https://youtu.be/Yi0YbsT0TJ0

The first thing Tempest noticed was the slow, methodic beeping of the heart monitor beside her. She blearily opened her eyes to a blinding white light situated directly above her head. The stinging pain made her wince, but it paled in comparison to the burning, stuffy feeling in her throat. Each breath sent a wave of pain down her esophagus as if it were a desert bombarded by a dry wind, sapping all moisture from the arid landscape. She angrily squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to swallow back some saliva, but the effort proved too painful to bear, and she ended up choking on her spit.

The coughing fit that followed made tears streak from her tightly closed eyes as her voice came out like a dry wheeze. Sharp, needle-like pain ripped through her throat again and again in waves with each cough as she cleared her airway. Her chest heaved for breath, driving another spike of excruciating pain through her neck once more.

Tempest reached up to her throat with her good hoof, only for it to pause mid way and a loud *clang* to fill the air. She forced down a heavy sigh at the hoofcuffs, if only to prevent any more agonizing pain in her neck. Taking small, quiet breaths through her nostrils, she slowly opened her eyes once more, finding that white light right where she left it. She attempted to turn her head to the side, to block out the light on at least one of her eyes, but a twinge of excruciating pain in her neck muscles made her quickly reconsider.

She vaguely noticed a clamping feeling on her horn, and with heavily squinted eyes, she looked up to see a black inhibiter ring around her broken horn. Not only could she not even attempt to ark any magic lightning from her broken appendage, she couldn't even feel the magic reaching it. She fought the urge to cry as she looked away from the ring.

Her bloodshot eyes glacially looked over to the right, where she found a glass of ice cold water sitting on the nightstand beside her bed. She attempted to reach for the glass, but the hoofcuffs held her hoof back just a few scant inches from the sacred drink. With a whimper, she gave up her efforts to grab the glass, and instead looked at the rest of the room.

A closed door on her right, and a window looking over Canterlot to her left were the only other things to grace her vision aside from plain white walls and tile floors. With the smallest sigh she could muster, Tempest closed her eyes once more and attempted to move her bad foreleg. A cast kept it from bending at her elbow, but she had enough range of motion to bring the appendage over to her flat stomach. Surprisingly, the broken limb wasn't hoofcuffed to the bed rail.

Tempest attempted to roll over onto her good foreleg, but as soon as she tried to move her hindleg, a jolt of pain shot through her flank. She trembled as she fought the urge to scream in pain. She grit her teeth and furrowed her brow as a choked sob slid past her lips, filling the air for a brief moment before her labored breathing began once more. With no other choice in sight, she simply rolled back onto her back and stared up at the blinding white light as she awaited whatever was to come.

She waited almost thirty minutes before the doorknob twisted and unlocked, prompting a fearful glance from the broken mare. Almost as if to answer her worst fears, the being to step through the doorway was not any of the four alicorn princesses. It wasn't a nurse or a doctor, or even the royal guards. It was him.

Standing at nearly twice the height of any normal pony, the man ducked slightly under the doorway to enter the room. His attire, much like at the Friendship festival, consisted of a simple three piece suit. Black hair hung around his face in a disorganized fashion, as if combing it any particular way simply took too much time. His piercing brown eyes bore into her with a cool calmness that felt completely opposed to the threatening presence the rest of his being brought into the small room.

Tempest's ears flicked back against her skull, and she struggled to scoot her battered body away from the imposing creature standing before her. The heart monitor noticeably increased its cadence as her heart rate accelerated in her chest. The being standing before her glanced over to the heart monitor for just a second before walking over to her bed, each step sending a jolt of panic into the mulberry unicorn's mind.

Finally, he reached the edge of her bed, his frame now towering over her, and blocking the light from above. With her eyes wide in fear and surprise, the broken mare quietly panted through her nostrils, the adrenaline in her system blocking out the pain in her throat for a few moments as he stared down at her.

"Tempest, right?" The creature asked, curtly.

She gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"My name is John. I have some things I need to discuss with you." John announced, as the royal alicorns all peered in through the open doorway behind him.

Tempest's eyes flicked back and forth between John and the alicorns for a few moments, her heart rate still accelerating. John slowly looked over to the heart monitor to find that her heartrate was nearing one hundred beats per minute, and let out a quiet sigh.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to make you an offer." He said, placatingly.

Tempest did not look convinced, although her heart rate slowly decreased. Taking that as a sign that she was calming down, John spoke again.

"I know talking is painful for you right now, so I'll keep this to yes or no questions. Just nod or shake your head if you can. If not, then tap on the bed rail once for yes and twice for no. Sound good?" John instructed.

For a few moments, Tempest did not move, prompting the slightest of furrows to form on John's brow. Eventually, however, she slowly lifted her good hoof and tapped once on the railing. At her response, John gave a thankful nod and cleared his throat.

"I know this might come as a shock to you, but the reason you aren't dead right now is because of me. I shot the rope out before it could kill you." John explained, earning a wide eyed stare from the broken unicorn.

"You told the princesses of a second attack the Storm King was planning when you were interrogated. Do you have any more information other than what you already told them? Locations, the type of weapon, time of the attack? Things like that." John questioned.

Tempest tapped on the railing twice.

"But you know how to get to the Storm King's shipyard, right?" John asked.

Tempest hesitantly tapped on the railing once.

John fixed her with a serious look, "Good enough. Alright, Tempest, here's the deal. I need you to take me to that shipyard. I've negotiated with the princesses, and they're prepared to give you a pardon in exchange for your assistance with this mission."

Tempest simply gave him a wide-eyed stare as he patiently awaited her response. Her jaw moved a few times as if she were trying to speak, but no words ever came out. Eventually, after over a minute of silence, John chewed on his cheek and turned to the window. He walked over to the glass and observed the view of Canterlot with a steady gaze. He heard shuffling on the bed, and glanced back to see Tempest struggling to push herself into an upright position. After a few moments, she managed to prop her head up enough to look at him without tilting her head all the way down.

John sighed, "I know you're afraid of me. You're probably right to be... but I'm asking for your help. I promise that no harm will come to you under my watch. If you get me to the shipyard, and help me destroy the Storm King's weapon, then you'll have your freedom. I won't pursue you anywhere you go, and the Princesses won't have you arrested on sight. That sound like a good deal to you?" He pressed, turning around to fully face the mare on the bed once more.

Tempest's eyes slowly drifted from the imposing man standing before her, to the beautiful skies and distant mountains in the window. An almost longing sense of desire quickly welled up in her heart, only to be crushed by despair as she looked up at her broken horn once more. John followed her eyes to her horn, and pursed his lips.

"I'm not sure how much I can help with that, but I can see about getting you a specialist to fix it, provided you help with this mission." John offered, picking up on the forlorn look in her teal eyes.

Tempest quickly returned her gaze to the tall man, a slight furrow in her brow as she opened her mouth to speak.

"A-and... the... pardon?' She croaked, each syllable a herculean task for her healing vocal chords.

John nodded, "And the pardon."

With her options laid out fully before her, the plum coated mare took a few moments to decide. Her decision came swiftly enough, and with a resolute look in her eyes, she gave a small nod.

"So you'll help me?" John questioned, once more.

"Y-yes." Tempest managed to say, before breaking into another agonizing coughing fit.

As the mare before him blinked back tears from the strain on her throat, John walked over to the nightstand beside her bed and grabbed the glass of water sitting there. He brought it over to her muzzle, and offered her the drink. Without a microsecond of hesitation, Tempest eagerly latched onto the glass with her lips and greedily drank the cold, soothing fluid down. John gently tilted the glass, allowing her to drink more and more of the water until it was all gone, before placing the glass back on the nightstand. With a gentle nod to the unicorn, he turned and made his way for the door.

