Shadowed Skiesby Pennington InkwellChaptersTaking OffBurned DownHere's Looking at You, KidTaking Off"That's my airship." Pennington Inkwell didn't notice Tempest's declaration, limping his way to the airship in question as quickly as he could. "That's MY airship!" Tempest repeated herself, trotting to catch up with her new mentor. "That, my dear, is the S.S. Tornado! The New Lunar Republic's newest addition to the fleet!" "That's MY AIRSHIP!" Moonstone turned around on Pennington's back, shrugging her shoulders. "To the victors go the spoils, Tempest. Equestria beat the Storm King, so we got what was left of his fleet! That's kinda how this stuff works." "Princess TWILIGHT and her friends beat the Storm-" Pennington stopped in his tracks, pivoting perfectly on one hoof to spin around and bring them face-to-face in an act of surprising dexterity for a pony in his beaten condition. "Alright, rookie! If I'm going to teach you how to be a field agent, let me inform you of rule number one!" His attempt to intimidate her was slightly undermined by the fact that Tempest was taller than him. "You do not bring up Twilight Sparkle unless I do, first! Got it?" Tempest's eyes narrowed, and she considered challenging him. Even after all the harassment he had given her over the course of her initiation, she still had no idea why Pennington hated Princess Twilight so much. This was obviously a personal grudge that he was taking out on her, but there was little she could do about it at this point other than to grit her teeth and bear it. "Yes... sir." As Pennington turned and began limping his way towards the airship again, Moonstone turned around on his back, giving her an apologetic shrug. Tempest raised an eyebrow and mouthed two words at her friend. What happened? Moonstone shook her head, and Tempest knew what the little wyvern's response would be before she even mouthed her reply. Long story. Those two words had been like a brick wall she had run into over and over again every time she asked a question about the Senior Field Agent. Moonstone had tried to give her explanations for his aggressive behavior now and then, but most of Tempest's questions were simply met with a shrug and a repeated mantra of "It's not my story to tell." "Hey! Rookie!" Pennington called, standing at the doorway into the airship. "You said this used to be yours, right? Tempest sighed, nodding and picking up her pace to catch up to him again. "Yes, this is- WAS... my airship." "Good! Then you can fly it, right?" "Yes, but she requires a full crew in order to fly properly. Even a skeleton crew would require at least twelve ponies to run it." "No worries! She's gotten the full NLR treatment!" Moonstone chirped happily. "A full array of automation spells, a silent, environmentally-friendly moontide engine, and even a crystalline stealth array! She's not the same clunky bucket-of-bolts that carried out into Canterlot like a freight train on a megaphone, she's a warship that'll destroy your opponents before they even know you're there!" She pounded one fist into her hand for emphasis before taking off into the air, flying straight for the upper deck. "Come on, let's get this baby in the air for a test run!" Tempest felt a bemused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. As impressive as all those upgrades sounded, it was far more entertaining to see how excited Moonstone was. She'd gotten so used to Moonstone's stone-faced maturity she'd almost forgotten that the dragon was still very much a child. "Poor girl, she's been going stir-crazy stuck underground in the training facility," Pennington muttered. Despite him thinking it was hidden with his back to her, Tempest undoubtedly caught a smile of pride on his face. "She really needed to see the sky again." Guess he really does have a heart... somewhere in there, deep down. The smile was gone by the time he turned to face her, however, returning to his perpetual terse frown. "There's a situation on Mount Aris that needs to be addressed before we can begin your training in earnest, rookie. I want us there within twenty-four hours." "Well, provided that this 'moontide engine' is as powerful as the old one, that SHOULD... be... possible." Tempest trailed off as he ignored her words, turning and disappearing into the bowels of the ship. "Get us in the air, rookie!" Very, VERY deep down. Despite the fact that she had been left completely on her own, Tempest quickly found that Moonstone had been right: the entire ship could now be run by a single pony, if necessary. It did require several trips down to the lower decks to set certain mechanisms in motion and open up fuel lines, leaving Tempest feeling as though she had just finished a marathon by the time that they had finally begun to rise into the air, but she was admittedly impressed with Equestria's magitech. Once they were in the air, she made her way to the helm, only to hesitate. Somehow, despite all of her efforts to leave her old life behind her, she once again found herself at this helm, the same place she had stood as she had led the Storm King's forces into Canterlot. She could practically see herself only a few short strides away, standing beside a caged Princess Twilight. Face it, Princess. Friendship has failed you, too... Tempest's thoughts were interrupted as a familiar weight came down onto her back. "An awful lot of changes for such a short time, huh?" Moonstone asked, leaning against the back of her neck. "I don't know if I'd even say she's the same ship she was when she came here!" Tempest pondered the words, then smiled, placing her hoof on the steering wheel and taking a tight grip. "Yeah... it's amazing how much can change in a couple weeks." Tempest allowed a yawn to overtake her, spotting the brightening colors of the rising sun in the distance. "Guess we're going to be headed to bed soon, right?" Tempest sighed, making little effort to hide the eagerness in her voice. "Sun's rising, and it looks like the heading-lock still works just as well, so we won't get blown off-course while we sleep." "Eeeeeeeh..." Moonstone sighed, making an uncertain gesture with her hand. "Actually... Penn and I work on a diurnal schedule. We changed for the last couple weeks because we THOUGHT we were just training you for the Night Guard, but since we're all going to be working together in the field, we're going to have to adjust back." Tempest blinked, trying to process the information. "So, you're telling me that... everything I went through to adjust my sleeping schedule at the New Lunar Republic... was for nothing?" "Well, not for NOTHING! I mean, now that you know you can do it, it'll be half as hard the second time!" Moonstone chuckled nervously. "Moonstone?" "Yeah?" "Run." "Yeah, one of these days I'm going to go see that coming..." She muttered before taking off into the air, only barely dodging a halfhearted bolt of magic from Tempest's horn. Tempest leaned against the steering wheel, bracing herself for what was going to be a VERY long day. Tempest stifled yet another yawn as she raised another bite of hay pasta with tomato sauce to her lips. The pantry of the ship, once a wide array of foods to accommodate the Storm King's omnivorous crew, now stocked a fully herbivorous menu for the pony crew that was planned to work on the ship. It was an odd change, Tempest had grown so accustomed to being able to only choose from a small section, and now had almost more options than she could make a decision with. Pennington had declared that they would not be following the traditional Equestrian tradition of eating together, declaring meals "every mare for themselves" before locking himself in his cabin with several packets of instant noodles. They were less than an hour from Mount Aris, now, and it was nearly noon. She felt as if she could barely keep her eyes open. She looked over at her bunk, trying to figure out whether or not she could get away with a short nap without Pennington finding out. Her question was answered as, a few seconds later, the door to her quarters creaked open, Moonstone slipping inside and shutting it behind her. "A bit better than cafeteria food, huh?" She grinned, trying to put on a happy front despite the bags under her eyes. Tempest thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm a lousy cook, I think I preferred the cafeteria." Moonstone's smile faded slightly. "Well, getting to pick out your own bunk's pretty nice! Having our own rooms? This whole ship is all ours! Field work's where it's at, huh?" "It's certainly not making a good impression with having to pull an all-day shift and change my sleeping schedule for the second time." Tempest muttered. "It's just going to take a few days to adjust, you're going to love it!" Moonstone chuckled. "Just remember, Twilight, Quick Strike and I all believe in you! So just hang in there for a few days, it'll get better." Tempest sighed. "You three are giving me a lot to live up to, you know that? It's exhausting." "Heh, well you've already impressed us!" Moonstone chuckled, reaching over and snatching a noodle from Tempest's plate. "Penn, too." Tempest snorted, nearly choking on her food. "HIM? Ha! I'm sure I impressed him with my ability to turn a steering wheel." "No, seriously!" Moonstone gave her a gentle punch on the shoulder. "I mean, do you know who the last person he voluntarily worked with was?" Tempest thought for a moment, then looked at Moonstone expectantly for an answer. "No, I'm seriously asking! Because I don't know!" "What?" Tempest raised an eyebrow. "But what about you? You two seem like you get along pretty well!" "Heh, you'd be surprised." Moonstone rolled her eyes. "The only reason we started working together was because Princess Luna ordered him to! Our first mission ended with him locked in stone, myself captured in a work camp run by a power-crazed unicorn, and both of us having to get rescued by Princess Twilight." She sighed, shaking her head. "Seriously? Guess getting rescued by the Princess of Friendship must have been a pretty big wound to his pride. No wonder he's got a grudge." Moonstone snickered, helping herself to another noodle. "First of all, this was BEFORE Twilight was a princess. Second of all, his pride was a little hurt, but he was mostly just happy to see his girlfriend." "Oh..." In her drowsy state, it took a moment for Tempest to process what she had been told. "WHAT?" Moonstone chuckled as Tempest's jaw dropped. "You mean that he... and the PRINCESS... they were together?" Moonstone nodded, though Tempest could detect a hint of melancholy in her smile. "It was a long time ago. Five years, actually." "So, all of this... drama... everything he's put me through, is because I'm friends with his ex?" Moonstone's expression fell, pulling into a tense frown. "It's... more complicated than that." Tempest raised an eyebrow, feeling her temper beginning to rise. "Okay, seriously, Moonstone? You drop that kind of information on me, then stonewall me behind 'It's complicated!' That's NOT acceptable!" Moonstone sighed, and Tempest could feel her wanting to relent. "Sorry, but you're just going to have to go to Penn for more details. I REALLY shouldn't have told you they used to date, but I feel like you deserved SOMETHING after all this time." Moonstone shrugged again. "But to get back on topic, Penn and I were forced to work together, and it wasn't easy to get used to each other. We didn't work well together until after the changeling invasion of Canterlot, after I helped him through the... aftereffects." "Even Twilight had to force her way into his life, and all of his old colleagues I've met were either childhood friends or fellow students from HIS days as a rookie!" She smiled and rose to her feet, walking towards the door. "What I'm saying is, he's giving you a hard time, but you are the first pony I've seen him ever have ANY interest in working with as a voluntary team." Tempest rose to her hooves, trying to shake off the sleepiness that had settled in from sitting still to eat. "I thought you said you'd have to pull rank on him to force me into this?" Moonstone stopped, giving her a grin. "You'll have to learn something if you're going to work with us. Penn never listens to anyone directly, he's disillusioned with authority figures. If you want him to do something, you've got to make him think it was his idea." Reaching into her scales, Moonstone produced a familiar scroll: it was the letter that had sent her and Pennington both rushing for the airship at the NLR. "Here. Consider this your mission briefing for when we reach Aris." She tossed the scroll to Tempest before slipping out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Tempest looked down, scooping up the scroll in her front hooves and sitting down to read. To Written Word, President and CEO of Front Page Publishing, It my my regretful duty as Chief of Police to inform you that there has been what appears to be a case of arson at your