https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9wE74lVJ5E

Tempest sat on her haunches in the small shower while John knelt in the open doorway. She softly sighed through her nostrils as John slowly brought the showerhead down on her back, the warm water instantly seeping into her coat. Droplets trickled down to the drain below as John rinsed over Tempest's most bloodied spots. The water ran a sickly crimson as he washed the blood away, leaving her coat mostly clean, save for the dirt and grime still compacted in her fur.

As John washed her back, he looked up to her face, finding her eyes closed and a dreamy expression on her muzzle. He stifled a chuckle before noticing the dirt and blood still smeared into her mane. He slowly brought the showerhead up her back, then her neck, and finally up to her mane, the action making her crane her neck back slightly toward the source of warmth. Dozens of jets of water rippled through her mane and into her scalp, the feeling sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as John's dexterous fingers danced through her mane. He added some shampoo into the mix, quickly creating suds that dripped down through her fur and into the plaster below. As he massaged her scalp, the mulberry mare leaned further and further into his arms, until she made contact with his broad chest, instantly soaking his flannel with suds and water. John let out a sigh but otherwise continued his ministrations until he was satisfied that the dirt and blood were washed free from her coat.

With a gentle push, John eased Tempest back onto her haunches, her good eye opening curiously as she was pushed away. She quickly noticed the damp spot on John's shirt, soaking all the way down to his abdomen, and a fiery blush covered her face.

"Uh... S-sorry." Tempest mumbled, her gaze directed to the opposite side of the shower.

"Don't worry about it. I have some clothes I can change into." John replied, before bringing the showerhead over Tempest's mane once more.

The last of the soapy suds were quickly washed away from her coat, leaving her mostly clean, save for the still dirtied and cracked cast on her foreleg. Both man and pony looked down to the offending fiberglass wrap before looking up to each other once more.

"We can probably take that off in the morning, if you're able to put weight on it." John offered.

Tempest nodded, "Here's hoping." She replied, before attempting to step out of the shower.

"Want that thing off so it can dry?" John asked, pointing to the damp collar still affixed to Tempest's neck.

Tempest attempted to look down at the aforementioned collar, before pursing her lips in thought.

"Huh, I... actually forgot I was even wearing it." She admitted, looking back up to John.

"I think you had other things to worry about." John smirked.

Tempest chuckled, "Yeah... yeah I suppose I did. My fault for running off, though. If this thing wasn't enchanted to help you find me... I'd be dead now, wouldn't I?" She asked, her voice taking a more somber tone.

John nodded, a small frown on his face, "Yeah. Most likely."

Tempest returned a nod of her own, "I think I want to keep it on... for the rest of the mission, at least. You never know what might happen." She responded, a soft look in her eye.

John gave her a half smirk, "Even if collars are for dogs?"

Tempest returned the smirk, "Even if collars are for dogs." She laughed, prompting John to chuckle along with her.

Soon enough, John pushed himself to his feet and helped Tempest limp out of the shower. He brought a towel down onto her back and helped dry her off, ensuring to avoid rubbing too harshly around the still fresh stitches near her wither. She dried off in a matter of minutes and made her way over to the beds, with John's help. Before she could crawl into her bed, however, she looked up to John to find that he had dirt smudged into his hair and on his damp shirt.

"You gonna take a shower too?" She asked, curiously.

John nodded, "Just a quick one. Tomorrow will be a long day, you should get some sleep."

With that, John wrapped his hands around Tempest's barrel and helped her into bed. She heavily blushed at the treatment, before laying down on the mattress and looking down away from John. He didn't seem to notice the clear darkening of her features, and made his way over to his duffle bag. John fished for new pairs of clothing and made his way over to the bathroom.

After setting down his clothes on the countertop, John set about removing his dirty flannel. As he pulled the fabric up and over his head, Tempest stared with rapt attention to the contours and muscles of his torso. He looked strikingly similar to a minotaur, save for the fur. John only had a trail of hair that led from his pectoral muscles down to his abs. However lost she was in her admiration of the human's body, Tempest quickly found herself frowning in concern at the sight of the large purple bruises on John's chest and shoulder.

Before she could say anything, John closed the door to the bathroom, blocking her view of the human before she could see any more of his unclothed body. She opened her mouth to protest at the denial of her line of sight on the object of her interest, but quickly shut her mouth and shook her head. The sound of running water soon reached her ears through the closed bathroom door.

Tempest sighed through her nostrils as she leaned down to the sheets beside her. She bit down on the edge of the soft cotton fabric and pulled the sheet up to cover the majority of her body. She laid her head down on her pillow and let out another quiet sigh. Aches and pain still registered in her brain, but the sheer exhaustion she felt from the stress of the ordeal with the town left her barely able to keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes.

