly rubbed at one shoulder. “I, uh…I still need to…er…like, wh-what I mean to say is, actually—”

Capper smiled and held up a paw. “Y’all are welcome.” His smile split into a grin then, and, for the first time in awhile, Storm felt…a sense of warmth. The cat-being looked up toward the night sky, swinging his hind legs in a carefree manner. “Look, I know the feelin’ all too well about when something you don’t expect to happen, happens. But, even then…it’s something you, like…always wanted in the first place, right?”

The goat-creature blinked in response, as if this was something he had not considered. “I…I suppose so.”

“So why be nervous? Why fight the fact that, on the inside and all, you’re really excited?” Capper’s eyes seemed to glitter for a moment, as if reflecting the stars. “I know, that I was apprehensive before. But, on the inside n’ all, I’m super-excited to be goin’ to Tambelon with y’all. Just think of the new adventure that awaits, around every corner…with everyone who stands beside you.”

“Yeah!” Grubber agreed, leaning up against Storm’s side and grinning. “You may not have anything else right now, but, you’ve got two friends who will follow you anywhere. That has to mean something, right?”

Storm looked down at the little hedgehog with a mixture of disbelief and compassion. “Grubber…” He shut his eyes and his head dropped slightly as he turned his gaze away. “I…I don’t know why you follow me, or why you even chose to revive me in the first place. But, no matter what the reasoning behind it may be…I…” His throat closed up for a brief moment and he had to stop. “Your loyalty has always been something I have greatly admired all these years. I’m glad…that I can count on you.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I thought, you know, you deserved another chance to prove yourself, after learning that…well, sometimes it’s not all about being selfish.” He looked up at Storm and smiled, snuggling against his side slightly. “And I wouldn’t say that…if I didn’t see anything…right?”

Storm made a strange noise that sounded like a mix between a hiccup and a sob; he opened his eyes and looked at the little hedgehog. “You really are a sappy little puffball, you know that?” he stated; when Grubber’s ears lowered slightly he raised a hand and tousled the mohawk fluff upon his head. “Can’t say I have any right to complain though. It’s part of what makes you fun.”

Grubber gave a tiny squeal of glee and wrapped both stubby arms around Storm’s waist, attempting to draw him in to a hug. Storm jumped a bit at this and attempted to pry him off slightly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t mean THAT far—“

“Ha ha ha!” Capper threw back his head and laughed, before dropping onto his back and putting his paws behind his head, looking toward the stars once more. He couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. “This is gonna be a fun time with y’all, I can already tell.” He flicked his gaze over toward Storm for a moment. “Feathers is gonna give the signal for us all to depart in the morning. We should probably meet her at the usual dock she uses…you know, the ol’ rickety one down on the far side of here.”

“Got it—“ Storm began to speak but Grubber leapt into his lap, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting towards the sky.

“We’re COMING, Tambelon!!” His little tail wagged slightly; he could obviously not contain his excitement. “You hear us?! We’re coming for you, and we won’t hold anything back!!!”

“YEAH, Tambelon!!” Capper joined in, shouting toward the stars, his eyes alight with excitement as well. “Y’all had best get the greatest dangers EVER ready, ‘cause we ain’t playin’ like no nice guys!!”

The two of them laughed over this, and Storm, although he did not join in, merely gave them a smile and shook his head, as Grubber leapt over toward Capper and the two began to roughhouse a bit to burn some excess energy. The stars above glittered and shone brightly, as, from overhead, a small white light passed by…

“Let’s see here…hmm…”

The parrot-creature known as Mullet squinted his one good eye at the crates in front of him before turning his attention back down to the list he currently held in one claw, tapping the tip of his beak in thought. Even though he had been technically serving as a “delivery-boy” for the past several years and had only just gotten his sea legs again—or, sky legs, rather—he had to admit that he had become incredibly rusty with handling inventory on shipments as of late, and that was causing a few problems since Capper was partially relying on them to make the deliveries to the more…”uncharted” areas happen. He cast his glance back up at the stack of crates, then down to the list, then back up at the crates again.

“Uhhh…okay. We got a ton of precious jewels, obviously…then there’s the feed supply from southern Equestria, the metal ingots smelted in the Dragonlands, and then there’s, uh…right, right, those relics we were delivering back to Mount Aris after that one mix-up a few months ago—“

“Ahoy!”

“GAH!” Mullet was so startled by the cry behind him that he could have sworn he felt his skin jump. He tore his gaze off of the inventory and looked over to see the beautiful gaze of Captain Celaeno, who appeared to be looking a bit happier today than usual…and she most certainly sounded like it. “Oh…oh, it’s just you, Captain. You scared me.”

“You need to be on your toes more often, Mullet,” Celaeno chided him, although she was smiling as she did so. She folded her arms. “Even when we’re doing cruddy inventory work.”

“It’s not ‘cruddy’…well, at least not as cruddy as it was back in the day.” The male parrot sighed and ran a hand over the shock of red feathers that covered his head. “Can’t believe it’s been that long, huh. Still been getting used to the fact that we’re back to exploring again…though, admittedly it’s been kinda boring with no enemy airships to loot.”

“I’d take boring over cruddy any day of the week, Mullet.” Celaeno shook her head. “Besides, it’s not like ALL the novelty has gone out of it. It’s a big world out there, and there are many places yet to be explored and discovered…”

“Speaking of which, what were you discussing with Capper the other day?” Mullet tilted his head slightly, curious. “I didn’t catch much of the conversation; granted I was trying to stay the heck out of it because I know how you get when discussing business orders, but…”

“Mullet, there wasn’t anything wrong,” Celaeno reassured him. She placed a claw on one hip. “Capper just wants to tag along on our delivery route to Mount Aris, is all. He said that he needed to ‘gather information’ on something, or whatever.” She looked off to the side, as if contemplating something. “Weird thing is, he also said that he needed us to ‘do him a favor’ after we made the delivery. He didn’t say what it was…and, knowing Capper, that kinda bothers me.”

“He probably just wants to take you out on a date,” Mullet joked; Celaeno rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“Get real...you know full well I only consider him a friend. A good friend, but still.” She heard the dinging of the ship’s bell and looked toward the doorway entrance. “Oh, that’s Murdock…we must have made it into Klugetown. You stay here and make sure that everything’s secured; I’m going to dock the ship.”

Mullet smiled and gave a salute. “Aye-aye, Captain.”

The beautiful parrot woman left the storage cabin and walked over toward the bow of the ship, keeping a lookout for the approaching docks of Klugetown’s trade port; a gust of wind passed by and nearly blew off the prized hat she wore, but she steadied it with one hand and leaned against the edge, turning her attention toward Boyle, who was attempting to pull the ship in toward the usual docking spot. “Steady as she goes! Remember, we don’t want any repetitions of what happened last time. I had to give up some of my best gems in order to pay that one off.”

“Aye-aye,” Boyle replied, nodding. “T’won’t happen again, Captain. I’ll dock ‘er nice n’ steady.”

“I can count on you,” Celaeno replied, smiling, before turning her full attention back to the docks; even though they were still only pulling in, she could see Capper rushing toward the end dock she normally used…along with two other figures, one about Capper’s height, or at least she estimated anyway, and a tiny, stubby one that had to run on all fours in order to keep up with them. She raised an eyebrow, her head leaning to the side slightly in puzzlement. “Odd…didn’t know he was bringing friends with…”

As the ship pulled itself up steadily next to the dock, Celaeno lowered the passenger ramp and stepped onto it, heading down toward Capper, who had just approached the end of the dock; he exhaled heavily and placed his paws on his knees, panting a bit. The parrot woman gave a coy grin.

“You’re certainly in a hurry,” she commented; Capper looked up at her and returned the smile.

“We got a lot to do,” he responded; he then looked behind him as the other two figures approached and finally came into full viewable detail; naturally, Celaeno recognized one of them almost immediately. Her pupils narrowed a bit and she withdrew her hand, first in utter disbelief and shock, for she could not believe what she was seeing.

“Y…you…”

Storm had been approaching Capper eagerly up until that exact point; upon his gaze meeting Celaeno’s, he froze as if time had suddenly stopped. Bringing one hoof down into a screeching halt, he looked up at the parrot woman, his eyes wide. His heartbeat, for some reason or another, began to quicken and tighten within his chest. There was a long, uncomfortable silence before anyone dared to speak; then…

“Oh, hey! Storm, look, it’s your girlfriend.”

Though Grubber’s statement was made in pure naïve innocence, neither side seemed too happy about it, Celaeno especially. “’Girlfriend’?!” she repeated, almost shouting the word in anger; the goat-creature could do nothing but stare in utter stupor, his face flushing heavily. Capper, sensing that there was probably going to be serious trouble if he did not interject, stepped between the two.

“Whoa, whoa, hold up now, there’s no need to—”

“You owe me a serious explanation, Capper,” Celaeno growled, her eyes narrowed to practical slits in loathing. She jabbed a talon in Storm’s direction. “So EXPLAIN. Why is he here, and how in the skies is he still alive after what happened in Equestria MONTHS ago!?”

“Feathers, listen to me.” Capper tried to pronounce each word heavily in the dim hope that she would possibly understand if he did. “Look, I know it seems really weird, but…I’ve spent the past few days with Storm and his buddy, and—“

“Storm?” Celaeno shook her head in disbelief as she eyed him. “You’re calling that monster by a nickname now?”

“He’s not a monster…not anymore, at least.” Capper shook his head. “Look, Feathers. I know, that months ago, you and I…we both fought to protect and take back what we once had. And, well, we have it now. The land has been re-taken, the Storm Guards left him, and there’s nothing left in his empire anymore. He…doesn’t have anything.”

This seemed to stir something within the parrot female’s psyche, but she continued to be adamant regardless. “Capper, why are you protecting him? He’s committed terrible crimes, not just towards the people of the southern areas, but towards both you AND me. He’s not worth the effort of reasoning with.”

“But what about ME, Feathers?” Capper looked her directly in the eyes, although his gaze seemed to quiver slightly with emotion. “Was I not worth the effort? Or did you take me in solely because y’all felt way too sorry to do anything else?” When Celaeno fell silent, the young Abyssinian continued:

“When Chummer and I were on board that ship, way back when…don’t think I heard y’all talkin’ with Strife that time. You said, that you cared for us, because we didn’t have a friend in the world. Y’all wanted to look after us…because that was who you WERE.” His voice broke slightly at the last word, and even he was surprised at just how seriously he was taking this; he took a moment to re-gather himself. “And…and I know, that…that’s who you still ARE, Feathers.”

“Capper…” Celaeno’s own eyes seemed to shimmer slightly; she looked over at Storm and Grubber, who had been merely standing there, primarily out of caution that interference would result in more issues. Storm’s eyes met her gaze for a moment before he looked away, fidgeting slightly in discomfort.

“Y’all have learned to teach me…that, in a time when one needs it most…you need to learn to look past their previous deeds, and care for who they all aim to be,” Capper told her, placing his paws on her shoulders. “Right now, Storm here has no resources, no home, and nothing to go back to. He needs others to help him, Feathers.” He eyed her gently. “Others…like you and me.”

“I…” Celaeno fell silent for a few moments, her gaze drifting away from Capper’s as she eyed the ground with uncertainty. Yes, it was true that, indeed, those words were what she truly believed. But, at the same time, she could not forgive that easily, especially considering the past deeds that had been committed.

Still…

Was the past…really that important now?

She made her decision; taking a deep breath, she looked back up towards her friend. “Capper. You know, that I cannot forgive others that easily for their crimes. But, at the same time…your words are all too true. I can’t simply leave someone to fend for themselves when they have nothing.” She looked toward Storm and Grubber, and nodded. “They are allowed to board my ship, and come with us to Mount Aris, if that’s what you desire, Capper. But, heed my words…if they try anything stupid, I’m decking them overboard with no hesitation.”

Storm smiled weakly and Grubber squealed and jumped up and down, holding his paws to his face in excitement; Capper eyed the parrot woman gratefully and gave a weary smile as well.

“Feathers…thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Celaeno turned around and began to walk up the ramp. “Come on, let’s get on board. We don’t want to keep my crew waiting longer than they should for this.” Capper began to follow her; she turned her head toward Storm and Grubber. “Well, don’t just stand there, you dolts. Pick up the pace!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Grubber declared excitedly, bounding forward and following them up the ramp; Storm remained still for a few moments as he eyed the parrot woman, his heart fluttering in his chest. Celaeno, admittedly, was far too headstrong for her own good, and she had straight-up gotten in his way several times, but regardless, he admired that in her for some strange reason.

Why was he feeling this way, right now…?

“Stop gawking like an idiot and follow!” Celaeno’s words snapped him out of his apparent trance, and he shook his head to clear himself of the remaining fog in his mind. Despite the fact his racing heart still would not steady, he exhaled and forced himself to be calm and collective as he began to tread up the ramp.

Upon reaching the top, the small party could see the rest of the crew waiting for them; they were smiling at first but upon seeing Storm their eyes went wide and they backed up a bit, looking at each other in confusion and uncertainty. Celaeno stepped forward, standing up straight, and placed her claws upon her hips.

“Ahoy!” she declared to her crew; they stood at her attention. “All of you know this full well…you have all been my loyal crew for as long as I can remember. You followed me to the brinks of Hell and back again. Now…” She motioned her head toward the three standing behind her. “We have a few new members on board our ship. Despite the fact ONE of them is a bit of a scurvy sea-dog—“ She eyed Storm with an unamused expression—“I expect ye to treat them all with courtesy. It’s our morals, after all, that define us.”

Although the crew still looked uncertain, they nodded and saluted Celaeno. “AYE!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Celaeno declared. She saluted them in response, then raised her hand up. “Now then, let us set sail, to Mount Aris! Everyone back to their posts; we’ve got a long journey ahead!”

As the crew headed back to their posts, the others began to make themselves comfortable. Storm took a few steps forward, toward Celaeno; she turned around and folded her arms, glowering a bit.

“I meant what I said,” she told him, sounding captious in her tone. “I’m only letting you on board because it’s what Capper wants, primarily. I’m giving you a chance, but only once. If you DARE attempt anything towards me or my crew…”

She raised a talon and ran it along her neck in a horizontal motion slowly to emphasize her point.

“…You won’t get away with it easily this time.”

The goat-creature grimaced slightly, and Celaeno smiled a bit before walking away. He could do nothing for a moment but stand there yet again in utter stupor as the ramp was lifted and the ship prepared to disengage from the docks and set sail. Did Celaeno, his former delivery girl, just threaten him? This was far too strange for him to process…regardless, he knew that her even letting him on board in the first place was a blessing. He had to dismiss it for now.

“I’m coming, Tambelon,” he murmured to himself, placing a fist upon his chest. He looked toward the sky with determination.

“…I’m coming home.”

Author's Note

Celaeno don't eff around :B

Again, feedback is much-appreciated on whatever has been presented thus far. Next chapter: the journey to Mount Aris begins!

On The Way

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Hurry up, slowpoke!”

“I’m…hah…coming!” The little goat-creature leapt upward, grabbing onto a fence, and struggled to work himself over to catch up. “It really isn’t helping that you’re going way too fast, Gallyen! For the sake of the gods, slow down a bit!”

“But if we slow down, we’ll miss the opening ceremony!” Gallyen declared, although he did stop for a moment regardless as his younger brother finally made it over the fence and appeared beside him. “Look, Stormy, I know I’ve been to them before but this is your FIRST Rammer’s Tourney. I really want you to see everything, so you know just how great they are.”

Prince Stormbreaker, at the time now roughly ten years old, gave his older brother a bit of a look, brushing a tuft of snowy-white fur back from his forehead. “Are they really as good as you say they are, Gallyen? From what I’ve heard, they’re basically just, like, gladiator matches, right?”

“They’re not ‘just’ gladiator matches,” Gallyen retorted, sounding petulant. He rolled his eyes in utter disbelief at what his younger sibling was saying and continued to run onward. “They involve fights, yeah, but they have an entirely different set of rules. Plus, it’s a great way for the Caprinian race to prove just how strong and honorable they are! Winning the Rammer’s Tourney…there’s no greater feeling of exhilaration for our kind.”

“So, uh…” Stormbreaker could not think of anything to say in return without the possible chance of offending his brother, so he held his tongue as the two raced through the streets, headed in the direction of Tambelon’s Great Arena.

Built centuries ago, the Great Arena was meant to host a traditional tournament amongst the Caprinians that was dubbed the “Rammer’s Tourney,” an annual event that had taken place, as far as either Stormbreaker or Gallyen could remember, for over a thousand years. Very much inspired by the arenas of the Olden times, it was a circular dome of great diameter, with walls reaching toward the open sky and thousands of seats carved into its sides, from simple seating to intricate balconies where the higher-ups could witness the events. Grogar, Rivvon and Windcaller, of course, were allowed the finest of seats, but more often than not Grogar was far too busy with the judging; Windcaller felt uncomfortable there for a reason Stormbreaker had yet to grasp, and Rivvon simply deemed it “unfitting and barbaric” or something along those lines of talk; thus the two females never attended.

But Gallyen was a different story. From the time Stormbreaker had known him, the young Caprine ram had always been fascinated with the Rammer’s Tourney, and the little white-furred youngster knew that one day, Gallyen wished to be among their ranks. For the moment, though, all he could do was witness, and now it was Stormbreaker’s turn at long last to see it take place. He was excited, he knew, but at the same time something about it didn’t really pump the blood through his veins the same way it did to Gallyen.

Nonetheless, he was determined to both make his brother happy and prove his worth among the ranks of the Caprinian race, so he had agreed to attend.

If only Gallyen would friggin’ SLOW DOWN…

“We’re almost there!” Gallyen declared; he gave a bit of a happy prance as they approached the bazaar spread out in front of the main gates to the Arena. Stormbreaker could wish with all his might that he had the powerful lungs of a Caprine, but sadly that was not the case and he was nearly out of breath. Panting, he attempted to lunge ahead but something shot out from under him and tripped him; he yelped in surprise and tumbled forward into a somersault, landing flat on his belly.

“Eh?” Gallyen stopped and turned around when he heard his brother’s cry, his ears perked, and saw…

Oh, crud.

“Well, well, well…look who it is.” A young Caprine ram with ashen-gray fur and a pitch-black tuft of a tail and mane stepped in front of the fallen Stormbreaker, a disgustingly unctuous smirk on his face. He was flanked by two other Caprinians, a doe and a ram, both of them snickering in unison.

“Stormy the half-breed.”

Stormbreaker’s ears lowered and he eyed the Caprinian with a mixture of irritation, sorrow, and embarrassment; Gallyen immediately pushed his thoughts for attendance aside and bounded in the direction of the incident. “Chyme! Stop it. I’ve told you a million times—“

“Stay out of it, Gallyen.” The ashen-gray goat—Chyme—gave the older ram a conceited sneer, his shoulders raised. “There’s no need for someone like you to be involved in this…you’re not anything like this waste of flesh.” He gave Stormbreaker a light kick in the side. “Isn’t that right, you little bastard mutt? Just admit to it…you’ll never be one of us.”

“Do…” Stormbreaker finally raised his head, his glacier-blue eyes attempting to glint with courage. “Do I have to be? I thought, that—“

“Wrong.” Chyme gave him another kick in the stomach, this one more forceful and sending him onto his side. He rolled his eyes disdainfully. “Your kind don’t THINK, is the problem. Ever since they arrived here, the Yeti have been nothing but bit-grubbing, food-stealing, ugly-ass—“

“Don’t try talking, Chyme.” The doe, a cinnamon-tan ruffian with one eye hidden behind a long tuft of fur upon her head, stepped forward and jabbed a hoof into Stormbreaker’s ribs. “He’s not gonna get it. Either way, his blood is far too muddy to even deal with in a delegate manner.”

She grinned and twisted the hoof that she had placed down into his side, beginning to cause pain now. “Stupid half-bred degenerate…it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a member of the royal family, nor does it matter that you have King Grogar’s blood. Ultimately, in the end…”

She raised the sharp end of her hoof and cuffed him upside the chest with it, causing him to cry out in pain and sending him flipping over onto his back. The doe’s eyes glinted like ice.

“…You’re just another pitiful attempt at creation with no real purpose or identity.”

Stormbreaker clutched at the area she had struck with desperate breaths, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. Chuckling, the doe turned and walked away, nudging Chyme in the side as she did so.

“See, Chyme.” She sounded very certain of herself, something that was irritating Gallyen to no end. “THAT is how you deal with half-breeds.”

Gallyen ran to his brother’s side and stepped between Chyme’s group and the little yeti-goat, his face feeling hot and his features twisted into a furious snarl. “I told you to STOP IT. Every time you see us, every friggin’ time, you always feel the need to pick on my brother for something that he CANNOT HELP. Do you just enjoy seeing others writhe in pain, or are you really just that wasteful of your own lives?!”

“Oi, we don’t need back-talk from YOU!” The second ram reared up his head angrily, stomping one front hoof in the dirt, but Chyme held up his own, directing him to stop.

“Let him engage in his little fantasy world,” Chyme told them; he smirked and turned around, using one hind leg to kick a spray of dust in Stormbreaker’s face before walking away. “The half-breed knows what we mean now. I don’t see any reason to hang around these tainted losers any longer.”

The doe and ram eyed the two brothers with disdain before turning around and walking after him; Gallyen watched them as they left, shivering with pure rage but knowing that if he attempted anything, they would just sweet-talk their way into being the victims, not the agitators…and that in turn would only make matters worse. Instead he decided to tend to Stormbreaker, who was still curled up on the ground, whimpering and sobbing. The little one wasn’t sure which had hurt more—their words, or their blows; either way it had upset him greatly.

“Don’t listen to them, Stormy,” Gallyen told him gently, lowering his head to nuzzle his brother’s ear a bit in comfort. “Chyme and his stupid gang have always been that way towards things they don’t understand. We’ve talked this over before, haven’t we?”

“We can talk about it a million-billion times and it still wouldn’t matter.” Stormbreaker sniffled and attempted to get up, still clutching at the place where the cinnamon doe had struck him. He paused to wipe a few tears from his eyes. “Chyme’s a complete and total bully. All he ever does upon seeing us, is choose to attack us for no reason other than the fact that I’m different than he is. It’s…it’s not FAIR, Gallyen!”

