Dadonequus Discord, But It's The MLP Movie (And still doesn't have Discord)

by CrazedLaughter

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Attack on Canterlot
Chapter 2: The Battle Against Tempest, And The Truth Revealed.
Chapter 3: The Ultimatum
Chapter 4: Traversing Klugetown
Chapter 6: Losing Hope
Chapter 7: The Turnaround
Chapter 8: A Horn Renewed
Chapter 9: The Reformation of Tempest Shadow
Chapter 10: Tempest's Resignation
Chapter 11: To Mount Aris (Part 1)
Chapter 12: To Mount Aris (Part 2)
Chapter 13: Meeting up with Twilight
Chapter 14: The Team Assembled!
Chapter 15: To Canterlot (Part 1)
Chapter 16: To Canterlot (Part 2)
Chapter 17: The Calm Before The Storm
Chapter 18: Anon vs. The Storm King
Chapter 19: The Eve of the Final Battle
Chapter 20: A Losing Battle.
Chapter 21: Prepare for Launch
Chapter 22: The Storm King's Fall
Chapter 23: The Calm After The Storm
Chapter 24: Goodbyes
Epilogue
Chapter 5: Tempting Tempest

Chapter 1: The Attack on Canterlot

Author's Note

The chapter is small, I know.

This is mostly just a test chapter to see if it garners interest or if it should be cancelled. We'll see.

Chapter 1: The Attack on Canterlot

It was just another day.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t this time. No, for today was the day of the Friendship Festival.

Well, the second one anyway. This one being held in Canterlot. And this time? The scope for it was huge. Everyone that was anyone was going to be there. Including some pony celeb named Songbird Serenade…..Who the fuck was that? You still had no idea.

As for you? Well, you weren’t there of course. You should be, as you promised your dear Aunt Fluttershy you’d fill in for one of her birds for her little bird choir. But just as you always do, you slept in.

“Unnngh” You rolled to your side on your bed as you let out a soft groan “What time is it?” You take a look at your alarm clock.

Your eyes go wide when you notice it’s about to be noon. HOLY SHIT! YOU WERE LATE! “GODFUCKING DAMMIT!” You jump out of bed immediately and rush up to the clock, smacking it with your right front hoof “YOU STUPID THING! WHY DIDN’T YOU RING?!” You yell at the object uselessly until you notice another minute pass, making you panic. “FUCK! Dammit! I promised her I’d be there. Dammit! DAMMIT! I don’t even have time to practice! The day show starts in less than half an hour….ok..wait..ok...calm down...just…” You do your best to calm yourself as you look upon your necklace which contained the source of your power, the horn. “Juuuust do a little warm up. She can’t start the show without me so I can push it just a little. Let’s see”

You grab your saddle bag as you walk over to the mirror. You then slap the horn on your head.

Not wanting to waste any time, you zap yourself with your chaotic magic. “Classy” You grin at yourself as a black suit with a red bowtie appears on you. “Ok...let’s make sure I cast this right”

You tap at the bowtie, causing it to flash in a brilliant light as your body instantly transforms into that of a blue jay. “Haha!” You laughed in triumph “It workeAAAGH!” But you had forgotten that birds to need to flap their wings to fly. The transformation had left you in mid air, and thus, without wing movement, you drop like a rock right on your soft bird head. “T-typical...what a way to start the day.”

After a quick recovery, you hover upwards as you stare upon yourself through the mirror. After adjusting yourself enough, you begin to tweet and sing what you had previously learned from your aunt for a good five minutes. “Not perfect, but the other birds should be able to carry me through...anyway” With your practice done, you tap at your little bowtie, changing you back to your cute self.

You walk over to your portal door and set the dial to Canterlot. Before you open the door however, you take a moment to look back at the pictures on your dresser, of you and Chrysalis. “Would have been nice if you could of come. Take care Chrysalis, wherever you are”. You still hadn’t seen her since her escape from the basement. She hasn’t even tried any kind of evil scheme yet. The part of you that was her friend made you wonder if she was at least ok.

And then there was Discord, you’d think he’d at least show up for this. But nope, the moment he realized this was Twilight’s shindig he decided to make off on some month long vacation. At least you had the house to yourself.

“I’ll be right there Aunt Fluttershy, just give me a minute and….wut?” As you open the door to Canterlot, you notice the area seemed darker than usual. And there was all kinds of squealing and screaming coming from the other side of the door. You took a moment to look back at your alarm clock.

“What? It’s just about to be noon, for sure. No way it could be dark out now.” This you were sure of, the clock literally followed the day and night cycle of Equestria itself. There was no way it could be wrong. Welp you were fucked since somehow it was, you decide to just rush through the door and find Fluttershy and hope to god the OTHERS forgive you since you knew she would in a heartbeat.

But what you saw upon entering the other side sent you into immediate shock. The darkness wasn’t the night but rather crazy storm clouds that rolled from the very horizon. Even worse there were ponies screaming in terror as crazy beasts with blackish gray fur and what you can only describe as some sort of mask like face were grabbing them and throwing them into cages. What the fuck happened?

Before you could even figure anything out, crazy beasts were jumping off from the nearby homes and castle walls towards the pegasi trying to get away. And worst still, one had spotted you and immediately gave chase. “SHIT!” You cry out as you instinctively tap at your bowtie. The flash causes the beast to stop and look around confused as you fly higher to try to figure out what the fuck was going on, and more importantly, spot Fluttershy.

But what you see is the craziest thing you’ve seen in Equestria yet. There was a rather familiar airship parked in front of the castle. No...it couldn’t be. Could these creatures be mutants? And furthermore, you notice some odd grey furred hedgehog with whitish quilles and an odd shirt looking rather worried about something as he heads to the castle. But the worst part was that you not only didn’t spot Fluttershy, but none of the important cast was about. Where was the mane 6? Where was Twilight? Where the fuck were the princesses?!

That airship...this chaos...it could only mean one thing. “Holy fuck, Neo Cortex somehow jumped dimensions and took his mutant army to conquer whatever dimension he could easily conquer. I didn’t even think game universes existed. Ngh...He probably has Fluttershy and the others. And are keeping the ponies in cages to turn them into mutants. That bastard! I’m gonna rearrange his fucking face!”

You dive down towards the hedgehog as he heads into the castle. Considering he was different from the other beasts, he had to be a “boss” or whatever. He was probably going to go meet with Cortex. With one charge left in your horn, you would make sure to make it count by blowing his ass into smithereens.

You fly in close as he walks the now darkened halls towards the throne room. He seemed to be getting more nervous as he trekked along to his destination. Did he fuck something up? Was he going to report some bad news or something? You notice he brought out some cupcake from his pocket and started to munch on it as he muttered to himself “Wow, Tempest isn’t gonna like this. Eh, nah. She’ll be alright, we got three of them already. Capturing that purple one is gonna be as easy as cake...speaking of” He looks upon his cupcake with hungry eyes and takes another bite. “Ahh yeah, that’s the stuff”

“Purple one? Three out of four? But...there’s six. Seven if you include Spike” You whisper to yourself.

“Hey! Who’s there?!” The hedgehog looked back and around, making you zip to the side as to hide from his searching eyes. “Nothing, come on Grubber, don’t get nervous. It’s just a bad report. It’ll be fine. Totally…”

Grubber? He didn’t sound german. Usually they have more of a gimmicky name than that. But, it seemed he was in fact heading for the throne room. And so you once again follow until he reaches the doors. Once he steps through, you land behind the doors and tap at your bowtie to transform back into a pony.

Alright, so he’s beyond that door. “Ok…” You slap your horn upon your head, and psyche yourself up for a fight. “Mess with my Aunt will you? Well then, I’m gonna smash your “gems” and snap your “crystal” in half, you psychotic fuck”

Wasting no time, you make your grand entrance into the darkened throne room. But it was nothing of what you expected. No lab, no tech, no evil black mask or scientist. No, rather there were three unsettling statues of the princesses placed in a particular way while Grubber and a dark purple pony adorned in modern looking armor and broken horn stared at you.

“...Shit…”

Chapter 2: The Battle Against Tempest, And The Truth Revealed.

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Chapter 3: The Ultimatum

How could you screw up so hard?

You let everyone down. Hell, was Diamond Tiara in Canterlot? If she is...dammit, you let her down. She must be so scared.

Your friends….dammit.

Fluttershy...

Was this due to your own hubris? No, you did things right this time. How could you have known she was agile enough to dodge so many lasers?

And then there was monkey face, the Storm King. What was up with that discount Hades reject? He didn’t seem that threatening. And yet he had an entire army at his beck and call. Including that Tempest unicorn.

And what was up with her anyway? Given her little chat with him, she seemed to have reacted to the mention of her horn. Or restoration thereof. Was that what she was after?

All these thoughts swirled in the darkness of your mind until you started to come to. When your eyes opened, you noticed you were in a cage, in what appeared to be some dark metallic chamber with bits of steam and a red light, creating an unsettling hue along the wall. When you tried standing, you hear the cling clang of chains. Looking down, your legs were locked by prison chains, tightly enough that you couldn’t reach up to put your horn on.

“Wow, finally awake, huh? Finally, anyone tell you you’re a heavy sleeper?”

That voice...ugh, it was that hedgehog guy.

You look a little beyond the cage. Standing on the floor, looking up at you with a sharp toothed grin, was Grubber. He was bandaged up pretty good and it seemed his left arm was broken, but that didn’t seem to stop him from stuffing his face with cake with his right hand.

You look down at him with a less than pleasant look. “Ok, pincushion, where am I?”

Grubber snickered “In a place you don’t wanna be, that’s for sure. Y’know, you’re actually really lucky. Usually when someone attacks Tempest, no one sees them around anymore. Or maybe that makes you unlucky...hrm” Rather than using that as a sadistic joke, he actually did confuse himself as he sat down and tried to figure things out “Well, I guess you’re in a better position than everyone else. I know I am, guard duty is pretty easy. And I get to eat all this cake. So...umm… Yeah, someone’s lucky I guess.”

Ugh… “Just tell me where I am.” You groan, obviously this guy was more idiotic than he was evil.

He starts licking at his claws to remove the frosting as he chuckles “Oh, yeah. You’re on Tempest’s airship. Ohhh wait...That’s right!” Grubber started to make his way upwards up some metal stairs “Stay right there....”

Not like you could move. But then, where was he going? Ngh...this isn’t good. The situation finally hit you as dire when you fully realized you weren’t in a good place? “...What are you doing?”

“Oh..” Grubber stops, then points his claws at you as he does a shimmy “Oh, Tempest told me to go get her when you finally woke up. So I hope you’re ready for some terror! Some horribleness! Because you’re gonna get interrogated by the master herself! Tempest Shadow!” He laughs near maniacally. God, so this guy was basically Tempest’s version of Spike.

And you just found him utterly annoying. “When I get out of here, I’m going to shatter your nut sack. I hope you know that”

“What?” Grubber started rubbing his head in confusion, then he patted himself a bit with his good hand before pointing at you with a laugh “Fat chance! I left my nuts at home!”

“I believe it” You roll your eyes at him, god what a chucklefuck

“Yeah and...wait?” Grubber looked blankly at you for a second “Was that an insult? Or….huh…” He looks at his cake and shrugs “Whatever, these are better than my nuts anyway”

You then silently tell yourself “That’s what she says” as he buggers off somewhere. God damn, it was times like these that you wished that the residents of this world understood human terminology, really could use a bomb or a missile attack or something. Whatever. Just...just try to handle yourself. You’ll have to, as you already knew Tempest Shadow was no joke.

You pondered on your few moments of free time. You had to be tough. You’ve faced down worse things than a broken ass unicorn. You tried reaching for your horn, but you couldn’t quite reach it due to the chains.

“Well, the false alicorn finally wakes up” You hear her cool and militant voice as she starts heading down the stairs. She was moving slowly as she eyed you as some sort of prize. “So, how are you feeling?”.

Tch, she was trying to get to you with that piercing gaze. As she stepped up to your cage, she never broke off her stare. It was unsettling.

“I could be better. So let me guess, interrogation?” You stay as calm and collected as possible. If you were in a cage, then she needed you for something.

“Hmm, smart colt.” She says to you. You find it odd, she isn’t making any of the usual comments a villain would make like “not scared?” or “Confident, are we?” or even being too forceful with her approach. She simply said you were smart.

It was so offputting that you didn’t have any other words to say to her.

“I have to admit. You’re interesting. You’re not an alicorn, just a simple little colt, and yet you’re trusted with some very unique and powerful items. So, if you know I’m going to interrogate you, that means we can skip the pleasantries and get to the part where I get what I want.” Her eyes become fixated on your horn “So, what exactly can that thing do? It’s enchanted with a powerful protection spell, so it must be for something important.”

You just give her a hard and threatening stare of your own as you spoke coldly to her. You don’t know if it was a whole day since you used it or not, but given your usual bouts of unconsciousness, you’d wager midnight has passed. “Why don’t you take off these shackles and find out?”

“Cute, but I’m not in the mood for another scuffle. I have to say though, that display of magic was impressive. So, is that all it can do? Or is it capable of more?” She says as she continues that hard to read cold stare.

“Yeah, not like you’re gonna be able to use it or anything. And don’t try using Twilight or my aunt to get to it either. I already know you don’t have them, or else your little gremlin would have mentioned something about it when I woke up.” Hah! Good Anon, good. Keep the playing field even.

“Well, you know the princess. That’s good, that means we can use you to bargain with her instead. Ponies have a thing about being weak willed, and a colt in danger will mean she won’t try anything stupid. But….” She starts to circle the cage slowly as her stare became more malevolent “I remember you saying you’re the son of a chaos spirit named Discord. And I did some reading. Very interesting…”

You just followed her with your eyes. Goddamn her, using you as bait? How could you miss that? Of course she would. But what else was she up to? “You never heard of him before? I thought he was pretty famous.”

“Legends of Equestria don’t really reach our neck of the woods. And he really is quite the legend. From what I read, he could do anything with his magic. And I think your horn has his magic in it. Why else would it be attached to a royal piece of jewelry?”

Ngh, dammit. She was audibly piecing things together. She was making it hard to even think of a way to throw her off course. It was too late to tell her anything different now. But….but...she still couldn’t take it from you. You still had that. “Ok, so you know that much. But you still can’t take the horn from me. It has a spell on it that makes it impossible to remove except by my own hoof. So, if you were planning on using it to capture Twilight, guess again.”

Tempest turned away from you, looking away as she spoke in an ominous tone. “I could find a way to remove it if I really wanted to. But you see, if that horn really can do anything, then there’s something I want to know. And just for you, I’m going to ask it nicely.” She turns to look at you, her stare was intense and even filled with some sort of desperation, a desperation you had seen from her before “Can it restore things?”

Restore...things? Does she...no. She has to mean her own horn. You remembered that being important when she spoke to the Storm King. Then that really meant that was her villainous crutch. Maybe, just maybe, you can turn this around. “Why?...unless you mean fixing your horn. Before I knocked out, I remember seeing you had a little reaction to that when you spoke to that monkey guy.”

“Smart, observant, reasonably brave, and quick to the point. You know, back when I was your age, foals weren’t like that. They couldn’t see past their own noses and were afraid of what they couldn’t understand. They couldn’t trust others very well, even when they used to be their friend. One change and…” She shot a powerful bolt of magic through her broken horn, charring some of the wall. There was a sort of fierce anger to it you couldn’t quite put your hoof on “Suddenly, all they see you as is a monster. I read that Discord was quite the monster too, and yet from the sounds of it, no one fears you, his son. They don’t, right? You did refer to yourself as the 'Legendary Hero Colt'.”

The hell was she on about? “What are you getting at?”

“I’m only trying to come to an understanding of where we both stand in this world. You’re the son of a maniac and yet you’re friends with those who stand with harmony. So answer me this, how far does that go?”

….Well, this was really getting odd. “..er, I mean. I’m friends with mostly everybody I know. And yeah, Dad is kind of nuts, but that was a long time ago. …..Look, I don’t know what this has to do with your horn but if you’re trying to trick me into it, it isn’t working. I don’t help anyone who tries to hurt my friends.”

“Hmmm.” Tempest nods to herself, she looks back at the hatch that exits the brig of her airship, as if she was afraid someone was eavesdropping. When she felt it safe, she looks back at you “Let me tell you this then. You want to help your friends? You want this all to end? Then I’m going to make a deal with you.”

What? Surely she’s pulling your fucking chain. That’s the oldest trick in the book. Finally, she slips up. “You’re not getting the horn.”

“I don’t want it. I want MY horn back, that’s all. I’ve worked with the Storm King in all his campaigns, all his battles, all his conquests….all to gain his trust so I can have back what is mine. But if that horn can do anything, then you’re going to use it to restore my horn, here and now.” There was the desperate tone in her voice again. She worked that hard to get her horn back? And now she’s willing to trust you? How exactly does that work? What is she planning?

“And you trust me? Just like that?” You ask, curious on what she was feeling.

“I don’t, just like I don’t trust the Storm King. But if that horn can do what I need it to do, then I’m going to find a way to use it.” Suddenly her tone becomes as cold as ice, it chilled you to the bone to the point you believed it “And that protection spell won’t stop me”

Did she mean...she’d kill you?....ohhh no. Suddenly you felt sick to your stomach. This bitch...she might actually do it.

“Woah woah, hold on. Let’s not get dark here. The horn doesn’t even work that way. It works through chaos. It can’t just restore something like your horn without some heavy consequences. Unless you find a way to chaotically restore it, restoring it normally would just cause problems if you did it with the horn. I know you just said you don’t trust me, but it’s the truth.” PLEASE LET HER BELIEVE YOU.

She smirks at you, it was like...OH GODDAMMIT! SHE TRICKED YOU AGAIN! “Which brings me to my ultimatum. Help me, and I’ll let your friends and the princess go...but not you. Refuse, and you’ll be my bait, and you’ll have to live with the fact that your refusal to help me is what caused the princess…” Just like you had heard her talk about the horn, she had heard you mention a few things as well. Especially since you had muttered some things when you were down “... and your aunt to share the same fate.”

FUCK! You start speaking angrily with a low growl, you were the one losing your composure now. “You’re a monster…”

“I have been for a long time, even when I wasn’t. What’s your choice?”

“...I’m not stupid” She was too cruel, you couldn’t trust her words “Even if I manage to restore your horn, you’ll just hunt everyone down anyway. That’s how monsters like you work. This kind of campaign doesn’t just stop. Your king seemed pretty intent in showing up in Canterlot”

“He can’t be stopped. Whoever is in the city and those who remain in Equestria will be lost for sure. Whoever can be saved can be saved and that's it. Even if I wasn’t here, the Storm King would have pushed on anyway. What I’m offering you is salvation. This isn’t about trust. Equestria is doomed, the only choice you have is who is taken down with it.”

With those words, you suddenly feel your hope and smug drain away from you. She was serious. Restoring her horn just meant anyone who could run would run, including her. And if you do nothing, she’ll just take her chances with the Storm King. But...what if. No…

“Y-you can’t be serious. I could destroy that guy if I just focused. And even if I couldn’t, my dad could once he gets back from vacation. You want the horn back? Fine, but if that guy needs four alicorns for...whatever, then I can crush him before he even got to Twilight. How about that?” That was sound. That had to be a sure thing.

“Even if you could, I don’t trust you enough to just let you go. What would stop you from having another shot at me with that horn?” She asks you. But it didn’t seem like she’s care about your answer. “You already see me as a monster”

“I wouldn’t, Equestria is more important…” Your family and friends were more important.

Tempest sighed “So that’s a no then. That’s a shame, but I should have expected these results.” She turned away from you “I was hoping we could see eye to eye. But you just can’t understand what’s at stake.”

As she begins to head up the stairs, Grubber appears from above deck to yell down at her. “Heeeey! Tempest, we’re getting close to Klugetown. We’re getting ready to land and everything. You ready?”

“Yes….Have the hero colt’s cage prepped. We’ll need him in case we find the princess.” Tempest says to him as she continued her trek.

dammit...DAMMIT!

“I SWEAR TO GOD! I’M GONNA CRUSH YOU ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE! YOU HEAR ME?! I’M GONNA...ngh…” But she closes the hatch without another word as your cage starts to rise up to the top of the deck.

What was her deal? Why? You would have done it. If it meant saving everyone else, you would have found a way to restore her horn without an issue.

Chapter 4: Traversing Klugetown

You had to cover your eyes from the bright sunlight that breached the hole that your cage was being brought up through. When you were brought on deck, you could see some shabby looking port town ahead. Hell, looking back? All you could see was near endless desert. Where the fuck were you?

You could see Tempest walk past your cage, Grubber close behind. She commands one of the storm soldiers to attach the cage to a long metal rod and carry you around. She commanded only two of them to follow, the one holding your cage and one other as just an extra precaution.

Tempest then looks up at you as you’re hoisted over the shoulder of the Storm Guard. “I’m going to give you one last chance. You’re a smart colt, much smarter than most. All I want is the princess.” Her tone was still hardened. You’d think she’d try speaking in a more gentle way.

You just look away from her, looking into the horizon, god...she was a dick “Nope. And besides, whether I agree or not. Your victory is also dependant on IF you can even catch her. And good luck with that.” You look upon the town once more “Why would Twilight even come here?”

“No clue” Tempest looks upon the town herself, then slowly smirks “But this is where the reports said she was headed. And that’s where you come in. We just hoist you around town to make you visible in case she’s still walking around. Or, to force her to give up should we find her ourselves….You know.” For a moment, Tempest seems to sound a little confused “You seem unusually calm about all this.”

You take a glance back at her, a little confused yourself “What? You care about how I’m feeling?”

“Not particularly. It’s just something to note. In anycase, I’d suggest not poking your legs outside that cage. The people around here aren’t like your typical pony.” She warns you.

“What does that mean?” What? What kind of ponies are in this town then?

“What she means is you really are bait at the end of the hook. You’re gonna attract more than just princesses.” Grubber says with a nasty little chuckle.

Egh “No one asked you you little shitstain.”

“Shitstain? Is t-that an insult? U-ummm…I-I mean..no one needed to a-ask” Grubber looked down, feeling rather defeated. For some reason, that kind of insult felt more hurtful than what he was used to. He then looked to Tempest with begging eyes.

Tempest stares at him for a moment before looking up with a sigh “Fine….Grubber, what is he?”

Grubber lets out a “Hah!” As he hops to face you, pointing his claw at you with an evil grin “He’s bait at the end of the hook! Hah...hmm” He sticks his tongue out at you “See? Someone asked.”

You couldn’t tell if that was adorable or just really fucking annoying.

Tempest then led the small force of four into this town. Klugetown she mentioned it was as she spoke to the guard holding the rod about making sure you were secure in his fists.

As for you. Holy shit. These weren’t ponies. These were anthro beings and tons of fucking fish people. Shark people even. And as you all began to pass by, a lot of them started staring at you. They all had hungry and rather creepy expressions on their face. “U-uhhh...what’s with them?”

“They are looking to buy you. The people of Kluget-” But as Tempest spoke, you suddenly had a freakout.

“BUY ME?! ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?! THEY LOOK LIKE THEY WANT TO RA-AHHHEHEEY!” But you yourself are interrupted as a mob suddenly rushes towards the group after they heard the words “Buy” from you. They were all holding up strange looking currency as they started to yell buying prices.

“25 storm bucks for the colt!”
“40! 50 even! I need someone who can reach in those hard to reach spots!”
“70! I need someone to taste test my swamp rat stews!”

Tempest,Grubber, and the guards started to step back as the crowd surrounded them. Tempest yelled at them to step back. But they just wouldn’t listen and kept coming in in droves.

Then suddenly, you let out a yelp as the cage is detached from the rod and is being carried off by a surprisingly small yet strong and nimble little rat shark looking thing. “Nyahaha! I got him! He’s mine! I got him! I got him!”

You could see you were moving quite quickly. In fact, this could probably be your escape! HAHA! What luck! Though, looking back. You could see Tempest jumping around like an acrobat and smashing everyone that came close to her. She was nearly flying and letting out skull shattering kicks in mid air. It was like nothing you ever seen before. Woah...Not even Applejack was that fierce.

You then start talking to your little abductor. “Hey, little guy. You mind dropping me off here? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“No! No! In pot! Colt soup! Yum Yum!” He says in a near psychotic wheeze.

…...wut?

“...Colt soup? As in me colt soup?” You gulped

“Yes Yes! With some salt too! Oh yummy!” He exclaims as he begins to make a turn.

NOPE! You’d rather take your chances with Tempest. “HELLLLLLP! TEMPEST! HELP! ANYONE! HEEEELLPP!”

Goddammit! How do you end up in these messes?! This bastard was going to probably dump the entire cage into his pot! GODDAMMIT!

The little shit made another turn, and when he did? Well, amazingly. He didn’t last long after that. Tempest jumped down from the top of one of the houses and kicked down on the top of the cage. The sudden weight and momentum crushed the little creature for a moment, causing him to let go. Tempest lands in front of him and slides her hoof under his chin and holds him up against a wall, choking him as she smirked. “Going somewhere?”

“No! No! Nowhere! He’s yours! Sorry! I thogNGH!” Tempest stops him midspeech with a press of her hooves.

“You thought what?” She looked at him with a menacing stare

“NOTHING I THOUGHT NOTHING! PLEASE!” He screamed for his life.

“Good enough.If I see you again…” Her horn started to sparkle with magical electricity “I won’t be seeing you a third time. I promise you that, understand?”

“YES! GYAH! YES! NO SOUP! SORRY, BYE!” Screamed the little monster as he scurried away as far as he could.

Tempest herself didn’t seem to take any joy or pride in what she did. She didn’t even insult the little rat shark thing as it ran off. Instead she just looked at you with a deadpan stare “So that’s when you chose to panic, hm?”

You did feel rather embarrassed about that. Until you remembered she wasn’t your friend in the first place. “Eh...I..look, whatever. I was almost eaten by a chimera once. Bad memories is all”

Tempest was silent for a moment, she then shot up a small bolt of lightning into the air to let the rest of the group know where she was. “Interesting….It was terrifying, wasn’t it?”

Why even mention that? You give her an unfriendly glare at the mention of those words “Are you trying to bring me down now? Going to tell me something along the lines of “You’ll know true terror soon?”, or some crap like that?”

“No..” Tempest turns away from you as she sees Grubber lead the two storm creatures over to her location. “I was just curious…” Her words there, you could sense a melancholy to them. What did it mean?

There has to be something there. Ponies aren’t inherently evil. They never are. Starlight wasn’t, even Trixie wasn’t. And despite Tempest’s cold demeanor, she seemed to be being troubled by something. And given what you knew already. It had to be about her horn.

You had to shift gears. You had to get over your own anger with her and try to figure it out. Once you figure out what her problem is. Then maybe...you could fix it.

“Curious because…” You decide not to continue that thought “Tempest” You sigh, here you go. Give it your all Anon, don’t fuck this up. “Look, I know I should be hating you and spouting stuff about how you’ll never win and stuff. But, y’know...thanks for saving me and stuff. And yes, before you say it, I’m aware i’m your bait and that’s probably the main reason you saved me. But, y’know. Thanks all the same.”

Tempest just looks back at you for a moment before facing her comrades. She once again looked confused. She’s never seen a child like you. She had dealt with children before in other places she had conquered for the Storm King. They always yelled the same thing, they always cried, they always hated her, they always saw her as a monster. But you? You were being used to explicitly draw out the princess and you didn’t seem to be worried about it at all. And to thank her? She found that strange most of all. She thought that surely you weren’t that clever to use that as some ploy, no colt is that crafty.

“Tempest, woooah.Yeah! And this is why you’re the coolest, you never let anything escape. The best of the best, right?” Grubber says as he nudges one of the guards, who just respond with a grunt. “...hmmm, eh. It was cool to me anyway. Oh, by the way. Since you were busy being awesome, I did some questioning on those guys you roughed up. And guess what?” Grubber looks at her with an evil grin “They sawwww ponies.”

Tempest eyes went wide, she was close. “Where?”

“Some guy named Capper took em or something. I dunno, but he apparently lives right over there. At that old tower thingy with the spinner thing” Of course, he meant that broken down looking windmill just a few yards ahead.

You say nothing, which actually catches the attention of Tempest as she has your cage reattached to the rod. “Nothing to say?”

No, you were thinking. If Twilight and the others were there. You really REALLY had to hope that Twilight didn’t sperg and try to save you. Fluttershy would…so hopefully Twilight can handle that too.

Actually, you did have one last thing to say. But it was unrelated to what was going on. “Actually, I do.” And this would be just a bit of praise, it might upset her...but..let’s see how she reacts. “I think what you can do with your horn is cool.”

She stops once again, and when she looks at you, she has a menacing glare that even worries you some. “Are you mocking me?”

You gulp “No..I just mean it’s really cool that you can blast super powerful lightning like that. I mean, I think you could have given Tirek a run for his money with your magic and your moves. I-I was just saying is all”

“Don’t listen to him Tempest, he’s just trying to get under your skin….I think? I mean, he’s praising you, and you are pretty awesome but. Oh wait! I get it! He’s just stalling us! He has to be, we’re this close to the princess!” Grubber thought he figured it out. But you were being rather genuine with your words. The mane 6 usually jobbed when they fought a group. And she took them all out on her lonesome and still managed to crush the little creep who nearly turned you to soup.

“...Right. Alright, let’s not waste any more time. And you, hero colt, I don’t want to hear another word out of you.” Tempest gives you a death glare before marching towards this “Capper’s” home.

Dammit, if that little hedgehog kept his big mouth fucking shut. Well, whatever. This place is a dump anyway. You’ll get your chance after this all turns out to be a farce.

Tempest wastes no time with the door and kicks it open. From the gasps you heard from inside however…...oh no….dammit.

They were in there alright. And they didn’t look too pleased already as this anthropomorphic cat seemed to had been trying to sell them to this shrew or whatever he was. Though, at the same time, he didn’t seem to have wanted to do that either.

It didn’t matter anyway. The little rat got what was coming to him when he approached Tempest thinking she was available for purchase. Tempest zapped him, and zapped him good.

Ahh, fuck. Here we go….

Chapter 6: Losing Hope

Welp, here you were again. Though this time your cage was hanging out on deck at the back of the ship, the wind was blowing through your mane as the sky became ever dense in dark clouds. And those clouds, how the hell did they stretch out into what seemed like infinite? Best not to think about it..

You just laid there in your cage, cursing yourself for failing right at the most opportune time. Now you all were headed to their location thanks to that fucking cat. If you got there first, there’d be an ambush. Last? There’d still be a fucking ambush. And no doubt Tempest was going to up the ante by probably putting you in harm’s way next time.

Grubber was your only guard, and he was pretty much healed at this point. He was just munching away on a cupcake as he enjoyed the air.you noticed a keyring on his side, clearly for your cage. But with no way to get it, it really was irrelevant. You also noticed your saddle bag was hanging on a hook just out of reach. Little bastard was probably rummaging through it for something useful.

What did you care at this point though? You lost.

“So uhh..” Grubber turned to you as he spun the cupcake on his paw “What were you and Tempest talking about back there?”

You just look at him, then turn your head. You weren’t in the mood to talk.

“Hey, come on! Whatever it was had to be super important to stop her like that. C’mon...hmm” Grubber thought, then pulled out a slice of cake from his shirt “I’ll let you have a bite. Not a big one, just a small one. So, whaddya say?”

You just slowly turn to him, with a defeated look on your face. “Why do you even care?”

“Because!...Because….” He seemed to have a hard time thinking of something. Or maybe there was something he just didn’t want to say so bluntly “Y’know. Tempest is like, all that! All that and a bag of chips. Kicked your pink laser butt! Heh” He snickered for a moment before putting the cake back in his shirt. “So whatever has her down. I wanna know. So spill it!”

You just roll on your side as the shackles on your leg jingle. An ever reminder of your failure. “Who cares…” Unless Twilight pulls out a win. Everything was fucked.

“I...sorta...kinda do? Bah, whatever. You’re just a stupid colt anyway. Stupid, dumb, and stupid! Hehehe!” He snickered at you

You just say in a deadpan voice “You said stupid twice. And dumb is the same as stupid….you retard.”

“Retard!...Retard?” Grubber looked blankly at the sky for a second “I bet it’s another one of those weird insults. I’m gonna go ask Commander Tempest what that means.” He then wiggles his claw at you “Don’t you go anywhere now.”

When Grubber turned to walk to the front of the deck, he immediately bumped into Capper. Seemed he was free to walk around of his own volition. Though his arms were shackled closely together. “Hey there small fry, cool cat walking through.”

“What? You’re not cool...and what are you doing back here anyway?!” Grubber asked, annoyed that he was bumped into. You could already tell. Whatever he had under his shirt was ruined.

“Relax, it’s not like I can go anywhere else, right?” Capper smirked as he shook his shackles “Locked tight”

“Yeah, and it’s gonna stay that way too.” Grubber said with a grumble before muttering “...my cake” He began to walk off. He didn’t care at this point. He knew you weren’t going anywhere and neither was Capper. And he had a word to figure out.

Capper then turned to you with a oddly friendly grin. “So, you must be Fluttershy’s “adorable” nephew. You gotta be with the way she lost her cool. Allow me to introduce my-”

THAT CAT!

You stood up in a rage and barked at him, shaking your cage as your fury made everything quake around you. “YOU! DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE SAY HER NAME! I SAW WHAT HAPPENED. YOU TRIED TO SELL HER! AND THEN YOU SELL HER OUT!? YOU’RE A MONSTER!”

Capper fell silent for a moment before raising a single finger on his paw as he cleared his throat nervously. He couldn’t believe you were Fluttershy’s nephew, not with that attitude. “Alright, I admit the first part was true. I understand why you’re all sorts of tense. But you gotta listen to me. Everything is ok now, it’s going to be just fine.”