publishing company. At approximately 22:47 on the night of the 23rd, calls came in reporting your printing factory as being ablaze. While emergency services did the best that they could in a swift and efficient manner, there is little left of a building full of paper and binding glue that was set on fire. Ordinarily, this would have been considered an industrial accident. However, come morning, we found the site desecrated and marked with a message. We were informed by your secretary that you will not be returning for at least another week, however we need you to return at the soonest possible opportunity for questioning. Enclosed are several photographs of the scene, including the aforementioned message. I feel as though I should also remind you that your business visa here comes with caveats, and a failure to establish contact within 72 hours will obligate us to legally seize your business assets under suspicion of possible terrorism, and we both know that we don't want it to come to that. Sincerely, Tailwind, MAPD Turning over the first page, Tempest was met with several photographs of a large building that had been reduced to complete ash and rubble. At first, she had to agree that it looked like what she would expect if a publishing company burned down. However, as she moved on, a photograph near the end revealed the truth. A piece of steel stabbed into the ground to stand upright, with a small sack hanging off the end, and more pieces of rubble spelling out a message in front of it. FOUND YOU WE HAD A DEAL NO RETIRING Tempest didn't know why, but the message sent chills down her spine. Whatever this was, it was personal, it was deliberate, and it was coming for her teacher. Color me intrigued, I suppose... Author's Note Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Make sure to go send love and appreciation to PC012, who generously put time and effort into this story's cover art! I casually mentioned having trouble finding good cover art, and they offered to make it without any compensation from me! Seriously, give them all the love. Burned DownPennington looked out over the forward bow, pondering the situation. It was entirely possible that he was walking headfirst into a trap made specifically for him, in fact he was almost certain of it. But with little to no idea of what that trap was supposed to be, he had no choice to but to keep walking. "Brooding again?" Pennington snickered, not needing to turn around to recognize Moonstone's voice. "Come on, let me sulk just a little. I DID just get a letter telling me that the company I spent the last four years of my life building has been reduced to nothing but rubble." Moonstone stepped up beside him, poking her head through the railing and hanging precariously above the open sky. "True... but if I'm honest, I thought about torching the place a few times, myself!" Moonstone chuckled, as if she expected him to laugh along. Penn had to admit that, deep down, a part of him wanted to, if only to make her feel better. "It... just didn't feel like home, you know? Sure, we still went on adventures now and then, but... coming home just for you to wind up stuck in some stuffy office, trying to manage a board meeting?" Pennington raised an eyebrow, wordlessly telling her to explain further. "I dunno, these last few years haven't felt like... us. You know?" Pennington sighed, closing his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that Moonstone was right, his "adventuring" had slowed to a crawl compared to his heydays in Equestria, replaced by the rigors of maintaining his new identity: Written Word, an independent publisher seeking to pioneer the markets outside of Equestria. When he had first devised the plan, it had felt like the best way to both leave Equestria behind him AND start on his new mission: searching for the "Spirit of the Scribe," a mysterious mantle he was supposedly destined to inherit. "I know." Pennington reached over, gently tousling the spines on top of Moonstone's head. "I just... guess I've been in a bit of a holding pattern while I try to get all of this figured out." "Whether or not you're ever going home?" "Whether or not I should try to fight a destiny that was forced onto me by others. Is it right to fight... or spite?" Moonstone fell silent. At the urging of the ghost of his own hero, Quill the Scribe, Penn had forgiven her for her role in what had happened, but even years later, she still seemed not to have forgiven herself. Poor kid. She was the only one involved who didn't know any better, but to this day, she's the one who feels the most guilt for it. "Anyway, we'll be arriving soon, just in time for sunset. We can sleep through the night and address the problem tomorrow." Moonstone nodded quietly before clearing her throat. "You know, you COULD just tell Tempest about-" "We BOTH know it's above her clearance." Moonstone sighed, an exasperated sound that Pennington had heard so many times, he'd almost learned to tune it out completely. "Well, you need to do SOMETHING to show her you trust her, even a little! She thinks you're hard on her because I'm forcing you to bring her along." "Pfft- ha ha HA!" It was the first time in weeks that he had genuinely laughed out loud, and this high in the sky, he felt no shame in letting it ring out loud. "She thinks THIS is hard? She should try spending a week working under the conditions I did when I was training with A. K. Yearling! I mean, at least I'm not making her carry all our supplies on her back! I'm not sending her to do geographical surveying for some mind-numbing and pointless archaeological dig, and I-" Pennington froze, a sudden, familiar chill running down his spine. Without a word, he backed away from the railing and under the protective shadow of the S. S. Tornado's balloon. "What? What is it?" Moonstone quickly joined him, her eyes scanning the sky for any sign of a threat. "Every time I start saying stuff like that, she knows..." Pennington muttered, memories beginning to surface of wing-beatings on the back of his skull and hastily-thrown pith helmets with deadly accuracy. "I don't know HOW, but Miss Yearling KNOWS!" Moonstone stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then rolled her eyes and smirked. "Guess there's some lessons you never quite unlearn, aren't there?" Pennington smiled, feeling a mix of satisfaction and thrilling intimidation. Satisfaction that, deep down, he had never truly forgotten his favorite teacher's most important lessons, and intimidation as he realized that it was HIS turn to pass down lessons of his own and make certain Tempest never forgot them. But the thing is, I RESPECTED Yearling when I started. Tempest just hates me. I guess Moonstone's right, I'm going to have to do SOMETHING to change our dynamic if I want anything I teach her to stick... "Hey, Penn?" "Hm?" "The arson, the note... it's Full Sails, isn't it?" Pennington took a deep breath. For a moment, he considered trying to lie to her to make her feel better, that for once Moonstone might not second-guess him and just blindly accept something. Unfortunately, that was perhaps the only thing in the world he would call "impossible." "Yes. I won't be absolutely certain until we see what's in that sack he left on the scene, but he's the only one who would be this angry if I retired." Moonstone took a deep, shuddering breath, unconsciously digging her claws into the flesh of his foreleg. "Tempest isn't ready for Sails... What are we going to do?" Pennington had been pondering the question for some time, himself. "Lose him if we can, beat him if we have to, and keep Tempest as far from him as possible." He reached over, wrapping his hoof around her shoulders and pulling her close against him. "If I'm going to be her teacher, then it's my job to keep her safe until she graduates. Your job is to keep her on the right path when I can't." Pennington narrowed his eyes, glaring at the looming shadow of Mount Aris, as if he were staring straight into the eyes of his arch rival. My new life here on Aris is going to be the LAST life you take, Sails. You won't lay so much as one primary feather on the ones I'm charged to protect. He didn't hear an answer directly, but he felt it in the air, a whisper in the breeze against his face, a message in the headwinds that were trying to push him back and the whole airship along with him. Four words that Sails had repeated so many times, he could never hear them in another pony's voice. Bring it on, Penny. "Good morning, Tempest!" Tempest barely cracked open her eyes, finding herself staring straight into Moonstone's. Her entire body felt like it was covered in a lead blanket and had ten-pound weights tied to her eyelids. "Morning..." she grumbled, summoning up her strength to throw one hoof upwards and cast off her blanket. The only way she would be able to wake up would be to do so quickly. Without another word, she rolled herself out of her bed and onto her hooves, craning her neck from side to side. "Penn already has us docked up at the top of the mountain, so you don't have to do any piloting today!" Moonstone smiled, trying to mask her own tiredness. Tempest was mildly surprised. When she had gone to bed, she had been fully expecting to be woken up to do the docking, herself. "He went ahead and went ashore to get things sorted out with the local law enforcement, but he DID leave us a to-do list!" Moonstone pulled a scroll out from behind her back. "Oh. Wonderful." Moonstone rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Tempest for a moment before beginning to read. "Step one: Calibrate the Moontide engine fluid. Step two: check for any repairs that need to be made. Step three..." Moonstone hesitated for a moment, then grinned smugly. "What? Does he want me to start mopping the galley, or something like that?" Tempest muttered, making no attempt to hide her bitter tone. "Step three: Come meet me at Harmonizing Heights at 1400. I'll bring lunch." Tempest balked for a moment. That had sounded almost... friendly. From the same pony who had spent the weeks prior constantly talking about her "violent tendencies" and questioning her loyalty because she turned on the Storm King. The same pony whom she'd had to challenge to a grudge match in the arena at the NLR and who kicked her in the head so hard that it knocked her unconscious. There was no way he had just offered to buy her lunch. "You wrote that last one, didn't you?" "Nope! Totally his own initiative!" Moonstone replied, quickly rolling the scroll back up and shoving it into a pocket in her scales. "Come on! If we work together, we should be able to finish with enough time to do some exploring of our own!" Tempest pondered the situation for a moment, coming to a single conclusion: She had NOT slept enough to figure this out. "Moonstone, wait up!" To the outside observer, life on Mount Aris would seem idyllic. Tourists adored the treehouses and the Harmonizing Heights, and many would often come to feel more "in touch" with nature. What most didn't know was that the workplaces and businesses of Aris were resigned to the inside of the mountain, hidden from the light of day and the tourism bureau. This was the area in which Pennington found himself spending most of his time. It wasn't necessarily that the hippogriffs were ashamed or disliked the more industrial parts of their lives, but evolution had gifted them with exceptional sight, fantastic hearing... and a stunningly short attention span, at times. Staying inside to work garnered more focus and productivity when there was no oddly-shaped cloud needing exploring just outside the window. Personally, Pennington didn't mind it one bit: he liked being underground. Being underground always reminded how the earth hummed with energy, and it let him feel as if he were soaking it all in, sustaining and rejuvenating him. That calming energy was the only thing keeping him from panicking as he strode up to what was once his busy publishing house, now a pile of ashes and rubble ringed by yellow police tape. A tall hippogriff in a blue cap and vest with a shining golden badge stood nearby, scribbling down notes. "Officer Tailwind?" Pennington strode up alongside him, offering a hoof to the officer. "Written Word! Good to see you!" The hippogriff gave his hoof a firm shake. "You are JUST the pony I was looking for!" Pennington nodded, turning to face the ruins. "Looks like a real mess. I'd hate to imagine the paperwork." "You aren't going to HAVE to imagine!" another voice replied from above, sounding very annoyed. Knowing the owner, however, that was nothing new. "Your highness-" "Don't you 'your highness' me!" Queen Novo cut him off, pointing an accusatory claw at him. "Do you have ANY idea how DANGEROUS a fire is in a cave? If we weren't all still in the process of moving back in, this could have been an absolute disaster!" "That's why he chose to strike now." Pennington sighed, striding across the police line and