Just as he reached the doorway, a voice made him pause.

"T-thank... you." Tempest wheezed, her voice sounding much less strained.

John looked over his shoulder at the mare still laying, hoofcuffed to her bed and nodded once more, "We'll leave tomorrow. Get some rest for now."

With that, he softly closed the door behind him, before turning into the hallway to find all four alicorns and a several high ranking royal guards all looking at him with mixed emotions on their faces. Most present of all, was anger.

"Are you serious!? A full pardon and special medical treatment? That mare deserves nothing of the sort!" Luna whisper-shouted, nearly stomping her hoof on the floor in anger.

"John, we did not agree to any kind of pardon for her." Celestia added, a deep frown on her face.

"Well you did now." John replied, pointedly ignoring the aghast looks in half the ponies' faces as he casually walked through the group.

All of the ponies in the hallway quickly followed behind as John walked through the hallway, away from Tempest's room.

"She sounded horrible." Twilight murmured, casting a worried glance back to the doorway, as if the mulberry mare were standing there.

"A crushed trachea will do that to you." John shrugged.

"John, we have some serious concerns about this. She's dangerous. If she were to get away from you, then what?" Captain Shining Armor spoke up.

"She won't get away from me. Twilight will make sure of that." John replied, casting a quick glance over his shoulder to the burly stallion.

Luna sighed in frustration, "John, a full pardon is off the table. She has to pay for her crimes!" She exclaimed.

"Well put it back on the table then." He replied, nonchalantly.

Luna's fur bristled as her muzzle scrunched up. The royal guards beside her quickly made some room between them and the fuming lunar alicorn. Both Cadence and Twilight also backed away with wide eyes at the blatant disregard for her authority. Even Celestia nearly stumbled in her gait, her eyes darting back and forth from her sister to the man still casually walking down the hallway as if he'd done nothing wrong.

"J-John!" Luna shouted, stomping her hoof into the floor and forming a spiderweb of cracks in the marble.

John paused mid step and let out a slow sigh. He slowly turned around to face the night princess as she gave him a pointed look of irritation.

"We need to get to the Storm King's weapon. She's willing to help for two things. What's worse? Giving her a pardon and trying to fix her horn, but the weapon is destroyed and Equestria is safe, or half a continent being rendered uninhabitable?" John questioned, looking to Luna with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't even know for sure that you can trust her!" Luna shot back.

"We've already argued about this, and you agreed to let me handle it. This is how I plan to handle it." John replied.

Luna grit her teeth as a scowl formed on her face. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Celestia cleared her throat, directing John's eyes over to her.

"John, I know we've agreed to let you handle this, but... can you at least tell us why you're so confident about her? From everything we've discussed, it sounds like you're going off of perilously little information. It just seems like... you trust Tempest for no reason." Celestia offered, putting a placating wing around her little sister.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth as the ponies before him awaited his response. In a surprising turn, he shyly looked away from the ponies and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I... don't know. I'm not sure if it's just a compulsion or complete lunacy but ever since I had that vision, I... I feel compelled to protect her. In the back of my mind, I just know she's important. I know she isn't going to try to sneak off or kill me when I'm sleeping. I can't explain it, but it's just there, no matter how I try to rationalize it. I know it doesn't make sense, but you have to just trust me." John admitted, before fixing the lunar and solar alicorns with a determined look.

Silence reigned over the dimly lit hallway for almost a minute, each pony looking at John with their muzzles scrunched up in deep thought, before Shining Armor finally spoke up.

"I know you've saved Equestria more than once in the last few years, but... that answer doesn't exactly inspire a whole lot of confidence." Shining hesitantly said.

Before John could respond, Twilight spoke up, "I trust John. We have numerous safety measures in place specifically to prevent Tempest from trying anything. This plan will work, we just need to trust him." She asserted, gesturing toward John with her hoof.

A few moments of silence reigned over the group as the princesses and guards thought over Twilight's words. Eventually, Shining looked at John and responded.