“Capper, right?” You stare at him with an intense, furious as the sun kind of stare. “Whatever you’re gonna get out of this. I swear to you, it’s going to be going in one end and out the other. Trust me...you’re gonna wish you only had one life.”

Capper looked really scared now. He looked left and right nervously as he clenched his furry asscheeks. Never had he heard these kinds of words before, not even from the lowliest of the Storm King’s men. “Ahrm...um. Well, uhhh..” He was at a loss of words. He relaxed himself, sighed, and walked next to your cage as he pocketed his hands. He looked down in shame when he came to terms as to why you were angry. “I don’t blame you for losing your cool like that. I deserve it. At this point? There’s no saving a rogue such as myself.”

You just groan. You didn’t want to hear none of his shit.

“I mean. I was caught, red handed. What I had planned to do was pretty scummy. But you know…” Capper looks at his sleeves “After meeting them, I realized that I lost my way. That this smooth soul became a jagged piece of rock somewhere down the way. I could blame the Storm King for that, but it just ain’t true.”

“What’s your point?” You say in a defeated voice. You don’t even look at him.

“I don’t really know. One minute I was a criminal. And then...well, let me ask you something. You ever get that nice fuzzy feeling? You know what I mean? The kind you get when some ponies with their heads on straight show you how low you’ve been? I can tell you, it’s one heck of an experience once you’ve tasted friendship for the first time in a long time.” He looks to you with a soft smile, hoping you’d give him the time of day.

You just found that odd. He fucking sold them out. What friendship was he talking about? “...What are you even talking about?”

Capper shrugs “Nothing much, I guess. Just talking to myself. But if you were, by chance, listening. Well, I just want to let you know that I’m sorry about your aunt and your friends. I mean, they fixed me up. made me look snazzy….and I just did...that. And if there was anything I could do for you. Well, I’m willing to do it. Anything, anything at all. You just name it”

Was he high? What was with his shift in character? Why did he even care? Fuck, he was probably messing with you. What a goddamn prick. “Well...for a start...You could just throw yourself off the ship. That might cheer me up.”

Capper winces “Er, I was thinking more along the lines of getting you out of here” He gives you a nervous smirk. Yeah, you were by far the darkest guy he ever met.

You finally give him your full attention as you raise a doubtful eyebrow at him. “Come again? You must be crazy if you think I’d fall for that now. You’re gonna get rewarded for turning in my friends and family, yet your willing to risk your neck for me? For a smooth talking cat, you aren’t very smart.”

Capper starts to feel more confidence as he lets out a mischievous chuckle “Hey kid, you might be right about that last part. I mean, I just remembered your friends are ACTUALLY going to a nice little place called Mount Aris while we’re heading to nasty ole Black Skull Island. I wonder how I made that mistake.”

Wut? “What do you mean you just remembered? Are you saying we’re going the wrong way and...wait” Was...was it true?

Capper smirked as he felt you finally started to catch on “That’s right. I gave our nasty little host a little direction in misdirection, if you know what I mean. Your friends are on their way to get some help from some hippogriffs while I...well.” Capper already knew he’d probably not survive once they all arrived at the island and Tempest and her goons realized they were duped. “Let’s just skip that…”

Was he really? You had to know what made him suddenly not an asshole. “Why? If you were going to sell them, then why suddenly protect them?”

Capper lifts his arm, to show you how well kept his coat looked. To show you all the fixed tears and patches. “Easy. I lead them to my place and instead of being all nasty about it like everyone else in town, they just treated me like I was, well, one of them. I mean, look at my coat. It’s all nice and new looking…” Capper sighs “That Rarity, she just fixed it all up without asking for a single thing. Didn’t even know who I was. She just….fixed it. Didn’t think there was anyone else like that anymore.”

...Holy fuck. Then that meant Twilight and the others had reformed him on their very first meeting. That had to be a record for them at this fucking point. That’s impressive. “And risking your life for theirs just because of that is worth it to you?”

Capper shrugged with a smirk “I mean, it’s just one of nine, right?” He lets out a confident yet somehow ominous chuckle “It probably won’t go that bad. So uh, we cool?”

You couldn’t tell if he was genuine. But, his clothes did seem fixed up and he did seem rather sincere. God, you hoped you weren’t being suckered into some scheme of his own. “I guess...I mean, it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re both kinda screwed.”

“I’m just gonna assume that means we’re doomed. Which, I’d say is true if it wasn’t for the fact I may have overheard that walking pincushion say something about some horn you got. Said he got hurt from you going off like some super wizard or something. Now, how true is all that?” Capper asked as he noticed your horn adorned on your neck. “It wouldn’t be that weird thing around your neck, right? I think it is. That necklace is something only a royal type would wear.”

“Yeah, that’s it” You struggled some in your shackles to try to reach it, but it was to no avail “If my aunt mentioned anything about who I am, you’d know my dad is Discord. This horn is basically something he gave me to help me protect myself...and stuff” Mentioning the mischief you could get into didn’t seem relevant for the conversation. “If I could just put it on, I’d be able to get out of this place.

“Cool, cool.” Capper nodded as he eyed the horn intently “I know this may sound a little mushy and all. But after seeing your Aunt’s heart break back in Klugetown...I kinda wanna do her the solid of making sure her nephew gets back home safe. Which, I really hope, can be done with that horn of yours.”

It could...or if you could get the map out of your hanging saddle bag and throw it in some water. But you couldn’t really do either. And with no water around, telling him to get the map was pointless. “I mean...yeah. And….” You sigh, just let him have some relief. He was probably hurting after being reformed so quick only to have to be doomed. “..Thanks for the thought, Capper. You aren’t really a bad guy. Sorry...for the mean things I said.”

“Hey, no problem. No problem at all. All under the bridge. But darn, you don’t sound as nearly as hopeful and heroic as Fluttershy said you were. Real shame” He mentioned in an offhanded like way.

“Uhhh…” You glare at him, so now he was gonna insult you? “Is there a reason you’re being a jerk all of a sudden?”

Capper shrugged “No reason. I mean, I went through all the trouble to take this from the little pudgeroll” He raised his shackled hands from his pockets, revealing Grubber’s guard keyring. “And it already sounded like you were giving up.”

NO….FUCKING...WAY! HOLY FUCK! “You stole his keys?!”

Capper brought his finger to his mouth to shush you “Shhh, not so loud. Jailbreaks don’t really work well when you make noise like that.” He then began sifting through the keyring, which had a surprising amount of keys within itself, looking for the key to the cage lock and your leg shackles. “When I get you out, you get out of here, ok? Don’t worry about me. I got it pretty much handled.”

No he didn’t. “No, we’re getting out together. This horn? It isn’t some escape horn or anything like that. This horn is a horn full of chaos. I can pretty much do anything with it. Including getting us both out of here.”

Capper lost a little of his focus as he kept trying key after key. He was touched, he didn’t realize the horn could save both you and him and yet part of him felt he didn’t deserve to be rescued “Really? So, you’re really cool with me and all?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you stuck your neck out for my friends and my aunt, then I’m gonna help you out, I am the hero colt after all. And after we both get out of here, we’ll go pick up my friends and figure out a way to crush that Storm King guy. Oh yeah, if we play our cards right, it really won’t end well for him.” After this shit? You wouldn’t mind smashing that discount James Woods into dust.

Capper was struggling to find the right key, but he did let out a small chuckle at those words “You’re the first ANYBODY I ever heard say they could crush the Storm King that easily. Well, if it really IS that powerful then you better be ready to use it once I bust you out because our gracious host is probably going to lose it once she sees us. She doesn’t seem too keen on her prisoners treating her ride like a pleasure cruise.”

You snicker as you feel hope and eventual power come to you once more. “Oh that won’t be a problem. I mean, once you get the right key it’s all smooth sailing from here.”

“Well I only got three more keys on this thing to try. Why does he have so many keys anyway? This ship doesn’t look like it’s got that many doors.” Capper wondered as he tried the next key.

“I bet every cage here has its own lock, heck, I bet my shackles have their own lock too. Not really time effective if you ask me. Speaking of time...oh man, is that it?” You noticed Capper go for the last key on the key ring.

“Yup, seems so.” Capper gives you a mischievous little grin as he holds the key towards the lock “Ready to party?”

“Like it’s Donkey Kong!” You stand at the ready. Oh man, this was gonna be great!

“Donkey Kong?” Capper was a little stupefied there, he looked at you with a greatly confused look.

“Uhhh..It’s a thing. I’ll explain it later” Ugh, gotta keep that human vocabulary to yourself at times like these. It was a waste of breath.

Capper slips the key into the cage’s keyhole “Well later is now because-MRWEEOOR” Suddenly, Capper let out a cat like screech as powerful booming burst ripples through the clouds and into the ship. In his surprise, he accidentally pulls his hand, and the key, backwards. His grip also wasn’t too tight as the key flew up into the air…..and off the ship. “.....uh oh…”

That burst, it was powerful enough to cause the ship to rock for a moment. What the hell was OH SHIT NO!

You look backwards only to see a spiraling beam of rainbow light behind the ship. no...NO….RAINBOW DASH, YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT! YOU WERE SO DAMN CLOSE!

“RAINBOW DASH! I SWEAR TO GOD! I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD, I’M GONNA MAKE THAT “IWTCIRD” MEME A REALITY, BUT WITH A GODDAMN CACTUS! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU’LL BE PULLING NEEDLES FROM PLACES THAT YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW EXISTS!” Holy crap, you were mad. Why, in the ever fucking hell, would ANYONE on the goddamn run make themselves so apparent

“Errr, A-Anon?” Capper nervously calls your name.

And in your anger, you turn and reply with red hot fury “WHAT IS IT?! CAN’T YOU SEE I’M...I’m…...oh shit..”

Tempest and her cronies were standing right there.

“Well…” Tempest looks to Grubber with a wicked smile “Did you catch that?”

“What all went down? As in, his friends are going down? Oh yeah, I heard it. And I’m all down for that” Grubber said, with a cruel little sharp toothed smile of his own before looking to Tempest with a dumb look “What was with the cactus thing though?”

“Doesn’t matter….not anymore. Have the ship head towards where that rainbow came from. Full speed and make sure we’re ready to board them as-” Suddenly, Tempest is cut off by the smooth talk of Capper.

He slid right to the side of them, and pointed at the dissipating rainbow in the distance “Don’t mean to cut in on this convo, but you can’t seriously think that’s them. I mean, a pony making a rainbow? That’s all kinds of ridiculous. Isn’t that right, Anon?” Capper looks to you with a very nervous grin.

...Could this even work? You were nervous, but you do your best to at least sound calm. Your voice was a little shaky, but it was convincing...right? “I mean. Maybe? Logically speaking however, my friends have NO reason to bring attention to themselves. I mean, what? They know their being chased. Why make it worse by putting a huge rainbow target on their heads…Right?”

“Right…” Tempest agrees in a plain way.

God, you couldn’t tell if she was being serious. You and Capper felt a small half moment of relief until Tempest gave a gentle yet eerie smile

“So if we don’t find anything at all we’ll just continue on our way. In fact, since you seem so sure…” Tempest’s eyes shift to Capper “You can come with us when we board the ship just so you can have a look for yourself.”

“Hey! I mean, that sounds like a good idea but someone’s gotta stay with the kid. Plus, I’m a one ship kind of-ngh!” Two storm creatures grab him by the arms, their fierce grip cutting his speech short.

“I insist...take him to the front of the ship and get us turned around.” Tempest commands as she starts to walk towards you. She had noticed something that was very telling, a single bead of sweat coming down off your forehead. She knew she was right.

Grubber starts to wave his arms at the creatures, following them up deck as he barked orders at them “You heard Commander Tempest, get this thing turned around!”

Before Capper disappeared to the front of the ship, he looked back at you with a pained expression. He really did want to be of use. To be a friend...and it just got taken from him.

You were alone with Tempest now. She just looked towards the vanishing rainbow with a stoic expression. “Well, this is it it seems.”

Ugh...what was she on about now? You were beginning to think that maybe she really couldn’t be changed. Or maybe you only thought that because you were at a disadvantage again. “What? You mean you winning? Yeah, I doubt that.”

“Oh, I’m going to win. I gave you your chance and you chose to be stubborn. Now? I’m just going to take the princess and….well.” Tempest turned to you with a sinister grin “Foals like fireworks, right?”

Fireworks? WAIT! “You’re going to blow up their ship?!”

“They're not needed. And besides, they chose to run, making them criminals in the eyes of the Storm King. As for you, I just want you to enjoy the show. I want you to see how hopeless this all was for you. Maybe then you’ll understand what it’s like to lose everything you cherish.” She looks away at you and looks towards what seemed to be a pirate ship. It wouldn’t be long now.

This fucking BITCH! “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?! I SWEAR TEMPEST! IF YOU DO THIS! I’LL END YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I’LL PUT YOU INTO THE GROUND!”

Tempest was, in truth, baiting you. She turned to you with a serious glare. “Then restore my horn and I’ll call it all off. I know that horn of yours can do it. And if you won’t do it, then give it to me and I’ll do it myself!”

You gave her a death glare of your own. You were tired of her shit. Trust her with the horn? So she can do what? Blow EVERYONE up?! “...No. I can’t believe there's a pony who’s worse than Chrysalis. You’re heartless...and I will kill you, revive you, and kill you again. And I’m sure my dad will do even worse to you... No one will miss you either, no one will miss a monster like you.” An edgy threat. In fact, this had to be the edgiest thing you ever said to anyone. But she was outright threatening to kill everyone. Threatening to kill Fluttershy. Even if she didn’t outright say those words, that was her intention.

Finally, Tempest loses her cool and raises herself up as she grabs onto your cage and looks at you with unbridled fury and hurt. “What do you know about heartless?! I WENT TO GET MY FRIENDS’ BALL AND LOST EVERYTHING! WHY?! WHY?! TELL ME! YOU WERE GIFTED WITH A HORN WITH UNLIMITED POWER WHILE LOSING MINE MADE ALL MY FRIENDS AFRAID OF ME! They…” And there it was, tears going down her eyes as she tried to regain her composure “They came to hate me, they stayed away from me. You don’t understand what it’s like to lose everything....” The ship began to come to the side of the pirate ship. Easily matching it’s speed as a spear shot out from the side of the airship, piercing the pirate ship and bringing it closer for easy docking. With that, Tempest could hear the storm creatures and Grubber make their approach towards her. She takes a breath and steadies herself as she looks at you one last time with a stoic glare. “But you will...soon enough”

And with that, the storm creatures, Grubber, and Tempest herself jumped off the back off the ship with great finesse, And landed on the pirate ship. One of the creatures seemed to have had Capper in tow.

...It was over.

You looked at the back of the cage. You could see Tempest interrogating some weird anthro bird pirates. A tall one, a fat pinkish female one, a crazy zany eyed one, a buff one and….well, if you weren’t pissed off...you might have taken a better gaze at the hot slender one who seemed to perhaps be their captain.

No, you were stomping your hooves and cursing yourself. You fucked up big time. This Tempest, she was essentially Starlight 2.0, for sure! AND YOU SOMEHOW FAILED?! Now everyone was going to die. “Why?! WHY CAN’T I DO ANYTHING RIGHT?! I HAD IT! I FUCKING HAD IT! EVERYONE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME! OH MY GOD! ...oh my god...Fluttershy.” You started to tear up, your anger turning into uncontrollable sorrow “Fluttershy...I’m so sorry. If only I went to Canterlot sooner...I...Maybe... NO..NO, IT’S MY FAULT! WHY DID I OVERSLEEP! I’M SO STUPID!” You started to smash your head at the front of the cage “WHY! JUST! LET! ME! DIE! OF! A! CONCUSSION! YOU! STUPID! WO-AAHHH!” With your last hit, the cage door opens.

You fall on your face and fall on your back with a whimpering moan. “U-ughhh...Why my head?..It’s always...wait” Your ears perked up as you raised your head with wide eyes. You look up, you could see the cage hanging above you. “That cat...he did it. HE FUCKING DID IT! CAPPER YOU AMAZING BASTARD! DON’T WORRY! I’M COM-GYAHHHH!” You fall forward on your face as you try to make a dash. You still had the shackles on your legs limiting your movement. “O-ok...gimme a minute...I’ll be there soon…”

Chapter 7: The Turnaround

Author's Note

Short Chapter, I know. Been busy with stuff and felt this would be a good cut off point til the next big chapter. Been getting more hours at work and have been focused more on getting the main story up.

Chapter 7: The Turnaround

You had to find a way to get this damned horn on your freaking head. No matter how hard you tried to reach your horn. The shackles on your legs didn’t let you reach far enough to reach it. “Dammit! DAMMIT! Running out of time...Running out of...hmmm?...AHA!” When you look up, you see your saddle bag still hanging on the hook beside your cage, along with a few other hooks beside it. Just maybe…

“God...If you exist...And you happen to be a pony. Please don’t let me choke to death.”

Your plan was simple, you would use one of the hooks. You climb back into the open cage and look towards the hooks. All you had to do was get your necklace caught on a hook so it raises upwards, and without snapping your neck, adjust your head just enough to get the horn on your forehead.

You take a breath, take a few steps back. And jump for the hooks….and miss.

You smash your head on the metal wall of the ship and fall backwards. The crash in your momentum combined with your fall caused the horn to fall daintily on your forehead and manifest itself as a unicorn’s horn anyway. You did it!.....and your head hurt...dammit.

“Ugh...one of these days. I have to remember to bring a helmet. But..Ok..I.” You get back on your hooves and check your forehead. The horn was indeed on your head. Holy crap….it was time. “..I...I can do this.” You look ahead towards the pirate ship. You could see them trashing the ship, looking for the mane 6. “Don’t worry guys...I’m coming. I’m gonna make this right...I just hope what I’m about to do doesn’t bite me in the ass.”

You had one more gambit to play. And as far as chaos goes, this was catastrophic in nature. But you were sure, Especially after her little spat, that Tempest wasn’t truly evil. Oh yeah, this was no doubt going to be a stupid move. But you also had a far better understanding of chaos than most, and you knew even if things didn’t go according to plan, that you’d still have an out.

And the plan itself? You were going to confront Tempest one last time….And let her use the horn herself to get what she wants. You were damned sure, given her obsession, that she would no doubt try to restore her horn. And you knew the consequences should she foolishly try to do it in a normal fashion. This was in the bag. Speaking of bag, you take your saddle bag before making your big entrance.

“Alright Anon. Hero Colt to the rescue, take two.” Your horn lights up as your shackles explode into golden light particles that fly all around you and fly you off to the pirate ship at a furious speed. As you approach, the particles surround you in a golden light. And upon landing, that light explodes in a spectacular fashion, blinding everyone on the pirate ship for a few moments.

When their eyes were able to adjust, they all saw before them a colt adorned in a golden pirate captain’s coat, gold buckled boots on his hooves, a fancy white undershirt, and a gold rimmed pirate captain’s hat with a chaos symbol instead of skull and crossbones. Of course, this colt was in fact you. “Yar me mateys, Captain Anon comin’ aboard to save ye lot from a grim fate.”

Everyone on board looked upon you in awe. Well, everyone but Tempest. She was, of course, ticked that you had escaped. “How did you-”

And you interrupt her, grinning arrogantly as you reach under your coat and take out your horn. “Escape? You can thank that cool cat right over there. Now then, I assume you know that you can’t beat me now, Right?”

Grubber shook his head as he came out of his astounded stupor and pointed at you in a battle ready stance “We can’t beat you? Ha! Tempest cleaned your clock last time, and she can do it again! Right Tempest?”

She didn’t answer at first. The pirates on board looked confused as to what was going on. Even whispering to each other on what must seem like something out of some whack job’s dream. Capper however, took the opportunity to straighten his coat and walk over to your side with new found confidence “Well well, looks like cat’s got your tongue there. But, as you can see, we have the winning hand. We got pirates, a super powered colt, and yours truly versus...well...you. Now…” Capper then looks to you “What’s the plan? We gonna send them back where they came from?”

“Nope, possibility there could be some problems with that. And I still have some business with Tempest. So, if she doesn’t want to answer, I’ll just lay out my plans right here.” You take a moment to look at the storm creatures. Man, they looked ready to tear you apart on the word go. “So, the plan is simple.” You look over to Tempest “Either we renegotiate some terms or I blow up both ships.”

And once again. Everyone is caught off guard. Capper rushed over to you, frantic, and tries to figure out what you mean. “H-hey! I want to win as much as the next guy but don’t you think that’s just a bit much? I mean, A LOT too much?”

“Only way to be sure they lose and to make sure Twilight’s mission succeeds. Besides, I crusade in the name of chaos. And what’s more chaotic than everything blowing up? The choice is yours, Tempest.” You give her a serious glare. You meant business this time.

“Uh, hey. Don’t I get a say in this?” The pirate captain, that beautiful bird babe, speaks up. She could now not only see that you were serious, but that Tempest seemed to acknowledge as such.

As much as you hate to disappoint someone so lovely, you simply shake your head.

“Do I?” Grubber tries his luck too. Obviously he didn’t want to blow up. He remembered that you did have explosive power.

“Nope...All on you Tempest. What say you?” You wait for her answer.

“You’re not going to blow up both ships. What about them? Hm?” Tempest tries her best to stare you down, but just like she knew you were bluffing. You can see a small bead of sweat coming down from her forehead. She knew you would. Because, at this point...you really would do it.

“Don’t know the pirates so there’s that, specially since they seem to be carrying merch of that monkey guy. Capper? Well, I got something in my bag that can get him out. So I’m gonna ask again, what say you?”

Grubber looks over to Tempest, worried about what could happen “Tempest? Can we seriously not win?”

Tempest’s agitation started to raise. She was cursing herself as to how this could happen at all. She was trying to figure out how Capper got you free. And she was trying to plan out some sort of battle plan. She would not, WOULD NOT, let her plans be overturned.

“Tempest?” Grubber risked giving her leg a shake. “What are we gonna do?”

In Tempest’s mind, it was just you and herself. Nothing else existed at this point. There was nothing she could do without risking falling prey to your wrath. She was sure under your arrogance was a blood curdling rage ready to blow everything to dust, and unlike last time, she has no way of escaping both ships going down. She was slowly losing hope, what else could she do? All she felt she could do now was somehow get the upper hand through whatever negotiation you might have. “It seems I have no choice….Everyone stand down. “

Now the pirates seemed really irked as the storm creatures begrudgingly stood down. So for sure, these pirates seemed like good guys...maybe. “Hey, captain lady. What’s your name and..” You point a hoof towards the rear of the ship “And what’s that door lead to?”

She looked at her fellow crew for a moment, she really had no clue what was going on at all and would have a hard time believing any of this if it didn’t seem Tempest was on the ropes. “Captain Celaeno, and that door takes you to our mess hall...Or rather” She takes a chance of defiance against Tempest “The captain’s quarters. Where we plan our plunders on anything Storm King related.”

And while the other pirates seemed to have suddenly gotten hope from those words. Tempest only fell further into agitation.

You? You just nod and start walking towards the door. “Thanks, Yo Tempest. You first, you are a lady after all.”

Grubber felt a rage build inside him. He even drops his cake as he steps over to you, pointing his claw at you “You can’t command Commander Tempest like that! You think you’re hot stuff? Well, after Tempest gives you a zap, you’ll be flaming! I mean, you’ll totally be on fire! Right Tempest?”

Tempest just nods to you and heads over to the door as she calls to Grubber “I said stand down, Grubber.”

Grubber smirked as he prepared for your annihilation “Yeah! Prepare for...wait...Tempest? Really? But h-” He had a double take, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But mid sentence, Tempest bursts in a fit of rage.

“I SAID STAND DOWN! OR ELSE!” Tempest roars at Grubber, before entering a false calm state. She silently went through the door, and awaited you.

“Alright…” You then look to Capper “Capper, you got my back right?”

“Practically glued to it” Capper says as he starts pointing his fingers like guns at the storm creatures “You all heard your commander. Stand down, or else! Trust me, you don’t want any of this.”

You couldn’t help but smile at Capper taking advantage of insulting the irritated beings. You silently make your way to the door as Capper follows. But then Celaeno calls to you. She was highly interested in the fact that you seemed to be able to do what no one has ever done. “Hey, kid. How are you doing this? We appreciate the help, but just..how? We’ve been attacking all of the Storm King’s cargo ships for awhile now and we still lost. How are you able to beat his best commander like that?”

You stop at the door and look at her with a childlike grin “I’m the hero colt! And…” You begin to eye her from her parrot like face down to her crystal pegleg. You then wiggle your eyebrows at her. “And I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better after I’m done here, Captain”

“Uuuhh, I guess? I mean, if you say you’re going to help us then...” She had no idea what you meant by that. But she had apparently heard something below deck that you had not noticed. She thought if you were related to the stowaways she was protecting before they made their escape then she’d gladly give you a ride if, in fact, things don’t explode.

Capper immediately noticed your reaction, and gave a tap at your head “Ok Casanova, I gotta stop you right there. Your aunt mentioned you having a fine little ball and chain already. It isn’t cool to get puppy love all of a sudden. Know what I mean?”

...Goddammit. You...You just wanted a hug...and some head rubs...maybe an ACTUAL peck on the cheek. Stupid cat, sounding like a damn PSA. “..Yeah...yeah..ok.”

And so you entered the door, with Capper behind you. This time, you’d make sure you come out victorious.

Chapter 8: A Horn Renewed

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Chapter 9: The Reformation of Tempest Shadow

Tempest’s entire body went numb on the horrifying realization that she never made any plans after regaining her horn. “I...u-uhm..I” Was all she was able to say, over and over, as she desperately thought of a plan. She went back into her own thoughts to even try to remember why she so badly wanted her horn back in the first place. She lost her friends, and everyone was afraid of her. She wanted the horn back as a child to regain her friendship and to be accepted again. Her parents still cared about her of course, but the other children? They no longer saw her as one of them. And then she secluded herself, her desire to get her horn back warping into a perverse want to be whole again for no other reason but to be whole. Every day, every week, and every moon her resolve would become darker and her methods more cruel until her true reasons faded. She trained her body, her mind, and honed her mettle until she became the Tempest she was today. Her allegiance to the Storm King was only to get her horn back. But now she had it, and it didn’t matter anymore as she came to a dark conclusion.

She pulled away from you as she looked into your eyes with a devastated melancholy “I-It doesn’t matter…”

“Tempest? What’s the matter?” You ask as if you were ignorant of the situation. But you knew, you just knew what was truly up.

“Back off!” She stepped away from you to the edge of the table. “It doesn’t matter! I just wanted my horn back to...to..ngh...I JUST WANTED EVERYTHING TO GO BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE” She shouted in frightened rage as her eyes flowed evermore with more tears.. She was panting, breathing hard from the mental toll her realization has caused her. “They can never go back, I-I can never go back. I just wanted my friends back.” She suddenly gives up and collapses, balling up as she shivers and cries. “But even with my horn back. Everyone hates me, everyone is still afraid of me. I’m a monster…” She stops for a moment, until she speaks in a low whine “My parents..wherever they are. They are going to suffer because of me. They didn’t do anything wrong...B-but when the Storm King takes over….ngh” And that was all she could say before crying and wailing in her own despair.

“Tempest…” Ouch, you didn’t know it’d hurt this bad to see her this way. You thought you could remain strong but, damn, a crying filly as cute as she is just pierces the damn soul when it comes to sadness. “It’s not too late. And besides. To me? You’re not a monster, things just happened and some bad choices were made, that’s all.”

But she didn’t respond.

You look over to Capper, who seemed to be waiting on you to do something. You call him over, and start whispering in his ear “What do we do now?”

“Well, I’m just gonna assume we are trying to get her on our side, right?” Capper asks

“I just want her to know she has friends, and can have more friends. I mean, yeah, I want her to join us. But just look at her, man. She’s really hurting, we gotta do something. She isn’t responding. Any ideas?”

Capper rubs under his chin, then smirks as he begins to slide over to her “Just one, and it’s called just being smooth”

Smooth, huh? Well, your words weren’t exactly the best in the first place. You had an ace in the hole for the situation, but you couldn’t use it without Tempest’s attention. So you just observed.

“Hey there little filly, what’s got you down?” Capper leans over the table while looking at the crying filly. But he is met with no reply. “Well, mm mm mm. That ain’t good. How will I ever get this filly to cheer up?” He said as he stood back up and paced back and forth, in false thought. Then he snaps his fingers suddenly as he comes up with an idea “Ah! I got it! It’s so simple!” He reaches into his coat and pulls out a small cloth, he then looks over Tempest and sees an opening to her face. He slowly reaches down and gently wipes away her tears with the cloth “Now now, come on, no one wants to see that.”

That seems to get her attention enough for her to weakly whap away the cloth. Her senses slightly come back to her as her whining slowly calms enough for her to look up at Capper with a hurt look and a sniff of her nose. “...I...I deserve to be mocked. To be hated, for everything I’ve done. So just do it, throw me off the ship while you’re at it…”

“Woah! Woah!” Capper waves his hands at her “Let’s not get dark here. Listen Tempest, I know this is gonna sound a little cooky but I’m pretty sure no one in this room hates you. Sure, you did some pretty bad things not too long ago, but hey.” He gives her a warm and yet somehow still rather smug smile “You’re looking at a cat who was gonna sell off a princess and her friends not even a day ago.The way I see it, everyone is able to see this whole friendship and love thing if they just give it a chance. I did.” He extends an open hand to her “How about you? Because, I can tell you right now. You got two friends, sitting right here, right now. So what do you say?”

But she just lowers her head to the table and looks stares blankly ahead. “I don’t believe you...Why would anyone wanna be friends with a monster like me?”

With those words, a sudden spark goes off in your head. You go and grab your saddle bag and quickly look inside until you pull out a little black photobook. “Funny you say that, Tempest. I happen to be friends with a monster.”

Tempest just lets out a pathetic moan in response as she once again begins to resign to her sadness.

“Heh, I see you don’t believe me. Or maybe you think I’m exaggerating Tell me.” You toss the little photobook at her side “Ever heard of Queen Chrysalis?”

“What?!” Capper is taken aback by those words “You don’t mean that evil queen my mama has told me about. The super evil one who wants to conquer the world and lives in Equestria? The one who hates everything? The one with an entire army that can destroy empires? That Queen Chrysalis?”

This catches Tempest’s attention as well as she slowly looks up at you with confusion “..Is that some sort of joke?...Or..” She looks down in shame “Or are you just comparing me to her?”

So she does know of her. They both know. But apparently have not been up to date with her going ons or the reformation of her hive. “It’s not a joke. And I’m not comparing you to her. If you both don’t believe me, have a look at that photobook.”

Tempest seems reluctant, but she looks at the photobook uses her horn to slowly open it with her magic. Inside was various pictures of you, Chrysalis, and her hive before they became technicolor moose bug things. All the pictures that generated through whatever spell Discord had cast, you now had in a photobook. Tempest was astounded, she wouldn’t even be able to believe it without the evidence in front of her. “How...Why? Everything the cat has said is true about her. She’s an evil monster, why would you be her friend? How did this even happen?”

You shrug “Are the details important? Look, just to let you know. She’s not misunderstood or anything if that’s what you’re thinking. She is indeed evil. But, I was able to see past that and we became pretty good friends….mostly. Look, the point is I really have seen a whole lot of crazy stuff in my life. I have some experience no one else has ever had and I’ve done some things that were pretty unbelievable. I mean, my cutie mark is chaos after all, but I digress. Tempest...I’ve been around some really evil beings in my lifetime. You’re not one of them, at all. You just had a bad childhood, I can tell you that I know what that’s like. But I guess no one ever came back into your life to help you out of this funk you’re in. Well Tempest” You give her a gentle grin “What I’m trying to say is you have a friend in me, in us. We don’t care what you’ve done. And I’d be honored to be your friend if you’d let me….Will you let me Tempest?”

She began to flip through the pages of the photobook a few more times. She just couldn’t believe it. And yet, there was the proof. Her heart began to soften. She began to believe. You didn’t seem to lie to her at all, even with the most ridiculous of claims. She was beginning to feel a feeling she hadn’t felt in a while, and that feeling was trust. You went through all this trouble and risked EVERYTHING just for her to have her horn back. And despite her pummeling you, taunting you, using you, you forgave her.

Tempest slowly stood up. You prepared yourself for a hug, but instead, she just looks at you with caution as she speaks. She slowly turns her head in embarrassment. “ Do you really think my broken horn is cool? I mean, your horn is capable of a lot cooler than what I can do.”

You hold in a giggle from that. That was fucking adorable. Ahh, you’re gonna miss her being a filly all of a sudden. You wanted to see how adorable she could really be. “Hey, I only get two shots a day. You can shoot freaking lightning from your horn twenty four seven. I think it’s neat.”

A warm smile began to appear on her face as she went in for a hug. As she nuzzled onto your side, she whispered “Thank you” into your ear. You did it...You managed it. Thank christ.

Though, the hug went from soft and tender to nearly crushing as the curse on Tempest lifted. She slowly changed back to her old self, with broken horn,scar, and her superior power. She didn’t notice the fact you were now hanging on her leg as she choked you with love and friendship.

Yep, it wouldn’t be an adventure without a hug that nearly chokes you to death.

Chapter 10: Tempest's Resignation

When Tempest realized you were being crushed in her grip, she accidently steps back and crushes the mirror under her right front hoof.

You plop onto the ground and let out a grunt and start taking deep breaths. When you look back up, you could see the reason as to why you were suddenly choked. Tempest was back to normal.

Tempest lifts her hoof and looks upon the shattered mirror, her shattered reflection. She too can see that she was back to her normal self. And yet, when she looked at herself through it, she felt that what she saw was a broken shell. That her obsession was now broken, and her need for her horn being restored was now pointless. She didn’t even feel a tinge of regret for reverting back to her normal form. She then looks down at you, but her stare, it didn’t seem like she had internally changed.