beginning to climb to the spot where the message had been left. "This was meant for me and me alone." "I knew it, I KNEW it! I can sense trouble a mile away, and I KNEW you were trouble when you first showed up at our door!" Pennington was glad to be facing away from the queen, the last time she had seen him rolling his eyes, he'd spent the next hour stuck listening to why he needed to respect her in every way, even though she wasn't a "Pretty Princess" like they had in Equestria. "This is the result of a personal vendetta, one that I thought would never find me here. One that shouldn't have been able to find me here." Finally, he reached the top, plucking the sack off of the spike and pulling open the drawstring to peer inside. The results only confirmed his suspicions. "Perhaps if I were able to obtain my supplies domestically, I would have been truly untracible. A proper business license, that citizenship I've been requesting for the past few years?" "Oh, you did not just try to blame this on ME!" Queen Novo replied, flying up and landing beside him to peer over his shoulder. "No, not unless you have a set of matches on you, your highness." "Well, you can't deny that if any hippogriffs had been in here, this could have been a much greater disaster, possibly even fatal with all the chemicals this place released when it burned!" Pennington sighed. "You're right... Absolutely right." Novo was on a roll, now, obviously winding herself up the more she spoke. "When you showed up on our shores asking me to keep your presence here a secret from Equestria, I was willing to play along! But now your secrets are bringing danger to our shores, and I won't stand for that!" "Which is why I'm leaving." Pennington muttered, taking a moment to examine the rubble that had been used to spell out the threatening message. At first, it looked as though the pieces were charred black, but closer inspection revealed that they had each been doused in ink before being laid in their places. This is my own ink. He wanted me to know that he made it inside to steal it BEFORE he lit the place up. I'll have to get a refund from that security enchanter... "Not to mention the fact that you- Wait, what now?" Pennington sighed, turning back to face the Hippogriff Queen. "Your highness, I know that you consider the safety of your subjects to be more than just a job, it is very personal. Your deep concern for them and their safety is one of the reasons I chose to come here when I needed a fresh start. It also places a more-than-generous helping of stress on your shoulders." He bent down on one knee, bowing to her respectfully. "I will not knowingly add to that mountain you already carry. Before I left, I started making arrangements for my departure, and this has served to expedite them. Within the day, my secretary will be transferring all of my holdings in the company to their new owner, along with a considerable donation to the local emergency services. In a matter of hours, Front Page Publishing will be one hundred percent hippogriff-owned and operated." Pennington tried to hide the pain in his voice. He had realized that going back to the NLR would compromise his hidden location, but he had never expected it to outrace him back to Mount Aris, nor for it to be so final as burning his business to the ground. Still, he had flourished in the years prior to the hippogriffs retreating under the sea, and upon their return there had been high demand from readers who had gone too long without the rustling of pages. There would be plenty for the new owner to rebuild with. "So... that's it? You're just running away?" Queen Novo suddenly seemed much more grounded, perhaps even somber. Pennington chuckled lightly under his breath. "Don't tell me you think you're going to MISS our little shouting matches about whether or not I deserved dual citizenship?" "No, it just seems out of character for you." Novo placed a claw on his shoulder, and Pennington knew that the tone of the conversation had changed. THIS was the Queen of the Hippogriffs, the beloved ruler that her subjects were always eager to speak of so kindly. Novo's tone had shifted, from boisterous and confrontational to quiet and concerned. Most visitors to the kingdom who got to meet her assumed that the rough and dismissive attitude she showed at first was the true Queen Novo, but one thing Pennington had learned was that she was far more observant and far more caring than any visitor could ever know. "Whenever storms came to our shores, you would go out and do everything you could. When I told you that you needed to earn your place on our mountain, you ventured into the deepest caves and didn't return until you'd found me something that most of us didn't even believe existed! You always acted like you wanted more than anything to belong here, and when the time came for us all to go into hiding, you fought that, too. You came here running from something, but since you put down roots I've never once seen you back down." Novo tugged on his shoulder, forcing him to turn and look her in the eyes. "Are you in over your head, Inkwell?" Pennington's eyes flicked guiltily over to the message written on the ground, then to the rest of the remains of the building, and finally back to Novo's piercing gaze. Yes. Yes I am. The words bundled up in his throat. I need help and I don't know what to do and now I have a STUDENT to worry about and I know that the person who did this will kill me, then my friends, then destroy everything I ever cared about if he can! The pressure grew and grew at the base of his neck, the words piling up higher and higher as the dam holding them back began to crack beneath the unbelievable weight. Idon'tknowifI'mreadyandwhetherornotI'llevenbethesameponyifIgobackbecauseI'llneverbeabletostop- Pennington took a long, deep breath... and swallowed. "Nothing I haven't handled before, your highness." Novo gave him one last concerned look, then rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, whatever you say! I offered, so my part's done!" She hopped up into the air, gliding back down and landing beside Officer Tailwind. "Make sure all this stuff he's doing is all legal, then help him pack, or whatever. He says he's leaving." With that, she took to the air, making her way out to fresh air and open sky in a matter of seconds. To Pennington's surprise, the knot in his stomach didn't ease as he made his way down the rubble and back across the police tape, instead pulling itself tight and making itself nearly impossible to unwind. Remember what Yearling always told you: listen to your gut... I'm nervous because I'm standing in the middle of a location that is compromised, totally unaware of where my enemy could be. It's normal to be nervous. This is a frightening situation. "Phew, what did you two talk about up there? Looked pretty intense." Pennington sighed, shaking his head. "All I'll say is... I'd rather have Novo than a dozen Equestrian princesses." Tailwind chuckled, giving him a pat on the back. "Come on, buddy. She told me to help you pack, that means I'm off-duty. We can go grab a bite to eat, afterwards!" Pennington smiled, reaching up to pat the griffon on the back. "I appreciate it, friend, but I'm afraid I have a prior obligation for lunch. Next time, though, the salmon's on my tab!" Here's Looking at You, KidAs a filly, Tempest had often heard the phrase "Many hooves makes for light work!" Though it was most often used to trick children into helping one another with chores, she had to admit it even in adulthood it continued to ring true. With Moonstone's help, they had completed the to-do list swiftly and without trouble. Just as she was about to step off of the ship and onto the dock, however, she was snagged by the ear by Moonstone and dragged back on board. "Oh, no! Equestria may have forgiven you, but we can't vouch for the hippogriffs! You need a disguise!" What had followed was another excruciating hour of Moonstone attempting to hide Tempest's true identity with the few materials on board, starting with washing out her hair. Tempest's mane had been unruly even since fillyhood, and she had accepted long ago that she would live her life with her hair nearly always standing on end. She was proven wrong, however, as she looked into the mirror post-shower, seeing her wild locks falling smoothly to either side of her head, finally tamed by gravity. It felt... wrong. However, Moonstone pointed out that it was nearly a full disguise in and of itself, which made it useful. She glanced down at the bottle of conditioner Moonstone had used to tame her unruly locks. "For the Love of Locks," by Calalily Curl? I'll have to find the NLR's supplier to get more of this... When Moonstone approached her with a small, purple item in her hand, however, Tempest drew the line. "I am NOT wearing that." "Okay, first of all, you're going to have to get a LOT more flexible about your appearance if you're going to be a field agent." Moonstone raised an eyebrow and placed her empty hand on her hip. "Second, your broken horn is an easily identifiable characteristic, and right now you need to NOT attract attention!" Tempest took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves and get her thoughts straight in her mind. "Look, I understand. Don't think I'm averse to the idea of it. But right now... ugh." She sat back on her haunches, craning her neck as she tried to find the right words. "I JUST started being able to accept this, to stop thinking about it as being a missing piece of myself! I just- it doesn't- UGH!" Tempest rubbed at her temple as she stumbled over her words. Moonstone's expression softened, and she walked over, taking a seat beside Tempest. "Huh... You know, Penn practically leaped at his first prosthesis. I have to admit, a pony turning one down is definitely a new experience for me." She looked down at the item in her claws, then sighed, shrugged, and placed it carefully into Tempest's saddlebag. "How about a hat?" Tempest chuckled, somewhat relieved Moonstone wasn't going to try to force it on her. "I've been told that I don't look good in them." Moonstone jumped up onto her feet, motioning for Tempest to follow. "Nonsense! As Rarity always says, 'It's all in the presentation!' You just need to be confident in yourself and you could make anything look good!" Tempest chuckled and rose back to her hooves, trailing after Moonstone with a smile. A smile dampened only slightly by the weight in the back of her mind of what laid waiting in her saddlebag: temptation. She had turned down false horns in the past, insisting that she wanted to be whole, not patchworked back together. Now, however, she wondered if wearing a fake horn might be the first step back down familiar paths to reopening old wounds. Paths and wounds she had sworn she'd leave behind her. Harmonizing Heights was all that its name promised and more, a shimmering emerald field of soft grass and mossy knolls, permeated to the very stone by the resonant sound of the wind passing through the hollows of the mountain. Tempest wasn't an immediate fan. It was out in the open, exposed, easily compromised. It made her fidgety. Somehow, her teacher seemed completely at ease in such a place, sitting quietly on a blanket and cheerfully waving to her and Moonstone. Tempest made her way over, taking a seat on the opposite end of the blanket while Pennington levitated over a picnic basket. He quickly reached inside, retrieving two foil-wrapped sandwiches and passing one to her. Tempest eyed the sandwich suspiciously for a moment, only beginning to unwrap hers once Pennington had taken a voracious bite out of his own. While it DID look delicious, Tempest couldn't bring herself to take the first bite. "Something wrong with your food, rookie?" Pennington asked, giving her a raised eyebrow. "I... just have trouble eating when I'm nervous, sir." Tempest forced herself to take a bite. The food was delicious, a juicy grassburger with an unfamiliar sauce. "What have you got to be nervous about, Tempest?" Moonstone asked, reaching into the basket and fetching a third sandwich. "Ooh! Sapphire on rye! She knows just how I like it!" "Well, there's an enemy somewhere close by, close enough to burn down your business and malicious enough to leave a note explicitly threatening you!" She pointed to Pennington, watching him closely to look for a reaction. "And yet we choose to sit out here, totally in the open, completely unprepared for an attack in this secluded area!" Pennington stopped eating, swallowing his mouthful of food with a serene look on his face. "The perpetrator is a familiar enemy, he left a calling card at the scene, and I know a follow-up this soon would be outside of his M.O.. We're leaving Mount Aris as soon as all of my affairs have been set in order, twenty-four hours at the longest. I know the pony who did this, he'll be waiting to see how I react. If I lose my head and act rashly, I'll be playing right