John eyed Tempest warily as she glared daggers into him.

"What?" He asked, after a moment of hesitation.

"You were going to have me executed!" Tempest spat.

"Why are you suddenly so surprised at that?" John questioned.

Tempest balked, "What the buck do you mean!? You told me that you saved my life when you cut the rope! You were the one who put me in that noose in the first bucking place!" She screamed.

John was slightly taken aback at her volume. He held his hands out placatingly as he tried to calm the furious unicorn, "It was a decision that I came to regret making within a day. I didn't want-" He tried to explain, only for Tempest to cut him off.

"Oh don't even try to act like you didn't want to! You had no problem killing me before the Princess intervened, and you clearly had no problem killing me after! Why don't you just bucking do it then! Just get it over with!" She snarled, limping over toward John.

"Tempest, I don't want to hurt you." John asserted, as the angry mare closed the distance between them.

"What!? Why can't you now!? What the buck changed from then to now? What do you bucking want from me!?" Tempest shouted, rearing up on her hind legs and aggressively pressing her good hoof against his chest.

Even on her hind legs, Tempest still stood two heads shorter than the human, and had to crane her neck back to look him in the eyes. John instinctively grabbed her hoof with his left hand, while his right migrated to the pistol still concealed in his waistline. For a few heavy moments, the human and pony simply glared into each other's eyes, neither willing to back down as Tempest breathed heavily through her nostrils and the atmosphere around them grew more tense.

"You tried to kill me... spared me, then sentenced me to die anyway. Next thing I know, you save me from the execution that you ordered, only to drag me out on a mission that I already told you the details of during my interrogation. Why the buck are you doing this? What do you want from me?" Tempest demanded, through grit teeth.

John stared down into her turquoise eyes. A fire burned behind that piercing gaze, forcing him to choose his words slowly, and deliberately. As the seconds ticked by, Tempest grew more and more impatient, and gripped his shirt with her hoof in an effort to appear more intimidating.

"I was given a vision." John finally answered, after quite some time.

Tempest's scowl lifted slightly, only to be replaced by a frown of confusion, "A vision?" She deadpanned.

"Yes. A vision from Harmony." John answered.

"You've got to be bucking kidding me," Tempest rolled her eyes, "The Harmony thing again?"

John nodded, "Like I said, it's more real than you realize.

"Oh buck off with Harmony! You can take that crap and go to Tartarus with it. What the buck does your 'vision' even have to do with me!?" She demanded, regaining her volume and anger within milliseconds.

"You're important in helping me kill the Storm King." John answered, plainly.

"How!? How the buck am I important!? I'm just a bucking nopony with a broken horn!" Tempest screamed, tears clawing their way out of her eyes as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

John didn't respond, he simply stared back into Tempest's watery eyes, a simple look of concern on his face. A moment of silence passed, before Tempest finally broke her gaze and squeezed her eyes shut as she hung her head low.

"I'm nothing..." She whispered, so quiet that John could barely hear it.

Another moment passed in silence, and in that time a thousand thoughts went through John's mind. His jaw worked up and down but no words came out. He stared at the mare still held in his grasp, her sniffling registering on his ears over and over as he tried to think of how to comfort the distraught mare. Eventually, his gaze was pulled down to his grip on her foreleg, finding that the soft fur and muscular structure of her limb felt strangely warm, and soft.

John quickly shook his head clear and released his grip on her hoof, allowing Tempest to drop back down to the floor once more. Once on all fours, she slowly turned away from him and sluggishly made her way to the bathroom. John struggled to compose any kind of words to say to the broken unicorn, finding that for the first time in a very long time for the assassin, he was coming up empty.

Without another word, Tempest entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, ensuring to lock it before sitting on her haunches and leaning back against the doorframe. She let out a shaky sigh before wiping some of the tears from her eyes and cheeks. Her lower lip trembled as she sniffled and took sobering breaths. After a few moments, she heard John's footsteps on the hardwood floor of the bedroom. He slowly approached the bathroom until only the door stood between them.

John reached his hand up to knock on the door, but paused just before his knuckles could make contact. He rolled his tongue in his mouth as he thought over what to say, his mind once again coming up blank.

On the other side of the door, Tempest silently prayed for him to just leave her alone and go somewhere else for a while. Eventually, her wish was thankfully granted, and John's footsteps reached her ears as he turned and sluggishly walked away from the door to go sit on his mattress. Tempest let out a thankful, yet nearly inaudible sigh as she gently thudded her head against the door.