You just look back up at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. It was obvious that being an adult again restored her mettle and her demeanor. But she wasn’t saying anything, she wasn’t acting. It was unnerving. “Tempest?”

“Don’t waste your breath, you’re still my prisoner.” She then turns to Capper “And I wouldn’t try anything either. Not unless you want to be kibble for my soldiers.”

Capper gulped as he raised a shaky finger and chuckled nervously “H-haha, that’s a joke right? I thought-”

“You thought wrong. And now you both have no power. And since we’re running out of time, I’d rather cut right to the chase.” She said, her voice going back to that evil smugness she had when you first met. She hopped off the table, taking your photobook and saddlebag with her, and opened the door. “Now march…”

“Tempest, I-I thought” You really thought she had changed. Did she not remember what just happened?

“Like I told the furball, you thought wrong.” Her horn started to sparkle for a moment there. It was clear she meant business.

And so you and Capper stepped out of the captain’s quarters, defeated and miserable. Tempest followed behind as she pointed you two to stand next to the pirates. God fucking dammit. How?! You did EVERYTHING right! More than right! It was perfect! And yet, maybe, she really was a monster...deep inside.

Grubber took no time to rush up to Tempest and give her a salute with cake smothered all over his lips “Commander Tempest, erm…” He seems to suddenly get anxious as he looks to the left and the right “I think I know how that colt got out...erm. You’re not gonna be mad, right? Because, it’s kind of funny. hehe...Y’know, just in case you were wondering how that happened. Speaking of, erm, what happened in there?”

But Tempest didn’t answer him, instead, she looked deep into his eyes without nary a word.

Grubber gulped “T-Tempest? You ok?”

“Tell me, Grubber. Who exactly are you loyal to?” She asks, her voice still cold and emotionless.

“Uhhh…”Grubber seemed a little confused by the question, he began to rub the back of his head nervously, unsure of what was going on. “I guess the Storm King? But uh, also you? Yeah, totally you mostly. I mean, he probably wouldn’t really let me into his army unless I was the minion of someone cool and amazing and strong. And uh, you’re all those things Tempest. So I guess it’s more you than the Storm King. Yeah...Yeah, that’s right.” Grubber puts on a proud smile as he pumps his chest “I’d follow you anywhere. Heh, we’re the best team, right? I mean, more you than me but it’s always great to see our enemies crumple like paper to you Tempest...also cake, I like all the free cake.” He somehow pulls another cupcake from under his shirt and eats it in one bite before giving a longing sigh “Ohhohooo, so good”

“Grubber, do you mean that? Do you mean to say that no matter what, you’ll follow me? Like say...a friend?” Her expression, for a moment, becomes softer. And you, and perhaps only you, took notice.

Ahh geez, it’s one of these. You’d think she’d have the damn courtesy to let you and Capper in on it instead of just seeming like an asshole. Ahh well, at least it meant you weren’t going to blow up. Speaking of which, this was going to be a hell of a show.

“I..Guess? Yeah...I mean. Erm…” Grubber suddenly becomes nervous as he looks to the side “Like, best friends? I’d say we’re best friends, but only because that’s what I think. If you don’t think that then it’s not true. Whatever you think it is Tempest, that’s what I’m totally down with.”

Tempest let’s out a quick chuckle as she shakes her head “Grubber, I’d just like to say we are best friends. And yes, you’re forgiven for losing your keys to that cat.”

Grubber eyes suddenly went big with relief and care as he rushed over to her side with excitement. He never thought in a million years that he’d be forgiven for such a screw up. And furthermore, he had never heard her say such nice things before, at all. It made him feel a wholeness he never really felt before. “Yeah! Haha! You really are the coolest, Tempest! So what are we gonna do with these traitors?” Grubber gives you all, especially you, the evil eye.

Tempest looks to the storm beasts with militaristic flare “All of you, line up!”

The storm beasts roared and huffed as they all formed a single file line. They seemed a little confused as to what was going on, but they weren’t going to question Tempest...not like they could, didn’t seem like they could talk.

Tempest just looked upon them with a smirk as she stepped in front of Grubber and nodded at them. “Good, very good. But I know you all follow me because the Storm King has you follow me. And I know that courtesy only extends to me as as long as I follow him. And while the perks of our highness is good at the price of destroying the hopes and dreams of everyone we come across. I have decided to take my life in a different direction…”

Everyone, everyone but you were suddenly confused with her words. Oh man, you wish you had some popcorn. Because this was gonna be a hell of a light show.

“So…” She looks over to you.

Oh man, you just wanted to spring up and tell her to blast the fuck out of them. But you kept your cool. And nodded.

Her eyes, they became friendly, if only for a moment. She must have looked at you for just a quick reminder for her choice. But when she saw that nod, that gesture of approval, she felt her heart warm. She didn’t want to seem cruel after what you had done, but it was the only way she was going to be able to get her forces to line up for what she was going to do.

She then looked to her confused little comrade. She hadn’t the heart to blast him, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed he’d probably join her on the flip after she’s done executing her plan.

She then smirks at her former soldiers “Consider this my resignation. Oh, and be sure to let the good king know his reign of terror is going to be over soon enough.” And her horn went alit with magical fury as she released a huge burst of lightning like magic that exploded like a bomb, sending the now charred soldiers back onto the airship as the stream of magic destroys the spear anchor’s chain like it was paper. It was a thing of fucking beauty!

Celaeno was just stunned, she just raised a talon and pointed it at the now escaping airship, then to Tempest, then back at the airship. “..What just happened?”

You couldn’t contain yourself. Like, holy shit. That was amazing! You rush right into her and hug onto her leg “Tempest! That was fucking amazing! Holy crap! You got them all in one freaking blast!”

Tempest let’s out a light hearted chuckle as she she looks down at your absurdly cute reactions “Well, now I know you weren’t lying about my magic. You’re right though, that was pretty cool”

“Tempest? W-what’s going on?” Grubber seemed both scared and confused. He couldn’t figure out why you seemed so excited or why she blasted her own soldiers.

Tempest looks back at him for a moment, she didn’t know how she should approach him with her sudden change in allegiance. But, she did want to make sure he’d follow her on her decision. So she looks away and speaks in a distant voice. “If it’s not obvious by now, I’ve decided to leave the Storm King’s army. And I’m not coming back. So, what are you going to do, Grubber?”

Grubber gulped, looked to you, the pirates, the escaping airship, and then back to Tempest. For being rather pea-brained, he was giving this a lot of thought. He turned his back on her for a moment and held up a Storm King action figure and gave it a long stare. “Tempest, um. Do you think we can make action figures of us when we beat everyone up?”

Holy crap, he only half got it.

“Dude, she’s joining our side. She’s asking you if you’re gonna join us, not form some splinter group to beat us and the Storm King down.”

“I knew that!” He didn’t, but her turned around looking rather angry “..And yeah, fine, I’m up for it. Tempest is the best anyway. Kicked your butt, like, all over the place. Slammed and caged like a bird!” He snickers at you as he crosses his arms triumphantly.

..Ugh, you were having second thoughts about him. But it was clear he really was Tempest’s “Spike” to the highest degree. “Whatever...oh wait…”

You forgot about the pirates themselves. It was their fucking ship after all.

You look back at the pirate captain and smile nervously. “Haha! This must all be really confusing right now, right?”

“Very…” Captain Celaeno takes a dare and steps towards you and Tempest. “But I noticed that mark on your hat and flank. Your Aunt mentioned you, kinda promised her I’d try to save you if I could if I ran into her.” She points a talon at Tempest “But, let me guess. Given she just blasted her own crew and her escape route, You somehow handled the situation in there and turned her to our side. Right?”

Wow, she didn’t seem to be too suspicious of the situation. Not as much as you thought she’d be anyway. “Errr….Yeah, uhhh. You seem like you’re ok with that.”

Celaeno let’s out a long sigh as she kicks over a crate, causing Storm King merchandise to fall out of it. “Yeah, we were kind of on the same boat as her. Gonna assume that cat guy was too, right?”

Capper smirked as he picked up a mug with the Storm King’s face on it and gave it a stare “That’s right. I gotta admit, ponies seem to have this cool vibe that just changes the soul, y’know? So, we’re all cool now, right? Because I think there’s six ponies and a dragon who’s gonna need a pick up. I mean, check it out.” He hops up on the banister of the helm and starts counting on his fingers “We have pirates, a colt with the power of chaos, The Storm King’s former commander, yours truly, and after we pick up our pony friends? Them and a whole lotta hippogriffs. The Storm King won’t know what hit him!” He throws it down with a loud shatter

Celaeno let out a out a smug little “Hmph” before looking to her crewmates. “Well, What say you? He makes a pretty compelling argument, and it’s not like we can’t make her walk the plank if she acts up.”

They just look at each other until the portly fat one just huffs and starts to walk away. “Well, I know where this is goin’. Gonna have to make enough grub to feed an army and not enough time to do it.” Then she stops and points a spoon she’s holding at Grubber “You! You’re going to help me in the kitchen. I need a set of hands, and you seem to have an eye for the sweet stuff.”

“Sweet stuff?” Grubber’s eyes suddenly light up and sparkle “You mean like...cake?”

“Yeah, we do have children on board, after all.” She tells him

Grubber suddenly jumps with joy “BEST! BETRAYAL! EVER! I’ll see you later Tempest, I’ll make sure to make a cake just for you!” He rushed over to the bird’s side, ready to make as much cake as possible.

Tempest was just surprised, she looked to Celaeno with uncertainty. “You trust me, just like that?”

Celaeno chuckles at her and reaches into a supply crate, pulling out a red striped cloth. “We’re past the point of suspicion. All we can do now is be as” She looks up for a moment “Awesome as we can be, anyway” She tosses the cloth to Tempest “Not the best thing to use, but if you’re going to be on my ship then I want you to look the part.” She then adjusts her captain’s hat “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a ship to sail. Carry on” She begins to walk off, then suddenly she stops as she then looks to you “Oh ha, almost forgot. You’re the one to thank for all this, right? Well…” She bows “Thanks a lot, and welcome aboard.”

You smile at her and bow yourself “Thanks, I know we just met. But it’s a pleasure to meet you.” You then wonder about something, you already got this far after all. “Erm, Captain Celaeno, ahrm.” You look at her with more confidence “I’d like to be captain of the ship, I’m dressed for it and I did pretty much save everybody. I mean, it’d just be for the adventure. You’ll see that I’m pretty smart and you’re going to need me if we wanna beat that guy successfully.”

Celaeno smirks at you and leans down to your face...oh god, she really was the looker “Do you even know what direction starboard is?”

You gulp “L-left?”

Celaeno grabs your hat and pulls it over your face “Nice try...And besides…” She tilts her head to Tempest “She’d have more insider information than you would. So there’s that.”

Damn, foiled again. You just wanted to lead a ship all badass like and all. It’s rare you get to be a pirate.

Celaeno notices her decision slightly upsets you. She reaches over and gently scratches under your neck “Come on, it’ll be fine. Trust me, if you want to be a pirate captain like me, you have to earn it. Your talent is chaos right? Well, if you work at it, I’m sure you’ll be one when you grow up. Anyway…” She stands up and begins to walk off. “Work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.”

You were a little stunned. Not by her words, but by her scratching. Oh, they were like gentle fingers. Now you know how a cat felt.

Tempest just looks over to you at a moment, she smiles just a little, feeling a feeling that had long escaped her. She had been accepted, her partner saw her as a friend, and then there was you. She looked upon the cloth, and expertly used her hooves to form it into a bandanna. She was ready. Her past no longer haunted her and she was ready to face her future without fear.

Chapter 11: To Mount Aris (Part 1)

And so Captain Celaeno headed her ship towards a place towards Mount Aris. It had appeared the mane six and Spike had in fact been on the ship, but had made their escape from their hiding spot when Tempest was having the ship searched. That was fine, that was ok. Because Capper mentioned they were going to come back with some sort of army. And that made things all the better for the cause.

You were walking down the deck with Capper at this time, conversing, having a laugh or two. Now that there was some actual downtime, you felt it’d be good to converse with him a bit. Get to know him a little better.

“....And that’s how I saved the world. A world...timeline. You get the idea” You wave a hoof at him as you give him a smug look to save face.

Capper just has a short laugh as he rubs at his chin, pondering on your words. “ A hero colt across dimensions, That’s a new one. Kind of unbelievable too if you ask me. Robots? Cars? Stands? Never heard of none of those things. You sure that all happened? Wasn’t a dream or anything?”

“I just reformed the Storm King’s top commander. You’re gonna tell me I’m exaggerating after I managed that? She turned into a filly for Celestia’s sake. That alone would be unbelievable if you didn’t see it yourself” You look up at him a little perturbed, how could he not believe you?

“Hey, hey. Relax” Capper waves his hands at you, surprised by your reaction “It just didn’t jive with what I know, that’s all. I believe you, kind of hard not to after seeing that thing in action.” He points to your horn. “So, speaking of action. You up for fighting King Nasty himself? He’s pretty ruthless. No one's gonna blame you if you stay here on the ship.”

You narrow your eyes at him “Are you sure you believed me? If I can fight a powerful robot, I can beat some stupid monkey.” You look ahead through the sea of clouds with a determined yet annoyed look “No one better stop me either, I can fight with the rest of them. And it’s not like I don’t have a weapon.”

“Right…” Capper shrugs “I guess I was just worried about you. Not really good for the heart if one of my first friends ends up getting fried. But I guess I am overthinking things. All you gotta do really is aim that horn at him and” He points his fingers like a gun and makes a pop noise with his mouth “Storm Flambe’”

“That’s the idea. We just need to beat him to end this whole thing, right?” You ask Capper

Capper nods “Yeah, but don’t be getting ahead of yourself. Just because you got that kind of power doesn’t mean you’re gonna fight alone. Everyone is going to have your back. And who knows? Maybe even your uncle Capper is gonna get the final shot at that guy. That’d be pretty cool, huh?” He gives you a smug look as he flexes his right furry arm.

You chuckle at that “Yeah, well. I guess it doesn’t matter who gets the final shot. I think any one of us can trounce the guy. He didn’t look that great. Yeah, I think this is gonna just be the normal route, with my friend Twilight having the final showdown with him”

“The Purple Princess? Didn’t take her for a fighter.” Capper didn’t seem to sure about that.

“Oh no dude, trust me. She went all Dragon Ball Z on this guy once and it was awesome!” Man, that fight with Tirek was actually pretty cool for MLP standards.

“Yeah...Yeah...erm” Capper seemed confused about your words “That seems great and all, but uh….Mind telling me what a “Dragon Ball Z” is?”

Right….No one would know about that.

You sigh, it wasn’t worth explaining “It’s uh..nothing.”

“Mhmmm...hmmm” Capper looks to the side and notices Tempest leaning over the side of the ship, looking into the clouds with a distant look “Y’know Anon, speaking of the Storm King’s top commander, it looks like she’s gonna need a little company.” He points over to her

You look over and frown just a little, she looked lost “Yeah, I see what you mean. She’s probably still getting used to having her life turned around like that.”

“That’s what the Storm King does to you” Capper looks serious as he looks towards her direction, hands in his coat pockets “Ruins your life and makes you forget what’s important. I did, these pirates did, and she did. Terrible times Anon, terrible times. Never thought a group of ponies would change all that, but yet, here we are. Well…” Capper starts heading her way “What do you say we cheer her up, huh?”

That did sound like a good idea. And as cool as Capper seemed, you actually wanted to speak to Tempest more privately. You wanted to solidify your friendship with her by being open with her one on one. If she came to fully one hundred percent trust in you, then there’d be less of a chance of something goofing up the progress you made. Because if there was one thing that was worrying you, it was the fact that the others might not be very warm to Tempest when you bring them on board. This especially goes for Fluttershy, who might go into some kind of protective mother anger mode if she ever spots Tempest again. You had to make sure Tempest was going to be able to handle that, and so you needed this time alone with her. “Hey Capper, actually, you mind letting me cheer her up...Alone?”

“Hmm?” Capper looks at her for a moment, then back to you with a smirk “What’s with you and the ladies? You’re pretty spry, you know that?”

“It’s not that. I just want to speak to her one on one, y’know, to get her fully comfortable with at least one of us more personally so she doesn’t feel alone. I mean, both of us is fine too but...ugh, you know what I mean, right?” You found it a little difficult to explain.

But Capper just nodded and gave you a wink “I get it, relax. But remember to play it cool, Anon. She’s probably still shaken about all that’s happened. Good luck to you.” In truth, Capper didn’t truly understand. But he trusted you, and that’s all that mattered. He turned around and headed towards the helm to chat with Celaeno.

With that, you decide to casually walk over to Tempest and look over the railing of the ship with her. She doesn’t even notice you at first until you start speaking. “Heya Tempest, whatcha doin’ here on your lonesome?”

“What?” Tempest looks over to you, surprised, then goes back to looking at the clouds with her distant expression “Oh, hello. I...was just looking at the clouds.”

“Oh” You say with fake wonderment as you take a glance at her. “So just feel like hanging out alone all of a sudden? There’s probably a few guys on board who’d want to chat with you right now. I know Capper wanted to”

Tempest sighs “I don’t see why. Considering what I’ve done.”

Hmm, perhaps transitioning back to an adult did skew what happened to her as a cursed foal just a little. You just go back looking into the clouds as you speak gently to her “Come on, we kinda went through this not too long ago. I see good in you, Capper does, and now? So do these pirates. Considering you were all sort of held down by the Storm King in some way, it kind of makes you all connected already. That’s probably why you were forgiven so fast. So why worry about it?”

Tempest does a slow nod without turning her head “That...actually makes sense but...What about your friends? Your Aunt? What’s going to happen when they come on board?”

You chuckle at that.

She looks over to you in surprise “What’s so funny?”

“Because, I already know the answer, and it’s sort of funny” You tell her as vaguely as possible

She focuses her attention at you as she gives you a more serious look “Well, if you know the answer, tell me.”

She was that worried. Hah, a far cry from her serious and menacing old self. “Well, if all goes as I think it does. They’ll be mad, my Aunt will get super aggressive, there’s gonna be a misunderstanding, you might run off crying, Twilight or Pinkie might notice the tears, go after you, talk to you, you’ll probably resist and even get violent, they talk you through your doubt, hugs, and then everyone accepts you.”

“That’s…..really specific” Tempest narrows her right eye at you just from how absurdly specific that all sounded.

You shrug as you go back to looking at the clouds “That’s usually how it goes.”

“Really?...” Tempest looks down to ponder for a moment, then looks back at you “So what you’re saying is that they are going to accept me after I throw some sort of fit, right?”

You wince at that, that did sound kind of pathetic “I mean…yeah?”

Tempest smirks at that, in her mind, she realized that there was only one thing that mattered from that “So, I guess that means no matter what. I’m going to have more friends than I could ever know what to do with”

“Is that a bad thing?” You ask her

“No, I guess not. Just a little too much a little too fast for me. I mean, I was just about to destroy this ship with everyone on it. Now I’m part of the crew” She taps at the bandana on her head. “It’s pretty overwhelming.”

“Overwhelming? What?” You look over to her in false but enthusiastic surprise “For you? C’mon, you’re cool,calculating, and you go straight for what you want. At least, y’know, for the little I’ve known of you anyway. So, what? Now that you have friends you’re suddenly shy and stuff?”

“More like unsure. You’d be my first real friend in a long time, or maybe that’s Grubber. Either way, I’m just not used to it.” She then looks into your eyes with a sudden stoic stare “As for cool and calculating, I can still be like that. After all, someone has to be considering your undisciplined nature got your butt kicked…” She then smirks at you “By me”

You grimace at that, really? Dammit… “Ok, ok. I get it, I got cocky. Won’t happen again.”

“Huh?” Tempest started to feel a little jittery “I-I was just trying to have a little fun there. I...I didn’t mean to insult you like that. I kind of remember talking like that when I was younger and…” She then goes back to looking at the clouds as she steadies herself, realizing she may have taken it too seriously “Sorry.”

You sigh as you give her a nudge “No, I’m sorry. Heh, I suddenly forgot how to handle the bants.”

“The bants?” She looks at you, confused by those words “Do you mean banter?”

“Y-yeah, that’s uh, just a word I use. But that’s what it means.” Dammit, how could you get annoyed that easily about that? Actually, it did make you think of something “Actually, how exactly did you dodge my attack? It shouldn’t have been dodgeable.”

“Huh, well, that’s not difficult to answer. You may have fired a lot of magical lasers, but they all tracked my position. That meant either there’d be ones coming directly at me or around me due to not being able to turn enough to hit my position. That meant all I had to do was keep moving while watching for the occasional shot that would land where I was currently heading. Does that answer your question?” She looks to you with genuine curiosity

...So...That attack would have never worked? “W-wait, hold on. Your reflexes are that good? All those lasers I shot were homing in on you. How could you dodge ALL of them?”

“I-I just explained it” Tempest was confused and taken aback that you essentially asked the same question. She then took a breath, and tried to explain how you should have handled the situation. “As for my reflexes, years of hard training. You also have to realize that if all your shots track me then it all becomes a game of manipulating you shots. Really, if you wanted to stop me there and then, you should have aimed,predicted, and fired where I was heading or when you had a clear shot. Blindly firing your magic like that wasn’t going to get you anywhere.”

In other words, you really did get too cocky. WAY too cocky. You sigh and rest your head on the ship’s trailing, feeling defeated “Well, I really screwed that up”

“Well….” Tempest stops, when she came to realize her defeating you lead to these events transpiring “Not really. If I didn’t defeat you, I wouldn’t be here now. Heh” She lets out a soft laugh “Kind of funny how that worked out.”

Actually, she’s right. And the fact that she was not only right, but also having a giggle about it helped your mood “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Ok, look.” You look over to her with a smirk “I’m cool, I’m calm, and I know I can handle banter better than that. So, ok Tempest. I’ll give you a free shot.”

“What?” Tempest looks at you, confused “I’m...not going to hit you.”

“No, no. I mean, insult me. I’m ready this time. Lay it on me, I’ll show you I can handle it.” You dared her, challenged her even.

Tempest raised an eyebrow at you, she found that a little nuts...and easy “Really? Anon, you are aware making my enemies feel small and defeated was part of my morale crushing technique, right? You don’t want my best shot”

You look her straight in the eye with confidence “I ain’t doing a back and forth with you on this. It’s decided already, so just insult me.”

“Ok then...If you say so” Tempest looks to her side and opens your saddle bag she had taken before leaving the captain’s quarters. She takes your transformation bow and tosses the bag towards you. “Here’s your bag back, but I think I’ll be keeping this”

You narrow your eyes at her as you take your saddlebag back, you had nearly forgotten it due to everything that had gone on. But what caught your attention was the fact she had taken your bow rather than insult you. “Ok? And how is that insulting me?”

Tempest gives you a cruel smirk as she puts the bow away inside her armor “Because, it’ll be a great memento. You know, of that time I defeated the “great” Hero Colt? That’d be you ,right?”

You wave your hoof at her and grumble “Whatever, keep it. If I didn’t waste a charge making that thing I could have used it instead to, I dunno, send you into another dimension or something”

“Mhmm, heh. So I’m gonna take a guess you still got annoyed. You’re not really good at handling the “bants”, are you?” Tempest says with a slight titter, her mood ever lifting already.

You could! You have! Especially against Chrysalis. It’s just losing so stupidly kind of ticked you off. “I mean, you just caught me on an off day.”

“Sure…..hmmmm” Tempest let out a content sigh as she went back to looking at the clouds “So this is what friendship feels like, it’s been so long. I guess the only weird thing about it is that my first two real friendships is with my lackey and a colt. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to really talk about. I’m not so good at small talk.” Tempest admits, and yet, she didn’t seem so nervous anymore.

“Well, I’m open to any subject. If you got something, I’d be glad to talk about it with you to pass the time” You tell her

Tempest sighed, she really couldn’t think of anything “My life has been more pillaging and combat over anything else. And I’d rather not talk about my time being under the Storm King. So really, I got nothing.”

Maybe you could think of something? Well, you did have something. You just hope it didn’t touch upon anything too sensitive for her “”Well, what about the Storm King himself? What’s he like? Would probably be good to know a little more about him since we’re gonna go and beat the snot out of him and all.”

Tempest’s eyes suddenly become still as her body stiffens and her voice becomes serious. Clearly the memories were not pleasant. But she didn’t see the question as bad. No, she saw it as something that should be explained. Know thy enemy and all that. “The Storm King, for one, is not to be underestimated. He may seem like some business executive with the way he always wants to spread his “brand”, but he’s actually ruthless and cruel. He’s also not a coward. In fact, he takes delight in seeing the hope leave his enemies eyes. He’s also not to be underestimated; He’s managed to get as far as he has through his own power and cunning. In fact, that’s why when we do face him, we have to do it while keeping Princess Twilight safe. If he gains the power of the four alicorns, all will be lost.”

Oh, that did not sound too good. Well, maybe...You could beat him, right? The horn should be enough to beat a guy like that.

That also explained what happened with the princesses and why hunting Twilight down was so important.

So you just shrug nonchalantly “Eh, I could take him.”

“I believe you” Tempest says, without a hint of snark

Wut? “Huh?”

“I believe you. Of course…” She looks over to you with a militaristic stare “If you do somehow end up being the one to face him for any reason. You’d have to make sure you use that horn the way I explained it to you. He wouldn’t let you have a second shot.”

That look in her eye. She meant that all in a way that you had to be absolutely fucking ready for that fight if you did end up being the one to take him down. If one misfire really was enough, then you’d just have to do what Chrysalis did to her old captain the first time he was defeated. Just go in for the kill.

“Ok...I mean, I did want to get a little word in...y’know...something like 'Eat shit and die!'. But if it’s like that, then I think I could do it.” You explain to her

“Never heard that one. Never even heard the word “Shit” before...but it kind of clicks. But look, seriously.” She puts her hoof on your side “Princess Twilight needs to stay away from him, and I’d rather you not fight him at all. At this point, I’m responsible for what happened at Canterlot. So if anyone is going to fight him. It’s going to be me.”

Oh come on, not this old bit. “You know you don’t have to fight him alone to prove yourself or anything. I mean, you’re a pony, you should know this. Just fighting at our side is enough to look good in everyone else’s eyes.”

“Even so, I have nothing to l-” Tempest is cut off by you as you realized what she was going to say

“Oh come off it! You have a friend now. You have friends! And you’re gonna have more friends! Man, if it’s one cliche I hate it’s the whole “I have nothing to lose” line, geez!” You point at her as you look at her with fierce eyes “You’re my friend now Tempest, and I’d be very sad if something happened to you. Got it!?”

Tempest says nothing at first. But she was rather charmed by your insistence. Enough so that she decided to be a little jokey about it. “Sure, got it, I understand. Of course that would mean I’d still be fighting him to make sure my friend, that being you, also doesn’t have anything happen to him.”

GODDAMMIT! SHE TURNED IT AROUND ON YOU. “G..Gnn...mnnnngh….”

You go back to looking at the clouds, unable to counter her words

Tempest notes your silence, and realizes just how great the feeling felt to have someone wanting to fight for you despite barely knowing them. Something enters her mind that makes her hesitant for a moment. But, she wanted to form a deeper bond with you. So, she quickly overcomes her hesitance and asks you a question “Anon, do you know what I used to do when I was young? To seal a friendship I mean.”

“Hmm?” That was a sudden change in conversation. But...it sounded interesting “Huh? What?”

“I mean, when I was young. I always felt sharing a deep secret between a friend meant you’d be friends forever. I...guess it’s not too true. But, I feel, maybe I should give it another go. But…” She looks down a little, feeling rather shy about her secret “You go first, and it’s got to be a good one too.”

A good one? Hoo boy, if you wanted to gain this eternal bond she seems to be toting, you had to make sure it was good. And you felt not only confident, but safe enough to let out a rather big secret. It worked for Starlight, so perhaps...

Chapter 12: To Mount Aris (Part 2)

“Ok, so check this out Tempest, because this is gonna be a doozy.” You look at her with serious eyes, what you were about to tell her was not to be taken lightly.

“A doozy? Hmmm…” Tempest had to wonder what a “doozy” could mean to a colt such as yourself. Was it really something that big? Considering how you conducted yourself thus far, especially with her reformation, she decides to take your words seriously “Alright, I’m listening.”

You look her dead in the eye “I’m serious about this Tempest. Very few know this secret, so don’t go spreading it around, alright?”

Tempest let out a sigh, her sharp mind and militaristic attitude causes your words to feel a little grating to her, but she remains polite. She didn’t want to overreact or put you off. “I understand how a secret works, Anon. So please, tell me.”

“Alright..” You take a moment to collect your thoughts, then finally spill the beans “I’m actually a creature called a “human” who was brought in from another universe by my adopted father just to impress his best friend and annoy Princess Twilight. But, well, things have really evolved since then. Anyway, that’s my biggest secret, what do you think?”

Tempest simply raised a single eyebrow “Are you serious?”

You nod “Mhmm, why? It’s the truth” After all that crap, she doesn’t believe you? “What’s the problem?”

“Er, well…” Tempest realized she may have just annoyed you a bit too much, something she didn’t want to do. But that secret was just too crazy to believe in. “Perhaps some proof? I’m the kind of pony who has to make sure all her facts are in order, you understand.”

Ugh, dammit. Proof? Could you even produce any actual proof to it? “Well, it’s not like I have some truth telling machine or anything on me. How am I supposed to prove it? C’mon…” You started to get a little aggravated “Are you just trying to get out of telling me one of your secrets?”

“What?!” Tempest took that as an insult. Perhaps it was because it was her way of bonding from when she was young that made her feel so offended, as in the fact it was a part of her life she fondly remembered; But she would not let your words stand. “Don’t make accusations like that. I just want some proof, it’s as simple as that.”

“C’mon Tempest, I risked my horn for you like...an hour ago. Why would I lie about something like that now? Why else would the spirit of chaos adopt me? You have my word as your friend that I’m not lying. I mean, that’s what it means to be a friend, y’know? You gotta trust one another.” Ok, maybe you pulled that out of your ass a little, but dammit. It was the truth.

Tempest didn’t have any words for you after that, she instead pondered on yours as she went back to looking to the clouds. Could she really not believe you?

“Tempest?” Come on… You just want a deeper connection with her. Not only for the friendship, but to help her be further at ease.

“Fizzlepop” Tempest suddenly says, without breaking her stare

Wut? “Come again?”

“Fizzlepop Berrytwist…” Tempest slowly turns her head over to you as she looked rather defeated about saying those words “It’s my name, my….real name”

WUT?! “So..Tempest isn’t your real name?” You let out a chuckle “That’s kind of cute, Fizzlepop Berrytwist. I like it.”

“Mhmm, but it’s a name I don’t really deserve to take back….not yet. So don’t go spreading it around” Tempest says as she looks away from you completely. Her tone of voice however was both serious and worried. This secret was big to her because it was a name she forgoed only to want it back once she’s earned it.

“So, does that mean you believe me?” You look at her with a big grin

“Yes...Until something proves otherwise. If I find out you lied to me, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to walk for a week.” Tempest tells you, very adamant in her words.

“Whatever you say….Fizzlepop” You grin at her as you adjust your captain’s hat.

“C-can you not say that out loud?....Please?” Tempest let out a small gulp as she looked around to make sure no one was close by.

“Ok….” But then you grin at her “But now I have the power to bring you down! All I gotta say is…” But you stop right there as you notice Tempest go from worried to suddenly flustered and agitated from your sudden shift in attitude. You use this to blindside her and kiss her right on the nose “bam!”

“G-guh?! W-what? W-why are you acting like that all of a sudden? Why did you kiss me?” Tempest was taken aback, she had no idea why you were suddenly acting so weird.

“What’s wong Tempest?You don’t have a thing fwor cwute cowlts, do ywou?” You give her an adorable smile as you wiggle your tail cutely.

“I...don’t...even..I don’t...Uh…” She had never even been caught in a situation like this before. It’s not that she had a crush on you, she just didn’t know what to say or how to handle the situation. She was just totally caught off guard.

You just point at her and let out a victorious laugh “Ha! Gotcha! I knew I could get you.”

Tempest was completely confused “W-what?” She totally wasn’t used to this.

“Like when you told me you could kick my butt, which you can’t now, I got you all flustered with my wicked trick! We’re even.” You tell her with a smug smirk.

But Tempest was still confused. The kiss, what you meant by “All I gotta say is…”, and you’re sudden moment of victory. It was just all so topsy turvy to her. “Ok then...I can say that you got me in a way that I don’t understand. Because that wasn’t in any way that I would call good bants. All that was just….weird”

“I...uh….uhm” You started to think about it, and then realized she was right. All you really did was hold her name over her and try some ridiculously childish ways to get one over on her. Man, of course your wise man skills would leave you post reform. You thought you were being clever, but really you had nothing to go on for some clever banter. “Sorry...I guess I was trying to just get one over you. Truthfully? I have no idea how to roast you. You’re really kinda too cool for me to take down with words. I mean, there’s your real name and all. But that itself isn’t a bad name either, I think it’s really cute.”

Tempest looked slowly away from you as she blushed a little in embarrassment “I er...Wouldn’t call it cute. It’s just a name…”

Aww, she’s being modest. That’s pretty adorable.But given her want to keep it so lowkey, you refrain yourself from pursuing teasing her “If you say so….Hey Tempest, what do you think of my name?”

“It’s alright.” Tempest said it rather plainly. But something was off, namely the fact that NO ONE ever thought that name sounded “alright”.

“Seriously? What other pony, or rather, ANYTHING do you know of that has the name “Anon”? You really think my name is alright?” You look her right in the eye as you say this, trying to find a hint of dishonesty.

“Yeah, actually…” Tempest suddenly gives you a sensual look with half slitted eyes “I think it’s kind of cute.”

You were blushing from that. Holy shit, Diamond Tiara would kill you right now if she saw this. “T-that’s not fair! How come I can’t call your name cute?” You look away from her, a little flustered.