into his hooves." He craned his neck back, stretching it from side to side as he admired their surroundings. "We have time, rookie, just enjoy the view! As my teacher used to say: if you can only admire something while you're digging it up, you're going to spend your whole life in the past! Take in the present, you'll never see this place at this time ever again!" Tempest sighed, taking another bite of her sandwich. This is ridiculous. How could he be so naive? This isn't chess, there are no turns! If we don't take action, our enemy will just get the upper hand! Tempest decided against arguing with him, but subtly kept her guard up, paying attention to their surroundings for any kind of threat. Her fears seemed to be vindicated as a shadow fell over their picnic, and Pennington seemed to tense up, obviously making an attempt not to move a muscle. Tempest started to rise up to her hooves, only to be stopped by a gesture from Moonstone, motioning for her to sit down. "It's fine. Pouncing on him makes her feel good." With no more explanation than that, a sky-blue hippogriff dropped down from the sky, landing with all four of her long legs positioned around Pennington and trapping him in a lanky cage. She giggled and leaned down, sitting her chin on top of Pennington's head. "GOTCHA!" Pennington tried to keep it subtle, but Tempest noted him letting out a relieved sigh under his breath. The tense moment having passed, her turned his head upwards, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Hey there, songbird. I missed you." "Aww, I missed you, too, my little cuddlebug!" she cooed, blushing and nuzzling his cheek before placing a kiss of her own, crossing her front legs to lock him in place and pulling him tight against her. Moonstone chuckled and rose to her feet, walking over and casually lifting Tempest's slack jaw back into place. "Hey, Alto!" Moonstone chirped, interrupting the tender moment between the two of them as she leaned up against Tempest's shoulder. "It's been too long!" "Ugh, don't I KNOW it!" The hippogriff groaned, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I'm used to you guys leaving on business trips for a week at MOST, but this time you were gone TWICE that long! And, I mean, wasn't like when- OH, HI!" She finally seemed to snap out of her own chatter-filled world to notice that Tempest was there. "Sorry, I was just so EXCITED to see Pen- oop!" she cut herself off, looking at Pennington for reference. Pennington gave a nod of approval, and she began chattering again. "Okay, so you know what his real name is, too? Good! Well, anyway, my name's Alto Glider, it's so nice to meet you!" She stretched out one of her claws, offering to shake Tempest's hoof. Tempest thought for a moment, then offered her hoof, which Alto shook quite enthusiastically. "Umm... charmed." Tempest muttered, trying to remember what kind of greeting would be appropriate in hippogriff culture. "I'm Te-" "Temper! Tempered Steel!" Pennington cut her off. "She's an old friend from Equestria, with some bad news." "Bad news?" Alto frowned, instinctively pulling Pennington further into her feathers. "Is this about the factory burning down?" "Well, kind of..." Pennington sighed, carefully extracting himself from Alto's legs and turning around to face her. "When I first washed up on these shores, I was running from something... I thought that, if I came here and abandoned my old life, I could escape all of the nasty things I'd dragged up from the depths." He looked down, and Tempest could almost see the weight settling on his shoulders. "But I can't. Equestria found me, and brought all of the awful things that were chasing me with them." "I don't understand... Honeybun, what do you mean?" Alto glanced nervously between Pennington and Tempest. "Alto, they started with my factory, but they're going to start coming for me next. And if they can't get me, they'll come for the things and the people I care about." Pennington sighed, turning away from her. At first, it looked as though he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes, but as he faced Tempest, she noticed him raising his eyebrows, at Moonstone, some kind of secret signal between the two. "Temper and the organization she works for can protect him while he tries to settle the score, but... he'll have to go back to Equestria." Moonstone continued, turning to Tempest and winking, a signal for her to continue the lie. "Y-yes! Mount Aris is... outside our jurisdiction. We have no resources out here, there's nothing we can do to protect him... or you." "Protect ME? Why would I need protecting? Penn, I-" "Because I LOVE you!" Pennington spun around, racing back to her and pressing his face into her chest, tears mingling with feathers. "I love you, and they'll use that to HURT me! Hurt me in ways that will never. STOP!" Pennington's whole body shuddered as a sob racked through his body, and Tempest could hardly believe her eyes. This is the same pony who made life so difficult for me in the NLR? THIS is the same pony who nearly broke my neck in an exhibition match? THIS is my commanding officer? "So... I'm stopping it here and now, before they can do that. I'm not going to let them hurt you just to get at me... I'm going back." "Back? To Equestria?" Alto glanced between the three of them, pondering for a moment before swallowing loudly and making up her mind. "O-okay. You've spent all this time living as a single pony among hippogriffs, it's only fair that I'd be willing to do the same among ponies!" Pennington shook his head, not pulling his face away from her. "That isn't... That won't keep you safe, not truly. There's only one way I can be certain you won't get hurt..." Alto's expression fell, and tears began to well up in her eyes as realization dawned on her face. "No... Penn, no! I'll come with you! I'll do whatever it takes, I want to help! Please, PLEASE!" She reached down, pulling his chin up to meet her gaze. "Don't do this..." Her voice wavered, begging for what they all knew was coming not to happen. It made Tempest sick to her stomach to watch people beg. "Listen, inside of us, we both know that you belong here. The blue skies, the open air, they're part of your work, they're what keeps you going. If that airship leaves and you're on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life." Wait... this sounds familiar... Tempest thought quietly. "But... what about us?" Alto whispered. "Alto, you've made me happier than I've ever been in my life. In a time when the whole world was against me, you were my safe harbor, my only star on a moonless night. I'll never forget that... never forget you. I'll resolve this, once and for all, I promise you. And when I do, I'll come back. When this is all finished, and I can be certain that I won't drag you down into the muck with me, I will come back and we will never have to be apart again. Until then..." I'm certain he was quoting something earlier... Pennington walked up, planting a long, tender kiss on Alto's beak. Finally, he broke off the kiss, running his hoof down her cheek and wiping away her tears. "We'll always have Aris." Understanding dawned on Tempest like a tidal wave. Why that despicable, rotten little... Alto wrapped her arms and wings around Penn, drawing him in closer than ever before in a display that made Tempest want to vomit. Luckily, she was distracted from her nausea by Moonstone tapping on her shoulder and nodding towards the way out of Harmonizing Heights. "If I know these two, they're probably going to be at this for a while..." she whispered. "Come on, let's give them some alone time." Tempest nodded, eager to leave them to their disgusting display. Moonstone hopped up onto her back, and the two of them quickly made their way out of Harmonizing heights and down the path towards the ocean. "I can't believe him..." She muttered. "Quoting an old movie to that girl to manipulate her feelings? Disgusting..." "Casabronco is the first movie they watched together when they started dating." Moonstone sighed. "I would guess that, for Penn, it was a nice break to use someone else's words for once." Glancing up, she gave Tempest a questioning glance. "You really need to give him more credit, that was hard for him, probably the..." She hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. "Fourth hardest thing I've seen him do." Tempest took a deep breath, trying to center her thoughts. Even if he WAS manipulating her, if Tempest had seen that level of manipulation from one of her own soldiers, she would have praised him, even considered a promotion. She couldn't tell if her outrage was from her newfound empathy or... a continuation of her need to find fault in her instructor. "What were the first three?" Moonstone pondered the question for a moment, sucking in air through her teeth. "It's really not my story to tell, but... Turning his back on Equestria, a classified event, and losing his horn. But you didn't hear ANY of that from me!" "I thought you ranked higher than him? Don't tell me you're scared of him!" "I'm not scared of HIM, I'm-" Moonstone cut herself off, shaking her head. "I just don't want to go telling any secrets that could be dangerous for you to know." "Dangerous for me to KNOW? What could be dangerous for me to KNOW?" Tempest craned her neck around to stare at Moonstone. Moonstone shuddered, and Tempest felt her grip tighten. "You would NOT believe some of the things I've seen." "Well, from what you're always saying, I'll have to get used to unbelievable things if I'm going to be a field agent, right? Why not get me started? Tell me a story or two." Tempest tried to sound friendly, ease the tension in the hopes to get more out of her tight-lipped friend. For a moment, it seemed to work, Moonstone's grip relaxing and a satisfied chuckle slipping out under her breath. "I'm not a storyteller, Tempest... but I think I might be able to set you up with one." This is the end of it, huh? My happy days... Pennington was shaking on his hooves, feeling unsteady and weak... and hungry. Glancing down, he examined the blue fur of his legs for any signs of blood. There was a runny, dark-colored substance on his hooves, but he couldn't properly identify it in the semi-darkness of the nighttime street. The whole world was spinning around him, a mess of stars and dark shapes and dim candlelight. I suppose it's only fair... I deserve this... Finally, the imbalance reached a peak and the ground came up to meet him. Pennington didn't fight it, closing his eyes. The streets of Mount Aris was far from the worst place he had ever spent the night. Instead, a strong wing reached out and caught him, spread across his chest to keep his balance. A tongue clicked quietly, tutting with a condescending air. "I knew changelings were capable of getting drunk off of love, but I never thought I'd see you like this, old friend." Pennington weakly craned his head upward, trying to get a better look at his savior. As realization dawned over him, he let his head hang limp again, now out of hopelessness. "You couldn't let me have one... last... hurrah?" The stranger chuckled. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world... you had to walk into hers." "You..." Pennington backed away, shaking his head and trying to gain his faculties. "You... you leave her out of this! Issover! She's got nuuthin' to do with us!" "Oof, slurring your worlds? Stumbling around like the town drunkard? Look how far you've fallen, Inkwell." The stranger tutted again, shaking his head. "You're addicted, aren't you? This... little people life. Don't think I didn't hear you back there!" He raised his wings up to his face, squishing his cheeks into a false smile. "Oooh! Don't worry, I'll come back! I'll come back and we'll never have to be apart again!" He retched for a moment, then spit onto the sidewalk. "By the stars, you should KNOW better! We had a DEAL!" "Well, DO IT, THEN!" Pennington snapped back, stumbling forward on his hooves. He was starting to fully reclaim his senses, now. "Come on, put an end to this, fill your end of the deal!" Walking towards him, there was pain, growing stronger and stronger, radiating off of him like heat. Hatred. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME!" He walked up, slowly reaching back and ramming a fist into Pennington's gut. There was a rush of blood, and the world went dark. The last thing Pennington heard was a whisper in his ear. "I will kill you at your best, and all that is yours... will be mine, by right of conquest. Until then, you're not Pennington Inkwell. You're a pathetic waste of potential. I am going to bring back the REAL Inkwell. And then, I'll kill him." "Here's looking at you, kid." Author's Note So sorry for the delay, everyone. I'm afraid the last couple weeks have been a real trial, I've been rushing from one task to the next, trying to keep things under control. I finally got a little time to rest and breathe, so hopefully I can start getting updates out regularly again!
