Prelude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSJRVrPzVI8

Blood dripped from her nostrils as Tempest Shadow blankly gazed over the crowd standing before her, all shouting and screaming their rage in the early morning sunlight. Her gaze slowly drifted from one side of the festival platform to the other, finding almost every square inch of the area covered in multicolored ponies all pointing their anger directly at her.

How did this happen? She thought to herself, It was supposed to be so easy...

Almost subconsciously, she looked over toward the captured air ships all tied together on the lower platforms below. Memories of her once imposing fleet flashed by her mind, only to be dashed away as she was brutally shoved forward, her broken foreleg giving out immediately and dropping her onto her muzzle, once more.

Cheers echoed from the crowd as the guards picked her up for the third time, and roughly moved her over to the wooden steps just below the slowly swinging noose above. The trial was declared the fastest trial in Equestrian history, having taken less than five minutes for three of the four alicorn princesses to declare her guilty. The fourth took almost an entire eight hours of convincing. High treason and attempted assassination of at least one of the royal alicorns made for an instant death sentence, and as the noose steadily approached, Tempest finally picked up on the voice of the solar princess standing just a few feet away from her.

"-for your crimes against the crown, as well as Equestria as a whole, it is with great sorrow, that I must sentence you to death. You are to be the first pony to be executed in Equestria in over two thousand years. Do you have any last words?" Celestia announced, her regal voice booming over the cheering crowd.

Almost out of morbid curiosity, a hush quickly washed over the gathered ponies, silencing the crowd so they could hear the broken unicorn's last words.

Now with perfect silence, Tempest's mind raced. Memories of her entrance, her speech, and her assault flashed through her mind, but as her eyes flicked back and forth over the crowd, she saw a haunting memory of where it all went wrong. A broken pillar, barely even holding together at its base, sent a flashback right into her brain.

Tempest kicked the fourth medusa orb toward the last princess as she tried to keep Luna's petrified form from shattering into the ground. Just before the orb could make contact, a prismatic blur knocked her out of the way, leaving a gray pegasus mare to take the impact instead. Tempest frowned at the missed shot, but quickly found a smirk reappearing on her face as she watched the last princess gallop away in fear.

"Get her, now!" She barked, her storm soldiers quickly jumping from the airship to the platform below to give chase.

Tempest cocked her head back in mild amusement as the burly creatures barreled after the much smaller pony princess and her friends. She looked over to her left, and then her right, seeing more and more of her air ships anchoring off the platform to deploy her invasion force while the ponies of Canterlot fled in terror. The sight formed a wicked smirk on her face while she confidently strode down her landing stairs to the entombed princesses arranged in different stages of panic.

"You sure got them good, boss! They never saw that coming!" Grubber cheered, wiping the crumbs from his face from his latest snack while he chugged along after her.

"Only one princess to go... and she should be here before me in a matter of seconds. This was almost too easy." Tempest chuckled, tapping the stone Celestia's wither as if she were admiring a sculpture.

Just as Grubber opened his mouth to respond, a sound like thunder echoed out from the direction of the last princess, making both Tempest and her second whip their heads toward the sound of the noise, only for a dozen more to rake at their ears.

"Gah! What the heck was that?!" Grubber exclaimed, covering his ears as another volley of thunderous sound echoed through Canterlot.

"I don't know..." Tempest muttered, her brow furrowing in slight concern, before turning to the Storm soldiers standing all around the platform, all looking confused by the cause of the noise, "Go over there and get me that princess!" She shouted, her horn crackling with malicious intent.

The Storm soldiers immediately took the hint and charged toward the noise. Shouts and battlecries temporarily filled the air while the beasts rounded the corner of a party tent and disappeared into the dust filling the air. The sounds of her soldiers charging into battle faded away after a few moments, leaving an eerie silence as Tempest and Grubber shared a look. Then, the thunder returned, in a volley that made both pony and hedgehog cover their ears as the deafening echoes ricocheted off of the stone Canterlot walls around them, amplifying the sound even more.

Tempest noticed thirty distinct blasts before a short silence filled the air once more. It only lasted for a few seconds, before another fifteen made her wince as her ears flicked back against her head.

"What the heck is that!?" Grubber shouted, frantically looking back and forth between Tempest and the direction of the noise.

Tempest's brow furrowed deeply in concern as she looked straight at the corner her soldiers rounded not thirty seconds earlier. She nearly gasped in shock as she witnessed a lone Storm soldier run around the corner, his fur matted with blood and a distinct limp in his gait. He didn't even make it two steps closer before two more blasts echoed from the corner, and the soldier jerked to the side, as if he'd been struck. Tempest's jaw finally dropped as the second blast dropped the soldier to the ground, his body quickly going limp as blood pooled around him.

Tempest felt a cold feeling well up in her chest at the sight of one of her soldiers laying dead in front of her. Beside her, Grubber fared even worse, and threw up onto the tiled platform. The dust kicked up by their initial assault slowly settled, allowing them both a view of a dark silhouette slowly approaching them. The figure walked on two legs, much like her soldiers, only its frame was markedly smaller and slimmer, though still with a noticeable amount of mass when compared to a pony.

After walking within fifty feet of the unicorn and hedgehog, the figure came to a stop, and shouldered what Tempest could only assume was some kind of weapon.

"This is your one and only chance to surrender peacefully." The figure spoke, it's voice definitively masculine.

Tempest's brow furrowed as she stared back at the creature slowly being revealed through the dust. Even after her decades of travel and experience, It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. A shaggy mop of black hair sat atop its head framing a squared jawline peppered with a black beard that obscured most of its face. Two deep brown eyes glared back at her, just above a surprisingly small nose on the creature's face. He wore a simple black suite with a black tie, and a white undershirt. Aside from the strange stick-like weapon in his hands, the creature looked like a normal Canterlot citizen here for the friendship festival.

"We surrender!" Grubber immediately shouted, sticking his arms up in fear at the intimidating creature standing before him and his commander.

Tempest shot Grubber a look that could melt glass, before her horn crackled with magical energy. The creature immediately pointed its weapon directly at her, its posture noticeably tensing. Tempest smacked the back of Grubber's head, making him squeal in pain.

"We most certainly do not surrender." Tempest seethed through grit teeth.

"B-but, boss, he killed all of those goons in seconds! Maybe we shouldn't mess with him!" Grubber protested, rubbing the back of his head as he frantically looked back and forth between Tempest and the creature.

"Those goons weren't me." Tempest growled, before turning toward the creature once more.

Without waiting for a response from either of the beings around her, Tempest's horn crackled to life, sending a bolt of lighting straight toward the alien creature. It deftly spun to the side, narrowly dodging the bolt of energy, before re-aiming at Tempest, only to duck under a second bolt. Just as she charged a third attack, the creature dove behind one of the vendor carts sitting out on the platform and disappeared. Tempest angrily fired her third bolt of energy at the pillar standing just beside the vendor cart, knocking out the bottom support and toppling the structure right onto the cart, sending stone and wood splinters flying.

Tempest blinked several times, before turning her head to look at the princess standing just a few feet away, an expectant look on her face. She struggled to find words, any words at all that could convey the raging thoughts in her head, but found almost nothing. Her mouth felt dry as she nervously swallowed.

"Even... after everything I told you?" She managed to say, her voice nearly cracking.

Celestia slowly nodded and closed her eyes, "I am afraid so. Your crimes are some of the most severe any pony has ever committed on Equestrian soil, and after Harmony sent us mister Smith... we've learned that our current methods of dealing with threats like you are too lax. For what it's worth, I truly am sorry." She replied, her tone conveying a deep sense of sorrow.

Tempest's already creased brow furrowed even further as she looked out to the crowd once more. Her eyes nearly instantly locked onto a small opening in the crowd, where a damaged table laid, multiple holes present in its frame.

Tempest charged toward the downed pillar, her horn crackling with malicious intent as she leapt through the dust, finding nothing but shattered marble and stone laying on the ground. She quickly looked left and right, finding a shadowy figure running through the dust. Her target located, she galloped after it, her steel horseshoes clopping noisily on the nearly silent platform.

She shot a bolt of lightning at the figure, just as it dove behind a toppled wooden table. Her shot missed, and she lost sight of the target as she quickly closed the last of the distance to the table. However, to her shock, the table suddenly launched from the ground straight at her, forcing her to dive to the ground below. As the table sailed just a few scant inches over her head, her gaze locked onto the creature pointing its weapon directly above her. A blinding flash of light nearly forced her to shut her eyes while another deafening crack of thunder raked at her ears. Splinters of wood touched the back of her neck as hole after hole was punched into the wooden table.

With her newfound proximity, Tempest could finally see the features of the creature's face clearly, as well as the emotion present on its face. Namely, surprise. She watched in slow motion as the creature's eyes flicked down to her while her armor scraped and slid on the stone floor. With the upper hoof finally assured, she slammed her hooves onto the ground like coiled springs, launching herself at the creature as her horn crackled to life once more. Time moved slowly as she closed in, sparks of electrically charged magic sputtering from her broken horn while she wore a scowl of intent.

She could never anticipate just how quickly the creature could react, however, and just before she could make contact, he fell backwards, onto his back. Tempest felt her stomach drop as she sailed just over the creature, her horseshoes only barely grazing his suit as he hit the ground. Tempest flew another few feet before landing and turning to face him, her hooves skidding to a halt after just a moment.

Whatever that thing in his hands is, I can't afford to get hit by it. Looks like he has to be pointing it at me for it to do anything...

Just as quickly as Tempest got solid footing, the creature rolled onto its stomach and shouldered its weapon once more. Tempest immediately dove to the side as another hail of thunder and concussive flashes made her ears ring. She felt heat pass right under her barrel as a sharp breeze whizzed under her. She landed on her wither behind a small cart and quickly rolled to her hooves. She almost couldn't hear the creature getting up as well due to the newfound ringing in her ears.

The creature's weapon stayed trained in her direction almost the entire time as it got to its feet. With perilously few options left, Tempest reached down to her waistline and grabbed her last medusa orb with her hoof.

Was saving this for the Storm King, but I suppose you've left me no choice.

Tempest peeked from behind the cart, finding the creature steadily approaching her, its weapon at the ready. With her plan devised, she clutched the orb in her hoof and broke into a three legged gallop out from her cover. Instantly, another cacophony of terrible sound blared from her left side, and she felt an impact on her hind leg armor. Her entire body rattled as the armor stopped the projectile, the impact leaving a heavy dent and nearly knocking her off of her hooves entirely.

She managed to gallop behind one of the stone princesses and pause to catch her breath. Her left thigh ached badly from the impact, and she cast a worried glance, finding that while the armor held, the dent was so severe that it was nearly completely punctured. She hurriedly looked over Luna's stone wings, seeing the creature fast approaching. Taking a breath to steady her nerves, Tempest jumped onto Luna's back before leaping into the air once more, her forward momentum quickly carrying her into a front-flip just as she released the orb from her hoof. It flew just a foot above her head before her hindleg smacked into it, sending the orb sailing toward the creature as she completed the flip.

Tempest shook her head in disbelief before looking to Celestia once more. The solar princess eyed her warily, but with a noticeable measure of sadness in her eyes that showed through even her world-renowned poker face. Beside her, Luna looked stoically on over the crowd, before glancing over to the broken unicorn. Hostility instantly flashed through her eyes before she looked away to the crowd once more.

"What... what even was that creature?" Tempest questioned, more to herself than to anypony else.

"That creature was mister Smith. A human." Cadence answered from beside Celestia, a deep frown on her face as she observed.

Tempest mouthed the word 'human', before another guard shoved her forward once more. She managed to not fall on her muzzle again, and slowly ascended the three steps leading to the noose. Another guard was already waiting for her on the platform, his horn glowing yellow as he adjusted the noose down to her head. Tempest felt her lip quiver as the rope was pushed over her head and secured around her neck. She felt the tightness cut off her air slightly, but managed to gulp back her protests as she crowd erupted into cheers once more.

With her time quickly coming to an unforeseen end, Tempest took one last look over the crowd. Ponies of every species, color, and corner of Equestria cheered and stomped their approval at the prospect of watching her die. Every pony in the crowd cheered for her death, except one. Even from across the platform, Tempest could see the Princess of Friendship watching her, tears streaking down from her purple eyes as she stared on in horror.