“I know it’s not fair.” Gallyen’s ears dropped slightly and he rested his muzzle upon his brother’s shoulder in another attempt to comfort him, rubbing against the soft white fur gently. “But sadly that’s what our lives have come to be. Other than your parents and maybe a few other couples, Stormy, the Caprinians and the Yeti have never really gotten along that well…I know that Father is attempting to mend the issues between the two, but…powerful as he is, he’s just one goat.”

“Why do they feel the need to hate each other over being different, though?” The little yeti-goat whimpered again and nuzzled his cheek against his older brother’s. “I…I never understood that, Gallyen. I don’t think I ever will, no matter how many times anyone explains it to me.”

“I honestly don’t get it either,” the young Caprinian replied, shutting his eyes. “But…try as hard as we might, we cannot change how others think, no matter what we attempt. All we can do, is keep being ourselves, and keep pressing onward with the ones that DO care.” He sighed and opened his eyes again, removing his head from his brother’s shoulder and pacing in front of him, sitting down on his haunches.

“Stormy…I know I can’t really stand up to Chyme properly. I know that I’m only one goat among probably a million others. But…” He lowered his head for a moment. “I’m still your big brother, and I’m still a Caprinian prince, damn it. It’s not only my sworn duty to protect the innocents who are tormented by others…it’s…well, my PACT.” He looked Stormbreaker in the eyes again. “Seven years ago, I told you that we would rule together and always be by each other’s sides. And I still mean that to this very day. Next time Chyme tries something dumb like that…” He glowered in determination, his ears flattening.

“…I won’t show any mercy whatsoever.”

“Gallyen…” Stormbreaker tried to fight them back but the tears re-appeared, and he hung his head in an odd mixture of happiness and despair, his little body shaking as droplets of wet struck the dust beneath him in a rhythmic pattern. The older goat gave a wan smile and nuzzled his forehead gently.

“Don’t let them see your weaknesses, Stormy,” he encouraged. “Be strong…stand.”

“Aye, the winds be great t’day,” Boyle declared as he shielded his eyes with one talon, looking toward the vast horizon that spread out before them. The Sea of Clouds, indeed, lived up to its name well…there was nothing in sight but the open sky, the setting sun, and, naturally…a vast sea of clouds. Though Storm had been through this area many times before, he had, admittedly, always enjoyed the view of it during sunset: a gradient of beautiful, warm color with the cool night sky forming above. It had been such a long time since he had seen a sight like this…

Naturally he had to take it in.

He was standing at the edge of the ship, leaned over slightly to allow his arms to rest upon the surface as he scanned the vast expanse of fluff. They gleamed in several colors; gold, orange, red. The air felt cool and fresh as the ship soared the skies, beginning to grow ever-cooler with the approaching night. Behind him, he could hear Capper talking with Celaeno, as well as Grubber chowing down on some of the leftovers from the dinner Lix had cooked earlier. He was more focused on the conversation, however.

“…So you just so happened to pick these daggers up, and they somehow connected with you.” Celaeno turned one of the weapons over in her claws, sizing it up. “I really don’t think that this is some sort of ‘Fate’ thing, Capper. I think it’s just pure coincidence that they reacted the way they did.”

“If it were a coincidence, it was a damned specific one,” Capper replied; his ears fell a bit and he shook his head. “Look, Feathers, I know y’all don’t trust magic, but these things are WEIRD. Like I was tellin’ Storm before, I have never been one to wield any kinda weapon, but for some reason these things felt GOOD in my hands. And, it was like I knew what I was doing the entire time.”

“They certainly are beautiful.” Celaeno murmured this to herself as she eyed the green runic patterns etched into the dagger, running a talon over the ebon surface; her eyes glittered with something that looked like wonderment. “I have retrieved quite a few treasures in my days, but…I have never seen runes like these before, nor have I ever felt this type of material. The runes intrigue me the most…I have no idea what language it’s even in.”

“Probably a dead one, is what I’m guessin’,” Capper responded, shrugging a bit. “Maybe the Hippogryphs will know how to translate ‘em for us. Either way, I doubt they tell any sorta story other than the fact that they kill things.”

“Honestly, Capper, if you want to find out more about these daggers, at least make the effort to do so,” Celaeno griped, rolling her eyes. “Runic patterns have always told a story, one way or another, in ancient times, and weaponry is no exception. They’re not there solely for décor purposes…weapons normally aren’t like that. If it has a decoration, it’s usually meant to represent something.”

“But why react to ME?!” Capper declared, clapping both paws to his chest. “I’m no one special, at least not to these ‘ancients’ or whatever. Like, Baalade told me that these here things were wielded by a champion centuries ago, during something called the Titanfall or whatever. But I legit know NOTHING about this, so…”

“Wait…you’re going there because of the Titanfall?” Celaeno shook her head slightly. “I thought you were going to get information from the Hippogryphs regarding the daggers. The Titanfall is just a myth; a fairy-tale—“

“It’s real.”

The two turned their heads to see Storm, who had abandoned his haunt at the side of the ship and was walking towards them, looking slightly angered. Celaeno crossed her arms, looking a bit defiant in response. “No one was talking to you, I believe…”

Storm ignored her words, looking at Capper. “The Titanfall was something that indeed did happen, but, due to the fact it was never recorded officially where it took place and was strictly meant to be passed down to the next generation through oral tradition, well…” He shrugged and shook his head almost helplessly. “There are a lot of renditions of the story, some true, some…kind of out there.” He snickered a bit and rolled his eyes. “Like, I remember this one version where—“

“Either way,” Celaeno interrupted, shooting Storm an annoyed glance, “The daggers obviously mean something to you, Capper, and that’s the main reason why I agreed to let you all come along. Magic or no magic, Titanfall or no Titanfall, there is no denying that they apparently are precious to your being beyond mere words.”

“Well, uh, I wouldn’t say that exactly, but yeah, I need to figure out what’s goin’ on behind ‘em,” Capper replied, nodding his head and slightly shaking it at the same time—quite the stunt to behold. “If the runes are in fact the key…well then, the Hippogryphs could probably tell me all about ‘em…if they can even translate this here language to begin with.”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Celaeno told the young Abyssinian; she turned her attention to Storm for a brief moment. “Also, you…you’re stuck working with Lix tonight in the mess hall. She has quite a few mouths to feed with you and the other two on board, and she needs assistance.”

“Dwuh--?” The white-furred beast was completely taken aback by this order; he shook his head and raised his hands up in misunderstanding. “B-But why ME?! I’m probably the worst cook out of anyone here…I haven’t really touched a pan let alone COOKED with one in years.” He mumbled a bit in frustration, gesturing toward Capper and the still-blissfully-eating Grubber. “Why can’t you let one of THEM do it?! They’re better than me anyway…”

“Because the Captain says so.” Celaeno gave a flick of her bangs before walking past him, grinning matter-of-factly and giving him a small nudge in the tail with her emerald peg-leg. “And what the Captain says, GOES.”

Storm eyed Capper, then Grubber, then finally turned his attention back to the parrot woman, shaking his head in utter disbelief. “You cocky bit—“

“On second thought,” Celaeno declared, whirling around to face him and tapping at the side of her beak with a talon, still smiling away, “I think you should assist Lix sooner than later, don’t you think?” Storm’s eye twitched slightly but he knew better at this point than to open his mouth. “Show me a leg and get to the mess hall kitchen immediately. Lix should be expecting you either way.”

Storm could feel the fur on both his neck and tail bristling with vexation but he knew that if he did anything to retaliate he would immediately be cast into the open bed of clouds below; rather than mouth off again, he turned around and trudged angrily toward the direction of the mess hall, muttering under his breath.

“Never did like pirates…”

“Ah, there ya be.”

“Yeah, yeah…hi.” Storm grumbled to himself as he entered the backroom kitchen, still looking heavily irked. He looked around and recoiled slightly in disgust. The place was an absolute mess; food stains lined the walls, there were scratches and stains on the floor he didn’t even want to think about, and everything was covered in either a fine layer of grease, flour or dust of some sort. It was amazing that Lix could get anything done in this condition.

Did I really allow these conditions while I was still ruler…?

“Ye don’t sound that enthusiastic, but, t’will do for now,” Lix told him, gesturing with a ladle she currently held in one claw. “Well, get yerself t’work then. There’s much to be done b’fore dinner. Ye can start with the veggies over on the table over yonder.”

“This place is a MESS.” Storm could no longer contain his view on the matter; he shook his head in utter disbelief. “How am I supposed to work in this dirty grease-trap?! I don’t even know the first thing about cooking…”

Lix eyed him for a few moments, though her expression did not seem peeved in the slightest; rather, she shrugged her shoulders and turned to tend to the pot that was currently bubbling on the stove beside her. “Learn, then. Ye won’t know how t’ do anything unless ye try it at least once.”

“That wasn’t the answer I was…” Storm grumbled under his breath for the incoherent remainder of the sentence and knew that there was no winning with THIS parrot woman either. He approached the table opposite Lix and picked up one of the knives nearby, eyeing the assortment of vegetables on the semi-dirty table with a mix of uncertainty and vexation. “Oh-kay, so…”

“Just cut ‘em in any way ya see fit.” Lix shrugged again before spooning up a small taste of soup with the ladle and touching it with the tip of her beak; she grimaced a bit and shook her head. “Ugh…it needs a few more carrots; this won’t work at all.”

“I can take a hint,” Storm told her, before taking one of the carrots before him and attempting to slice it. He shook his head, trying to keep the blade in rhythmic movements and preferably FAR away from the few fingers he was gifted with. For a few moments, there were no words from either one of them, but then Lix finally spoke, her attention still on the pot of soup:

“You like ‘er, don’t you?”

“Pardon—?” Storm jumped in his skin at this statement and his grip on the knife nearly slipped. The elderly pink parrot woman could only grin knowingly in response as she reached out to stir the soup further.

“Oh, don’t act as dumb as ya look. Mullet had told me…what’was it, over two years ago now…? Ye were onto the Cap’n harder than a yowling dog.” She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Kissed ‘er hand even, too, from what’was told.”

“I didn’t—what I meant was—I was only—“ Storm was so taken aback that he was finding it impossible at this point in time to form a coherent sentence in his defense, which was only making the elderly parrot smile broader. He jabbed a finger in her direction. “Don’t you judge me!!”

“T’would be the last thing I’d do.” Lix calmly stirred the soup again, pausing to grab the carrots Storm HAD managed to finish off and dropping them in one by one. “No one has any right in their mind t’ judge when a guy likes a pretty girlie. ‘Specially a guy as lonely as yerself.”

“I am NOT—“ Storm began, but immediately withdrew his statement; he knew that there was no getting it past anyone that, despite his desire to conquer at that time, his desire for affection from a lovely female had been just as powerful. Even Grubber knew that…maybe that was why he had said what he had earlier. (Granted, he had probably only found that one tidbit out by reading Storm’s diary, but regardless.) The white-furred creature sighed and lowered his head a bit. “Was…is it…really that obvious?”

“Judgin’ from Mullet’s testimony, the stars t’weren’t the only thing sparkling that night,” Lix replied; Storm clenched his teeth a bit and blushed heavily in response, rubbing at one arm sheepishly. “Ah, no need to be ashamed of yerself. The Cap’n has always been a bit of a looker.”

“Smarter than she lets on, too.” Storm, despite his misgivings, seemed to drift into a temporary reverie for a moment. “Smarts AND beauty…that was ultimately what I was looking for at the time. She’s not afraid to speak her mind either…first female I have ever known of to properly stand up to me at that point, before…” He drifted off, then, and his smile faded for a moment; shaking his head, he snapped out of the dreamlike trance he had been in. “Uh…either way, yeah, she has my secret respect…but that doesn’t really mean that I…”

“With the way ye were prattlin’ on, I wouldn’t attempt t’ say anything in my defense just yet.” Lix shook her head, although she was smiling as she did so…that kind of knowing smile, almost. “Indeed, all of us were angry with ye when ye made us into cargo haulers. Times’ve passed fer certain, but I doubt the Cap’n realizes that…she’s always been kinda one to hold grudges, to a bit of an extent.”

“Why are you even bothering to hear me out?” The goat-creature had to ask; Lix merely shrugged a shoulder and pecked the tip of her beak against another spoonful of soup.

“Ahh, that’s the stuff…and, t’ answer yer question, I’m an old parrot, lad. I’ve seen a lot in my days and there’s no point fer me t’ be wasting time holding grudges over the past. B’sides…ye make fer excellent conversation in here. It’s so quiet normally.”

Storm had no idea what this meant at all, but he gave a small, grateful smile regardless and turned his attention back to the task he had been assigned with. “Okay, so…anything else we need before soup’s on, so to speak?”

“Potatoes.” Lix said the word almost immediately. “And also maybe a hint of celery…but mainly potatoes. Ah keep telling Boyle that starch is no good fer ya, but he insists upon eatin’ it anyway.”

“Right…” The white-furred beast picked up the spud and eyed it as if it were something foreign. “Er…do they need to be peeled? Because I don’t know the first thing about—“

“If ye were to ask me, the skins are the part that add flavor…but I should probably show ye just in case.” Lix plodded up beside him and snatched the knife away, picking up one of the spuds. “Now then, observe carefully. Ye need to peel it off in a spiral motion. It starts out like this…”

Things lasted long into the night; before Storm finally crashed onto the mattress in the guest quarters he had at least managed to obtain information that they were to hit Mount Aris, or at least its waters, at the crack of dawn the next day. Capper was determined; Celaeno was still being her usual smart-aleck self towards him, and Grubber...was, well, being Grubber, he supposed.

At least dinner had turned out okay.

Author's Note

Annnd...yet another slight filler chapter. :P Primarily I wanted to set up some pacing before arrival at Mount Aris, as some serious events important to the story are to take place there.

For those who have not read the prequel comics...yes, Storm does in fact hit on Celaeno in issue 2, like, the second he sees her. There's a bit of prequel comic hinting in this chapter in particular. I would honestly recommend them for a read even though I normally am not one to read the MLP comic-verse series; the prequel for the most part IS canon to the movie-verse and gives Storm, Cela and Capper more backstory.

~~Also, though it never was truly said officially what Lix's gender is, I always assumed she was an "old-lady" female. Definitely gives off that vibe anyway~~ Lix confirmed for female; my bad :P

Oath and Arrival

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER NINE

Midnight struck, and Celaeno let out a weary yawn in spite of herself; since Boyle had been the one to take the rudder all day, she had offered to take on the night shift and make sure that the ship was prevented from crashing into anything…or running out of fuel…or some other, unknown-but-probably-there issue that would send them all careening to their deaths if left unattended. That was the problem with sailing in the skies…there were really not too many ways to drop anchor. Everything seemed to be clear skies and smooth sailing for now, but she knew that the Sea of Clouds would end eventually and the last thing she wanted was to make a bad impression on the Hippogryphs by having her ship totaled in one of their higher-altitude villages.

Still, it was incredibly hard to stay alert, especially when she hadn’t really gotten a whole lot of rest the previous few nights…she kept having strange dreams; dreams of fuchsia light and battles of old. It was always the same: she was standing in the midst of intense carnage, yet…she did not feel fear in the slightest. Bathed in the same light that she had seen before, she saw herself fighting off these…strange creatures, wielding some kind of sword that she could not quite put her claw on vision-wise. All she knew was, it was powerful, and it had some kind of crest on it…

“Ugh…” She slumped against the wheel and rested her head in her arms, trying her darnedest not to fall asleep. Not only did she need to keep an eye out for potential obstacles, she really, REALLY did not want to have that dream again…

Cela.

The parrot woman’s ears pricked and she raised her head, looking around; someone or something was whispering a name…a name she had not been referred to as in almost a decade.

“Who’s there?” she demanded, stepping away from the wheel and reaching toward her side for the cutlass she currently had sheathed. There was silence, utter silence, for a moment; the voice then repeated, in the same tone, the same voice:

Cela.

The female’s ears flattened against her skull in irritation and she unsheathed the cutlass, looking in the direction of the cabins. “I swear to the gods, if you are who I THINK you are…it’s not funny!”

The hold, Cela.

“Cut it OUT!!” Celaeno angrily shouted the words into the nothingness, as if to get some kind, any kind, of response from a mortal being; when there was nothing but silence, she growled angrily, her chest huffing. Smiling a bit, as if in some sort of crazed attitude, she nodded her head. “The hold, huh? You mean the cargo hold, right? What’s so important that I need to go there?!”

The Oath.

“Oh, so NOW you’re talking to me.” Celaeno could not believe that she was attempting to commune with what appeared to be a disembodied voice, but she really did not see any other way to get the damned thing to go away. She continued. “What ‘oath’ are you talking about?”

Your Oath.

“My…?” The parrot woman’s features contorted into a look of utter confusion, and she looked down at her feet as something began to materialize around her, seeping from the edges of the deck and swirling around her like a fine mist. She could see that it was, in fact, not quite mist but a cloudy fog; however this fog was clearly of magical origin as it was bright pink and seemed to emanate a strange glow against the darkened state of the ship. It weaved toward her from all directions of the deck almost in a single, continuous circle before circling around her feet and climbing its way up her body.

“St-stop—” Celaeno began a plea but it was quickly silenced by the realization that the fog did not want to harm her…rather, it appeared to be attempting to tell her something but all she could manage to make out were the same words she had heard before:

Hold.

Oath.

Cela.

Yet…she was unsure whether the fog was communicating with her on a subconscious level, but its words clicked something within her mind this time. The parrot-woman’s ears tilted back slightly and she shut her eyes before exhaling a breath, opening them in the direction of the cargo hold. The fog removed itself from around her body and trailed downward, as if forming a small lined path toward the direction of where she intended to go; Celaeno raised her head and took a step forward.

“All right,” she said quietly, heading toward the hold’s door with a semi-determined stance. “If the cargo hold is where you want me to go…I’ll go there. I swear though, if this turns out to be some kind of trick…”

Reaching the cargo hold’s main door, she held out a talon and placed it upon the door handle, pushing herself forward and shoving it open; it emitted a horrible squealing sound that felt so loud that for a moments’ time Celaeno was afraid it would wake up everyone on the ship, and she stopped in her tracks, her gaze darting around nervously. When no one appeared to confront her, and when nothing else seemed to even stir for that matter—not even the sails—she heaved a sigh and stepped into the darkened interior, immediately turning her attention to the lantern that lay at her feet near the threshold. Gently tapping at the surface, the fireflies that were within the lantern’s interior stirred, and the hold was immediately lit, albeit faintly. She looked around.

For the most part, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary: everything was still packed away and organized the way they had originally left it when they had been taking inventory much earlier. Still, something felt…different this time around, and the parrot woman was determined to find out what it was, lest the voice come back to haunt her again and lest her natural curiosity get the better of her later on. Narrowing her gaze, she scanned the entire hold again, looking for anything that may be off from before; be different…

Nothing.

“Gods…whatever’s going on…the answer has to lie in one of these crates,” Celaeno ultimately deduced; this was followed by another irritated sigh as she ran her claws along her head-feathers and glowered, her shoulders slumped. “Wonderful…it’s going to be like finding a needle in a haystack at this point.”

It was at that point that the fog crept its way in again and swept past her, trailing in a straight line towards the back of the hold. Celaeno could only take this as a clue that she needed to follow, and she would take any clue she could get right now to make things easier. Stepping forward, she began to follow the smoky trail of pink further and further back, until, eventually, it ended at the base of a rather modest, rectangular-shaped crate. This one was on the floor, further away from the other boxes, and for a brief moment she pondered how and why it had ended up here when they were certain to have stacked all the crates together…

Cela…Oath…Cela…

“Oh!” The parrot woman gasped as the voice returned and her heart skipped a beat from temporary fright as she placed a talon over her chest, her breathing slightly quicker than normal. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she looked down at the crate, her eyes narrowing. “So…this is what you want me to see, huh…”

The whispers carried on, though inaudible, as Celaeno reached out with both talons, shaking a bit as she pried the lid off of the crate and looked inside…

…She was not prepared for what she saw next.

Lying inside the crate, amongst a makeshift bed of paper and fur scraps, was a single, one-handed sword; judging from the small scratches and pock-marks on the blade itself, it had to have been ancient and have weathered many battles, yet it had been restored to somehow near-pristine condition and the hardened metal it was made from still shone brightly even in the dim light. The blade itself was pure silver and looked as sharp as a pinion, and the hilt appeared to be made of a different type of metal plated entirely with gold and garnished with various gemstones—mainly purple and pink ones above all else. The handle was wrapped in leather and tied at the end crudely.

What caught her completely off-guard, however…was the crest on the hilt’s center, where the hilt ultimately met with the blade. It was of a winged creature—quite possibly an eagle or gryphon—and it bore the look of a mighty avian spreading its wings…

…The same crest, if not the exact same, that she had seen before in her dreams.

She could feel the blood draining out of her face as she eyed it, and for a moment she felt legit fear strike the core of her soul, as if she were having some kind of nightmare rather than an actual discovery in the waking world. “Th…this isn’t funny…” She looked around, her eyes wide and her pupils practically narrowed into dots, clutching one talon to her chest to prevent her entire body from giving in to the shivers that were forming in the top of her spine. She shut her eyes and counted to ten under her breath, convincing herself (and utterly failing) that this was merely another dream; that when she opened her eyes, she would probably be embedded in a mountain somewhere…

When she re-opened them, the blade was still there.

Damn it. This was real…and it was legit still frightening her.

“Wha…what do you want with me?” The parrot woman finally managed to speak, still attempting to hold back the fact she was trembling a bit. “Please…I…I really didn’t do anything to deserve—”

Do not fear, Cela…

Celaeno blinked and her body seemed to ease in tension ever so slightly. “What?”

Do not fear…your Oath.

“My—” She realized she was repeating herself from earlier on, and bit the bottom of her beak ever so slightly before again looking down at the sword. Something stirred within her psyche, and slowly her body began to relax a bit more the longer she eyed it. No, there was nothing to fear. It was a sword and nothing else. And, apparently, according to this strange voice or whatever…

…It was hers to wield.

