The party was in full swing. Pinkie Pie had set it up at the last minute after Starlight and Sunburst told Twilight they had an announcement to make. Balloons, streamers and tables full of food donned the floor of the Castle of Friendship's map room.
Of all the ponies present, one was certainly a stand out. The purple mare with the mohawk mane stood by herself in the outskirts of her new group of 'friends'.
"Tempest?" A voice asked. Tempest turned to face the lilac princess who had addressed her.
"Evening Princess. Is everything alright?" The Princess chuckled and shook her head.
"Tempest, I have told you before, Twilight is fine. And I could ask you the same thing, are you not enjoying yourself?" Tempest sighed and lowered her head in embarrassment,
"It is not that Twilight. I-," she paused, "I just find it hard to 'mingle' after being on my own for so long. Sorry, I shouldn't keep you from your friends." Twilight raised a wing and lowered it over Tempest's shoulder,
"Our friends," Twilight smiled as she said that, "Come on. I'll help you." The two ponies made their way across the floor and went to talk with the other ponies.
After a while, Tempest's walls came down and she started to open up to the ponies she was talking to, she even engaged in jokes and stories. The party goers in attendance all turned to face Starlight Glimmer as she tapper a spoon on a glass.
"Thank you all for coming. It means a lot to us." She and Sunburst stood side by side at the front of the assembly, "Now, I know why you are all here," she paused for a calming breath before starting again, "our announcement."
"OUR?!," The blue unicorn sounded startled, "You mean both of you?" Trixie pointed a hoof back and forth between the two ponies, much to everypony's amusement.
"Yes Trixie, our announcement," Starlight turned to Sunburst before they both said in unison, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!" The ponies all cheered and clapped their hooves, some giving congratulations to the couple.
"That's amazing Starlight," Twilight beamed, "My student is growing up" she wiped a stray tear away from her eye, receiving an overly long handkerchief from the equally blubbering Trixie.
"That's not all," Starlight stated, "we have other news" The two of them took a deep breath,
"WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" Another round of clapping and cheers met their ears as they were swamped with the ponies in attendance, each of them giving another round of congratulations.
Except one.
Tempest Shadow stood in shock. Quickly turning as she felt a tear leave her eye, she made her way to the map room door.
She walked down the hall for a bit before happening on a large window with a small balcony, not as grand as the viewing platform in Canterlot Castle, but merely a rail big enough for a pony to lean on. Tempest leaned on the barrier and looked up at the night sky above, letting the tears fall freely.
Unbeknownst to her, Twilight had seen her leave and silently watched her as she wept.
"Tempest?" Tempest closed her eyes and felt her muscles tense as the Princess spoke. "Tempest, please, tell me what wrong." Twilight had slowly walked up to her and brought her own forelegs onto the railing like Tempest had.
"It's nothing Twilight. Really, nothing at all." Tempest tried to sound confident, but her cracking voice and streaming tears betrayed her. Twilight steeled herself and asked again,
"Tempest Shadow, I want to help and I can't do that if you don't tell me what it is that's wrong." Tempest couldn't argue with that conclusion. Taking a deep of her own, Tempest glanced at Twilight before returning her gaze to the sky,
"Hearing Starlight's news just reminded me of my past is all. A past I tried to run from, but I guess it was going to catch up to me sooner or later," Tempest smiled slightly as she watched the sky, "you know Twilight, I was a mother once." Twilight's eyes grew large as she slowly turned to face Tempest. The latter spotted this and chuckled lightly, "It's true. May I tell you the story? I think it would be good to finally share it with another pony." Twilight regained her composure, placed a hoof over Tempest's and smiled,
"I would like that." Tempest, her confidence renewed by Twilight's support, took one last look at the sky and started,
xxx
Storm ships glided over the farm. The territories outside Equestria provided great cover for the Storm King's forces as they gathered intel from their newest location to conquer.
"Set it down there." An armoured pony gave the command to her helmsman, who obliged and set the ship down at the edge of the farm's field.
"What's going on here?" The aging stallion asked as he emerged from the Farmhouse. The armoured pony had since disembarked from her ship and spoke in a commanding voice,
"Family. We have commandeered your land. We will be staying here until our mission is complete. As our gratitude for use of your land, we promise to not stray from the boundaries set by my ship. We will not cross it and neither will you. Is that understood?" Not seeing anyway of getting them to leave, the stallion spoke,
"Very well. Will you also promise not to hurt my family?" She nodded,
"As long as they respect the boundary line, they will remain unharmed. Now if you will excuse me." With that she turned tail and made her way back to her ship.
That night, Tempest stood in her quarters speaking to a voice on the other side of a spell.
"It will be done, your majesty." The voice on the other side crackled,
"Yeah Tempest, great. Hey, where'd you get this thing? Ponies do surprise me sometimes. Not very much, but, sometimes."
"It just a common long distance talk spell, common with the Princesses of Equ..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, that's great. Just make sure you get this artifact thing that destroys those Uni-wingy-corni-pony things. 'Kay?" The voice responded.