As Tempest landed on her hooves with a resounding *clang* of steel against stone, she watched the orb bolt through the air toward the approaching creature. However, for what could have been the third time, Tempest was stunned by the split second reaction of the creature. He quickly lowered his weapon and dove away from the orb as it sailed right past his shoulder and collided with a potted plant, instantly exploding and turning it to stone.

Tempest took no time to worry over the failed attempt, as she saw a new opening, and instantly seized upon it. Breaking into the fastest gallop she could muster, the mulberry unicorn darted toward the creature as it stood back up to its full height. Just before he could aim his weapon in her direction, she closed the last few feet between them, her horn sparking as she leapt forward, slamming her armored wither into his shoulder and nearly knocking him to the ground.

Quickly skidding to a halt just beside him, Tempest spun around, her tail flicking back and whipping the backs of his knees and knocking him to his back once more. He managed to maintain control of his weapon with his right hand, although with it now pointing straight into the sky, Tempest easily kicked it out of his grasp with one leg.

With the creature now defenseless beside her, she reared back and brought her forehooves down to the ground to slam into the creature's skull. He deftly rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the impact as her steel horseshoes cracked the marble underneath. Tempest had but a fraction of a second to realize her attack missed, before a hand firmly grasped her collar. She looked up only in time to see the creature's knee as it slammed into her muzzle, sending a sharp jolt of pain through her skull as the cartilage in her snout broke.

Tempest attempted to stagger back, only for the creature to hold her firmly in place and knee her in the muzzle once more. She felt a woozy feeling in her head as she tried to break his grip with her forelegs, but as blood spilled from her nostrils, she found that the beast was simply stronger than she was. The stunning strike against her face stunted her ability to use her broken horn, and any attempts to smash the creature's face with her hooves were blocked by his other arm acting as a shield over its head.

With her left foreleg, Tempest tried to hold the creature back while she used her right foreleg to attempt to pry his grip from her collar. However, after less than a second of this, the creature latched onto her left foreleg with his free hand and rolled his legs back up almost over his head. In a blur of motion that she could barely see, the creature trapped her foreleg between his legs and his hands. He quickly extended his legs against her chest and barrel, swiftly pushing her off balance and to her back while he pulled her foreleg against his stomach with both hands. Meanwhile, his legs held her down to the ground, and a feeling of horror welled up in the broken unicorn's heart as she realized just what predicament she was in.

A foreleg-bar?! But... how!? What kind of creature is this thing!?

As pressure increased on her foreleg, bending it in a way that it most certainly was not supposed to bend, panic set in. Tempest desperately kicked at the creature's ribs while she fought with all her strength to resist the unnatural movement of her foreleg. The pressure continued to increase, and her struggle grew even more desperate. Pain creeped up her foreleg into her wither as her muscles strained to hold her bones in the proper shape, but it was a quickly losing battle. A loud, unnatural, and grotesque *snap* echoed out from her foreleg, and Tempest screamed in agony as her bones gave way.

Tears spilled from her tightly closed eyes while her body shook with the finality of the broken bones, and she wheezed in pain while the creature quickly released its hold on her shattered limb and got to his feet. A grimace covered Tempest's face as she grit her teeth and looked up to the creature. Agonizing, stabbing pain shot up her foreleg and into her wither, making the entire limb twitch with each erratic beat of her heart, sending additional jolts of pain down the broken bones and making her nearly sob in pain.

The creature stood up to its full height, now towering over the prone form of Tempest, before brushing its coat to the side, revealing a small satchel of some sort, holding what looked like an 'L' shaped piece of metal. He quickly grabbed the new weapon and moved to aim it directly at her head, only to dive to the side as she fired one last bolt of magical lighting. As he dove out of the way, he pointed his weapon at her and blindly fired two markedly smaller, but still blinding flashes of concussive light.

Tempest felt another jolt of pain, so swift that she almost didn't notice the feeling of the impact, until pain in her left hindleg shot all the way through to her flank. She gasped before crying out in agony as excruciating pain throbbed through her hindleg and blood quickly oozed out to the ground below. Laying in a small puddle of her own blood, unable to move her limbs as lancing pain shot through her again and again, Tempest watched as the creature got back up to his feet and walked toward her.

He stopped just ahead of her, and aimed his weapon directly at her head, though her tear filled eyes made it hard to tell. A pregnant moment of silence filled the air as the broken unicorn stared down a spiral of death held by the only creature to ever best her. With a small whimper of pain and regret, she closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

"John! Wait!" A feminine voice cried out, snapping Tempest's eyes open.

The princess of friendship galloped over to the imposing creature, her hooves skidding to a halt just a few feet away as she panted for breath.

"Don't... kill her..." Twilight ordered, catching her breath, "I asked you to take her alive."

The creature, now known as John, slowly looked up to Twilight, a small furrow in his brow, "Do you really think you'll get anything useful out of her?" He asked, his raspy voice sending a chill down Tempest's spine.

"I do. Even if not, Luna has ways to get that information." Twilight reasoned.

John sighed through his nostrils, "Alright." He said, holstering his weapon and turning away.

Tempest could only watch in a daze as John walked away, picking up his bigger, longer weapon from the ground, before leaving her with the princess of friendship. She quickly lost consciousness as dozens of guards galloped over to her at Twilight's behest, bandages and hoofcuffs already held in their magical grasp.

Tempest felt the rope pull taught against her neck as the guards prepared to drop her. She struggled a nervous gulp against the thick fibers wrapped tightly around her neck. She fought a losing battle to to stop the tremor shooting down her legs and up her spine, but the knowledge of what was about to happen simply overpowered her resistance. She blinked back tears as another guard read out her last rites.

Memories of her childhood, of the ursa minor, and of the decades all alone quickly flashed through her mind. The rope rubbed against her neck, irritating the skin underneath and making her hiss in discomfort. The guard finished her rites and stepped to the side, giving the nod to the executioner guard standing next to the lever that would bring about her demise. As she heard him take the last steps to the lever, she felt her heart plummet into her stomach, and closed her eyes in fear at the impending end to her miserable life.

Then, the lever was pulled and as she fell, all she could hear was the sound of the rope snapping taught above.

Author's Notes:

Well that was certainly an entrance! I am very excited to bring you guys this new story, and I hope you like what I have so far. As you can see above, chapter themes are back! Woohoo!

I know some people might be asking "why didn't you just make it John Wick and then change his backstory", and well, I honestly just don't really see John Wick in this scenario. Idk, I don't think he works in the mlp world the way I want him to, and personally, I don't really like crossovers, so I figured I'd change him up enough to where he is still pretty much the same guy, but also not, in a way. Regardless, I hope you guys liked the chapter, and fear not, I will be uploading weekly until I either finish writing the story, or run out of finished chapters to upload.

This is gonna be a fun journey, and I think you all will like what I have planned.

Chapter 1

View Online

Smoke filled the air as the smell of gunpowder filled his nose. His eyes glanced back and forth in the dark room, finding nothing but the jagged black pillars supporting the metallic structure he found himself standing in. Blood dripped from his nose, among several other places on his body, yet he could feel no pain. His vision faded in and out in a haze as a maniacal laugh echoed out from all around him.

A blur of white fur and hardened steel flashed past him, making him spin in place and aim his weapon in the direction of the movement. For some strange reason, the weapon only appeared to him as a blurry, disjointed mess of polymer and steel. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision and focus, yet his mind could only drift to the sound of claws scraping against metal. He quickly spun on his feet and aimed at the threat, only to find nothing but darkness once more.

All it took was a fraction of a second for the blur of white to knock him off his feet and send him skidding across the floor, yet no pain registered on his body. Dizzy, disorientated, and struggling to comprehend the situation at hand, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, finding that his weapon was long gone. As he looked up to the snow white figure standing before him, some details finally cleared up enough for him to see.

A twin horned steel helmet sat above a wolfish face contorted into a snarl that showed teeth that could easily rip him to shreds. Ice blue eyes stared back at him with the anger and hatred only a sapient creature could muster. White fur covered nearly every square inch on its body, save for its smoky colored claws. Heavy blackened steel plate armor covered its chest, while two slits of bright blue shown out against the rest of the bleak colors adorning the beast.

He had no time to react, no time to move. Before even an inkling of a thought could process in his head, the creature turned to a blur of motion once more, and suddenly he felt three strong claws wrapped around his neck. Once more, he felt no pain, only pressure. His vision slowly faded as the beast strangled the life from him. His hands fell useless at his sides as the creature laughed a villainous, heinous laugh.

Time slowed and blackness surrounded him, but in the last moment, a flash of light, as blinding as it was brilliant, washed over him. The darkness evaporated and the figure squeezing him to death faded away under the power of the light. Sparks flew and blue arcs of lightning filled the air, turning the dark oppressive room into a kaleidoscope of color, illuminating every dark crevice and corner.

He fell, his body lying limp on the cold steel floor as more and more light washed over him. Vibrations reverberated through the very air, moving him side to side as the light continued to explode into brilliance around him. The vibrations increased, making him shake in place until the motions became violent.

Despite commanding his body to obey his whims and rise, he could only lay there in the volatile tempest completely engulfing his vision. Booming blue light filled his sight, only flickering momentarily for the brief crackle of lightning before resuming its display. However, something quickly blocked out the light. A figure, no more than a few feet tall, blurrily moved to him. His sight, faded as it was, only saw colors, and as he finally lost sight of the blinding blue light, two colors took their place: soft mulberry, and ruby red.

He felt, rather than heard the voice calling out to him, screaming to him with all her strength. It was a feminine voice, tinted with fear and concern, but he couldn't make out the words. Pressure applied to his body in various places reminded him that he could still feel, but the feeling faded fast. All he could focus on was the struggle to hear her voice, and finally, he understood her.

"John! Get up! Please!" She cried.

For the first time, he felt strength well up in his lungs, and a weak, desperate plea sang from his lips, "Did... did you do it?"

His voice felt broken, and jagged. It could more aptly be called a croak, not a voice, yet it was enough for her.

"Y-yes... it's done." She answered, sniffling once.

"Good... that's good." He softly murmured.

The darkness quickly took over once more, and then there was nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsrIy4a4wEQ

John's eyes snapped open and he sat up with a start. Cold sweat stained his linen sheets and sent a chill down his spine as his mind raced. His chest heaved while the events of his dream replayed in his head, although many of the details were lost. Visions of gnashing teeth, white blurs and jagged steel imprinted in his brain, but all of those details were insignificant in comparison to the one detail that he could remember clearly.

"Her... voice." He whispered, his eyes slowly migrating to the open window across his massive bedroom.

The curtains, draped neatly beside the large window, billowed slightly with the gentle morning breeze that filled the room with the scent of the previous day's battle. Smoke and sulfur reached his nose, making it wrinkle slightly as John got out of bed.

Almost instinctively, he walked toward the window, his brow furrowed and his muscles tensed. More and more of the scarred city appeared in his vision as he approached, showing a clear view of the destruction wrought in only a few short minutes of conflict. He quickly caught sight of the crowd of ponies out on the festival platform, and the makeshift gallows they'd built in the wee hours of the early morning. His piercing eyes locked onto the figure standing on the elevated platform, her soft purple coat and red mohawk standing out even at this distance.

His palms felt sweaty, and his arms tensed as he watched her fearfully glancing through the crowd, almost as if she was looking for something or someone to save her. He could just barely hear the voice of Celestia as she addressed the crowd, gaining a volley of cheers and applause in response.

John looked away from the sight, his hand moving to rub his temple as he strained to recall more of the dream, but the memories were even more faded than just a few moments prior. He squeezed his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to remember anything more useful, but his efforts proved fruitless, as only one thing remained in his mind.

Y-yes... it's done.

Growling at his inability to recall anything more meaningful, John looked up through the window once more to observe the crowd. Celestia spoke to the mulberry mare with a red mohawk once more, ushering silence over the gathered ponies. She said something, so quietly that it was inaudible at such a great distance, before receiving an answer that made her gaze sink to the ground below.