Time passed by like an eternity as the tense air hung over both man and pony like a blanket of smog. After some time, Tempest managed to get control over her emotions and take the bathroom interior into view. The floor and ceiling matched each other, both being a plain white with porcelain tiles. Her gaze slowly transversed over one-pony shower to the window looking out over the town below, then over to the plain white sink on the opposite side of the room. She paused, her eyes darting back to the window and the fact that there were no latches or locks on the window in question.

With the speed and silence of a glacier, Tempest rose to her hooves. She gingerly crutched her way across the bathroom, ensuring to make as little noise as physically possible on the porcelain tiles with her hooves. After nearly a minute, she reached the window and inspected it. Confirming her suspicions from before, she found no locks of any kind on the frame, and with an experimental push, she attempted to open the window. It almost effortlessly slid upward, allowing the cool nighttime air from outside to flow into the bathroom.

Almost out of instinct, Tempest looked back over her wither to the bathroom door, fully expecting John to burst through the wooden frame and break her other foreleg for even considering what she was considering. She licked her suddenly dry lips as the seconds ticked by, yet John never came. The door never opened, and the only thing that moved in that perfectly still room was the fur on her cheek as a small gust of wind blew in through the slightly ajar window.

Tempest gently pushed the window further up in its track, opening it fully and allowing her unrestricted access to the outside world. The frame of the window was just large enough for her to crawl through, even with her casted foreleg. Albeit hesitantly, she peaked out through the open window and looked out over the townscape, finding that with the sun now fully behind the horizon, the nighttime sky loomed over Hoofenfield. She couldn't see any ponies on the street, giving further credit to the idea floating around in her head.

Tempest took just a few more seconds to decide for sure. She thought over her own predicament, as well as John's involvement in her current state, and a deep frown slowly wormed its way onto her face. With her mind concluded, she crawled through the open window, ensuring to make as little noise as possible to avoid alerting the human to her escape. She carefully maneuvered her broken foreleg through the window before ducking her head down and out as well. Her good foreleg soon followed, leaving her halfway stuck in the window before she grabbed the windowsill and slowly rolled forward.

With smoothness and grace that she struggled to maintain, given her broken appendage, she flipped forward, while maintaining her hold on the windowsill with her good hoof. Suppressing a grunt, she took stock of her surroundings once more, finding that the streets were still clear and no ponies noticed her escape. Once she was certain that she wouldn't be alerting the neighborhood, she dropped down to the ground below with a thud. She managed to not land on her broken foreleg, allowing her good limbs to take the entirety of the impact.

With nary a sound, she limped forward, only to realize that she left her crutch back up in the bathroom.

"Buck." She muttered, under her breath.

Tempest continued to limp along the outside of the Inn, her eyes glancing back and forth for any signs of other ponies or John. She eventually reached the edge of the structure and peaked out into the street. After a moment, she found the taxi carriage they'd rode in on, still sitting where they left it on the side of the road. The taxi pony was sleeping soundly on the top of the carriage under the starry night sky. Setting her brow in determination, Tempest sluggishly made her way across the street, while swiveling her head back and forth in search for any prying eyes.

That carriage should be within a hundred hooves... Tempest thought to herself.

With glacial speed, she limped her way across the street toward the carriage. Eventually, she reached the vehicle and knocked on the side fender with her good hoof. The noise started the stallion awake, and he pushed himself up to a seated position while rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Ugh... what the?" He muttered, only for Tempest to clear her throat and gain his attention.

The stallion looked down at the mulberry mare with a lopsided frown, "Uh... can I help you, miss?" He asked, somewhat groggily.

"I need to leave. Can you take me to the Macintosh Mountains." Tempest quietly explained, quickly glancing over her wither to see if there were any prying eyes.

"Macintosh Mountains? Lady, do you know what time it is? I just took you and mister Smith here an hour or so ago. I'm beat." The stallion replied.

"Please? It's very urgent that I get there tonight." Tempest pleaded, not so subtly looking over her wither once more.

The stallion slowly shook his head as he rose to his hooves, "Listen, I'm not a train. I need to rest after pulling a taxi all day. Unless you've got enough bits on you for me to take a week off work after this, I ain't doing it." He replied, firmly.

Tempest let out an exasperated sigh, "I don't have any bits on me, but I can pay you once we get there."

The stallion sat on his haunches and looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "And just what will you be paying me with? I don't take ponies at their word, I need to see proof of coin, so to speak." He fired back.

Tempest bit her lip and looked away. She took a few moments to rummage through her thoughts to see if there was something, anything useful she could think of as a way to pay the stallion, but quickly came up empty. Any coin she'd procured over the last two decades was spent almost immediately, and any valuables were sold off or traded. Eventually, and with a heavy sigh of resignation, she looked up to the stallion once more.