Just as she felt sleep claiming her for the night, the bathroom door opened, and John walked into the room, his bare feet nearly silent on the hardwood floor. He stealthily laid down on his mattress next to hers and covered himself in the bedsheets as well. Tempest opened her eye to watch as John relaxed into the softness of his bed. For several minutes, she stared at the human as his breathing slowed.

It was never apparent to her whether John did fall asleep or not, but as she watched him peacefully resting, she felt a warmth in her heart at the sight. She couldn't quite place where the feeling came from or why she felt so content to simply watch the human rest. She tried to think of a reason for the feeling in her chest, finding the rationale of gratitude for his saving her life from a fiery demise to be sufficient enough for the night. With a quiet yawn, Tempest closed her eye and finally allowed sleep to take her for the night.

The Next Morning

Tempest awoke to the sound of John zipping up his duffle bag. She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and looked over to the window to see rays of yellow light spilling in through the curtains on the window. Rolling over to her side, she gave a grunt of acknowledgement to John as she sat up in bed. He wore a new flannel and pair of jeans, though the colors and patterns were almost identical to the previous pair. He heard her waking and looked up to the plum unicorn with a thin smile.

"Feeling any better?" He asked, already sure of the answer.

Tempest yawned and stretched her hooves, finding that while several of her joints popped during the exercise, she felt little to no pain. Even the swelling and bruising on her face were essentially gone, allowing her to open both of her eyes fully. Her left eye was still noticeably bloodshot, but aside from that, she could see clearly and her depth perception was still accurate. She returned the smile with a much wider one, both due to the lack of pain upon waking, and because of the man looking at her, a softness in his features that she hadn't seen much of before.

"I am. Thanks for asking." Tempest replied, cheerily.

"Well you certainly seem in good spirits. That's good to see." John mentioned, walking over to the window.

"I haven't felt this good since... well since before I attacked Canterlot." Tempest admitted, her happy tone quickly fading away to pensiveness.

John looked down to the cast around her foreleg, "How's the leg feeling?"

"Good. I can move it without a stabbing pain shooting up my wither," Tempest replied, rolling her forearm around to demonstrate.

John gave a satisfactory nod, "Well then, do you think you can walk on it?" He asked.

Tempest returned the nod, "Yeah. I think I can put weight on it now." She answered.

John pulled his knife out of his pocket and opened the switchblade, "Let's cut that thing off, then."

Tempest somewhat hesitantly held her foreleg out for John as he sat down on the bed beside her. He gently grabbed her cast and slid the knife underneath the plaster and against her flesh. She tensed slightly from the feeling of the steel against her foreleg, but as she glanced up to John's eyes, she found him offering her a small smile. The sight alone made her relax and let down her guard, much to John's gratitude as he pressed the cutting edge of the blade against the inside of the cast.

With a calculated sawing motion, John slowly and methodically cut through the plaster, freeing her foreleg inch by inch. Tempest's fur was matted and smelled from days without a proper washing, but the feeling of fresh air on the appendage was as refreshing as her shower the night before, and she couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief. John pried the rest of the cast off of her foreleg and tossed it to the side, before fixing her with a curious look.

"How's it feel?" He asked.

"Almost like new." Tempest happily replied, flexing her hoof and rolling her wither.

"Good. Then we should probably get a move on. Sun's up and we need to get to the Storm King's shipyard as soon as possible." John responded as he pushed himself off of the bed and got to his feet.

Tempest nodded, "Well we should at least be able to get there faster now that I can actually walk." She said with a chuckle.

John smirked, slinging his duffle bag to his back as he made his way toward the door. Tempest hopped off the bed and followed after him, the tiniest hint of a limp in her step. Together, they made their way down the stairs and to the front door of the Inn. Sea Breeze was once again, nowhere to be found.

John opened the door and stepped out into the morning sunlight, finding that there wasn't a soul outside in Hoofenfield. It resembled a ghost town, and even a tumbleweed gently flitted across the lone street running down the length of the town. John slowly gazed across the street, finding that the residents of Hoofenfield were still very much present, only they were hiding in their homes, their eyes pressed against their windows, all gazing fearfully at the human and unicorn as they stepped outside.

Tempest followed John's gaze to the houses across the street and she raised an eyebrow at the fearful ponies eyeing her and John as if they couldn't see them.

"Well you certainly leave an impression wherever you go." Tempest snorted.

John simply shrugged, "Hopefully they at least learned something from all this."

Tempest surveyed the town once more before fixing John with a raised eyebrow, "Bit optimistic, don't you think?"

John quietly sighed, "Probably. Hopefully I just don't have to pay them a visit in the future."

With that, John stepped out into the street and headed toward the town entrance. Tempest followed close behind, giving one last glare to the townsponies as she left.