“I never said you couldn’t,I just said it was a name.”She suddenly gives you a peck on the nose before you can even react “Wats wong Anon? Cawn’t hawndle a fwully gwon mare?”

You felt light headed, goddammit. Now, even now, you still had a damn weakness to attractive horses! Fucking hell, you thought you were over this. “..I...er...uhh”

Tempest lets out a hearty laugh. But when she realized she was laughing, she immediately stopped and cleared her throat. “S-sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I...ugh..” She sighs as she looks down, feeling foolish “It’s just, I’m trying to be a friend you’d like to have. But, I’m..I don’t know what to call it. And…” She lets out yet another sigh, aggravated with herself “I spent so much time being a commander, I forgot what I was like before that. I don’t know how I should be.”

“Be yourself” You shrug, you didn’t take offense to her words now that she seemed to be troubled by how she should even be acting. “We’re friends, we’re getting used to each other. These things happen, y’know?”

“Myself?….my...self” Tempest started to wonder to herself on that, wording her thoughts to you “Well, I remember I was outgoing, brave...Maybe too brave, I liked to play, laugh, and be with my friends. That’s every foal I guess, but it’s better than nothing. I would guess I’d have to start somewhere, it might as well be there. It shouldn’t be too hard really….Ok….ok” Tempest nods and takes a deep breath before looking at you with an over exaggerated smile “Here I am, the new Fizz-..erm Tempest Shadow. Ready for friends!”

You start to laugh at that, now that was too adorable considering how she was before.

“Why are you laughing?” Tempest tilted her head in confusion, worried she may have laid it on too thick.

“Nothing...nothing.” You give her a genuinely warm smile “Well, Tempest. I’m glad I’m your friend. And you know what? Whether we tease each other or just do something stupid and random or we go and kick some butt together, it doesn’t matter because we’ll see it all through together, as friends. And as friends, I want to tell you that no matter what, I got your back.”

Tempest, at first, seemed rather hesitant from those words. But given the conversation she just had with you, she puts on a smile and nods. “And you know what? I got yours. Maybe it’s a bit of an oddball friendship given who we are. But so what? It feels good, it feels right. And if anyone says otherwise, I’ll make them wish they were never born.”

“Errr…” You slowly twist your hoof left and right as you lower it, that was a bit much “I mean, erm. You might want to tone that down a little. I’m all for making my enemies pay and all but that sounds like you’d do that to like, ANYBODY who had anything to say about it. Which again, is fine but...Y’know, I mean...you wouldn’t hurt like...a colt or filly who said something, right?”

Tempest grimaced at those words. When she said anyone, she had actually meant it. “N-no, of course not. I meant….Bad guys? Ugh…” Tempest groans “I need to get out of my old mental-” Tempest suddenly stopped when she felt a presence close by her

“Hey, fellas, just want-OGHYAA!” It was Capper, who now found himself inbetween Tempest’s hindlegs as she threw him to the ground, flipped in the air, and landed over him with her horn sparkling.

Capper threw his hands up to cover his face. “H-hey! It’s me! I-I was just coming to tell you we arrived! Anon, do something!”

“Tempest!” You rush over to her backside and pull back on her tail. “Relax, geez! It’s ok! It’s Capper!”

Tempest, feeling the yank on her tail and the words from your mouth, backs off and profusely apologizes to Capper “So-sorry! I..I didn’t expect you to sneak up on me like that! It was muscle memory, I swear!”

You hop towards Tempest’s side and look to Capper with an apologetic expression “Please Capper? Forgive her? I mean, you did just kind of sneak up on us.”

Capper still looked bewildered for a moment before he cleared his throat, calmed down, and dusted off his coat as he laid there. “Man, you g-guys are assuming I was scared. I-I knew what it was. It’s just..” He does his best to give a cool look “A lady doesn’t usually pull those moves until after the date, y’know? I was caught offguard myself.”

You started laughing out loud, that was actually hilarious. At least to you.

Tempest was just confused. Relieved, but also confused. “So, what? You’re used to girls just smashing you to the ground after a date? Is that like, a thing? Or are you just that bad?”

HOLY FUCK! That wasn’t even intentional! And it made you laugh all the harder as you found yourself having trouble breathing through the hilarity of it all.

“No, it’s not like that” Capper said to Tempest as he slowly got up and gave you a miffed look “hmm, you wouldn’t understand, Anon. It’s too complicated for your young brain”

HELP! YOU WERE GOING TO DIE! HOLY CRAP!

No seriously, this was the best laugh you had in awhile. “C-capper! HAHAHA! C-capper! I’ve been sought after by two flippin fillies and had the fricken queen of the changelings, the master seductress herself, nibbling at my ears! HAHAHAHA! Do you even have a girlfriend?!”

Capper said nothing as he looked over to Tempest, looking rather annoyed as he pointed to you “Sure you want to be his friend? Because he’s losing me right about now.”

Tempest, finally getting the gist of what’s going on, starts giggling herself and decides this might be the appropriate time to pull the assist. “It’s just a bit of the “bants”. What, you can’t handle a colt? I can call back Grubber, he might be your speed.”

Capper lets out a false chuckle “Ha ha, you two are really getting to know each other...heh” Capper smirks as he puts on a thumbs up “That’s good to know. Just..ease off, a little, y’know?” He rubs the back of his head as he felt a tad embarrassed. He then looks over the side of the ship and points over to Mt. Aris. “Anyway, our pony friends should be on that mountain island over yonder. The captain says she’s gonna bring the ship down and see if we can spot them. You’d think they would be easy to see considering they have to have that army by now. Hmm…” He pondered, scratching under his chin “Well, I’m sure they're ok. Which kinda brings me to a favor I wanted to ask of you, Anon”

“What’s that?” You ask as you do your best to catch your breath. Hot damn that was good shit.

Capper looks over to you with a wide sorry smile “You mind smoothing things over a little with them? Last time they saw me, they thought I was going to sell them off. Which, I kinda was...but, y’know…”

Yikes… “Yeah...I er...I can do something about that, speaking of which, Tempest you remember what I told you earlier? About them?”

Tempest nods “Yeah, trust me. I’m used to being reviled.And, I feel I can do this with you at my side. I just hope they’ll really accept me. But...I can understand if they don’t. I have friends now, so even if they don’t accept me...I can live happily knowing that I was wrong after all this time.” She gives a tap at her horn, she had already found what she was truly looking for. All she could hope for is a chance to at least assist everyone to defeat the Storm King. To try to atone for at least that much.

“Don’t get all depressive on me now, Tempest. Trust me…” You give her a confident smirk as you tap at your forehead “I know how to handle the situation. Just relax, I got this.”

And with that, you could hear Captain Celaeno call out to everyone that she was going to lower the ship and circle the island for any signs of hippogriffs or the ponies. It was pretty misty around the lower parts of the island, but surely you’d be able to spot them somewhere. They are bright and technicolored after all.

Chapter 13: Meeting up with Twilight

The mane 6 were sighted on the side of Mount Aris on a rather grey and rocky beach. But something was off, not only were there no hippogriff army, but Twilight and Spike were separated from the rest of the group, and all of them looked rather down.

You came to two conclusions. Something big happened and they got separated and don’t realize they are near each other, Or they had some sort of fight. If it was the latter, because that’s what you were going to go with, it meant you probably should start with Twilight first since it’s just her and Spike. Get her to understand and the rest will follow suit.

You asked Celaeno to park the ship as close as possible to Twilight’s position and let you off. The mist was rather thick, so it’s not as if you’d be noticed until touchdown anyway.

She complied and began to circle the mountain while slowly dropping altitude until she could get to a level you could safely go off the side of the ship and onto the cliffside Twilight was on. While she did so, she decided to discuss something with you. Something she found off.

“You know, maybe I’m dreaming. Because the fact that I’m a pirate again AND the Storm King’s strongest commander is now on our side really makes me believe none of this is real. Look, kid, I’m willing to help bring down the Storm King, no question. But do you telling me how you managed it? And the way you even came on my ship, how’d you do that?”

You look up at her for a moment, then look on ahead as you planned your entrance. You were serious and deep in thought. “Experience. I know it sounds weird since I’m a kid, but being the son of the spirit of chaos puts you through a lot of trials you’d never, by design, ever expect. Also, the horn around my neck is a powerful artifact that lets me cast powerful magic twice a day. Though, it being chaotic magic, it’s really hard to manage if you have no idea how it works. It allows me to pull of anything I can conceive in my mind. Whether it be my entrance or convincing Tempest to join our side.” You look up to her with a serious expression on your face “Does that answer your question, Captain?”

Celaeno herself looks ahead for a moment to adjust her heading, then looks back down at you with an unsure nod. “I guess it does. Before today, my entire crew and I were working as the Storm King’s dregs, shipping his stupid merchandise across his kingdom. Now? We’re assembling the most misfit crew ever seen to put a stop to him once and for all. So you being “The son of chaos” doesn’t sound so far fetched. Heck, now I’m just wondering if that thing can just blast him to smithereens. It can, can’t it?”

You nod “It can but….ugh” You just realized something “I can’t really just do that unless I have a clear shot. If he’s in a spot where’s there’s prisoners or something, then I’ll have to come up with something else. And that’s assuming I’m the one who goes up against the guy.”

Celaeno chuckled at that, and looked at you with a smirk “A little TOO heroic, don’t you think? No one is telling you to go up against him yourself. You’re too young for that sort of thing. Besides, it doesn’t have to be one of us. If his army is thin then we could probably all take him down together.”

Did she infer you couldn’t take the guy one on one? You already got teased about it before. But you knew now just to blast the guy the way Tempest suggested. “I mean, yeah we can all take him together. But I’ve had a lot of experience fighting. I can take him down by myself.”

Celaeno reached down and moved your hat back a bit so she can give you a gentle pat “Sure you can. Anyway, I’m sure the princess has noticed us by now. My men will set up the walkway so you can talk to her. And then, after that, I guess is our big battle. I just wondered what happened to those hippogriffs, they must have been a myth after all.”

You hold back from letting out a groan. You could take him down, you were sure you had it this time. Whatever, you also knew she was right. Whatever was the best way to take him down was the way it should be done.

As Celaeno positioned the ship. You took the time to explain to Tempest and Capper what you planned to do. You’d hop out first and greet Twilight, wait for your cue, then they hope out. Should be easy. If you could ease Twilight into it, then the others should be cake.

When the walkway was set, you made your way from the ship to the gloomy spot Twilight and Spike had found themselves in, a desolate platform of stone with the mountain wall to it’s back and endless ocean and clouds on every other side. When you came to spot Twilight, Spike was busy talking to her while she herself was looking rather downtrodden. Somehow, they had not noticed the ship or you yet. Well then....

“Yar mateys, what be going ons around this here rock?” You greet them with the most gruff piratey voice you can muster.

“What the hay! Twilight watch ou-...wha?” Spike was the first to turn around, caught offguard by your greeting. But when he noticed it was you, he was blown away. “Anon?! Woah! Anon! What are you doing here?! How’d you escape?! And...what’s with the cool pirate gear?”

You smirk as you strike a dashingly cute pose “Like it? I thought it’d fit the theme considering-”

But then Twilight turned, her face full of tears from whatever was bothering her. When she noticed you however, she too smiled not just from your presence, but from her own relief knowing you were safe. She seemed really depressed despite being happy to see you. “A-Anon? ...Anon.” She walks over to you, and gives you a tender hug as tears run down her face and onto your coat “Y-you’re safe...I was scared, I thought leaving you there...I thought it was a mistake...I should have tried to rescue you. I’m sorry”

Holy fuck...what happened? Like, you get it, the situation was scary. But damn, you’d expect this from Fluttershy, not her. Either way, you return her hug, she looked like she really needed some cheering up. “Twilight, it’s ok. That’s what the hoof signs were for. What’s the matter? What happened to the hippogriff army?”

Twilight ended her hug, and sat down as she looked down in shame. “There is no army….there is no hope. I messed up”

“Twilight, hey come on.” Spike walked up to her and gave her a gentle rub on the back “Don’t beat yourself up like that. We’ve never been in a situation like this before. We just made a bunch of bad moves, that’s all.”

“Spike…” Twilight sniffed, and wiped her eyes “I made all of those bad moves. I didn’t trust in my friends. I let Anon stay captured instead of trying to at least rescue him. And now? We’re doomed….just because I tried to take things into my own hooves. And…” Twilight looks down a path, presumably where the rest of the group was. “I got angry at them...when it’s not even their fault. I doomed us all….” Twilight looks to you, her tears building once again. “Anon…”

Ohhhh, none of that sounded good. In fact, it sounded like the time Twilight nearly sealed you up. She didn’t trust you back then. And now? It seemed she didn’t trust in her friends for some reason.

“Twilight, c’mon. It can’t be that bad. And even then, why are you acting like everypony isn’t going to forgive you? You’re Twilight flippin’ Sparkle! The Princess of Friendship! And they are your friends just as much as they are mine. Of course they’ll forgive you, just like you forgive them for anything they may have done. Like, seriously? How is this even an issue?” What the fucked happened to get her like this? What did she do?

“That’s what I’ve been saying! See Twilight? Even Anon is saying the same stuff. You got to pull yourself together. You’re the pony with the plan! Whatever plan you got, we’ll follow it. But you just got to trust in everypony. Come on, I bet their as worried as you are right now. It was just a crazy moment, that’s all.” Spike did his best to convince her. Yeah, it seems Twilight did have a spat with the others.

“I don’t know…” Twilight still seemed so unsure.

“Twilight, I don’t know what happened while I was stuck in a cage. But Spike is right, whatever happened happened because we are out of our element. This Storm King guy is one of the most dangerous foes Equestria has ever seen. He came out of nowhere, right? How could you or anypony possibly be prepared for something like that? The answer is none of us could have been ready for it. Even I screwed up, that’s how I ended up in a cage in the first place. But now I’m here, You’re here, and Aunt Fluttershy and the others are really worried about us. C’mon, let’s go down and say hi to them. Ok?” You give her a warm smile. C’mon Twi, cheer up!

“He’s got you there Twilight. Come on, look. Anon is ok! We’re ok! We’re all together again, that’s what’s important, right?”” Spike added, just wanting to see Twilight back to her former self.

Twilight looked to you and Spike again, then it seemed she turned away from the both of you as she looked into the endless sea of cloud. She was silent....

“Twilight?” Spike said with caution

Twilight turned her head, a vibrant smile on her face “You’re both right. This isn’t even the first time hope seemed lost, if we all pull together, then there’s nothing that can stop us! We’ll put a stop to Tempest and the Storm King’s plans. We’ll do it together!”

Ha, Tempest...hahahaha

“Alright! I knew you could pull it together Twilight! C’mon, let’s go see the others. They could use some optimism right about now.” Spike said, excited to have Twilight back to her old self. He then turns to you with a nod “And with Anon here, We’ll know Fluttershy will cheer up for sure.”

“Yeah...about all that.” You give them both a Discord like smirk, pure smug “There might be a slight alteration to the plan”

“Uhhhhh...What do you mean by that?” Spike asks

“Yeah…” Twilight then realized something. She was so happy to see you that she had forgotten to ask how you got here, considering you never answered Spike as well. It caught his attention as well. “How did you get here anyway?”

“Well,first of all...” You start speaking with a smug sense of pride “I already did half the work. I met the pirates you guys ran into, which is how I got here...If you couldn’t tell by my swanky clothes. Oh, by the way, that also means we totally have the pirates on our side if you were worried they weren’t. Let’s see, oh, I still got my horn with me, so that means we got a lot of chaos power on our side. Oh, and we don’t have that much opposition in the first place since I dealt with Tempest myself.”

“Woah” Spike was blown away by your words, then he pumped his fist as he gave you a determined look “So, you beat Tempest?! That’s amazing Anon! That means we got this in the bag for sure!”

Oh yeah, it felt good to be the mary sue right now. “Actually, I did one better. I reformed her. Now she’s willing to fight on our side. I mean…” You felt some of your pride wash away as you realized this was still Twilight you were talking to. She always seemed to have something to say to you about this sort of thing. Especially since you fucked up with Chrysalis “Twilight, you...erm..Yeah, I mean. I know that sounds off and-” Your cut off when Twilight puts her hoff gently on your shoulder.

“Anon, I had enough of not believing in my friends for one adventure. Considering what you have done for Starlight,Thorax, and Scrappy….I’m willing to roll with it this time. But I’m curious, how did you pull it off?” Twilight looked upon you with hopeful curiosity.

Holy fuck...you got a freebie?! Geez…

“Oh well, it’s really kind of a Starlight 2.0 type of thing. Bad childhood, thought she wanted this thing, but all she really needed was friendship. That sort of thing.” You shrug, trying to act cool “Also, Capper is with us too. Which, might I add, was totally your guys thing. Now before you say anything, he was the one who got me out of my cage and was leading Tempest away from here in the first place before I got the ball rolling on the rest. So yeah, we may not got a Hippogriff army. But we got each other, and some of his old goons backing us up. Pretty awesome, right?”

Twilight takes a moment to look behind you to your side, and notices the the ship through the thick mist. She then looks to you with a nod. “That is pretty awesome. I’d like to meet her right now….but, I think we should tell the others first. I think we should all meet her together.”

That sounded like a pretty good idea. Besides, you wanted to make sure Fluttershy was ok most of all. It’d probably be good to ease her mind before bringing Tempest out. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Lead the way, Twilight.”

Twilight stepped forth, and started leading you and Spike down to the other five. You started to reflect on the situation and how it’s gone so far. It actually was going phenomenal. The biggest fucking hurdle was jumped just because Twilight seemed to be having trust issues all along this crazy adventure. The other five should follow suit pretty damn quickly at this point. And then? Off to kick some Storm King booty.

Chapter 14: The Team Assembled!

Twilight and Spike led you down a path as the ocean waters swept along the rocks below. It wouldn’t take long until the other five ponies, all who have seem to have given up hope. On the way down, You and Twilight had a short discussion on how to approach them. And it was decided that you’d hide while she issues her apology, then you’d jump out right after. It was more your suggestion really. A sort of gradual morale boost sort of thing.

So you and Spike hid behind a large rock while Twilight approached her friends, looking at them apologetically as the winds blew through her mane. It made her look rather majestic.

“Girls…” Twilight calls out to them “Um, How are you all doing?”

They all looked up at her, but none of them said anything, not even Pinkie. They all looked so damn down.

“Yeah...I figured you girls might still be upset.” Twilight sighed, and looked at them with ever glistening sad eyes. “Girls….I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t trust in any of you when I should have, I tried to take control of everything when I shouldn’t have, I didn’t listen, and in the end….I caused all this. I didn’t mean the things I said earlier. You’re all my best friends...and I don’t think I could go on without you all beside me. But...I can understand if you all don’t forgive me too. I basically doomed all of-NGH!” Twilight suddenly gets nearly choke hugged by a crying Pinkie Pie

“TWILIGHT! I’M SORRY TOO! I...I didn’t mean to get all excited like that back in town, I just wanted to help. And, what you said back there? Don’t worry about it…” Pinkie stepped back to look at Twilight with crying happy eyes “If you didn’t mean it, then of course I forgive you. You’re one of my best friends too….I...I was just afraid you actually meant that...I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“Indeed, It pains me to say that I too have a hoof in the blame myself. I put all my trust in that confounded vagrant of a cat. And look what that got us. Nearly sold! Like commons pets!” Rarity scoffs “If I ever see that Capper again...oohhh, Well...I can assure you it won’t be ‘ladylike’ in execution”

“Ahh didn’t do much of anything, ah could have probably done something more than just follow along” Applejack states….hah…..she was literally background horse.

“I mean, I forgive you too Twilight. Everything was just tense and all. As for messing up? I can’t really think of a time where I did anything wrong.” Rainbow Dash says

WHAT?!

Spike noticed immediately that you wanted to blow up on her. He shushed you and hugged your muzzle to die down your angry muttering. That cunt! She totally blew their cover!

Well, it seems the others noticed the same thing you did because they all gave her a glare.

Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously “...Well, haha...I guess the Sonic Rainboom wasn’t the best idea back on the pirate ship...eheh”

But the only one not to say anything was… “Fluttershy?” Twilight walked over to her, worried for her.

Fluttershy was silently sobbing, she looked up at Twilight as she trotted up close to her. “I-I….I forgive you too T-Twilight...It’s just…” She starts to whine “It’s Anon...ngh...I couldn’t do anything for him...A-and..I know you said..that..he knew what he was doing but...He’s young...you know that...and….and” Fluttershy grasped onto Twilight and cried onto her chest “F-for a moment, I thought of really trading you for him. I’m so so so so so so so sorry. I didn’t mean it….I was just scared. I’m still scared...What if he’s hurt? Or worse?...A-and..I just…”

Twilight gently held Fluttershy and stroked her mane as she cried ever so softly. She could of course forgive Fluttershy for that thought. You were her nephew. And although Fluttershy had come to know your secret of being a human. She still never knew your true age. Therefore, to her, you truly were a colt who needed his Aunt.

You look to Spike and whisper “I can’t...I have to let her know I’m ok”

Spike nods “No, I understand. I’m sure Twilight does too. The apology is over anyway, so go make Fluttershy smile. Alright?”

You nod back, and rush over to Twilight and Fluttershy as the rest look on, stunned and surprised that you just came rushing out of a rock.

“Aunt Fluttershy! Don’t cry! I’m here! It’s ok! Please..come on” You sat down by her side and gave and added in to Twilight’s hug.

But Fluttershy herself didn’t notice you, despite acknowledging your words. “But Anon! You’re gone! A-And I may never see you again! I-I was supposed...to...to..protect you!”

Heh….She really didn’t realize you were ok. “Aunt Fluttershy. I mean, you can protect me right now if you want. I’m right here.”

“You’re not! If you were I’d be able to hold you!” And that's what she fucking does, she turns to you without noticing you and starts to hug and caress you like a mother. “And protect you, and tell you it’s going to be ok, and feed you, and cradle you, and nuzzle you, and kiss your nosie…” And she goes and kisses your nose, and mid kiss, she finally notices you.

You smirk at her and wave a hoof “Yo!”

“ANON!” Fluttershy hugged onto you and swayed left and right “You’re ok! You’re alright! My little gentlecolt! My Anon! I was so worried!” She looked to you with relief, her eyes filled with tears of joy. “And...and….ngh…” She started to cry as she held you close “You don’t look hurt. She didn’t hurt you...H-how did you escape? How did you get here?”

“Erm...I made friends with Tempest and she’s good now. Also Capper...he’s good too…” Oh man. Suddenly this was kind of tough. You felt rather nervous suddenly having to explain this. “I sort of reformed her…heh”

The other four ponies all yelled “WHAT?!” in unison.

“Anon...a-are you joking? We all saw her, she took over Canterlot! She put you in a cage! And…..and…” Fluttershy then slowly eyed Twilight, and she could see that she already knew about this “..T-Twilight?”

Twilight gives a gentle nod “I believe him. He came to see me first and he told me the whole thing. And considering my mistrust is what messed everything up, and my constant mistrust in Anon was always usually misplaced...Well, this time? I’m going to put my full faith in him. From how he explained it. Tempest sounds like she went through something similar that Starlight went through. So, I think she needs friends if that’s the case.”

“Well I’ll be dog gone….ah wouldn’t even believe it unless Anon wasn’t standin’ there right now.. He has no reason to lie to us. But….wait” Then suddenly it hits Applejack, that it could be a trap “How do we know Tempest isn’t leadin’ us into some sort of trap?”

“Hey yeah! That’s right! What if she let Anon go on purpose?” Rainbow Dash adds

Rarity however, seems to disagree with her fellow friends as she walks over to you and looks over your pirates clothes “He’s telling the truth.”

“What?! And how do you know that?” Rainbow Dash demanded answers. “And don’t tell me it’s because he’s dressed as a pirate! That’s cool and all, but that ain’t proof!”

“Ahhh but it is!” Rarity says as she slowly slides her hoof along your captain’s hat “Rainbow Dash, darling, even you should recognize that these clothes, despite being magically created, are that of somepony who has taken charge of the situation. And look at this here, the clothes show no sign of damage or struggle, and yet that have an unnatural sheen to them. It was as if residue from powerful magical spells had coated the coat some. And finally…” Rarity notices it, some fallen hair from Tempest’s coat. Some were longer and tougher like an adult, and some seemed to belong to a filly. She takes one of the filly hairs and holds it up “And this here is the key to my observations. Given what Anon has demonstrated with his horn thus far, he must have changed Tempest into a filly. While I have no idea why he may have done that, it may have caused Tempest to have some insight and reflection on what she had done and thus allow an opening for Anon to reform her. Ahh…” Rarity sighed with a smile “It’s truly a magnificent thing to be able to gather information from one’s clothes, especially when said clothes are as glamorous as this ensemble. Good work, Anon.”

Applejack just blinked twice, then looked at you dumbfounded. “I-is she right?”

You shrug “She’s close enough. Oh...And Miss Rarity...Please don’t be mad at Capper. He not only got me out of the cage, but it was your generosity that reformed him in the first place. He was actually leading Tempest away from you guys until…” You eye Rainbow Dash with a venomous stare “Somepony did a Sonic Rainboom and let the whole WORLD know where they are”

Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes left and right slowly as she began to sweat “Yeah...I..Uh...Guess it really was that bad then, huh? Hah...haha.”

Oh you knew it, and you were sure they all did as well. “Yeah...well..Anyway.” You look back to Rarity “Miss Rarity, you can forgive him too, right? I promise he’s a good guy.” You give her an adorably cute pout.

Rarity nods, and giggles a little as she waves her hoof. “Relax dear, I already believed you when you said it. It seemed rather obvious since you already seemed to be faring much better than we are. And I must say, considering you’re here for us…” Rarity bows to you, as an acknowledgement of your skill. “It is quite the honor to be rescued by our very hero colt.”

Yes! She accepted it! Then again, she was partially agreeable when it came to Starlight way back when. Yeah, there was a few bumps. But thanks to that, Rarity was more willing to believe in cases like this now.

Also, you felt pretty honored by her words and actions. So to humor her, you bow right back. “Thank you Miss Rarity. I am truly honored by those words.”

“Well, while this sure is cute n’ all. Ain’t there more important things to worry about right now? Like, ok, ah know we’re acceptin’ pretty much everypony who tried to do us in. Ah ain’t gonna question it. Because when it comes to Anon, trying to figure out anything that fella does just leads to ah big ole headache. Besides, ah have family to protect. So the faster we mosey, the faster we can save Equestria.” Applejack said. She seemed to be willing to accept everything for sure. If only because she was afraid for her kin and fellow ponies.

“Well, I’m sure you all guessed by my attire that the pirates you guys helped are also a part of this. And, there are a lot of us, Hippogriff army or no. So, uh, we all good to go kick some butt?” You ask.

“Oh you know it Anon. That Storm King guy? Oh yeah, he’s gonna be wishing he never messed with all of us!” Rainbow Dash said as she rose up in the air, itching for a fight.

The rest of the ponies pretty much agreed as well. And with that, the Mane 6 have been recovered and all is good.

You all made your way back up to where Twilight was originally moping. You were also explaining to them exactly what happened and more about Tempest in detail so they’d be more accepting of her and Capper when you all finally got onboard the ship. But as you approached the ship itself….Oh no...Tempest, it seemed, had decided to leave the ship and wait for you where Twilight originally was. Grubber was right next to her, with a chef’s hat on. It seemed she had gotten anxious. And perhaps wanted to get a meeting with the mane 6 over with.

All of you were shocked by her sudden appearance. But you yourself knew you had to make a move before things become awkward and difficult for everyone involved. So you suck it up, and approach her with a smile. “Tempest! Hey! Uhm, whatcha doin?”

Tempest’s eyes looked to you, then slowly shifted to Twilight. She was looking rather serious, almost militant. “I decided it’d be easier to reconcile with your friends here rather than on the ship. If everyone was on board before this took place...Then...ahrm..mnnn” She didn’t know how to put it. She wasn’t exactly good at this yet.

“Woah! Hey Tempest! What’s wrong?” Grubber got worried for her, then immediately turned his attention towards the group and waved his claw at the lot of you. “Whatever you’re all doing, stop right now! You’re making Tempest all weird and loopy! And that ain’t cool!”

“Grubber...mnnn” Tempest sighs, then looks to all of you with an apologetic expression “Sorry, we’re new to this. I kind of had practice befriending Capper and Anon but….”

Twilight, not wanting to miss an opportunity to befriend this former foe, walks up to her with a smile gives her a gentle tap on her shoulder “Tempest. It’s alright, we forgive you. All of us, right girls? Spike?” Twilight looks back to her friends for their answers.

They all looked towards Twilight, then at Tempest. All of them giving a warm smile and a nod. Pinkie however? She of course had to take it up a notch. She rushed up to Tempest and gave her a hug. A hug that made her tense up and freeze in place.

“And I super forgive you Tempest! Nonny was just telling us about how you didn’t ever really have any friends after you lost your horn. And that made me really sad. So I thought to myself ‘Pinkie, if you’re sad, that means Tempest must be really sad! How do I fix that?’ And then I figured it out! A party! Yup, a party just for you once we save Equestria! Doesn’t that sound great?! You’d be able to make a lot of new friends then!” Pinkie says with her usual bouncy jovial tone.

Tempest, as expected, was utterly overwhelmed by that. “I..Uh..I don’t...I don’t think that’s a...I..”

Rarity walked forward and gently pulled Pinkie back “Pinkie, darling, considering what Anon just told us. It might not be a good idea to start out so strongly. Observe.” Rarity stepped up to Tempest, and spoke to her in a much calmer and less intense tone than Pinkie. “Hello Tempest. I can tell you’re rather overwhelmed by the fact we have all forgiven you so suddenly despite your past transgressions. Well, I can inform you with confidence that we can understand your plight and are all fully willing to be your friends. Of course, that is under the condition that you have resigned being under that awful Storm King character. That is the case, isn’t it?”

Tempest did her best to regather her fortitude. She didn’t want to screw this up. She was just glad that Rarity seemed a lot more down to earth than Pinkie. It made it easier for her to handle. “Yes, that is the case. A-are you all really willing to forgive me that easily? Anon made it sound like you’d all hate me at first.”

Rarity chuckled and waved her hoof “Oh, that’s just Anon. He can be a be quite the nervous little colt. But I can assure you that through our adventures that we have come to understand many a pony who seemed evil, but were merely misunderstood. Why, I recall when we were able to bring the great Starswirl the Bearded himself back from limbo. With him came a rather uncouth being called the ‘Pony of Shadows’. A being that may have seemed fearsome and ruthless. But in truth, was a pony merely calling out for help and friendship. That, and some moments before it, had certainly taught me to not judge a book by it’s cover”

Rainbow Dash seemed to have something to add to that as she pondered on that time. “Yeah, that was crazy. It’s just a good thing we managed to stop Anon from blasting Stygian into paste. He was like, the most sure he was just an evil bad guy.”

Ahh yes, that incident...That incident you hoped would never ever would have gotten goddamn mentioned ever. It was a goddamn giant shadowy evil thing. How were you supposed to know it was a big misunderstanding? “Y-yeah…..That...That did...happen..”

“She’s right Tempest. And due to that and our experience with how Anon managed to make friends with even the most unlikely of ponies. We are, as I said, willing to make this work and be your friend. If you’d let us of course.” Twilight says, hoping Tempest had calmed down enough to hopefully accept it this time.

Tempest silently looked to Twilight, then Rarity, the rest, and then finally to Pinkie, who was giving her this big “COME ON!” face. She then looked to Grubber “What do you think, Grubber? You think you’d be ok with being their friend?”

Grubber was taken aback by that. Tempest had never asked him for his advice before “Tempest? Are you seriously asking me that? I mean, you’re the one who’s supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. I’m just, ya know, just Grubber.”

“Well, I’m asking you because I’m feeling unsure. And, in truth, we’re both in this together now. I don’t want to do this without you. So if you want, I guess we could just stay here if you don’t want to be friends with them. It’s up to you.”

“Here?” Grubber looks around, then points to the floor “Do you mean, here here?”

Tempest nods “I mean here here. It’s called exile. Something I know I deserve for what I’ve done. I know we got this far, but….If we can’t all be friends. Then there’s no point, right? You could still go with them if you want. You don’t have to stay here with me.”

“Woah! Hey!” Spike waves his claws at her, he knew that was extreme “That’s not how it works! You just can’t throw yourself into exile over something like that! Friendship is about working things out and working together and stuff. And sure, maybe not everypony can be friends, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit on this rock for the rest of your life. Don’t you think that’s overdoing it?”

“I don’t. Considering what happened to me…” Tempest twitched for a moment as she thought about her past, her friends not accepting her anymore. “I want to make sure everyone here is ok with one another. If not, then there isn’t a point for me to continue. That’s what I’ve decided.”

Damn Tempest! Geez! When the fuck did you come to that conclusion? Some time away and she already jumped back into the depression pool.

“Hmph! Well, then I guess I’m ok with these losers.” Grubber says as he crosses his arms, giving all of you a dismissive look “I mean..” Grubber sighs, he didn’t want to lose Tempest just like that “You’re like the coolest, most rad, and most awesome pony of em all. So I can’t let you do that. Erm…” Grubber looks over at Spike, and nods to himself “That dragon guy seems pretty cool. They breathe fire right? Yeah, I can get down with that. So...er.” He looks up at her, hopeful that she’d come out of her funk due to that “You’re coming with us now, right? I mean, we’re a team! Can’t be a team without you!”

For once, you could agree with the idiot. You walk over to Tempest and give her a nod. “He’s right. You’re pretty awesome Tempest. So come on, stop thinking that way. We’re all friends here. And besides, I know you wanna stomp the Storm King as much as I do, right? Because I gotta admit, I’m really excited to fight alongside you and see all those cool moves.”