"What do you want? I don't have any bits." She admitted.

The stallion scratched his chin in thought for a few moments as he looked down at Tempest. He eyed her carefully, almost as if he were appraising her. The look sent a chill down her spine almost immediately, but she held her ground, lest her only chance at escape slip out of her hooves. Finally, the stallion gave a small nod, apparently having made up his mind.

"Well, you are a pretty attractive mare... and it does get pretty lonely being a taxi pony sometimes..." He trailed off, implicatively.

It only took a moment for Tempest to digest his insinuation, and she immediately recoiled with disgust, "Are you bucking kidding me!?" She shouted, infinitely louder than she meant to.

The stallion held his hooves up placatingly, "Woah, woah, I was just-" He began, swiftly being cut off by the fuming unicorn below him.

"What the buck is wrong with you!? You think I'm some kind of whorse? I'm not bucking you for a ride you creep!" Tempest indignantly screamed, ignorant of the many lights flicking on in the houses nearby.

The stallion fearfully looked back and forth at all the lights turning on and ponies stepping out to see all the commotion at such a late hour, "Just calm down-" He tried to speak, only for Tempest to shout over him once more.

"I need your help and the only way you'll even consider helping me is if I let you buck me!? You're disgusting!" She seethed.

In her fury, Tempest quickly whipped her head back, incidentally throwing her hood off of her head and exposing her broken horn, scar, and very recognizable mohawk to the ponies now surrounding her. A resounding gasp filled the air from the ponies around her, followed by utter silence. For a few pregnant moments, the only sound to fill the air was the sound of her heavy breathing after her tirade. Her nostrils flared as she grit her teeth and scowled up at the stallion responsible for her anger.

Eventually, however, she realized that the stallion was no longer attempting to calm her down, instead, he wore a look of pure terror. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead, before he finally found his voice once more.

"T-tem.." He whispered, his teeth nearly chattering in fear.

A cool breeze quickly blew through the air, sending a chill down her neck. It was enough of a shock to break her from her death glare and return her mind to the situation around her. A pit formed in her stomach almost instantly as the realization that her hood was no longer hiding her identity, filled her mind. She slowly looked down from the stallion and to the ponies surrounding her. She saw faces filled with rage, disgust, fear, but most of all, hatred.

Her jaw fell open slightly, but words failed her. Horns illuminated around her with malicious intent, wings flared defensively, and hooves scraped at the dirt in clear signs of aggression. With a sudden dryness in her throat, she stumbled back a step from the carriage, her strength fleeing her in an instant. She didn't even see the first hoof before it slammed into her cheek.

John rubbed his temples with his thumbs as he thought over the night's events. He felt an undeniable guilt in his chest for the situation he created, but as he glanced up at the bathroom door, seeing that it was still closed and locked, he let out a quiet sigh. He slowly sat upright, before getting to his feet. He walked around the plain room, finding that the flowery wallpaper reminded him of his own bedroom from his childhood.

With a wistful sigh for a time long since past, John turned away from the wallpaper and gradually made his way over to the bathroom door. As he reached for the doorknob, he paused, his fingers just a few scant inches from the knob. This could've been the fourth time he'd found himself in this position since the fight, and just like every time before, he found himself thinking over what she'd said.

I'm just a bucking nopony with a broken horn!

I'm nothing...

John thought back to the many fights throughout his life, and the many close calls he'd endured. Assassinations that went so smoothly that he was able to get back home and get a full night's rest, along with firefights that lasted days, flashed though his mind. Throughout his time on Equestria, he couldn't recall a time where he genuinely felt like his life was in danger. At least, not in the same sense when compared to his fights back home.

He struggled to think of a fight he'd fought in Equestria that left him struggling for breath, bleeding profusely, or even scared of the prospect of losing his life. However, he found himself coming up empty over and over. The thought of repeated failure was an alien one to him, yet he felt his heart reaching out in sympathy for the broken mare all the same.

What is it about this mare? Why do I care? He thought to himself, his brow furrowing deeply in thought.

As per the last few times, his mind drew a blank at that question as well, leaving him simply standing at the bathroom door, his hand just a few inches from the knob. Rolling his tongue in his mouth, John forced himself to reach forward, having grown weary of the constant struggle in his mind. His fingers finally coiled around the doorknob, gripping it tightly, before he attempted to twist. The brass knob refused to give, forcing a quiet sigh through his nostrils.