Together, John and Tempest made their way toward the Macintosh mountains while the sun steadily rose to its apex in the sky. After a few hours of travel, John and Tempest arrived at a fork in the road. One way led back toward Baltimare while the other headed up the mountains.

John turned to Tempest, "Alright, it's on you to lead the rest of the way now." He said.

Tempest looked at the fork in the road, then back up to John, "I suppose it is. It'll be about a day of walking at this rate. We need to head toward the Bloodstone Gorge. Taking the trail through the Macintosh mountains is going to take us way out of the way. We're going to have to go off road." Tempest explained.

John nodded, "Lead on then." He replied.

Tempest returned the nod and stepped off of the main road onto the short grass covering the fields as far as the eye could see. John followed her lead and quick enough they were strolling through knolls of grassy hills beside the Macintosh mountains while the sun continued its trek across the sky. Eventually, the sounds of Tempest's growling stomach caught John's ear and he looked down to the mulberry mare.

"Hungry?" He asked, noting the blush on her features as she tried to look away.

"I guess you did hear that then... yes, you could say I am a bit hungry considering we haven't had anything to eat today." She replied.

John slowly looked out over the grass fields they were walking through, "Isn't this like... an 'all you can eat buffet' for you out here?" John asked, tilting his head to the side.

Tempest gave him a deadpan stare. Eventually John awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"I... guess that would be a bit demeaning, wouldn't it?" He asked.

"You don't say?" Tempest replied, continuing her deadpan stare.

"Well, I might have a few things you can eat." John responded, unslinging his duffle bag and fishing around for some of the food rations he'd packed.

Tempest sat on her haunches as John fished through his bag. After a few moments of digging, he pulled out a few bags filled with apples and a few other packaged items that Tempest couldn't discern. He set the duffle bag down on the ground and sat down beside her as he handed a bag of apples over to her.

Tempest gratefully accepted the apples and took a bite as John dug through one of his mystery bags. She eyed him curiously as he pulled out a piece of dark red colored material and bit into it. It took a few moments for the smell to register in her muzzle, but the second it did, she instantly recognized the scent.

"Is that... meat, you're eating?" Tempest asked, tilting her head to the side.

John slowly looked over to her, "Yes. Is that a problem?" He asked, curiously.

Tempest took a moment to contemplate before shaking her head, "Honestly, that does explain a lot. I remember the smell from the badlands. That's beef jerky, right?"

John nodded, "Yeah. Just some from my world. Not a sapient animal, if that thought's going through your mind."

"I figured as much. Luckily the cows down in the badlands aren't sapient either. Still, it was really hard to come to terms with the fact that most every creature this far south has no qualms about killing and eating another creature, sapient or not." Tempest explained.

"They don't care if the creature is sapient down here?" John asked, a small amount of surprise in his eyes.

"You heard Merkle talking about eating me back at the hotel, didn't you?" Tempest questioned.

John nodded, "Thought he was just a particularly uncivilized individual."

"Believe it or not, that was him at his most polite." Tempest shrugged.

John snorted, but continued to eat his food, prompting Tempest to return her attention to the apples in her hooves. Together they ate their relatively meager meals in peaceful quiet, both content to let the sun's warm light wash over them as it traversed toward the West. Once they were both finished with their food, John pulled out a canteen filled with water and drank a few swigs before offering the drink to Tempest. She gratefully accepted the water and drank until the canteen was nearly half empty.

With their meal and hydration situated, John repacked the canteen and empty bags while Tempest stretched her healed foreleg. Once he was ready, John gave a nod to Tempest, prompting her to take the lead once more toward the Storm King's shipyard. They continued their walk until the sun nearly crested the horizon, casting long shadows from the Macintosh mountains just to their right. Blood orange and purple light filled the sky, fading to darkness and white starry spots on the opposite side of the sky.

Still, they continued to trek past the mountains, finding that the grassy plains soon gave way to desolate fields of dirt and sand. Lush greenery faded to dead trees and brown as far as the eye could see. John looked down to Tempest, finding that she wore a far off look in her eyes, as if just the sight of the Badlands drove the joy from her body and drained the color from her eyes.

"You okay?" John asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

Tempest glanced over to him and gave a tiny nod, "Just... we're really doing this. I guess it's just finally setting in."

"If we don't, hundreds of thousands will die." John offered.

Tempest sighed, "I know that... it's just strange coming back here after everything. It's only been a few days but it feels like years since I lived out here, struggling to survive. I honestly thought the only way I'd ever step hoof out here again was if I were conquering the entire continent." She admitted.

John chewed his tongue in thought for a moment, "If it makes you feel any better, you aren't alone this time." He offered.