Tempest looked upon you, the ponies, Spike, and Grubber. A tear came down her right eye, she didn’t even bother wiping it. Her heart had finally been fully healed. She had friendship. She then looked to Pinkie, who was already taking advantage of the opportunity to give Tempest an inviting look as she opened her forelegs wide for her.

Tempest hesitated for a moment, and slowly went for the hug.

But then suddenly….

“OH MY GOSH! IT’S HAPPENING! THIS MOMENT! IT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT EVEEEEERRRR!” Some mysterious voice screamed out as you felt yourself get grabbed and shaked in excitement

“GYAH! HELP! AHHH! AHHH! I’M GONNA DIE! I’M GONNA!....D-die?” You look up as the shaking stops, and see a young…..oh god...it’s a hippogriff.

The cutest hippogriff you ever did see. You were stunned as you began to blush. “U-uhh..”

“Princess Skystar?!” Twilight said in surprise. “When did you?...How did you?...What?”

“Oh! I was kinda watching the whole thing..from...like...the back. And it was soooooo beautiful!” She sniffed as a few tears flowed down her eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it...well” She then giggles “I’ve never seen much of anything. But it was soooo beautiful and sweet! Even Sheldon and Shelley agreed! And well...y’know...I didn’t think any of you were really bad like my mom thought. And seeing all this friendship...I just wanted more of that too, I want to help you guys fight that Storm King guy...and oh! Oh!” She holds you up and gives you a big...soft...fluffy...hug. “Is this that small pony you talked about?! A colt, right?! He’s soooooooo cute! Can I keep him? Please? Please?!”

Y-yes...let her keep you...she was so into you already. That you could..probably..get her in bed...and…

Rarity, at that very instance, noticed your deep blushing and yanked you by the ear with her magic and pulled you away as you yelped in shock. “Anon! I’m surprised at you! You know full well you have a marefriend waiting for you to rescue her! That attitude will not be tolerated!”

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” You yelped, geez, that actually hurt quite a bit.

You could also hear the giggles of everyone else. Even Tempest and Grubber?...Goddammit! How could you be so damn stupid?!

The only one not laughing was Fluttershy, who was worried by the fact you seemed to be in pain. “E-erm, Rarity. C-can’t you be a little more gentle? I I don’t think that...erm...that he was just going to leave Diamond Tiara like that….though..” Fluttershy then looks to you, feeling a little ashamed of you for your reaction “Anon...Remember, good gentlecolts are loyal to their marefriends. You know that, right?”

You gulped and nodded to her. Dammit, you didn’t want to be seen as some sort of cheater. “Yes Aunt Fluttershy. I understand. it was just all so sudden though. Sorry…”

Fluttershy gives you a gentle smile and pats your head. “Don’t be sorry, it was just a misunderstanding after all.”

“I-I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” Skystar, this yellow feathered, blue eyed beauty looked rather hurt for what she did.

Rarity shook her head “Certainly not. You were just being friendly after all. So it’s quite alright. But Princess Skystar, do you surely mean to come with us? It’s going to be dangerous.”

Skystar gave a nod, her smile seeming rather oblivious “Yup! Besides, it’s gonna be tons of fun! Especially since I’ll be with all my new friends! That Storm King guy is a real jerk anyway, how can anyone be friends when they are all stuck underwater? Well, we’re stuck underwater...And that stinks. I don’t want that anymore! So I’m in, Shelly’s in, and even Sheldon’s in! And I’m not going back now!”

“Yeah! I mean check it out! There’s like! A lot of us now! That Storm King doesn’t stand a chance! Come on everypony! Put your hooves together!” Rainbow Dash puts her hoof out.

And one by one, you all put your hooves on top of hers. Tempest is reluctant at first, but you all give her a confident nod. After that, she throws her hoof on top with Grubber putting his claw on thereafter.

Skystar just stood there, confused “Well, I don’t really have a hoof. But can I join in anyway?”

OH MY GOD! SHE’S TOO ADORABLE! “S-sure, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have hooves. This is a ‘All for one, one for all’ sort of thing” You did your damn best not to blush. God, Diamond….If she saw you, she’d probably be angry enough to lob you into the sun.

“Then I’m in! Friendship! Woooooo!” And finally she threw her foreleg in.

Finally, it was time to shove off. You were sure Capper would have an easy time making friends with the six proper given how easily Tempest was accepted. Oh yeah, it was finally time.

Chapter 15: To Canterlot (Part 1)

With things seemingly ok at this point. You, Tempest, Grubber, and the six hop aboard Celaeno’s ship.

You thought there would have been some awkward tension with so many onboard. Especially since Capper hadn’t been forgiven yet and you didn’t quite know where everyone stood with the pirates. But as it turned out, everything seemed alright.

Capper presented himself at the first opportunity with an apology to the ponies, and a thank you to Rarity herself for what she had done to fix his coat. He seemed rather nervous, but thankfully, he is forgiven even more easily than Tempest was. Then again, that was to be expected at this point.

Then there was that cutie, Skystar, she just seemed to be blown away by every little thing. You had an urge to ask her why that was….But you didn’t want your ear yanked at again. No, you just decide to watch from a distance at her wonderment, at the good tidings among the the ponies and the crew, and Tempest looking into the clouded horizon as she stood at the end of the ship. Looks like everything was finally set.

Shortly after all this, Celaeno announces the new heading, Canterlot. It would apparently take a while to get there, so it gave everyone a chance to calm down. Which also gave Fluttershy a chance to finally approach you one on one. Like any good aunt, she wanted to know how you were doing. Fluttershy was worried of course. She wanted to know if you were hurt, how you ended up tangled in all this in the first place, if your healthy, scared, or worried. She just wanted you to know everything was going to be ok.

“Anon, oh my little Anon…” Fluttershy sits down and holds you close, brushing her hoof through your mane “Are you alright?”

You just take in her embrace, cuddling into her “Of course, Aunt Fluttershy. You know me, always toughing it out.”

Fluttershy lets out a worried chuckle. Of course she found it endearing, but she still feared for you. “Y-you’re always tough and strong. It’s one of the many reasons I’m so proud of you. But Anon, this was all very dangerous. I was so scared that something was going to happen to you. How did you even end up getting captured? I didn’t see you when we were setting up for the festival.”

You chuckle a nervous little chuckle “Oh er, haha. That’s because….y’know…”

Fluttershy gives you a falsely stern look with a smirk “You overslept?”

You sigh and look down, feeling a little shame “Yeah…”

Fluttershy holds you close again, and continues to stroke your mane with her hoof. “It must have been so scary seeing Canterlot under attack. Why didn’t you run back home? Ohhhhh Anon...I…” She sighs, she wanted to say that you shouldn’t have tried fighting Tempest or saving Canterlot on your own. But she also knew Tempest’s reformation wouldn’t have happened without you either. “I...I’m just glad you’re ok.”

You could tell she wanted to say something about you just jumping into the fray. You knew it worried her, but it had to be done…..Even if you did fuck up at the start of it all. “Aunt Fluttershy. I know you wanna tell me that I shouldn’t have tried anything.That it was dangerous and all that. I’m sorry..But I had to do something.”

“I know...I know. You’re always trying to do the right thing.” Fluttershy held you tighter as she slowly started to sob “You’re such a good little gentlecolt. Oh Anon, I was just...When I saw you in that cage. I just...I was willing to do anything to save you. I’m so glad everything turned out ok. I really am, I really did think I’d never be able to hug you again.”

“Aunt Fluttershy…” You just continue to hug as you yourself start to get a few tears. She was so scared for you. You didn’t want her to be upset, but it had to be done. Everything that happened had led to this. But it was over now, you were all together again, and all that was left was stomping the Storm King.

“It’s ok..Really, it’s all already done, isn’t it?” Fluttershy ends her embrace as she wipes her tears away and puts on a smile as strong as she is able to. She didn’t want you to cry or worry, especially now that everything was alright. And she certainly didn’t want to be the cause of it either. If she was going to lift your spirits, she had to lift her own as well. “You did a good job Anon. You really did. We’re all here now, and that’s what’s really important. I’m….I’m..” She goes back to hugging you with all her might “I’m just so glad you’re ok! I really am!”

Fluttershy….

As you both embrace each other in a familial embrace. A voice suddenly comes in to interrupt the both of you. “‘Scuse me you two, I don’t want to spoil the moment but there seems to be a lot of tears coming from the both of you. You wouldn’t mind me trying to lighten the mood with some cake, would you?”

Both you and Fluttershy look up to see Capper, standing there with a smirk as he held up two plates with some delicious looking slices of cake on them.

“Capper? O-oh hey!” You’d hate to leave that hug you were having. But the cakes really did look pretty damn good. “That’s pretty cool of you. I’d like some cake please. What about you Aunt Fluttershy?”

“O-oh, ummm..Well I am rather hungry. Thank you Mr. Capper” Fluttershy looks up at him with a soft smile as she wipes her eyes.

“Hey hey, just call me Capper. Mister makes me sound like some old guy. Anyway, it’s no problem. You all showed me that the way I was living my life was no way to live it. And your nephew? Heh..” He chuckles as he brings one of the plates down for Fluttershy to grab “He’s a real miracle. But he needs to be careful” He gives you a gentle rub on the head with his free hand “He gets charmed by the ladies a little too easily. I noticed how he’s been looking at hippogriff over there. Gotta play it cool, Anon”

You grumble as you push his hand away “Whatever, I got it. It was just a moment of weakness, that’s all. I’m devoted to my marefriend, isn’t that right Aunt Fluttershy?”

“Of course you are.” Fluttershy says ignorantly as she starts to slowly eat the cake “mmm, this is very good.”

“Is it? Wait…” He didn’t give you the other plate. In fact, he started to eat the cake from it. “What gives, where’s my cake?”

“Cake don’t go to fibbers, Anon” Capper says with a grin

WHAT?! Y-you weren’t fibbing. You’d tear his tail off if you could for that remark. But with Fluttershy nearby, you decide to try the sad approach. Your ears droop as you look up with big sad eyes. “B-but I wanted cake.” Heh, that should get Fluttershy to defend you.

“Capper! Don’t be mean! You shouldn’t offer cake like that if you weren’t intending to give it to him. And he wasn’t fibbing either. He really is devoted to her.” Fluttershy felt irritation towards him, she didn’t like the fact that he made you “upset”.

“Woah woah! Let’s cool our heads for a second. I was just joking. This cake isn’t even for him. Let’s see, where did he...oh.” Capper steps to his side, revealing Grubber, who was standing behind him the entire time. “There we go, he’s the guy to talk to for some cake.”

Grubber was holding up a plate of cake. But it looked different from the ones Fluttershy and Capper were eating. Grubber also had a rather sour expression as he stood there silently.

Capper looked at him and gave him a gentle tap “What’s wrong? There he is. Didn’t you want to thank him? I made it easy like you asked, just go tell him already.”

“I don’t want to anymore. I mean, I know he made Tempest happy. But he still stopped her. That ain’t cool, I don’t think her deserves it.” Grubber says with a huff.

“Come on” Capper gives him a gentle push towards you “You were excited a minute ago. What was it you said? Right…’That Anon, yeah, he’s pretty coo-”

“Alright! Alright! Chill!...ugh.” Grubber pushed at Capper and then shifted his eyes towards you “I think you’re kinda cool, ok? With the lasers, and the awesome entrance you made, and the fact Tempest seems a lot nicer and stuff. Ok?” He growled as he held his slice of cake towards you “I was saving this for when we crushed all you ponies. But whatever, that’s not happening now. And I guess since everyone else is being nice and sweet and stuff. I might as well try it too and see what that’s all about. So here, take it.” He sighs as he eyes the cake he was giving up. To him, it was a huge sacrifice.

“Thanks Grubber….erm…” You take the plate and sigh, if he was gonna try. You might as well apologize for the names you called him “Sorry about calling you retard and stuff. You’re pretty cool. I mean, I guess Tempest wouldn’t have let you hang if you weren’t.”

“Yeah?....Yeah…” Grubber stood up tall with a smile on his face “Considering how awesome she is, it only makes sense that me being her friend does make me cool. Yo Anon, you’re alright. You deserve that cake.”

You felt pretty good. Sure the guy was an idiot, but he wasn’t so bad after he stopped being a douche. Considering his loyalty towards Tempest, he’d probably make quick friends with Scrappy.

You take the cake, and plop it all into your mouth at once and start to chew. Hrn, it was good….but it tasted kinda off.

Fluttershy giggled a little as she softly scolded you. “Anon...You’re going to get a tummy ache if you eat that fast. I won’t be giving you a belly rub just because you ask either.” She flinches a little at her own words, then doubles back “Well, maybe a little belly rub.”

“It’s alright, I can handle a little cake.” You tell her as you continue to chew and slowly swallow.

“Hold on a sec…” Capper looked over to Grubber, rather confused by his words. “You said you were saving that cake? Uh, for how long exactly?”

“Since Canterlot, duh. That’s where I picked it up.” Grubber answers.

Your eyes go wide...what?! Wait...this was going to get worse...wasn’t it?

Grubber shrugged “I mean, it just tasted so good that I had to save a slice for later. But I tell you, those ponies scream over anything. One of them smacked into me and I dropped it, someone even stepped on it while they were running in fear. But hey, five second rule, right? It was ok, it was fine, like, totally. After I pressed it and molded it back to looking delicious, I kept in on my shirt pocket near my armpit for easy grabbing later. It’s been there for a couple of days but it still tastes pretty good I bet.”

Both Capper and Fluttershy cringe hard when they realized the cake was tainted pretty bad.

You yourself could taste it….essence of B.O.

And stepped on?! SERIOUSLY?!

You started to wobble, and feel sick. You wanted to spit it out right there and then. But dammit, you didn’t want to make a scene.

“So, whatcha think, Anon? Pretty radical stuff, right?” Grubber asked. He wanted to know if you enjoyed it to really see if the gift of giving really gave good feelings like he heard.

Capper could see your struggling. He improvised a plan as he grabbed Grubber by the back and turned him around as he leaned down to whisper to him “Yo hey! Can’t be that strong with your words”

Grubber looked at him, confused “Why not? That’s good cake.”

“No question. But it’s not about asking for approval. Just let Anon come to his own conclusion. Trust me, it feels even better when they just tell you what they think without you asking for it.” Capper assures him as he tilts his head towards Fluttershy, as if he was signaling something.

“Really? Huh...I guess that makes sense” Grubber said as he pondered on it.

While Capper talked with Grubber.you looked towards Fluttershy with eyes that began to tear up. The taste was getting worse! What are you going to do?! You wanted to spit it out but you didn’t want to upset the little pincushion.

Fluttershy noticed that Capper may have turned Grubber around on purpose. She looks around and notices a water bucket nearby. She quickly grabs it and holds it towards your face as she nodded towards Grubber, and then the bucket.

You look over at Grubber first. He did seem to be preoccupied. Fine! Ok! Who knows where else this cake has been! You quickly spit up the cake into the bucket as Fluttershy throws the bucket overboard.

Grubber’s attention is immediately called upon as he looks over to you, confused. “Woah, what was that noise?”

Fluttershy started to falsely cough cute little gags and groans. “Oh erm...ngh...It’s me. Sorry, I’m not used to all this...erm…..Flying?”

Grubber stops for a moment to ponder that, then shrugs “That makes sense. So Anon, erm...Nope, won’t ask, just g-”

You interrupt him, you just wanted to get this over with already. “It was fantastic! Best cake ever!”

“Yeah, it really was. I mean,eventually I’m gonna make a cake as good as that but just the fact you enjoyed it...You know...as a gift…” A meek little smile started to form on his face as he did a little kick “I feel pretty ok...It kinda feels good to make others happy.”

“It always does!” Fluttershy says with a happy smile, glad to see Grubber in higher spirits despite the fact the cake itself was terrible. “Why, I always feel very good whenever I help my friends or throw a little picnic party for all the cute woodland animals.”

“Mhmm, thanks Grubber. Really, you’re awesome.” You say, just to bring it home.

“Well duh! I already knew that. No one can handle all of this” Grubber started to point to all of his body “And considering what I did, that makes me even better. I’m talking super awesome. You’re so lucky I’m on your side now, or else there’d be a whole lot of trou-”

“Hey” Capper cuts him off “Don’t be like that. Anon went through a lot of trouble to get this all together….Besides, without me he’d still be in a cage.” Capper snickered, then raised his paws to stop anyone from saying anything else “Just kidding, it really was a team effort sort of thing. Truth be told, I think everybody here made this all happen. And…” Capper looks up with a chuckle “And now were going to go stomp the Storm King. Wow, I really hope that goes smoothly.Nah…” He looks back at you and Fluttershy with a confident smirk “It’s gonna be fine. Won’t take that many lives to pull this off.”

Fluttershy nods, with a determined expression “There’s no need to worry. We’ve all handled somepony like the Storm King before. And now with even more of us? We’re sure to win! We’ll save everypony, and all the animals, and put an end to that meanie of a king!.”

Grubber made a fist and brought it to the flat of his other palm “Yeah! I mean, he used to be the big boss to me. But if all he was doing was using Tempest, then he’s gotta answer to me. I bet he doesn’t even like cake.”

Oh yeah, you really wanted to take a crack at him yourself. This was big. The biggest venture you’ve ever been a part in since you tried to reform Chrysalis. You had to be careful not to get ahead of yourself lest you fall in the same trap you did when you fought Tempest. But boy oh boy, you were itching for a fight. “I want my own shot at him, I’m gonna show him the real power of chaos!”

All of you give a cheer. Oh yeah! Victory was at hand.

Shortly after, Celaeno makes an announcement for everyone to meet at the center of the ship. It seemed there was planning to be done.

Chapter 16: To Canterlot (Part 2)

You all joined at the center of the deck of the ship. Celaeno, Twilight, and Tempest stood next to each other. They seemed ready to talk about strategy as everyone else gathered around in a circle to listen in on the plan.

“Alright everypony. This is it, our last day before the big battle. I know there might be somepony worried, scared, or perhaps even unable to fight. If that’s the case, then you don’t need to worry, nopony will judge you if you stay back on the ship. If this is the case for anypony, please speak up now.” Twilight looks to everyone, then specifically eyes Fluttershy, expecting her to mention something about hanging back or something.

But no one, not even her, steps up. It made Twilight a little teary eyed to see everyone be brave and ready to fight off the Storm King and his forces. “Thanks everypony, you’re all amazing. I’m glad we’re all together. We’ll all have each other’s backs and everypony will come out of this ok. We’ll save everypony, that I promise.” Twilight wipes a tear from her eye and steps back to let Celaeno make the first speech.

“Alright, good to know you’re all willing to fight. But this battle isn’t going to be about taking out as many goons as possible. No, to win this fight, all we need to do is take out the Storm King. But it won’t be easy. At this point, Canterlot will be crawling with his soldiers, which puts us at a disadvantage. But hey” Celaeno shrugs with a smirk “We’re pirates, it’s the kind of odds we like. Yeah, all we have to do is get the first strike and scatter the main forces so we can move in and make our way towards the castle. And to do that, we’re going to use a trick my mother taught me. The old ‘Ghost Ship” maneuver.”

“Ghost Ship? Ohhh! That sounds amazing! My mom used to tell me stories about those! So how do we do it! Oh oh! Do we have to become ghosts too? Because….wait…” Skystar suddenly felt confused and looked to these two...toy...clam things. Ok, that was odd. “What’s that Shelly?...Oh….that seems kinda dark, y’know?”

“AHRM!” Celaeno clears her throat loudly, breaking Skystar’s focus on her little toy. “Actually, it has nothing to do with ghosts. How it actually works is by the use of special sails to gather up clouds. You use heavy cloud cover that your own ship gathers up to pass by undetected. Or, in this case…” Celaeno takes out her sword and stabs it straight into the ground, smirking as she does “Make a surprise attack!...Although.” She then looks to Rainbow Dash as she rested her hands on the hilt of the sword and her head on her hands. “We don’t exactly have those sails anymore. But I think I know another way to get that cloud cover.”

Rainbow Dash could already tell where she was getting at as she looked to Fluttershy. “Hey Fluttershy, hear that? Looks like we’re gonna be on cloud duty. Ohhhh man, they aren’t going to know what hit em’!”

“Pushing clouds? I can do that. But then, what do we do after we sneak in?” Fluttershy asks.

“Easy, once we’re over the city, we fire our cannons at the largest groups. We have them set up above and below deck. Only problem is we don’t have cannonballs. But we do have a crate of Storm King brand bowling balls.” Celaeno snickers at her next set of words, finding them witty “We don’t have a lot to use. But if our aim is good, then we’ll be making quite the strike.”

Pinkie giggled at that “OHHHH! I get it! You said it’d make quite the strike because we’ll be shooting bowling balls at them. Pretty cleeeeveerrr.” She says in a sing song way.

Celaeno just gives Pinkie a silent hard stare for speaking out of turn and spelling out her pun.

“Ooops. Sorry!” Pinkie rubs her hoof around her mouth, to represent her zipping it up.

“...Right, anyway. Take it away, Tempest.” Celaeno steps back as Tempest steps forward.

“Alright, pay attention, because I’m only going to say this once.” Tempest’s stare was militaristic and cold, she was obviously taking this briefing very seriously. “The Storm King will not only have his defense force ready for us, but he most likely has most of his invasion forces supplementing said forces to make sure we can’t make any headway. Going straight to the castle will be pointless unless we clear a path and defeat enough of the Storm King’s soldiers to make the rest run away like the cowards they really are. Once you leave this ship, you’re all going to stay in groups. Don’t stray away from one another and try to coordinate your attacks to defeat as many soldiers as you can as you make your way down to the castle. We all have talents and abilities that put us far beyond any of those creatures. But to insure victory, we all must work together to take the city. If even one of you steps out of the group, you leave yourself open from all sides. Combine your talents, that way you have more strengths without any of the weaknesses. And never give up. Alright…” Tempest sighs, and relaxes herself, she hated sounding so serious. “Twilight, you’re next.”

“Right..” Twilight steps up “While we’re all fighting. We’ll need two others to sneak around the city and start rescuing as many ponies as they can. Whether they stay and fight or run away doesn’t matter. Just as long as they are safe from harm. Spike has already volunteered to fill one of the slots…” Twilight then looks to Capper “Capper, do you think you could fill the other?”

“Me? Sneak around? Skulk the city like some sort of alleycat?” At first he sounded insulted, but then he smirked arrogantly as he looked at the end of his hand “Well, I guess I kinda do do those things. Saving ponies, huh? I can do that, but I’m gonna need some keys to open the cages they’re in. You got any of those?”

Twilight nods “Tempest has some spare keys for the cages used in Canterlot, so it should be fine. I guess that just leaves me. I’ll be the one to face the Storm King. And I promise you all, I will not fail.” Twilight looks to the group with a determined look.

Everyone lets out a gasp of surprise.

“Now hold on there sugar cube. We’re a team, we ain’t gonna let you fight that varmint by yourself.” Applejack says, feeling Twilight was being foolish going in alone.

“I’m sorry Applejack, but I can’t risk any of you getting hurt...or worse. From what Tempest has told me, the Storm King wouldn’t hesitate to use any of you as a hostage to get me to give up my magic. I have to do this alone.”

Well, there goes your chance for glory. But you wouldn’t argue. As much as you wanted to win, you also had to look around at everyone in the circle. The ponies, Capper, Tempest, the pirates, Spike, Grubber, Skystar...and everyone beyond this. This wasn’t about glory, but saving everyone.

But Tempest, in fact, had something to say as she gave a stern look to Twilight. “And that’s exactly why you won’t be facing him at all.”

“W-what? What do you mean Tempest? I have to face him, it’s my duty!” Twilight exclaims at her. Feeling she was wrong.

Tempest shakes her head at her. “Sorry princess, but this is one fight that love and friendship won’t get you through. The Storm King doesn’t play by the rules and will do anything he can to win. He doesn’t need any of your friends to use as a hostage, he just needs a random anyone. You wouldn’t let anyone get hurt in your stead. And due to that, you’d give up your magic just like that. And even then, if he didn’t have a hostage, he could still drain your magic from just you entering the throne room. I’ll be the one to take him down.”

Woah, what a major turn of events. But then again, Tempest was kind of right on this, the Storm King didn’t need her. Add to the fact that she’s a great fighter and her going in seems like a smart plan.

“Tempest, are you sure? Please tell me you’re not doing this just to get some revenge. It isn’t worth it. Please, I can be careful. That’s why I’m going alone. If I go in alone, he won’t have a hostage. I have plenty of spells that can help me bring him down.” Twilight tells her, feeling she could handle it just fine.

“The Storm King isn’t a fool, Twilight. Even if he doesn’t use any of your friends hostage, he still will have one of the ponies from the city to use. And he will use one. He probably has one already prepped and ready to threaten the moment you step into the throne room. As for me, this isn’t about revenge. I know the Storm King enough to know how he works. I can move in and neutralize him before he can do anything. I’m the better choice here. If he gets you, it’s the end of everything as we know it. You know it’s true Twilight, we can’t take that risk.”

Twilight stops, she tries to think of a counter to that. She even looks among everyone else. But when she saw their unsure eyes, she realized Tempest was right. Tempest knew more about the Storm King than anyone else could ever know. She only wanted to be the one to face him to make sure no one else was in harm’s way. But she couldn’t beat Tempest’s logic. And so, she conceded. “...Alright...But Tempest…” She looks into her eyes, worried for her “Just remember, you have friends now. You have something to come back to after all this. So don’t go-”

“Spare me” Tempest interrupts her, stops, then sighs as she gives Twilight a kinder look “I already know all that. I’ll be fine, I’ll come back. Besides…” She looks to you, as a small grin began to form on her face “I have a colt I need to whip into shape. Because seriously? He needs a little training.”

“Oh, you mean Anon? Yeah” Rainbow Dash says with a cocky grin “He relies on that horn too much. So he kinda hits like a girl. And I don’t mean girl as in me. I mean more like a filly.”

“Hey! I can still kick your butt!” You exclaim towards Rainbow Dash

“Pffft, by cheating with that horn. Seriously? You hide behind it all the time” Rainbow Dash says

“I mean..I don’-....oh no” It just hit you. Those words Rainbow Dash said. ‘Hide behind.’

Your saturday morning logic was blasting through your head at super speed. You realized Tempest couldn’t win this fight either. In a cartoon, the character that would replace the other as a battle hardened warrior, would still find their ability to truly care tested by the villain.

And this Storm King guy, he’d pull out all the stops, right? That means…

You look to Tempest with a serious look “Tempest….You can’t beat the Storm King.”

Tempest raised an eyebrow at you “Is that a joke? It isn’t funny. He may be strong Anon, but he isn’t as fast as I am. I can take him.”

“No, I’m sure you can. But from the way you made it sound. It seems like he’d do anything to pull a win, right?”

Tempest nodded, that she did agree with “Yes, and? That’s why we’re not sending in Twilight.”

You take a breath and step forward. If you were going to prove her wrong, you had to hope this guy really was a discount Hades. “You mind me painting a scenario for you?”

“Alright...I guess….I don’t see where this is going though” Tempest was unsure of what you were trying to prove. She already knew the Storm King was a manipulative cunt. But she also knew not to fall for his tricks this time around.

“Anon? You’re not just saying that so you can take him on, are you? This is important! It’s not a game. You should know that.” Twilight tells you. She knew you had an arrogance streak, sometimes as bad as Discord himself. And felt that you just wanted the final blow to yourself.

“Twilight...just watch” You take another breath as you close your eyes and clear your head.

Here we go

You put on an evil smirk as you walk to the side, looking at Tempest “Well Tempest, I gotta admit, top notch work. You really did me in, kudos to you. But tell me…” You sit down, and start moving your hooves forward as if you were caressing something..or someone “And I’m just spitballing here. This place has too many princesses, am I right? I mean four of them? That’s gotta cause a lot of confusion. And check out this moon princess! She can go through dreams, ohhhhh so useful. I mean, come on. Her sister has been moving the Sun and the Moon by herself for over a thousand years. Kinda makes her pointless, doesn’t it? So come on, do us all a favor since you pretty much got me. Take me and this princess out. Because unless you shoot through her with that zappy cracked horn of yours...Well” You shrug “Then it’s a done deal for all of Equestria, isn’t it?” You give her a nastily,horrid, and monstrous sneer.

“Ohhhhh….” Skystar shivered from your words “Anyone, y’know, get this super chilling vibe? Or was it just me?”

“Anon...W-what was that? It was as if you were possessed. A-are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. She was scared, she had never seen you act like that before.

But your eyes were focused on Tempest. She was stunned. Utterly taken off guard. The pure shock in her face let you know that she knew you were right. He was in fact a discount Hades, and would put even ultimate power on the chopping block if it meant a win. “That’s how it’d go...wouldn’t it? You could beat him, but then it wouldn’t matter because he has a room of princesses he can use as a shield. He’d really use them, wouldn’t he?”

Twilight was stunned as well, she looked to you, then to Tempest. She can see that whatever that was, it had Tempest spooked. “Tempest?”

“....He’s right. T-that was spot on…..ngh” Tempest then stomped her hoof on the ground in frustration. She knew if that was the case, then there was no sound way of beating him without someone getting hurt….Or much worse. “What are we supposed to do now?! That coward has everything he needs to make us give up. None of us, and I know this for a fact, none of us would be willing to sacrifice another to a guy like him. What do we do now?!”

You already had the solution to that. You step forward once again as you point to your hoof. “Uhhh, hello? Ultimate power around my neck?” Ok, so maybe this was still somewhat about getting the glory. But dammit, you had magic that was more useful at this moment than unicorn or alicorn magic. Surely they saw that. “Look, since time is a factor when confronting the guy, how about you send me in to deal with it? I can pretty much do anything my Dad can do. So I could just blink him to Tartarus the moment I see him. Done deal.” You look around, and then fixate your gaze upon Fluttershy “Aunt Fluttershy, you’ve been around my dad long enough to know how his magic generally works. Given everything you heard so far, don’t you think that’s a good idea?”

Fluttershy was stunned. Everything she heard, to her, it sounded like a good idea. But it sounded so dangerous, facing the Storm King alone like that. “A-Anon….I-I mean. Discord can do that, he can even rip open holes into other dimensions but...erm...You facing the Storm King? D-doesn’t anypony have any other ideas?”

“What about just giving me the horn? Zapping him somewhere else doesn’t sound very hard.” Rainbow Dash shrugs “And I’m fast, remember? I’ll have it done lickety split”

But Tempest has something to say about that. She could tell Rainbow Dash had never actually used the horn. “It’s not that simple. I’ve used the horn myself and ended up cursing myself. Anon…..is the only one here who can use that kind of magic properly, unless…” Tempest looks over to Twilight.

But Twilight shook her head, even with the lessons she learned about chaos, she never had a chance to give it an actual test drive. “No, I’m afraid I don’t really have a handle on chaos magic either. But Anon, are you really serious? Are you aware that all of Equestria hangs in the balance?”

You nod. “I do. But since it’s apparent this guy likes to use ponies as shields. Then this looks like the only chance we got for a quick win. I thought this through Twilight. Heck, after we make our entrance into Canterlot, I can use a puddle of water to go home and use my portal door to get into the castle without getting noticed. Not like they’d notice a colt when everypony else is attacking.”

“That…..Actually sounds like a good plan. I...erm…” Twilight looks upon Fluttershy “Fluttershy. What do you think? We really don’t have any safer options than this. Are you ok with Anon facing the Storm King?”

But then Applejack interjects “Now hold yer carriages there Twi. Are we seriously sendin’ in Anon, a colt mind you, to deal with this galoot? Now I ain’t saying he can’t do it, he’s done some amazin’ things. But this is Equestria we’re talkin’ about. One little ole mistake and we’re done for.”

But then Fluttershy, who you thought may have went and agreed with Applejack, actually stands up to your defense. “But that mistake can happen to any of us. And none of us have a way to make sure that the Storm King doesn’t try something dirty and nasty. If Anon says he can do it, then I say we should put our trust in him. That is...erm…” Fluttershy starts to feel a little meek, realizing she just agreed to throw you into danger “U-unless anypony has a better idea?”

Rainbow Dash groaned “Nopony does, so I’m just going to throw in my vote.” she then turns to you with a serious look “Don’t go screwing up, Anon. If you’re gonna be a hero, then you got to be serious.”

You then look to Rainbow Dash with a smirk “So don’t be like you.”

“Yeah, don’t be like…..HEY!” Rainbow Dash looked at you with a sour look “I can be serious!”

That actually got a few chuckles from everyone in the circle. It was always humorous to slip up Rainbow Dash. The cunt.

So everything was set. Or almost was. Twilight still had one more thing to say as she gave you a serious look “Joking aside, this is serious. Anon, you can’t be arrogant or full of yourself when you face him. Don’t monologue, don’t say how you’re going to beat him, don’t do anything fancy. Just seal him up, that’s it. Alright?”

You nods “Yeah, I got it.” You then salute “I promise I won’t let you all down. Although…” You shrug “I could also just...Y’know….blow him up too”

Twilight went wide eyed from that “Isn’t that a little much?!”

Tempest then stepped up from behind Twilight with a nod “Sounds like a good plan to me”

Twilight’s eye twitched, she had to take moment to compose herself before speaking. “That’s not how we do things. Nopony deserves to have their life taken from them. He needs to be punished, not blown up!”

Celaeno just puts her hands to her hips as she looks upwards, disappointed in Twilight’s words “Well that’s a shame. I thought the kid had a good idea going”

Twilight groans and puts her hoof to her forehead “No blowing up, please? I just can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

“I have a question!” Skystar raises up her cute little talon

Twilight looks over to her with a strained look “What is it?”

“Why…….can’t we blow him up? Sheldon thinks it’d be a good idea. Y’know...because he’s a badguy and all”

“Y’know Twi, she’s got a point” Rainbow Dash adds

“.....” Twilight just stares silently for a moment before she suddenly goes early Twi S1 mode. Weird… “Wouldn’t it be better if he got sent to Tartarus so he could suffer for the rest of his life? Because if everypony suddenly doesn’t want to handle it the way we should. Then I might as well mention it.”