"It will be done." Tempest looked defiantly at the blue flame. The spell burned out and Tempest was yet again all alone in her room, staring into the map on her table. The convoy carrying the staff would pass by this farm by midday tomorrow, as it continued it's journey into Equestria. That is where Tempest's army would intercept it.
Soldiers were in their agreed positions, hidden in the tall grass which flanked the dirt trail the convoy would soon be travelling down.
"Remember. Wait for my, and only my, signal. Understood?" a series of grunts and salutes were her answer. She grunted in frustration and continued watching the road.
Right on time, the convoy appeared. A large golden carriage was pulled by two burly earth ponies, both clad in heavy armour. Above were a squadron of pegasus ponies and walking in tight groups both front and back, were even more earth ponies along with a few unicorns.
Tempest tensed. She began to feel the adrenaline rise in her veins, her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of collecting her prize and getting one step closer to her prize. Her horn.
"NOW!" she shouted as the carriage was drawing near. The ponies around it jumped at the sudden noise, spears raised quickly at their attackers.
"SOLDIERS! POSITIONS!" Their commander yelled as they engaged the Storm Guard. Spear penetrating the guards hides and club crashing down onto pony skulls. The two groups were large enough for the fight to quickly get out of hoof. Bodies began to pile up around the road and adjacent fields.
Sensing her opportunity, Tempest made a bee line for the carriage door. She could smell that Staff.
Upon reaching the vehicle, she delivered a swift kick to one of the guards manning the door and a strong punch to the other, knocking both of them out. She took a deep breath and quickly opened the double doors.
Empty.
She blinked. This carriage was empty. Just a hollow box on wheels. She panicked, clawing at the floor and walls looking for a secret compartment or a cloaking spell. She found nothing.
Exiting through the doors, she was brought out of her stupor by a pegasus guard up above,
"Stop there scum!" he hollered at her, she looked his way only to feel a dull thud on the side of her head which shot her into the side of the carriage. Then her world went black.
She came to when she felt herself moving. She was being dragged by the back of her armour, her back was skating over the dirt and large rocks.
"Stop" she ordered. The Storm Guard pulling her did so and turned to her. Tempest grimaced at his appearance. Cut adorned his fur, one of his eyes was missing and there were charred marks all over his body as well as broken spears sticking out. She noticed something else, she had left with a hundred guards for her mission, she was looking at not much more than ten. "What happened to the others?" she asked the guard. He looked saddened as he raised a hand to his throat and made a slicing motion. Tempest looked down towards the ground, she didn't mean for any of them to die.
Arriving back at the farm that night, she boarded her ship and removed her armour, letting it clank loudly to the floor. She had failed. Failed to get the staff, failed to keep her soldiers alive, she had simply failed. His majesty would be furious.
"Commander Tempest? The Storm King would like to see you." Tempest froze. The King was here? She turned to face Grubber and nodded, sending him on his way. Seeing no reason to keep his Majesty waiting, she exited her quarters and joined the rest of her army on the ships deck.
"You wished to see me, your Highness?" This time, instead of a speaking only spell, the body of the Satyr bodied King could be seen. He was less that happy.
"Yes. I did," He seethed, "Where is the Staff, Tempest?" She shrunk under his gaze,
"Th-the Ponies created a decoy, your Majes-"
"A DECOY?!" The Storm King yelled, making her shrink further, "You told me you had this. Was I wrong to entrust you with such responsibility?" Tempest said nothing, she felt like that was for the best. "I do not like failure, Tempest. This isn't your first failure either now, is it?" Again, Tempest stood still not daring to even glance up. "I see no other way, seize her." Tempest shot her head up as two guard fixed a heavy steel shackle around her neck. "It's nothing personal. Well, it kinda is, but don't worry. These guys are just gonna, remind you, what happens to those who fail me. Take her away, I can't stand lookin' at her."
Tempest stared slack jawed at the now flameless pot where the Storm King's face had once graced. Feeling the chain around her neck go tight, she followed the guards as the took her to a secluded location. The guards finally stopped at the entrance to the Farm's barn. One of them thrusted it's arm in the direction of the interior of the barn. She obliged an entered, walking to the centre of the room. The doors were closed and the Guards surrounded her. She knew what was in store and as the first fist collided with her head, she accepted her fate.
After a while, a battered and bloody Tempest Shadow lay on her side on the barn floor. Blood escaped from her wounds and trickled down onto the dirt floor. The guards had long left, having done their duty for the King.
Just as she was about to surrender to her overwhelming tiredness, she saw a bright light coming from the door and a shadow enter the barn. The last thing she saw was the shadow getting closer as she finally allowed her body to fall into the depths of unconsciousness.
xxx
"Tempest," Twilight started, "That-that's terrible. I'm so sorry that happened to you." Tempest looked to her friend and gave a small, thankful nod,
"Thank you Twilight. But what is done is done. There is no changing that now. Nor is there anything I can do about the scars I bear." Twilight contemplated this as she looked over Tempest's unarmoured body. There were more scars on her ribs and back that Twilight had never seen before, yet they were not deep enough or long enough to draw anypony's attention for too long, unlike the scar on her eye.