Taking Off"That's my airship." Pennington Inkwell didn't notice Tempest's declaration, limping his way to the airship in question as quickly as he could. "That's MY airship!" Tempest repeated herself, trotting to catch up with her new mentor. "That, my dear, is the S.S. Tornado! The New Lunar Republic's newest addition to the fleet!" "That's MY AIRSHIP!" Moonstone turned around on Pennington's back, shrugging her shoulders. "To the victors go the spoils, Tempest. Equestria beat the Storm King, so we got what was left of his fleet! That's kinda how this stuff works." "Princess TWILIGHT and her friends beat the Storm-" Pennington stopped in his tracks, pivoting perfectly on one hoof to spin around and bring them face-to-face in an act of surprising dexterity for a pony in his beaten condition. "Alright, rookie! If I'm going to teach you how to be a field agent, let me inform you of rule number one!" His attempt to intimidate her was slightly undermined by the fact that Tempest was taller than him. "You do not bring up Twilight Sparkle unless I do, first! Got it?" Tempest's eyes narrowed, and she considered challenging him. Even after all the harassment he had given her over the course of her initiation, she still had no idea why Pennington hated Princess Twilight so much. This was obviously a personal grudge that he was taking out on her, but there was little she could do about it at this point other than to grit her teeth and bear it. "Yes... sir." As Pennington turned and began limping his way towards the airship again, Moonstone turned around on his back, giving her an apologetic shrug. Tempest raised an eyebrow and mouthed two words at her friend. What happened? Moonstone shook her head, and Tempest knew what the little wyvern's response would be before she even mouthed her reply. Long story. Those two words had been like a brick wall she had run into over and over again every time she asked a question about the Senior Field Agent. Moonstone had tried to give her explanations for his aggressive behavior now and then, but most of Tempest's questions were simply met with a shrug and a repeated mantra of "It's not my story to tell." "Hey! Rookie!" Pennington called, standing at the doorway into the airship. "You said this used to be yours, right? Tempest sighed, nodding and picking up her pace to catch up to him again. "Yes, this is- WAS... my airship." "Good! Then you can fly it, right?" "Yes, but she requires a full crew in order to fly properly. Even a skeleton crew would require at least twelve ponies to run it." "No worries! She's gotten the full NLR treatment!" Moonstone chirped happily. "A full array of automation spells, a silent, environmentally-friendly moontide engine, and even a crystalline stealth array! She's not the same clunky bucket-of-bolts that carried out into Canterlot like a freight train on a megaphone, she's a warship that'll destroy your opponents before they even know you're there!" She pounded one fist into her hand for emphasis before taking off into the air, flying straight for the upper deck. "Come on, let's get this baby in the air for a test run!" Tempest felt a bemused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. As impressive as all those upgrades sounded, it was far more entertaining to see how excited Moonstone was. She'd gotten so used to Moonstone's stone-faced maturity she'd almost forgotten that the dragon was still very much a child. "Poor girl, she's been going stir-crazy stuck underground in the training facility," Pennington muttered. Despite him thinking it was hidden with his back to her, Tempest undoubtedly caught a smile of pride on his face. "She really needed to see the sky again." Guess he really does have a heart... somewhere in there, deep down. The smile was gone by the time he turned to face her, however, returning to his perpetual terse frown. "There's a situation on Mount Aris that needs to be addressed before we can begin your training in earnest, rookie. I want us there within twenty-four hours." "Well, provided that this 'moontide engine' is as powerful as the old one, that SHOULD... be... possible." Tempest trailed off as he ignored her words, turning and disappearing into the bowels of the ship. "Get us in the air, rookie!" Very, VERY deep down. Despite the fact that she had been left completely on her own, Tempest quickly found that Moonstone had been right: the entire ship could now be run by a single pony, if necessary. It did require several trips down to the lower decks to set certain mechanisms in motion and open up fuel lines, leaving Tempest feeling as though she had just finished a marathon by the time that they had finally begun to rise into the air, but she was admittedly impressed with Equestria's magitech. Once they were in the air, she made her way to the helm, only to hesitate. Somehow, despite all of her efforts to leave her old life behind her, she once again found herself at this helm, the same place she had stood as she had led the Storm King's forces into Canterlot. She could practically see herself only a few short strides away, standing beside a caged Princess Twilight. Face it, Princess. Friendship has failed you, too... Tempest's thoughts were interrupted as a familiar weight came down onto her back. "An awful lot of changes for such a short time, huh?" Moonstone asked, leaning against the back of her neck. "I don't know if I'd even say she's the same ship she was when she came here!" Tempest pondered the words, then smiled, placing her hoof on the steering wheel and taking a tight grip. "Yeah... it's amazing how much can change in a couple weeks." Tempest allowed a yawn to overtake her, spotting the brightening colors of the rising sun in the distance. "Guess we're going to be headed to bed soon, right?" Tempest sighed, making little effort to hide the eagerness in her voice. "Sun's rising, and it looks like the heading-lock still works just as well, so we won't get blown off-course while we sleep." "Eeeeeeeh..." Moonstone sighed, making an uncertain gesture with her hand. "Actually... Penn and I work on a diurnal schedule. We changed for the last couple weeks because we THOUGHT we were just training you for the Night Guard, but since we're all going to be working together in the field, we're going to have to adjust back." Tempest blinked, trying to process the information. "So, you're telling me that... everything I went through to adjust my sleeping schedule at the New Lunar Republic... was for nothing?" "Well, not for NOTHING! I mean, now that you know you can do it, it'll be half as hard the second time!" Moonstone chuckled nervously. "Moonstone?" "Yeah?" "Run." "Yeah, one of these days I'm going to go see that coming..." She muttered before taking off into the air, only barely dodging a halfhearted bolt of magic from Tempest's horn. Tempest leaned against the steering wheel, bracing herself for what was going to be a VERY long day. Tempest stifled yet another yawn as she raised another bite of hay pasta with tomato sauce to her lips. The pantry of the ship, once a wide array of foods to accommodate the Storm King's omnivorous crew, now stocked a fully herbivorous menu for the pony crew that was planned to work on the ship. It was an odd change, Tempest had grown so accustomed to being able to only choose from a small section, and now had almost more options than she could make a decision with. Pennington had declared that they would not be following the traditional Equestrian tradition of eating together, declaring meals "every mare for themselves" before locking himself in his cabin with several packets of instant noodles. They were less than an hour from Mount Aris, now, and it was nearly noon. She felt as if she could barely keep her eyes open. She looked over at her bunk, trying to figure out whether or not she could get away with a short nap without Pennington finding out. Her question was answered as, a few seconds later, the door to her quarters creaked open, Moonstone slipping inside and shutting it behind her. "A bit better than cafeteria food, huh?" She grinned, trying to put on a happy front despite the bags under her eyes. Tempest thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm a lousy cook, I think I preferred the cafeteria." Moonstone's smile faded slightly. "Well, getting to pick out your own bunk's pretty nice! Having our own rooms? This whole ship is all ours! Field work's where it's at, huh?" "It's certainly not making a good impression with having to pull an all-day shift and change my sleeping schedule for the second time." Tempest muttered. "It's just going to take a few days to adjust, you're going to love it!" Moonstone chuckled. "Just remember, Twilight, Quick Strike and I all believe in you! So just hang in there for a few days, it'll get better." Tempest sighed. "You three are giving me a lot to live up to, you know that? It's exhausting." "Heh, well you've already impressed us!" Moonstone chuckled, reaching over and snatching a noodle from Tempest's plate. "Penn, too." Tempest snorted, nearly choking on her food. "HIM? Ha! I'm sure I impressed him with my ability to turn a steering wheel." "No, seriously!" Moonstone gave her a gentle punch on the shoulder. "I mean, do you know who the last person he voluntarily worked with was?" Tempest thought for a moment, then looked at Moonstone expectantly for an answer. "No, I'm seriously asking! Because I don't know!" "What?" Tempest raised an eyebrow. "But what about you? You two seem like you get along pretty well!" "Heh, you'd be surprised." Moonstone rolled her eyes. "The only reason we started working together was because Princess Luna ordered him to! Our first mission ended with him locked in stone, myself captured in a work camp run by a power-crazed unicorn, and both of us having to get rescued by Princess Twilight." She sighed, shaking her head. "Seriously? Guess getting rescued by the Princess of Friendship must have been a pretty big wound to his pride. No wonder he's got a grudge." Moonstone snickered, helping herself to another noodle. "First of all, this was BEFORE Twilight was a princess. Second of all, his pride was a little hurt, but he was mostly just happy to see his girlfriend." "Oh..." In her drowsy state, it took a moment for Tempest to process what she had been told. "WHAT?" Moonstone chuckled as Tempest's jaw dropped. "You mean that he... and the PRINCESS... they were together?" Moonstone nodded, though Tempest could detect a hint of melancholy in her smile. "It was a long time ago. Five years, actually." "So, all of this... drama... everything he's put me through, is because I'm friends with his ex?" Moonstone's expression fell, pulling into a tense frown. "It's... more complicated than that." Tempest raised an eyebrow, feeling her temper beginning to rise. "Okay, seriously, Moonstone? You drop that kind of information on me, then stonewall me behind 'It's complicated!' That's NOT acceptable!" Moonstone sighed, and Tempest could feel her wanting to relent. "Sorry, but you're just going to have to go to Penn for more details. I REALLY shouldn't have told you they used to date, but I feel like you deserved SOMETHING after all this time." Moonstone shrugged again. "But to get back on topic, Penn and I were forced to work together, and it wasn't easy to get used to each other. We didn't work well together until after the changeling invasion of Canterlot, after I helped him through the... aftereffects." "Even Twilight had to force her way into his life, and all of his old colleagues I've met were either childhood friends or fellow students from HIS days as a rookie!" She smiled and rose to her feet, walking towards the door. "What I'm saying is, he's giving you a hard time, but you are the first pony I've seen him ever have ANY interest in working with as a voluntary team." Tempest rose to her hooves, trying to shake off the sleepiness that had settled in from sitting still to eat. "I thought you said you'd have to pull rank on him to force me into this?" Moonstone stopped, giving her a grin. "You'll have to learn something if you're going to work with us. Penn never listens to anyone directly, he's disillusioned with authority figures. If you want him to do something, you've got to make him think it was his idea." Reaching into her scales, Moonstone produced a familiar scroll: it was the letter that had sent her and Pennington both rushing for the airship at the NLR. "Here. Consider this your mission briefing for when we reach Aris." She tossed the scroll to Tempest before slipping out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Tempest looked down, scooping up the scroll in her front hooves and sitting down to read. To Written Word, President and CEO of Front Page Publishing, It my my regretful duty as Chief of Police to inform you that there has been what appears to be a case of arson at your publishing company. At approximately 22:47 on