"If you're absolutely certain that this is how we should go about this, then I'll trust you on this. You've never steered us wrong before." He said, offering a hesitant smile.

John let out a quiet breath of relief he didn't even realize he was holding as the rest of the ponies gave similar sentiments.

"You saved our wedding from Chrysalis without a vision from Harmony... I think I can trust that you'll do the same this time around." Cadence offered, mirroring her husband's smile.

"I suppose... while I have many concerns, you have beaten far worse odds in the past. Perhaps we are just being a bit too fearful after yesterday's affairs. I will trust you this time, John." Celestia added, giving a small nod.

Luna looked back and forth between the rest of the group and the lone human standing before them. Her jaw flapped uselessly as she tried to find words to voice her disbelief, but she quickly came up short. With a sigh of resignation, she shook her head, "Very well, John. While I have numerous concerns, it seems I am in the minority yet again. I can only pray that I am wrong."

"I'll do everything I can to prove you wrong then." John replied, a thin smile on his face.

Luna rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Just don't get in over your head. As I stated earlier, you are not invincible. The last thing we need is you injuring yourself or worse, over a criminal you fancy for... some reason."

John nodded before turning to the last alicorn princess. Twilight stood straighter as she felt his eyes on her, and looked up to meet his gaze.

"Just be careful. This is a dangerous mission and I don't want anything bad to happen to you. We need you." Twilight said, in a gentle voice.

"Of course, Princess." John replied, giving a thankful smile to the lavender mare.

"So when are you leaving tomorrow?" Celestia questioned, a hint of concern still lingering in her voice.

"Before noon, or as soon as she's able." John responded.

"That's what I thought you would say." Celestia nodded.

"Well if you plan to wait for her foreleg to heal, you'll be waiting weeks or months before that mare will be walking normally again." Luna frowned.

"I'll figure something out. It might not be the most comfortable trip for her, but she'll survive." John replied.

"Very well, John. What do you plan to do until then?" Celestia questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"I have some things to pack." John answered, turning on his heels and heading for the stairs.

Later

John made his way through the castle hallway leading to his private bedroom. He passed dozens of royal guards, each taking a moment to stand at attention as he passed them, before resuming their routes. Soon enough he arrived at his room and opened the doorway, revealing his bed and closet once more.

He swiftly made his way over to the closet and stepped inside. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a map of Equestria's neighboring territories. He looked over the terrain for a few minutes, taking careful note of the vegetation, elevation, distance, and climates, he was likely to be going through. After nearly an hour of careful consideration and thought, he turned to his wall of weapons and made a few select choices. He grabbed a duffle bag from beside the gun shelves and opened it on the floor.

With the plethora of weapons in front of him, John took his time deciding. First, he grabbed his Glock 17 from the rack. He pulled the slide back to reveal the round sitting in the chamber before letting the slide forward and pressing the magazine release to drop the magazine. He inspected the holes in the rear of the magazine, finding brass in every hole and confirming a full magazine. Lastly, he inspected the tritium night sights by covering them with his hand and bringing his eye just behind the sights. He saw three glowing green dots and quickly shoved the pistol into the bag.

Next, he grabbed the Kimber Super-Carry 1911 and repeated his inspection. Once he was satisfied, he grabbed the Kimber's appendix holster from the shelf and holstered the pistol. He reached into his waistline and unclipped his current appendix holster before setting down the Smith &Wesson M&P 2.0 he'd been concealing. He swiftly donned his new carry pistol, before opening another drawer filled to the brim with magazines and pistol ammo. He grabbed a dozen Glock magazines and half a dozen Kimber magazines and threw them all into the duffle bag.