John chewed on his tongue as he fought with himself over his next course of action. His own hesitation sent a flash of anger through his mind, and he tightly balled up his fists as he watched the sentence continue. Brief glimpses of his dream bubbled back up to the surface, granting a realization that made his blood run cold, and his eyes to widen.

"Red... hair... purple coat..." He muttered, his eyes quickly flicking back up to the mare standing at the end of the gallows.

Time froze as John got a clear look at the mare. Mulberry and red, just like his dream. He took no further time to debate. With the speed and precision of a man possessed, he spun on his feet and sprinted to the closet across the room. Grabbing both handles with his hands, he flung the doors open to reveal a smorgasbord of weapons. He grabbed his .308 precision rifle and cocked the bolt back, ensuring that a round was still loaded in the chamber. Once he was sure there was brass seated comfortably in the action, he closed the bolt and ran to the window, flipping open the bipod in the process.

Setting the rifle down on the windowsill, he pulled the stock into his shoulder and brought his cheek down to the cheek-pad. His eye instinctively found its place just behind the crystal clear glass of his scope. Black crosshairs appeared in his vision, immediately followed by hundreds of colorful ponies. With the magnification he had, individual hairs stood out on each and every pony he could see, making it easy to identify the pony he was aiming for.

His crosshairs came to a rest just a few inches above her head, and focused atop the brown rope tied around her neck. She stood still, almost as if to help him line up a clean shot. As his finger slowly migrated to the trigger, John let out a long, controlled breath. He allowed the weapon to steady against him as he gently applied pressure to the trigger. Ounces of pressure crept the trigger forward until it reached its wall, leaving nothing but another pound of pressure between firing and not firing.

Just as his finger reached the threshold to break the trigger, a yellow blur suddenly obscured his view of his target. Instantly breaking his cheek-weld on the stock and looking over his scope, John saw the source of the obstruction to his target. A yellow pegasus, having taken flight to get a better view of the execution, held his position in the sky, directly blocking his view of his objective.

Frantically looking for a way to shoot over or under the pegasus, or possibly reposition for a better shot, John whipped his head back and forth. There was only one window with a line of sight to the platform, which he was currently using. There was room to move to the side, but after quickly repositioning, he found that the pegasus was too close to the target for his new angle to give a clean shot. He let out a frustrated growl as he watched another pony speak on the platform.

Finally, with no other options, he threw his rifle onto the bed and rushed over to the closet. He hurriedly grabbed the Beretta 1301 shotgun from the bottom rack and racked the charging handle to the rear, ejecting the buckshot shell already loaded into the weapon. He hastily grabbed the slug from the side saddle and threw it into the action, before letting the bolt slam home and chamber the new ammunition. Without a moment of hesitation, he turned on his heels and sprinted to the door.

Guards standing beside his chambers jumped as he barged through the door, his feet screeching to a halt in the marble hallway, before he turned left and bolted down the hallway.

"Sir!?" One guard cried.

"What's wrong!?" The other added, as they both galloped after him.

John quickly arrived at the end of the hallway, and descended the spiral staircase leading down to one of the many entertainment rooms filling the castle. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, he sprinted through the room, startling several nobles and castle staff as he passed them, wearing only a pair of boxers, a white t-shirt, and carrying a shotgun in his hands.

Several ponies tried to get his attention, or question his reasons for creating such a scene in the castle, but he paid them no mind as he quickly reached the end of the room and burst into another hallway. Hooking a right, he ran until arriving at the main foyer of the castle, where nearly three dozen ponies froze in their tasks to stare at him with wide eyes as he hurried past them.

"Open the door!" John shouted, startling the guards standing beside the massive foyer doorway as he quickly approached.

Both ponies instantly ignited their horns, a look of fear on their faces as their eyes fell on him. The door handles illuminated in gold and silver hues, before the massive doors were slowly pushed open. John hastily ran between them, squeezing through the still-narrow opening of the doors as they sluggishly opened for him.

Now out in the open, John looked to the direction of the platform, using the many pegasi circling or hovering in place as a reference. He rushed toward the site, narrowly dodging the dozens of ponies walking around in the front yard of the castle. He pushed through the crowded ponies until reaching the front gate and pushing past the guards stationed there, leaving puzzled looks on their faces as he ran into Canterlot morning traffic.

Carts and ponies' taxis screeched to a halt as John ran through them. Several sharply turned to avoid hitting him, while others simply didn't see him until it was too late. As he reached the end of the busy district street, a pony taxi failed to see him, and plowed into his legs, knocking him over the cab and down to the hard ground below. His weapon fell from his grasp, and clattered to the asphalt beside him while the pony dragging the taxi frantically tried to unhitch himself to help him.

"Oh my Celestia! I didn't see you there, Mister Smith! Are you alright?!" He asked, clearly alarmed.

As John pushed himself to his knees, he gave the taxi a sidelong glance and a heavy sigh, before shaking his head and getting up completely.

"I'm fine." He said, tersely, before reaching down to pick up his shotgun.

The ponies in the cart looked at him with a measure of fear and concern as he limped to the sidewalk, rubbing his road rash-ridden forearm against his white shirt, staining it red, instantly. Once he was safe on the sidewalk again, he looked up for the pegasi once more. He spotted them easily enough, and broke into an uneasy jog. Pain flared up in his right knee, but he quickly pushed it to the side as he increased his pace.

Within a few more seconds, he reached the staircase leading down to the lower levels of Canterlot. He hurried down the stairs, and found himself in the middle district, just a few hundred feet from the platform. He forced his bruised knee to cooperate as he sprinted as fast as he could toward the gathered ponies. He quickly found himself at the back of the group, with no clear line of sight due to all the pegasi still hovering about, blocking out the gallows. He quickly rushed to his left, finding a party tent that was still standing and ran inside.

Fortunately, there were no ponies in the tent, allowing him to easily reach the other side and throw the flap out of his way. He just barely noticed the purple pony princess standing just in front of him, tears spilling from her eyes as she looked out to the sight ahead. However, just as John's eyes darted up to the elevated platform ahead, the executioner pulled the lever, and the plum colored mare fell, the rope around her neck snapping taut just a fraction of a second later.

John's jaw fell slightly as the snap of the rope rang out over the platform, making most of the ponies present cringe and look away. More than one pony vomited at the sight of the Storm King's captain hanging by her neck, though that sight was far from the worst of it. The worst part was that she was still alive.

Tears leaked from her bulging eyes as the rope constricted her airway, depriving her of precious oxygen as her body dangled several feet above the ground. She struggled a gag of pain while her forehooves struggled with their bonds, making little progress as they were tied off to her hindlegs as well. Any attempt to reach up to her neck was swiftly halted by her inability to contort her body far enough.

Nearly every pony in the crowd gasped and cringed at the sight. Some outright ran from the scene while others stood stock still, too taken aback to even look away. Beside John, Twilight let out a horrified gasp.

"Her neck didn't break..." She whispered, fresh tears clawing out of her eyes as she watched.

On the elevated platform, many guards squirmed uncomfortably from witnessing the sight before them, while Celestia, Luna, and Cadence shared a bounty of mixed emotions.

"Should we cut her down?" Cadence fearfully questioned, looking back and forth between her aunts.

"Nay. This is a much slower and more painful way to die... but death was her sentence anyway." Luna replied, struggling to watch the mare choke to death before her.

"Auntie Celestia?" Cadence asked, a pleading tone in her voice.

"I'm afraid... Luna is right, Cadence. Tempest's sentence was death... while I wouldn't wish this on any creature, she's already half way through death's door. There's no sense in stopping it now." Celestia sadly answered, shaking her head as she closed her eyes and looked away.

Tempest's lips quickly turned blue and her eyes bloodshot as she grit her teeth in a desperate fight for survival. The rope tightly coiled around her neck like a snake, crushing her windpipe and putting enormous strain on the admittedly strong muscles of her neck and wither. As the seconds dragged on and on, each passing like an eternity of pain and anguish for the broken mare, her struggles grew weaker and weaker. Harsh, jerky movements quickly lost their strength, and devolved into small twitches that could barely be perceived.

John grit his teeth and sprinted through the crowd of stunned ponies, knocking Twilight out of her stupor in the process. The lavender alicorn stared at him in shock as he barreled closer to the dying unicorn. Any words she had to say died in her throat as she watched him rush over to a broken cart that was still laying among the crowded ponies and brace his shotgun against the frame. He instantly shouldered the weapon and pressed the fire selector from 'safe' to 'fire'.

Tempest gave one last twitch as consciousness left her, finally allowing the rope to settle from its pendulous movement. With his finger pressed against the trigger, immediately taking up all of the slack and pushing it right to its breaking point, John let out a steadying breath and aimed for the rope. The red dot of his optic found its place covering a small portion of the rope, and after just a fraction of a second to ensure he was ready, John pulled the trigger.

A roaring boom shot forth from his weapon, sending a one ounce rifled slug sailing out of the barrel and through the air at lightning speed. Ponies around him didn't even react before the slug struck the rope, shredding it instantly, and letting Tempest's unconscious form fall free. For a brief moment, all time stood still. Smoke billowed from the barrel of John's shotgun while the expended shell sailed out of the action as it picked up the next shell in the tube.

Then time resumed, and chaos immediately ensued. All ponies in the area jumped and covered their ears from the concussive blast of a twelve gauge shotgun firing in their immediate vicinity. Tempest's body fell to the ground like a sack of bricks, but nopony even noticed as John pulled all of their attention to himself. As he stood up to his full height, the ponies closest to him backed away in fear, their eyes wide and trained onto the still smoking barrel of his gun.

The princesses on the platform were aghast as John calmly walked toward the gallows, his shotgun resting on his shoulder.

"Wha-What is the meaning of this!?" Luna exclaimed, her already loud voice booming over the deadly silent platform.

John ignored her as he continued to walk to the downed commander. He quickly reached the front line of royal guards, the majority of them still staring at him in surprise and fear. As he approached, they quickly parted enough to allow him to pass, before closing their formation once more, although, not without a concerned glance over all of their withers.

"Mister Smith, what in the name of Harmony is going on?" Celestia questioned, flapping down to John's side.

"If she's still alive, I'll explain." John replied, as he reached the plum coated unicorn.

He kneeled down beside her and set his shotgun on the ground to his side. With some quick finagling, he undid the noose around her neck and pressed his fingers against her jugular while also brining his ear to her mouth. A weak, almost desperate pulse greeted him, along with rough, struggling breaths, prompting a sigh of relief from the man as he looked over to Celestia.

"Get her to the hospital. Make sure her trachea isn't crushed. Now." John ordered, turning to Celestia.

Celestia's jaw moved up and down as she tried to formulate words, yet none would come to her. The ponies around them both stared in abject shock at both John's sudden concern for the unicorn's health, as well as the blatant disregard for their ruler's authority. Several tense seconds ticked by as John stared her dead in the eye, a small frown present on his face.

Finally, Celestia let out a quiet sigh and looked down in defeat, "Alright," She replied, before turning to her guards, "Take her to the hospital and make sure she survives." She ordered.

Several of the guards standing just a few feet away snapped to attention and saluted their princess, before scrambling over each other to get Tempest on a stretcher and to the hospital. Meanwhile on the platform above them, Luna and Cadence stumbled over their words.

"Wha? B-but... I don't understand." Cadence said, her eyes darting back and forth between John and Celestia.

"What in Tartarus is this!? She's been tried, and convicted!" Luna shouted, her wings flaring out in frustration, before she looked to Celestia, "Sister, have you gone mad? We've already sentenced this mare!"

Celestia visibly winced at her sister's words, but before she could turn to answer her, John spoke up.

"Meet me in the castle once we're sure she's alive. I'll explain everything there." John announced, before turning around and heading toward the hospital with the guards.

"I-wha... but... he can't just do that!" Luna cried, looking back and forth between her sister and niece.

"John's always had his reasons for everything he does... something must have happened." Celestia muttered, her voice so quiet that her sister couldn't quite hear her.

"What?" Luna questioned, flying down to Celestia.

The solar princess shook her head, "Nevermind that, Luna. Please, take Cadence and Twilight to the castle throne room. I will go to the hospital with John and ensure that Tempest survives." She replied.