the night of the 23rd, calls came in reporting your printing factory as being ablaze. While emergency services did the best that they could in a swift and efficient manner, there is little left of a building full of paper and binding glue that was set on fire. Ordinarily, this would have been considered an industrial accident. However, come morning, we found the site desecrated and marked with a message. We were informed by your secretary that you will not be returning for at least another week, however we need you to return at the soonest possible opportunity for questioning. Enclosed are several photographs of the scene, including the aforementioned message. I feel as though I should also remind you that your business visa here comes with caveats, and a failure to establish contact within 72 hours will obligate us to legally seize your business assets under suspicion of possible terrorism, and we both know that we don't want it to come to that. Sincerely, Tailwind, MAPD Turning over the first page, Tempest was met with several photographs of a large building that had been reduced to complete ash and rubble. At first, she had to agree that it looked like what she would expect if a publishing company burned down. However, as she moved on, a photograph near the end revealed the truth. A piece of steel stabbed into the ground to stand upright, with a small sack hanging off the end, and more pieces of rubble spelling out a message in front of it. FOUND YOU WE HAD A DEAL NO RETIRING Tempest didn't know why, but the message sent chills down her spine. Whatever this was, it was personal, it was deliberate, and it was coming for her teacher. Color me intrigued, I suppose... Author's Note Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Make sure to go send love and appreciation to PC012, who generously put time and effort into this story's cover art! I casually mentioned having trouble finding good cover art, and they offered to make it without any compensation from me! Seriously, give them all the love.
Burned DownPennington looked out over the forward bow, pondering the situation. It was entirely possible that he was walking headfirst into a trap made specifically for him, in fact he was almost certain of it. But with little to no idea of what that trap was supposed to be, he had no choice to but to keep walking. "Brooding again?" Pennington snickered, not needing to turn around to recognize Moonstone's voice. "Come on, let me sulk just a little. I DID just get a letter telling me that the company I spent the last four years of my life building has been reduced to nothing but rubble." Moonstone stepped up beside him, poking her head through the railing and hanging precariously above the open sky. "True... but if I'm honest, I thought about torching the place a few times, myself!" Moonstone chuckled, as if she expected him to laugh along. Penn had to admit that, deep down, a part of him wanted to, if only to make her feel better. "It... just didn't feel like home, you know? Sure, we still went on adventures now and then, but... coming home just for you to wind up stuck in some stuffy office, trying to manage a board meeting?" Pennington raised an eyebrow, wordlessly telling her to explain further. "I dunno, these last few years haven't felt like... us. You know?" Pennington sighed, closing his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that Moonstone was right, his "adventuring" had slowed to a crawl compared to his heydays in Equestria, replaced by the rigors of maintaining his new identity: Written Word, an independent publisher seeking to pioneer the markets outside of Equestria. When he had first devised the plan, it had felt like the best way to both leave Equestria behind him AND start on his new mission: searching for the "Spirit of the Scribe," a mysterious mantle he was supposedly destined to inherit. "I know." Pennington reached over, gently tousling the spines on top of Moonstone's head. "I just... guess I've been in a bit of a holding pattern while I try to get all of this figured out." "Whether or not you're ever going home?" "Whether or not I should try to fight a destiny that was forced onto me by others. Is it right to fight... or spite?" Moonstone fell silent. At the urging of the ghost of his own hero, Quill the Scribe, Penn had forgiven her for her role in what had happened, but even years later, she still seemed not to have forgiven herself. Poor kid. She was the only one involved who didn't know any better, but to this day, she's the one who feels the most guilt for it. "Anyway, we'll be arriving soon, just in time for sunset. We can sleep through the night and address the problem tomorrow." Moonstone nodded quietly before clearing her throat. "You know, you COULD just tell Tempest about-" "We BOTH know it's above her clearance." Moonstone sighed, an exasperated sound that Pennington had heard so many times, he'd almost learned to tune it out completely. "Well, you need to do SOMETHING to show her you trust her, even a little! She thinks you're hard on her because I'm forcing you to bring her along." "Pfft- ha ha HA!" It was the first time in weeks that he had genuinely laughed out loud, and this high in the sky, he felt no shame in letting it ring out loud. "She thinks THIS is hard? She should try spending a week working under the conditions I did when I was training with A. K. Yearling! I mean, at least I'm not making her carry all our supplies on her back! I'm not sending her to do geographical surveying for some mind-numbing and pointless archaeological dig, and I-" Pennington froze, a sudden, familiar chill running down his spine. Without a word, he backed away from the railing and under the protective shadow of the S. S. Tornado's balloon. "What? What is it?" Moonstone quickly joined him, her eyes scanning the sky for any sign of a threat. "Every time I start saying stuff like that, she knows..." Pennington muttered, memories beginning to surface of wing-beatings on the back of his skull and hastily-thrown pith helmets with deadly accuracy. "I don't know HOW, but Miss Yearling KNOWS!" Moonstone stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then rolled her eyes and smirked. "Guess there's some lessons you never quite unlearn, aren't there?" Pennington smiled, feeling a mix of satisfaction and thrilling intimidation. Satisfaction that, deep down, he had never truly forgotten his favorite teacher's most important lessons, and intimidation as he realized that it was HIS turn to pass down lessons of his own and make certain Tempest never forgot them. But the thing is, I RESPECTED Yearling when I started. Tempest just hates me. I guess Moonstone's right, I'm going to have to do SOMETHING to change our dynamic if I want anything I teach her to stick... "Hey, Penn?" "Hm?" "The arson, the note... it's Full Sails, isn't it?" Pennington took a deep breath. For a moment, he considered trying to lie to her to make her feel better, that for once Moonstone might not second-guess him and just blindly accept something. Unfortunately, that was perhaps the only thing in the world he would call "impossible." "Yes. I won't be absolutely certain until we see what's in that sack he left on the scene, but he's the only one who would be this angry if I retired." Moonstone took a deep, shuddering breath, unconsciously digging her claws into the flesh of his foreleg. "Tempest isn't ready for Sails... What are we going to do?" Pennington had been pondering the question for some time, himself. "Lose him if we can, beat him if we have to, and keep Tempest as far from him as possible." He reached over, wrapping his hoof around her shoulders and pulling her close against him. "If I'm going to be her teacher, then it's my job to keep her safe until she graduates. Your job is to keep her on the right path when I can't." Pennington narrowed his eyes, glaring at the looming shadow of Mount Aris, as if he were staring straight into the eyes of his arch rival. My new life here on Aris is going to be the LAST life you take, Sails. You won't lay so much as one primary feather on the ones I'm charged to protect. He didn't hear an answer directly, but he felt it in the air, a whisper in the breeze against his face, a message in the headwinds that were trying to push him back and the whole airship along with him. Four words that Sails had repeated so many times, he could never hear them in another pony's voice. Bring it on, Penny. "Good morning, Tempest!" Tempest barely cracked open her eyes, finding herself staring straight into Moonstone's. Her entire body felt like it was covered in a lead blanket and had ten-pound weights tied to her eyelids. "Morning..." she grumbled, summoning up her strength to throw one hoof upwards and cast off her blanket. The only way she would be able to wake up would be to do so quickly. Without another word, she rolled herself out of her bed and onto her hooves, craning her neck from side to side. "Penn already has us docked up at the top of the mountain, so you don't have to do any piloting today!" Moonstone smiled, trying to mask her own tiredness. Tempest was mildly surprised. When she had gone to bed, she had been fully expecting to be woken up to do the docking, herself. "He went ahead and went ashore to get things sorted out with the local law enforcement, but he DID leave us a to-do list!" Moonstone pulled a scroll out from behind her back. "Oh. Wonderful." Moonstone rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Tempest for a moment before beginning to read. "Step one: Calibrate the Moontide engine fluid. Step two: check for any repairs that need to be made. Step three..." Moonstone hesitated for a moment, then grinned smugly. "What? Does he want me to start mopping the galley, or something like that?" Tempest muttered, making no attempt to hide her bitter tone. "Step three: Come meet me at Harmonizing Heights at 1400. I'll bring lunch." Tempest balked for a moment. That had sounded almost... friendly. From the same pony who had spent the weeks prior constantly talking about her "violent tendencies" and questioning her loyalty because she turned on the Storm King. The same pony whom she'd had to challenge to a grudge match in the arena at the NLR and who kicked her in the head so hard that it knocked her unconscious. There was no way he had just offered to buy her lunch. "You wrote that last one, didn't you?" "Nope! Totally his own initiative!" Moonstone replied, quickly rolling the scroll back up and shoving it into a pocket in her scales. "Come on! If we work together, we should be able to finish with enough time to do some exploring of our own!" Tempest pondered the situation for a moment, coming to a single conclusion: She had NOT slept enough to figure this out. "Moonstone, wait up!" To the outside observer, life on Mount Aris would seem idyllic. Tourists adored the treehouses and the Harmonizing Heights, and many would often come to feel more "in touch" with nature. What most didn't know was that the workplaces and businesses of Aris were resigned to the inside of the mountain, hidden from the light of day and the tourism bureau. This was the area in which Pennington found himself spending most of his time. It wasn't necessarily that the hippogriffs were ashamed or disliked the more industrial parts of their lives, but evolution had gifted them with exceptional sight, fantastic hearing... and a stunningly short attention span, at times. Staying inside to work garnered more focus and productivity when there was no oddly-shaped cloud needing exploring just outside the window. Personally, Pennington didn't mind it one bit: he liked being underground. Being underground always reminded how the earth hummed with energy, and it let him feel as if he were soaking it all in, sustaining and rejuvenating him. That calming energy was the only thing keeping him from panicking as he strode up to what was once his busy publishing house, now a pile of ashes and rubble ringed by yellow police tape. A tall hippogriff in a blue cap and vest with a shining golden badge stood nearby, scribbling down notes. "Officer Tailwind?" Pennington strode up alongside him, offering a hoof to the officer. "Written Word! Good to see you!" The hippogriff gave his hoof a firm shake. "You are JUST the pony I was looking for!" Pennington nodded, turning to face the ruins. "Looks like a real mess. I'd hate to imagine the paperwork." "You aren't going to HAVE to imagine!" another voice replied from above, sounding very annoyed. Knowing the owner, however, that was nothing new. "Your highness-" "Don't you 'your highness' me!" Queen Novo cut him off, pointing an accusatory claw at him. "Do you have ANY idea how DANGEROUS a fire is in a cave? If we weren't all still in the process of moving back in, this could have been an absolute disaster!" "That's why he chose to strike now." Pennington sighed, striding across the police line and beginning to climb to the spot where the message