"Twilight?" Tempest asked as Twilight rose from her thoughts, "May I continue?" Twilight slowly nodded and waited for Tempest to continue her tale,
xxx
Tempest awoke to a cold feeling running across her lips.
She was lying in a foreign bed in a room she did not recognize.
"Hey Ma'! She's awake," a stallion's voice caught her attention, she tried to raise her head to see who was speaking, "Whoa, hey now. Don't get up. I found in the barn a few days ago, those goons done a real nasty number on you. You've been here was a few days now." Tempest furrowed her brow at that, 'a few days?' she thought.
"So. The patient finally awakens, does she?" Another voice, that of a mare, entered her ears as an older mare walked slowly up to her bedside. "Gave my son a powerful fright when he found you. We did all we could, you'll be back up and at it in a few days." Tempest looked in the direction of the mare. She was speaking but she never looked at Tempest as she did. Tempest caught her current appearance in a mirror in the corner of the room, she was a mess. Bandages covered her body from head to hoof. Her eye was blackened and various other black bruises covered her coat.
A sweet smell filled Tempest's nose as her attention was draw to a tray that had been set on the bed side table.
"I can take it from here Ma'" the stallion spoke. The mare nodded and left the room, closing the door as she did so. "Don't worry 'bout Ma'. She's just a little ticked at you and your buddies using our field as a camp." The stallion walked over to the tray and prepared something, Tempest couldn't turn her neck far enough to see what it was. "You're lucky I found you when I did. Don't think you'd have lasted much longer if I hadn't." The stallion shot up at a sudden realisation, "Hey! I don't think we've been properly introduced, my name is Seed Row. What's your's?"
"T-Tempest Sh-Shadow" she struggled out. He beamed at her and gently bumped a hoof off of hers,
"Nice to meet you Tempest. Now, wait 'til you try this." He raised a piece of toasted bread up to her mouth. She suddenly realised just how hungry she really was. She took a large bite and savored the taste on her tongue. Seed Row chuckled, "Like it? It's my own recipe. Just some of our own home made strawberry jam on top of a layer of thick cream. I call it a 'Strawberry Swirl'"
"I-it's go-good." Seed beamed at Tempest's praise and help her finish her meal.
Once it was done, the two ponies sat in silence for a while, before Tempest spoke up,
"Mr. Row," now fully awake, her words and composure had finally found her, "I thank you and your family for keeping me in my current state, but I must depart. My King will be requesting my services soon." To her surprise, Seed Row winced as she spoke to him,
"Sorry Tempest. I'm afraid the airships left here not long after I found you. Along with all of the creatures you brought." Tempest's eye grew wide. They couldn't have. Abandoned? Her? Commander Shadow? This had to be a mistake. Seed Row walked over to the window which looked over the field where the ships once stood and drew back the curtains.
He was right.
No ships. No Storm Guards. No camp. Nothing.
She blinked in confusion, but she could not find the strength to be angry.
"I'm really sorry." Seed told her again. Tempest turned her attention to the stallions again.
"Would you mind, leaving me to myself for a bit?" Seed looked hurt as she asked him, but ultimately agreed. He picked up the tray which once carried her breakfast and left, closing the door behind himself.
Now on her own, Tempest did something she had not done for a long time, she cried.
xxx
Over the coming days and weeks, Tempest Shadow slowly regained her strength. Her bandages had mostly been removed and she was able to walk around the room. Her first few steps were slow, but at least she was on her hooves again. She was in no state to leave the room, not that she wanted to. She was still nervous about seeing the rest of Seed Row's family, unsure of how they would react to the pony who had, in effect, stolen part of their land.
She looked out of the window over the field where her ship had stood, she still felt a certain humiliation about having been abandoned by the Storm King. She was drawn out of her thoughts as she noticed Seed Row hard a work. She noticed the sweat on his brow as he shook his thick red mane, his powerful muscles flexed as they dragged the plow across the field, as well as how the sun seemed to shine off of his off white fur.
She shook her head from side to side. Which hurt.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself.
Other days, Tempest had tried to exercise. Push ups were a favourite of hers, but completing any more than twenty in her current state was proving to be a challenge.
Like he had during days gone by, Seed Row would bring a tray of food up to her when he would break from his chores and every time he would sit with her until she was finished. Though she did not to admit it, she enjoyed his company when he was there. She found his simple humor infectious and genuinely wanted to hear every detail of the stories he told. She had never felt this way about another pony.
One night as Tempest lay in the bed reading a book that Seed had brought her, he appeared at her door and coughed to get her attention. Smiling at him and setting her book down on the bed side table, she gave it to him,
"Yes, Seed?"
"Tempest, I was hoping you would join my family and I for dinner tonight. If you want to, that is" Tempest giggled at his foal-like embarrassed. She was ready to say yes, when something stopped her.