Reaching a talon out, she slowly wrapped her claws around the handle of the weapon, and almost immediately a surge of energy ran up her arm and coursed through her body, as visions of her previous dreams flashed in the back of her mind and temporarily overwhelmed her for a few seconds. Gasping, she fell forward slightly, breathing heavily, before grunting and fully taking up the sword, holding its gleaming blade up against the light of the lantern.

It certainly was an impressive sword, and it still looked like it could be properly wielded. But…at the same time…why did it so closely resemble the sword from the dreams she had been having, and why did what was apparently a disembodied voice lead it to her…?

“So strange…” Celaeno murmured to herself as she tilted the blade to one side, eyeing the crest on the hilt with curiosity and determination. “What…are you…?”

“Ow—Mom, stop…!”

“Hold still,” Windcaller stated firmly, proceeding to press her hand against her son’s head as she continued to groom him. The two were currently in Prince Stormbreaker’s sleeping quarters, and Windcaller was attempting to brush him down properly after drying him off from a rather tedious (but still quite luxurious) bath. Unfortunately, as she had predicted, he had inherited her fur…thick, impressionable, and completely and utterly futile at attempting to gain proper control of. She had made several attempts with various types of brushes only to wind up in failure, and was now attempting the last one—a thin, rather brittle comb, but at least it was doing its job somewhat. The Yeti female gave a sigh of utter frustration before running it through Stormbreaker’s tail fur one more time and tossing it aside, shakingher head.

“Caprinian grooming may be pure luxury, but it utterly fails at getting the job done for us Yeti,” she griped; seeing that her son’s fur was still pretty much a mess, the snowy-white female sighed and opened her mouth, letting her dark-gray tongue loll out. “Guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way…”

“M-Mom, no!” Stormbreaker recoiled almost immediately, wrapping his tail around his legs and shaking his head violently. “Th-that’s kids’ stuff…I’m almost an adult now—!”

“You’re sixteen,” Windcaller retorted; she gently yanked Stormbreaker toward her and began to gently smooth his fur with her tongue, talking in-between licks. “And, teenager or not…I’m not letting you go to your first Banquet with…uff…a messy coat.”

Indeed, the young yeti-goat had reached the age where he could now, under Caprine law, officially attend the Royal Gatherings and Banquets without getting into serious trouble, and tonight was the night of the first Banquet in celebration of the twenty-fifth year of Grogar’s alliance treaty to unite the Yeti and the Caprinians as one. Granted it was held every year, but this year was particularly important as both princes would now be in attendance, and Stormbreaker knew already that he was going to be ogled at by the spectators worse than a slab of meat in a manticore’s den. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal if I have a ‘messy coat’ to begin with,” he griped, folding his arms as his mother groomed the back of his head. “I’m probably just gonna be the mascot of the entire gathering…I’m the only freaking ‘half-breed’ there, after all.”

Windcaller stopped grooming him for a moment and sighed, shutting her eyes. She placed a palm on Stormbreaker’s cheek, turning his head to face her, and smiled slightly. “Stormbreaker…you’re not a ‘mascot’ to your father; you’re a symbol of HOPE.” She looked down to the side. “We took a lot of risks when we chose to have you…ultimately, though, we went through with it, and I could never be happier that we did. Your father is…well, a hard old goat to figure out, but, he DOES love you…and so do I.”

“So why does—” Stormbreaker was about to finish that sentence with “no one else” but decided against it; he did not want to concern his mother further with his own personal issues. Biting his lower lip, he nodded his head. “I…I know, Mom. I just, uh…” He fought for a proper statement for awhile before continuing. “I…I’m nervous about the whole thing, is all. I mean, Gallyen has told me about the Banquets before, but I’ve, you know, never actually BEEN to one…”

“You’ll be fine.” Windcaller smiled and playfully licked at one of his ears, winking at him. “You’re like your father…stubborn, but a strong presence and will of mind. I’m sure that everyone is going to respect that.”

“Yeah…” Stormbreaker looked off to the side as his voice seemed to trail into the distance; he shook his head to clear his senses. “Uh, anyway…are you, like, done grooming me yet, or do you have to, uh…”

Windcaller sighed and ran a clawed finger across her tongue, looking slightly disdainful. “I have your undercoat all over my tongue…PLEASE tell me that you weren’t shedding again when you took your bath, Stormbreaker…”

“Er…” The young prince became nervous then, his heartbeat quickening as the rising thought that he was in trouble began to sink into his mind. Tucking his tail between his legs slightly, he got to his feet and leapt towards the door, immediately waving and speaking, quite quickly:

“SorryMom Ididn’tmeanit I’llseeyouattheBanquet BYE!”

Before Windcaller could even open her mouth to get a word out, the young prince had slammed the door shut; heaving yet another sigh of irritation, Windcaller shook her head before proceeding to scrape her tongue clean with the dull end of one claw. At the same time, however, she was worried, and that worry was something greater than just a mat of fur coating her tongue at the moment…

“Please, my gods…” She seemed genuinely more concerned with another thing entirely as she cleaned the last of the white fur off of her tongue, and lowered her head slightly, eyes wavering as she looked toward her knees.

“…Don’t let them hurt him…anymore…”

“Land ho!”

Capper and Celaeno looked up from the conversation they had been having to see Boyle hanging off one side of the rig, pointing toward the distance with one claw; he seemed genuinely enthralled and it was obvious to both of them why. Approaching the side of the ship, they looked in the direction that the burly parrot male was pointing to see the misty structure of the Winged Citadel, the capital of Mount Aris, loom into view. Capper smiled, whilst Celaeno gave a sigh of relief.

“We’re gettin’ there,” Capper declared, momentarily reaching down to feel for the daggers he still had pocketed. “Pretty soon we’re all gonna—HEY!”

He gave a shout of surprise as Storm suddenly appeared, zipping up to the side of the ship and pushing his way in-between the young Abyssinian and the parrot woman as he whipped his head from side to side, looking excitable. “Someone say land ho? Are we there? Please tell me we’re close—”

“If you’d shut your fang-toothed mouth and just freaking LOOK, you’d see that we’re close,” Celaeno snapped, pushing against his shoulder and shoving him aside with one talon. She shook her head. “It’s crud like this that got you defeated in the first place, Storm ‘King.’ Pay more attention to your surroundings before you open your big—”

Seeing that Storm was beginning to glower at her in response, Capper once again stepped between the two, pushing them both to the side gently. “Guys, guys...no fightin’, okay? That’s not what we all came here to do, so don’t go startin’ things up when they shouldn’t be around in the first place, you hear?”

“Who was fighting?” Storm replied, though his voice was dripping with sarcasm. He glared at Celaeno, his teeth practically bared. “I was just ‘paying attention to my surroundings,’ is all.”

“And I was merely stating a simple fact,” Celaeno replied, fluffing her feathers slightly; she turned around and headed toward the front of the ship. “But anyway, Capper, you have a point…I’m going to go check on Squabble and Lix; see if they have any information on how close we are.”

“Yeah, you go do that…you go freaking do that!” Storm called after her; Celaeno merely flipped her tail to the side in response (obviously an insult) and for a moment the goat-creature felt like he was going to legit go off the handle again…it was a really good thing Capper was there at the moment. The young cat-being placed a hand on Storm’s shoulder, smiling weakly and shrugging his own shoulder in response to this.

“Feathers really isn’t all that bad,” he tried to explain. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “She just, uh…takes some time to get used to, is all. She’s kinda used to doin’ her own thing, so to speak.”

“I noticed,” Storm replied through clenched teeth, and Capper could do nothing more than offer a nervous grin and shrug in return before letting go of Storm’s shoulder. He sighed and lowered his head a bit, his ears drooping.

“I just don’t want y’all fightin’, okay?” He raised his head a bit, and Storm’s anger toward the belligerent parrot woman faded temporarily as he eyed the cat-being. “Look, this entire trip was…kinda my idea…KINDA…so I feel partly responsible for any bad blood between us, y’know?”

“Whoa, whoa, who said anything about ‘bad blood?’” Storm replied, shaking his head. He held up his hands in defense. “She just…got on my nerves, that’s all. There’s really no need to—”

“Mount Aris is in sight!” Celaeno declared from the bow of the deck, waving toward them—Capper, in particular. “We should be touching down on the base of the kingdom itself fairly soon. Boyle will be in charge of docking the ship, so stay on your toes!”

Capper breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew…thank gods. We finally made it without no problems.” He looked in Celaeno’s direction for a moment, tapping his chin in thought. “Hey Storm, did you notice, like, anything…DIFFERENT…about Feathers lately? Like, I can’t put my paw on it, but something’s kinda off from her normal get-up, y’know what I’m sayin’?”

“She has a new sword,” was all Storm could really say; Capper blinked at this blunt response and eyed Celaeno’s side, where she usually kept her old cutlass…unfortunately the blade was sheathed and only the handle and part of the hilt were visible, but he could, in fact, see that the hilt was far more detailed than that of her cutlass, and it shone like the night sky in gold. He shook his head slightly.

“Huh.” The young Abyssinian looked over at the goat-beast and folded his arms, grinning a bit. “Y’see there, I never noticed the sword. Guess you’re not all that bad at takin’ in your surroundings after all, huh?”

“Uh—” Storm’s eyes popped open at this statement and he appeared rather flabbergasted; Capper’s grin widened and he clapped a paw on Storm’s back before heading toward the bow of the ship.

“Don’t let others doubt ya just yet, Storm,” he encouraged. “There’s a lot more to y’all than meets the eye, it seems.”

Storm still remained silent for a moment, and blinked; this was the first time he could remember that Capper had actually semi-complimented him, and it was incredibly new to hear these types of things. Regardless, he still managed a small smile as he looked gratefully in the cat-being’s direction, nodding his head.

“Maybe you’re right, Capper…maybe you’re right.”

The sounds of snacking were then heard from behind him, and he obviously had had enough experience in this particular field to know who it was. Turning around, he, sure enough, saw Grubber approach, waddling up with a large piece of pumpkin bread in his tiny paws. The little hedgehog paused to take a large bite of the tasty treat before looking up at Storm, then over at Celaeno and Capper.

“What’s goin’ on?” he asked, nibbling another bite off of the loaf; Storm sighed and looked over toward the two, placing his hands on his hips.

“Well, we’ve undoubtedly arrived at Mount Aris…we should be landing fairly shortly,” he informed Grubber; at hearing this Grubber nearly spat out the large chunk of partially-chewed food that filled his mouth and his eyes lit up again.

“R-really?!” The little hedgehog creature seemed even more ecstatic than he was before about reaching Mount Aris, and he stuffed the entire loaf into his mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing before bouncing up and down on his feet. “Oh wow this is gonna be awesome! We may finally get to Tambelon after all! Won’t that be cool?!”

“Y-yeah…if they will let…”

The white-furred creature suddenly came upon a realization and his heartbeat began to quicken as he looked toward the tip of the Winged Citadel, which drew closer and closer with each passing second; there was no doubt they would be landing at the kingdom’s gates soon. At first he thought about concealing himself from view…but no sooner had he thought that, than a low whooshing noise drifted along the air. Gulping a bit, he forced himself to look upward.

Sure enough…the Hippogryphs were already fully aware of their presence; several of them—obviously guards or soldiers due to their armor-clad bodies—were flying along the top and sides of the ship, seemingly scouting the entire vicinity as they circled about. One of them, a small white-spotted creature, was scouting the deck area, and her gaze immediately travelled to Storm. He heard her audible gasp even from where he was standing, and he felt his entire being growing heavy with dread as she darted toward a pair of other guards and began whispering to them.

Naturally, this alerted the other two to his presence aboard the ship, and they looked down at the goat-creature, glaring daggers before flying off toward the Winged Citadel. Storm watched them as they departed, then bit his lower lip, chewing on it nervously to the point where he almost drew blood. Gods damn it…why hadn’t he even considered this scenario before? It was so obvious, and yet…

“Wowwww, the Hippogryphs are so pretty up close,” Grubber declared, his eyes still sparkling, clearly unaware of the situation at hand. He looked up at Storm. “Why do you think they were here? Do they wanna welcome us or somethin’?”

“Yeah…” Storm’s brow furrowed with utter dread as the ship prepared to land, inhaling a breath. He shook his head.

“…But…not in the good way…”

“Take ‘er in nice and steady!” Celaeno declared from the deck, and the goat-creature raised his head, appearing utterly confused. The Hippogryph guards had been in plain sight, and it was clear that something was up…had he been the only one to see them...?

“I can’t believe we’re finally here!” Capper declared, leaning over the edge of the bow in excitement as the ship swerved inward, resting itself at the docks of the kingdom’s Citadel entrance. Leaping backward, he began to head down the deck and toward the side of the ship. “C’mon, Feathers, don’t keep us all waitin’ any longer!”

As Celaeno’s crew prepared to lower the docking ramp, Storm wanted, more than anything, to warn them of what he felt was to come…but for some reason, he remained silent, his jaw tightly shut and his tail between his legs; all he could do was look on with sheer worry and slight fear as the ramp was lowered. Still, he felt himself moving forward as the others prepared to leave the ship…still, he was saying nothing, doing nothing…

“Ah, land.” The parrot woman smiled as she placed a foot upon the ground near the Citadel’s entrance, and twirled around slightly, as if dancing a bit. She chuckled. “Feels good to put my feet down on solid ground after all that time sailing…even if I do love the sky.”

“I’ll say.” Capper smiled in return and took a few small steps forward, looking up at the Citadel’s looming spire with awe. “Wow, they really done fixed up this old place since we were here last…”

Storm then heard the sound of wings beating down on the air and, for some reason, this loosened his voice; he attempted to say something immediately:

“Guys, I think—”

It was far too late, however. By the time he had uttered the third word, a large party of Hippogryph guards appeared from the sky, touching down and landing in a circle around the small party, surrounding them; they folded their wings and raised their heads, their eyes narrowed; their small beak-like mouths twisted in loathing. Celaeno, Capper and Grubber all immediately gasped and drew inward, unaware of what exactly was going on; Storm lowered his head and his ice-blue eyes darted about as he took in their glares of disapproval and hatred. His tail tucked itself in further between his legs and he recoiled slightly. These glares seemed to last for what felt like hours, until a lone Hippogryph—a heavily-armored elite guard with a dark blue coat and lavender mane and tail—stepped forward. He raised his head high.

“We have been made aware that you lot arrived here with a sworn enemy of the Queen,” he declared, his voice as cold and hard as snow-covered steel. His gaze flicked to Storm and he snarled a bit before continuing. “As is the law, you are all hereby placed under arrest for charges of treason and as a potential threat towards Mount Aris.”

Everyone except the goat-creature seemed genuinely surprised and shocked; Celaeno stepped forward. “Wha-what?!” she stuttered, clutching her talon against her chest. “B-but we haven’t even done anything—”

“You’ve done enough by bringing HIM here.” The dark blue Hippogryph turned his head in Storm’s direction. “I don’t know how in the world you managed to come back…but once you are before the Queen herself…”

He spat in Storm’s direction and whipped around, signaling the other guards to follow with the small group in tow, and they began to head into the kingdom of Mount Aris.

“…She will show you NO mercy.”

Author's Note

Guh, finally something done. I strongly feel like this chapter was rushed, but...it does give some insight into what's going to happen in future chapters, so, there's that at least...

Also, yes, the sword Celaeno gets IS important to the story; you'll find out more about it later on, as well as what the "Oath" is all about. Looks like our heroes are in trouble right now though...getting out of this particular scrape won't be easy.

Again, I thank everyone so much for their feedback and attentiveness to this story; you make me feel very happy as a writer and storyteller <3 Thank you again, seriously.

Meeting With Novo

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER TEN

“I—I can’t do this.”

Prince Stormbreaker stood before the entrance to the great Banquet Hall, wracked with utter nervousness; even though he had yet to enter the vast expanse of a room itself, he was already feeling like he was being silently judged. His heart was racing within his chest with such intensity that it was making him visibly tremble. Gallyen, who had been attempting to re-arrange the decorated medals on his own royal uniform sash, looked up momentarily before frowning and taking a step towards him, placing a hoof upon his younger brother’s shoulder.

“Stormy…calm down.” His tone was relatively quiet but encouraging. He stepped around to Stormbreaker’s side. “Look…I know this is your first time attending one of these events, but there’s no need to feel so terrified. They’re not that bad…in fact…” He huffed out of the side of his mouth a bit and looked to one side, seeming unamused. “They’re more boring than anything, really.”

“Gallyen, I’m NOT terrified.” Stormbreaker knew that his tone sounded forced even while he was saying these words, but he had to roll with what he could muster. “I…I just…I don’t want them to stare at me…is all…I guess.” He frowned a bit and looked at the floor, sheepishly fidgeting one hoofed foot. His older brother stared at him for a bit, his current expression telling Stormbreaker for a fact that the young goat did not believe him for one second. Then again, who would; his tone sounded completely unconvincing…

“They’re not going to stare at you. If anything, they’ll probably stuff their faces while ALL chatting amongst themselves about how Father is a mad-goat for even allowing the alliance treaty in the first place. It happens every gods-damn year, and I’m always stuck sitting there having to listen to them complain while I just, like…friggin’ act like a proper young heir…” Gallyen shook his head in disgust and frowned himself, rolling his eyes at the thought of this. “The point is, Stormy…they’re gonna be too busy with themselves to want to deal with either of us. I would just take it as it goes.”

“B-but…” Stormbreaker knew that there was probably no arguing with Gallyen at this point; the older goat had obviously been to these events before and there really was no way to retort against that experience. He exhaled a large breath and looked up at the door handle warily. “Gods…I guess you’re right, Gallyen. Still…it’s kind of hard to—”

“Just go!” Gallyen seemed a bit irritable as he pushed Stormbreaker through the doorway, although his touch implied to the young yeti-goat that he was merely attempting to be playful in his wary state and not much else. The two stumbled across the threshold, in time to see their parents—Grogar, flanked by both Windcaller and Rivvon—standing at the top of the large, velvet-draped stairway that led into the Hall’s interior portion. The two immediately stood to attention; Rivvon gave a disapproving frown while Windcaller warmly smiled at the two. Grogar turned his head to address them.

“About time you mustered up the courage to get through that door,” he told them, attempting to keep his voice lowered. “The rest of the Council and Court members are below us. Please, you two, try to make a good impression…and don’t attempt anything hazardous or inane. You ARE representing the future of Tambelon, after all.”

“Father, you know we would never even attempt such things,” Gallyen responded. He shook his head. “This entire event is highly important to keep our reputation solid with the other higher-ups in the Council of Tambelon. If we act out, well…what kind of heirs to the throne would we even be?”

“Hmph,” Rivvon sneered, wrinkling her small nose at Stormbreaker before turning her head away; Grogar did not seem to notice this and instead turned his attention to the crowd below him. The silver bell around the bangles on his neck glowed brightly and he raised his head, his voice booming:

“Fellow members of the Tambelon Council!”

Upon hearing their king’s voice, the council-members—which, Stormbreaker noticed, mostly consisted of Caprine rams—halted all activity and turned their heads in Grogar’s direction; the old goat bowed his head in respect and addressed them:

“It has been another year, and I am pleased to observe that all of you have kept to good health. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance once again on this evening.” He reared his head back up and continued. “This year will be particularly special, as it marks the first year in which both of my children are in attendance.”

The council-members looked amongst themselves and murmured a bit, seemingly excited by this news, and Grogar nodded toward Stormbreaker and shifted to the side. Stormbreaker looked down upon the small crowd, still concealed by the shadows; he was visibly shaking a bit and attempted with all his might to will his body to remain still. Grogar made the announcement:

“You have known my second wife, the Yeti Matriarch Windcaller, for quite some time now…as Prince Gallyen is my son born of Rivvon’s doing, my second son is born of hers.” He shifted his gaze toward the young yeti-goat, as if on que. “Welcome my younger son, Prince Stormbreaker.”

Stormbreaker eyed his father in befuddlement for a moment, before finally getting the clue that he was supposed to step forward and reveal himself to the council. Gulping down a breath, he shifted his gaze down toward the elder-goats and slowly stepped forward, into the light. Willing himself to remain completely still, he shut his eyes and held his head high. There was no need to be frightened; no need to be alarmed; everything would be fine, just as Gallyen had said…

Almost immediately, he heard a few of the council-members gasp, and there were suddenly quiet, inaudible murmurs from amongst them as they sized him up. Eventually a few of them nodded to each other and turned their heads back in their king’s direction, standing as properly as possible as the one in the direct front, an old-looking, stout, beige-furred ram, bowed his head politely and addressed him:

“My liege…as proud members of the Tambelon Council, we beg of your forgiveness for this rather strange question…however…ah…” He cleared his throat a bit. “We…were unaware of your…rather personal activities, so to speak.”

Grogar raised an eyebrow at this remark, as Windcaller’s eyes narrowed and she clenched one hand into a tight fist at her side. Stormbreaker, although he was still unsure of what was going on, could obviously deduce that this was an insult of some sort, and he lowered his head slightly, blushing in frustration and embarrassment as he eyed the Council warily. This was apparently not going well so far, and it was making his stomach turn with nervousness the more they paused for effect. Grogar finally spoke.

“What do you mean by that, General Lamm?”

Lamm coughed a bit and his gaze shifted to the side before he continued. “I—I don’t mean any offense at all, my liege! We are merely…observing, is all. Truly we are not ones to cast judgement upon our own ruler…I merely meant…”

“What he MEANS, is that this is preposterous.” Another member, a thin, tight-faced doe, placed her hoof forward. “As the overseer of our capital city, I have seen this…RUNT…” She cast a glare in Stormbreaker’s direction. “…Running through the streets with your older son, and I cannot say that I approve. I pray to the gods above that you did not intend to make him our Crown Prince, as well.”