had been left. "This was meant for me and me alone." "I knew it, I KNEW it! I can sense trouble a mile away, and I KNEW you were trouble when you first showed up at our door!" Pennington was glad to be facing away from the queen, the last time she had seen him rolling his eyes, he'd spent the next hour stuck listening to why he needed to respect her in every way, even though she wasn't a "Pretty Princess" like they had in Equestria. "This is the result of a personal vendetta, one that I thought would never find me here. One that shouldn't have been able to find me here." Finally, he reached the top, plucking the sack off of the spike and pulling open the drawstring to peer inside. The results only confirmed his suspicions. "Perhaps if I were able to obtain my supplies domestically, I would have been truly untracible. A proper business license, that citizenship I've been requesting for the past few years?" "Oh, you did not just try to blame this on ME!" Queen Novo replied, flying up and landing beside him to peer over his shoulder. "No, not unless you have a set of matches on you, your highness." "Well, you can't deny that if any hippogriffs had been in here, this could have been a much greater disaster, possibly even fatal with all the chemicals this place released when it burned!" Pennington sighed. "You're right... Absolutely right." Novo was on a roll, now, obviously winding herself up the more she spoke. "When you showed up on our shores asking me to keep your presence here a secret from Equestria, I was willing to play along! But now your secrets are bringing danger to our shores, and I won't stand for that!" "Which is why I'm leaving." Pennington muttered, taking a moment to examine the rubble that had been used to spell out the threatening message. At first, it looked as though the pieces were charred black, but closer inspection revealed that they had each been doused in ink before being laid in their places. This is my own ink. He wanted me to know that he made it inside to steal it BEFORE he lit the place up. I'll have to get a refund from that security enchanter... "Not to mention the fact that you- Wait, what now?" Pennington sighed, turning back to face the Hippogriff Queen. "Your highness, I know that you consider the safety of your subjects to be more than just a job, it is very personal. Your deep concern for them and their safety is one of the reasons I chose to come here when I needed a fresh start. It also places a more-than-generous helping of stress on your shoulders." He bent down on one knee, bowing to her respectfully. "I will not knowingly add to that mountain you already carry. Before I left, I started making arrangements for my departure, and this has served to expedite them. Within the day, my secretary will be transferring all of my holdings in the company to their new owner, along with a considerable donation to the local emergency services. In a matter of hours, Front Page Publishing will be one hundred percent hippogriff-owned and operated." Pennington tried to hide the pain in his voice. He had realized that going back to the NLR would compromise his hidden location, but he had never expected it to outrace him back to Mount Aris, nor for it to be so final as burning his business to the ground. Still, he had flourished in the years prior to the hippogriffs retreating under the sea, and upon their return there had been high demand from readers who had gone too long without the rustling of pages. There would be plenty for the new owner to rebuild with. "So... that's it? You're just running away?" Queen Novo suddenly seemed much more grounded, perhaps even somber. Pennington chuckled lightly under his breath. "Don't tell me you think you're going to MISS our little shouting matches about whether or not I deserved dual citizenship?" "No, it just seems out of character for you." Novo placed a claw on his shoulder, and Pennington knew that the tone of the conversation had changed. THIS was the Queen of the Hippogriffs, the beloved ruler that her subjects were always eager to speak of so kindly. Novo's tone had shifted, from boisterous and confrontational to quiet and concerned. Most visitors to the kingdom who got to meet her assumed that the rough and dismissive attitude she showed at first was the true Queen Novo, but one thing Pennington had learned was that she was far more observant and far more caring than any visitor could ever know. "Whenever storms came to our shores, you would go out and do everything you could. When I told you that you needed to earn your place on our mountain, you ventured into the deepest caves and didn't return until you'd found me something that most of us didn't even believe existed! You always acted like you wanted more than anything to belong here, and when the time came for us all to go into hiding, you fought that, too. You came here running from something, but since you put down roots I've never once seen you back down." Novo tugged on his shoulder, forcing him to turn and look her in the eyes. "Are you in over your head, Inkwell?" Pennington's eyes flicked guiltily over to the message written on the ground, then to the rest of the remains of the building, and finally back to Novo's piercing gaze. Yes. Yes I am. The words bundled up in his throat. I need help and I don't know what to do and now I have a STUDENT to worry about and I know that the person who did this will kill me, then my friends, then destroy everything I ever cared about if he can! The pressure grew and grew at the base of his neck, the words piling up higher and higher as the dam holding them back began to crack beneath the unbelievable weight. Idon'tknowifI'mreadyandwhetherornotI'llevenbethesameponyifIgobackbecauseI'llneverbeabletostop- Pennington took a long, deep breath... and swallowed. "Nothing I haven't handled before, your highness." Novo gave him one last concerned look, then rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, whatever you say! I offered, so my part's done!" She hopped up into the air, gliding back down and landing beside Officer Tailwind. "Make sure all this stuff he's doing is all legal, then help him pack, or whatever. He says he's leaving." With that, she took to the air, making her way out to fresh air and open sky in a matter of seconds. To Pennington's surprise, the knot in his stomach didn't ease as he made his way down the rubble and back across the police tape, instead pulling itself tight and making itself nearly impossible to unwind. Remember what Yearling always told you: listen to your gut... I'm nervous because I'm standing in the middle of a location that is compromised, totally unaware of where my enemy could be. It's normal to be nervous. This is a frightening situation. "Phew, what did you two talk about up there? Looked pretty intense." Pennington sighed, shaking his head. "All I'll say is... I'd rather have Novo than a dozen Equestrian princesses." Tailwind chuckled, giving him a pat on the back. "Come on, buddy. She told me to help you pack, that means I'm off-duty. We can go grab a bite to eat, afterwards!" Pennington smiled, reaching up to pat the griffon on the back. "I appreciate it, friend, but I'm afraid I have a prior obligation for lunch. Next time, though, the salmon's on my tab!"
Here's Looking at You, KidAs a filly, Tempest had often heard the phrase "Many hooves makes for light work!" Though it was most often used to trick children into helping one another with chores, she had to admit it even in adulthood it continued to ring true. With Moonstone's help, they had completed the to-do list swiftly and without trouble. Just as she was about to step off of the ship and onto the dock, however, she was snagged by the ear by Moonstone and dragged back on board. "Oh, no! Equestria may have forgiven you, but we can't vouch for the hippogriffs! You need a disguise!" What had followed was another excruciating hour of Moonstone attempting to hide Tempest's true identity with the few materials on board, starting with washing out her hair. Tempest's mane had been unruly even since fillyhood, and she had accepted long ago that she would live her life with her hair nearly always standing on end. She was proven wrong, however, as she looked into the mirror post-shower, seeing her wild locks falling smoothly to either side of her head, finally tamed by gravity. It felt... wrong. However, Moonstone pointed out that it was nearly a full disguise in and of itself, which made it useful. She glanced down at the bottle of conditioner Moonstone had used to tame her unruly locks. "For the Love of Locks," by Calalily Curl? I'll have to find the NLR's supplier to get more of this... When Moonstone approached her with a small, purple item in her hand, however, Tempest drew the line. "I am NOT wearing that." "Okay, first of all, you're going to have to get a LOT more flexible about your appearance if you're going to be a field agent." Moonstone raised an eyebrow and placed her empty hand on her hip. "Second, your broken horn is an easily identifiable characteristic, and right now you need to NOT attract attention!" Tempest took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves and get her thoughts straight in her mind. "Look, I understand. Don't think I'm averse to the idea of it. But right now... ugh." She sat back on her haunches, craning her neck as she tried to find the right words. "I JUST started being able to accept this, to stop thinking about it as being a missing piece of myself! I just- it doesn't- UGH!" Tempest rubbed at her temple as she stumbled over her words. Moonstone's expression softened, and she walked over, taking a seat beside Tempest. "Huh... You know, Penn practically leaped at his first prosthesis. I have to admit, a pony turning one down is definitely a new experience for me." She looked down at the item in her claws, then sighed, shrugged, and placed it carefully into Tempest's saddlebag. "How about a hat?" Tempest chuckled, somewhat relieved Moonstone wasn't going to try to force it on her. "I've been told that I don't look good in them." Moonstone jumped up onto her feet, motioning for Tempest to follow. "Nonsense! As Rarity always says, 'It's all in the presentation!' You just need to be confident in yourself and you could make anything look good!" Tempest chuckled and rose back to her hooves, trailing after Moonstone with a smile. A smile dampened only slightly by the weight in the back of her mind of what laid waiting in her saddlebag: temptation. She had turned down false horns in the past, insisting that she wanted to be whole, not patchworked back together. Now, however, she wondered if wearing a fake horn might be the first step back down familiar paths to reopening old wounds. Paths and wounds she had sworn she'd leave behind her. Harmonizing Heights was all that its name promised and more, a shimmering emerald field of soft grass and mossy knolls, permeated to the very stone by the resonant sound of the wind passing through the hollows of the mountain. Tempest wasn't an immediate fan. It was out in the open, exposed, easily compromised. It made her fidgety. Somehow, her teacher seemed completely at ease in such a place, sitting quietly on a blanket and cheerfully waving to her and Moonstone. Tempest made her way over, taking a seat on the opposite end of the blanket while Pennington levitated over a picnic basket. He quickly reached inside, retrieving two foil-wrapped sandwiches and passing one to her. Tempest eyed the sandwich suspiciously for a moment, only beginning to unwrap hers once Pennington had taken a voracious bite out of his own. While it DID look delicious, Tempest couldn't bring herself to take the first bite. "Something wrong with your food, rookie?" Pennington asked, giving her a raised eyebrow. "I... just have trouble eating when I'm nervous, sir." Tempest forced herself to take a bite. The food was delicious, a juicy grassburger with an unfamiliar sauce. "What have you got to be nervous about, Tempest?" Moonstone asked, reaching into the basket and fetching a third sandwich. "Ooh! Sapphire on rye! She knows just how I like it!" "Well, there's an enemy somewhere close by, close enough to burn down your business and malicious enough to leave a note explicitly threatening you!" She pointed to Pennington, watching him closely to look for a reaction. "And yet we choose to sit out here, totally in the open, completely unprepared for an attack in this secluded area!" Pennington stopped eating, swallowing his mouthful of food with a serene look on his face. "The perpetrator is a familiar enemy, he left a calling card at the scene, and I know a follow-up this soon would be outside of his M.O.. We're leaving Mount Aris as soon as all of my affairs have been set in order, twenty-four hours at the longest. I know the pony who did this, he'll be waiting to see how I react. If I lose my head and act rashly, I'll be playing right into his hooves." He craned his neck