"Seed, I would but, I'm still unsure how the rest of your family will be with me being there." Seed Row carefully walked over to the distressed mare and sat beside her on the bed.
"Truth be told, I'm not sure. Pa' hasn't mentioned you, neither have my brothers or sisters, but that don't mean they hate you. There just scared of you is all." He shot his eyes open and slowly turned to her, wincing as he registered the annoyed look she gave him, "'Kay, maybe that was a bad way of putting it, but making an appearance wouldn't hurt, right? Water under the bride and all?" Her look deflated from one of annoyance and morphed into one of defeat. She couldn't help but admit that he was right, this would help mend the shattered perception of her. Sighing and closing her eyes,
"I accept." He smiled and held out a hoof to help her from the bed and back onto her hooves. Ma' stopped in front of the door and looked between the two of them,
"Well?" She asked. Reddening, Seed Row nodded. Ma' clapped her hooves and darted back downstairs,
Clearing his throat and turning to hide his blush, Seed spoke to the bewildered Tempest,
"Ma' likes cookin' for visitors" She laughed quietly to herself and followed him downstairs.
If there was one way to describe the atmosphere at the dinner table, it would be 'awkward'.
Tempest sat beside Seed Row and silently ate her bowl of soup as the family members staring at her. None of them with any malice, mostly curiosity.
Ma' and Pa' sat at opposite side at the far ends of the table, Seed and Tempest occupied the two seats closest to Ma' while Seed's brother sat beside him on one side and his remaining brother and two sisters sat on the other side. The brother on the other side was easily the youngest, still a school age pony, the twin sisters were older and appeared to be in their late teens to early twenties and the remaining brother was only a year or so younger that Seed and Tempest.
"What happened to your horn, Missy?" The youngest brother suddenly broke the silence. Tempest nearly swallowed her spoon as the question came.
"Firewood! Be nice, Miss Tempest may not want to talk about it" Ma' scolded the young pony.
"No, It's alright," Tempest smiled at her, she turned to the inquisitive little pony, "I lost it in an Ursa attack when I was your age."
"Whoa. I bet you kicked that Ursa's...."
"FIREWOOD!" Pa' spoke for the first time, looking between his youngest child and Tempest, "Enough." The little pony looked down at his food,
"Sorry Pa'" he said.
The rest of the dinner was taken in mostly silence, with the occasional asking for condiments and 'thank yous'.
Once the dinner was over, the gathered ponies, with the exception of Ma' and Tempest, all left to go outside. Tempest joined Ma' in the kitchen and helped with the washing up. They worked in another awkward silence before Tempest told Ma',
"That dinner was delicious. Thank you." Ma' beamed at Tempest's words,
"That's very kind of you dear. Sorry about Pa', he's always been a bit of a hot head." Tempest waved away her concern,
"It's quite alright, I understand his feeling towards me." Ma' gave her a small, sad smile as they continued their washing.
Walking to her room after her chore, Tempest noticed the family all huddled around a fire messing around with something.
"Is there something the matter?" She asked Ma',
"Oh! The harvest starts tomorrow, so this is a little tradition we came up with years ago. Just a couple of fireworks and a few campfire songs. Hey, why don't you join us?" Ma' looked hopefully at Tempest, who smiled but shook her head,
"Sorry, but after that," she motioned towards the dinner table, "I just want to be alone for a while" Ma' looked saddened, but nevertheless accepted her decision.
"Alright dear, you can watch from the window upstairs" Tempest nodded and ascended the stairs to her room.
Solitude had been her go to when things got tough. When she lost her horn, when her friends left to go to 'Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns' and when life on the road got too tough, being alone with her own thoughts always got her through.
*knock-knock*
She jumped at the sudden noise. She walked up to the door and opened it.
"Seed?" she asked, perplexed, "Don't you want to be with your family?" Seed shook his head and placed a tray on the table,
"Ma' told me you were here. I hope you don't mind but I thought you could do with some company. Oh, and some of Ma's hot cocoa." He picked up his own cup and sniffed, Tempest followed suit taking a small sip of her beverage.
"Mmm, perfect." Seed said as he finished a drink of his own.
The two ponies sat shoulder to shoulder in front of the large window and watched the fireworks show that Pa' had set up. Large bangs and pops penetrated the stillness of the air and bright lights filled the dark night sky. Tempest loved fireworks, she always had, she watch intently as the various sizes and colours of the explosions dance around in the sky.
Seed had one eye on the display and one on the mare sitting beside him,
"Beautiful" he suddenly said. Tempest quickly looked at him before refocusing on the show,
"Yes, it is"
"I wasn't talking about the fireworks" Seed said, Tempest looked up to him and found that he was staring at her with his eyes half closed,
"Oh" was all she could say. Seed quickly looked out of the window again in panic,
"Sorry Tempest. Don't quite know what came over me there." He looked in every direction bar that one she was in. He took a large draw from his mug and blushed fiercely.
Tempest was in shock.