Windcaller immediately stepped forward as well, her features contorted in anger. “Kindly shut your grazing mouth, you hypocritical—”

“Windcaller, enough.” Grogar turned to look at his wife, shaking his head disapprovingly but at the same time silently encouraging her to pull back. The snow-furred female eyed her husband with a look of slight irritation but ultimately stepped back and placed her hands at her sides, still glaring daggers in the Council’s direction, however. The goat turned his head yet again back toward the Council and spoke once more. “My fellow allies…you, as well as all of Tambelon, knows of the alliance treaty that I initiated years ago. My efforts were to ultimately unite the races of Yebit and Tambelon, in an effort to stop the invasion of Argon’s forces—”

“Argon is a MYTH!” The doe spat back; realizing that she had just yelled in a superior’s direction, she immediately flattened her ears and shied backward into the crowd, bowing her head apologetically in the process. Grogar frowned slightly and shook his head in response.

“I have lived on this world for centuries, Lady Jangelle,” he informed her; his tone sounded rather grim now. “Granted, I was not around during the first Titanfall, but it was not long after that, that the demonic creatures started spawning…even now, they still roam outside our gates. We have no hope of even leaving the city without an escort patrol, let alone fighting those vile things one-on-one. Not tomention—” He paused for a moment to look at Stormbreaker, before turning his attention back toward the crowd. “It would only be a matter of time before the very first…EPIDEMIC…occured.”

Jangelle’s features grew tighter as she grimaced; she nodded in response. “I…I suppose that you are correct in that aspect, my King. B-but…can you ultimately assume that this will—”

“We shall discuss this once the Banquet officially starts,” Grogar replied, cutting her off before she finished. He glanced at Stormbreaker through the corner of his eye. “These are pressing issues for the grown members of the Council, not for the young princes to concern themselves with at this moment.”

Jangelle bowed her head respectfully and nodded once more. “Agreed, my King. This is a time for celebration and prosperity, after all…we should indeed tend to these matters at once, but the principle of this event cannot go untended.”

“Glad you see it my way.” The old, blue-gray ram smiled in response before descending down the stairway, Rivvon and a still-ruffled Windcaller following in his wake; the other council-members disbanded in small groups across the hall, chattering amongst themselves and indulging in the meal offered off to the side. Stormbreaker watched them below, still standing at the top of the stairs; he tilted his head slightly in confusion.

Epidemic…?

“Hey.” The yeti-goat felt Gallyen’s presence at his side; the older goat eyed the other members of the Council as they went about their festivities before turning to his brother. “What was that about? Was Father only trying to get them to back off, or…?”

“I…I don’t know.” Stormbreaker shook his head in response, still looking utterly confused. “But you saw how angry Mom was over that one remark the doe made…still, it’s not like him to lie at all. He might have been referring to something when he said ‘epidemic’ but I have no idea what—”

“Er…it’s…best not to get too caught up over that.” Gallyen’s face flushed slightly and he stepped behind the white-furred creature, gently pushing him forward with the bridge of his nose. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat, Stormy. I haven’t really had a decent bite all day and I dunno about you, but I’m half-starved.”

Stormbreaker eyed Gallyen with the same look of confusion for a moment before finally giving in to Gallyen’s prodding and descending the stairs to be with the others; his mind was still clouded with doubt and curiosity now, however. He had remembered, clear as day, being taught Tambelon’s history personally over the course of three years and not once had his father nor mother ever mentioned something about an “epidemic.” The demons; yes. Argon; yes. The Titanfall; definitely.

But nothing about an epidemic at all.

Something was going on…

“Ugh…!” Celaeno grunted slightly as a feathered wing invaded her personal bubble and she stepped to the side a bit, raising one arm to protect herself. “Q-quit shoving so much!”

“Silence.” The dark-blue Hippogryph turned back to sneer at her, the tufts of his ears flattening slightly against his skull. He narrowed his eyes at the parrot woman. “You are prisoners of the Queen; you are NOT inclined to speak until you are in her presence.”

Storm eyed the guard with a weary expression before turning his head to observe his current surroundings; after the guards had confined them at the landing point they had begun to take them directly toward the throne room, which apparently was located on a ledge inside the Winged Citadel itself—then again, that was not a surprise at all. What was, ultimately, was how damned high up the place was located. The path that led there was, fortunately, not a steep nor stair-covered one; however it was incredibly long and tedious to ascend, especially with the guards constantly forcing them to tread forward and stay in a singular unit. Grubber had become exhausted halfway through and was now resting on Capper’s back, and Storm himself could feel the pain in the pads of his own hooves increasing by the second.

Now he suddenly remembered from before…he HATED Hippogryph architecture.

“You’re damned lucky that I don’t throw you off this mountain where you stand, you wretched scum.” The Hippogryph guard leader focused his attention on the yeti-goat now, his teeth bared as he eyed him with utter disdain. “Our Queen had informed us that you were gone for good after the events that took place months ago in the Equestrian lands…I suppose SOME news is apparently too good to be true.”

Storm glowered at him in response and despite his current situation he opened his mouth. “I was—”

The guard whipped around faster than an angry bull and lunged forward, jamming his muzzle against Storm’s nose as his lips pulled back further to reveal his gums alongside his clenched teeth. To say he was glaring daggers was an understatement in this case. “I. SAID. SILENCE.”

Storm recoiled slightly in surprise, but after getting his bearings snarled in response and snapped his jaw shut, though the irritation in his features was clearly evident. Part of him wanted to introduce his fist to this punk bird-horse’s eye socket for humiliating him in that manner, but he knew that if he riled one of the guards up, the others would attack and THEN they would be in serious trouble. He forced himself to withhold from such actions and continued to follow the group.

After about five, possibly ten more minutes of walking, the group finally approached the great archway of the throne room’s entrance; motioning for the guards to remain with the “prisoners,” the lead Hippogryph trotted up to the large, heavily-adorned doors and addressed the two guards positioned at the front. Storm raised his head slightly as he watched him converse with them; they seemed appalled for a moment before they turned to look at him directly and immediately donned expressions that made them look like they had just witnessed a demonic blood ritual. Heaving a sigh of frustration, he lowered his head, his shoulders hunched as he slumped over. This was getting to be a bit much…

Finally the doors creaked open, the rusty squealing sound echoing through the elegant stone architectural structures as they shuddered slightly in response to this. The dark-blue Hippogryph turned his head toward the group and motioned again, this time for the guards to follow. Prodding the group forward, they continued over the threshold and into the main hallway.

The place was very amazingly well-adorned for something that had been abandoned for so long, and it appeared that other Hippogryphs were hard at work restoring elegance and glory to the Citadel once more. The entire ceiling curved upward, ornate carvings and murals scratched into and painted on its surface, depicting what were apparently great moments in Hippogryph history. The pillars on either side of the walls, supporting the glorious structure, were covered in dead ivy, although new leaves were beginning to grow from beneath the brown, withered leaves that had been left behind. Beautiful windows, largely vertical and heavily adorned with gold and what appeared to be bone ivory, were aligned in a row on either side; the morning sun cast beautiful rays of orange and gold across the royal purple carpet that protected the marbled stone floor. At the end of the lavish hallway were a pair of thrones; one large and just as glamorous as the rest of the place, the other small and more modest. Storm raised his head again as he saw who exactly sat upon the main throne, and he felt something sink in the pit of his stomach.

“Your Highness!” The Hippogryph captain raised his head high, spreading his wings as he approached the lavender-white being upon the throne; Novo paused from filing her claws for a moment and looked up in slight surprise.

“General Constelle!” She declared, slightly taken aback; immediately hiding the file beneath her feathered coat, she ruffled her chest feathers and shook her head slightly, sighing a bit. “I TOLD you not to bother me durin’ restoration hours…this had better be important for you to—”

Her gaze traveled past the dark-blue Hippogryph (Constelle) and locked directly into Storm’s; for a moment utter silence seemed to descend upon the area as the two eyed each other. Novo’s irises seemed to tremble slightly, and her eyes narrowed in pure anger, as Storm tried to break from her stare and look down at the floor, uncertain of what to say, or how to even feel for that matter. He could, yet again, feel his heart hammering in his chest from unadulterated anxiety. Being in front of a Hippogryph guard in his current state was one thing, but the Queen herself…?

“These outsiders landed near the midway point of the Winged Citadel, my Queen,” Constelle informed her, bowing his head slightly in respect towards Novo. He glanced toward the others. “Apparently they have…quite an INTERESTING member in tow. We confined the traitors as soon as we were able, and we await your directions to—”

“Bring him here.”

Constelle blinked in surprise. “I, um…pardon?”

“Bring. Him. HERE.” Novo repeated each word as if it were a separate phrase entirely, her teeth bared as she eyed Storm with pure venomousness. Her feathers began to fluff out from her body and she got to all fours, standing up tall as she approached the edge of the throne pedestal. Constelle suddenly came back to realization and bowed apologetically before whipping around to face the group.

“YOU.” The guards spread out in formation to either side as the dark-blue Hippogryph approached the small group; before the white-furred beast could even begin to realize what was going on, Constelle roughly snagged him around the collar and yanked him forward forcefully. “With me, you cloven-hooved freak.”

Storm felt himself being practically dragged forward towards the Hippogryph queen, closer and closer, until Constelle tightened his grip and literally threw him forward, causing him to cry out in surprise and land roughly on his side in front of the throne pedestal itself. The landing ultimately bruised his shoulder, and he gave a yelp of pain as he clutched at it, lost for a moment due to the pulsing agony within his left arm. He wasn’t sure of it, but he was pretty damned certain he could hear Constelle snickering at this…

“Storm King.”

The goat-being’s gaze traveled upward as he heard Novo address him—at least, by his former title—and he clambered to his feet, until Novo spoke again, her tone firm and cold as a Northern glacier:

“On your knees.”

He wasn’t sure why, exactly, but he immediately obeyed, kneeling down before the royal Hippogryph as she continued to eye him disgustedly, but she cracked a small smile at seeing him before her like this for a very brief moment in time before continuing, her voice still firm:

“Now then…Storm King. You are probably already well-aware of why we took you prisoner on sight. Your actions toward the kingdom of Mount Aris, and my subjects, were brutal, merciless, and utterly unforgivable. You drove my people off of land and forced us into the Great Sea from fear, attacked my royal court, destroyed my kingdom, and proceeded to ravage the remains. Y’all are lucky I didn’t choose to execute you on SIGHT.”

Storm’s tail curled slightly around his leg and he mustered the courage to look up at her before responding. “I, uh…” He shook his head slightly, attempting to form the words properly in his own defense, even though he knew deep within him that there was nothing he could say that would justify his actions to her. “You…um…Novo, was it…?”

Novo’s eyes widened in disbelief, before she clenched her teeth in anger and stomped her back hoof. “You mean you don’t even remember my NAME?!” She spat the last word like venom from a cobra’s mouth, and the goat-creature winced slightly at this.

“Please, I only—”

“All you do is TAKE.” Novo glared darkly at him as she spoke. “You took, and took, and never ONCE considered the consequences of your actions, nor what would happen to those whom you overthrew. Your tyranny cost MANY species their homes, their freedom, and even their LIVES. And what do you do, even? You just either move on and not give a care, or sit back and watch it burn. You utterly DISGUST me. If it were up to me and me alone, I would make sure of it that you had REMAINED dead.”

These words hit way too close to home, and almost immediately Storm felt something strike his heartstrings like a lead arrow; grimacing a bit, he clutched at his chest with one hand, doubling over. Novo raised an eyebrow at this, but her features continued to remain cold as she watched him for a few moments…he was shuddering a bit, and for one fraction of a second—

Forgive me

—She almost reconsidered her reprimanding him due to the fact he appeared to be showing signs of emotion, something she had never seen before. This thought process was utterly shattered, however, when Constelle spoke up:

“Your Highness…I strongly encourage that we instill harsh punishment upon this monster. His actions are not to be taken lightly in any concept of the matter, and ultimately one must answer for their crimes.” His gaze turned slightly sinister as he eyed Storm. “Might I suggest execution…?”

“NO!”

Both Novo and Storm looked in the direction of the defiant shout, in time to see Grubber scrambling over Capper’s head, having awoken during the “lecture” earlier; the young Abyssinian was trying his best to maintain his posture whilst having his fur and ears pushed down into his face by the little hedgehog-being. The guards were eyeing him with cautious expressions, but so far were not making any moves to do anything. Panting a bit, Grubber spoke, his voice defying and frantic:

“I won’t let you hurt Storm! I know that he’s done some bad stuff, n’ that he’s made you guys really upset, but…but I’ll be damned if I stand by while you suggest to kill him!”

Grubber… Storm’s eyes wavered a bit as he eyed his companion, but he made no attempt to move or speak for fear that it would further anger the Queen into severe action. Novo tilted her head a bit and seemed to eye the little hedgehog thoughtfully, as if considering something, but her general was going to have nothing of it…

“Silence, little creature,” Constelle sneered in response, turning up his nose a bit. “You know nothing of the situation at hand, and you have no say in—”

“Storm ISN’T a bad guy!” Grubber cried out in response, nearly slipping forward over Capper’s head. “He…yeah, he’s done some really bad things in the past, like I said…b-but…but that’s the PAST! Are you really gonna judge him now, over something that he already paid for?!” Tears glistened within his eyes now, and he lowered his head a bit, still eyeing Novo.

“He…already died once…what’s the point of making him die again…?”

For a moment, there was complete and utter silence from Novo’s end, as she drew her head back and her eyes seemed to widen a bit, as if realizing something that she had not originally seen nor considered beforehand. Capper, who had been attempting for the past while to get Grubber off of his head, finally succeeded, wrapping his fingers around the little hedgehog’s waist and tugging him off before allowing him to plop onto the floor. He shook his head, running one paw through his navy-blue shock of hair in an attempt to straighten it, before addressing the situation as well:

“Grubber’s right, y’know. If y’all think of it in a sense, Storm’s already been punished with somethin’ we ALL know is the ultimate sentence for a crime.” He looked around before continuing. “Now I mean no disrespect here, but y’all need to consider that the past actions don’t really always reflect the current state. Storm’s…still pretty bull-headed and naïve, yeah—” He caught a glimpse of Storm eyeing him with a look out of the corner of his eye— “But really, he’s not a threat anymore. Do y’all really think, that he’s gonna attempt to overthrow you again with no army, no weapons, no method of execution, and really no strategy at all?”

Novo was silent for a moment before attempting to speak. “Well…I have to say that—”

“M-my Queen, you surely are not taking these…STATEMENTS…into consideration?!” Constelle declared, eyeing her with slight panic. He stepped forward. “These ROGUES entered the borders of Mount Aris without permission, not to mention that they had a SEVERELY dangerous and hated member in tow—”

“Constelle.”

The Hippogryph general stopped his rambling for a brief moment and lowered his head slightly. “Y-yes, my Queen?”

Novo looked down at him with an acknowledging expression. “The Hippogryph code, as it is established, and will forever be established as such, is Honor above all else. Y’all DO remember that, right?”

Constelle’s gaze shifted to the side momentarily. “Well, of course, but—”

“Then desist.” Novo looked over at Capper. “I remember you quite well, Abyssinian…you were the one in the crowd with my daughter when the chaos passed. Although memories of that day have been faint since the re-taking of Mount Aris, you are still considered an ally for your heroic deeds and because of that lone factor, I am willing to listen.”

Capper’s ears rose slightly and he smiled a bit; hope had once again returned. “R…really?”

Novo nodded in response. “Verily. Just…don’t take it too heavily into consideration; it would bother me quite a bit if you took too much advantage of the situation.”

“N-not at all!” Capper’s lips once more split into a grin and he placed one paw on his chest, dipping into a bow. “Your Highness…I may be a former thief and all, but if there’s one thing I do know, it’s the value of Honor amongst y’all. On behalf of all of us, I thank you for your willingness to listen to me.”

“Hey! H-hey!” A startled voice rang out from the entrance to the throne room and the doors flew open once again; this time a pair of Hippogryph head guards entered, their beaks clamped around the ear-tufts of a smaller, yellow-beige Hippogryph with a blue mane and tail…

Novo’s attention drifted from the situation as she raised her head. “Skystar!” she declared, her voice a mixture of both anger and relief; the smaller Hippogryph looked up at her.

“Mom!” she exclaimed, attempting to bring her head forward but almost tugging off her ears in the process due to the guards’ hold; she grunted a bit and fell back. “Owww…”

“Haven, Salina, please release her,” Novo addressed the two guards; eyeing her, they both nodded and simultaneously released their hold on Skystar’s ears. The beige Hippogryph tumbled forward a bit, before steadying herself and looking up at her mother with a weak, sheepish grin. Novo eyed her discerningly and proceeded to speak:

“Where have you BEEN, Princess Skystar?! You’ve been out since early this morning and I have been worried SICK about you…to the point where I had to send Haven and Salina out after you, in fact!”

“I’m sorry Mom…” Skystar’s ears lowered and she gave an apologetic frown as her attention traveled to the side, away from her mother’s angry stare. She fidgeted with one claw slightly. “I was just, uh, helping the others with restoration…I was out getting—”

“Our reports say otherwise.” Salina gave an unamused expression, raising one eyebrow a bit. “We found young Princess Skystar out near the Sea of Clouds again. Granted, it wasn’t anywhere near the Sea of Defilement, but—”

“I…I was only crossing that area because I was searching for a trade merchant ship!” The young Hippogryph huffed and inflated her cheeks slightly in frustration. “I wanted to get a high-grade adhesive for restoring the statues…the ones we have here don’t do NEARLY as good a job as the—huh?” Her ever-flitting attention span then rested on Storm, and she gasped a bit. “Wh-what are you doing—MOM, what is HE doing here?!”

Novo’s attention turned back to the white-furred beast and she looked over. “Oh…uh…” She smiled nervously and blushed a bit; Storm gave her the same look he had given Capper earlier as she had clearly forgotten that he was even there during the chiding of her daughter. “Constelle found him and a couple others near the landing to the Citadel. Don’t worry though…he’s harmless, at least against our forces, and the ones who were with him are apparently former allies of ours.”

“Allies…?” Skystar looked over toward the others, now, and her eyes immediately lit up like stars; Storm gave an exasperated sigh as, yet again, his presence was utterly forgotten about. “Ooh! Oh, oh, oh…Capper! Capper!!” She bounded over to the young cat-being and grinned hugely. “Remember me? I’m Skystar! Y’know, the one that helped you save the day back in Equestria?”

Capper’s cheeks darkened a bit and he looked off to the side. “Oh…Sk-Skystar…yeah, uh, I was meanin’ to—”

“This is SO GREAT!” Skystar brought her nose up close to his, to the point where they were practically touching, her eyes still glittering brilliantly. “Oh. Man. Like, SOOOOO much has happened here since we last had a chance to talk! I swear, everything has been SO. GREAT. Around here! We’re working on restoring Mount Aris…also, we got a trade declaration with Equestria about maybe, uh…something-odd months ago, but we got one with Klugetown as well, so we sent out the very first shipment there...and then, we, uh…”

When she stopped to take a breath was when Capper saw an opportunity to finally ask Novo something that had been on his mind since the second he had heard the words “trade declaration;” he reached out and politely placed a finger to Skystar’s muzzle. “Th-that’s nice, Princess…say, uh, Your Highness Novo, can I ask y’all somethin’ real quick-like?”

Novo tilted her head a bit, looking puzzled, but nodded in response. “Yes, you may…what exactly do you want to know?”

Removing his finger and nodding at Skystar, he moved both paws into his coat, rummaging around the waist area. “So…it was kind of a bad time to mention this t’ y’all earlier, and there’s really more of a story to go with it, but, I need to know something in general…”

He withdrew the daggers from his coat and held them both out in front of Novo, displaying them for all to see; Constelle’s head jerked back, Skystar’s eyes widened, and both Haven and Salina gasped in terror and shock. Novo’s expression turned to one of utter horror and her mouth dropped open, her irises again quivering but this time from fear. She could only manage to say one thing after what seemed like an eternity of silence:

“Wh-where did you get those…?”

Author's Note

And again, I have mixed feelings with this chapter; part of me thinks it's great yet another part of me feels that I rushed it again. Ah well...

Also, Constelle, believe it or not, plays a big role in the events to happen at Mount Aris, but I'm not disclosing a lot happening beyond that point. Just note his general behavior towards Storm and the others; that's all I'm gonna say for right now. ;P

The other chapters probably aren't gonna be as wordy as this one was either; I'm trying to stick to around 4K words average per chapter but this one dragged on a little more than I expected. Was almost thinking of cutting out Skystar's part when I started writing it but then ultimately left it in and continued...glad I did now.

Tale of The Titanfall

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“So, um…”

Capper paused to take in his surroundings for what appeared to be the third time before looking back at Novo and Skystar, one of his ears twitching a bit. His expression was one of both befuddlement and curiosity. “Why, uh…why’d y’all choose to bring us here again, of all places?”

“You’ll soon find out,” Novo informed them, nodding in his direction as she descended the final step; for some reason after hearing Capper’s tale of the daggers, Novo had insisted that the entirety of the group—Storm included—follow her lead, which apparently was down a painstakingly long flight of stairs into the heart of the Citadel’s basement chamber. Pausing to eye one front claw for a moment, she lifted her head and began to strut toward a small wooden door. “I apologize for the walk y’all had to take to get down here, but…we hid this chamber in the Citadel for a reason…uh…” Her eyes shifted toward Storm with a furrowed brow; Storm threw up his hands, eyes rolling.

“I get it, I GET IT.” He folded his arms tightly across his chest and huffed a bit. “As if I’d even come down this stupid flight of stairs myself anyway…”

Novo glowered at him a bit before continuing. “SO…as I was saying, back when your ‘friend’ here was still in power, the Hippogryph race was tasked with protecting and preserving the history of the worlds that lay beyond the Sea of Defilement, as well as safeguarding our own. In order for the things that lie beyond this door NOT to fall into the wrong claws…”

She raised one claw to the center of the door and began moving it in a motion as if she were painting something.

“…We made this specific chamber to contain them, should such an event ever arise.” She removed her claw from the door and raised her head. “Behold.”

The group looked on in awe (for the most part; Storm still appeared unamused) as an arcane circle of pure lavender light came into view, glowing brightly in the darkness of the chamber in what appeared to be the exact array of lines Novo had originally traced on the door. The inner symbol flashed twice before turning to the side like a key in a lock and fading away, as the door gave and creaked open. Novo smiled to herself and nodded a bit before looking toward the others.