Luna did a double take, "Y-you cannot be serious, sister!? We're just going to... let him stop an execution that we all agreed upon? Something that was his idea in the first place?" She questioned, exasperation in her voice.

"It appears so. I'm not certain as to what's going on either, Lulu... but please just do as I ask for now. I will try to learn what I can from John at the hospital... we've trusted him in much more dire times than this, so I'd hope that he has a good reason." Celestia explained, giving a placating look to her sister.

Luna moved to speak, before biting her lip and sighing heavily through her nostrils, "Fine, sister. I just hope that for all our sakes, you're not putting too much trust into him."

Celestia gave a grateful nod to her sister before turning away and walking toward the hospital.

"That makes two of us." She quietly muttered to herself.

Chapter 2

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John paced back and forth outside of the operating room of the Canterlot hospital. With his weapon slung on his back, and a deep furrow in his brow, he occasionally glanced up at the clock on the wall. Beside him, sitting on her haunches as the chairs were too small for her larger frame, Celestia also looked up to the clock with a small frown.

"It's only been an hour, John. I'm sure she'll make it. If not, we would have known by now." Celestia offered, in a bid to placate the man.

John spared her a sidelong glance before resuming his pacing, his lips pursed in thought. Celestia quietly sighed to herself before standing up to her hooves and ruffling her wings slightly.

"Are you going to tell me what all of this is about any time soon? Just the other day you nearly killed her yourself, and then you suggested the execution. Now, you're pacing a trench into the floor here, worrying over her as if she were your wife." Celestia questioned, tersely.

John paused once more, turning his head to look at the sun princess for a moment before finally letting out a sigh.

"It's... complicated. Like I said, I'll tell you everything I know at the castle once I know she's alive." He replied, before turning to the clock to observe the time once more.

Celestia huffed to herself before walking over to John's side. She looked up to the clock as well, finding the insistent ticking of the contraption as the only source of sound in the empty hallway, save for her and John's quiet breaths. Less than a minute passed before she turned to him once more, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, the operating room door opened.

Celestia and John's eyes both snapped down to the pony surgeon as he walked up to them, his scrubs noticeably clean. Almost instinctively, tension in John's shoulders eased at the sight. Celestia eyed the surgeon with relief, and as he magic'd his mask off of his muzzle, she greeted him with a grateful nod.

"Doctor Hooves, is she alright?" Celestia asked.

"She'll make it, princess. Her trachea was crushed by the impact of the rope stopping her fall, and there's noticeable burn marks all around her neck from the material of the rope digging into her skin. We were able to fix her trachea with some magical therapy, as well as reduce those burn marks so her coat will at least cover them. She'll be sore as Tartarus and speaking will be painful for a while, but she should make a full recovery. It's a miracle you brought her in when you did. Any longer with so little oxygen and she would've suffered brain damage for sure." Doctor Hooves explained, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

Celestia gave a thankful nod to the surgeon, "That's wonderful news. Thank you, Doctor Hooves. Is she awake?"

"Not at the moment, your highness. She's still in the OR. I just wanted to come out and inform you that her most serious issues have been dealt with and she is stable. I did also want to bring some things to your attention while I was out here." He replied.

"What's that?" Celestia asked, her head cocked to the side.

"Well, she has some... other, substantial injuries. Hyperextended foreleg, broken cartilage in her muzzle, and a hole in her flank. The wound has clotted up, but the tissue damage will take weeks to recover on its own. The foreleg could take the better part of a year to heal if it isn't properly splinted." He explained, not so subtly glancing over at John.

"Patch her up as best as you can. I want to talk to her as soon as she's awake." John ordered.

"I can fix her flank and muzzle, but that foreleg is still going to take weeks to heal, even with magical aid. It should only take a couple more hours. I'd say... give us four hours to get her treated and awake for you. Hopefully she'll make a full recovery, but regardless, she'll be in a lot of pain for the foreseeable future." The doctor responded.

John shrugged, "She'll just have to bear with it, then," He replied, before turning to Celestia, "We'll talk at the castle until she's awake."

As John turned and walked away down the hallway, Celestia and the doctor shared a quick look before Doctor Hooves gave a shrug.

"I'll go back to the team and treat her injuries. We'll send a runner up to the castle to inform you when she wakes up, Princess." He said, giving a small bow to the sun princess.

"Thank you, doctor," Celestia replied, giving a grateful nod in thanks before turning and walking away, "Hopefully I'll have some answers by the time we return." She muttered.

https://youtu.be/weTx0EN312g

Cadence, Luna, and Twilight sat amidst their respective thrones in the castle. Luna rested her head on her hoof as she fought to keep herself awake in her chair while Cadence and Twilight played some foalhood game to entertain each other as they all waited for John and Celestia's return. With a tired glance up to the clock, Luna sat up in her throne and stretched while her jaw opened in a massive yawn.

A few seconds ticked by with the three alicorns entertaining themselves in their own ways before the throne room doors were pushed open, startling all three mares out of their activities and redirecting their full attention to the doors in question. They observed in curious silence as John walked into the room, now fully clothed in his usual getup: a black suit and pants. Beside him, Celestia also strode into the room, her eyes locking with her sister's almost instantly.

"Sister." Luna curtly greeted.

"Luna." Celestia returned the greeting, before looking to Cadence and Twilight, "Apologies for the delay. We had to make a stop at John's room along the way." She explained.

"It's no trouble at all." Cadence responded, before a blur of purple dashed past her to John and Celestia.

"Is she okay!?" Twilight blurted out, no small amount of concern in her voice.

Celestia nodded, "She will survive. Her injuries were severe, but the medical team were able to resuscitate her." She answered.

"Oh thank Harmony." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she fell to her haunches.

"That's a relief to hear." Cadence added.

"While I can't even begin to fathom why we're concerned over the life of a literal traitor, that does bring us to the reason we're all here in the first place-" Luna announced, before looking over to John, "-why in Tartarus did you save that mare's life?"

All eyes swiftly darted to the lone man standing in the room. With a reserved sigh, he nodded toward the table and walked over to the side nearest to him. Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight swiftly took the hint and walked beside him, until reaching the table in question while Luna simply watched from her throne.

As they all arrived at the table, John chewed his tongue. He took a few moments to collect his thoughts before turning to all of the alicorns in the room.

"This morning... I had a dream...a vision, rather. The details are still fuzzy but I know that we need her alive. I saw her... in my vision. It's hard to explain." John announced, his gaze cast to the floor and his brow furrowed in thought.

"A vision? You? I thought that you said humans had no magical ability, 'whatsoever'." Luna deadpanned.

"He said that his kind can't wield magic, not that magic cannot affect them." Celestia corrected, giving a disapproving look to her sister over her tone.

"What kind of vision was this? You said a dream first, right?" Cadence asked, looking up to John, curiously.

"It felt like a dream at first, but it quickly changed... it's hard to explain. I know what a dream feels like... this wasn't that." John explained.

"What exactly happened in your vision, and what does Tempest have to do with it?" Twilight inquired, leaning forward.

"It's hard to say. I can only remember little bits of it. I know that she's important though." John responded.

Luna scoffed, "Are we supposed to go off of just that? John, you have been instrumental in protecting Equestria for the last few years, but you are not infallible. Are you certain that this wasn't just a dream?" She questioned, sitting up in her throne.

John looked up to the Lunar alicorn with a frown ,"I know what a dream feels like. This was something different. Something beyond anything I've ever felt since... since meeting Harmony." He admitted, drawing a gasp from Twilight.

"Harmony brought you here to help protect Equestria from its greatest threats. Why would it try to have you save one of those threats?" Luna asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Perhaps Harmony has decided Tempest is worth saving?" Celestia wondered aloud.

"How do we even know Harmony gave him a vision?" Luna rebutted, "I believe I am the expert with regards to the dream realm, and as far as I'm concerned, this just sounds like a particularly vivid dream."

"John, what can you recall from your vision?" Twilight pressed.

John sighed, "Most of it's a blur. I remember being in some kind of metal structure... I was fighting some kind of creature. It looked like the Storm Soldiers, but it was a lot bigger," His eyes fell to the floor, "I was losing. Dying, even. All I can remember after that was a flash of light and it was gone. Then I heard her voice."

"Tempest's?" Celestia asked.

"Yes. She was calling out to me. I remember asking her something... I can't remember what. I just remember her saying 'It's done'." John replied.

The four alicorns in the room shared a look, before looking over to John once more.

"What was done?" Cadence softly questioned.

"I... I'm not sure. I woke up after that. It's mostly just... images and flashing lights, but for some reason, I can remember her voice, clear as day." John elaborated.

"Is there anything else you can remember? Anything that can help us determine what Tempest has to do with you and Harmony?" Celestia questioned.

John shook his head, "The only other thing I remember is that when she answered me, she sounded... sad... worried, even. I don't know if she was worried because of me or if it was something else entirely, but that's all I remember."

Luna merely raised an eyebrow at the lack of details in his story while Celestia's brow furrowed deep in thought. Cadence and Twilight shared a look as they thought over John's story as well, leaving the room in a tense silence as the four alicorns contemplated the meaning of his vision.

Finally, Twilight broke the silence in the massive throne room.

"Suppose John's telling the truth, and this was a vision given to him by Harmony," She began, gaining the attention of everyone in the room as she turned to the other alicorns, "and suppose we interpret this the way John has, what do we have to potentially lose? Tempest has attacked Equestria, but if John's vison showed him the Storm King and she's instrumental in stopping the larger threat-" She said, before Luna cut her off.

"We don't even know if that's what he saw. We barely even know what the Storm King looks like. Tempest's description of his appearance matches nearly every storm soldier we took to the morgue yesterday. The creature in John's 'vision' could just be a particularly large storm soldier for Harmony's sake. All we do know about him are the few things Tempest told us while she was being interrogated. We know he's planning an attack with a devastating weapon, but we don't know when or where. It's as if he kept her on a 'need to know basis' the entire time they knew each other, and for the most part, she did not need to know." Luna interjected.

"She was quite eager to give up as much information on him as possible... I don't think it was to save her own flank either. It seemed like she just hated him." Cadence rebutted.

"Well that's certainly good for her then. Maybe if she'd taken her anger out on him instead of attacking us, then she wouldn't have found herself hanging by a rope this morning." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Luna, please. What Tempest did is inexcusable, but we all know the situation is more complicated than that." Celestia sighed.

"Well if I lost my horn as a filly, I certainly wouldn't have launched an invasion against my own country." Luna shrugged.

"We're getting sidetracked here," Twilight announced, redirecting all eyes to her, "The fact of the matter is, John may have had a vision and Tempest was a part of it. I was never in favor of executing her in the first place. I thought that the decision was short sighted and morally wrong, and now I see this as Harmony giving us a chance to right a wrong." She reasoned, giving a pleading look to Celestia.

"You're letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment, Twilight," Luna shook her head, "The decision was not one we enjoyed coming to, but it was necessary. John has already shown us that time and again. The punishments for our enemies have been far too lax over the last thousand years. Any creature that threatens the safety and sovereignty of Equestria must be dealt with as swiftly and severely as possible."

Twilight dejectedly looked down to the floor as Celestia turned to her sister, "I understand and agree with you, sister, but perhaps there is more at play here. If Harmony truly has shown John a vision that involves the Storm King and Tempest, we'd be remiss to not give her a chance at redemption-"

Luna balked at her sister, "Redemption? Sister, what is there to redeem in that mare?" She questioned, cutting Celestia off.

"Maybe that's what John's vision is. Harmony could have shown him her redemption." Twilight suggested.

"John can barely make sense of his 'vision' in the first place. For all we know, he could just be misremembering. It still could have just been a particularly vivid dream. If I were in the dream realm at the time, I could at least rule out the latter, but as it stands now, we don't even know what, if anything, it even means." Luna shot back.

For a few pregnant moments, silence reigned over the group. Twilight bit her lip as she struggled to come up with some way to counter Luna's points, but her mind swiftly came up with nothing, leaving her to quietly sigh to herself. Beside her, Cadence and Celestia shared a look as they too, tried to think of some hole in the Night Princesses logic, but found themselves coming up empty hooved. Eventually, they all turned to John.