Nopony had every said such things to her. She had been with stallions before, when she was alone and she needed the money, but none of them had ever meant anything to her, they were just a means to an end. One that she regretted every day. Seed was different, he cared for her, cared about her, had helped her in her time of need and had just let slip how he really felt.
"Hey..." Seed turned to her after hearing her get his attention,
"Yes, Tempes..." he could finish as he felt Tempest's lips meet his in a deep, passionate kiss. The fireworks continued to go off outside, but the only thing the two ponies, sitting in a dark room in an old farm house, could think about was each other.
Tempest broke the kiss and took his hoof, leading him to the bed she had been using since she arrived. They climbed on, Tempest on the bottom and Seed on top, lips locked once more in a loving embrace.
"Are you sure you want this?" Seed asked her after he drew his lips away,
"More than anything" she told him in a hushed whisper before they continued with their affection.
xxx
"Tempest," Twilight broke her out of her story again, this time the Friendship Princess was beat red and waving a hoof in the air, "I am nothing if not a well read pony, so I am quite aware of what happens when two ponies get, intimate." Tempest brought a hoof to her mouth and giggled,
"Sorry Twilight, guess I got carried away a bit." Twilight's redness started to die down as she calmed herself.
"No problem, just, maybe leave out any descriptive language. Okay?"
Tempest nodded and continued.
xxx
In the weeks following Tempest and Seed Row's night of love, Tempest had grown ill. She was vomiting every moring when she woke, she was suffering with erratic mood swings and she was making Seed bring her foods which certainly did not belong together.
"Tempest?" Ma' called from the doorway, "May I come in?" Tempest looked to her and nodded slowly, she was currently laying in her bed with a cold towel over her forehead in order to cool herself down. "Feeling any better dear?"
"Not much, any ideas?" Ma' cocked an eyebrow in disbelief,
"Seriously? You really don't know?" Tempest shook her head, "Seed told me about what you too did, well I dragged it out of him, but I think I know what's wrong with you."
Tempest was annoyed at Seed discussing their personal lives with his mother but she was a nice old mare, and she was helping her after all. "What is it?"
"You're pregnant, dear" The older mare brushed a tear from her eye as she told her, "Congratulations" Ma' rubbed her shoulder and left to get her a fresh towel.
Tempest sat in disbelief. Pregnant? She ran a hoof over her stomach and thought of Seed.
"Tempest?" Seed Row stood at the doorway of her room. Tempest smiled back and waved him in, "Ma' told me about you being, you know..." Tempest leaned in towards him and kissed him.
"I know. How do you feel?" Seed smiled at her,
"It's amazing. We're going to have a foal" the two of them laughed heartily and discussed their future.
The months seemed to fly by like no other. Her belly grew larger and larger until, one night, she felt a pain coming from it.
"Tempest?" Seed Row walked into the room as he heard her yell, seeing her sweating and panting heavily. "MA'!" He yelled for his mother who was in the room in a flash,
"Easy now, girl. Deep breaths." Ma' appeared at Tempest's bedside and took her hoof in one while wiping her forehead with a towel she held in the other.
Hour after hour they waited, with every one that passed Tempest's screams grew louder and more drawn out. Sweat streamed from her forehead and there was enough profanity leaving her lips that a sailor would blush.
After a particularly painful bout of contractions, Tempest asked Ma',
"How long will this take?" Ma' laughed lightly and gave her the honest truth,
"It will take as long as it needs too. Baby needs to get everything ship shape before it meets us" she told her with a motherly smile. Tempest was thankful for her support, she couldn't do this on her own and Seed was squeamish, so there was no help from him.
More hours ticked by as one by one, the family came to stand outside the room with Seed and wait expectantly for the little foal to come along.
Finally it did.
Tempest screamed the loudest she had since all of this had begun as the baby began to make it's presence know to them.
"That's it honey, you're doing great. Keep pushing." Ma' gave her clear instructions, which Tempest duly followed.
Eventually their ears were graced by the sound of a baby crying and all of Tempest's pain began to disappear. Ma cradled her prize in a towel and placed it gently in Tempest's hooves. Tearily, she told her,
"Congratulations, honey. It's a girl." Tempest let her mouth hang open as she looked down at the foal in her arms. It was a light pink colour with a red and white mane.
"Beautiful" Tempest told it quietly. Ma' left her side to let the father in. Seed slowly made his way to his lover's bed,
"Is that.....?" Tempest nodded and hoofed the foal over to him,
"Beautiful" was all she heard Seed Row say, she giggled at his reaction and felt his lips on her's one more time. The rest of the family filed into the room one by one and made their way over to their brother,
"She's perfect son" Pa' told him, he turned his attention to Tempest who shrunk under his gaze before noticing how mellow it was, "Well done, young filly" he took his hat off of his head and bowed his head to her.
"Th-thank you" she told him as the rest of the family came to congratulate that couple.
Finally Tempest had something she had wanted from them for as long as she had been there, acceptance.