“Arcana Sealium spell,” she informed them, sounding a tad boastful in the process. She winked at Capper. “We Hippogryphs still have a few tricks up our sleeves as well. This one in particular was passed down through centuries of research into Equestrian magic.”

Capper smiled a bit in response, folding his arms and giving a nod of approval. “Not bad, Queenie, not bad. Still, wouldn’t recommend makin’ a door outta wood next time. One good blow shoulda done the trick back in the day…”

Novo shot him an irritated glance, but decided to brush that statement aside and waved a talon toward the entrance. “Well, we’d best get this over with as soon as possible, regardless. The sooner you know the secrets of what you possess, the sooner you will know what exactly is in store for you.”

“It’s much appreciated, Novo.” Celaeno bowed her head politely in response, and for a brief moment of time her own talon seemed to shift toward the side of her belt, where the hilt of her sword was still visible. She violently shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind and blushed a bit. “Uh, we…we really do appreciate that you were willing to listen to us…you know…” She glanced over at Storm in disapproval. “…Despite the fact we decided to drag HIM along.”

“Hey, I—” Storm began, raising up a finger in objection, but quickly snapped his jaw shut once he saw the near-death-glare the parrot woman was giving him. He grumbled to himself and kicked a bit at the dusty floor with one hoof. “Gods, whatever.”

“Y’all are welcome to enter this chamber and discover what lies ahead. However...” Now it was Novo’s turn to death-glare Storm. “Storm King…or should I say, ‘Storm,’ as they’re choosing to refer to you as…if you even DARE to step one of your dirty, cloven hooves outta line, I’ll bring the fury of the Hippogryph race down upon your sorry ass faster than a creature can blink.” She brought her muzzle close to his at the last word, baring her molars as she did so, and Storm recoiled a bit from the sudden motion of this move, eyeing her with a mixture of befuddlement and apprehension. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?!”

“Gods, YES.” Storm’s tone was one of irritation more than anything, which he wasn’t originally intending to imply but it slipped out regardless. “Do you really think I could do anything about it anyway? Like, the most I could do is like, get Grubber to trip you over…or something.” His eyes shifted to the side as he realized how utterly stupid that sounded, and decided that perhaps it was best to keep his mouth shut for a small duration as it was clearly not helping his cause. Novo shook her head and turned her attention back toward the doorway.

“We call this area the Chamber of History,” she began, as she took a step into the room; immediately a flood of violet light shimmered upward from beneath her front talon and spread across the room. Storm could faintly hear Skystar giggling with anticipation and both Grubber and Capper gasping in awe as the full chamber came into view, and, once adjusting to the light’s radiance, eyed it himself, slowly following the others in. Novo continued:

“This chamber is a secret, and important, area in the Citadel, and for good reason too.” She smiled as the young Abyssinian and the little hedgehog’s eyes simultaneously glimmered in wonder at the relics and shelves strewn out before them, their smiles brighter than the hue of the light that they were currently bathed in. “As I was saying before…the Hippogryph race takes great pride in its history and lessons of the past…possibly things to come, as well.”

Celaeno looked up from a small figurine she was viewing on a glass pedestal and furrowed a brow slightly. “What do you mean by, ‘things to come?’”

“Prophecies,” was all Novo replied with. She turned around to face them, the violet light somehow giving her an appearance that unusually displayed more regality than normal. “It’s part of why I brought you here. Those daggers…the ones that the Abyssinian currently possesses…”

She sucked in a breath, lowering her head, before looking them in the eye and opening her mouth. “I know—”

“Ooh, ooh!” Skystar’s eyes immediately lit up and she grinned from ear to ear, bounding forward eagerly. She twisted in a circle anxiously before bringing her face up close to her mother’s. “Mom, Mom! I know the story you’re gonna tell…can I tell it? Please?” When Novo eyed her with a disgruntled expression, her eyes wavered playfully. “Pretty please? I did a really good job with it last time, and—”

Novo heaved an irate sigh before rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. “Very well…fine. If y’all wanna tell it, I won’t stop you. Not like I could, at this point.”

“Eee, yay!” Skystar squealed with glee before bouncing around on her feet a few times and folding her wings, facing the others. Her smile was more illuminated than the room itself at this point. “Okay, guys…I’m gonna tell you a really, really, REALLY awesome story now. I think some of you may have heard of it before, but I’m gonna recap anyway.” She giggled a bit and began bounding toward one of the nearby walls. “It’s a mythical story passed down through ONLY oral tradition the past, like, a thousand years or something…the story of the Titanfall.”

Capper’s ears immediately pricked at these words. “Hold on a minute…y’all said ‘the Titanfall’ just now, right? I wasn’t, like, hearin’ things again or whatever?”

“Nope.” Skystar merely gave a silly grin in response to this; the little Hippogryph princess could probably not be in a more ecstatic state if she tried. “I said I’m gonna tell the story of the Titanfall to you, and by the gods is it gonna be really good!” She squeaked a bit and shut her eyes before turning toward the wall. “Er, anyway…let’s see if I can remember how to…okay!”

She smiled and traced a claw along the base of the wall as it flickered with faint light before a shimmering visage came into play, revealing what appeared to be a…six-eyed goat? Capper wasn’t entirely sure, and he raised a brow, but decided to remain quiet and listen, his ears alert for any information that may prove useful. This was the first time he was hearing the tale and, by the gods, he was going to burn it into his memory if need be. Skystar began:

“Okay, so…a long, long time ago…I think maybe two thousand years or something? Anyway, there was a land to the West called…well, we don’t really know what it was called anymore, sadly…but we refer to it instead as the ‘Land of Trinity.’ Originally the place was really scary…like, seriously scary. It was ruled by a Demon overlord only known to mortal creatures as ‘Argon’.”

Grubber cocked his head slightly, nibbling on one finger a bit in confusion. “’Kay, so, again, I heard the story before, but I need to know exactly, since you’re good on history n’ all…what exactly is a Demon? Like, I know they’re from a world beyond our own…but…”

“Demons are, for the most part, manifestations of negativity in our world,” Novo interrupted, stepping forward for a brief moment. Her tone was grim. “Because they thrive on negativity and darkness, they are beyond the point of reason, and therefore are considered a high threat to all forms of life as we know it.” She paused for a moment as she saw Storm’s eyes waver and he turned his head away for a brief moment, in…

…Was that shame she saw…?

She frowned a bit but decided to dismiss it for now; it probably was nothing. Skystar nodded her head vigorously and continued:

“So, Argon was an evil force known as a ‘Titan’, which is I guess what they call Demon overlords in their world. He was probably named so due to his size, or power or something…I dunno really.” She brought a talon to her mouth and blushed a bit in embarrassment. “Sorry…a lot of the information we know is kinda…like, vague. The ancestors refused to write it down, so we can only gather stuff we know from stories.”

“That’s fine, Skystar,” Celaeno encouraged, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow curiously. “Please, continue. Vague or not, I want to hear this.”

“Okay.” The young Hippogryph nodded her head and looked up toward the wall, as the vivid lines of light re-arranged themselves to depict an image of the goat-monster emerging from what looked like a volcano. “Anyway…Argon was feared throughout the entire Land of Trinity because of his immense hold over Demon armies. His realm was a huge volcano in the center of the land, where he was always seen looming over the entire area, terrifying its citizens to their very cores!”

She flicked a wing slightly; the light became an image of three creatures in separate frames. Capper, Celaeno and Grubber all raised their eyebrows in unison; they had never seen beings that looked like this before. The princess smiled and raised her front talon to the frame, pointing each one out:

“But then, something amazing happened! The three leaders of the races uniting the lands decided to band together to stop Argon. They were the noble Yeti…” The image of a large, furry, almost ape-like creature began to glow brighter than the others. Skystar smiled and brought a talon to her chest.

“The brave Caprinians…”

The light shifted its focus now to the image of what appeared to be a muscular goat-being, and as Novo continued to observe, she saw, once again, a flicker in Storm’s eyes as he eyed the etching with a quivering jaw. Her eyebrow raised, she looked over at the etching for a moment before Skystar added again:

“…And finally, the third race, a group of dog-beings known as the Corgians.” The third image flickered into focus, revealing the visage of a creature that was obviously canine in nature, but had larger, pointed ears and a stout appearance. The light swirled and faded and Skystar looked at the group. “These three species didn’t always get along, though. For a very, very long time, the races were locked in a conflict amongst each others’ belief systems and traditions. They weren’t really the type to fight, but mainly kept to themselves and did not negotiate with the other lands.”

“What happened to them?” Celaeno tilted her head a bit inquisitively. “How have we never seen any of these races beyond this point?”

Storm was visibly trembling now, his tail tucked between his legs as he looked down at the floor, clutching his chest. Novo could tell that he knew something about this, and it was obviously inducing a mild state of trauma in the goat-creature, but why…she didn’t know, and the curiosity was gnawing at her psyche to the point where she almost demanded him to speak. Somehow, though…she kept herself silent.

Now didn’t appear to be the time to pry.

She struggled to turn her attention to her daughter; Skystar lowered her head a bit. “Well…now is kinda where it gets sad, guys. Because of Argon’s influence, um…” She shut her eyes tightly. “The Corgians…are extinct. Argon ravaged their land before the Titanfall and destroyed everything. I…I don’t think many of the poor things escaped with their lives.” Her eyes wavered a bit as she opened them, appearing saddened. “I…I don’t know what happened to the Yeti or Caprinians…but…”

She paused to clear her throat, and attempted to regain her happy composure. “Th-that’s not the point, though. The point is, after the destruction of the Corgian race…Royden, the last Corgian, decided to put aside his differences and approach the Caprinians and Yeti with a request.”

The young Hippogryph raised her head and nodded, fluffing the feathers on her chest a bit. “That request…was to band together, and defeat Argon!”

Grubber plopped down on the floor and looked up, like a young child during story time. “How’d they manage to do that?”

“Ooh, that’s where it gets fun.” The light returned to Skystar’s eyes and she giggled with delight, prancing a bit on her feet. “Okay, okay, so…” She gestured toward the wall again, as the image of a small band of warriors came into view. “The Caprinians and Yeti both agreed to Royden’s idea, and they gathered a small band of their best warriors AND representatives who could fight! Along with Royden himself, there were six others, all consisting of the strongest leaders and fighters from the remaining races. Three Caprinians, and three Yeti…I think.” She paused for a moment to tap below her beak in thought. “But anyway, they all knew that defeating Argon was not going to be an easy task. Demons have tough skin that most of our weaponry would just bounce off of, and of course since Argon was a big evil Demon lord, he was the worst of all.” She leapt forward and landed in front of Grubber, bringing her face close to his. “He was fearsome and cruel, and some even claimed his skin was made of magma because you’d BURN when you came near it!”

She put a lot of emphasis on the last sentence, nearly shouting a few of the words, and Grubber yelped and almost fell backward, trembling all over as he wrapped his tail around his stubby legs. Skystar giggled a bit and reached out to pat him on the head in apology.

“Sorry,” she said, although she couldn’t contain the mirth in her tone. “But seriously, Argon wasn’t an easy foe to defeat, obviously. Many had tried throughout the history of the races, and many had failed. But, Royden and the others were smart! They found out that the volcano contained a special type of ore that could be smelted into weaponry, and they also knew that it was the ONLY thing that could damage him.”

“Argosteel,” Capper whispered, his green eyes growing wide as he came upon this realization. He looked down toward where he had sheathed the daggers. “So…wait, y’all are tellin’ me that—”

“Yes.” Skystar nodded. “Those daggers you have…they were originally created to battle and destroy Argon.”

“There were seven weapons in all.” Novo stepped forward, raising her head. “All of differing types, and one for each warrior destined to fight Argon. They were all crafted from Argosteel, and each one possesses a special ability. Those, in question, were originally called the ‘Destroyers of Hate’ and were wielded by a Yeti rogue.”

“S-so…Baalade wasn’t lyin’…” Capper’s jaw dropped a bit and he stumbled backward, rubbing at one of his temples with a paw. “Oh man, this is a lotta stuff to process right now…”

“I know, right?” Grubber replied, looking up at him. “You’d expect a merchant like that to lie WAY more often than he should.”

Capper paused for a moment to give Grubber a perplexed look, as Novo added: “The runes etched into the blades are the symbols of the Yeti for ‘hope’ and ‘mercy’, which is what each blade was named after. Because the weapons were smelted from Argosteel, it is believed, through oral tradition at least, that the weapons possess some sort of sentience to the world around them. Not just ANYONE can wield those daggers…the weapon must interact directly with its master in order to be used with proper skill. Rather, the user doesn’t choose the weapon…”

She looked Capper directly in the eyes, her expression serious as the word could possibly get.

“…The weapon instead chooses its user.”

Capper’s pupils seemed to narrow a bit and he shook his head, taking a shaky step backward as he eyed her in utter shock and disbelief. “No…no, there ain’t no way. I’m just a simple city kit. There’s NO way in absolute Hell that these things would choose—”

Don’t be afraid.

Capper’s ears flicked upright and he blinked, as the voice entered his head again. He recognized it all too well…it was the same voice he had heard during the battle with the Sand Kraken, when he had wielded the daggers for the very first time.

Her voice.

I won’t, he thought to himself in response, hoping the voice could hear him as he shut his eyes and heaved a deep breath. I won’t be afraid. Not anymore.

He raised his head, and a glint of determination shone within his eyes. “Okay then…but, obviously there were six other warriors we’re all talkin’ about, right? What were the six other weapons, and do y’all still have ‘em?”

“After the—” Novo began, but Skystar pranced in front of her, looking slightly offended. She seemed to draw her beak into a very mild pout, at least, as pouty as a beak could possibly get.

“Heyyyy!” Her voice seemed a bit hurt. “Mom, lemme tell them the rest of the story first! I was just getting to the good part, too!”

“Princess Skystar—” Novo began to chide her again but sighed midway and shook her head. “Fine, fine.” She placed a talon against her forehead. “Just, please wrap it up quick, okay? Now that our guests know, it’s imperative that we inform them of what’s to come.”

“I’m gonna cover thaaaaat,” Skystar replied, sighing herself before looking over at the others. Her smile immediately returned; nothing could keep this Hippogryph down for very long, it seemed. “Anyway...okay, Mom said to make this as brief as possible, so I’m gonna tell you what I know in general for now. So, Royden and the others smelted these seven weapons, right? After they were crafted, the seven brave heroes traveled to Argon’s domain…the volcano in the dead-center of the land. They faced many challenges and cut down hundreds of Demons in their path! And eventually, there he was, rising from the magma in the crater…”

She lowered her front legs and spread her back ones, as if preparing to pounce, and gave her tail a swish as she spread her wings.

“…Argon HIMSELF.”

Grubber gave a shocked gasp and brought both paws to his mouth, eyes wide, and Skystar grinned before bringing herself back upright, folding her wings in the process. “A huge battle took place then…the seven heroes versus everything Argon had. Argon fought viciously, but the others refused to give up! They continued with everything they had, every ounce of mind, body and spirit! Then…”

She gestured toward the wall again, as the light-etched image of three appendages—a hoof, a paw, and what appeared to be an apelike hand—appeared, grasping a staff of some sort in unison. Turning toward the wall, she looked up, her eyes glittering as she said the next part:

“Wielding the Staff of Trinity, a relic weapon crafted from the very essences from the fallen souls of all the lives lost…the three leaders combined their power into one incredible force. Together as one, they unleashed something so amazingly strong that it was enough to send Argon into the depths from whence he came. But…it came with a price.” She turned back toward the others. “Royden…I don’t know why, exactly…but he leapt into the fray in order to ensure Argon was downed for good. He lost his life in the process, ending the Corgian race as we know it today…” She shut her eyes and lowered her head to one side, trembling a bit. “…I…I’m sorry. I always get sad when I tell this part of the story. And…to make it worse, despite Royden’s noble sacrifice…Argon, he…”

She choked up a bit at the last part, and Novo stepped toward her, stretching a wing and wrapping it around her daughter’s shoulder. The older Hippogryph looked up at the others. “Before he was downed, Argon somehow managed to use his dying breath to bind himself to the volcano. As a result of this, from what we know, the land from there on out was forever plagued. Not only that, but, he cursed the heroes and swore an oath that he would return to exact his vengeance upon not only the Land of Trinity, but the entire planet…or so it’s told. It was prophesized by the Yeti shamans that he would, indeed, return and that a second Titanfall would happen.” Her gaze drifted to Capper and she closed her eyes. “Guess we shouldn’t have doubted them now.”

“Y’all can’t blame yourselves.” Capper stepped forward. “You had NO idea that this was gonna happen to us, let alone do anything to really stop it. Pretty damn sure your ancestors would’ve felt the same way too, had they been there.”

“We…” Novo looked up, but her voice trailed off as she realized that Storm was no longer among the others; her eyes widened a bit in dread but she forced herself to remain focused on Capper for the time being. “We haven’t heard from either race in centuries, truth be told. After the first Titanfall happened, a majority of the weaponry was given to the Hippogryph race to ensure that they would not fall into the wrong claws. Then…well, they just…vanished into the mist. Tambelon, the Caprinian capital city, was the last place we heard from, and that was over a century ago. They were the ones that tasked us with the relics and upkeep of history for their kind…however, apparently only a few of them remain within our possession.”

“Where are the others then?” Celaeno asked; her heart was beginning to crash against her ribcage in unease as she flicked her gaze toward the hilt of her sword. Novo shook her head, looking irritated now as she spoke:

“Some buffoon of a historian thought that it would be best to send them to Princess Celestia after we re-took Mount Aris. Last I heard, they ended up in various shipments to Equestria over spans of time. Apparently they never MADE it to Equestria, though, due to the fact your friend here possesses the Destroyers.”

The parrot woman’s eyes grew in shock and her heartbeat intensified; she looked off to the side and tried to speak further to prevent herself from hyperventilating on the spot. “Uh…um, so…c-could I maybe ask how EXACTLY the weapon ‘chooses its user’, like you mentioned earlier? Is there, like, some sort of…connection, or something?”

“I don’t know, because I’m not one of the Chosen,” Novo replied. “But, from what I’ve heard, the weapon and its master…interact with each other, in a way. Something draws them together, like a supernatural magnetic force. It can be voices, flashes of light where there should be none, a sixth sense…any of these things, and you’ll probably know that the weapon has chosen you.” She raised an eyebrow slightly. “Why do you ask?”

“I, uh…nothing.” Celaeno panted a bit and forced herself to look away. “I…I was just curious. That’s all.”

“Er…” Novo appeared puzzled, but decided not to push the parrot woman any further for the time being; Storm was still loose somewhere and she needed to know where before something happened that she would come to regret later. “Very well…anyway, if there’s anything you need to know, please don’t hesitate to approach me later on. For now, however…we should discuss this further over a meal. I have no idea about any of you, but I cannot contemplate things on an empty stomach.”

“Oh, I totally agree.” Grubber hopped to his feet and dusted off the front of his smock, adjusting it a little. “I can’t think for the life of me on an empty stomach. We should totally have, like, some dinner or somethin’ nice.” His ears flicked up then, and he looked around. “Hey…where did Storm go?”

“That’s exactly what I wanna know,” Novo replied, storming forward toward the doorway. Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at them. “Come with me now. Chosen or no, if this turns out to be some sort of ruse, you ALL will receive the exact same punishment as HIM.”

“Calm down,” Capper told her gently, stepping forward as the others followed, Skystar trailing behind in the back. “Look, I’m certain Storm didn’t go far. Y’all remember them steps, right? It took us forever just to get down the…”

The young Hippogryph princess tuned out the voices as she thought to herself. She was happy that she hadn’t received a mouthful from her mother over leaving Mount Aris, and she was also happy that Capper, Celaeno and her friends were here. At the same time, however, upon seeing those daggers, and hearing that the second Titanfall was, indeed, not just a myth…

…Well, she couldn’t help feeling a little twinge of jealousy.

Capper and his friends were probably on their way to the Land of Trinity to stop Argon a second time, if the prophecy was correct…and there was probably going to be a lot of adventure afoot, explorations to be had, and laughs to be shared. She knew that her mother would never allow her to tag along without a good reason, and for that, she felt upset. She hung her head toward the ground.

“I wish…I wish I were a Chosen, as well…”

Skystar.

The faint whisper of her name seemed to drift through her ears like a mild breeze; whipping her head up, she halted in her tracks and looked around. Despite the illumination of the room, she could still see nothing that could have possibly spoken her name like that. It was not her mother’s voice, and it was far too hoarse and raspy to be anyone else’s that she recognized…

Skystar.

“Who…?” She began trembling a bit, her eyes darting around in fear; she wanted more than anything to discover the source of this strange anomaly to quell her unease, but knew that she could not stay in the chamber for long due to the fact that her mother would no doubt scold her again. She broke into a canter, turning back once to call back to the voice:

“I…I’ll be back later!”

Then she was gone. The lights in the chamber slowly faded as the door shut, and everything returned to darkness.

Everything, except for a faint yellow glow in the far corner.

Author's Note

Corgia. Yeah, I went there. :P

You'll soon find out, however, that it is not actually a joke meant for meme-y purposes; it plays an INCREDIBLY vital role in the story itself beyond what you read. But, again, no spoilers.

Things and stuff to come in the next chapter, blah blah blah. Sorry this is so late, again, guys, but it's been hard to muster up the inspiration to write lately. It was really only thanks to everyone's support that I found it in me to put this one out as quickly as I did...wrote most of it within the span of an evening after a long time with no inspiration. So, thanks again for supporting this story, guys. You rock.

Premonitions

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER TWELVE

The cool nighttime breeze brushed against Stormbreaker’s fur as he stood out on the balcony, glacier-blue eyes fixated on the horizon ahead. The moon was waning, and very soon, he knew, the sun would rise…along with his transition into adulthood at long last. After many years of contemplation, he now had a thoughtful grasp on what exactly he wanted to do from here on out, until the day when both princes would eventually (as Gallyen had promised him years before) become the new rulers of Tambelon. He was positive of his decision, and was certain that his father would approve of it...kind of. The more subtle details were still being worked out in his mind, but the general idea was there, so…

“Ugh.” He lowered his head and shut his eyes for a brief moment. “What is going to happen with Mom, though? She’s always been so doting…she would never approve of what I have planned…”

“Hey.”