“Oh! Hey! There’s that really creepy chilly feeling again.” Skystar says with an ignorant smile

“Woah...Never thought I’d hear that out of you Twilight.” Spike remarks, a little flabbergasted that she’d say such a thing.

“I just….Look” Twilight sighs “I know he’s a bad guy. We’ve dealt with a lot of them and he’s one who pretty much deserves to go to Tartarus. But as a punishment so maybe he’d learn not to be bad. I didn’t mean what I said...I just..”

“It’s alright Twilight. I know” You jump in to help soothe her mind “I was just joking anyway. I knew what you meant.”

“I wasn’t...But, if it stops him all the same. Then fine….but I don’t think he’s the kind to be rehabilitated. Anyway, everyone better get rested up. Tomorrow? We fight. We have bunkbeds below deck and bedrolls for anyone willing to give up one of their bunks to one another.” Celaeno turns, and walks towards the helm. “As for me, I got a ship to steer.”

Tomorrow….

You better be fucking ready….

Chapter 17: The Calm Before The Storm

It was the next day. It was time.

The pirate ship was covered in a thick veil of clouds as it traversed the skies of Equestria.Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were flying around in the back, making sure the cloud cover was thick enough to completely conceal the ship from view.

Rarity and Twilight were using their magic to create a magical screen from the left side of the ship. It allowed everyone a one way viewing through the clouds without anyone from the outside able to peek in.

What everyone saw was horrible. Some places were on fire, others plundered. Even as you pass Ponyville, you could see a lot of it had been ransacked.

“Darn that Storm King! Ransacking our farm! Grr…” Applejack looked pissed as she saw apple trees torn down and rotten apples littering the ground. “Makes me wanna try usin’ the horn for myself. Give that King a whuppin’ and a buck for each member of the Apple familt. Mnn….” She then looked down, feeling an intense feeling of worry for her family members. “Sure hope Applebloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac are ok. Ah swear, I ain’t gonna rest til they and the rest of Equestria is free again.”

“Indeed, and poor Sweetie Belle!” Rarity then looks to everyone with a determined look “I’m sorry to say everypony, but I’ll have to leave my manners at the door. Those ruffians are going to feel the unbridled wrath of RARITY! It’s going to take me weeks to get my coat back to a glistening form, but it will be worth it!”

“Don’t get too anxious everyone. We’re a crew. And that means we all have to stick together. Running off to pick a fight isn’t going to win us this fight.” Celaeno says as she looks over the screen “Twilight, Rarity. Can you both adjust the screen to our current heading?”

They nod, and the screen shifts to the front, revealing Canterlot. It still stood. But you could see that even from this distance that it was currently a shell of its former self. Pillaged, Storm Creatures everywhere, and ponies upon ponies in cages.

Pinkie suddenly got angry as she cocked her hooves like they were guns “Oohhhh! That really gets my blood boiling! They better watch out! Because Pinkie is ready to bring the party to them! And I’m talking birthday party levels of smashing,bashing, and cannon blasting!”

For Pinkie, that must be like….Doomguy levels of bloody rage...Or something like that.

Tempest walked over to the cannons, inspecting the ammunition as she plots in her head. “Two bowling balls per cannon. Not a lot. But if we target the largest groups, then we should still be able to lower their numbers by a significant amount.” Tempest then looked to everyone as she made an announcement “Listen up everyone! We’ll be in combat range in a few minutes. Say what you want to say to each other now and get to your cannon. Remember, everyone only has two shots, so remember to aim for the largest groups. Make sure you account for wind and angle as well, we need to make every shot count. After that, get in your groups and get ready to slide down. We only have one shot at this, so don’t mess it up!”

“Right!” Everyone, including you said as you all made your way to the cannons. Some of the pirates, Skystar, and Applejack going below deck to fire the cannons from there.

As you made your way to your designated cannon, Tempest holds out her hoof to stop you. She looks at you with a serious expression. “Anon…”

“Tempest?” You look up at her, wondering what she had to say. “What’s up?”

“Look…” She sighs, she was concerned. Even with what she knew of you, she felt you going in alone was very risky. Not just for success, but for your safety. “Twilight’s right. If you’re going to seal him, fine. But don’t get arrogant. One of the Storm King’s tactics is to get talky with his opponent before pulling off something underhanded. Just go in, and get the job done.” She passes you a jug of water “Are you sure you can sneak into the castle through this portal door of yours?”

You nod “Totally, if they are all focused on you guys then they won’t even notice me. Trust me on this, It’s not the first time I’ve broken into a castle...not even the second time...or third.”

“A-are you being serious?” Tempest couldn’t tell, she couldn’t think of a reason that someone like you would break into any castles.

You nod as you lean in and nudge her, smirking about it all “Yeah, you could say that during all those times, that I wished the princess was in another castle. Eh? Ehhhh?”

Tempest looked uncomfortable as she looked to her right, then back at you “Are...you being random again?”

….Right...she wouldn’t get that. Dammit, good job, you made yourself look foolish. “Er...uhh...just….never mind..”

Tempest could see you were feeling uneasy, and mistook it as you being nervous. She suddenly looked at you with care and confidence as she put her hoof gently on your shoulder. “Anon, don’t be nervous. Everyone here believes in you. And considering that I used to work under him? I can safely say that I know you can do it.”

While you didn’t intend for her to give you a word of confidence, you still appreciated it. You looked up at her, determined, and gave her a nod. “Right, ok...Thanks Tempest.”

With that, you went to the cannons above deck, and chose the one next to Spike as Celaeno steered the ship over Canterlot. You could see through the magical screen an overhead of Canterlot as if the clouds weren’t covering the ship at all. “Alright Everyone.” Celaeno hopped off the helm and walked to the side of her ship as she pointed towards the screen with her sword “Aim at your targets and fire! Show no mercy! Bring down as many as you can!”

Aim and fire, right. You can do that! This is gonna be easy.

In fact, as you load one of the two bowling balls you had. You start to hatch a bit of an idea in your head. You smirk, then look over to Spike. “Yo Spike”

“Wha?” Spike looks over to you, getting a little upset at your call out “Anon, come on! We’re attacking already. This isn’t the time to talk.”

You look towards the screen. You could see storm creatures gathered in rows. They were patrolling the city and bugging the caged ponies. They haven’t noticed at all the rain of heavy balls that would soon come upon them. “Yeah, I know. But, uhhh...You remember that bowling session we never got to?”

“Uhh...Yeah…” Spike raises an eyebrow at you, this seemed rather unimportant “Why are you bringing that up now?”

You point to your spare ball, then at the city streets before giving Spike a smarmy look.

Spike’s demeanor changes as he realized what you were getting at. He nods with a confident smirk of his own as he goes back to aiming his cannon. “....Winner gets a free dinner from the loser. That ok with you?”

“Just remember to keep those hayburgers coming, bro” You snicker as you aim your cannon. “Best first shot is the winner.”

“Best first shot, huh?” Spike snickered as he finalized his aim “alright, just don’t complain about it not being two out of three later”

“Whatever….” You roll your eyes and then look for a target to blast. But before you could, everyone else started firing off their shots. Dammit! The Storm Creatures are already starting to get obliterated as the unharmed ones spread like bugs.

Aha! Wait. There’s two rows of them side by side rushing down a street, trying to find the source of the attack. You aim there and pull the rope on the cannon, firing it. “Here we go baby! And Str-WHAT?!”

While you do manage to strike the row, the ball deflects off one of the back row’s creature’s shield. In essence, you made a pseudo 7 - 10 split.

“Ohhhh, tough luck there, Anon. Hehe...My turn!” Spike, who had been spending some time perfecting his aim, fired his cannon. His bowling ball collides with a frantic cluster of creatures who were holding shields to all sides but up. The ball itself smashes into the center creature and sends the others flying about. “Haha! That’s a strike! Hope that horn is good at gem hunting,Anon. Because you’re gonna be doing a lot of that to fill this belly and..Woah! Look at that!”

Spike points to a bowling ball that was aimed in such a way to not initially hit anyone; at an angle that would let it roll at maximum speed. It crashes into multiple legions of creatures, sending them flying as it flips them upwards from smashing through their legs.

“Woah...Who got that shot? That was Tempest right?” That shot was way too accurate. Only someone like her could have done that.

“No way! That’s gotta be Twilight. She’s the only pony I know who could get a shot like that. The math for it has to be like, super radical to be that precise. It totally has to be her!” Spike was sure of this.

“Actually” Said a familiar voice “It was totally me. Wow, it’s almost like Tempest’s best bud didn’t use his perks for free bowling games or something.”

You both look to the next cannon. Grubber was leaning against it as he gave you both the most arrogant smile he can muster. After you both look over at him, he hops up and starts walking towards the both of you to take your spare cannon balls. “Yep, that’s how it goes. Anyway, I want a huge cake from the both of you. And you!” He points to Spike “ No gems! That’s totally a dragon thing.”

“Uh...Uh…” Spike gulped as he suddenly realized what was going on “I...uh…”

Grubber put the cannonballs down to give Spike a pat “Yeah, I know, I’m super cool”

Suddenly, you feel a snap in your mind. He beat you? HE BEAT YOU?! THE RETARD?!

No, fuck that! You knew he was good now. But fucking hell! He shouldn’t have been able to smash both you and Spike that easily! He must have cheated! “Hey!” You call out to Grubber.

Grubber stops and turns to you, but he didn’t seem confused, instead he seemed to be...waiting for what you had to say “Yeah?”

“Nobody’s that good! You can’t just-” But then suddenly, he raises his hand at you to stop you.

And then he points at you as he gives you scolding stare “Yo, Anon! Is that really important right now? Ok, you stink at bowling, that ain’t a reason to be acting dumb! And like the dragon said, don’t go looking for a two out of three either. I’m taking these bowling balls because that’s how I can be useful to my friend, Tempest. You? You already have something super important to do and everyone, including her, are counting on you, got it?! I know you think I’m dumb, a lot of dudes think I’m dumb. But we’re all good at something and we all gotta do our part. So get going already, will ya?”

You stop. You weren’t expecting that out of him. He was right, it may have been some sudden realization, but he was right nonetheless. You calm down and look over to Spike as you pull out the flask Tempest gave you. “Spike, you think we can add this guy to the team when we finally do go bowling?”

Spike nods “You know it! How about it Grubber, you wanna be part of our bowling team?”

Grubber shrugs “Not really, not when Tempest and I can form our own team, kick both your butts, and get even more cake. It’d be really easy to beat you two every week.”

You just narrow your eyes at him as you speak in an intimidating tone “What happened to ‘friends’ and ‘doing your part’?”

Grubber shrugs “I mean, us kicking your butt AFTER this is over doesn’t have to do with what we’re doing now, right?”

You groan, you point your hoof at him, but really, it was hard to say anything after that display with his shot. So you lower your hoof and grumble lowly as you make the puddle and toss in your map. “...stupid mothergrubbing...hedghog...dooki...whodoeshethinkheis...bastard...imgoodatbowlin...muggrabrgabba…” Was all you could mutter out as you dive into the portal.

“And remember! I want the cake to be really huge!” Grubber calls out as you jump into the portal.

Chapter 18: Anon vs. The Storm King

Your room. It was the same as always, as if nothing changed.

You didn’t have time to rest, to look over things, to even see if Discord had come back.

No, you had a world to save.

You rush over to your portal door, it was still set to Canterlot. You jump inside, and appear near the castle. You could hear fighting behind you. You take a look back and see Storm Creatures being knocked around like they were common mooks, it seemed like they weren’t really that good at fighting at all. Wow, maybe everyone could have just charged in after all.

But it’s probably best not to think you’ve won just yet, you had to press on. The way was clear as more Storm Creatures came rushing out from other parts of the city rather than the castle itself. That was….rather strange, but you didn't have time to think about it. So you just rushed into the castle, and prepared yourself for a fight.

Though, it was strange, the interior of the castle had been changed for sure, there were new banners representing the storm king, new furnishing, even a dark storm blue carpet lining the hallways. But what there wasn’t was guards of any sort. Even as you neared the throne room, there was nothing there to stop you. Tempest was right, this was definitely a trap set for Twilight.

You take a deep breath before opening the throne room doors. You had to be calm about this, you had to keep your cool and not get cocky. Everyone was counting on you, so you had to do this as quick and precise as possible.

Finally, you open the doors and step inside.

The room was much darker than you’ve ever seen it before. The statues of the three princesses still eerily stood in place, the princesses themselves frozen in fright eternal. Banners with the Storm King’s mug were hung on either side of the throne. And sitting on that throne was the big man himself, or….You think it’s him. For some reason, he was in a dark blue cloak and hood.

When you stepped forward and the throne room doors closed, the hooded figure made a slight movement on top of the throne as he began to speak “Ahhh, Princess Twilight, welcome.What do you think of the new decor?”

You say nothing. In fact, you were rather stunned at what you heard. Could he not see you? Was that even him? Just be careful, and get ready.

The cloaked being chuckles “Silent I see. Yes, I suppose being in my presence is awe inspiring.”

It sounded like his voice. But goddammit, if you waste this charge. Whatever, it’d probably be good if you got ready, just in case. You grab your horn and put it on your head.

“Nothing? Not even a retort against me? Princess Twilight, I would e-” The cloaked figure looks up ever so slightly, and when he does, he lets out a heavy groan. “What is this? Really? A colt? Are you serious? No, just….no. I went through the entire hassle to set up this great big epic final battle and they send a colt?” The cloaked figure chuckles angrily and annoyed as he stands “You know what it is? None of these cutesy wutesy ponies give a flying feather about hard work and art. And redecorating this place didn’t come cheap either. I mean, I didn’t pay for it myself. But the whining from the slaves when I kicked them around to work faster was just….It was just awful. I swear, I’m gonna have to set up some re-education camps when I’m all done here.”

Yep, it was him alright. You focus on Tartarus, that hellscape where Equestria’s worst beings are kept, and close your eyes as your horn starts to glow.

“No, seriously. Can we just get this show on the road already. Just go back out there and-WOAH!” The Storm King is cut off by your magic as he is blinked away in an instant.

Or so you thought…

“Wow! Just, wow! I didn’t even know I could do this. This is cool!”

…..wut?

You open your eyes….and good fucking christ! He was still there!

But even worse, he was somehow holding your magic, which you didn’t even use in a blast, in his hand.

But his hand….It was different than what you imagined. Hell, his entire right arm was different from his left. His right arm was of a dark pale blue, long and outstretched with skin like wood and thorns coming out every which way. His hand had long protruding claws while his palm had a blue orb glowing with high intensity as it held back your magic. All this contrasted with his normal monkeyish looking left arm.

“And he goes for the crush, and BAM!” The Storm King crushes your magic as if it was a ball of mush. It causes it to explode into multi colored cinders as the blow back causes his hood to come off. And...oh good lord. WHAT THE FUCK?!

The right side of his face was as fucked up as his arm. It had black veins and patches of the same wood-like skin all over it. And his right eye was yellow with a burning red pupil, not unlike….Oh no. WHAT HAPPENED!?

Now you had to say something. “W-what?! What happened? How did you? When did...WHAT HAPPENED?!”

The Storm King looked to his claws as he flexed them a few times “Heh, still works” He then looks to you with a rather calm smile on his face “Kid, I don’t even really know myself. But you gotta relax, take it down a notch. I mean, I know I got a little annoyed myself. But did you see that? I’ve become a lot more powerful than I thought I did, it’s real top notch stuff. It really helps the mood when you know you’re pretty much as strong as a deity, know what I mean? Nah, course you don’t…..wait” He takes a few steps towards you as he narrows his eyes at you “You look familiar…..wait!” He snaps his fingers and lets out a quick laugh “Ha! You’re that kid my former commander beat up! Wow! Ok, let’s rewind things a bit because I think I know what happened. But first, considering that magic you shot at me, I have to ask a question.”

He reached under his cloak and pulled out...YOUR CARDBOARD WINGS?!

And yet, they looked faded and drained. Goddammit! How?! Didn’t Tempest have them?!...Or...did she never pick them up? What did that have to do with anything anyway?....good god, you were confused.

The Storm King cackles as he puts the wings back under his cloak, he then waggles a claw at you “Aha! I knew it! They do belong to you! Well, that really does explain everything. Tempest, Tempest, Tempest, my gal, even when you’ve turned your back on me, you still do me proud. Oh yeah, You know what? I have an idea! I want her to be a part of the showdown along with that poofy purple princess. I think working that ‘thanks to you’ angle would really help sell the story, don’t you think? Yeah, of course you think so. Everyone loves a little drama. I mean, that’s how I became like this….With drama I mean. See, when I found out about my little pawn turning sides and my plan about to be in ruins, I tried rushing things a little. Yep, I tried taking these majestic morons’ magic to try to compensate for the fact that I was about to be assaulted by a bunch of losers. But nope, wouldn’t work, no matter how hard I tried. Then I saw those wings. I gave em a kick, they flew in my face, and I kinda lost my cool and tried stabbing the staff into it for a bit of a stress reliever. And wouldn’t you know it? Freaky things happen and the next thing I know, I’m looking like this and I’m sporting some pretty awesome power over here. And after blocking your powerful magic? Wow, I think we can all agree I’m unstoppable now.”

You only paid him half a mind as you snapped to your senses and grabbed your horn to place it on your head once more. All you needed was an extra shot while he was monologuing and you’d be straight.

“Yeah, everything's falling into place. Speaking of which...HYAH!” The Storm King points his claws at the ceiling, sending a burst of wind right over you. The blast was so strong it was able to smash some of the ceiling into rubble and...OH SHIT!

You try dodging out of the way, but the debris falls right on top of you. You fall flat on the floor as your body and your legs are pinned by the rubble, you could barely even turn your head. “Ohhhhggghh…” You look forward as you regain your senses...goddammit, he reacted quick.

“Wow, attacking me while I’m not paying attention? Good on you, kid, but I don’t appreciate it. I mean, here I am giving you my awesome story and you use it to try to stab me in the back.” He then stops and begins to ponder “I remember when I did that to my dear old Dad, what an idiot he was, huh? HAH!” He laughs as he jumps back and points his normal hand like a gun at you while he winks “Still, between you and me, it was a pretty good try. Anyway, on to some business. I need an unbiased focus test and you seem like the type of kid for the job. So tell me….GGGRRYYAAAHH!”

The Storm King crosses his arms and yells. And then, when he leans over, gigantic pale blue storm colored wings burst from his back as they rip his cape to shreds. These wings were demonic in nature, and fueled with the power of the storms as bolts of lightning randomly shot out from them every which way. “Check it out! Pretty awesome, eh? Thanks to you and Tempest, I’ve become a powerful,terrifying, ruthless, and HIGHLY MARKETABLE demon. C’mon, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t buy me as an action figure. This is the coolest thing you’ll EVER see….actually, this might be the last thing you’ll ever see. But I’m not a guy to nitpick at details like that.”

You were just struggling to get out. Fuck, you couldn’t screw up here. You couldn’t lose to this fucktard. Everyone was counting on you! NGH! DAMMIT! WHY! YOU DID EVERYTHING RIGHT! AND YOU STILL LOST?! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!

But even with all your rage, you just couldn’t get loose.

The Storm King could see you weren’t even going to bother answering him “Ugh...kids these days have no respect. Whatever, I’m bored and I really REALLY just want to get to the main event already. Of course, for that to happen now…” Suddenly, he points his glowing palm at you. A giant ball of wind slams into both you and the debris, capturing everything in a small orblike vortex as it slams you and the rubble halfway through the wall.

The pain was excruciating, not just from the slam, but from the pieces of ceiling that collided into your body as you were sent backwards. You could barely move at this point.

The Storm King lets out a small cackle as he walks over to you and grabs you by the head, yanking you from the wall as he turns and starts to walk towards the balcony behind the throne. “C’mon short stuff. I gotta go wiggle you around a little til the fishes bite.”

And so, you failed. The Storm King walked out to the very edge of the balcony to look onto the current battle going on below him. He was confident, without a care for the situation or his soldiers. All he wanted was his grand finale. And so, he held you up, and called out to all.

Chapter 19: The Eve of the Final Battle

He could see what was happening, his soldiers crushed and defeated by a band of misfits. But the Storm King didn’t care, for he felt his victory was already assured thanks to his newfound power. He held you up high for all to see as he looked down to his adversaries as if he was proud of them. “Hey! Hey! Up here! I want to congratulate you all!”

Whatever celebration your friends would have had was cut short as they looked up to see the Storm King, with you clutched in his tight grip.

“Yeah! Hello! I’m the Storm King! Nice to see you all. Congrats on beating my army, kudos to all of you. Tempest! Tempest, my gal, my conqueror, my little soldier. Gotta say, not really digging this whole ‘mutiny’ thing, gonna look really bad on your resume. But still, credit where credit is due, you all have managed to do a pretty good job. Pointless, but still pretty impressive. Oh..” The Storm King falsely gasps before shaking you about to make sure everyone got a good look at you “Does this kid belong to anyone? He just showed up in my throne room broken and I think I deserve some “royal” reimbursement, if you get my drift.”

You were wheezing from the pain as you looked down upon the now stunned group of freedom fighters. Some were shocked, some were pissed, Twilight especially was wondering why the Storm King was there instead of Tartarus…..But then there was Fluttershy. Before anyone could get a word in, she herself went into a rage. A rage beyond anything you have ever seen before. Her eyes even seemed to have flashed red for a moment, as if that malice from her Flutterbat form was taking hold.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Fluttershy flew straight up, and looked towards the Storm King with pure unbridled wrath “You...YOU! LET GO OF HIM, RIGHT NOW! OR ELSE!”

The Storm King laughed, and laughed hard. He could barely believe what he was seeing. “OH HAHA! You must be his mother. Cute, but not what I’m looking for. Listen lady, all I want is the princess and my old general. And unless you want to become paste, I’d suggest you move along. I got a final battle I want to get to and I really don’t need this kind of distraction.”

“Y-YOU! YOU WANT A FINAL BATTLE? I’M GONNA...NGH...I’M GONNA….RIP YOU TO PIECES!” Fluttershy cried out before letting out a tear filled battlecry.

Storm King just gives her a bored look as he makes a popping noise with his mouth “O-k then, obviously she’s not listening. Anon, right?” The Storm King holds you by the scruff with his normal hand as he aims his mutant palm right towards Fluttershy “You know what makes a story really epic? A little tragedy, the kind of tragedy that really brings in the masses….” His palm, it was starting to glow...OH SHIT!

You come to your senses as you scream out towards Fluttershy “AUNT FLUTTERSHY! GET OUT OF THE WAY! HE’S GONNA-”

But it was too late. The Storm King released a fiery bolt of lightning towards the charging yellow pegasus.

“AUNT FLUTTERSHY!” You cried out, witnessing the demise of your brave aunt.

Or...it would have been her demise.

At the last possible second, a rainbow blur came out from the side and careened into Fluttershy. It was in fact Rainbow Dash forcibly colliding into Fluttershy to get her out of the path of the lightning bolt. Both pegasi found themselves crashing back onto the ground. Hurt, but safe from imminent death.

The Storm King wasn’t even disappointed, he just looked at his arm with evil joy in his heart. “Wow! Lightning too?! Man, this thing has everything! See kid? This is how you maximize positive gain without any loss. Oh yeah, this is gonna be-..oh..oh haha!” The Storm King giggled as he rubbed the side of his face with his mutant arm “Almost forgot, I have to get the ball rolling.” He then turns back to the group and makes an announcement towards them “Listen here, and listen good! All I want is the princess and Tempest. Try a stunt like that yellow pony there and I’m just gonna fry the kid til he’s nice and crispy. Oh, and if you both could be a doll, come through the castle’s throne room. I have this whole ominous thing going and I just don’t want to see all that hard work go to waste. I mean, you could fly up here, princess. But then I’d still fry the kid.”

It didn’t look like there was any room for debate. It seemed like Twilight delegated some of the group to check on the fallen pegasi as her and Tempest made their way into the castle.

The Storm King just looked on as he whispered to himself “That’s right...go right in..hahaha…” He then turns around to wait for the pair to come through to the balcony. As for you, he raises you to eye level to taunt you face to face “You see, kid? I always get what I want.”

“I’m...gonna kill you, I swear it.” You say in a low and vicious tone. Trying to zap Fluttershy? No, you wanted this guy deader than dead. Even Chrysalis wouldn’t have dared even tried such a thing. This guy was pure evil.

“Woah! That’s a lot of hate you got going there. Wow! Just want me dead, just like that. What are they teaching kids these days, hm? I love it! And here I thought ponies didn’t have it in them for stuff like that” The Storm King found your words impressive, he had never been threatened like that by a pony before. And for a kid to tell him off like that? He found it rather delightful in a rather sick sense.

“D-dammit! I mean it! Let me go, and I’ll show you real pain… Or are you too scared to go for a round two with me?” You just needed another chance, one good shot…..and you could end him.

“As much as I’d like to give you another pounding, It’s gonna have to wait until after I take over this place. Although…” The Storm King notices your horn, and tries to take it. And although you nearly choke, he’s unable to remove it thanks to Discord’s protective magic. “Ahh, it was a nice thought. Not like I need any extra power anyway.”

“STORM KING!” Yells out a familiar voice “LET HIM GO!”

You and the Storm King look ahead to see Twilight angrily eyeing him down as she approaches. Tempest was behind her, and she looked more bewildered than angry. Of course she would be, the Storm King’s transformation was something she wasn’t expecting.

“Ah! Princess Twilight, by your command.” The Storm King does a short bow before chucking you to the ground, causing you to slide and tumble towards the pair “Oops...sorry, as you can see, I haven’t been myself lately.”

“Anon!” Twilight catches you with her magic and brings you close. Her worry increases when she sees just how battered and beaten you looked, “Anon! What happened?! Are you alright?!” It seemed the fact you fucked up was far from her mind at this point.

“Twil-Twilight...ngh. I-it didn’t work….That arm...he blocked my magic.” You say in a weak voice. In truth, it was nearly unintelligible the way you said it.

“What?! Anon…” She hugs you and holds you close “Shhh, don’t say anything more. We’re here to stop him.”

As Twilight did her best to keep you calm and safe, Tempest stepped up to the Storm King, wondering what happened. “...What happened to you?”

“Oh this?” The Storm King looks to his mutant arm, then back to Tempest with an uninterested shrug “Not much. Let me give you the short version since I want to get the ball rolling. That whole staff thing kinda went a little bonkers when I tried pulling it off...in fact.” The Storm King pulled out your dulled out wings, and threw it towards Tempest “My new power wouldn’t even exist without you, Tempest. Gosh, even when you betray me, you still do your best to bring me to the top. Funny how that goes, huh?”

Tempest looks down at the wings, confused. “What are you talking about? What is this?”

“That? Oh, not much. A pair of wings that belong to the kid there. You left it behind after your little smackdown with him. Now, I don’t blame you for not really noticing some cardboard wings, I wouldn’t have cared about them either to be perfectly honest. But it turns out they were filled to the brim with some kind of weird magic. And one thing lead to another, and yadda yadda, and BAM! Here comes me! Deluxe class king, ready to make all he surveys submit to his super glorious self. Haha! Gotta love it!”

Tempest stepped back in utter shock. The wings, she didn’t realize they had meant anything. She could barely even remember they existed. She thought that all the power you displayed had come from your bowtie and horn. Heck, considering the bowtie turns one into a bird, she thought thats where your pegasus wings came from. “That’s..Th-”

“That’s what I like to see! Pure horrible realization! HAHAHAHA!” The Storm King cackled as he slapped his knee “You dun goofed, Tempest. Big time! And unluckily for you, I’m not one of those types to offer you a second chance. I’m appreciative of your major screw up, I really am. But when you have a successful brand like mine, you have to know when to cut out the losers who just drag you down.”

Twilight gently put you down, she had overheard everything. She was already calculating in her head that the Storm King not only had the other princesses’ magic, but even the power of chaos itself. That’s how he must have stopped whatever magic you used on him. “A monster like you isn’t successful at anything…” Twilight turns and looks at him with a vicious expression “You just take from everyone else like a tyrant, and use everyone as if they were some worthless toy.”

The Storm King shrugs “Yeah...and?”

“T-Twilight...d-don’t even...bother.” You say in a low whine, trying your best to stand up. “Tempest...don’t let him get to you. He’s a monster. I know his type….Just...beat him already. He’s ruthless, he was gonna hurt Aunt Fluttershy just because....”

“He’s right, you know. See, I have a goal in mind. And I’m gonna achieve that goal no matter what. Speaking of which, I think I need to set the mood for this. Can’t have a final battle without a fitting stage, am I right? Yeah, you know I am!” The Storm King steps back as he aims his arm right up into the air. As the orb on his palm glows, the area around the castle darkens as it fills with horrible winds and spinning clouds of storms and destruction. Canterlot itself was now covered in an ever growing dome of clouds most black, with hurricane winds that threaten to destroy the city if they go on for too long. “There we go, much better...Don’t you think?”

Twilight wasn’t willing to let it go any further. She gives you one last reassuring look as she jumps up in the air and immediately starts firing magical beams at the Storm King. Unfortunately, much like yourself, he was able to block all of them with ease.

Tempest however, was still stunned.Before this had all happened, she felt victory was assured. But as she witnessed the Storm King and his newfound abilities, she was feeling all hope was lost. And it was all her fault.

“Tempest…” You say as you drag yourself towards her “Tempest, snap out of it”

Tempest slowly turned her head towards you, but still, she said nothing. You could tell, it was the guilt of such a simple mistake leading to the monstrosity the Storm King was now. She could see him toying with Twilight, just blocking every shot as he taunted her.

“Tempest...whatever you’re thinking. Forget about it...This isn’t your fault. There was no way you could have known. And even then, it doesn’t matter now! Don’t let this be like it was with your horn. Don’t let yourself think you helped him win! Twilight needs your help! Your friends need your help! Tempest...Please...I need your help. We can’t do this without you…”

“Anon..ngh” Tempest looked upon the Storm King as she spoke “I..did th-”

“Shut it!” You cry out, damn, was now not the time for this self defeatist shit “Don’t even say whatever you’re gonna say! Fine, even if it is your fault! So what?! If I didn’t screw up with my fight with you, we wouldn’t be friends! We all screw up, Tempest. More than once, even you know that! I shouldn’t have to tell you this! You’re rough and tough and ready to take anyone down! That’s the Tempest I know, that’s the Tempest I became friends with...ngh” You fall flat on your belly as you lose your footing “T-Tempest….You’re my friend, ok? No matter what….and that’s never gonna change. Truthfully, you’re one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, and like I said many times before….the coolest pony I’ve ever met...so come on, just kick his butt already so we can all have some like...dinner..and we can hang out...and stuff..”

Tempest felt a tear break, and flow down her scarred eye. There you were, the friend that broke her out of her dark delusions, the one who she blamed herself for being in the state you were now, and she could see that you still believed in her and cared about her as if it was just another day. She looked towards the Storm King again, and nodded, then looked back to you “Stay there, don’t move, and don’t do anything stupid. I’ll be back.”

You let out a soft chuckle as you lay to your side. “Heh, don’t worry. I’m not in the mood to move anyway. Just get in there already, Twilight needs your help!”

Tempest nods, and rushes into battle.

This was it, the last chance for Equestria.

Chapter 20: A Losing Battle.

You could only watch as Tempest rushed towards the Storm King, ready to kick his ass. Surely it shouldn’t be that hard now that he had his attention towards Twilight. But alas, as the Storm King blocked Twilight’s next magical shot, he took a near instant step backwards to dodge Tempest’s incoming flip kick.

“Oh Tempest, nice of you to pull yourself together. But don’t you think two on one is a little unfair?” The Storm King takes a few more steps back as he sneers at Tempest.

“You talk too much…” Tempest rushes him, letting out a quick buck to hoof stomp combo as Twilight reels herself back, not taking a risk of releasing a bolt and accidently hitting Tempest.

But the Storm King was able to dodge each of her attacks with unnatural finesse “Tempest, you’re really disappointing me right now. I can practically see every move you’re gonna throw at me as if it was a memory. And that’s bad, right? I mean, it’s like you’re trying to hit the me from five minutes ago.”

“Shut up!” Tempest started to get more heated, using her adrenaline to move faster and harder to try to land even one hit. When she’s unable to, she lays on a slower and more obvious jab of her hoof to actually bounce off the Storm King’s block. She jumps back from it and releases a burst from her horn towards him.

“Hah!” The Storm King easily catches the bolt with his claws and holds the magic used to make it as some sort of electrically charged static ball. “Cool…..actually, this gives me an idea.” As the Storm King focuses on the magical ball, he could still sense Tempest coming at him with another attack. He swiftly sidesteps her as he speaks nonchalantly, as if everything didn’t matter to him at all. “Hold on there Tempest, I’ll deal with you in a sec.”

Twilight took her chance once again, and started teleporting at a quick rate into different spots to try to throw off the Storm King as she prepared another blast of magic.

The Storm King however, just revved up like a pitcher “The wind up…” And then, the moment Twilight appeared just in front of him for a near point blank blast, he quickly pitches the ball. “AND THE PITCH!”

Twilight yells in pain as the ball hits her and explodes, sending her straight up through the storm clouds. The Storm King just peers upwards with his hand over his eyes “And that’s the game...hehe”

“TWILIGHT!” You uselessly reach up towards the sky, but it was too late, she was already gone.

“...Well, that happened.” The Storm King puts his hands to his sides as he lets out a sigh “This really isn’t what I had in mind when I said ‘epic’. None of you can even lay a hoof on me….It’s really sad. Oh, speaking of which...”

