Tempest's ears flicked at the sound of the heart monitor beeping away every second or so. The constant rhythm of the machine slowly stirred her from her deep sleep, forcing her eyes to flutter open. The first thing she saw was the same bright light she'd woken up to after her execution. She felt an incredible warmth and comfort all over her entire body, all the way from her head down to her hooves, and for a few moments, she wondered if she was dead.

She could feel, rather than see, several bandages wrapped around her barrel, wither, and flank, along with a dull soreness in her throat that felt unfortunately familiar. She swallowed some saliva to soothe the admittedly small ache in her throat, finding the task to be much more palatable than her last recollection of waking in the same hospital bed.

Then another beeping sound reached her ears, and she glacially looked over to her left. Her heart immediately jumped in her chest at the sight of John, laying on a hospital bed beside hers, a peaceful expression on his face as he rested. She couldn't see the majority of his body under the sheets, but his arms and face were visible, allowing her to immediately see some of the damage the Storm King inflicted in their fight.

John's neck was wrapped in bandages that were soaked through with blood in some spots, and his left arm was almost entirely purple. There were a few cuts and bruises on his face, along with a bandage wrapped around the back of his head as well. Tempest felt deep concern welling in her chest at the sight of his beaten appearance, prompting her to search the room for any signs of nurses or doctors.

The room was empty, save for the two beds they rested on, a couple of chairs off to the side, and the medical equipment monitoring their vitals. Tempest's brow furrowed in confusion, before she turned her admittedly stiff neck to look back over at John. She pursed her lips in thought for a few moments, before coming to a decision and throwing her sheets off of her barrel. Thankfully, there wasn't a set of hoofcuffs connecting her to the bedrail this time around, and she was able to crawl out of bed and down to the floor.

Immediately, she winced as she put weight on her previously broken foreleg, which appeared to be fractured once again, if the sharp, stabbing pain was any indication. Tempest balanced on her three good legs and made her way over to John's bed, some leads connected to her heart monitor dragging behind her as she limped. Once she reached John's bed, she pulled the rail down and out of the way, before carefully crawling onto the bed, ensuring not to step on him or hurt him in any way.

With some minor fenagling, made much more difficult due to her rebroken foreleg, she managed to climb onto John's bed and lay down beside him. She rested her head on his chest, carefully listening to each breath and ensuring that her added weight wasn't going to make breathing any harder for him. For a time, she simply watched him sleep, the soft expression on his features garnering a soft smile on her muzzle. She eventually looked over to the clock for a moment, finding that it was still before noon, and a small frown of concern formed on her face as she pondered John's condition, but her spirits almost immediately lifted once again as she watched him open his eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hMtAXSBMTs

"John?" Tempest asked, her voice feeling slightly horse.

John let out a small groan as he blearily blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. He slowly looked down to Tempest, a look of surprise on his face from her immediate proximity, but that quickly changed into small smile as he gently placed his hand on her wither.

"What'd I miss?" He asked, taking in her appearance as if she were an old friend.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I thought we were dead for sure." Tempest chuckled.

John laid his head down and looked up at the ceiling with a whimsical sigh, "Must've been Twilight." He chuckled.

"Twilight? Princess Twilight saved us?" Tempest asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"She's a good friend to have." John acknowledged.

Tempest shook her head and let out a snort of amusement, "I suppose so. How're you feeling?"

John looked out the window at the city of Canterlot outside. Ponies were busing themselves with reconstruction of the city, or using their magic to turn the blackened stone back into whatever material it was before the Storm King's airship crashed into the middle district. The last of the medusa gas was long gone, having been contained and destroyed, or absorbed into whatever material it transformed.

"Better than I have in years." John admitted, a smile on his face. He turned over to face Tempest, wincing ever so slightly as he turned his neck, "How about you? Nothing rebroken, right?" He inquired.

Tempest let out a huff, "Unfortunately, my foreleg is broken again." She snorted, in amusement.

John chuckled, "Ah, well. It healed in about three or four days last time. Shouldn't take too long this time around." He offered.

Tempest laughed, "I guess you're right. No more flips for another week, at least."

John nodded, "Those were pretty impressive. I meant what I said up there, by the way. You did real good, Tempest. I knew you would." He offered, encouragingly. As he talked, he subconsciously rubbed circles in her fur with his thumb, the subtle gesture sending a small shiver down Tempest's spine.

"T-thank you. That really does mean a lot... I'm sorry I made things difficult at the start-" She tried to respond, only for John to shake his head and cut her off.

"Don't apologize for that. You had just about every right to hate me and the entire situation. Having said that, I'm glad you came around. You're not a bad pony, Tempest. Just made some bad decisions. No shame in that." John stated, giving her a supportive smile.