"Oh!" Ma' started, "We need a name for this little one"
"I have one," Tempest started, she turned to Seed and smiled, "Strawberry Swirl" Seed smiled wide and chuckled,
"Perfect" He told her as he kissed his new daughter, Strawberry Swirl, on her head.
xxx
Twilight raised a hoof to her eye and wiped away a tear which was beginning to make it's way down her cheek.
"That's so beautiful Tempest" she told her. Temepst nodded back and smiled.
"She was perfect, Twilight."
xxx
In the weeks that followed, Tempest had been fully integrated into the family. She attended all meals at the dinner table, helped with some of the lighter work and took on the responsibilities of looking after her baby.
"Whew," Ma' exclaimed from under her sun hat, "This weathers something else." Tempest agreed, it was the height of summer and the family were all outside working, barring the two mothers who were watching the others from the house porch. Tempest smiled down to the sleeping Strawberry Swirl in her crib which was sat in the shade,
"Yes. Glad I'm not out in that." Ma' laughed at her response and let her eyes fall on the sleeping foal,
"There most beautiful when their asleep" Ma' told her. Tempest giggled,
"Yeah, they can't cry when they sleep" they shared another laugh as a dark shadow suddenly covered the ground,
"Whats going on?!" They heard Pa' yelling as he looked up at the sky, "What the...? Move! Everypony!" The working ponies all ran back to the house boundary at his command. Tempest checked on her daughter on last time before she descended the steps so that she too was on same level as them,
"Seed?" She stopped when she was beside him. He said nothing and stared up at the sky. Tempest traced his gaze upwards and froze when she saw.
Storm Ships were landing in the same field where she had landed when she first arrived. Three ships in total, with the two smaller ships landing behind the largest one. The door opened and the gang plank descended and a tall figure stood at the top,
"Tempest!" It said in a jovial voice as it noticed her, "How's things? Ask me, go on."
The Storm King.
Tempest began to walk forward, only to feel Seed place a hoof over her chest. She smiled at him and replaced his hoof back to the ground,
"Your Highness," she addressed him, "I am happy here. I do not wish to rejoin you. Please, leave this family alone." The Storm King was taken aback by her request, but in typical fashion, laughed loudly,
"Excuse me? You think you can tell me what to do after you failed me?" He berated her from atop his ship,
"She's made her choice, please, sir, leave us." Seed stood by her side as he spoke. The Storm King laughed again,
"And who are you anyway, little horse" The King began to walk down the plank until he and a few of his guards were on the ponies level. He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when he heard crying coming from the porch. He used magic to teleport over to the source of the sound before Tempest or Seed could get there, "And who is this little delight?"
"She's my daughter, your Highness. Please, don't hurt her." The King looked taken aback by her request,
"Me? Hurt a mere child? Ridiculous." He placed one hand on the crib and with another crackled of dark magic, the two reappeared in the doorway of the King's ship. Tempest hurtled over towards the ship and placed her two forelegs on the bottom of the plank, Seed Row in hot pursuit,
"Please, sire. I'll do anything, just leave her alone" a devious grin made it's way onto the Satyr's face,
"Well then! Get. On." he ordered her.
Looking back at the place she had called home for the last year, she began her journey up the gang plank. Something grabbed her left hind leg. Seed looked intently into her eyes,
"You don't have to do this alone" she smiled at him,
"Sure! He can come too! The more the merrier right?" The King could be heard teasing her,
"You'll let the family go?" She asked him,
"You have my word" The King told her. The two ponies made their way up the plank until they were at the top, looking at the King holding their child.
"Okay, we're here. Now please, our child" Tempest said. The doors closed and the ship flight once more.
"Right, right, right, yeah, we'll get around to that" The ship was now high above the clouds and the three of them had made their way to the top deck.
"We did as you asked. Give us our foal back" The Storm King turned slowly towards Seed after his outburst,
"Or what? You seem to forget who you are dealing with here" Storm Guards began to move behind the two ponies. With a nod, they grabbed them and dragged them apart from each other,
"Tempest!"
"Seed!"
"How cute. Lovers at a great divide" The King laughed before turning his attention back to the foal in his arms, "Now, what to do with you?" Tempest began to panic,
"Please,your highness, I will do anything you ask of me. Please" he listened to her beg and thought for a minute. He motioned his head towards Seed,
"Who would you rather save? Your child, or your lover?" Tempest shot her head between Seed and the Storm King, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"I-I-I can't, please, I can't choose!" The King shook his head and held the basket with her child in it over the edge of the air ship,
"Tick Tock Tempest. One or the other. CHOSE!" he yelled. A silence fell on the deck of the ship, only the sound of Strawberry Swirl's cries could be heard.
"She chooses the child" Seed's voice suddenly broke through the silence. She turned to him and saw him smiling at her.
"Very well" The Storm King motioned to the guard behind Seed.
Tempest watched through tear filled eyes as the guard thrust a blade through Seed's chest. He shouted out in pain before falling as the guards let go of him. The Guards holding Tempest let go of her shoulders and let her fall to the ground.
"Hmm. Noble, that one." He looked to Tempest who's vision was transfixed on her dead lover.