You hadn’t noticed it, but the Storm King did. Tempest was going for a strike while his back was turned. And as it looked like she was finally going to make a successful set of strikes, the Storm King extended his wings, causing an endless and continuous stream of electricity to catch Tempest in mid air and electrocute her without mercy. She was screaming in pain, but the Storm King cared not as he chastised her “Really? Attacking me while my back is turned? I dunno, Tempest. I think that deserves some punishment. By the way, I have to ask. Do you like your meat medium, well done, or just burnt beyond recognition?”

Tempest was just screaming in pain as the electrical energy from his wings kept her in place as the Storm King began to laugh. He felt so invincible, nothing could stop him now.

THAT’S IT! FUCK THIS GUY!

You gather up as much of your energy as possible and blindly run at him. To your surprise, he doesn’t seem to notice you as you chomp down on his right leg, causing him to yelp in pain as the stream of electricity finally stops with a burst, sending Tempest backwards and over the balcony’s edge.

“TEMPEST! NO!” You rush over to the edge of the balcony, but it was too late. She was gone, even more than gone. You couldn’t see her down below towards the ground or anywhere else on the balcony. D-did...did she end up in the surrounding storm itself? “TEMPESSST!”

You felt a rabid anger come over you. You couldn’t protect her, you couldn’t stop the Storm King, you couldn’t save Equestria. Dammit! You did everything RIGHT! And still failed. You turned around to face off against the Storm King once more.

But unfortunately for you, his control of the situation and his new found power allowed him from flow from movement to movement without much opposition. In other words, he grabs you by the head just as you turn and raises you upwards as you struggle to try to get away.

“You just don’t know when to quit...do you? I’ve won, kid, you’ve lost, it’s over. But you’re not the only one who doesn’t get it, are you?” He looks up in the air, and he could see it. Twilight was using the cover of the storm clouds to try to make another attack. But unbeknownst to her, he could see her through those clouds thanks to his enhanced chaotic eye. The moment she came into range, he threw you at her, like some ragdoll, and sent you both tumbling to the ground. He didn’t even make a comment about it, he just groaned as he rolled his eyes “This is all so….incredibly boring. Like seriously, none of you can touch me. It’s not only really sad, but makes this whole thing boring. How am I supposed to make this all into an award winning play when the main hero is invincible. Bah!...hmmmmm...OH! I KNOW!” The Storm King spreads his wings, and begins to hover ever so slightly “I got it, the perfect way to get everyone’s attention.”

Twilight began to slowly stand, shaking, drained of her stamina after using so much magic and being slapped around like she was nothing. “N-ngh, w-what do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m just gonna blow up this entire city with everyone in it. If that doesn’t cripple this land with fear and dread, then nothing will.”

“W-what?!” Twilight felt her strength return to her as she gave the Storm King a shocked glare “You can’t do that! What about everypony here?! What about your own soldiers?!”

The Storm King shrugged “Not my problem. Maybe if they learned not to be such losers, then this whole thing may have come out just a little different. Ahh well, ciao, enjoy the light show for the last few minutes you got.” And with that, the Storm King flew up high, through the storm clouds to prepare whatever devastating attack he had in mind to turn Canterlot to rubble.

Chapter 21: Prepare for Launch

That bastard….

You slowly began to rise, shaking in pain, weak from being tossed around, but with enough adrenaline to fight forever. Sure, you seemed dizzy enough that you swear you saw a purple bird circling your head, but you were goddamned pissed.

He killed Tempest, he possibly killed the princesses through petrification, and now he was going to annihilate Equestria. Oh no, not this time, you were going to kill him by any means necessary.

The clouds above began to swirl and open up as a small light began to appear overhead. It worried Twilight enough that she felt a retreat and even a full evacuation may be in order. But to get everyone out this quickly, she’d have to use a special magic. “Anon...A-are you alright?”

“I’m gonna end him, Twilight. I swear...He’s going to pay” You could feel it, that human instinct and rage. It was coursing through you, making you thirst for revenge.

“Anon, I...I unders-” But you cut her off. Holy shit, you had it up to here with the pony way right now.

“You don’t understand shit right now, Twilight! He killed Tempest! And he means to kill ALL of us on a damned whim! I don’t care how we do it, but we need to stop him here and now! How could you tell me you understand? You don’t seem to care at all that she’s gone”

“Anon…” Twilight suddenly gave you a firm look as she stood tall “I DO understand how you feel. But Anon, you need to think clearly. You need to use your magic to get all of Canterlot away from here before....” Suddenly, a bright light slowly began to expand upon all of Canterlot “.....Before...whatever that is happens. Fighting him head on will only end bad for everypony involved.”

“Shut up…” You growl at her as you put on your horn. “If we don’t stop him now, things will only get worse. I just need to figure out a way to beat his defense.” You had to think, you had to figure this out somehow.

“Anon, please listen. We can’t just waste the opportunity to save everypony. The Storm King, whatever happened to him, it changed him and made him more powerful than even Tempest expected. And he has the power of the Alicorn Princesses too! He’s invincible the way he is right now. We need to retreat and come up with a better strategy.” Twilight pleads with you to use your magic to evacuate the inhabitants of Canterlot, but you just wouldn’t budge.

“...I can’t. I know...ngh” You started to falter when you realized that if you failed, everyone would die, even Fluttershy. “I...No! I...I can do it! Back off!” You angrily growl at her as you move back “If we do run, then he’s only going to blow everything up until he annihilates you. He wants his rulership to be official, Twilight. And he wants it in a way that means the end of all the princesses, even if there is no Equestria left to rule after he does it. It has to be now!” You realized things would be worse if you just rant away. You knew his type, doing things in a “business” like fashion despite it being full on tyranny.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Twilight could see the light getting stronger, she knew she was running out of time. “If we don’t do something, everything will be gone anyway! Anon, the chaos he took in changed his body into something we can’t beat. And the power he took from the princesses means he’s too dangerous to take on face to face. We can’t stay here! You have to understand that by now! We’re running out of time!” She could feel it, that power, it wouldn’t be long now.

“So what if he’s changed due to chaos?! That doesn’t make him….” Wait a second.

You suddenly froze. You were so still that Twilight rushed up to you and began to shake you “Anon! Anon! Snap out of it! We have to do something now!”

Changed by chaos, absorbed the power of the princesses, and the fusion of the staff in his arm. None of that was what it seemed. He was changed by the power of chaos, yes, that’s true. But did that have to do with the power of the Alicorns he wields? No….because you saw the end of his mutant claw, it had an orb on it. That orb had to be what originally sucked up magic and then outputted it by the will of its user.

As for the Storm King’s mutation, it had nothing to do with the staff. Even with the fusion, the staff was its own entity. How did you know this? The fucking X-captain, another mutant you had faced in the past who had been mutated and then further mutated by being exposed to ridiculous amounts of chaos energy. Each transformation he took on gave him new abilities. So, if that was the case, the Storm King’s mutation only gave him wings, lightning on those wings, and that eye….he could track magic through that eye and THEN block it with his arm. The power of the three alicorns could easily block the power of one, and it could certainly block a teleportation spell’s force if he could somehow track it’s invisible trajectory.

But even the X-captain could be beaten by chaos despite being mutated by it. Besides, you didn’t even need to beat the Storm King himself. If you were right about his hand, then all you had to do was come up with a force more powerful than three alicorns and smash right through it.

You look onto Twilight, and grab onto her as you looked at her with a crazed smile “Twilight! I figured it out!”

“W-what?!” Twilight backed off, fearing you lost it “W-what do you mean by that?”

“The Storm King! His body has nothing to do with the staff! His arm, I mean! I know how to beat him! His arm only has the power of the three alicorns, and the only reason he’s able to pull off the lightning abilities he’s showing off is due to the properties of his body and the staff. But his body isn’t powering the staff itself, meaning we only need to overpower it. Let me ask you something, is it canon that Celestia and Luna couldn’t beat my dad without the elements!?”

Twilight seemed utterly confused by that “I..er...yes. But, Anon...I don’t..We nee-”

But you cut her off as you shake your right hoof “Yes! Then the horn should be able to beat three alicorns if I just fully power it up for some destruction beam or something! HAHA! Twilight, you agree, right? Think about it, all I need to do is overpower his magic with pure chaotic destruction and I can win. You know that, right?”

Twilight took a moment, and just a quick moment, to ponder. If what you said was true, and she did believe it to be true, then it meant it could be done...except “Anon, even if that’d work, your horn doesn’t possess the same amount of magic your father has. Not to mention magic loses it’s potency the further away it’s used from its source. I don’t th-”

But you cut her off yet again. “Then I’ll just fly right into him.”

“Anon! That’s insane! Anon, please…” Twilight looks up, the clouds were swirling fast over Canterlot as the light began to shine more violently “We don’t have anymore time! And your plan is crazy! Even with a direct hit, there's no guarantee it’d work! We don’t know how truly potent that horn is! The only way, with a ninety percent certainty of success, that’d this work is if you had an alicorn’s power to back it up...And alicorn magic mixed with chaos could within itself, be very volatile and...Anon…” She could see you giving her the eye. You didn’t care, you knew everything would be worse off if you all just ran, especially since it seemed the Storm King could use fucking satellite beams. “Anon...you can’t, what about your friends? Your family?”

“I am thinking about them, Twilight….” You calmed yourself. You knew no one would be safe unless someone took that fucker down. “I mean it...He won’t rest until he ends all the princesses.”

“Then, if that-” Oh fuck no, you cut her off right there, you didn’t need that noise.

“Shut up, Twilight….ugh, I guess I never got over being obsessive and protective after all. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself to him in any capacity...in fact.” You use your horn in a two phase type of magic. First, to start up a ten second launch sequence that can’t be stopped. And second, for it to become a practical warhead pumped up with as much chaos magic as you could muster. “Haha! Can’t stop me now!”

“ANON!” Twilight could see a launchpad suddenly spring up from under you, a barrier coming around you to prevent her from coming in. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Being a Gary Stu, Twilight...You have ten seconds to lend me your magic or I’m going up there with what I have. Your choice…”

Twilight was screaming at you, telling you how stupid you were being. But you just smirked a teary eyed smirk at her, and told her she was wasting time. You had no idea if you would even survive this, but it was better than the alternative. Ugh, this really sucked.

With only three seconds left, Twilight gives up, calls you insane, and willingly gives up her magic. It goes into your horn, causing it to sparkle and shake. Oh yeah, this baby has become a real fucking bomb now. After the time was up, your butt started to light up. Fart based propulsion, how classy.

“Seeya Twilight, take care of Dad, Diamond, Aunt Fluttershy...dammit, everyone..please?” You tell her, all weepy eyed.

“I-I…” Twilight sniffed as she began to tear up herself, but then her face scrunched up “What’s that smell?!”

“That’s me...sorry! Haha, have to blast off somehow” You giggle sheepishly as you shrug.

“T-that’s something your fathe...OH MY GOSH! ANON! WHY DON’T YOU JUST USE YOUR HORN TO CALL YOUR DAD OVER!” Twilight yells at you.

Oh…..fucking…..what?!

You started to whimper,whine, and say in a crying voice “Oh T-twilight, I already used the chaAAAAAARRGGEEE, DAMMIIITTT, I’MMM STUUUUPPPPIIIIDDDDD!” You began screaming as you launched up, straight into the sky.

Next stop? The Storm King!

Chapter 22: The Storm King's Fall

You rocketed upwards through the ever growing blue light in the sky. You could see yourself coming level with the swirling storm clouds in the sky as you blaze upwards towards the source of the ominous deathlight. When you rose above the clouds, you could see the Storm King up above in the clean blue sky. He was aiming down, looking along his claw as if it was an iron sight.

You just continued your incoherent yelling as you flew directly towards him, you couldn’t even focus due to the blazing speeds you flying at. The Storm King didn’t seem to notice you, or perhaps he didn’t care. No, he was ready to finally reduce Canterlot to ash. As for you? You barely even had time to even figure out how you would get out of this mess yourself in case you somehow DID survive. The only thing you could think of, maybe, was sprouting wings…

You just came closer and closer, and still he didn’t seem to notice.

Perhaps that would be his undoing. Because you didn’t even have another moment to think as you finally came into range with the guy. After another half moment, you finally collided, right into the palm of his mutated claw.

There was a glorious of explosion of multicolored light where you had hit. The clouds below the both of you spreaded out at first due to the explosion, then came back in as one gigantic violent storm. It was as if the blast itself had angered some sort of sky god.

Were you dead? Was he?

As the smoke of the explosion itself cleared, you could see...darkness. But it wasn’t due to death. Your head was being gripped, not too hard mind you, by the Storm King’s claw. More importantly, when you realized where you were at and realized things were dark, it could only mean that the light coming from the palm of his claw was gone and dead.

“What?! Oh, what happened?!” The Storm King exclaimed in surprise before letting out a light hearted groan “Heh, must have overcharged it.” It seemed the attack didn’t seem to phase him at all, he hadn’t even noticed you “Gonna have to work on my whole destruction shtick for the future. Oh boy, do I have egg on my face. I can only imagine those ponies think they're gonna be ok...Oh wait, maybe that’s better! Storm King, take a note, give your future slaves a moment of hope before you show em’ what you’re made of. Yeah, their faces then? Gonna be priceless! Alright, let’s try it again!” He aims his arm down, and that’s when he notices you within his grip. “What, huh?”

He uses his normal hand to pluck you from his grip. He holds you, face to face, by your scruff as he narrows his eyes at you to get a better look. “Huh….You again.” He says nonchalantly, stares stoically, then laughs “Wow! Give this kid an island! I swear, since the moment I saw you, that you were something else. Amazing…”

All you could do was groan as you gather your senses.

“Well..Anon, was it? Yeah, that’s it. I decided that I’m gonna keep you as a pet. A powerful guy like me is gonna need something I can push around when I’m in a bad mood. And you? It doesn’t look like anything can take you down. But first! I’m gonna have to break you in. And what better what to get all that love and hope out of you than to…” He holds you forward, so you could see the destruction of Canterlot. “Have you watch everything you love go bye bye.” He says, with malicious glee.

But something happened. He tried lighting up his claw again, but it wouldn’t work. In fact, nothing from his claw seemed to be working at this point. “What?! WHAT?! What’s wrong now?!” He looks at the palm of his claw and notices the blue orb had shattered to near dust as three magical wisps began to drift downward through the storm clouds “Hey! Where did my glowy orb thing go?!”

His blue glowy orb thing? Oh god….you did it. YOU FUCKING DID IT!

You started laughing within his grip, an almost crazed laugh.

“What? Why are you laughing? Did someone say a joke? Because it’s just the both of us up here. And this? I don’t think it’s really that funny.” He really didn’t seem to have a clue as to what happened.

“You fucking moron. I can’t believe how stupid you really are. Storm King? HA! Better trade your crown for a dunce cap, your highness. Let me get you up to speed, and listen carefully. I know you’re kind of slow in the head, but this is important." You then let out a triumphant and arrogant yell "I BROKE YOUR ORB, YOU DIPSHIT! HAHAHAHAHA! BAM! How does it feel to lose to a colt? Huh, HUH!” He turns you back around, letting you see the utter shock in his face. It only made you laugh more “Look at you! Do you still not know what happened? God, you’re so slow. You are soooo dumb! So dumb in fact, that I would bet money that the idiot who came up with the live action block for Cartoon Network got it through you by some interdimensional shenanigans KNOWING no fucking kid wanted that. Holy shit, you’re so dumb, you make Snips and Snails look like Dr.Manhatten! Like, both of them. How fuckSRGSDFGDS”

The Storm King just looked into the endless void of defeat as he began to squeeze you by the neck. “All that power, all that magic…Taken from me...by a kid.” He then looked directly at you, his expression now filled with unbridled rage. “YOU STUPID, LITTLE, BRAT!”

You could barely get any words out, he was squeezing your neck too hard.

“You RUINED everything! This is not ok! This is so much less than ok! Oh yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna get over THIS for a while!” He was growling his words as he reached into his armor with his claw for something. “But you know what?! If everything has to be ruined for me, then I’m going to at least ruin your stupid little friends before I go. Oh yeah, not really keen on them thinking they’ve won in ANY capacity” He takes out a shining green orb and holds it in front of you. “See this? It’s gonna turn you to stone. And then? I’m going to drop you, gonna drop you right where your STUPID friends are. And then? They're gonna cry, they're gonna be traumatized, and they're going to remember to NEVER get on my bad side.” He let out a mad chuckle “Anything left to say before I end you?”

He loosens his grip just enough for you to cough and take breath. You just look at him, smirk, and say “Yeah...You’re so dumb, that science could spend years studying and still be unable to figure out how you could be so fuckingSGFGDFG”

He went back to choking you and prepared to slam the orb right into your face. “THAT’S IT! SAY GOODBYE, KID! FOREEEEEAAAAAAGHHHH!”

The Storm King suddenly yelled in pain as he threw you, and the orb, upwards as he covered his eye. You could see it, there was a purple bird flying away from his face and flying upwards towards the orb. What was more peculiar was that this bird had a very familiar bowt-HOLY FUCK, IT’S TEMPEST!

But fucking how?! You could only look at her with gaping shocked eyes as she transformed into her original self and grabbed onto the orb.

“What in the?! GRRRR! OK! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME NOW, HUH?!” He looks around, covering his one eye with his hand as he angrily prepared himself to rip apart whatever had pecked at his eye. When he looked up however, he was in shock to see Tempest. “Tempest? Didn’t I ,like, end you already?”

Tempest said nothing to him. She looked to you, winked with a smirk, and looked down at the Storm King with a determined stare. “EAT SHIT AND DIE!” She yelled before throwing the orb into his chest.

The Storm King let out a yelp and started to try to get the green smoke from the shattered orb away from himself as he started to panic “NO! WAIT! NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS! THAT’S NOT FAIR! WHERE DID YOU EVEN...oh no” He could see his legs and arms starting to turn to stone “ARE YOU KIDDING?! I’M A FREAKING DEMONIC BEAST AND I’M STILL-?! NO! NONONONONO! Mommy! MOMMY! HELP! NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIK-” And that was it, he fell silent as his entire body became petrified in stone.

Tempest wasted no time in doing a flip in mid air to get into a diving position. You could already feel your upward momentum leave you as you started to fall. Before you could even yell for help, Tempest managed to grab onto you and hold you tight. “Gotcha!”

You both then started to descend towards the storm clouds below. “Tempest?! Tempest! You’re amazing! Where did?! How did?! Ahh! Geez!” You hug onto her tight “I’m so glad to see you’re ok! And that entrance!? AMAZING! YOU EVEN SAID THE THING I WAS GONNA SAY! TOTALLY AWESOME!”

“Anon, I’d love to explain everything to you right now, but we’re kind of falling to our doom.” Tempest said as she held you close, braving the storm as you both fell from dizzying heights.

“A-ahh...erm. Yeah, what do we do?” You ask

“Me? I’m going to try to get lucky...You? Take the bowtie, and get out of he-HEY!” She reached for her bowtie to give back to you, but before she could, you smack it out of her hoof. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!”

“Because…” You look at her with a determined look “We’re in this together.”

“Anon! We’re both falling! It would have been better for one of us to survive than both of us going splat! Because unless you can sprout wings or something, we’re done!” Tempest yelled at you

No...Because...That’s exactly what was going to happen...Or rather, what was going to happen to her. “Funny you say that…” You had this thought, or a vague image of it, when you were flying up towards the Storm King. Wings... That’s right. You may have been out of charges, and you may have not had the cardboard wings, but the horn still had ALICORN magic in it. This was a crazy and chaotic thought, and considering who you were, it had to mean it would work. “Because you’re gonna fly us out of here!”

“What?! Anon, I’m not a pegasus! And I already heard you and Twilight mention the use of your last charge! Anon….Darn it…” She felt you had somehow gone mental.

At that moment, you then realized what happened. When she got launched from the Storm King’s wings, she used the bowtie to turn into a bird. That purple bird you thought was from you being dizzy? That was her! She must have hid in your tail or something when you flew upwards. Fucking...Amazing…

But, those thoughts would have to be for another time. You reach for your horn, and take it off from your neck. “Tempest, put this on! NOW!”

“What?! Anon, will it even work? I mean, even if it did! I can’t use chaos magic, I c-” But you cut her off, you didn’t want her losing any hope...Especially since if this didn’t work, you BOTH being dead would be your fault.

“JUST PUT IT ON! GEEZ!” You bark at her.

Given the situation, and being out of options, Tempest grabs the horn and places it on her head. She then begins to shine within the storm clouds, causing them to calm and spread out. You yourself could barely see at this point as you get enveloped into the ever expanding light.

And then, after a few moments, the light explodes into pure stardust. You blink and groan as you now found yourself on Tempest’s back all of a sudden. No, not Tempest.

MOTHERFUCKING ALICORN PRINCESS TEMPEST!

You just look down upon Tempest’s winged form as you whisper in awe “By the Larson…”

Chapter 23: The Calm After The Storm

“Anon! What’s going on?! I feel…” Tempest had to stop mid-sentence as she could feel Twilight’s magic sourcing through her new form. It made her feel stronger, happier, more friendly. One would say that perhaps Twilight’s essence had somewhat fused with her own. “AMAZING! Why, I feel like I can make the world better, through friendship! And math too! And don’t forget about Daring Do! I don’t even know what that is!”

The hell was she prattling on about?! You both were still falling! “Cool, that’s great! But do you mind FLYING SO WE DON’T GO SPLAT!” You yell at her as the raging storm threatened to zap the both of you before you could even get out through the bottom.

“Huh? Ugh…” Tempest puts her hoof to her forehead, feeling an odd dizziness “Sorry, didn’t feel like myself…Wait…” She then feels it, the horn. “What the? Is that your…” But then she feels new appendages on both sides of her body. She looks to them with great surprise “Wings? W-what the?”

HOLY FUCK! NOW WAS NOT THE TIME! “MY HORN HAS TWILIGHT’S MAGIC! MY PLAN WORKED! YOU’RE AN ALICORN! OK?! FLY! FLY SO WE DON’T DIE!”

Thank god Tempest was the headstrong warrior type, because she looked down with a determined nod and opened her wings….Which caused her to spiral out of control.

“AGHHH! WHAT HAPPENED?!” You scream as you hold on to dear life to the air tumbling alicorn. “NGH...Oh...I’m gonna be sick.”

“Anon! Wait...I’m thinking.” Tempest had no idea how to actually fly, especially in the winds of the storm clouds, but she was capable of coming up with an alternative in cases like these.

“THINKING?! TEMPEST WE’RE GONNA-” But she cuts you off with her words.

“I said quiet! I get it! We’re spiraling out of control! But I can’t control these wings in this storm and I was never a pegasus to begin with! The only way we’d be able to get out of this in one piece now is if…” Tempest suddenly stopped as memories of her having a horn hit her. She was a unicorn, she had magic. Sure, she hadn’t cast any spells in awhile, but every unicorn knows the basics. “I got it!”

“You do?! What do you got?!” You yell as you hold on to her for dear life.

“Easy!” Or she hoped anyway. If she couldn’t fly with the wings she had, she’d float using the power of a telekinesis spell. It didn’t take her much to actually cast it, but the magic provided through Twilight’s essence packed enough power to give her easy enough control to get the both of you to slow your descent as you both come out from under the storm. “Ha, I still got it.”

“W-woah...What’s going on?” You had floated a few inches away from Tempest, but you hadn’t gone splat, it was like you were hovering. And then you noticed it, her horn was glowing. “You’re...using magic?”

Tempest nodded “Well, I am a unicorn first and foremost. And you never forget such an easy spell as telekinesis. Are you alright, Anon? You were panicking back up there, maybe I should try a spell to calm your nerves while I still got this thing on my head.”

“U-uhh...Do you even know a spell like that?” You ask her as you both descend towards the castle balcony

Tempest shrugged “No…” Suddenly, there’s a near evil glint in her eye “But I do have this urge to help you, my friend, feel better.”

Ok then. Suddenly she was scarier than the Storm King. “U-uhhhh erm…”

She let out a gentle laugh. “Relax, it was a joke. Huh...hmmm” She looked up as her hooves landed gently onto the balcony, the storm was starting to dissipate now that the Storm King’s magic was gone completely. “I can’t believe it, he’s finally gone. Just like that.” Tears started to fill her eyes as the situation started to settle in her mind “It’s like waking up from a nightmare.”

“Yeah, that was...Pretty scary. But we did it, everypony survived, and man...That guy? Wow, I could see why nopony liked him. He was an asshole.” You take a moment to relax and take a breath “I’m just glad nopony got hurt, really, I am. I felt so angry, I just...wanted to kill him dead right there. He had no soul. And knowing he was willing to off anypony in his way for nothing? Yeah, I hope he shattered to a million pieces.”

“I’m with you on that. In fact, why don’t you take a...wait” Tempest noticed the Storm King’s statue had fallen into the balcony, going through some of the floor and shattering to pieces. But what scared her was a fallen Twilight that wasn’t too far from impact. “Is that? Oh no!” Tempest rushed over to her

“What? Oh...WHAT?! TWILIGHT!” You rushed over to her as well, panicking when you noticed the same thing Tempest saw. Did it crush her?! Was she dead?! “Tempest?! I-is she?” You noticed Tempest putting an ear to her chest to make sure she’s alright.

“Her heart is beating fine” She takes a breath of relief “And there’s no injury that would suggest she got hit. So then, what’s wrong with her?” Tempest points to her horn “Is it because I have her magic?”

Was it? You moved in closer for a better look. You could see Twilight twitching, her hind legs giving twitch kicks. But her face is what caught your attention the most, it was somewhat green.

Wait….OH MAN! “Holy crap! HAHAHA! I know what’s wrong with her!” You start giggling like a madman.

“What? Why are you laughing then? This is serious!” Tempest could not figure out what would cause you to act like this, but she didn’t like it.

“She’s just knocked out. Ahehe..oy” This then felt increasingly embarrassing now that you were about to explain it. “My rocket fuel may have been...Well...of a rather...erm...more natural gas than others.”

“You mean you farted all the way up there?” Tempest asked.

Ugh, did she have to be so direct? “Yes...If you want to be blunt. Ugh, why did you have to say it like that? You have no idea, Tempest. In my world, saying something like that would make guys on the internet just, y’know...They’d be enticed. Like, you’re just posting normally...And then THEY show up at the mere mention of it. WHY?! WHY CAN’T WE HAVE NICE THREADS!? WHY MUST DEVIANTART BE FILLED WITH CRAP LIKE THIS?! YOU!” You pointed up to the sky “YOUUUUUU! HOW COULD YOU MAKE A WORLD OF CUTE PONIES AND STILL ALLOW SHIT LIKE THAT TO EXIST?!”

Tempest just looked left and right awkwardly, she felt so uncomfortable by your outburst that she couldn’t even bring herself why such a thing even exists. “Uhhh...Anon? I think I might be serious about that spell now. Because…”

Wut? Ah shit, you were talking to yourself again. How could you let something like that set you off? “Erm, I’m fine...s-sorry. Forget you heard anything. Erm, so yeah...Twilight. Erm, she um...Well, first, maybe we should get her magic back to her.”

“Yeah…” Tempest had no idea what came over you just then. She thought it may have been some sort of trauma from being beaten so badly by the Storm King, but she had never seen anything like it. She then looked to Twilight, and tried taking off her horn, but it wouldn’t come off. “I can’t get the horn off.”

“Yeah, I figured, the horn is kind of like that. Can’t you just transfer her magic back to her?”

“I would, if I knew how.Do you have any idea how to make that happen? It is your horn after all.”

Well, you did know one way. “Just put the horn to her heart and believe in her and stuff, that should work.”

Tempest raised an eyebrow at you, she was in a state of disbelief from your words. “Are you serious? I may not be a master of magic or anything, but even I know that’s pretty stupid. That’s the kind of thing that only happens in fairy tales, Anon. Didn’t you know that?”

Ouch, harsh. She didn’t have to say it like that. “I mean, I don’t know. You don’t know. It could work, it’s not like we have any other ideas.”

Tempest just looks at you with a silent stare as she gives a quick slap to Twilight’s face, making her wake up in a state of shock.

“Who?! What?! Where?! What happened?! Ogh…” Twilight put a hoof to her forehead “I feel like I was in a dark place. I saw tall buildings, taller than even the ones in Manehatten. Weird carts zooming past a black road, and the scariest and weirdest bipedal monster walking towards me. He was bushy and crazy eyed, shaking a can at me and asking for a ‘fiver’, then...That smell, ohhhh huh?” Twilight looked around, and noticed you and Tempest. “Oh...erm, Nopony heard that right?”

You hadn’t paid too much attention to what Twilight said, you were more shaking your head in your own shame as you realized you could have just asked Twilight for help. “Ok, or we could wake her up…And ask…”

“Ask? Ask me….Tempest?” Twilight’s senses fully return to her when she saw and realized Tempest was alright. “TEMPEST! YOUR OK!” She got up and gave Tempest a huge hug, catching her by surprise “What happened?! Is everypony else ok?! What happened to the Storm King?!”

Tempest was surprised. She was only really close to you and Grubber as a friend at this point, so she was caught off guard that the pony she had been chasing when she was under the Storm King was showing her such great affection for the smallest time she actually knew her. “Umm…” She gently broke off the hug, and stepped back. “Everyone is ok, and well, the Storm King? Take a look for yourself.” She points behind Twilight, to the shattered Storm King statue.

“Hmm?” Twilight looked over, and gasped when she saw the broken king. “O-oh, he’s er…” She didn’t know how to react. She wasn’t one for death or killing, and yet she didn’t seem to be too broken up about it. “He’s uh...he turned to stone and broke. I don’t...Ugh, I..Am I bad for not feeling so bad about this? I mean, maybe we could have still helped him? Maybe?”

Ugh, Twilight… “Twilight, take it from me. That guy? There was no way of making him see the Magic of Friendship. He’s worse than Tirek. He would have sold his own mother’s soul for immortality if he could.”

“Really?” Twilight then looks to Tempest “Really?” She couldn’t believe it. “That bad?”

Tempest nodded “Yeah, Anon is right. There was no redeeming that...Y’know, I don’t think our world has a word strong enough to describe the kind of guy the Storm King was. Anon, what about you?”

You smirk at that. This is the first time you could think of that a pony wanted to hear the kind of foul language you could come up with. “He was a gigantic fucktard, a real son of a bitch. I’m talking like, he literally came out of a dog’s anus over here. Not the puss-”

“Ok, OK! I get it! I don’t know what it is, but some of those words just sound...ugh” Twilight couldn’t stomach such vulgar language, even though she didn’t understand most of it.

Tempest giggled “I dunno, it kind of clicks with me. When I told the Storm King off before I stoned him, I felt like, heh, like all that hatred I had was just thrown into him. It was a huge load off actually.”

“Of course it clicks. When you say stuff like that to someone like that Storm King? It’s just a real load off, y’know? Speaking of which, Twilight, we kinda need to unload your magic from Tempest and...You wouldn’t know how to do that, would you?”

“What? Oh because...Wait” Twilight then noticed Tempest’s transformation. It both shocked and intrigued her “Tempest! You’re an Alicorn! How did that happen?!”

“Anon says his horn is filled with your magic. So I can only guess the horn’s own self transformative abilities may have been enhanced in a way. Also, it’s making me feel things that are a little too much for me. Is there any way to get it back to you? Your magic, I mean.” Tempest asks.

“OH, that’s actually very simple. You simply use a magic transference spell. Which, erm, actually isn’t too simple for the average Unicorn. But! When it comes to transferring owner’s magic back, there is a simpler solution. Simply put the horn on my chest and put your trust and care in me. It sounds silly, but putting one’s hope on another like that seems to cause certain kinds of magic to activate. Or in a case like this, return the magic back to its original owner.”

“Oh…Erm.” Tempest looked over to you, you had the smuggest look on you right now. It was rare you manage to get a victory like this one, and you just put on the smuggiest smug you ever smugged. She sighed, and let you have an apology. “I’m sorry, Anon. I-I guess it wasn’t that stupid. Really, I didn’t mean to sound that harsh or anything.”

“It’s fine, really. If you want to make it up to me though, do you think you could say ‘What is a pony! A miserable pile of friendship! But enough talk, have at you!’. It’d mean a lot to me. And ya know, put some real unf into it when you say it.” You didn’t know what it was, but you think that’d be a fucking laugh riot.

Both Twilight and Tempest looked at you like you were crazy.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! It’s a thing from my past converted to fit us great pony folk. Is it wrong to ask for that? It’s not like I’m asking for anything major.” Sheesh, what was with them?

“I mean...It just sounded weird to me. I didn’t...Ahrm.” Twilight didn’t mean to offend, but that did sound absolutely nutzoid to her. “I apologize, especially since...Y’know.” Twilight nodded over to the broken King. “You both pretty much saved the world.”

“Thank you” Finally, a little recognition and respect from Twilight.

“I just thought it was random. But ok, I can do that. In fact, let me do that right now. Because I don’t need anyone else looking at me when I do this.” Tempest takes a breath “For you. Anon. I’ll give it my all.” Tempest then gives both you and Twilight a malicious look at she points down to you “What is a pony?! A miserable pile of friendship!” Tempest then stares you down as she enters a battle stance “But enough talk!” She then hovers upwards with her magic as sparks appear and shoot off randomly, creating quite the spectacle “HAVE AT YOU!”

Holy shit! That was pretty fucking cool! “Bravo! That was even better than I could have imagined.”

Twilight just silently mumbled to herself “...I still don’t get it.”

Tempest carefully landed back onto the balcony and smiled a genuine smile. “Heh, maybe it’s Twilight’s essence. Or maybe, I’m getting more used to what it is to be a pony. Either way…” She takes a bow “I’m glad that was good enough for you, Anon…” But then she gives you a glare “If you tell anyone about it, I’ll fuck your shit up” She then gave you a smirk.

Oh no...It was like Chrysalis all over again. At least Tempest was redeemed. Haha...oh god. You had to make sure never to get on her bad side, considering how much ass she was capable of kicking.