Tempest nearly froze mid step, allowing John to walk right past her. He stopped and turned to the mulberry mare as she looked up to him with wide eyes.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"N-nothing, just... thanks." Tempest quickly replied, a small smile forming on her muzzle.

John returned the smile with a nod before turning and continuing on, Tempest quickly galloping after him to resume her place at the lead. Soon enough they arrived at a canyon extending several miles into what appeared to be a large mountain range. John looked up to the towering mountains and let out a low whistle as he followed behind the plum unicorn. She pointed toward the largest mountain at the end of the canyon.

"There. The shipyard should be just behind that mountain." Tempest announced.

John let out a long sigh, "That's gonna be a long walk." He said, a forlorn look on his face.

Tempest nodded, "There are a few shortcuts we can take. I remember a few that are pretty close. If we're smart about it, we can be there by sunrise." She explained, nodding toward the moon slowly rising into the sky.

John took a moment, appearing to mentally prepare himself, before letting out a small huff, "Lead on, then."

Tempest smirked at John's behavior and pushed on ahead, "What's the matter? Not a fan of long walks through the night?"

John shook his head as he followed after her, "Not particularly. Wish I had my car here, sometimes."

"What's a car?" Tempest asked over her wither.

"Long story. I'll tell you once we're done." John replied.

"Well, we've got a lot of time to kill in complete silence otherwise." Tempest reasoned.

John gave her a deadpan stare, "You ever hear of scouts? Sentries? Security?"

"All moot points when you have their rotations memorized and know that they only guard that last mountain before you get to the shipyard." Tempest fired back.

After a moment of contemplation, John let out a long suffering sigh, "Alright, where should I start?"

.

.

.

.

.

"-so that was when I got my sixty nine mustang back." John finished explaining with a huff as he crawled up a large boulder.

Tempest allowed him to grab her hoof and helped pull him up to the top of the boulder alongside her, letting out a huff of exertion, herself.

"I didn't realize... cars were so important to your people... and the names you all came up with... mustang has a much different connotation here, you know?" Tempest replied, breathing some air back into her lungs.

"I'm aware," John answered, catching his breath, "we should keep quiet now. I think I see some guards up ahead."

Tempest followed his eyes, finding that a pair of burly figures moved with the grace of a sledgehammer along the ridgeling of the mountain they were currently scaling. Luckily, the last mountain at the end of the valley was easy to scale without any special kind of climbing gear, but their particular segment was highly exposed to the sentries, prompting John to direct Tempest to a ledge just in front of them and duck under it.

They heard the sounds of the guards as they loudly grunted in their language in what appeared to be a heated conversation between the two storm beasts. John peeked his head up from the ledge, watching the pair as they progressed out of sight and out of earshot. Only once they were gone, did he look over to Tempest, finding her also peeking over the ledge, beside him.

"I honestly expected better security." John admitted, shaking his head.

Tempest shrugged, "The Storm King wants to keep this shipyard as low profile as possible. It's right on Equestria's border and its purpose is literally to stage an assault on the entire country. Plus he thinks he's invincible and that no creature is crazy enough to attack him first." She explained.

"Well, time to prove him wrong, then." John responded, before pushing himself to his feet and climbing the ledge.

Tempest followed his lead, the two of them rushing up toward the ridgeline on the side of the mountain that wrapped around to the opposite side where the shipyard allegedly resided. Together, they skulked over rocks and boulders, under dead and decaying trees and between the long draws that led all the way to the bottom of the mountainside. It took some time, and when they finally reached a vantage point that could see the opposite side of the mountain, the sun was already high in the sky.

John got down on his hands and knees and crawled under several broken trees and boulders until he arrived at a small opening that overlooked the shipyard below. Immediately, he let out a low sigh at the sheer volume of the Storm King's forces. Blackened hulls underneath blood red war balloons lined the valley below as far as the eye could see. Smoke billowed from the hundreds of ships engines and other machines transporting troops, munitions, weapons, and fuel all across the landscape. Each ship adorned the familiar icy blue lines of the Storm King's banner, but what caught John's attention most of all, was the triple pyramid-shaped building at the center of the shipyard that radiated a ghostly green glow into the air around it.

For a moment, John simply observed, until he felt something brush against his legs. He looked back to find Tempest squeezing into the hole with him, her body pressing firmly against his as she pushed her way up his torso and to his chest.

"You know, you could just wait your turn." John muttered, pushing himself against the rocks to give Tempest more room.

"Stealthier this way." Tempest replied as her muzzle popped up beside John's head to observe the shipyard below.

John followed her gaze back out to the army ahead, "Look familiar?" He asked.

"Unfortunately." Tempest answered.

Author's Note

Did you really think I would skip John washing Tempest? Come on, you guys know me better than that. Things are gonna heat up next chapter.