The young yeti-goat’s small ears flicked and he looked over his shoulder in time to see Gallyen letting himself in through the doorway. The now fully-grown adult Caprinian had become quite the honorable sight, indeed; he had inherited his father’s muscular structure and his horns had become fully-developed, as well as having obtained what Stormbreaker himself would ultimately get within the span of a few hours…

The beautiful silver bell around Gallyen’s neck reflected the fading moonlight perfectly, casting a faint glow along his blueish-purple coat as he stepped onto the balcony beside his younger brother. “So…sun should be rising soon, huh?” He grinned and looked over at Stormbreaker. “You excited?”

“Kind of.” Stormbreaker looked down, his tail swaying from side-to-side a bit as he leaned against the balcony railing. Gallyen raised an eyebrow, tilting his head a bit; sensing that he was confused, the younger brother sighed irritably. “I…I just don’t know what’s going to happen at the ceremony, is all. I plan to tell Father and Mom what I intend to do until Father retires, and…” He shook his head and turned away from the balcony then, pushing himself off of the railing slightly as he walked back toward his sleeping quarters.

“…You don’t think it will go well.” Gallyen finished the sentence almost spot-on to what Stormbreaker was thinking. He smirked a bit and shook his head. “How many times have I told you…Father doesn’t mind what we plan to do, as long as it is productive, Stormy. I mean, if you think about it, not much of what we’ve been doing lately hasn’t been productive…other than, like, us goofing off and all, I mean.”

“But that’s EASY for you to say, Gallyen!” Stormbreaker retorted, whipping around to face him. “You discovered that you possess holy magic, and you’ve decided to use it to help others around here! I’m, like—I don’t even KNOW what kind of magic I have, if any!” He groaned in frustration and plopped up against the wall, sliding down slowly as he looked toward the ceiling. “Like, seriously. The only instance I ever used an ability was after my birth, and even then, I can’t even remember doing that.”

“Stormy…look.” Gallyen plopped down on his haunches beside him. “You may have a Yeti mother, but you’re still my brother and Father’s son. I know that it’s been diluted a bit, but…you still HAVE Caprinian blood in you, you know? The fact that you were able to produce a lightning storm-bolt at birth is…well, unheard of, to say the least. Most Caprinian youth don’t develop their abilities or even show signs of having them until they’re at least four years of age.”

“What good is that if you can’t DO anything with it?” The yeti-goat sighed and drew his knees against his chest. “I mean, every other goat I’ve seen seems to have something useful they can do…the Fire users can project flames and provide heat for those that need it; the Water manipulators can point out wells and places of interest; the Holy users like you can tend to the sick and wounded…” He gritted his teeth slightly. “Even the Arcane and Necromancy users are able to do interesting stuff like transmute metal and stone, and commune with the ancestors. But me, yeah, I just make cute little lightning bolts; wheeee.” He rolled his eyes.

Gallyen thought for a moment. “I…wouldn’t doubt myself so quickly, Stormy. I mean, yeah, there have been no further signs of your magic abilities, but then again you have to consider the fact that you don’t yet have your bell catalyst.” He used a front hoof to bat the bell around his own neck as an emphasis. “Remember, a catalyst is what aids in channeling and ultimately revealing what type of magic you are capable of. You can’t judge yourself based on just one incident.”

“But what good could I possibly do, even then?” Stormbreaker shook his head, still feeling utterly discouraged, and looked down at the ground. “Gallyen, I…even though I haven’t figured out quite what my own magic is capable of, I want to tell Father…” He shut his eyes and drew out a long breath. “Look, I want to join the Consort, okay?”

“The Consort?!” Gallyen leapt to his feet, eyeing his brother like he would an insane goat. “Absolutely not. As your brother, I completely forbid you to even TRY to—”

“Gallyen, no.” Stormbreaker looked him in the eyes, his own ice-blue ones gleaming with determination. He got to his feet. “My whole life, I’ve had to deal with the staring and jeering of the residents within Tambelon’s city walls, and I’ve had enough of it. I want to prove that I am just as capable as any pure-breed Caprinian.” He turned his gaze toward the sky, where the soft pink and yellow of the rising sun was beginning to fill the skyline; a light breeze swept past them and caressed their fur. “The Consort are the best group of patrol specialists in all of Tambelon…if I join them, maybe I can prove my worth.”

“You are going to get yourself KILLED.” Gallyen spoke each word slowly, as if he were talking to someone who didn’t understand proper language, and there was obvious anger and worry in his tone. “I don’t think you realize how much the Consort even goes through to ensure our safety on a daily basis. The constant exposure to the negative energy fields of demons has driven a majority of them to insanity, and worse. I refuse to stand by and allow you to put your life at risk just so you can prove you’re like everyone else.”

“Then what do you expect me to DO, Gallyen?!” Stormbreaker exclaimed angrily, throwing out his hands in defeat. “I don’t HAVE any natural talent. I can’t HELP other goats like you do. Hell, I can’t even take a walk without at LEAST five goats sizing me up like I’m some sort of sideshow attraction!!” His breathing turned ragged and harsh, and he clenched both fists tightly. Gallyen shied away as if he had been struck, and for a long time there was nothing but silence. Then, finally…

“Stormy…look, I know that things have been difficult for you amongst the ‘full-bloods’, so to speak. I’m a bit angry with that too. But…” The older goat shook his head. “If you attempt to try too hard to prove yourself to them, you’re only making them seem like they’re the ones in the right. The only reason they act this way, is because they fear what they cannot understand.”

The younger creature sucked in a breath and looked out over the horizon, folding his arms across his chest. He seemed a bit calmer now, albeit saddened. Gallyen approached him, raising his head up, and placed one front hoof upon his brother’s shoulder.

“Stormy…remember. You don’t know what talents you have until you learn what you are capable of. And to do that…well, you need to stop this self-doubting. The ceremony is within a few hours for you to finally obtain your catalyst…maybe that will open up some doors.”

Stormbreaker glanced over at him, still uncertain, but managed a small smile regardless. “I hope so, Gallyen…and, I want you to be right, too. I…I guess I can wait a little longer, but now I’m a little more anxious about the ceremony than anything else.”

“Well, that’s normal, at least.” Gallyen replied with a smile in return and looked over toward the doorway. “I’m probably needed at the infirmary in the meantime…but I’ll definitely be at the ceremony for sure. Oh, and…” His expression shifted into one of slight concern. “Please…forget about the Consort thing, okay? At least until AFTER you figure things out. I don’t want you getting hurt. Trust me.”

Stormbreaker nodded as Gallyen turned around; the older goat sighed and lowered his head as he walked toward the doorway, dropping his volume to a mutter:

“If I were to lose you, Stormy…I could never forgive myself ever again.”

“Where IS he?!!”

Novo slammed a back hoof into the floor angrily as she continued to search the area for Storm’s whereabouts; her expression was clearly angry but the others could tell she was panicking ever-so slightly. Capper and Grubber were attempting to calm her down; Celaeno’s heart continued to pound as she looked toward the angry Hippogryph queen, and then over at Skystar, who appeared preoccupied with something in her own mind. The parrot woman was normally never one to put herself before others, but after hearing the recent news she really did not care for this right now…she needed time to herself.

Time to think.

She had to leave while the others were still distracted. Shutting her eyes, she gave a polite head-bow in Novo’s direction before turning around and rushing down the hallway, her eyes searching for a good place to withdraw the sword and contemplate. So far the area seemed populated, moreso than she would have expected…if you could call one or two guards “populated” by any means. Still, she needed to be alone; COMPLETELY alone. There was no way she could think straight with—

“OOF!”

Realizing that she had forgotten where she was going or how long it was taking her, she slammed into someone from behind; startled, she fell backwards while the figure she had bumped into fell forward, almost stumbling over the edge of the balcony that…wait. Celaeno looked around, befuddled. How had she ended up on a balcony? A moment ago she had been in the hallway…

Figuring she shouldn’t dwell on it, she rubbed at her head before attempting to struggle upright. “Oh wow, are you all right?” Genuine worry was in her tone; for a moment there she had been terrified that she might have made someone fall to their death. She reached out to help the figure up, circling a talon around one arm. “I am SO sorry, I wasn’t—” Her eyes widened a bit when she finally was able to process who it was, and she frowned. “Oh, it’s YOU.”

“Well, glad to see you too!” Storm’s tone dripped with utter sarcasm as he got to his feet, whipping his arm away from the parrot woman and rubbing at it slightly. “What are you even doing over here? I thought you were with the others.”

“I should be asking you the same thing!” Celaeno snapped back. She gestured toward the balcony’s exit. “Do you even KNOW how friggin’ angry Novo is with you right now for leaving?! You’re going to cause a riot without even BEING there for it!”

“Do you think I care?!” The goat-creature snarled a bit, raising one hand in an aggravated gesticulation. “I am in NO ONE’S control right now, all right? I came out here to think about—”

Rise

“—Stuff.”

He bit his lower lip a bit and looked away, and Celaeno could sense a brief hint of bitter emotion within his being, as well as something else…something so full of pure negativity that she didn’t want to even dare to poke at it further for fear it would lunge for her jugular at any given minute. Fear and anger grasped at her heartstrings, and she clutched at her chest, willing for it to stop. He was not a threat…not anymore. She had to tell herself that.

“I…uh…” She looked up at him, appearing sheepish. “I kinda came out here to think, too. Granted, I mean, it probably wasn’t for the same reasons you had, but…” She shook her head and her rigid attitude returned. “Y-you should have at least told Novo where you were going! Now everyone’s probably looking for us, and—”

“Why would they be looking for ‘us?’” Storm raised an eyebrow. “Did YOU tell them where you were going?”

“Uh—” Celaeno’s cheeks deepened into a hard blush and she looked surprised; this was one of the rare occasions she had had her own words turned against her. She struggled to regain her composure. “I, um…well, they probably already knew that I was okay, so, I figured, uh…” She groaned irritably and threw up her arms. “Fine, fine, you got me. Cheers on you. I DIDN’T tell them before I took off.”

The yeti-goat, surprisingly, smiled in response and flicked the tip of his tail playfully. “I won’t tell if you won’t,” he chuckled. He looked up at the sky, which was starting to dim a bit due to the sun setting off to the West, and sighed. “So what brought you out here, anyway? Had to be pretty flustering in order for you to smash right into me without noticing.”

“I TOLD you that I…” The parrot woman halted her speech immediately, realizing that she had not really apologized…and still kind of didn’t want to, in all honesty. Her eyes shifted down to where her sword was sheathed, and she shook her head, turning away. “No…no, I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t get it—”

Cela.

“Wha…?” Celaeno’s eyes shot open wide and her ears pricked upright; this was the first time she had heard the voice speak since first discovering the sword. It drifted through her hearing like mist, as she shut her eyes for a moment:

Cela.

Listen to him. Tell him, Cela.

“Why…?” Her whisper was barely audible, if it had made any sound at all; she glanced over at Storm, who was eyeing her with a slight hint of concern, his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. The voice said one more thing before fading…something that she could not, for the life of her, understand at that moment in time:

The Deliverer…

She opened her mouth to speak, but the voice was clearly either gone or refusing to acknowledge that she wanted to know more. She folded her arms over her chest, trembling a bit. Storm cocked his head to one side, still appearing concerned and puzzled; it was clear to her that he had not heard a single breath the voice had uttered, and maybe that was for the best. What in the ever-loving bowels of Hell was that last phrase supposed to mean, anyway…?

“Ugh…” Her head was spinning and it made her feel weakened; she stumbled to one side in an attempt to stay on her feet. Storm immediately came to her aid, grabbing her around the waist with one hand.

“Whoa, easy!” He pulled the parrot woman upright with his other hand, attempting to keep her steady as she panted and rubbed at her temple. “Geez, what’s with you all of a sudden?! You were fine and then like, it looked like you were going to faint or something.”

“I...urgh…I, uh…” She swayed a bit, before opening her eyes and realizing that Storm still had his hand on her waist. She blushed ever-so lightly, looking up at him and placing both talons on his chest, shoving him away slightly. “G-Get your hand off my waist, you jerk!”

“Oh, right, I’M a jerk.” Storm rolled his eyes and glowered at her before huffing a bit. “SO sorry to have prevented you from tumbling over onto your feathery ass, madam.”

Celaeno’s cheeks flushed bright red and she raised a claw in his direction, preparing to give him a serious tongue-lashing. “You are SUCH a—”

“FINALLY!”

The two were startled out of their would-be argument at the sound of Novo’s voice, and they looked at each other for a brief moment, knowing for a fact that they were both in trouble. The Hippogryph queen stepped forward onto the balcony, spreading her wings and raising her head as she glared at them with disdain. “Do y’all KNOW how long I’ve been scouring the Citadel for you?! You are DAMN lucky that I don’t punish you right here and now. What were you two even DOIN’ here in the first place, hmm?”

Grubber, who appeared from behind her, giggled and clapped both paws to his mouth, a mischievous twinkle in one eye. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”

“Grubber, friggin’ shut up—” Storm began, looking irritated, but Novo stomped her hoof again, bringing him back to attention; he blinked and straightened upright. Brushing at her beautiful pink-and-purple plumage, Novo eyed them for a moment, as if determining their fate, and finally nodded and looked back at the rest of the group, whom were standing in the hallway behind the balcony.

“All of you, please go to the Banquet Hall for attendance. As for YOU two…” She looked back at Storm and Celaeno, frowning. “It appears that y’all weren’t doing anything out here, at least nothing that concerns our safety…regardless, I’m still keeping my eye on y’all…especially YOU, Fluffy.” She jabbed a talon in Storm’s direction, baring her teeth slightly. “Don’t think for a heartbeat that I’m gonna trust that dopey face of yours. You chased us away once…you could do it again.” Storm gave her an irritated glance as she turned and walked toward the hallway. “Now move your tails before I do it for you.”

“Uh…” Celaeno and Storm eyed each other before following after Novo; still, as the parrot woman strode along beside Storm, she could not forget the words that the voice had branded into her mind before it had faded. What did it mean by “The Deliverer,” and what did telling Storm about the sword have anything to do with it?

She shook her head, frowning a bit; she had missed her opportunity to listen to what the voice was saying for now, and her pride complex would make it near-impossible to approach and talk to the yeti-goat without anyone silently judging her intentions. It would have to be a completely isolated conversation…but, even then, why was that? Storm had actually behaved well towards her, so why did she make such a big deal out of it? Granted, yes, Storm had forcibly made her AND her crew work for him in the past, but…

No. Capper had said, time and time again, that the past was not important, but she would not let go of something like that so easily. Storm had wronged not only her, but her crew, and even though most of them seemed okay with him—Lix, especially, for some odd reason—she would be the one who would never forget. She had made this a sworn oath to herself—

Oath, Cela

But still…

I won’t tell if you won’t.

She found herself blushing and pulled her hat down in an attempt to hide it. Whether she loathed him or not right now, when he was actually being playful and harmless for a change…

…He was kind of cute when he smiled.

The Staff of Trinity.

Stormbreaker had known of its existence since he was a small pup, and the tale of the Titanfall, while still a bit jagged in lore, had always fascinated him to this day. He had remembered, in past years, standing at the edge of the gates as the Consort headed out, eagerly eyeing the wastelands that lay beyond in an attempt to see the dreaded creatures that had only been spoken of in whispers and feared conversations. Most of all, though…he had always wondered about the Titan, Argon. Even though it was scrap-paper oral lore at best, he could get a clear picture in his mind of what the fearsome being looked like, and he was eager to one day see him with his own eyes.

The most he could do, however, was stay within the Tambelon city walls, and research information on the demonic creatures as much as possible. The library was located on the opposite side of the palace usually, in another corridor that led down to an end hallway; he had been utterly forbidden to even go near that tightly-sealed door for reasons unknown to him…

Until now.

Windcaller was walking beside him as they approached the door, its arcane seal now removed and passage granted to outsiders at long last. Despite the fact that this was a big moment in the young prince’s life…he was terrified of what lay beyond that door. Gallyen had informed him that it would be taking place in the “Haunted Sanctum” as they had called it when they were both younger, and though he had shared a laugh with his brother at the time…gods, it was frightening. He felt his fur fluffing out slightly; his mother frowned and reached over to stroke it down neatly.

“Don’t be nervous, Stormbreaker,” the female Yeti encouraged. She smiled. “From what I have heard, this is a tradition for every Caprinian that comes of age…and it’s an honorable one, at that. You can’t be seen getting your catalyst with a fright-pelt.”

“Mom…” Stormbreaker felt a bit disgruntled, but knew that she was only attempting to calm him down. They reached the door, and he looked up at the looming structure, his heart racing yet again—to the point where he could feel it pounding in his throat. The Sanctum wasn’t really haunted…it was all just a stupid joke that they had made up years ago…

There was nothing to fear, nothing at all...to fear…

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pushed himself against the door and it creaked open, immediately greeting the young prince with a cold burst of wind that felt like winter ice. His fur bristled and he winced slightly, before he shook his head and forced his eyes to open and take in his surroundings.

The room was…interesting, to say the least. From what he could observe in the structures and objects, it appeared to be some sort of shrine room: the tall ceiling cut off into flowing walls glittering with runic patterns and images, all of which were currently illuminating the room with a pale blue light, and the room itself was littered with various artifacts: suits of armor worn by Caprinian guards; relics that probably dated back centuries; there were even various layouts of weaponry that the Caprine army was capable of wielding and using to their advantage. There was an ornate metal cage in the back of the room, centered against the wall…and within it…

Stormbreaker blinked and for a moment thought he was losing his mind.

That couldn’t be…that was not possible…

“Cool, isn’t it?”

“GAH!” Stormbreaker nearly leapt out of his skin before whipping his head to the side, only to almost bump noses with Gallyen, who snickered a bit and brought one hoof against his mouth.

“What, I scare you or something? Sorry, Stormy.”

“Y-you didn’t—I wasn’t scared.” The young prince fluffed out his chest a bit and looked toward the back of the room. “Is…is that really…?”

“Yes.” The goat’s purple-blue fur appeared even more radiant in a common-colored light and seemed to shine more brightly than a spirit’s essence, which made what he said even more awkwardly appropriate: “That’s…the Staff of Trinity.”

Stormbreaker took a few steps forward, eyeing the artifact with a mixture of curiosity and awe. He had never seen it for himself up until now, but he had seen engravings and drawings of it in the past, but they did not seem to do it justice now that he was eyeing it up close and personal. The gem in the center shone in the light and seemed to ebb and flow with a misty aura, as if containing something, and the outer circle, consisting of six individually-colored gems set in pure gold-plated Argosteel, still maintained its sheen after all these centuries. The three blades—the ones said to represent each individual race within Trinity—protruded from the center; he had heard tales that they would open and shine with blades of pure holy energy once activated, but obviously they were idle at the moment. His glacier-blue eyes glimmered brightly, almost with anticipation.

It was such a beautiful weapon…

“Prince Stormbreaker of Tambelon.”

The yeti-goat whipped his head up with such incredible speed that the inertia almost snapped his neck a bit; he saw now that Grogar and several other Caprinians—members of the Tambelon Council—had gathered around the staff, as well as Rivvon (who was, of course, eyeing him with pure disgust as usual) and now Windcaller had headed to join them. Gallyen looked over at the small gathering, before eyeing Stormbreaker with a look of pride and eagerness.

“Guess we’re gonna begin. You ready, Stormy?”

“I…um, yeah.” Stormbreaker sunk his head into his shoulders and his face turned a bit pink as the brothers headed toward the back of the room; Gallyen took his place beside his mother and sat on his haunches as Grogar stepped into the center of the small circle the group had formed around the staff, raising his head in his younger son’s direction.

“Stormbreaker.”

“Father.” The young yeti-goat bowed his head in respect before kneeling down before him, tucking his tail around his legs. Grogar looked down at the young prince, the orange runic patterns set within his horns shining slightly as he sized him up visually. Finally, he nodded.

“My son…regardless of your heritage, you are still a Caprinian by blood. Your time has come to serve the subjects of Tambelon to your best ability. That ability…will be gifted to you through this.”

He pulled out a brilliantly-shining silver bell that almost seemed to reflect everything in the surrounding area, making it glow with a faint blue light as he held it before the prince. The bell pulsed and rattled with energy, making it jingle ever-so slightly, and it seemed to especially react to Stormbreaker’s presence—the rattling increased in intensity as Grogar used his magic to hold it before him. The elder goat spoke:

“As the owner and wielder of a bell catalyst, you are hereby accepting the responsibilities brought upon you as a full-fledged adult. You will serve our subjects and contribute to helping our society prosper and overcome our hardships. Should you ever use your power to harm allies…” His gaze darkened for a brief moment. “…You will not want to face the wrath of our people on your lonesome. A great consequence will always befall your actions.”

Something flickered in Stormbreaker’s memory for a very short period of time, before he looked up into his father’s eyes and nodded his head. “I…I accept.”

“Then so it shall be.” Grogar held the bell above Stormbreaker’s head before lowering it down slowly; it finally slid and magically locked itself into place on the small collar around the prince’s neck. Stormbreaker smiled, looking down at the bell with pride, as Gallyen and Windcaller applauded, along with the other members of the Tambelon Council. The yeti-goat felt beside himself; tears welled up in his eyes slightly as he eyed the others and bowed, getting to his feet. Before he could leave, however, his father halted him, raising up a front hoof.

“Wait, Stormbreaker. There’s one more thing…one more rite, if you will.”

“Uh…?” The young prince cocked his head slightly in confusion; Grogar stepped aside and looked toward the case where the Staff was positioned. He lowered his head for some time, as if contemplating something, before looking back up towards his son.

“It is a simple task…a meager one, really. We need you to do one thing and one thing only…”

When Stormbreaker still appeared befuddled, Grogar nodded in the direction of the Staff:

“Touch the Staff of Trinity.”