"She did inform us of the Storm King's shipyard out past the Griffon Isle's. If nothing else, that's a start." John announced.

"A shipyard doesn't seem like the kind of place he would stash a weapon capable of rendering all of Equestria uninhabitable." Luna countered.

"Maybe not, but it's probably where he'd load the weapons onto his airships when he plans on attacking." John rebutted.

Luna pursed her lips and frowned. After a few moments, Celestia seized the opportunity to speak up.

"Regardless of whether or not we all think Tempest should be trusted or given a second chance at all, John does bring up a valid point. She still gave us actionable intelligence indicating that the Storm King was planning a second attack should hers fail. Her second in command corroborated the same information, albeit lacking in details. We have a clear and present threat looming over the horizon, and using the Storm King's own commander against him could prove extraordinarily beneficial to protecting our borders." Celestia reasoned, focusing her attention on Luna.

"As much as I would love to take the fight to our enemies, sister, you just brought up the one problem with all of that. Can we trust this mare? All we know about her is that she's a traitor and eagerly gave us information about the Storm King at the first opportunity. For all we know, she could just be trying to lure us into a trap, or hay, she could betray us just as easily, and use the opportunity to escape back to him. However, this time, she'll have information about our defenses as well as John." Luna fired back.

"What do you mean?" Cadence questioned, looking back and forth between John and Luna.

"Isn't is obvious?" Luna asked, rhetorically, "He has no magical abilities whatsoever. He has no claws, talons, wings, or fangs. The only tools he has to fight with are his weapons. If our enemies realize that the only reason every threat to face Equestria in the last few years has been put down in seconds, is because of one mortal man that can only fight if he has his weapons, they'll conjure any number of schemes to target him, and take him out of the equation altogether. Worse, they could find and steal his weapons to use against us." She explained.

"That won't happen." John said, reassuringly.

"And who's to stop it from happening? Unreformed changelings are still out there and cling to Chrysalis's ideology. They can infiltrate our defenses quite easily, even with our new countermeasures since the wedding. An army ten thousand strong would overwhelm even you, with all your weapons at your disposal. If they knew they only had to wait a few decades for you to die of old age, they'd simply bide their time until you were gone. Don't misunderstand me, John. I appreciate the things you've done for us, and I have an enormous amount of respect for you, but we have to be realistic. If they knew your weaknesses, our enemies would exploit them, posthaste." Luna responded.

"What if there were some way to control Tempest? Some way to ensure she wouldn't betray us at the drop of a hat and go tell the Storm King anything she's learned by being back here." Cadence offered.

"Mind control? I'm surprised you of all ponies would even suggest that." Luna replied, raising her eyebrows.

"We're not mind controlling anypony. That's barbaric and wrong." Celestia declared, a heavy frown on her face.

"And execution wasn't?" Twilight whispered.

"I'm not saying mind control!" Cadence responded, defensively, "I was just suggesting we think of something. The only alternative is just locking her in a cell and trying to figure out where the Storm King could attack from and for all we know, by the time we learn that, it could be too late."

"Cadence is right. We know an attack is imminent. The longer we spend bickering here, the more time the Storm King has to prepare. We have a lead with Tempest. It might not be much, but it's all we have right now." Twilight spoke up.

Luna let out a long, suffering sigh, "I... suppose you have a point. I don't like it, but if you could think of a way to control her and keep her close, then I would have much more confidence in the plan." She admitted.

"What about some kind of collar," Twilight suggested, directing all eyes back to her and several raised eyebrows, "-specifically, an enchanted collar. I know a few spells that can make it impossible for anypony but a unicorn with a working horn to take it off, as well as spells that would make it easy for anypony else to track her exact location, using the collar as a tracker." She explained, a hopeful smile on her face.

John shrugged, "Well you ponies do have a hard time with buckles."

"Hooves just aren't great for stuff like that." Cadence pouted.

Celestia and Luna shared a look, before looking back over to Twilight.

"I suppose that could work. We've already put a mana nullification ring on her horn to prevent her from trying anything with her magic, broken as it may be." Celestia nodded.

Luna hummed, "This... could work. I still have serious reservations about letting her out. Even with a full detachment of guards, that mare is dangerous." She said.

"There won't be a full detachment of guards. She'll just be going with me." John replied, snapping every pony's attention over to him.

"What!? Absolutely not!" Luna exclaimed, jumping out of her chair.

"I have to agree with Luna, John. I would want at least a full detail assigned to her at all times, even if she were to lead us to the Storm King's shipyard." Celestia added.

"A full guard detail would draw too much attention. We'd be spotted and the Storm King would know we were coming days before we actually got there. Not to mention, you don't have the guards to spare." John reasoned.

"The royal guard can be discreet. They have training in covert protection operations and plainclothes uniforms that would blend in well in nearly every environment. We can spare one detail for this mission." Celestia rebutted.

"The royal guard is only two hundred ponies strong. They'd be better as an early warning system, should we fail. You need to keep as many ponies out of harm's way as possible if this goes south. If we fail, then you can at least prepare better than you were for Tempest's attack." John shot back.

"An early warning system? John, the royal guard can be much more useful than just that. Besides, what's to stop Tempest from attacking you while you sleep? You have to rest at some point." Luna shook her head.

"The royal guard hasn't been able to stop any threat Equestria's faced since I got here, and apparently before that for hundreds of years as well," John frowned, "Besides, Twilight can put some enchantments on the collar to keep her at bay while I sleep, right?" He asked looking to Twilight.

"Yeah, I can put a ward on you that will repel the collar if she gets too close." Twilight eagerly nodded.

John turned back to Luna and Celestia, "I'll be fine."

Celestia and Luna both pursed their lips.

"At least take a squad. We don't know what could happen out there if it's just you and her." Celestia tried to reason.

"The royal guard has a history of not being able to complete the mission, and if the threat is as serious as I think it is, we can't afford to have guards getting in the way." John countered.

"That's not a fair comparison, John. Those threats were much larger than a unicorn with a broken horn." Celestia replied.

"Are they trained to fight a pony that took three of you out in thirty seconds?" John raised an eyebrow.

Celestia's reply died in her throat as her ears folded back against her skull. Luna and Cadence both looked down at the floor as an uncomfortable silence quickly took over the room.

"In our defense, she had a weapon we've never seen before." Cadence muttered.

"She doesn't have any more though. We've made sure of that." Luna offered.

"The point is, she's dangerous, with or without weapons. If it's just her and I, we're a much harder target to track, and no innocent ponies can get hurt." John asserted, the finality of his tone making each of the alicorn princesses flinch.

For a few moments, John's words hung in the air like a smog, leaving every pony in the room hesitant to respond. The royal alicorns all shared a quick look before slowly returning their gaze to the man standing before them. John observed each of them with his arms crossed, and a small frown on his brow. Eventually, Twilight spoke up.

"I think... I would support John going and taking Tempest." She announced, sparing a not so subtle glance to Celestia.

Celestia pursed her lips in thought for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh, "Will you at least let a squad accompany you while you're still in Equestria? We can have a covert squad in Manehattan before the end of the night to ensure she doesn't try anything while there are crowds of ponies nearby. They needn't know of the whole mission, but just that they are to keep Tempest out of sight and out of mind while you're there." She offered.

John gave a slow nod, "One night. Just while we're in the city." He relented.

"I will agree as well, then. Protecting our subjects is our number one priority. If you truly believe that you can take Tempest with you, get to the shipyard safely, and destroy the Storm King's weapon before he can harm Equestria, then I have no reason to doubt you, John. You've saved us time and time again and I do believe you've earned my trust this much." Celestia said, prompting a thankful nod from the human.

Seeing this as her opportunity to speak up, Cadence stepped forward as well, "I agree. While I would prefer more guards to keep Tempest in line, John's right. Tempest is a serious threat. Sending a royal guard detail all the way to the badlands could end up causing more harm than good."

John gave another thankful nod before turning to look at Luna, while she contemplated the other alicorns' words. As soon as she felt his gaze on her, she looked up and locked eyes with the man.

Letting out a small whinny of a sigh, Luna shook her head once more, "I... suppose we could fortify our defenses while you take Tempest and handle the shipyard... for all we know, the Storm King could be transporting his weapon by way of land. Having the guard completely on alert might be better in the long term... very well, I will concede for now."

"Thank you." John replied, earning a nod from the Lunar alicorn.

Before anypony could say anything else, the throne room doors opened, revealing a royal guard and a nurse from the hospital.

"Apologies for barging in, Princesses, but I was told you wanted to know as soon as she was awake."

Chapter 3

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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.

Chapter 4

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Tempest awoke to the sound of banging on her bedroom door. She blearily opened her eyes and looked over to the door in question just as it was opened. John casually strolled in through the doorway, a large duffle bag resting on his back as he entered the smallish room. He quickly reached her bed and unslung his bag from his shoulders before gently placing it on the floor beside the bed.

Instead of the three-piece suit she'd previously seen him in, the human wore a pair of deep blue jeans, and a red flannel with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The top button wasn't fastened, allowing her to glimpse just a tiny amount of chest hair that peaked out from behind the shirt. His skin was noticeably more pale on his forearms and chest, as if he hadn't been out in the sun without his full suit on in years. Lastly, he carried a wooden crutch in his free hand. It was roughly the right size for her, although the thought of having to use it for the foreseeable future made Tempest wince.

"Feeling better yet?" He asked, setting the crutch against the nightstand.

Tempest looked down to her casted foreleg for a moment before looking back up to John and raising an eyebrow.

"Right, figured." John nodded.

Tempest observed him critically for a moment as he towered over her. His expression appeared calm and collected, but there was an undeniable tension that hung in the air over him. He quickly broke her from her observations by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. He leaned over the bed and grabbed her good foreleg, noticing how she tensed from the contact. His grip felt strong and firm, coiling around her comparatively thin leg like an anaconda, and holding her in place as he unlocked the hoofcuffs.

Beside them, the heart monitor steadily increased its cadence, prompting a curious look from the tall man as the mare below him looked away, her muzzle just a shade darker.

"I'm not going to hurt you, remember?" He reiterated, looking down at her through the few inches of space separating them.

"I... I know." Tempest replied, her voice still hoarse and strained.

He looked over her curiously for a few more seconds before leaning back over her to unlock the cuffs. The restraint clicked a few times as the latch was freed, allowing Tempest to finally move her foreleg away from the railing. As John pulled away, she followed him with her eyes until he stepped back from the bed completely.

"Well, let's get moving." John announced, grabbing his duffle bag from the floor and slinging it onto his back.

Tempest opened her mouth slightly and tilted her head to the side. She slowly looked down to her casted foreleg and then back up to John.

"I c-can't... walk." She managed to say.

"That's what the crutch is for." John flatly replied.

"You can't... be serious." Tempest replied, just as flatly.

John looked down to her broken foreleg, then down to the crutch, and rolled his tongue in his mouth. After a moment, he set the crutch down against her bed.

"I don't think they have a wheelchair, so you'd best make do." He said, leaving little room for debate.

The seconds ticked by as she stared back at him, a look of disbelief and hurt on her face, but after nearly a minute, she slowly pushed herself to the edge of her bed with her good leg. She finagled with the lock and folded down the railing, allowing her to swing her hindlegs over the side of the bed.

Another jolt of pain shot through her flank as she put weight on it, but it hardly hurt anywhere near the day prior. With a small grunt, she hopped out of bed and landed on her three good legs. She used her teeth to pull the various monitor leads from her barrel and foreleg, leading to the heart monitor flat lining. An obnoxious, harsh and continuous beep filled the air, making her ears snap back against her skull as she grabbed the crutch.

Within a few seconds, the sound of several hoofbeats reached their ears, and several nurses rushed into the room.

"Harmony's sake, why did you remove your heart monitor!?" One nurse exclaimed.

"We thought you went into cardiac arrest!" Another added.

"It's alright. I'll take care of it from here." John announced, instantly silencing any other complaints the nurses wished to voice.

With a few grumbles and curses, the nurses swiftly unplugged the heart monitor, silencing the continuous beeping, and wheeled the machine out of the room. Once they were all gone, John turned for the door, only to pause as he saw the contemplative and downright sad look on Tempest's face. He cleared his throat, gaining her attention, before nodding toward the door.