"no" she said quietly, she looked into Seed's lifeless eyes.
"Cheer up Tempest," The Storm King, still holding the basket, approached her and placed his free hand on her shoulder, "He died to save you. Don't they all in the end?" Tempest did not register him as he began to walk away, "We have relocated the Staff you were sent to retrieve, I would extend to you another chance to complete the mission"
"No." Tempest said, "Let my baby go, kill me if you must, but please, let her go" The King looked at her with a blank expression. On one hand, he respected her spirit but on the other, this was not the response he had expected.
"Hmm," he mused as he walked over to the railing, he motioned for the Guards to pick Tempest back up and drag her over to where he stood, "Perhaps I was not very clear, you WILL go to the location of the artifact and you WILL retrieve it for me" Tempest sat with her eyes fully focused on the basket,
"Will you let her go?" The King smiled at her,
"Of course" He told her, before throwing the basket over the side of the airship.
Tempest hadn't registered what had happened. Not until the guards forced her to look over the side of the railing and look at the basket falling threw the clouds.
She screamed.
She screamed so loud the large Guards holding on the her and even the Storm King flinched as the shrill sound of her voice penetrated her ears,
"You did say 'Let her go'" He told her, which was the last thing she heard before she fell unconscious.
xxx
Tempest rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof, trying to stop the tears from falling down her face.
"That's what happened Twilight. When I woke, my head was a mess. I decided to conform to my mission, getting my horn back was, in someway, a small victory that I could have had over him. A small vengeance for Strawberry and Seed. You know how that worked out, huh?" She forced a raspy laugh out of her throat. Looking at Twilight, she noticed the Princess shaking, tears being freely allowed to fall down her cheeks and splash on the floor. "Twiligh-" Tempest started before she was cut off by the lavender alicorn wrapping her front hooves around Tempest and burying her head in her chest., crying as she did.
Neither pony moved for what felt like an eternity. They could only cry and enjoy each others company. This was all they needed right now.
"Tempest..." Twilight struggled through her cries, "I don't know what to say" Tempest nodded,
"It's alright, Twilight. You don't need to say anything" Twilight nodded and rubbed away some of the tear marks on Tempest's fur, "Whoops, here let me get that" she said while doing so.
"I still think of them, on nights like these. The serenity is so peaceful. I hope they found the same where they are now."
Again, the two ponies sat and admired the night sky for a while. No more words, no more tears, just the serenity Tempest had mentioned.
The map room door opened and a pony trotted up behind the two,
"There you are! We were wondering where you two had gotten to.... hey, are you alright?"
"We're fine Starlight. Congratulations, by the way. I apologise for leaving without asking, weddings just get me a little emotional is all" Tempest said.
"Oh, that's a relief. I thought something really bad had happened. Anyway, Pinkie wants to start serving cake, so you better get back in there while there still pieces with frosting available." Starlight trotted back to the map room giggling to herself.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Twilight asked,
"I am now. Thank you Twilight, thank you for listening. It feels good to share this with another pony. Maybe now, I can finally start to let go." Twilight and Tempest shared one last brief hug before Twilight made her way back to the map room.
Tempest started too, but stopped and looked back at the sky. Two shooting stars flew over her head in the midnight sky. She smiled up at them and nodded,
"Goodnight. My loves." With that done, she made her way back to the party to celebrate with her friends.
Author's Note
Hello, thanks for reading my first fic. I was toying with a few ideas before settling on this one. Wrote this in a few day in my fleeting spare time, so it may be full of errors, so sorry if that is the case.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers.
The airship, AS Voyage, cruised high above the clouds en route to it's next destination; Canterlot.
"Fallen Star?" A female voice could be heard on the quiet deck, "Fallen Star, where are you? You haven't finished your chores," the owner of the voice, a red anthropomorphic vixen, named Vixen, made her way to the bridge and stopped next to the ships's captain, "Again." She finished, making the Captain chuckle,
"Lost her again, Vix?" The Captain quipped,
"You know Jack, you're a real tool sometimes." He laughed again,
"Thought that was why you married me?" Like her, the Captain was an orangey, red, bipedal fox. He was currently looking at her with a petted lip and puppy dog eyes. Vix rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder,
"No. I married you because you were the best of a bad lot at the time" she smirked in his direction.
"Try the bow of the ship. Think I seen her heading that way."
"And you didn't stop her?!" Jack winced at his wife's tone, and offered a nervous laugh in return. Vix rolled her eyes again and made her way down the bridge steps with a huff.
The sun was in the process of setting, giving way to the night sky. Tonight was perfect, not a cloud in the sky.
"Star?" Vix said in a commanding tone as she reached the bow of the ship, where a little pink pony was looking over the railing, her red and white mane blowing in the breeze.
"Hi Vix"
"Don't 'hi' me, what about your chores, little filly?" The pony, Star, looked away from Vix with a sheepish expression,
"Sorry," she circled with her hoof on the floor directly in front of her, "It's just, there's no clouds tonight and I wanted to watch the sunset." Star didn't dare look up, she knew she had been caught.