“What?!” Rivvon’s declaration startled nearly everyone in the room, probably due to how loud it was. She leapt to her feet. “N-no one has been allowed to touch the Staff for years…no Caprinian is allowed to do it…” She whipped her head in Stormbreaker’s direction, glaring daggers as she pursed her lips. “…Why are you letting that half-blooded FILTH desecrate our—”

“Rivvon, that’s ENOUGH!” Grogar’s shout was enough to bring the doe back to her senses as her eyes widened; ears flattening, she slowly backed down and away. Flustered, Grogar turned to eye his younger son once more. “Stormbreaker, I implore you...touch the Staff. There is something I must know.”

Stormbreaker looked into his father’s unwavering stare for a moment, before sucking in a breath and tilting his head down. “I…yes, Father…I’ll do it.” Legs shaking harder than an earthquake, he approached the Staff’s case, and reached out a trembling hand through the arcane shield to place it upon the cold rod of the Staff itself. For a moment, there was absolutely no result…but then…

A bolt of blue lightning shot from the staff, winding up his arm and plunging itself into his body; he opened his mouth in a beginning scream of shock but it caught in his throat as if it were something of physical manifestation, silencing him immediately. The lightning grew in size, wrapping around his body like a cocoon; the bell around his neck trembled violently and his entire body shook and spasmed as the cries of a million voices filled his head:

You can—

Why didn’t you—

They were only—

Don’t do this—

Storm—

Rise—

STORM—

STORM…

“Stop…” Stormbreaker could find his voice returning, but could only breathe the singular word at the time, for the voices were still continuing to echo within his mind, as well as many different images flashing before his eyes. He could not make all of them out, but he could see the general theme…lightning strikes; frightened, condescending eyes; pools of blood; himself standing over the corpse of a dead—

“STOP!!”

He practically wailed the last line and threw his head upward, as a jagged bolt of blue lightning surged from his body, brightly illuminating the entire vicinity before an unseen force threw him backwards. He slammed against one of the pillars nearby and slid down, tears streaming freely from his face as he held his head in both hands and panted, small crackles of lightning still emanating from his horns. It was too much…none of this sat well with him at all…

“Stormbreaker!” He heard his mother’s cry as he fell onto his side; his body shuddered and spasmed once more with electricity before the entire conscious world left him.

“…Okay.”

Skystar paced around in front of the door, chewing her beak a bit in anxiety; she knew that what she was about to do would go against ALL of her mother’s rules, but, then again, it wasn’t like she hadn’t done that before now. Not to mention she needed to go in there; she needed to find the source of that strange voice that had called her earlier…

She stopped, looking up toward the door, her head hung like an ashamed puppy. “Ugh…Mom is gonna be so, SOOOOO mad at me for this, but…”

Steeling her resolve, she raised her head, fluffing out her chest a bit as she did so. She began to trace the familiar pattern into the door to remove the Arcana Sealium spell. “I…I need to do this…I need to find out for sure!”

The sigil now removed, she opened the door and dashed into the chamber, raising her head high and looking around. “I…hey! I’m here now! I came back like I said…are you still there?”

For a moment there was nothing but eerie silence, and the little Hippogryph’s ears flattened a bit; this was not comfortable for her at all and she considered turning back for a split second before she heard it, that familiar whisper again:

Skystar…

“Yeah!” Her eyes lit up and she looked around, eagerly prancing on her toes. “I’m here, I’m here! Where are you? I want to find you!”

Back corner…Skystar…

“The back corner of the room?” The Hippogryph princess spread her wings, gliding a bit toward the back of the room; she landed and looked around. “Um…hmm. Not a whole lot back here…I kinda know that this is where we kept a FEW of the artifacts, but I can’t remember—OH!”

She jumped a bit to the side as one of the glass cases flared up with a bright yellow light, and her feathers fluffed slightly for fear that something had spontaneously combusted; however, it was a silly thought, as the light decreased in intensity and eventually dimmed to a dull yellow. Catching her breath, Skystar looked over at the case, then raised a talon to her beak, giggling slightly.

“It was just the case…oh.” Shaking her head, she approached the case and looked inside, squinting to try and see the artifact through the glow. There was no doubt in her mind that this was, in fact, the thing that the voice was referring to…if only she could see it…

Sky…Star…

The light dimmed to the point where the detail of the artifact was fully viewable now, and the young Hippogryph silenced a gasp that rose in her throat as she saw the small identification tag that was scribbled hastily beside it on parchment:

PENANCE.

“Th…this is mine? N-no way…” She couldn’t even contemplate what she was saying at this point; she could only eye the artifact before her, which appeared to be an ornately-decorated necklace with a cloudy, amber jewel set within the center. She had heard tales about this particular artifact and what it could do, but she had never, for once in her life, thought she would be the Chosen to use it…

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes in spite of herself, and she reached up to wipe them away. “Ohhh…oh, thank you, whoever you all are…thank you!” Flipping open the glass case, she gingerly took the necklace out and hung it around her neck; the clasp in the back snapped together the instant she brought it back against her neck, and the amber jewel in the center shone brilliantly. Looking up, the little Hippogryph added: “I’ll take really, REALLY good care of it. I promise!”

She looked around for a moment, before prancing up and down in place, fluttering her wings happily. “Ooh, so exciting! Mom is gonna be SO proud of me when she finds out I’m a Chosen! She’s gonna HAVE to let me go and fight against—”

The sudden realization of what she had just said dawned upon her, and she stopped in her tracks, suddenly appearing a bit worried.

“…Oh.”

Author's Note

So the cat's outta the bag about the artifacts now, and Skystar has hers...but Novo's probably not gonna be too happy. :P

Also some Storm/Cela fluff in this chapter. Does it hint at anything? Maybe. I'm not telling right now.

Anyway, thank you all again for your continued support and praise for this story; it's really awesome to write for all of you and share new worlds, concepts and ideas. Stay tuned for more! <3

Stratia Engagus

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Hmm…”

Skystar gave her beak a brief tap as she looked up from the book she was reading, pondering for a moment. “Okay, so…from what I have learned, ‘Penance’ is kinda, like…a magic-infused weapon. It’s kinda more for protection than anything else…uhhh…” She looked back down at the book and squinted slightly. “Says here that it was forged with the ashes from one of the former Caprine prophets…ewww.” Sticking her tongue out in disgust for a moment, she looked down at the pendant itself, which was currently still around her neck. It was strange for her…normally she was a bit too rambunctious to wear jewelry of any sort, but, for some apparent reason beyond explanation…

This felt comfortable on her.

The necklace was a near-perfect fit, and despite its intricate and heavy-looking design it flowed well with her neck and body; it was often, if not always, in the perfect position whenever she would move. She had been awestruck by this at first, and for awhile had attempted to get it to shift or feel strange in some manner, but no…it stuck fast on her, and it was actually nice to wear for a change. Although, she had yet to truly test out what Penance could do…she had been worried originally that she would mess up somehow, and therefore had slipped into the royal library to read up on its history.

She took a deep breath. The lore may have been oral tradition, but, at least the information on the weapons had been written down…

Penance was, apparently, another holy-based weapon that had been wielded by a Caprinian prophet and was forged from a former prophet’s ashes to strengthen the energy it gave off. It was normally not used for offensive combat (much to her relief); instead it was designed to protect the bearer and others by giving the ability to conjure a shield of pure light energy that deflected a majority of common attacks, if not all. The “all” was still in the air however, as she knew that whoever this was…they must have used it to attempt to save Royden, and failed…

“Why, though?” She muttered to herself as she flipped to the next page; her bright blue eyes skimmed the surface, looking for answers. “Penance is a holy weapon…if anything, it should have deflected Argon’s blow against Royden, unless—”

“Skystar!”

“Eep!” Skystar snapped the book shut, her eyes growing wide as she heard her mother’s voice from outside the library’s doors; she quickly slipped the book back on the shelf and fumbled around her neck to attempt to undo the clasp on Penance and remove it, but found that she, in fact, could not. The clasp held strong against her resistance, refusing to budge even when she clawed at it or gave it the hardest tug. “Ugh! C-come on…Mom can’t see me like this…!”

“Skystar!” Novo’s voice repeated; the door creaked open and the young Hippogryph princess had no choice; she immediately leapt behind a nearby bookshelf and ducked down, tucking her claws into her neck in an attempt to conceal the necklace. It would most likely not be enough, but at least it would delay the coupe de gras, so to speak, in time for her to fully explain…

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up nervously into her mother’s eyes, grinning a bit and consciously tucking her neck in further. “H-hey, Mom,” she stuttered, although she was attempting to hold her composure as best as possible. “Uh…what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Novo raised an eyebrow slightly, taking a step to the side as her tail brushed against the bookshelves. “What are you doin’ in here, anyway? You normally don’t come to the library unless…well, one of two things, really.”

Skystar’s eyes shifted to the side; she could swear that beads of sweat were beginning to appear on her forehead at this point, the tension was so thick. “Uhh…and, um…what would…those two things be?” she squeaked, tucking her head in the furthest it could go and staring up at her mother. Novo frowned.

“Either you want to know about something in the outside world…or you know you’re gonna be in trouble and you come here ‘cause you think it’s the last place I’m gonna look.” Skystar winced; that had been WAY too accurate of a statement for her liking, especially right now. Novo raised her head slightly and looked down at her. “Which is it, Princess Skystar?”

“It…uh…” The beige Hippogryph’s heart was pounding against her ribcage, and she began to tremble as Novo’s stare pierced right through her. She was absolutely terrified, near-petrified even, of what was going to happen next…but, she knew that she would not be able to hide things much longer, especially if she had to do this turtle-act all the time. She squeezed her eyes shut. “…Both…?”

Novo eyed her with a hint of curiosity, before drifting her stare down to Skystar’s throat, currently tucked in and covered by her front claws; regardless, she could still see a hint of something there. Her irises seemed to quaver. “What’s that around your neck…?”

“Mom…I…” The pressure pushed down on the little Hippogryph from all sides, and she could take it no longer; rising upright, she stood firm and pushed out her chest, revealing Penance. “I-I’m a Chosen, all right?! Th-this necklace spoke to me.”

Something in Novo’s eyes seemed to flicker, before it dimmed into solid anger. “No…” She raised her head and frowned callously. “You…you can’t be one, Skystar. That’s not possible.”

“B-but…!” Skystar’s eyes wavered with disbelief; she knew that her mother would be angry with her for taking it, but saying she wasn’t a Chosen...? She could feel the faint sting of tears beginning to well up in her eyes, but made a strong attempt to blink them back, and raised her head. “M-Mom…I’m not lying to you, at all. The…the necklace…Penance…it spoke to me, and it called out my name back when we were—”

“Listen to me.” Novo’s voice was eerily quiet for once while chiding her, something Skystar was not quite used to. The snow-white Hippogryph narrowed her eyes. “The Hippogryph race has a duty to uphold…we cannot be Chosen. Our duty is to protect the Titanfall’s history, not to run head-first into an inevitable bloodbath.” She lowered her head. “I…I won’t allow you to do this.”

“Mom, if…if I’m a Chosen, th-then…” Skystar whimpered a bit; she could sense a heavy veil of despair over the older Hippogryph, and the tears were becoming harder and harder to hold back. She sobbed a bit and lowered her head, squeezing her eyes shut as the saline liquid began freely streaming down her cheeks. “Why…why can’t you just accept…?”

“Because that is the way things are.” Novo’s tone was almost apathetic as she spoke these words, but, she knew that there was a different source of reasoning for her viewpoint, even if it WAS currently being suppressed within her psyche…she was terrified, deep down. Indeed, it was true that Skystar had managed to fight her own battles and win before, but…she was still fairly young for a Hippogryph, and her only daughter, at that. Not to mention, the Land of Trinity was currently a complete warzone right now; at least, it had been last time she had checked, anyway…

And Argon. A shiver worked its way down her spine as she thought about Skystar attempting to face that monster. Storm back when he was under rule was intimidating, for certain, but Argon...

She couldn’t bear to face the thought of it.

Skystar, however, continued to vehemently retaliate. “No, it’s not!” she declared, glaring at her mother through the tears. She sniffled slightly. “What we are enlisted to do doesn’t determine the way things are. The way things are…are what the gods ultimately determine. What we CHOOSE to determine. A-and…I…I won’t let you take it back from me…w-without a fight!”

She had spat out the last word without even considering what it meant, and by the time she did realize, it was far too late. The little beige Hippogryph looked up at her mother nervously, trembling a bit despite herself; Novo eyed her for a moment before sighing and shutting her eyes.

“Skystar…” There was a brief moment of silence, before the older Hippogryph opened her eyes at last. Her tone was calm this time, surprisingly, and her lids were lowered as if she were relaxed, even. “I know that what I am saying is, in fact, correct…but I know that you have a strong sense of willpower. Even if I speak like this a thousand times, you’ll defy me just as many, if not more.” Her gaze drifted toward the window nearby, at the open sky. “There’s…really only one way to determine this.”

Novo’s sudden disposition seemed to throw Skystar off a bit, and the younger Hippogryph tilted her head slightly. “Wha…what would that be?”

“Penance is a special type of weapon, Skystar,” the Queen told her daughter, still gazing out at the blue expanse ahead. Her eyes wavered a bit, but she held firm; this was something she needed to do. “It wasn’t created to attack…rather, to defend, and protect. If you were a Chosen wielding this power, well, then…” She sighed and shut her eyes, lowering her head slightly. The sun shone down on her feathers, giving her a regal air. “It would be your job, ultimately, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Should the time come, you must be willing to serve as their protector…their shield. In order to accomplish this…you need the proper mindset.”

She turned to look at her daughter, shaking her head.

“…And, I really don’t think you have that right now.”

“Wha—” Skystar’s eyes widened slightly, and she pulled her head upright, shaking it frantically. “M-Mom! I have what it takes…I KNOW I do! J-just…” She sighed and her helpless expression returned as she allowed herself to relax a bit. “I…let me prove it to you…l-let me prove, that I HAVE what it takes…”

“Then allow me to test your mind, Skystar, along with your abilities.” Novo’s eyes opened, and she suddenly seemed heavily determined. Her folded wings spread themselves ever-so-slightly. “Outside, in two hours. I take it that’ll give you plenty of time to prepare.” When Skystar still appeared lost, she stepped off toward the door, before turning a bit to continue eyeing her. “I am issuing an official royal challenge, right here and now. Princess Skystar, of Hippogriffia…”

She sucked in a breath and winced a bit, shutting her eyes tightly before fully turning and looking forward at her daughter; the determination was now hard as stone and clearly evident in her expression:

“I challenge you…to Stratia Engagus.”

“…Okay, run that by me again, now?”

Capper raised a brow as the small group sat atop a small ledge outside the Citadel, looking over at Skystar, who appeared incredibly anxietic. Shortly after the confrontation with her mother, the little Hippogryph had called the party to a location near where the challenge would be taking place, and was attempting her best to explain to them what was about to happen. They seemed not to understand, for the most part, and Capper was especially confused for whatever reason; this was apparently not going the way she had planned. “Strata-what, and you said it’s like, a duel or something?”

Skystar sucked in an irritated breath and attempted, for what felt like the thousandth time, to explain: “It’s Hippogryphian for ‘Sky Duel,’ basically. It’s been a set tradition in our race for centuries, and is normally used to prove a creature’s worth, for whatever reason. Though, we haven’t had one since, like, a hundred years ago, according to what Mom had told me in the past…” She furrowed her brow slightly. “I don’t understand why she’d issue one towards me.”

“Yeah, it’s an utter mystery.” Storm, who was sitting off to the side of the group, rolled his eyes slightly, his head cupped in one hand. “Probably REALLY doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that, you know, you’re wearing a sacred artifact around your neck right now.”

“Storm, for the gods’ sake, cut her some slack.” Celaeno eyed the white-furred creature with antipathy before turning her attention to Skystar, her expression softening. “Hey, look. I know that it’s kind of intimidating that Novo is doing this…but, it has to be for a good reason, right?” She smiled warmly and brought a talon to her chest, clutching it into a fist. “She’s your mother, after all. She wouldn’t do this to intentionally cause you harm.”

“I…well, yeah…” Skystar blushed a bit and looked off to the side, dragging one front talon across the ground bashfully, before bringing it to her neckline. “There has to be a reason why Penance decided to choose me. And, I’m gonna prove that to Mom, no matter what.”

Her ears then flicked directly upright as the loud melody of trumpets echoed across the sky; she turned her head back toward the open patch of land near the Citadel, her legs shaking a bit. The other citizens of Mount Aris were already beginning to gather, and soon murmurs and whispers accompanied the blasts.

“Speaking of which…”

“Hey, you can do it.” Capper placed a paw upon her shoulder and gave her an encouraging grin, along with a sly wink. “If you really are a Chosen like me, then, y’all got this in the bag. Show her what you can do when y’all have Penance on your side.”

“C-Capper…” Skystar’s eyes glittered for a moment, before she blinked and rattled her head slightly. “I…th-thank you so much! I’ll give it my all, you wait and see!” She smiled nervously, her face flushing a bright pink hue, before spreading her wings and taking flight toward another plateau stationed across from the Citadel. Novo, her brilliant wings spread wide, floated down around the same time, landing gracefully and folding them with ease as she raised her head. Her expression was cool and calculated as she eyed her daughter.

The younger Hippogryph attempted to open her mouth to speak, but the trumpets blared again, drowning the words while they were still forming in her throat. She shut her mouth, flabbergasted, and looked over in time to see another Hippogryph general land near the edge of the plateau; his coat was a seafoam green and his mane a bright blue flecked with hints of gray. He stepped forward, chest thrown out, and boomed loudly:

“Citizens of Mount Aris! Your Queen, the beautiful and virtuous Novo, has called you all here for a truly exceptional event!” He glanced back at the two before continuing. “Today marks the date of the first event of Stratia Engagus, our sacred tradition of worth, since over a century ago. Our very own Queen Novo has challenged her beloved daughter, the adventurous Princess Skystar, to a test of agility, wits, and will! Who will come out on top, we do wonder?”

“Yeah, we do wonder…” Storm muttered in boredom; Celaeno elbowed him in the ribs. “OW!”

“The match will begin on my signal!” The seafoam Hippogryph raised his head and brought up a talon to the skies; Novo braced both front legs, readying herself, as Skystar positioned herself beside her, her heart feeling like it was going to drop out of her chest at any moment…

Time seemed to stand still for what seemed like minutes on end before Skystar saw the general’s talon come down and the cry of “GO!”; Novo immediately took off into the sky, front legs held to her chest in an effort to gain early momentum. Skystar spread her wings and followed, her heartbeat still crashing against her ears and her body shaking. She made an attempt to force herself into a state of tranquility, slowing her breath a bit.

N-No…can’t be nervous…can’t mess up…

She tried to keep pace with her mother, following her upward, higher and higher into the sky; the wind stung her eyes but she kept them open for fear of losing sight of Novo for even one second. They seemed to climb higher upward into the atmosphere, past a sea of clouds, before…

Skystar’s eyes shot open in shock as Novo suddenly veered to the side and swiftly turned herself around, heading downward directly toward her daughter, talons outstretched; the younger Hippogryph yelped and swiftly dove downward to the side, narrowly avoiding a strike. Skystar looked down toward the ground, her mouth open in utter disbelief as she attempted to understand the situation.

Is Mom…ATTACKING me…?!

Novo growled a bit before whipping around again mid-air, beelining toward Skystar a second time. “Skystar!” Her cry was audible even through the roaring of the wind. “Prove your worth!” She threw herself forward, attempting a lunge; Skystar shrieked in terror and dodged again, covering her head with both talons as she looked up toward Novo. Her breath was all but caught in her throat.

“M-Mom, stop…!”

Her cries fell on apparent deaf ears as Novo attempted a third downward strike; the terrified little Hippogryph was nearly petrified and as a result could not fully dodge the attack. She yelped again as Novo’s claws raked her ear, not enough to cause permanent damage but enough to draw a thin line of blood from the scratch. She shivered mid-air, clutching at her ear, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She truly did not understand; why was her mother doing this to her…?

There was really no time, at this point, to make sense of what was taking place, she decided; all she knew was that Novo was serious about this, and she would need all her willpower to go against her mother’s tactics. Sucking in a breath, she looked down, as Novo approached her for a fourth strike, teeth bared and talons at the ready.

No, Mom...

Skystar gave a loud cry of determination and lunged downward in an arc, bringing her front claws down upon Novo’s plumage and pushing her downward, accidentally shredding one of her feathers in the process. Novo grunted and her eyes flicked toward the torn feather; she glowered a bit, darkly, before rearing her head up and raking at Skystar’s back legs. The younger Hippogryph flapped her wings, picking up speed as she attempted to get away from the snow-white pursuer. This wasn’t going to work…they appeared to be equally-matched so far, and Skystar was certain that she would run out of energy before her mother did—

Penance.

The realization hit her like a sack of cement, and she glanced down at the necklace, currently in its idle state. Of course…if she were to use her artifact, she could ward off Novo in time to get a few strikes in; she was absolutely sure that this would win her the match, as a result…

But how did she activate it? Penance was a magic-based artifact, which meant that she needed to draw its power out in some way, shape or form. She had remembered reading something about it back in the library earlier, but panic clouded her mind in a dense fog and she struggled to grasp at that one thought that would bring her knowledge. Nothing came to mind, however, and she found herself panicking slightly; if she could not properly activate Penance—

“Don’t you run from me!” She felt a strong gust as Novo shot up above her, looking upward in time to see the talons closing in yet again. Gasping for breath, she fell back to one side, and flipped backward, zooming in the opposite direction frantically. Damn it, she couldn’t run from Novo forever…she had to think, and think properly.

Still, nothing came to mind; nothing that would even be remotely of use. She groaned, lowering her head in fatigue as she forced her wings to push her forward. This process was using up way too much of her energy, and she already felt like she was going to fall directly out of the sky, but she pressed onward. Novo gave chase, coming up behind her, eyes narrowed in concentration.

“I…I need to concentrate…myself…” Skystar could barely get the words out, her lungs were working so hard. She struggled to catch her breath. “There…has to be a way…I can…activate this thing properly…” Touching the gem in the center of the necklace, she squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to focus every ounce of her remaining energy in on the artifact…

Nothing.

“Please…” The young Hippogryph opened her eyes, looking down at the deadened necklace beseechingly. “Please, activate…I can’t do this on my own—GAHH!”