After that, Tempest had returned Twilight’s magic to her. You had done it. You all had done it. The biggest threat in THIS Equestria you had ever personally seen, and through friendship and teamwork and a LOT of bullshit, you all managed to save it. It was amazing, it was scary, but in the end...You were just happy all your friends were safe.

In fact, when you three went back to the throne room. All your friends were waiting for you. They had already known about the triumph over the Storm King. How could they not when the three Princesses had already been unstoned….Somehow. Yeah, you didn't get that. But whatever, it was better than anything realistic happening. Twilight, of course, was ecstatic and all huggy with the princesses now that they were safe. You, man, Fluttershy just dove right into you and snuggled you. Telling you she’d never EVER let you go again. The rest of the ponies,pirates, and that cute princess bird eventually went into the usual HUGE hug.

And Tempest? She was reluctant to join in on all that. Grubber, who had seemed to have completely been reformed at this point, had grabbed her by the hoof and brought her in for the huge hug that everyone else was in.

Everything was ok now. All there was left was that Friendship Festival thing.

As for you? Heh, all in a day’s work for the ‘Hero Colt’

Chapter 24: Goodbyes

With the Storm King defeated and Equestria free from his evil grasp, Twilight was free to finally throw that second Friendship Festival thing. There were fireworks, performers, speeches, fun, games, all sorts of shit. Unfortunately for you, with your adrenaline gone, the injuries you incurred during the struggle against the Storm King finally took their toll. And while, somehow, not serious enough for you to go to the hospital this time, it was enough to worry Fluttershy to no end. She pretty much was holding onto you gently and making sure you were ok throughout the entire festival. You didn’t complain, after all that shit? You could use a little cuddling.

Of course, you weren’t too keen on this Songbird Serenade chick. Sure the presentation was pretty rad, but the song was only so so. But of course, all the ponies were into it, including Fluttershy. “Isn’t her song amazing, Anon?”

No, not really. “It’s pretty good, Aunt Fluttershy. Sorry we couldn’t do the whole bird choir thing. To tell you the truth, I was more excited to doing that than just sitting around.”

“Awww, Anon.” She cuddles you close “Don’t you worry about any of that. I’m just happy you’re ok and here with me...You are still ok, right?” She asked. She had been asking all night. If it wasn’t her, it’d have gotten grating by now.

“Yeah, just gonna need a couple of days to get over feeling so tender.”

“Well, I could always get more medicine from Zecora. We already know that helps.”

OH GOD NO! “E-erm, ugh…” But what’s a little shit over her being happy. “...Ok, I guess a little medicine won’t hurt.”

“C’mon, Anon. It’s for your health. We already know you can handle it. Besides, Nopony wants to be sore for too long. You’re very lucky, you know that? Any worse and you would have been taken to the hospital, then you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere for days. A little medicine to get you moving sooner isn’t going to hurt.” She begins to sound a little sterner as she goes on. Of course she would, she was relieved you were ok. But she didn’t want you to try to heal on your lonesome, she didn’t want to risk you getting worse due to you doing…something dumb.

“I know, I know.” You sigh “Aunt Fluttershy…” You nuzzle under her chin “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Awww, no I’m not. I just try my best, that’s all.” She gives you a couple of gentle rubs on your head. She felt pretty modest about your praise.

“Well now, Anon, you really do have a squishy little soft spot, don’t you?” You heard a cool voice speak to you from the side.

You look over to see Capper. He was holding a bag as he stood before you, calm and cool. “Capper? Hey, what’s with the bag?”

“Oh, you know. Now that the Storm King is gone, I decided it was time to move on. And I mean move on in a major sense. Got a lot of wrong I have to right. It’s no big, but before I met all of you, I wasn’t really the best cat on the block. Er…” He looks to Fluttershy as he nervously rubs the back of his neck “Sorry about the whole slavery thing, really, it was the old me.”

Fluttershy looked to him with a cheerful smile and a nod “Oh, Capper, I forgive you. We all do. That meanie of a Storm King just brought the worst out of everypony. I mean…” Fluttershy felt perhaps him being shattered to death was a bit much, but she was also conflicted with even that given how much he had hurt you. “Maybe being broken into pieces wasn’t what he deserved, but erm... I’m just...Oh...I just want everypony to be ok, that’s all.”

“You really are the Element of Kindness. Well, when I’m done doing what I’m doing, I’ll probably come see you all again. But right now? I better get going before it gets too late, the badlands ain’t good for my fur when it’s all boiling hot and everything. Oh, but before I forget.” Capper puts his bag down and looks inside of it. After a few moments, he takes out a familiar looking bowtie. “This belongs to you, right?”

Oh hey! It’s your bowtie. “Hey, you found it!” You could have made another one really. But it was the thought that counts. You take it from Capper and place it in your saddle bag. “You’re a good guy, Capper. Let me know the next time you’re in Ponyville. I kind of want to show you how I hang out. Y’know, the ‘Anon’ way.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He does a quick wave with his hand “Take care you two and...OH!” He slaps his head when he realizes he forgot one more thing. “Tempest and her little friend are pretty much shipping off too on one of those airships near the entrance of the city.”

WHAT?! “She’s leaving without saying goodbye?”

“What? Oh, no no. She definitely wants to say goodbye. I was just worried you were going to blow those things up or something. Call it kitty intuition, but you seem like the kind of pony who likes to finish the job, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean just blowing them up for target practice?”

Capper points right at you with a wink “Exactly.”

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy let out a silent gasp “I suppose there was a chance Anon could do that. B-but, I wouldn’t let him, of course. I know Princess Celestia wants to keep at least one of them for historical purposes while breaking down the rest for parts for other ponies to use. So blowing them up would be a big no no.”

“Good to hear. Glad something good is coming out of that hot headed king. Well, I’m off. For real this time. You two stay cool.” And with that, and shared goodbye, Capper went on his way. To where? You had no idea, but you wished him luck just the same.

If Tempest was wanting to say goodbye, but not around, she must be waiting nearby. She probably still wasn’t comfortable being around a huge group yet. You didn’t blame her. She had been capturing and ruining cities,villages, and kingdoms for such a long time that she probably didn’t feel worthy enough to be around a group of random ponies. “Aunt Fluttershy, I’m feeling a little better. Do you think I can go and find Tempest?”

Fluttershy took a moment to think. She didn’t want you to roam on your own, she didn’t want to have you agitate your injuries to a point where you may actually have to go to the hospital. But she also considered how Tempest had changed when coming face to face with you. She hated the thought of you not even being able to say goodbye. So she sighs, and let’s you go. “Just be careful,Anon. Please? I don’t want you stressing your injuries, but I don’t want to hold you back either. Just...Say hi for me, ok? Tempest doesn’t seem so bad at all. In fact, I wouldn’t mind spending the day with her someday. We could sit around, have a picnic, and talk over tea. I think it’d be nice.”

“I do too, actually. She could probably use a day like that. She’s been through so much, a day to forget would be something she’d really need. In anycase…” You give Fluttershy a hug. “I better go find her before it gets too late. I love you, Aunt Fluttershy, I’ll be back.”

Fluttershy gives you a quick peck on the forehead. “I love you too, Anon.”

And with that, you moved away from the festivities to find Tempest and Grubber. It actually didn’t take too long, they were watching the show from a bridge nearby, away from everyone else.

You walked up to the both of them with a smirk “Heya you two, heard you guys were gonna be going soon. Didn’t want to join the party?”

“Hmph, I did, but Tempest was feeling antsy, that’s all. And since you were all broken up, this guy right here…” Grubber pointed to himself with pride “Decided to keep her company. Besides, we can still see the show. And…” Grubber whips out a cupcake and stuffs it in his mouth. “I’m still close enough to make a run for the cupcake table. So it’s all good.”

“Relax, Grubber.” Tempest looks upon you with a stoic look “Anon took a pretty bad beating. The fact he’s still able to walk around is admirable…” She then smirks at you “Then again, that head of yours seems to be more powerful than any alicorn magic.”

“Well, yeah. See all this?” You wave your hoof along yourself “Every piece of me is a pure chaos machine. From my adorable body to my brilliant mind. I’m the Hero Colt for a reason”

“Hmph” Grubber crosses his arms “...Tempest still kicked your butt. But…” Grubber sighs “I gotta throw this down though, I’m glad she’s not following the Storm King anymore. That guy was whack. So yeah, I guess that’s really because of you and how you helped her.” Grubber calms down, and moves in for a gentle hug “You’re cool with me, for sure this time. If you ever need me, let me know. Also, you got to make sure I hear you, or else...Y’know, I won’t know when to come.”

You return his hug. He really was Tempest’s version of Spike, for sure. “Heh, thanks Grubber. Sure, if I need your help, I’ll come a yellin’.”

After the hug, you then look upon Tempest, who was watching Songbird Serenade’s performance. “You sure you don’t want to come down and join the party?”

“I’m sure, I’m glad I have a few new friends here. But I don’t belong with other ponies, not yet anyway. Observing from this distance is good enough for me.” She then looks to you, and lets out a more gentle smile “Though, it’s still nice, nostalgic really. And you and Grubber being here is enough for me to enjoy it.”

“Heh, well, trust me, if I still had a charge? I’d be willing to show you how a human throws a party. It’s a lot more fun than this, that’s for sure.”

“I admit, I’m intrigued. Maybe when I come back, we can party like a human does. You already know I’m good for it.” Tempest says, confident she can handle it.

“Hey, I’m good for it too. Don’t know exactly what a human is, but if they make a good cake, I’m all good for it.”

When she comes back? “Wait, where are you going exactly?”

“Someone has to tell everyone else that the Storm King is gone. Anon, his reach was far and wide across the lands beyond Equestria. Now that he’s gone, everyone he’s subjugated deserve to know they no longer have to live in fear. It’s gonna take me awhile, but once I’m done, I’ll come back to take you up on that offer. You can make it my ‘Welcome Back’ party.” Tempest shrugs.

“Wow, Tempest. You’re amazing!” Grubber says with admiration. “You never liked parties before. OH yeah, just don’t forget that I got your back. Need to learn to groove? Pack in the snacks? Or even win a few party games? Yeah, just ask me to teach you. I’m good at those type of things. I want us to get closer and closer everyday! Until we’re practically siblings! Yeah!” Grubber was getting a little hyped there. With Tempest not being an asshole anymore, it seemed he wanted to be as close to her as possible. She was his first friend and his commander after all, so the respect he had for her was fairly great.

“Relax Grubber, you don’t have to brown nose.” Tempest says, not harshly, just in a way he’d understand without spazzing.

“Sorry, I was just saying what I feel. Sometimes a guy just has to say what’s on his mind, y’know?” Grubber says as he takes in another cupcake.

“I know. So, Anon.” Tempest looks back to you “Before I go, I wanted to ask, what’s the worst human word that someone like me can say?”

WUT?! “U-uh...Why?” She wanted to know the worst one?!

“A lot of the Storm lands will still have some guys willing to cause a fuss, especially those who were actually loyal to the Storm King. I kind of want to make a statement if I have to fight. I don’t know what it is about the human vocabulary, but it really gets my blood red hot. So, tell me, what’s the worst one?”

Wow, you did not see this one coming. It almost felt like… No, Anon. She’s gone, don’t worry about her. “Well, shit, fuck, and assfaggot are pretty bad ones. There’s a few SUPER bad ones, but don’t really work in the context of this world, so, y’know, just stick with those three. You already know how to use the word shit. So with the word fuck, I’d suggest things like ‘I’ll fucking deck you!’ or “I’m gonna fuck you up really bad!” and assfaggot? Eh, just a really good name.”

Tempest nods in approval. She liked the sounds of that. “Ok, let me try that out. Grubber, front and center!”

Grubber, without hesitation, runs to her front and salutes “Commander Tempest, ma’am!...armph” He takes one last bite before being completely ready.

“Ok, just let me know how you feel after I tell you this. It’s going to sound harsh, but I just want to see if my theory is sound.”

He salutes once again “If it’s about that human word thing, then I can handle it. I’m ready! Give me your all!”

“Ok...Listen you little assfaggot! I’m going to shit down your fucking throat if you EVER EVER think of even stepping out of line, you hear me?!” Tempest, woah, really lays it on thick, it even scares you.

Grubber gulped, tensed up, and fell over “I suddenly feel empty...Ogh….My tummy hurts.”

Tempest chuckles, and gives him a gentle pet. “It’s alright, Grubber. That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Even though I don’t even get some of those words, they seem to have a really profound effect, like a spell.”

“Yeah...cripes. Just try not to use that on guys who don’t deserve it, ok? That’s a pretty strong responsibility you got there.” You tell her, worried she could over do it.

“I got it. Well, I guess it’s time for me to get a move on. Grubber, go get as many cupcakes as you can carry, that’s an order.” She tells him.

Grubber slowly gets up, wipes his brow, nods, and silently goes to grab more cupcakes.

“I hope I didn’t traumatize him. But those words...They really are powerful.” Tempest was amazed by how insulting they really sounded.

“Yeah, heh. They are pretty great. Oh, Tempest, if you’re gonna go…” You take out the bowtie, and hold it up to her “Take this.”

“The bowtie…” Tempest was amazed, she didn’t know it was found. But she let out a little bit of a giggle as she took it “Wow, I didn’t think anyone would have been able to find it. Are you ok with me keeping it though? Considering what’ll it’ll remind me of?”

“A memento is a memento. Besides, it’ll still remind you of me, and that’s what’s important, right?”

“You’re right, that’s what’s important. Anon, you have a good head on your shoulders...You just need to work up those shoulders a little more, get some training done.” Tempest says as she gives you a gentle head pat.

“Yeah. I need to see Rainbow Dash about this training. I told this amazing guy, Mr.Rich, that I would...But I kind of have been dodging it. But not anymore! I’m gonna train hard! For sure!” You gave a pump of your hoof.

“That’s good to hear. Maybe we can have a rematch when we meet each other again. As long as your aunt isn’t going to freak out.”

“Yeah, we might have to do that in private. Heh…” You look to Tempest with sad eyes. There was something nostalgic about her. In a way, perhaps this is how you imagined Chrysalis would have been if she had reformed. You couldn’t be sure, and it was most likely a fantasy. Still, it was a nice thought. “You take care of yourself, Tempest.” You hug onto her tightly. “And come see us soon, ok? And, my aunt says hi...heh, kinda forgot to mention that.”

Tempest didn’t tense up like she would before. She just hugged you gently, and whispered “I promise. And...say hi to her for me”

And with that, her and Grubber left Equestria on their mission to liberate those still shackled by the spirit of the Storm King’s rule. You, you went back to the festival and sat with Fluttershy to tell her SOME of what you and Tempest talked about.

What an adventure this all was. You made new friends, defeated a deadly foe, and farted on Twilight. You were sure Discord would love to hear that last bit.

Even then, tomorrow would be another day. And you were ready to face it head on.

Epilogue

“Almost, allllmost. HA! Got it!” You say proudly to yourself as you hang the stoned head of the Storm King on your wall using your magic. Not the best use of a charge, but hot damn the mantle looked badass with all that shiny gold. This was a testament that you were capable of saving this Equestria too…sorta...mostly...it was mostly you, right? Yeah, it was.

It had been about a week since the Storm King was defeated. Everything had returned back to normal and everyone was back to their usual happy selves. Discord, however, had not returned from his vacation yet. You wondered where he OH SHIT!

Your thoughts are broken when you hear a gigantic crash down in the living room, causing the stone head of the Storm King to come off the wall and smash into your face. “Nggg-ghhh...DAMMIT!”

After throwing the head to the side, you rush over to your floor door and very slowly open it. You peer downward to see some sort of fiery pod covered in lava resting on the living room floor. “What the fuck?”

You hold your horn close to your chest as your slowly go down your gravity stairs. The pod was circular in nature, and had a rectangular door on its front. It looked almost like a saiyen space pod. And if somehow that’s what it was, you’d be fucking ready to blast that space monkey to bits.

But, once again, your pop cultural thoughts were a little too over the top as the door bursts forward, detaching from the pod and nearly hitting your face. “Holy shit!” You yelped as you ducked. But some of the lava dripped from the flying door and singed your tail. “GoddGODDWSSFADF” You quickly flick it left and right until you got the burning droplets off. But your poor tail, the top half of the hairs was singed off.

“Ahhhh! Finally!” Said a familiar voice.

Oh goddammit, there he was. No, of course he had to make a ridiculous entrance that scared you half to death. You take a few steps back as the lava began to slowly approach, and then stop as it starts to sink through a hole at the bottom of the pod. “Discord? That you?”

“Indeed it is!” Discord hops out of the pod, dressed in a scorched hawaiian tourist shirt and cap. His body had several burns and boils on it as well. Obviously that pod did him no good in actually protecting him, but it also looked like he didn’t care. “Back from my vacation and…” He takes a look around, then looks at you with a disgruntled frown “Anon, no welcome back party? Seriously?”

WHAT?! “DISCORD! YOU CAUSED A STONE HEAD TO FALL ON MY FUCKING HEAD! AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO MY TAIL!” You hold your tail up to him “IT’S RUINED! MY CUTE TAIL IS RUINED! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE ALLURING TO MY PRINCESS WITH A FUCKING BURNT TAIL!”

“So that’s a no on the party then, well, that’s a shame.” Discord says as he snaps his paws, causing the lava to drain down through the house like a toilet flush. Even the pod goes down with it. “Speaking of which, how did that festival go? Did it crash and burn after Fluttershy’s bird choir show? Ahh, I wish I could have been there for that, but the rest of the festival sounded so dreadful that I’m sure without more of Fluttershy’s soothing songs that everypony went mental and burned Canterlot down.” Discord said with a light chuckle.

You just sigh and slump onto the floor. “You really are an asshole sometimes, y’know? I get hurt, I get burned, BY YOU, and you don’t care. Hell, I bet you don’t even care that Equestria was nearly conquered last week.”

“Well, I of course don’t care for that last part.” Discord picks you up gently and licks his talons. After doing so, he drags the tips through your tail. As he passes by the singed skin, it starts to regrow your tail hair like new. “Equestria is nearly doomed every other month, but Twilight and her friends always find a way to fix things somehow.” He puts you down gently and gives you a head pat. “Come now,Anon, don’t be angry with me. Look!” He makes a small bag appear and reaches inside. He rummages a bit and then pulls out a very round sphere, it was glowing a bunch of crazy dark colors, with blackness being near the center. “I got this for you”

You look to your tail and sigh. It was fixed, he didn’t apologize, but he did fix it. Dammit Anon, you were just spooked, that’s all. He’s just being himself, just let it slide. Well, most of it. If he tries anything else, you’ll use that last charge of yours to just pepper spray him. He’ll never see it coming, the dick.

You then look to the sphere. It did look rather intriguing. “What is it?”

“The remains of the core of a planet that was super condensed by a black hole. Not very useful, but I thought somepony like you would appreciate something like this. I’d say I risked my life for it, but black holes are something even I could conjure if I so willed it.” He holds it closer to you “Here, take it. Once you touch it, it will teleport straight into your dresser for safe keeping. It will also mean that you acknowledge that this is one amazing gift from one amazing Draconequus.”

Dammit, you didn’t really want to give him the satisfaction. But the thing looked like a ominous evil crystal straight out of Diablo. Fiiiiine, whatever, you touch it, causing it to disappear into your dresser. “Ok,ok, I admit, it looks cool. Where did you even go?”

“A collapsing planet near a collapsing star. Not anyplace a pony would want to go. But for me? A true cavalcade of chaos I couldn’t pass up. Oh, Anon, my vacation was truly one of my better ones. I surfed the waves of magma, rode the erupting geysers, skateboarded the GNARLY walls of the planet’s upper crust that were generated through the constant earthquakes, and even did the conga with the every expanding flames of true impending doom! That dance went on for three days, Anon, I was on fire!” Discord said as he did a small jig, right there and then.

A failing planet as a vacation spot? Only he would find enjoyment in something so ridiculous. Though, surfing waves of magma did sound pretty cool, like something out of a video game. “Oh, I’m sure. Oh wait, hold on…” So, did the planet blow up? Was he on it when it blew?! “Ok, did you seriously stay on the planet until it blew up? Because that would actually be really fucking rad. I’ve played a ton of video games and seen a lot of movies that just make it look fucking ridiculous.”

Discord smirked at you as he stretched “Anon, that pod I rode on? It’s launch was generated by the planet’s explosion itself, right into a supernova gone black hole! Had I known you were into something like that, I’d have taken you. I do have a few snapshots if you’re interested.” Discord holds up a small camera and squeezes it like an orange, causing a film reel to ooze out. “Or not…Oh dear, this is a mess”

Awww…”So, did the black hole turn the film to ooze or something? Ugh, that sucks, I really wanted to see it.”

“Oh no, the film was always a bit goopy. It’s just I had my thumb accidently cover the lens on every shot. Silly me…” Discord said with seemingly shocked surprise

...Dammit, now you were annoyed with him again. “Figures, welp, welcome back, Dad. I’m going up stairs now.”

“Wait! I told you what I had done for my vacation!” Discord gave you a pout “Aren’t you going to tell me about what happened?”

You roll your eyes at him “You said you didn’t care.”

“I don’t...except for the parts concerning you and Fluttershy. But since you seem ok, I assume the ponies emerged victorious once again...or maybe.” He looks at you with some fatherly pride “Perhaps you saved the day instead! Ohhh! Now I gotta know. I bet Twilight and the other princesses nearly lost their marbles when they realized their only salvation was the son of chaos! Or would you prefer ‘hero colt’?”

Oh? Heh, you forget sometimes that he does also have a lot of pride in you, especially if it meant showing up Twilight. “Well, it’s a long story, but…”

And so you explained the story, from beginning to end, in your own special sort of detail. When it was over however, you noticed Discord giving you a rather dark look. “Discord? Uhhh...why are you looking at me like that? I thought you’d be happy that I pretty much saved the day, I mean, with help...but mostly me.”

Discord’s eyes started to flare up with horrid flames as he tapped his paw and talons together. His tone however, was low and cold “I am...But the mention of him nearly ending yours and Fluttershy’s life doesn’t sit well with me. No, not at all.”

Wow, you didn’t expect him to react like this. That look, you knew now that if he was around during the whole thing with the Storm King, he would have ended him in seconds the moment he even attempted to hurt you or Fluttershy in any serious manner. “Discord...Can I ask you a question?”

“I would tear the reality from their existence, Anon. They would cease to exist in space, then time, and it would alternate from there. A truly horrific form of chaos I abhor using due to it’s lack of fun... But yes, something I’d use if I ever personally witnessed such a threat for myself.” Discord sighs, and calms himself. “Anon, I apologize. I should have been there for the both of you. But I was just-”

But you interrupt him. Woah, that sounded worse than just killing someone, but at least you knew, that for sure, he wouldn’t truly hesitate to save your life if the situation called for it. It gave you more respect for him then you already did. But your question? It wasn’t anything about that. Rather, it was a classic form of father-son bonding. “Woah! Relax there, big guy. I-I appreciate the sentiment, trust me, I really do. It lets me know that deep down, you really do care about me. But I was just gonna ask that if you’re that bothered by it, then why don’t we reanimate his head, make it invincible, and go play baseball or something. You know, just me and you. I think it’d be fun! Then we can put his head in a jar and stick him in the closet, sound fun?”

Discord snickered, then chortled, then laughed out loud as he stood up and gave you a big hug! “MY BOY! Now that sounds like an absolutely splendid idea! You get the head, I’ll grab the gear, and we’ll both make a grand day out of it!”

Ahhh Discord. He was your true blue pal. A huge asshole, but his heart was in the right place. Besides, being left to rot in a closet sounded more than fitting than being stuck sleeping in stone. Was it an evil thought? Sure. But like Discord, you really didn’t like that evil fuck and felt that the rated Y ending for him was too good for a guy like that. No, as a human, you’d get your petty vengeance over a fun father son outing.

And the future? Well, only time would tell what would be in store for you.

Chapter 5: Tempting Tempest

The beast keeping your cage aloft stepped back to keep you out of view as Tempest approached the Mane 6. But her gaze was fixed on Twilight and Twilight alone. “Well well, the princess at last.”

Twilight looked less than pleased, in fact, aside from her defensive stare. She also looked quited ticked off about something. “Tempest…” She took a moment as she looked upon her friends to make sure they were all in fact, together. Once she was sure, she started to calculate as she spoke. “..You have to stop this. Aren’t you from Equestria too? Don’t you realize what you’re doing?” Twilight tried a diplomatic approach at first. She had to try, she felt no pony would truly willingly give up their homeland. There had to be a reason.

“Save it princess, I only came here for you. Comply and…” Tempest took a moment, it almost felt strange that she did, as if she was thinking of you. “I promise to let your friends go. That’s important to you isn’t it?”

“None of us are going with you” Twilight said as she prepared herself, for what? You had no idea as she seemed to be backing up. The rest of the five seemed pretty rarin’ to go themselves.

“Really? Well, if not for them then how about…” Tempest steps aside, revealing you to the six “For him.”

Ahhhh shit...here we go.

Fluttershy was the first to respond. “ANON! Y-you…” Fluttershy went from shock to pure intense rage as she stepped closer to Tempest, tears welling up in her eyes “H-how could you? He’s only a foal! Let him go, this instant or-”

But Tempest interrupts her, calmly raising her hoof as she speaks “Or what? You’ll fight me? Save him? Save the world? Hmm? No, if you want to save him, then you’ll listen to my offer and take it the first chance you get.”

Tempest also noticed something odd as she spoke. You weren’t, at all, saying a word. If the situation wasn’t so close to her victory, she’d have questioned it. She even lost track of Fluttershy’s angry words for a moment.

For you, it hurt. It hurt so bad to see Fluttershy crying. Twilight was the one to hold her back at this point. As to why you were silent? You were planning, or rather. Already had something planned. There was one advantage, one trump card you had to play to make sure this goes wrong for Tempest. Fluttershy may have come to know your secrets down to you being a human. But Twilight, or rather, all four princesses knew the full truth, that you weren’t even a child, and with that, hopefully, Twilight would remember you could make rational and competent thought…..Most of the time anyway. If Twilight came to understand that you felt you’d be fine being stuck with Tempest, then hopefully, she’d run away before being caught.

“So princess, here’s the deal. Give yourself up and I’ll let him go. It’s that simple. And I’d choose quickly, before your friend there does something stupid.” Tempest says, waiting to give the command to have Twilight thrown into the cage after you’d be let out.

Fluttershy, you noticed, stopped after that. Fluttershy had realized the full gravity of the situation and fell silent. Of course she’d be stunned by the choice that’d have to be made. She just...froze.

Twilight however, was focused. As were you. You were making hoof signs at her. You hoped to fucking god, or Celestia, or to whatever the fuck that with your motions, she’d understand to just get the fuck out of there. Twilight was a smart horse. And given Canterlot and the princesses got royally fucked, you felt she’d make the right decision and NOT choose you over going wherever the fuck she was going.

And with that, you could see Twilight’s horn begin to glow. Here we go.

You notice it before Tempest does. You just look upon the group, and then to Fluttershy before telling her “I’m sorry”. That’s all you could say. You tried to keep your wits about you for that. Because really, you knew Fluttershy was going to suffer now. You’d just hope she’d keep together.

With a blinding flash of light and smoke. Twilight yells to the group to run. There was of course, protest already about at least trying to save you. But Twilight would not hear it. Using her own magic to try to and successfully force them out the window onto the windmill itself.

“WHAT?! NO!” Tempest couldn’t believe it. She rushed towards the window where they had grabbed the windmill. She looks back at her small group and realized it wasn’t enough to simply give chase trying to grab Twilight. But she also knew there was only one way out of Klugetown, and that was back through the desert. That was...unless.

She took notice that there was still one conscious occupant of the room. That anthropomorphic cat, who seemed quite content in just wanting to leave the damn place. She approached him in a threatening manner. “You seemed to have been with them for quite a while. Tell me where they are going.”

This cat, he suddenly tried to act cool and calm, despite the obvious sweat coming off his furry brow. “Oh, them? S-sorry to say, but I haven’t the slightest. You know what I mean? Why would someone like me want to get friendly with a bunch of ponies? Ha ha. I mean, I was gonna sell them off”

Tempest gave him a cruel smile as she walked to his side. Something that had caught her eye was his recently patched up clothes. And a thread and needle on the floor. “Really?” She reaches her hoof over and gives his coat a tug “So none of those ponies had anything to do with this?”

“Er..well..no.” This cat tried to stay cool and calm. “I do my own work, snazzy huh? And…” He looked upon his clothes again. He seemed to be remembering something they had said. Something, that seemed to have touched his heart. He seemed to be conflicted for a moment before letting out “But, if you make it worth my while. I could tell you to where they are possibly maybe probably going.” He gives Tempest a slick smile. Which catches her attention.

“You’ll be handsomely rewarded….if your information is reliable. So then, where are they going?” Tempest asks.

This, this was getting you ticked off. Who was fuck was this cat?! GODDAMMIT! You set it up for them to escape and here he is ruining EVERYTHING!

You were finding it hard to keep your composure. You had to remain calm. You had to remain cool. Think back to your days of Chrysalis. Losing your mind...it just meant more bad things would happen. But oh no, you did feel something, that cat….was gonna die.

The cat slips to a shoddy bookcase and pulls out a map, opening it in front of her and pointing to some odd skull like place. “Well, since you’re being so generous. Let Capper show you the way, which the way by the way, happens to be on this little ole island called Black Skull Island” He then relaxes as he fixes his coat “Don’t worry about the reward. You can mail it to me later. You all have a good day now.”

Tempest nodded with a happy looking grin “Well I appreciate the information. But you see, we don’t exactly have any way of navigating to that island ourselves. So…” She looks to Grubber and one of the guards. She now knew they were going to try to take a ship in some way. Perhaps even stow away in one to get to this island. “Grubber, make sure he’s well accommodated.”

“U-uh. what?” Capper seemed rather confused as Grubber and one of the guards stepped towards him “Hey hey, I don’t think this is a good idea. The open air isn’t good for my fur” He says with a nervous chuckle as he steps back.

Tempest just gives him a short handed reply as her gaze then turns towards you. “Well. that’s too bad.” Tempest then looks to the other guard carrying you around “And you, I need you to step out for a moment. I want to question the colt.”

Grubber then stops, hearing that, he happens to get a little confused. “Er, Tempest. Aren’t we in a hurry?”

“We have the fastest ship in the region. Besides, I’ll be back by the time the airship is ready to go. Just make sure our guest doesn’t have any second thoughts on leaving.”

Grubber salutes “Alright! Ok you, get going! You heard commander Tempest!”

Grubber actually really couldn’t do anything. It was mostly the guard’s work that kept Capper in line as he was lead out to the airship.

But before he walked out, right when that goddamned cat walked near your cage, you whispered “I’m going to gut you and hang your entrails on my fucking walls.”

You could see it. That wicked chill go down his spine as he walked past. He had never heard those kinds of words come from anyone. And given this town, that must really had been hardcore edgy for that subtle reaction.

You and Tempest were now alone. She walked over to your cage, and glared at you. Not with malevolence, but of wanting some sort of acknowledgement “How do you feel?”

You look at her, a little offput and confused “Er...Well, uh.” You just answer frankly, because you really hated Capper “Aside from wanting to skin a cat, I’m alright”.

Tempest immediately stomped her hoof in agitation. For some reason, that answer didn’t sit well with her. “You know what I mean. How does it feel to be abandoned? For those you felt you knew to betray you so easily, you can’t tell me it doesn’t hurt.”

DING DING! You fucking knew it. She’s just like fucking Starlight. Ok ok, maybe, HOPEFULLY this would make things easier. You could do this. You almost felt you were going to deal with someone closer to Chrysalis, but thankfully, it’s closer to someone you actually managed to reform. Perfect.

“Oh, you mean Twilight and the others.” You shrug “Eh, it was to be expected. They do seem to have an important place they are trying to reach.”

And that, for some reason. Set Tempest off even worse. This right here seemed to have triggered some sort of painful memory. Because to her, your reaction made no sense. “OPEN UP YOUR EYES! They don’t know if your life is safe or not and they chose to abandon you anyway. That yellow pony, that was your aunt, I know it! Even she left you. How could you not see that?!”

“Because logically? How safe would we all be if you took Twilight? I know it, and Twilight knows it.I know my friends care about me and I know the call they had to make was a tough one. But it had to be made. I wasn’t abandoned, but you were...weren’t you?” You calmly try to turn this back at her. Obviously the cat was an evil fuck, but this was a pony. Surely she had a soul.

She was silent for a while. It seemed, for that moment, that catching Twilight didn’t mean anything to her. She brought her hoof to her horn, snapped out of her silence, and looked at you with piercing agitation “....How can someone as beloved as you ever understand?”

Go for it Anon! GO! THIS CAN BE IT! “I didn’t used to be. Before I was adopted by my father, my life was nothing but abandonment and hatred. Some of it, yeah, was my fault for being so negative, even when I didn’t have to be. But sometimes life really just...went that way, and I mean in a way that I was almost killed a couple times. Maybe you don’t believe that, maybe you don’t believe my words. But Tempest.” You look at her with acceptance “My eyes are open. Just tell me what happened to you to make you this way. Let me be your friend, ok? You don’t need to do this. C’mon, that Storm King guy is like this guy I know. He’s never going to fix your horn. And do you even need it fixed anyway? C’mon, I meant it. It’s pretty darn cool.”

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. That was enough to start a dialogue. Surely she’d open up to a cute and cuddly colt like yourself. A colt that nearly died? Surely she wouldn’t think a kid like you could bullshit that.

Tempest once again went silent. She was struggling...but then...she walked up to you...and…

And then she began to walk out the door as she called to the guard “Take him and follow me. We don’t have any more time to waste.”

GODDAMMIT! YOU WERE SO DAMN CLOSE!