"So you wanted to see the sunset, huh?" Star nodded, "Here" Vix bent down and lifted the small pony and shifted so Star could hold on to her shoulders,
"Wow" Star exclaimed as she watched the stars forming in the sky, "When will we get to the pony city? Will it be soon?"
"Hopefully tomorrow, Star"
"How come I've never seen another pony, Vix?" The air caught in the Vixen's throat, she had been dreading that question,
"What do you mean?" She asked, desperately trying to change the subject,
"Well, It's just, you and Jack are foxes, most of the other crew are parrots, and then there's me." Vix exhaled, it was a fair question, and one that was going to be asked sooner or later. Bending down to let Star hop off of her shoulders, Vix sat next to the small pony and thought of the best way of telling her the story,
"Well one day when we were on a delivery route,
xxx
"STORM GUARDS!" one of the crew shouted as the Storm ship sailed over their heads,
"CREW! BE ON YOUR GUARD! BOARDING IS A REAL POSSIBILITY!" Jack shouted over the wheel, the heavy winds rocked the ship back and forth and because they were flying through a storm cloud, the rain was pelting them making it almost impossible to see.
Minutes felt like hours as they tried to sail undetected past the fleet of enemy ships. After a while the storm cloud cleared up slightly and the drone of the engines coming from the Storm ships was beginning to dissipate,
"Looks like we got through that one Vix." Vix shook her head slowly,
"Too close. Especially with what we're hauling." Jack nodded in agreement,
"Yeah, don't think they'll take too kindly to us weapons around." Vix nodded, the weapons were going to regions who had heard of the Storm King, but were lucky enough not to have encountered him yet.
"Polly?" A lightly built green parrot turned to face her captain,
"Yes Captain Jack?"
"Take a fly up there and do a check for any remaining Storm ships, alright?" The parrot nodded and jumped up and the hand rail, "And Polly, be careful, okay?" She gave a confident salute with an arm before jumping off the railing and taking flight.
Once the parrot was high enough, she poked her head through the cloud layer and looked around. She winced when she saw a Storm ship docked in the skies above her head. Thinking for a moment, she flew closer and climbed up the ship, out of sight of the Guards stationed onboard.
"She chooses the child" a voice spoke, now that Polly was close enough to hear,
"Very well" came another, followed by a pained grunt, which made Polly wince. She climbed higher and looked through a gap in the ship. She stared wide eyed at the poor stallion who had just been ran through with a blade. The other pony present was thrown to the ground by the guards holding her.
"Hmm noble that one." Now that Polly could see the picture unfolding in front of her, she made out the unmistakable form of the Storm King. It took all of her being not to board the deck and kill him where he stood.
The exchange continued for many tense minutes before Polly noticed the basket in the Storm King's hand. She almost screamed as he tossed the basket over the edge of the ship. She followed it with her eyes as it disappeared through the clouds. She made up her mind and launched herself through the cloud layer where the basket had gone.
She was moving so fast, she was a blur to the rest of her crew as she shot past them, but she kept going and only stopped once she was holding the basket in her mouth. The adrenaline coursed through her as she made her way, panting heavily, back onto the deck of her ship.
"Polly?! What in tartarus is that?" Vix shouted as she knelt beside the exhausted parrot,
"Storm King *pant* basket *pant* thrown over- *pant* board" Vix turned to the basket and finally registered the crying sound,
"A baby?" Vix looked into the basket, "A baby PONY?" she said shocked.
The baby pony in question continued to cry.
"There, there" Vix used a finger to caress the baby's face and finally got it to stop crying. "What happened up there?" Polly shook in rage,
"Storm King" she recounted what she had seen to the rest of her crew.
"That bast...."
"Jack! Theres a baby present!" Vix reprimanded, before turning her attention back to the little pony, "Speaking of which, she needs a name, right?" Polly smiled,
"How about 'Fallen Star'?" Jack and Vix smiled at each other, and then in unison said,
"Perfect"
xxx
"So, my momma's still out there?" Star asked. Vix shrugged her shoulders,
"It was years ago when you turned up," she ruffled the filly's messy mane, "So, I can't be certain." Star looked down and then back up with a cheerful expression on her face,
"But there's still hope, right?" Star smiled brightly, Vix couldn't help but do the same.
"Yeah. There is." Vix stood up and looked towards the night sky, "It's getting late, honey. Time for bed now, okay?" Star huffed and got to her hooves.
"Okay." She began to walk away, before turning to Vix once more, "Thanks for telling me the story, Vix." Vix nodded and waved Star towards the quarters.
Turning her attention back to the sky once more, Vix chuckled to herself,
"What's funny?" Jack walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist,
"I was just thinking, I used to wish on stars when I was a kid growing up in Abyssinia, never though one would fall onto my doorstep mind you." Jack smiled and kissed her lovingly on the neck,
"There's plenty more up there." Vix smiled at that, after all, he wasn't wrong. This time.