back, stretching it from side to side as he admired their surroundings. "We have time, rookie, just enjoy the view! As my teacher used to say: if you can only admire something while you're digging it up, you're going to spend your whole life in the past! Take in the present, you'll never see this place at this time ever again!" Tempest sighed, taking another bite of her sandwich. This is ridiculous. How could he be so naive? This isn't chess, there are no turns! If we don't take action, our enemy will just get the upper hand! Tempest decided against arguing with him, but subtly kept her guard up, paying attention to their surroundings for any kind of threat. Her fears seemed to be vindicated as a shadow fell over their picnic, and Pennington seemed to tense up, obviously making an attempt not to move a muscle. Tempest started to rise up to her hooves, only to be stopped by a gesture from Moonstone, motioning for her to sit down. "It's fine. Pouncing on him makes her feel good." With no more explanation than that, a sky-blue hippogriff dropped down from the sky, landing with all four of her long legs positioned around Pennington and trapping him in a lanky cage. She giggled and leaned down, sitting her chin on top of Pennington's head. "GOTCHA!" Pennington tried to keep it subtle, but Tempest noted him letting out a relieved sigh under his breath. The tense moment having passed, her turned his head upwards, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Hey there, songbird. I missed you." "Aww, I missed you, too, my little cuddlebug!" she cooed, blushing and nuzzling his cheek before placing a kiss of her own, crossing her front legs to lock him in place and pulling him tight against her. Moonstone chuckled and rose to her feet, walking over and casually lifting Tempest's slack jaw back into place. "Hey, Alto!" Moonstone chirped, interrupting the tender moment between the two of them as she leaned up against Tempest's shoulder. "It's been too long!" "Ugh, don't I KNOW it!" The hippogriff groaned, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I'm used to you guys leaving on business trips for a week at MOST, but this time you were gone TWICE that long! And, I mean, wasn't like when- OH, HI!" She finally seemed to snap out of her own chatter-filled world to notice that Tempest was there. "Sorry, I was just so EXCITED to see Pen- oop!" she cut herself off, looking at Pennington for reference. Pennington gave a nod of approval, and she began chattering again. "Okay, so you know what his real name is, too? Good! Well, anyway, my name's Alto Glider, it's so nice to meet you!" She stretched out one of her claws, offering to shake Tempest's hoof. Tempest thought for a moment, then offered her hoof, which Alto shook quite enthusiastically. "Umm... charmed." Tempest muttered, trying to remember what kind of greeting would be appropriate in hippogriff culture. "I'm Te-" "Temper! Tempered Steel!" Pennington cut her off. "She's an old friend from Equestria, with some bad news." "Bad news?" Alto frowned, instinctively pulling Pennington further into her feathers. "Is this about the factory burning down?" "Well, kind of..." Pennington sighed, carefully extracting himself from Alto's legs and turning around to face her. "When I first washed up on these shores, I was running from something... I thought that, if I came here and abandoned my old life, I could escape all of the nasty things I'd dragged up from the depths." He looked down, and Tempest could almost see the weight settling on his shoulders. "But I can't. Equestria found me, and brought all of the awful things that were chasing me with them." "I don't understand... Honeybun, what do you mean?" Alto glanced nervously between Pennington and Tempest. "Alto, they started with my factory, but they're going to start coming for me next. And if they can't get me, they'll come for the things and the people I care about." Pennington sighed, turning away from her. At first, it looked as though he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes, but as he faced Tempest, she noticed him raising his eyebrows, at Moonstone, some kind of secret signal between the two. "Temper and the organization she works for can protect him while he tries to settle the score, but... he'll have to go back to Equestria." Moonstone continued, turning to Tempest and winking, a signal for her to continue the lie. "Y-yes! Mount Aris is... outside our jurisdiction. We have no resources out here, there's nothing we can do to protect him... or you." "Protect ME? Why would I need protecting? Penn, I-" "Because I LOVE you!" Pennington spun around, racing back to her and pressing his face into her chest, tears mingling with feathers. "I love you, and they'll use that to HURT me! Hurt me in ways that will never. STOP!" Pennington's whole body shuddered as a sob racked through his body, and Tempest could hardly believe her eyes. This is the same pony who made life so difficult for me in the NLR? THIS is the same pony who nearly broke my neck in an exhibition match? THIS is my commanding officer? "So... I'm stopping it here and now, before they can do that. I'm not going to let them hurt you just to get at me... I'm going back." "Back? To Equestria?" Alto glanced between the three of them, pondering for a moment before swallowing loudly and making up her mind. "O-okay. You've spent all this time living as a single pony among hippogriffs, it's only fair that I'd be willing to do the same among ponies!" Pennington shook his head, not pulling his face away from her. "That isn't... That won't keep you safe, not truly. There's only one way I can be certain you won't get hurt..." Alto's expression fell, and tears began to well up in her eyes as realization dawned on her face. "No... Penn, no! I'll come with you! I'll do whatever it takes, I want to help! Please, PLEASE!" She reached down, pulling his chin up to meet her gaze. "Don't do this..." Her voice wavered, begging for what they all knew was coming not to happen. It made Tempest sick to her stomach to watch people beg. "Listen, inside of us, we both know that you belong here. The blue skies, the open air, they're part of your work, they're what keeps you going. If that airship leaves and you're on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life." Wait... this sounds familiar... Tempest thought quietly. "But... what about us?" Alto whispered. "Alto, you've made me happier than I've ever been in my life. In a time when the whole world was against me, you were my safe harbor, my only star on a moonless night. I'll never forget that... never forget you. I'll resolve this, once and for all, I promise you. And when I do, I'll come back. When this is all finished, and I can be certain that I won't drag you down into the muck with me, I will come back and we will never have to be apart again. Until then..." I'm certain he was quoting something earlier... Pennington walked up, planting a long, tender kiss on Alto's beak. Finally, he broke off the kiss, running his hoof down her cheek and wiping away her tears. "We'll always have Aris." Understanding dawned on Tempest like a tidal wave. Why that despicable, rotten little... Alto wrapped her arms and wings around Penn, drawing him in closer than ever before in a display that made Tempest want to vomit. Luckily, she was distracted from her nausea by Moonstone tapping on her shoulder and nodding towards the way out of Harmonizing Heights. "If I know these two, they're probably going to be at this for a while..." she whispered. "Come on, let's give them some alone time." Tempest nodded, eager to leave them to their disgusting display. Moonstone hopped up onto her back, and the two of them quickly made their way out of Harmonizing heights and down the path towards the ocean. "I can't believe him..." She muttered. "Quoting an old movie to that girl to manipulate her feelings? Disgusting..." "Casabronco is the first movie they watched together when they started dating." Moonstone sighed. "I would guess that, for Penn, it was a nice break to use someone else's words for once." Glancing up, she gave Tempest a questioning glance. "You really need to give him more credit, that was hard for him, probably the..." She hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. "Fourth hardest thing I've seen him do." Tempest took a deep breath, trying to center her thoughts. Even if he WAS manipulating her, if Tempest had seen that level of manipulation from one of her own soldiers, she would have praised him, even considered a promotion. She couldn't tell if her outrage was from her newfound empathy or... a continuation of her need to find fault in her instructor. "What were the first three?" Moonstone pondered the question for a moment, sucking in air through her teeth. "It's really not my story to tell, but... Turning his back on Equestria, a classified event, and losing his horn. But you didn't hear ANY of that from me!" "I thought you ranked higher than him? Don't tell me you're scared of him!" "I'm not scared of HIM, I'm-" Moonstone cut herself off, shaking her head. "I just don't want to go telling any secrets that could be dangerous for you to know." "Dangerous for me to KNOW? What could be dangerous for me to KNOW?" Tempest craned her neck around to stare at Moonstone. Moonstone shuddered, and Tempest felt her grip tighten. "You would NOT believe some of the things I've seen." "Well, from what you're always saying, I'll have to get used to unbelievable things if I'm going to be a field agent, right? Why not get me started? Tell me a story or two." Tempest tried to sound friendly, ease the tension in the hopes to get more out of her tight-lipped friend. For a moment, it seemed to work, Moonstone's grip relaxing and a satisfied chuckle slipping out under her breath. "I'm not a storyteller, Tempest... but I think I might be able to set you up with one." This is the end of it, huh? My happy days... Pennington was shaking on his hooves, feeling unsteady and weak... and hungry. Glancing down, he examined the blue fur of his legs for any signs of blood. There was a runny, dark-colored substance on his hooves, but he couldn't properly identify it in the semi-darkness of the nighttime street. The whole world was spinning around him, a mess of stars and dark shapes and dim candlelight. I suppose it's only fair... I deserve this... Finally, the imbalance reached a peak and the ground came up to meet him. Pennington didn't fight it, closing his eyes. The streets of Mount Aris was far from the worst place he had ever spent the night. Instead, a strong wing reached out and caught him, spread across his chest to keep his balance. A tongue clicked quietly, tutting with a condescending air. "I knew changelings were capable of getting drunk off of love, but I never thought I'd see you like this, old friend." Pennington weakly craned his head upward, trying to get a better look at his savior. As realization dawned over him, he let his head hang limp again, now out of hopelessness. "You couldn't let me have one... last... hurrah?" The stranger chuckled. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world... you had to walk into hers." "You..." Pennington backed away, shaking his head and trying to gain his faculties. "You... you leave her out of this! Issover! She's got nuuthin' to do with us!" "Oof, slurring your worlds? Stumbling around like the town drunkard? Look how far you've fallen, Inkwell." The stranger tutted again, shaking his head. "You're addicted, aren't you? This... little people life. Don't think I didn't hear you back there!" He raised his wings up to his face, squishing his cheeks into a false smile. "Oooh! Don't worry, I'll come back! I'll come back and we'll never have to be apart again!" He retched for a moment, then spit onto the sidewalk. "By the stars, you should KNOW better! We had a DEAL!" "Well, DO IT, THEN!" Pennington snapped back, stumbling forward on his hooves. He was starting to fully reclaim his senses, now. "Come on, put an end to this, fill your end of the deal!" Walking towards him, there was pain, growing stronger and stronger, radiating off of him like heat. Hatred. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME!" He walked up, slowly reaching back and ramming a fist into Pennington's gut. There was a rush of blood, and the world went dark. The last thing Pennington heard was a whisper in his ear. "I will kill you at your best, and all that is yours... will be mine, by right of conquest. Until then, you're not Pennington Inkwell. You're a pathetic waste of potential. I am going to bring back the REAL Inkwell. And then, I'll kill him." "Here's looking at you, kid." Author's Note So sorry for the delay, everyone. I'm afraid the last couple weeks have been a real trial, I've been rushing from one task to the next, trying to keep things under control. I finally got a little time to rest and breathe, so hopefully I can start getting updates out regularly again!