Tempest indignantly looked up at the man, "So I'm just... supposed to crutch... my way across... Equestria?" She croaked.

"It's either that or I can drag you the whole way, 'cause I'm not carrying you." John shrugged.

Tempest frowned, her eyes falling back down to the crutch. After a few more moments of silent contemplation, she begrudgingly hooked it under her barrel and leaned her weight onto the wooden staff, taking weight off of her casted foreleg in the process. Once she was settled, she looked up to John to see him giving her an appraising once over.

"What?" Tempest questioned.

"You have more scars than I expected." John thought aloud, his gaze lingering on her haunches.

Tempest immediately went rigid as she realized she wasn't wearing her black bodysuit anymore, or her armor. A sickening feeling of exposure quickly filled her heart, and she wilted slightly under his scrutinizing gaze. He could easily see the three gashes along her barrel, along with the missing patch of fur on her croup, just a few inches above her dock. The longer his eyes lingered on her body, the more tense and embarrassed the mulberry mare felt. After only a few seconds, she reached her limit.

"Take... a picture... it'll last... longer." She growled, her ears pressing against her skull in irritation.

John gave a small start, as if he wasn't quite paying attention to her words, but as she limped toward the door, he shook himself from his stupor.

"Sorry. Just... lost in thought for a moment. Let's go." He said, following her admittedly sluggish lead.

With Tempest at the head, the duo glacially made their way out of the hospital and down to the street outside. As soon as Tempest stepped into daylight, she was surrounded by no less than a dozen royal guards, and just as many spear tips at her throat. She nervously gulped, despite the pain, and looked back over to John as he exited the hospital behind her.

"I have her under control. Is this necessary?" He questioned, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

All four royal alicorns swiftly, yet gracefully landed in front of the duo and guards. As she folded her wings to her side, Luna stepped forward.

"Verily. Certain contingencies must be in place when dealing with such dangerous criminals." Luna announced, looking down to Tempest with disgust.

Tempest matched the glare and stood her ground as the guards around her retracted their weapons and stepped back. The four alicorns quickly filled in the gap, and formed a half circle around her.

"She's barely able to even walk." John sighed, watching the princesses close in on Tempest.

"One can never be too sure." Luna responded.

Celestia cleared her throat, "Regardless, we are not here to intimidate anypony. We're here for Twilight to give you your insurance policy." She explained.

Tempest looked over to John, her neck twinging in pain and forcing her to turn her entire body.

"In...surance policy?" Tempest asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Just something to make sure you don't run." Cadence offered, directing Tempest's gaze back over to her, albeit sluggishly.

Tempest looked at the Love Princess as if she'd just said that up was down. She slowly looked back down to her broken foreleg, and then slowly back up to the pink alicorn. She tried to shake her head, but the motion was quite painful, so she could only move her head a few millimeters in either direction.

"Though it would make things a lot easier for all of us, that won't be broken forever." Cadence tersely replied, a frown forming on her face from Tempest's response.

"In fact, it should be steady enough to walk on in just a few more days." Twilight chimed in, taking her chance to step in-between her sister in-law and the most dangerous pony she'd ever met.

Tempest fixed her with a look of skepticism, until she felt something wrap around her neck. She gasped as she tried to duck away from whatever was coiling around her airway, but even that movement felt like pulling a muscle.

"Relax, don't worry. This isn't going to hurt. This is our insurance policy." Twilight offered.

Tempest attempted to look down at the leathery object now securely fastened around her neck, but could not see it. She looked up to Twilight and then the rest of the princesses, finding a golden aura around Celestia's horn.

"There we go. Twilight, you can enchant the collar." Celestia announced, looking down to Twilight.

"COLLAR!?" Tempest exclaimed, her throat burning in protest and quickly sending her into a coughing fit.

"It was the easiest thing we could come up with. Don't be such a foal." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Is this... some sort of... sick joke?" Tempest managed, through her coughing.

"It really is the best option we could think of. It's the most simple, so therefore, the least likely to fail. All I'm doing is putting an enchantment on it so John will know if you go beyond a certain distance from him-" Twilight explained, only to pause as Tempest cut her off.

"I don't care... about the enchantment. It's the... bucking collar... dogs wear collars, not ponies." Tempest indignantly asserted as blood rushed to her cheeks.

"It'll only be for a little while. As soon as the mission is done, we'll take it off." John spoke up.

"Have you ever heard... of cruel... and unusual punishment?" Tempest spat, looking up to Celestia and Luna and completely ignoring John's placating tone.

"Considering that you're supposed to be dead right now, I don't think that really applies here," Luna responded, before leaning in until she was just a few inches away from Tempest's face, "Unless of course, you wish to return to the gallows and carry out your sentence, that is." She growled.

Tempest firmly stood her ground, although the tiniest bead of sweat slowly coalesced on her brow. For a few moments, the plum unicorn and the midnight alicorn were locked in a silent staredown, both boring looks of pure hatred into each other's eyes, until a white wing pulled Luna away.

"That's enough. Luna, stand down," Celestia ordered, before turning to Tempest, "And you, don't forget that your freedom and continued existence on this world depends entirely on whether or not you successfully help John complete his mission. Disrespect the crown of Equestria again, and you can return a bonified hero for all I care, you'll still spend the rest of your natural life in a dungeon. Do I make myself clear?" She explained, a fierce frown on her face as she stared the mulberry mare down.

Tempest gulped, but held her gaze, "Yes, Princess." She relented.

"Good. Now, Twilight, please enchant the collar and we can be done with this." Celestia instructed.

"R-right, of course." Twilight stammered, as she hurriedly dashed over to Tempest.

Tempest eyed the slightly pudgy alicorn princess as she approached. Her horn lit up in a deep purple hue, and a tingling sensation enveloped Tempest's entire neck. Purple light emanated from the collar for a few moments, before Twilight finished the spell and extinguished her horn. She stepped back with a smile on her face, before turning to John and walking over toward him. She nodded toward a royal guard standing beside the human, and said guard quickly turned to him before pulling out a small box.

"This watch is enchanted with the other half of the spell. If she manages to get outside of a hundred hooves from your position, you'll be alerted. Also, if she somehow manages to get the collar off, you'll know. The enchantment will soak into her coat a little, so even if she does get the collar off, you'll still be able to track her for a short time before it dissipates." Twilight explained, as John opened the box and donned the watch.

"Thank you." John replied, giving a polite nod to the young princess.

Twilight returned a smile before turning around and regrouping with the rest of the princesses. Tempest maintained a neutral expression as John walked up to her side and adjusted his duffle bag.

"The train leaves in ten minutes. We'll escort you there, and there will be a guard detachment waiting for you in Manehattan. Your train will depart from there tomorrow at six o-clock sharp." Celestia explained, turning to lead the group to the train in question.

"Understood. I'll try not to get into too much trouble before then." John smirked.

Celestia rolled her eyes with a small smirk as the group and entourage of guards made way for the train station. Tempest struggled to even keep an appreciable pace, forcing the princesses and guards to maintain the same pace, so as not to lose her. It immediately became apparent that they wouldn't be reaching the train station in the allotted ten minutes at the mulberry mare's pace.

https://youtu.be/a8E-cLMiBWM

"Harmony's sake, can you hurry her up?" Luna called over her wither.

John looked down to Tempest, finding her grunting in pain and fighting for breath as she struggled to hobble along beside him. With a sigh, he turned back to Luna and shook his head.

"Not likely." He replied.

"Can't we just teleport down there?" Luna groaned.

"Unless you want to risk killing John in the process, no." Celestia responded, eyeing her sister.

"He can just meet us down there." Luna countered.

"Luna, no. If you're so adamant, then you can teleport yourself down there and hold the train for us. You know why we're doing this." Celestia rebutted.

"As much as I understand the why, it won't mean much if we miss the train." Luna deadpanned.

As I said, you can teleport down there and hold the train, or I can send one of the guards to do it." Celestia responded.

Luna rolled her eyes before her horn ignited in a brilliant sapphire hue. With a flash of light, and a resounding *pop* she disappeared from view, leaving only three alicorns to escort the entourage. Celestia chuckled quietly to herself at her sister's impatience, before Twilight trotted up to her side, filling the gap.

"Um, is Luna alright?" Twilight asked, looking up to Celestia curiously.

"She's fine, Twilight. I'm sure she's still just a little peeved that Tempest was able to best her, so she's taking out some pent up frustration." Celestia replied.

"How are you not peeved?" Cadence questioned, leaning in from Celestia's other side.

"I am, but I know that we'll soon be rid of her, and I trust John to handle her once they're out of Equestria." Celestia calmly answered.

Cadence and Twilight shared a look, before both looking back to Tempest. From the look on her face, it was obvious the unicorn heard every word, but elected to keep her mouth shut and trudge along at the snail's pace she was already barely managing.

The group quickly lapsed into uncomfortable silence, and as they progressed down the street, they soon reached a more residential area. Dozens of ponies out and about on their daily routines stopped and stared at the group walking down the street with Tempest in the center of a circle of guards. Almost immediately, hushed whispers filled the growing crowd, and they followed the formation at a respectable distance.

Tempest's eyes flicked back and forth through the ponies following her. A frown here, bared teeth there, and some outright shouting at the back of the crowd, made her nervously gulp. Tempest found herself unconsciously scooting closer and closer to her human escort, until her wither bumped into his thigh. He looked down at her as she looked up to him, a nervous blush forming on her face before she hurriedly looked away.

"It'll be alright." John said, just loud enough for her to hear.

Tempest's ears flicked back at his words, and as she struggled to keep pace with him, she looked up into his eyes once more.

"W-why are you... being so... nice to me?" She questioned, a hint of desperation in her voice.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth as he slowly looked down to the ground. After a few moments of deliberation, he looked up to Tempest once more. However, as he opened his mouth to answer, a chorus of shouts rang out from the ponies surrounding their group.

"Traitor!" They shouted.

"She should be dead!" One mare cried.

"I almost lost my little filly because of you!" A stallion shouted, angrily pointing at Tempest.

"She's done so much damage already!" Another added.

"Is that a leather collar?"

More and more ponies shouted and screamed their disgust at the mulberry unicorn, making her ears press against her skull and her cheeks flush as she hobbled along. John looked out over the crowd, finding dozens and dozens of angry Canterlot citizens all voicing their displeasure at the mere sight of the broken mare.

They continued down the street without stopping, yet the crowd and their voices followed like a shadow, all aiming their hatred toward the mare in the center of it all. The guards shouted a few commands in an attempt to restore some semblance of order to the crowd, but their voices were lost in a sea of angry shouts and screams. For almost twenty minutes, the group continued through the streets of Canterlot, drawing more and more angry citizens to join in their shared hatred of the traitor, Tempest.

"Auntie, this is starting to get a bit out of hoof!" Cadence shouted, her muzzle just a few inches from Celestia's ear due to the sheer loudness of the crowd.

"We should have just teleported her!" Twilight added, looking back and forth over the raging crowd.

"She needs to hear this." Celestia responded, calmly.

Twilight and Cadence almost stopped in place. They both slowly looked back behind them toward the plum unicorn to find that the crowd's words and anger were having an effect. Her ears pinned back as far as they could against her skull, and she held her muzzle low, her eyes darting up to the crowd over and over as she tried to keep her cool under the verbal onslaught. She winced as a crying filly hugged her mother just from the sight of her, before looking down to the ground again.

Tempest no longer looked quite so threatening. She looked sad and broken, and the words of now over a hundred ponies following her so closely, only made her look worse. It took quite some more time, but eventually, she finally saw the train station just down the road. The group made its way there as quickly as possible given the circumstances, before Celestia turned back to the guards.

"Guards, please secure the entrance. I think the point has been made." She said, her tone just barely loud enough to be heard over the raging ponies behind them.

Without a word, all of the royal guards broke off their circle formation around Tempest and John, and took up positions blocking the entrance. There weren't nearly enough of them to cover the entirety of the train station, but the ponies following them stopped without pushing past the guards. They yelled and screamed from behind them, but no pony attempted to rush toward the mulberry mare as she was escorted to the waiting train.

