The blaring sound of speakers from the soundstage nearly numbed the unicorn’s ears as she was about to depart Canterlot. The Festival of Friendship was nearly over, she heard from the Princess of Friendship say, and the citizens were welcome to stay longer. But she wouldn’t want the reminder of almost enslaving and killing thousands of these ponies and creatures. It was a miracle the Mane Six managed to gather one of the hippogriffs and the pirates to defeat the Storm King’s army.
The Storm King. The one she obeyed for nearly a year. The one who promised to restore her horn, only for him to use her for his gain. For a seemingly incompetent and clueless ruler, he had the gall to betray his promise after what she’d been through. If it weren’t for Princess Twilight saving her life twice, it would’ve been cut short without having the chance to start over.
“Leaving already?”
The unicorn jumps at a nearby voice and turns to find the anthropomorphic cat that had recently joined forces with the Mane Six and another victim she almost killed. He’s leaning against a tree and appears to have acquired a new navy blue cape and a top hat.
She stutters a response. “O-oh, no. I-I was taking a break. It was getting a bit much.”
“Really?” He smirks. “I think it’s not enough.”
The unicorn grins. “Well, I’m not as much of a party pony as Pinkie Pie, so I wouldn’t know.”
The feline shrugs. “Every creature is different. By the way, where is that hedgehog friend of yours?”
“Oh, he’s still partying. I didn’t want to spoil his fun.” She stutters again. “I-I’m sorry, I haven’t caught your name.”
“To be fair, you were in a time crunch to catch those ponies and to please the Storm King.” She looks away in shame, along with her ears drooping. He has a look of regret before he clears his throat. He bows and tips his hat, saying, "Capper, at your service."
The unicorn chuckles at the gesture and introduces herself as well. “Tempest Shadow. Um, can I ask why you're here, too?”
“Well, Ms. Shadow,” Capper starts as he puts his hat back on. “It looked like you needed some company. I remember that in times of being in a rut, we could use a companion.”
Tempest's eyes widen in surprise, and she gives a bashful smile. “T-Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Capper nods. “I’ve also realized we both need solace with what we've done.”
Wait, what? Tempest thought. She acknowledges her need to find peace with her actions, but Capper? He only helped the Mane Six escape and lied about their destination.
“What did you do exactly?” She eventually asks.
Capper winces and looks away in embarrassment. “Let's just say, before you found the ponies, I was close to pawning them off to a circus while paying off my debt, among others.”
The unicorn's eyes widen again. It took a few seconds to respond with a light chuckle. “I guess that seems fair enough.”
As Capper was about to continue, they heard a shrill whistle behind them. When they turn, it bursts in a bright splash of red. Another firework pops into yellow.
“Looks like the party’s almost over,” Capper remarks.
“Hmm.”
The two watch the rest of the show, with the fireworks breaking the silence. It’s a spectacle if one could ignore the shrieking whistles and the thundering and flashing result.
Capper clears his throat once more. “As I was about to say, how about we share our journey of self-realization while we spread the word of the Storm King’s defeat?”
The night keeps having one surprise after another. Tempest attempts to answer and eventually sputters, “Really? You would-?”
The feline puts his paw up, halting the unicorn’s conversation. “Like I said, we both need solace and to regain friendship in our lives, so why not kill two birds with one stone and do this together?”
Tempest contemplates the offer. She barely knows the cat, yet he offers a paw to rebuild together after what happened, which involved him rebelling against her army. The closest thing to a friend was her assistant, Grubber and that was barely scratching the surface. Though, after the past couple of years, she won’t know if he’ll abandon her like the others before him.
The unicorn narrows her brows. “Is there a catch to this?’
Capper lowers his paw and instead scratches his head in response. “I…was afraid you might think that. After everything I’ve gone through, I honestly wouldn’t trust me either.” He then takes a deep breath and takes a knee. “But everything I’ve seen today, after meeting those ponies, after seeing what a simple act of friendship can do to you–to us, I can promise that I won’t go to my old ways and turn down someone in need.”
“Do you swear by it?”
Capper extends his paw to Tempest and replies, “You have my word."