She cried out in pain and surprise as Novo’s claws ripped into one of her wings, shredding several feathers in the process; the white Hippogryph raced past her, hints of plumage still caught between her claws. Skystar whimpered, attempting to keep herself aloft; she could feel pain surfacing in the injury, but she knew that if she fell, it was all over. She forced her wounded wing to flap, as she looked down toward the ground, tears blurring her vision.

Why…why won’t it work for me…? I’m a Chosen…I’m a CHOSEN…!!

The necklace continued to remain lifeless, and the Hippogryph could feel her hopes crumbling into dust as the pain from moving her wing grew unbearable and it forced itself to a halt. Unable to support herself with only one wing, Skystar began to fall back toward the Citadel grounds, the tears from her eyes surging upward into the sky as she descended rapidly. She was overcome with too many emotions at once; her vision began to fade as she reached toward the sky with one talon in a frantic attempt to regain her control.

No…I can’t let it end like this…I can’t…let it END…

The last of her consciousness slipped away, as she felt something break her fall, cushioning her in its soft warmth before the darkness descended upon her. She could hear someone calling her name, in the distance, but she didn’t want to leave the comfort of the painless abyss…

“Skystar.”

“Ughhh…” The little Hippogryph could feel the world of the waking returning to her, after what seemed like an eternity; she stirred and pushed her eyelids open slightly. “Who…who is…what’s going on?”

Capper’s face faded into view, along with Celaeno’s; both of them looked concerned beyond belief. She could now tell that she was lying on a bed of hay in what appeared to be the Citadel’s infirmary. “Hey, y’all are awake…thank gods. Novo hurt your wing, but, she tells us she didn’t really mean to cause y’all to fall like that. She managed to catch ya before you struck the ground, at least…” He sighed and looked away for a moment, his whiskers trembling a bit. “What happened, anyway? You seemed to be doin’ pretty good, up until that one moment where y’all seemed to stop…”

“I…” Skystar’s mouth trembled and she looked toward the ground. “I…couldn’t activate Penance…in time to save myself…” Tears welled up in her eyes and she attempted to blink them back, only to openly sob and have them flow freely. She felt utter despair at her own words. “Wh-why couldn’t I do it…? I…it spoke to me…I’m a Chosen, aren’t I?!”

“Skystar…” Celaeno sighed, folding her arms across her chest. “I…I really don’t know what to say. Penance may have spoken to you, yes, but if you can’t activate it properly, then…”

It didn’t really take a whole lot to understand what the parrot woman was attempting to suggest, even though she could not bring herself to say it directly. The young Hippogryph whimpered, emitting another heartfelt sob before covering her face with one talon, the defeat evident even without words to accompany it. Capper frowned, taking her free talon in his paw and caressing it sympathetically.

“It’s okay,” he advised her, his gaze soft and understanding. He knelt beside her, bringing his other paw down along the curvatures of her face gently. “Look, maybe there was just somethin’ wrong with the way y’all went about it, y’know? There might still be a chance y’all can do this, Skystar.” The little Hippogryph looked up into his bright green eyes, sniffling a bit. “Never give up hope, okay?”

“C-C-Capper…” His empathy only caused the tears to flow more freely now; she clenched her teeth, her head lowered as the ground became spotted with the saline eye-water. The young Abyssinian frowned, his ears lowering slightly, as he drew closer to her, attempting to calm her down. Celaeno frowned and looked off to the side, appearing guilty, as Storm and Grubber, who had been standing near the doorway the entire time, watched the scene unfold. Storm appeared lost in some sort of reverie or memory, while Grubber looked upset, his ears flattened against his skull as he listened to the young Hippogryph princess’s sorrowful gasps.

All the while, one figure stood apart from the rest; one that was eyeing them, Storm in particular, with nothing more than pure venom and malevolence. Its eyes glinted as it slowly turned and walked away; it could care less for the dramatic aftermath of what had transpired.

It much preferred to think about what was yet to happen.

Things would be better this way.

Author's Note

Skystar-themed chapter GO

...Figures I'd finish this on friggin' April Fool's day at 2:30 in the friggin' morning. Oh well. :P

But yeah, this chapter probably left a lot of questions for people...I apologize for that. Things will be explained in the next chapter, without any doubt. As for why Novo did what she did...there's a reason for that, too, but again, answers are on the horizon for those who seek them. In the meantime, however, thanks for reading! <3

Treacherous

HURRICANE TRINITY

An MLP Extended-Universe Story

Written by M.J. Hopper

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Storm.

“That’s…not my name…”

Prince Stormbreaker finally came to his senses, and the darkness around him faded as he forced his eyes to open and take in the current situation. He had remembered, at the very least, being in a different room before he had passed out; a much darker one…but now, the daylight filtered freely through an open window and there were soft noises in the air; murmurs and chatter, for the most part. The younger prince was lying down on his back, and he very quickly realized, from the scent alone, that he was in the infirmary. Anxiety immediately struck the yeti-goat and he attempted to bolt upright but failed, as a strong jolt of pain shot through his skull; groaning, he collapsed back down upon the cot, rubbing at his temple with one hand.

“Careful, Stormy.” A familiar hoof reached out, placing itself atop said hand. “You suffered a bit of a concussion back there. It’s honestly a miracle your back didn’t snap itself in half when you hit that pillar; good gods…” Gallyen’s voice broke for a moment. “I…I was so worried...”

“I…hit a pillar…?” Stormbreaker was still trying to make sense of what had transpired before he had passed out; he had managed to remember very little so far which was quite frankly not rare. Gallyen knew quite well that amnesia was a side-effect of head trauma, and merely nodded in response.

“It was during your Catalyst ceremony, last night. Father instructed you to touch the Staff of Trinity shortly after you received your bell catalyst…do you remember anything, anything at all, that happened around that time?” The older goat was urging him drastically to recollect his thoughts, it seemed; for what reason, the yeti-goat prince did not know, but he struggled with his memory regardless.

“I, uh…” He struggled to piece together what had happened prior to his passing out as best as he could; eventually something clicked and his eyes widened a bit. He looked over toward Gallyen, forcing himself upright on his elbows. “G-Gallyen…wait. There was…I remember something.” He shut his eyes for a moment and exhaled before looking up again. “Wh-when you had your ceremony, and had to touch the Staff yourself…did you…”

He bit his lip slightly and looked to the side. “Did you…SEE anything?”

Gallyen’s ears pricked a bit, and now it was his turn to look awkwardly confused; he shook his head in response. “No, Stormy…in fact, my ceremony never involved touching the Staff in the first place. It was held in the Palace Gardens due to my affinity with holy magic, because apparently the springs there are imbued with that type of energy.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t really understand why Father implored you to touch the Staff, either, to be entirely honest. The last goat to ever touch the Staff at all was Father himself, and that was years ago apparently. Due to the raw power it emits, it is highly dangerous to wield, so it’s rare that Father allows anyone to even go near it.”

Stormbreaker eyed his older brother in utter befuddlement, but, at the same time there was a trace of fear in his eyes; something wasn’t right. “Wh…what…?”

The elder goat shook his head. “I…I don’t understand either, like I said. Father never really explained to either me nor Mother what his intentions behind it were. All I know is that he must have seen something in you that encouraged this course of action…but what that is, I really do not know.” There was a brief moment of silence before Gallyen eyed Stormbreaker with a hint of curiosity. “By the way…you said something before…something about ‘did you see anything.’ Did you…have some kind of vision when you touched it, or something?”

“Uh…” The young yeti-goat could feel beads of sweat forming upon his brow from the sudden pang of anxiety that struck him; he was attempting to recall the images he had seen, the words he had heard, to photographic perfection, but it was impossible at this point. Everything had gone by so quickly that he had no time to recollect or even think upon what he had seen or what it ultimately meant. He shook his head. “N-no. If I did see something, I don’t remember it…at least not entirely.”

Gallyen raised an eyebrow. “So…you DID see something? Or no?”

“Could you STOP?” Stormbreaker snapped back at him irritably before realizing what he had just done, and was immediately apologetic. “Sorry, Gallyen…ugh. I…yes, I did see something, but like I said, I don’t remember what exactly it entailed. It went by way too fast for me to get a grasp on it.”

Something seemed to flicker in the elder goat’s eyes, although it was very faint and disappeared just as quickly as it came. Before Stormbreaker could utter a word about this, Gallyen had risen to his hooves, and was trotting toward one of the nearby windows, seemingly interested in what was outside. The yeti-goat tilted his head slightly, before attempting to struggle onto his own feet and plod over to where his older brother was standing. He turned his attention toward the window. “What’s up? Do you see something interesting?”

“Yeah.” Gallyen placed one hoof upon the windowsill, turning his attention up toward the sky. His ears flattened a bit. “You know…Tambelon is one of the few places in Trinity that gets to see the sunlight, most of the time. But, truth is…I’d like a rainy day, one of these days. The crops honestly need more water…and we could do with a little change of pace.” He looked over toward his brother, a slight glint of anticipation in one eye, and smiled. “Hey, Stormy. Would you do something for me?”

Stormbreaker eyed the goat uneasily. “Uh…sure?”

“Okay, good.” Gallyen looked back toward the sky, still smiling away. “I have a theory in my head…but, I’m not sure if it’s true or not. I want to test it…just to be sure.” He pointed a hoof in the direction of a small cluster of clouds in the distance. “You can control your magic, now that you have your bell catalyst, right? So…focus on those clouds over there, and try to hit ‘em, okay?”

The younger being eyed his brother yet again, this time with pure disbelief. “What makes you think I can—”

“Just TRY.”

Stormbreaker could feel his heart beginning to pound a bit as he looked toward the clouds; it was true that he now wielded a bell catalyst, but he had no idea how to bring out his magic—or if it was even there in the first place, for that matter. Regardless, his curiosity was beginning to eat at him, both in the sense that he wanted to know what type of magic he had, if any, and that he really was confused as to what Gallyen was attempting to prove with this. He looked up toward the clouds, attempting to focus in on them, and drew in a breath, holding it for a few moments and squeezing his eyes shut.

Come on, Stormbreaker…you can do this.

Focus.

“Ugh…” He mustered forth every ounce of willpower he had toward his mind, attempting to force himself to summon forth something—anything—that could be unleashed…nothing came to him, however, and he immediately felt disheartened because of this. Knowing that Gallyen was counting on him, though, he continued his attempts for what seemed like hours, but it was ultimately fruitless; he slumped down against the windowsill, clutching at his head with one hand, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. He could barely manage to choke out the words through his own emotion:

“I knew it…I just…freaking knew it…”

Gallyen had been concerned, truth be told, since he found that his brother was having difficulty summoning forth his ability to begin with, and he now dropped down beside him; his soft nose brushed against Stormbreaker’s cheek in comfort. “Hey…Stormy, don’t be upset. I…maybe I’m not an expert, but I think it was that you were trying TOO hard, you know? If you would just—”

“Gallyen…please…stop.” The younger creature dropped his face into one folded arm, hiding his features, and his body trembled a bit. “I know you’re only trying to be nice, but…I don’t want you to. They were right the entire damned time…I don’t HAVE any abilities. I’m just a useless freakshow attraction that needs to be—”

“That isn’t true, though!” The elder goat retorted, reaching out to place a hoof on Stormbreaker’s shoulder. His brow furrowed in irritation. “I have believed in you all these years, and I refuse to give up hope now! Mother is NOT right about you. You have a gift, Stormy, and you need to be able to—”

“GALLYEN!” Stormbreaker’s tone suddenly switched from despair to pure anger; he whipped his head in his brother’s direction, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks, and smacked the goat’s hoof away. “I told you that I’m a worthless hack, and that’s all I ever WILL be; now LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!!”

It was unclear to say what exactly happened then and there next; all either of them knew was that there was a violent flash of bright blue light, followed by a loud booming sound that seemed to shake the entire infirmary to its very core. The floorboards quivered, the walls seemed to violently shift, and the window behind them shattered into small shards, sending glass raining down atop both of them and causing the empty wooden framework to fall from its hinges and clatter to the ground. Gallyen was almost thrown backward from the shock-force of the combined light and sound; he skittered across the floor about ten feet from the window before finally collecting his bearings and looking up in surprise.

Stormbreaker was collapsed on his side below the windowsill, his body trembling violently and the rune patterns on his horns bathed in a glowing blue light similar to the light that had lit up the room only mere seconds ago. Outside, the sky was darkening, and for a moment Gallyen feared that something might have happened; that perhaps some of the Demons had breached the Tambelon lines…

…And then, the rainfall.

It began with a few soft patters at first; those patters quickly were accompanied by additional ones until it flowed together into one singular sound…the sound of a rainy day. The clouds were dark and seemed to shift and pulse slightly with a strange aura…like an energy, almost, of sorts. The elder goat appeared baffled for a moment and turned for a brief second to look behind him. His eyes grew wide as he saw—albeit barely recognizable by this point in time—the remains of a large glass mirror; his look of fear became a small smile, then a grin; finally he burst out laughing and began prancing around the room like an elated lamb, kicking his back legs victoriously.

“Ha, ha-ha! I knew it, I KNEW it!!”

Stormbreaker was still trembling like a leaf but hearing Gallyen’s laughter cleared some of the fog in his senses; he pushed himself upright shakily, the runic pattern’s glow fading as he did so, and rubbed at his head. The pounding sensation within his skull was incredible, and the catalyst around his chest felt warm, as if it had been exposed to a tremendous source of heat. Trying to steady his breathing—as he had not been aware, up until this point, that he was slightly hyperventilating—he looked up toward his brother with an expression of sheer perplexity. “What are you laughing about?”

“Eee, hee-hee…” Gallyen attempted to steady his mirth and looked over at Stormbreaker, although he was still smiling away. An excited energy sparked within his eyes. “I’m sorry…I’m just…absolutely amazed. Stormy, do you even know what you just DID a few moments ago?!”

“N-no…” The smaller creature’s ears pricked slightly as he finally took notice of the rain pounding down outside; he placed both hands upon the windowsill and pulled himself up to look. “Hey…when did it start raining, Gallyen? A moment ago it was sunny, and—” He fell silent as he took notice of Gallyen’s knowing grin, and his eyes widened a bit. “W-wait…you can’t possibly be saying that I could do something like—”

“But you DID.” Gallyen thrust his head forward slightly, his eyes wide and glittering with elation. He gave another tiny prance with his forelegs. “It took a…rather harsh approach, I guess…to draw it out, but it’s THERE, Stormy! You have a power of your own, and it finally revealed itself after YEARS of lying dormant within you…and it’s an incredibly rare one, at that. There is literally NO other Caprinian in all of Tambelon that can do what you do.”

“And just…what CAN I do?” Stormbreaker responded; the question was more of curiosity at Gallyen’s judgement than anything else, truth be told. The older goat eyed him with excitement, gesturing his head toward the rain outside.

“You can control the weather, Stormy,” he declared. “Do you even KNOW how much elemental magic one has to seize knowledge of in order to cause rainfall alone? This is a rare talent, Stormy. Like, a REALLY rare one. Father needs to be informed of this immediately!”

Stormbreaker looked toward his brother, eyes wide; a jolt of anxiety shot up his neck and he attempted to struggle to his feet. “G-Gallyen, no…wait—”

If the elder goat had heard a single word he had uttered, it had apparently fallen on deaf ears, for he was already on his way out of the infirmary. The yeti-goat quickly took a step forward in an attempt to follow him, but the pain immediately returned, crippling him temporarily; he collapsed onto his side against a nearby cot, trembling a bit. The catalyst still felt like a warm water bottle looped around his neck, and he wondered to himself if this was even worth getting nervous over.

No one was going to care, right…?

“Skystar, c’mon…you’ve gotta attend.”

“I…I don’t want to.” The young Hippogryph princess’s eyes welled with tears yet again; she had lost count of how many times this had happened since losing the Stratia Engagus match against her mother, but she didn’t care how pitiful she was making herself look at this point. Despite how adamant Capper was about the fact that she, indeed, was capable of wielding Penance, she herself could no longer hold that belief firmly within her grasp and say it for certain. Everything felt utterly hopeless and confusing, and it was reaching the point where she could no longer tell which way was up. She tucked her head down between her front claws, heaving a defeated sigh. “Just…go to Mom’s dinner without me this time. I don’t even know if I wanna face her, after making myself look like an idiot.”

“That ain’t true.” The young Abyssinian’s brow furrowed and he swished his tail slightly in mild agitation before curling it over her back, looking down at her with a soft gaze. “Y’all did your best out there, at least I think y’all did for your first Strata-whatever match.” He sighed and brought a paw to his face; forgetting about traditions was not a good way to go about anything, but he had to keep trying…he shook his head. “Look, I still think that we need to do more research on Penance or whatever. Y’all might not have been able to activate it during the match, but…it still CALLED you, right? Your name, specifically?”

“Yes, and it even led me to it, with like…this yellow light.” She sighed again and turned over on her side, averting her eyes from Capper. “But, it’s not like it matters…I’m not even capable of drawing out its power. With you, at least you were able to immediately feel the energy, right? You said it felt good…you know, that it was RIGHT for you to have the Destroyers.”

“W-well, yeah…” Capper’s ears dropped slightly in defeat. “But that doesn’t mean that—”

“Just…just go.” The little Hippogryph curled up a bit and opened one wing ever-so-slightly to flick Capper’s tail away. She shut her eyes. “I don’t want to be bothered anymore right now. It’s not gonna help.”

The cat-being was about to open his mouth again to say something to her, but upon viewing her defeated position, he thought against it; now it was his turn to sigh and look defeated as he pushed himself to his feet and began walking toward the entrance of the infirmary, where the rest of the group had been waiting. He looked up at the others, ears down against the back of his skull and eyes glazed over with hopelessness. “I tried, guys…she’s…she really ain’t takin’ this well, it seems…”

“To be honest, neither would I.” Storm shook his head, his arms folded, though his expression and poise seemed neutral. He leaned against the doorway, curling his tail around one leg. “It almost feels like that…whatever-it-was…simply called her to crush her hopes. You all probably would get the gist that I know completely how that feels.” He averted his gaze to the side and shook his head.

“Something feels off, though.” Celaeno tapped a claw against her beak in thought. “From what you’ve told me, Capper, the Destroyers never actually ‘called’ you; you just happened to come across them and pick them up, right?”

Capper nodded in response. “Yeah, pretty much, Feathers…they were just, like, the first pair of daggers I grabbed. I was in such a hurry at the time I pretty much didn’t think anything of it.”

“And my—I mean, Sk-Skystar’s…” Celaeno huffed out a breath of relief for her save before continuing. “It called to her, which means it wanted her to find it, in some way. So, this is an entirely different series of events…for you, the power of the daggers just surged through you…but for Skystar, it might be different. It’s entirely possible that the path to being a Chosen depends on the stature of the relic itself.”

Storm raised an eyebrow, smiling a bit. “Not bad, ‘Feathers.’ And here I thought pirates were all about stealing things without prior knowledge. Gods know that you didn’t have any clue most of my ships were just hauling useless materials…”

Celaeno whipped her head in his direction to shoot him a nasty glare. “Shut your face,” she stated; the yeti-goat could only grin coyly in response and there was a brief moment of tension as the parrot woman drew one talon into a fist, debating with herself whether to clock the smile off of his face or not. Thankfully:

“Ah, THERE you are!”

The group immediately snapped to attention as Constelle appeared in the hallway; the stately Hippogryph reached one front claw up to brush a stray feather from his glinting eyes as he smiled. “I have been looking everywhere for you lot; the dinner starts in just a short amount of time. We must make haste, if we are to dignify manners.” He paused to glance over at Skystar and then momentarily dismissed it as he focused his attention back upon the others. “Please, come with me, if you may. Her Majesty has requested a…rather special…location for you to dine tonight, in particular.”

“I, uh…” Celaeno opened her mouth to respond, stating that maybe it was best that they stay with Skystar awhile longer, but the purple Hippogryph was already hurriedly attempting to herd them in an opposite direction down the hallway. Sighing, she finally allowed herself to simply go with the flow, so to speak, and followed Constelle and the others across the castle balcony.

It wasn’t really like anything could possibly turn sour whilst they were away, right?

Constelle halted near a small, eroded corridor east of the main citadel; he stopped and flicked his ears, as if listening, or searching for something. Finally he nodded, lowering his guard before turning around and bowing his head apologetically.

“Ah…it appears that we are a bit too far from the Citadel for my guards’ liking,” he said, sounding slightly concerned. He furrowed his brow, again apologetic, almost. “Please excuse any rowdy behavior they might perform; they REALLY are good boys, deep down…”

Capper raised an eyebrow, his ears quivering slightly; something wasn’t right here. “What do y’all mean by that?”

“It should be obvious to you...fur-covered rogue.” He cast a mild nod to the guards behind them. “Do it.”

“You scoun—!” Capper exclaimed, beginning to leap forward, but he was cut off by a swift blow to the head that sent him into unconsciousness almost immediately, and collapsed into a heap on the ground next to Celaeno, who had received the same “treatment” as he. Grubber and Storm were dispersed in a similar manner, and once they collapsed, Constelle stood over the small heap, curling his beak ever-so-slightly. A huge part of him desired to spit upon their bodies, but no…not yet.

They needed to be SHOWN the fearsome power of the Hippogryphs in their last minutes. Try as he might, for some reason Constelle had always been a fan of theatrics. He sighed reflectively to himself before looking at the guards once more.

“Drag them to the farthest possible location from the Citadel,” he ordered, turning around. “Oh, and…don’t touch the weapons. Leave them on their bodies for when they eventually awaken.”

A taller Hippogryph than Constelle blinked and looked toward his commanding officer with befuddlement. “G-General, why would you want…?”

Constelle flicked his gaze back and smiled wanly.

“It would be entertaining for me…to watch them struggle.”

Author's Note

Ugh I am exhausted out of my mind right now. Apologies if the end of this chapter feels slightly rushed, bleah.

Finally updating after a LONG time. Expect some more things in the near-future. Also, in light of some semi-recent comments, please READ THE DAMN STORY before posting stuff pertaining to it. Seriously, one's sense of foreboding/prediction has got to be better than that, dude...