As Celestia led them to the doorway of the first train car, Luna stepped out and fixed the group with an even look.

"Well it certainly took you all long enough." Luna announced.

"I admit, it took longer than I planned, but then again," Celestia replied, before turning to look at Tempest, "I didn't expect her to be quite as handicapped as she is."

Tempest spared Celestia a glare for just a moment, before looking down and away from the sun princess. Her ears repeatedly flicked back and forth as she heard the slightly distant voices still cursing her from just outside the train station. She took a shaky, and admittedly painful breath, before slowly crutching forward.

"Are we... done here?" She asked, slowly making her way to the train.

"Just about," Twilight answered, before turning to John, "Is there anything else you need for your mission?" She asked.

"I think just about everything has been taken care of thanks to you four. I'll have the guard send a letter once we reach Manehattan." John replied.

Luna continued to eye Tempest as she reached the door of the train car, "Just make sure you keep an eye on her. She's dangerous, even if you refuse to acknowledge that."

John nodded, "She won't leave my sight."

Celestia watched Tempest slowly board the train, before turning to look at John, "I will await your letter. With any luck, you'll be back in just a couple of weeks."

John nodded, before heading for the doorway, "If anything changes here while I'm gone, you know how to reach me." He said, giving Twilight a wink.

Twilight nodded, "We'll keep you in the loop if anything happens here." She said as John stepped onto the train.

John gave a single wave to the four alicorn princesses before the door closed behind him and the train engine sputtered to life. After a few seconds, the train gave a small jolt and slowly increased its speed. The soft chugging of the engine drowned out the angry crowd as the train left the station, and Canterlot altogether.

As the train chugged along, Tempest looked out the window with a look of melancholy in her eyes. Beautiful mountainous scenery and spiky pine trees passed by the window like a majestic painting, yet she could hardly bring herself to even notice the lush landscape outside. She almost didn't notice as John sat down in the seat opposite her, his duffle bag coming to a rest just beside him.

After a few moments of silence, Tempest noticed a peculiar feeling, as if someone were staring at her. With only one possible culprit in mind, she let out a quiet sigh and turned to look at the human sitting across from her.

"What?" She asked, more resentment in her tone than she intended.

John slowly leaned back in his seat, his eyes never leaving hers, "You look down." He said.

Tempest scoffed, "And why wouldn't... I be?"

John shook his head, "Well you're at least getting something out of this at the end of it all." He offered.

Tempest slowly turned her head to look out the window again, "Just forget it." She replied, her voice just a whisper.

John gave a single nod, before turning to look out the window as well. The jagged mountain peaks of the Foal Mountains greeted his eyes as the train continued its journey to Manehattan. After some time, they shrunk and vanished, only to be replaced by rolling hills and gentle magnolia forests. Hours slowly passed, and as the sun made its gradual descent down the horizon line, the train continued along to its destination.

Eventually, Tempest nodded off, her head resting against the window of the train as it gently chugged along. John eyed her from his seat, one arm propping his head up as he rested against the glass as well. His brow furrowed as he recalled the day's events. He didn't sleep the entire ride.

Chapter 5

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The train pulled into the Manehattan station with a slight jolt, waking Tempest in the process. She sleepily opened her eyes and yawned. She immediately noticed that the pain in her throat was nearly gone, allowing her to finally let out a sigh of relief after the previous couple of days.

"Thank Harmony." She murmured, smacking her lips as she turned her head.

A twinge of pain still shot down her neck, but much like her throat, the pain was far more manageable than before her nap.

"You're looking better already." John commented, getting up from his seat and stretching.

"I feel better. My throat doesn't feel like I'm gargling glass anymore." Tempest responded, before turning to look out the window.

A bustling view of the busy city and enough lights to make the stars jealous, greeted her. However, there were no ponies present on the train station platform. Tempest turned her head to look out the opposite window of the cart to find that the same was true on the other side of the station. Her eyes flicked back up to John as he slung his duffle bag once more.

"The nurse said that with the drugs and treatment they gave you, rest would heal you the fastest. You should be back to normal by the end of the week... minus the foreleg." John replied, sparing a glance to her still casted foreleg.

Tempest followed his eyes to her broken limb, before rolling her eyes, "You know, it's your fault that it's broken this bad." She muttered.

"I'm aware," John flatly answered, before looking out the window, "Get on your hooves. Our escort is here." He instructed.

Tempest looked out the window, finding a group of seven ponies approaching their side of the train. While they only wore a simple shirt or buckball cap, it was immediately obvious that they were Royal Guards. A dark grey unicorn stallion with a short blond mane led the group, wearing a flannel much like John's. Tempest let out a quiet sigh as she pushed herself off of her seat and grabbed her crutch.

John led the way to the front of the cart, where he opened the door and stepped out onto the platform. Tempest struggled to limp down the stairs, but managed to follow behind him easily enough despite her circumstances. As they both made their way to the middle of the platform, the squad of undercover guards approached.

"Some nice buckball weather we've got right now." The stallion at the front of the group offhandedly mentioned as he neared John and Tempest.

"I prefer Rugby." John answered, as if anypony present knew what 'Rugby' was.

Tempest raised an eyebrow at the exchange while the leader of the squad gave a satisfactory nod. His horn lit up in an emerald hue, forming a similar aura around his throat.

"Haystack, this is Apple seven, package acquired. Progressing to safehouse." He said, before his ear lit up green.

Tempest couldn't hear anything, but she assumed he received a response as he swiftly turned tail and walked away. The rest of the squad turned to follow, but waited. As John stepped forward, she followed suite, and the guards smoothly formed another defensive circle around both of them as they slowly made their way off the platform. As they progressed, the leader slowed down enough to allow the squad to catch up and envelop him too.

"Gotta say, I didn't expect you to be so tall." He mentioned, glancing up at John.

"Most don't." John responded.

"I'll bet. Name's K. John, right?" K asked.

"That's right." John answered.

"And this must be the infamous Tempest Shadow." K added, looking down to Tempest with a frown.

Tempest tried to look away, but she was surrounded by ponies that gave her similar looks of disgust or anger while they progressed out of the train station and onto the street. The hustle and bustle of such a busy city quickly filled the air; a sharp contrast to the relatively quiet nature of the train station. Carts rolled along the asphalt streets and ponies hooves clopped along on concrete as their chatty voices filled the air. As her hooves made contact with paved concrete, Tempest slowly looked back at K, finding that he was still waiting for an answer.

"Is there something you want?" She dryly asked.

"No, just trying to get a read on the worst traitor in Equestrian history. Gotta say, you're a lot less impressive than I expected." K commented.

"Likewise." Tempest coolly replied.

That earned her several glares from the ponies surrounding her. A few mutters of disapproval were made but Tempest couldn't quite make them out over the busy city. She spared a quick glance to each pony in the squad, finding two pegasi, three earth ponies, and one more unicorn in the group. She begrudgingly looked down to her broken foreleg and let out a quiet sigh.

It'd be easy if I could just walk normally or use my horn... She thought to herself.

Albeit tensely, the group made its way through the busy nighttime streets of Manehattan. Random ponies on the street passed by the group, many of whom recognized Tempest and gasped at the sight of the unicorn. She glowered at the passing ponies, but the escort quickly ushered her past any pedestrians before they could make too much of a scene. K navigated them through the bustling maze of a city as if he grew up at its heart, and within a matter of minutes, he nodded toward a quickly approaching hotel.

"That's the place. We'll be staying in the basement." He said, looking back to John.

"Got it." John replied.

They quickly arrived at a red light and waited at the edge of the sidewalk as carts passed through the intersection before them. The guards surrounding her, quickly looked away from Tempest to scan for other threats or compromises to their security. Several of them tensed as over a dozen ponies arrived behind them, all waiting for the same light. A family with two fillies and one colt stopped just beside the formation, earning a quick glance from the guard between them and Tempest.

The little colt turned and looked right between the guards and at Tempest just as she looked down at him. Tempest held his gaze for a few moments, a small frown forming on her face as the young pony tilted his head to the side in wonder at the sight of her. The silent staredown continued for almost thirty seconds, leaving Tempest with a distressed feeling of scrutiny in her chest.

"Wow... your scar looks awesome!" The little colt exclaimed, suddenly.

Tempest gave a start at the sudden outburst, along with the guards surrounding her and the little colt's parents.

"Firefly! What did we tell you about just blurting things out about other ponies on the street? That was very rude." The colt's father admonished, stepping closer to his son to drag him back to the family group.

"We're so sorry about that, miss. He's just a little..." The colts mother trailed off, before a realization hit her with regards to who exactly she was looking at, "O-Oh my Celestia..." She whispered.

The father corralled his son back with the family, but followed his wife's gaze to see the mulberry mare standing before them.

"T-Tempest..." He added, his wings flaring out defensively over his family.

The other ponies standing around the intersection crosswalk instantly turned their attention to the mohawked mare, many of them gasping in fear and surprise. Several ponies stepped back and some even ran away, screaming in fear.

"You must have her confused for somepony else." K spoke up, trying to calm the rapidly declining situation.

"What!? That's Tempest! The traitor who attacked Canterlot!" Another mare shouted, clear anger in her voice.

"Ma'am, you're mistaken." K placatingly replied.

"Is she wearing a collar!?" One mare shrieked, in disgust.

Tempest blushed hard and fought the urge to turn around and shout obscenities at the mare. She felt a pit in her stomach as some ponies laughed at her or cringed at the clothing item. Her tail instinctively tucked itself down, almost between her legs, but she willed it back up to a normal height, lest she show weakness to all the ponies surrounding her.

As the scene around her descended into shouting and fearful ranting, the light finally turned green, and an icon of a pony walking, appeared on the small post in front of them. Tempest looked back and forth at the unfolding scene around her, a feeling of panic welling in her gut as more and more ponies recognized her. She took a step back, only to bump into the guard behind her. He brutally shoved her forward, nearly knocking her to the ground in the process. She yelped in pain as she planted her weight on her crutch and broken foreleg. John helped her back up to her hooves, although she shoved his hands away with her good hoof once she was standing.

"Light's green. Let's go." John ordered, looking to K.

K nodded and trotted out into the crosswalk. The rest of the group hastily followed, nearly shoving Tempest along the entire time. They swiftly reached the other side of the road and made their way up the hotel stairs to the front lobby. Once there, K opened the door for everyone and ushered them all inside. Luckily, the crowd didn't follow behind, but insults and fearful shouting still reached his ears from across the street.

K let out a long sigh before turning around to face John, Tempest, and the rest of his squad. A tense silence hung in the air like a smog as the group caught their breaths. The front receptionist stared at them from behind, his eyes wide in shock at the sudden entrance of so many ponies.

"Um, w-welcome to the Manehattan Monocle. Can I help you ponies?" He asked, swallowing back his nerves.

"No need. We have an arrangement with the owner of the hotel. We'll be downstairs." K responded, walking up to the front desk.

The receptionists eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh! You're that party that was going to stay in the basement. I remember now. I'm terribly sorry, but we've been having a lot of rain recently, as you know, and the basement has been having some flooding issues. My manager said to move you all to the first floor, if that's alright with you. We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience." He explained.

"Flooding issues? Are you kidding me?" One of the guards huffed.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. There were some issues with minor flooding downstairs. We've provided you with the closest floor we could to the basement and five rooms with all the amenities comparable to our suites on the higher floors." The receptionist offered, swallowing back a nervous gulp at the clearly upset burly stallions before him.

"It's fine," K announced, casting a glare to the stallion behind him, "We'll take whatever rooms you can give us."

The receptionist noticeably relaxed, "R-right, of course, sir. Here, these are your keys." He replied, before pulling out five different keys from his desk and hoofing them over to K.

"Right, thank you." K responded, giving a curt nod.

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

Near the entrance of the hotel, Tempest stood beside John, her eyes glued to the floor as she thought over the events of the last several minutes. The guards around them eyed her warily, but maintained their distance as K finished up with the receptionist. The shouts and screams echoed in her ears again and again, but one memory in particular stood out above all the rest.

Wow... your scar looks awesome!