Tempest carefully analyzes every detail of the cat's face, looking for any sign of deception, but finds nothing. He might be sincere, or he's been playing this game for so long that it's impossible to tell the difference. However, she won't know unless she tries. Eventually, she reaches out her hoof and shakes his paw.
“Hear, hear! Danger ith no longer near! The Thtorn King ith defeated!”
“Yes, rejoice! Celebrate with your heart’s desire!”
Tempest couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight beside the cart. After all, who wouldn’t find an anthropomorphic cat running around and giving a shoulder ride to a hedgehog comical? And possibly adorable.
“Thpread the word!”
“No need to run and hide! Come on out and take in the sun!”
“Alright, you two. I think they get it,” Tempest chuckles. “It’s nearly nightfall, so we better find a place to rest.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Capper playfully saluted. Grubber snickers at this while the unicorn rolls her eyes. Since joining Capper and Tempest's recent mission, Grubber enjoyed having the cat's company. Something about his confidence and suave gave the hedgehog someone else to look up to. It was also nice for him and Tempest to have someone else along for the ride.
The unlikely trio looked around and asked for directions for a good couple of minutes before one pony pointed out an inn in the southeast direction.
Once they found the one-story inn, they saw light creme paint peeling with the bricks revealing themselves. The windows had dust crawling upon them, the seemingly red doors were on the verge of collapse, yet the porch lamps had bright fires warming the cracked glass.
“Huh,” Grubber mutters.
“Yeah,” Tempest agrees.
Capper shrugs and remarks, “I’ve seen worse.”
The trio make their way inside the lobby and purchase two rooms. As the boys settle into their room, Tempest heavily exhales as she collapses onto the mattress.
Another day, another town. Even after three months of traveling from town to town and country to country, she had yet to get used to her exhausted muscles and newfound drowsiness. However, she finds it’s worth it if more creatures hear they’re safe from tyranny.
She then frowns at the memory of some citizens recognizing her from the Storm King's attack. They would either run away or threaten her posse to leave their homeland. With how she was willing to obey a tyrant over the destruction of capitals and risk lives, it was understandable, but the thought of it still soured her mind. Nowadays, it would take a decade or even a thousand years for others to see she’s striving to be better.
After stewing in bed, the unicorn realizes she’s parched. She recalls that she put a canteen in one of the cabinets. With reluctance, Tempest pulls out of bed and heads to the decaying wooden cabinets.
Once she gathered the canteen, a slight movement caught her eye beside her. Outside the dusted window, she sees the silhouette of her feline friend sitting on the porch with a burnt-out lamp. Tempest raises an eyebrow. When she opens the door, it gives a slight creak, startling the cat.
As Capper turns, he gives the unicorn a slight smile. “I didn’t realize you were still up.”
“Same with you,” Tempest replies. “What are you doing?”
“Just watching the stars and thinking.” He then pats the seat next to him. “Care to join me?”
The unicorn shrugs and takes the spot. “Is Grubber fine on his own?”
The feline snickers. “Oh, no need to worry about that. He immediately fell asleep as soon as he landed in bed.”
Tempest chuckles. “That sounds about right.”
The two then gaze at the starry night, taking in the glimmering sky and the cool breeze. Another bonus when traveling abroad is having more time to appreciate nature. Tempest would never notice the green and fresh grass, the pitter-patter of the rain, and the twinkling stars in her past life.
“I used to do this with my old friends all the time.”
Her thoughts halted when Capper spoke after a few moments. “Yeah?” she mutters.
The feline nods. “After we found a good day's worth of food, we'd count the stars in the sky.” His ears then droop as his voice lowers. “I didn't realize until months ago that I've taken those moments for granted.” His trip on memory lane halted when realizing what he uttered. “Sorry, that came out of nowhere.”
Tempest attempts to protest, but she refrains, not wanting to push further. An awkward silence passes between the two before she asks, “Can I ask what they were like, your friends?”
Capper doesn't say anything, contemplating whether or not to speak any more of his past. But it sounded like Tempest was genuinely interested in his former life. One of the things he's learned is when given enough time, you can either open up to someone or shut down.