He let go of the clearly locked knob and gently leaned forward until he rested his forehead against the door. A few moments passed in silence, the air around him growing heavier and heavier.

"Tempest..." John said, receiving no answer.

"Listen, I get that you're angry... you're right to be. I don't think I'd be any better in your situation, myself... I just need you to know that I am sorry for making that call. I didn't think that you deserved a second chance... but that was hypocritical of me..." John trailed off, listening for any response through the door.

After a few more moments of silence, and no response to speak of, John took a breath and continued, "The truth is, when Harmony reached out to me... I was on the brink of death, myself. I was surrounded, over two dozen guns pointed at me and no way out. I've done some bad things in my life and more than once... innocent people died. I deserved to die that day but Harmony gave me a second chance... and I'm sorry... I should have given you the same." He finished, his eyes downcast and his posture slumped slightly.

Once again, he received no answer, prompting a sad sigh from the tall man as he slowly stood back up to his full height. Seconds passed in silence, and yet, still no response reached his ears through the door. Eventually, John sluggishly turned around and made his way back to his bed. He just reached the edge of the bed, before his watch illuminated in a bright purple light, accompanied by a harsh buzzing alarm that instantly snatched his attention. John looked down to his watch, and then back to the bathroom door.

Without a second of hesitation, he sprinted over to the bathroom and kicked the door open, splintering the wood and breaking the lock in the process. He was immediately greeted by an open window and an empty bathroom. John rushed over to the window and looked outside, toward the street. He saw firelight illuminating the houses lining the street, along with several ponies galloping toward the source of the light. Cheering and shouting quickly reached his ears, although he couldn't see the source of the noise and light from his side of the house.

Looking down to his watch once more and finding the brilliant purple light still visible, John turned around and ran to his bed. He grabbed his duffle bag off of the sheets and opened it, before reaching in and grabbing his Benelli M4 shotgun. He hastily ejected the shell in the chamber and unloaded the weapon, ensuring to pocket the red shells in his right pocket. Once that was done, he swiftly reached into the duffle bag once more and grabbed a box of yellow shells. He loaded the shotgun as fast as he could and pocketed the rest of the shells in his left pocket.

With that finished, he quickly opened the door and sprinted to the staircase. He rushed down the stairs and bolted through the main lobby and out into the street. As soon as he was outside, he looked over to the source of the light and shouting, finding a blazing pyre right beside a mob of townsponies. All of their anger and rage was focused on one figure standing on a raised platform, her ruby red mohawk easily visible from across the town. She was tied to a pillar, and the ponies around her appeared to be pouring some kind of liquid all over the platform she was tied to.

John instantly sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him toward the sight. He rushed past the straggling ponies still trying to make it in time to witness the spectacle that held their town's interest. He blew past house after house as he sprinted through the single lane leading to the mayor's house, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

John made his way across the town within thirty seconds, and came to a skidding halt just before the crowd of ponies and the pyre. His eyes were drawn up to Tempest, and the fresh bruises and cuts all over her body. One eye was almost swollen shut, and a deep purple, while her cast had noticeable cracks all along its frame. She barely looked awake from his vantage point, but he could just make out her one good eye as it sluggishly scanned the crowd, tears slowly streaking down her cheek.

She almost didn't notice him, however, after taking a moment to take him in, Tempest's eye widened in recognition. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out to John, the mayor stepped in front of her and addressed the human, himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8wM3IZnl-4

"Mister Smith! There you are!" Malt announced, turning the crowd's attention toward the human standing behind them.

John locked eyes with Tempest for a few pregnant seconds of silence, before slowly looking over to the mayor pony beside her, "Malt, let her go." He ordered.

Malt chuckled as he shook his head, "Now mister Smith, why would we do that? You've hoof-er, hand delivered Equestria's worst traitor to our doorstep! After all, it was your teachings that helped us ensure the safety of our little village. We're only doing what you taught us to do." He reasoned.

John frowned, "Malt, let her go. Now." He demanded.

Malt's eyes widened slightly, "But John! You know we can't do that! She's too dangerous to be left alive! Maybe you've been getting softer since you came to Equestria, but we've been growing stronger. I can't let a dangerous traitor like this go. She has to die." He responded, shaking his head once more.

"This doesn't have to end in violence. Give her back to me and I will take her far away from your town." John offered, his grip tightening on his shotgun.

Malt licked his lips, "I'm... afraid I can't do that, John. Not with a mare this dangerous."

John quietly sighed through his nostrils, "You want a war? Fine."

Author's Note

Broken edge horse is in trouble now. Let's see if mister Smith can save her.