Tempest pursed her lips in thought for a few moments to let his words sink in. She nervously swallowed before leaning her head down again and squeezing herself closer to John's chest with her good foreleg. The hug brought a smile to his eyes, and John softly moved his hand up her wither and to her cheek, where he gently played his fingers through the shorter fur along her neck and the side of her head. Tempest's eyelids flitted shut as she rolled her neck slightly to give him better access to her ear, and, taking the hint, John rubbed the velveteen appendage between his fingers.

Tempest let out a nearly silent groan of satisfaction as John's deceptively gentle fingers scratched her ear and cheek, and for a few minutes, they simply enjoyed the contact. Eventually, John halted the scratching and simply rubbed his thumb against her cheek. Tempest reluctantly opened her eyes once more, her gaze locked on John's as they rested in each other's warmth.

"You've got a full pardon and the entire world at your hooves. What will you do now?" John asked, an uncharacteristically hesitant and almost fearful tone in his voice.

Tempest pursed her lips and looked down at John's chest for a few moments. Eventually, she looked out the window to the sight of Canterlot and the rebuilding happening outside.

"It sure is a big world out there." She admitted, after some time.

"Especially if you're all by yourself." John added, giving a knowing nod as his gaze fell.

Tempest returned the nod, "Yeah... not looking forward to life on the road again, if I'm being honest." She dryly chuckled.

After a few moments of tense hesitation, John spoke up, "And if you didn't have to leave?" He asked.

Tempest sighed, "Don't think I can stay here. Even with a full pardon, the ponies here won't forget what I did... what I became." She replied, her own gaze falling as well.

John slowly placed his hand on her wither, giving her a gentle squeeze to regain her gaze, "What if I asked?" He questioned, softly.

Tempest held John's gaze for a moment, her jaw slightly agape. She nervously swallowed before looking down to the point of contact and letting out a shuddering sigh.

"Are... are you sure you want me around here?" She asked, fearfully.

John gave her a reassuring squeeze, "Never been more sure of anything in my life." He answered, confidently.

Tempest leaned forward, her eyes sparkling, "A-and if I wanted something in return?"

"Anything." John answered, softly, but firmly.

Without another word, Tempest leaned in until her lips were just a scant few millimeters away from his, "Even this?" She whispered.

"Even this." John murmured, lost in her eyes.

Without another word, Tempest leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Both of their eyes fluttered shut at the soft, warm feeling of the kiss. John's hands softly stroked through Tempest's fur as she tilted her head to the side to deepen the act. In return, she gently hooked her foreleg over his bicep, squeezing him ever closer in the process. A feeling of utter bliss welled in both of their hearts as they kissed again and again, both of their hearts racing in pure ecstasy.

They were blind to the world around them, and neither paid the sound of approaching hoofsteps any mind.

"What in the world made both of their heart rates shoot up so quickly?" Celestia wondered aloud.

"Maybe they both just woke up." Luna suggested.

"The nurses said not to worry. I'm sure it's normal." Cadence offered.

"I hope they're... okay..." Twilight trailed off as the quartet of alicorns rounded the doorway and stopped in their tracks.

"W-well... that's unexpected..." Celestia said, staring wide-eyed at the scene before her.

"Tch, of course she stole him. Figures." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Ohmygosh! They're so cute!" Twilight squealed.

"You know, not what I thought would happen, but I'm quite happy with the result, nonetheless." Cadence grinned, flashing a wide smile to the rest of the alicorns.

As they were observed, John reached over with his free arm and pulled the privacy curtain over, instantly obscuring the view of the gathered princesses. Tempest giggled into the kiss, prompting John to smile and hug her ever tighter. Eventually, they broke the kiss, their lips both still lingering just a hair's breadth away from each other.

"By the way, Tempest... isn't my real name. It's... Fizzlepop Berrytwist." Fizzlepop admitted.

John raised an eyebrow, but a smile formed on his face all the same.

"You know what, I like that name... heh, I knew I tasted pop rocks." John laughed, prompting her to laugh along with him.

They enjoyed each other's warmth for some time after that, neither ready to separate after so long on their own.

Author's Note

Alright! Woohoo! We did it! We did the thing! I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Honestly, in terms of romantic development, I think this is one of my best works. Really proud of how the story turned out in the end and I really enjoyed the action scenes. I hope you guys did as well.

This story didn't quite receive the attention I was hoping it would, but eh, oh well. I'm still really proud of how it turned out. I hope you guys stick around for my next story and again, thank you so much for taking the time to read my work. It means everything.