With that taken care of, he looked at the wall once more and grabbed the Benelli M4 shotgun off its shelf. He dutifully inspected the chamber, noting the red shell was double-aught buckshot. He flipped the shotgun upside down and inspected the tube, finding that it was filled to the brim with more of the same ammo. Once he was satisfied, he flipped the shotgun back over and inspected the side saddle. Five shells were held snugly against the side of the shotgun by way of Velcro. Satisfied with his weapon's status, he placed the shotgun in the bag and opened the drawer underneath its shelf.

John fished out six more velcro side saddles, all loaded with different types of shotgun shells and all loaded fully to the brim. He threw those all into the duffle bag alongside the pistol magazines, along with half a dozen boxes of shells. He gave the duffle bag an experimental lift, testing the weight and finding that the bag already weighed over twenty pounds. He glanced up at his shelves once more and quickly decided on one more weapon for the road.

John stood up and grabbed the Sig Sauer MCX Virtus rifle from its shelf and pulled the charging handle back just enough to inspect the chamber. 5.56 brass happily greeted him, before being sent back into the chamber as he released the charging handle. He shouldered the rifle, inspecting the Vortex Razor low power variable optic and adjusting from one to six times magnification. Once he was satisfied with the crystal clear glass, he canted the rifle to the side and looked through the Aimpoint T-2 micro red dot sight and saw the bright red dot still sitting happily in its tube.

He set the rifle down in the duffle bag and grabbed seven magazines from the drawer. With that finally finished, he walked over to the other side of the large closet and sifted through the many outfits hanging from heavy duty hangers. He inspected three different suits, all heavy with kevlar stitching, before settling on one suit that was lighter than the rest. He grabbed the hanger and neatly folded up the black suit before laying it atop all of his weapons and ammo in the duffle bag. He then walked over to the opposite side of the closet.

He sorted through all of his normal clothes, settling on a couple pairs of jeans, a few flannels, and several comfortable t-shirts. He packed them all away on top of his suit and finally zipped up the duffle bag. John hefted the now noticeably heavy duffle back out of the closet and set it down in the middle of his room. He made a few trips to his dresser and pulled out a few pairs of socks, underwear, and other small garments that were easily stowed in one of the side pockets of the duffle bag. Lastly, he unclipped the Tecto Skar knife from his belt and set it inside the duffle bag for later.

With all of his packing finally completed, John walked over to the closet once more and pulled out his Beretta 1301 shotgun from its shelf. He easily unloaded the weapon and set about disassembling it. Within a minute or so, it was in several pieces and being meticulously scrubbed clean of any carbon or lead residue. For almost another half hour, John cleaned every square inch of the shotgun, ensuring not a spot was missed, before finally looking up to the window to see the setting sun on the horizon.

With nary a sigh, John set about reassembling the shotgun and function testing it for any deficiencies he may have missed. Once he was certain it was in good working order, he placed the shotgun back on it's shelf and made way for the shower. He showered in cold water for just a few minutes to wash his hair and clean himself of any carbon residue, before exiting the shower and dressing himself for bed.

As John stepped out into his room once again, he looked out over the horizon, finding that the sun was long gone, and only the lingering vestiges of its light persisted in the far west skyline. He walked over to the window and looked out over the beautiful expanse of Equestria, finding the aurora borealis already forming in the majestic night sky. Hundreds of thousands of brilliant white dots littered the view, illuminating the world below in pale white light.

Under the majesty of it all, John could only let out a long, quiet sigh. He felt the smallest of smiles tug at his lips, but he resisted the urge.

"Once they're safe..." He whispered.

John observed the beauty of the outside world for a few minutes, before turning around and heading to bed. It took him some time to fall asleep after that.

Author's Note

Of course I had to have a "tasting" scene of my own in this story. Hope it wasn't too much for you guys, or too little. If you like guns, then you probably recognized every single gun John has in this story, as well as the accessories he has on them as well. It will certainly be interesting to see how they work for him in the future...

Anyways, how about Tempest? She's pretty sore, but I'm sure she'll be fine lol. The next chapter is gonna be something else. I'm excited and nervous for it, but regardless, I look forward to what you guys think.