The cat takes a deep breath and finally speaks. “The first friends I've ever had were Obsidian, Max, Molly, Admiral Fluffington, and…Chummer. Fluffington was a naval officer of Abyssinia while the others and I were getting by in the streets.”
Tempest raises an eyebrow. “How did you end up being friends with an Admiral?”
“Well, when we were kittens, we saw ships coming ashore and had the brilliant idea to raid them for food and weapons.” Capper chuckles at the memory. “One minute after they're gone, we get there, no problem. When we got in the cabin, we didn't find food, but we saw leftover weapons in a couple of boxes, so we decided to test them out for fun.
“Next thing we know, we see the Admiral himself, catching us in the act. We were scared out of our wits, thinking he was about to report the captain, instead, he led a secret stash of his food and distracted the captain for us to escape. It was the first time we had a meal that left us full.” He gains a nostalgic smile. “And ever since then, he became a part of our group and looked out for us.”
Capper shared with Tempest the stories of his other companions: Max, the muscle, Obsidian, the stealthy one, Molly, the pyromaniac, and Chummer, his closest friend. He also recounted the events of the Storm King's invasion, which ultimately led to the group's separation. Capper and Chummer managed to escape their home and sought refuge in Klugetown, only for Chummer to betray him out of fear that he would do it first, leaving Capper behind in Klugetown.
“That must’ve been hard, losing them like that,” Tempest mutters.
“It was,” the feline responds. “I hoped they were still alive because we were resilient and could handle anything. But I haven’t even thought about them until recently.” He sighs. “They’d probably be disappointed in me with what I did.”
“My family would be too. If it wasn’t for me being childish and stubborn, I wouldn’t left my home.” The unicorn looks over to Capper, who now has her full attention by having his paw on his chin, and gives a knowing grin, making Tempest giggle.
“I grew up in a small town in the Green Mountains. For a long while, it was me, my moms, and a couple of childhood friends.” She grows a wistful smile. “My moms taught me everything I knew about magic. Sometimes, I entertained and showed everypony what I’ve learned. They all loved it, and I haven’t felt that happy in a long time.”
The unicorn then frowns at the upcoming memory. “Unfortunately, all of it went away because I was reckless.” She takes a deep breath to steel herself. “My friends and I were playing too close to an Ursa Major's cave, even though our parents said not to. When we lost our ball in the cave, I went in, thinking I wouldn’t attract their attention, but my horn’s glow was too bright that it woke them up, and…,” Trickles of tears dripped down her face, and let out a soft sob.
She gasped as she felt something rubbing her back. She looks over to see Capper giving a sympathetic smile. He eventually embraces the unicorn, breaking the dam. She hugs him back, latching onto him. Tempest never had this type of interaction before. It felt incredible. The embrace went on for a few moments before Capper reluctantly let go.
Tempest wipes her eyes and says, “Thank you.” Capper nods and lets her continue. “After that, every time I used my horn, there were explosions left and right, and I accidentally hurt my friends and parents because of it, and everypony was avoiding me. My parents did everything they could to fix my horn, but nothing. So I ran away, thinking I was better off without them and I could fix my horn on my own. You know the rest by now.”
“I’m sorry.” Capper eventually speaks and lightly chuckles. “We’ve been through it.”
“Yep.”
“I don’t think I ever opened that much.”
“Me neither.”
“I guess that’s what happens when you have friends.” Tempest smiles at that. The feline suddenly yawns. “Okay, we’ve been up long enough. We gotta get ready for tomorrow.”
“Oh, right.” Before the two head back into their rooms, Tempest taps the feline’s coat, grabbing his attention. “Thanks for opening up, must have been difficult to do that.”
Capper smirks. “Same with you.”
Tempest nods, and they go back to their rooms, ready for a good night’s sleep and another day of traveling.
Author's Note
SURPRISE! I'm alive! Yes, this is not a new chapter of As The Years Go By, but I might as well work on something else rather than stewing and struggling to think of a new chapter. Feel free to offer constructive criticism! I'm always looking for something to improve my writing. Until next time!