As K ushered the group forward to their respective rooms, Tempest moved in a daze. She limped through the hallways of the hotel, her mind wandering the whole while. Velvet carpet and mahogany wood lined the hallways, and masterful paintings filled the walls with life that she couldn't seem to even notice. K swiftly led her to a room and motioned for her to enter, before John followed in just behind.

Before she could even realize it, Tempest found herself sitting on one of the beds of the room while John unloaded his duffle bag onto the other bed in the room mid conversation with K. Their words fell deaf on her ears, and soon enough, K left the room, leaving her alone with John as he walked over to the window.

Tempest finally snapped out of her stupor as the door clicked shut behind K. She glanced over to the now closed mahogany door, and then over to John, finding him looking out between the curtains of the window. After a few moments, he closed the curtains fully and turned around to face her. At her wide-eyed stare, he raised an eyebrow.

"Something on your mind?" He asked, stepping toward her and sitting on his bed.

Tempest shook her head to clear her thoughts, "N-no, not really. Nothing important, anyway." She replied.

"You sure?" John pressed, resting his elbows on his knees.

"It's nothing. Just something somepony said out there, is all." Tempest admitted, looking down to the carpet.

"Well, your reputation precedes you." John shrugged.

Tempest scoffed, "It's not what those ponies said. It's what that little colt said... he was the only one that didn't seem afraid of me."

"The colt that liked your scar?" John asked, sitting back upright.

Tempest nodded, before slowly fixing John with a serious look, "Ever since I got this scar, I've always thought it was ugly. I always thought that it was a mark of failure... of weakness. Scars mean that you've taken a hit... means you weren't good enough to avoid the damage. That's what the Storm King would say, at least." She explained, with a sluggish roll of her eyes.

John raised an eyebrow, "I imagine it'd be pretty damn hard to never get hit in a fight, ever." He said.

"He reminded me pretty often that no creature had ever landed a hit on him... Whenever I was training with the soldiers, if I got hit, and he saw... he made sure that I knew I was weak." Tempest muttered.

John slowly opened his mouth to speak, only for Tempest to continue.

"I thought that attacking Canterlot would be my chance to prove that I was strong... strong enough to earn my horn back... then blast the bucker until his fur melted," She whispered, through grit teeth, before looking back up to John, "But then you were there, and now I'm here... even more broken and weak than ever before... more scarred, than ever before... figures."

John eyed her warily for a few moments, unsure if she had anything more to say. After nearly a minute, he spoke up.

"The Storm King... can you tell me what he looks like, again?" John asked.

Tempest snorted, "Did you not get that info from my interrogation? I already explained it to the princesses."

"I know, but I want to hear it again, directly from you." John rebutted.

Tempest frowned as she held John's gaze. After it became clear that he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine. He's a yeti, just like the rest of the storm soldiers. He's noticeably taller, and not quite as burly. Really the only notable difference between him and the storm soldiers is that he doesn't wear a mask like they all do... and the horns, I suppose." Tempest recollected.

"What color are his eyes?" John asked, leaning forward.

"Um, blue. Very icy blue. Why?" Tempest questioned, tilting her head to the side.

John leaned back, letting out a quiet sigh through his nostrils as he sat upright, "No reason. Just need to make sure I can identify him."

Tempest slowly nodded, "I suppose if any creature is capable of hurting him, it'd be you... I've never quite seen anything like you." She added, tilting her head to the side, curiously.

John laid down on his bed, his head resting on his pillow, "Aside from me, you're not likely to, either." He replied.

"And why's that?" Tempest pressed.

"I'm the only one here." John answered, simply.

Tempest's eyes widened, "What? How is that even possible?"

"It's a long story." John answered, stifling a yawn.

"I've got time." Tempest pressed.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth for a few moments, before letting out a quiet sigh, "Get some sleep, Tempest. We're on the first train out in the morning. Guards will be checking in on us throughout the night, so don't get any ideas." He ordered, before reaching over and turning out the lamp beside his bed.

The room noticeably dimmed, but Tempest's light still kept her side of the room illuminated as she stared at John from her bed. His closed his eyes in an attempt to go to sleep, but after a few minutes, he opened them again to find Tempest still staring at him.

"What?" He asked, a small amount of irritation present in his voice.

Tempest shrugged, "I'm just trying to figure out what you are, exactly." She replied, honestly.

"Well, do it in the morning, will 'ya? Turn that light off." John ordered.

Tempest flinched at his tone, and quickly turned out her light. The room immediately plunged into darkness, the only illumination coming from a small slit between the curtains of the window. Despite the decreased visibility, Tempest eyed John's dark form warily from her bed. She looked down at the cast enveloping her foreleg, and nervously swallowed. Eventually, she managed to lay down into something of a comfortable position.

She soon heard soft breathing from the bed opposite her, indicating that John was sleeping. She rolled over away from him and faced the blank wall beside her bed. With a resigned sigh to herself, she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. It took nearly an hour, but eventually she was able to nod off and fall asleep.

Tempest's eyelids fluttered open in the wee hours of the night. She groggily looked over to the window to see the night lights of Manehattan still vibrantly illuminating the world outside. She looked over to the clock on the wall, her eyes squinting from dryness due to the lack of proper sleep.

Three A.M? She wondered to herself.

Tempest looked over to John's bed, finding him resting peacefully with one arm under the sheets, and the other on his chest. His chest moved slowly with each soft breath as he exhaled. A strange feeling welled in her heart as she observed the man, now completely at peace. Without the threat of another broken foreleg, or some kind of weapon tearing through her flank again, she found herself struggling with the realization that the human looked somewhat... attractive.

She hastily shook away those thoughts and pushed herself to her hooves in her bed. The bedsheets clung to her coat for a few moments, before sliding off onto the mattress. She noticed that her flank barely hurt at all anymore, and her foreleg, while still quite sore, wasn't quite as stiff and clublike as before. She could actually roll her wither and put some weight on the appendage without instant, searing, agony. There was still quite a bit of pain and soreness in the limb, not to mention the limited motion due to the cast, but her injuries were healing even faster than she expected.

Tempest stealthily skulked down from her bed to the floor, ensuring to put as little weight on her foreleg as possible. With some minor fenagling, she managed to get to the carpet. The velvet did an incredibly effective job of muffling the sound of her hooves, essentially silencing them completely. Even so, she kept her eyes on John's sleeping form, lest he awake and question her motives or behavior.

However, just as she turned away to head for the door, a shadowy, bipedal figure blocked her path. She inhaled sharply, but held her ground as the dark from towered over her from across the room. As the seconds ticked by, she felt her heart beat faster in her chest, her fur stand on edge, and her adrenaline spike.

"So it's true, you did survive." The figure hissed, its voice just a whisper in the quiet night.

Tempest looked over her wither to John, finding that he was still softly breathing and none the wiser about the large creature blocking the doorway across the room. Once she was sure he wasn't waking up, she turned back to the figure and let out a silent sigh.

"What do you want, Merkle?" She asked, her voice as quiet as a mouse.

Merkle held a claw to his chest, "Can't an old acquaintance come check up on you?" He questioned, feigning innocence.

Tempest rolled her eyes, "You'd sooner stab me in the back than make sure I was okay. What? Did you come to gloat? Rub my face in my failure?" She spat, keeping her voice low.

"Oh, you wound me, Tempest," Merkle dramatically sighed, "-and here I thought we were so close back in the Badlands."

"Get to the point before you wake him up." Tempest ordered, raising her voice just a few decibels.

Merkle rolled his green serpentine eyes, "Very well, if you insist," He replied, before reaching into the rags he wore. He pulled out a long, crooked knife, "-the Storm King would pay handsomely for your return... and I am a bit of a freelance these days."

Merkle stepped forward, his knife pointing straight at Tempest's throat as she backed up a step.

"Y-you do know that if you wake him up, he'll kill you." Tempest hastily informed him, while glancing behind at John.

"I think I'll take my chances. Now keep quiet. I don't want to have to kill the rest of the guards, but I absolutely will if any more get in my way." Merkle replied, taking another step toward the slowly retreating unicorn.

Tempest's eyes widened as she looked down at the blade, now glistening in the light spilling through the slit in the windows. The edge of the knife looked as if it'd been dipped in blood, and a single drop of crimson fluid fell into the carpet below. Tempest gulped nervously as she took yet another step back.

"Y-you really killed them?" She stammered.

Merkle paused, a grin forming on his scaly face. He let out a snicker, and then a quiet chuckle as Tempest backed up into John's bed, "Oh, Tempest, that's just too rich. You always were way too soft. No wonder you got your flank kicked by a bunch of ponies and this... hairless monkey thing." He shook his head.

Tempest felt anger well up in her heart. She grit her teeth as she tried, and failed, to conjure any kind of magical energy to lash out with. With a sickening feeling in her gut, she remembered the ring snugly fit around her broken horn, and her spirits fell.

"Heh, Storm King might even give me your old job if I bring back his little pet failure." Merkle snickered, closing the last of the distance between him and Tempest.

He brought the knife up to her throat as he leaned in close, the tip of the blade coming to a rest just underneath her collar. Tempest felt her blood run cold at the feeling of somepony else's blood sinking into her coat. The icy steel pressed into her neck, her jugular just a few precious centimeters from the jagged metal. Her lip trembled as Merkle's forked tongue flicked out against her throat.

"You always did look like cotton candy... maybe the meal would be better than the payday." He grinned, rows of razor sharp teeth glistening with saliva as he leaned in closer.

"Why don't you eat this instead." John spoke up, startling both Merkle and Tempest.

Merkle only managed to look up to John, before a flash of light illuminated the room, followed instantly by an explosive *crack*, making Tempest's ears ring as she jumped from the shock. Less than a second later, Merkle fell to the floor, blood leaking from the fresh hole in his head.

Chapter 6

View Online

Tempest blinked the stars out of her eyes as her ears pressed flat against her skull. The painful sensation from the loud bang was accented with an equally loud ringing that just didn't want to go away. It took her a few moments in her daze to even realize that Merkle was laying dead next to her. Only when his pooling blood reached her hoof, did she look down and gasp.

Tempest staggered back from Merkle's corpse, before looking over to John. He pulled himself out of bed and kicked Merkle's leg while aiming his pistol at the dead reptilian. Once he was satisfied with the knowledge that Merkle was dead, he lowered his weapon and looked up to the unicorn before him.

"Not much of a friend, was he?" John asked.

"I-no, not... not really... you killed him. H-he's dead. Just like that... what the buck is that weapon?!" Tempest bleated, her breathing rapidly increasing.

"It's a gun." John replied, simply.

Tempest stammered for words as John walked over to the door. The sound of several other doors slamming open and shut echoed from the hallway outside, indicating that at least everyone in their hallway heard the shot.

"H-how long into that did you wake up?" Tempest questioned, finally finding her voice just as John grabbed the knob.

He slowly turned his head to look at her, "I was never asleep." He replied.

"I-I was just getting up because I couldn't sleep. I wasn't trying to run." Tempest hastily asserted.

John gave a single nod,"Sure." He said, before opening the door just as K and half of the guards rushed over.

"What happened!?" K demanded.

"We heard a crack like lightning and now L and T aren't answering their door!" Another guard exclaimed.

"They're dead," John replied, stepping out of the way for K and the guards to see Merkle's dead body, "He made it in here before I took care of him."

K's jaw dropped at the size of the reptilian, before he shook his head to clear his shock from his face.

"W-wait, what do you mean they're dead?" He questioned, fear and uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"M-Merkle said that he killed them... his knife was coated in blood." Tempest explained, her gaze drifting down to the still bloody knife just a few feet away.

The rest of the guards rushed down the hall and into the room, falling in behind K, "We got into the room! L and T are dead! Their throats were slit!" The guard exclaimed, panic in his voice and fear in his eyes.

K and the rest of the guards fought to keep their jaws from dropping or their anger from boiling over as they took in the news. The room descended into silence for a few moments as everyone processed the loss, but quickly enough, one of the guards reached a tipping point.

"It's her bucking fault they're dead!" He exclaimed, pointing an accusing hoof toward Tempest.

Tempest recoiled slightly, her eyes wide in confusion at the sudden accusation while K and the rest of the guards physically held the stallion back.

"Calm down M!" K shouted.

"We take this bucking traitor for one bucking day! One day! Two of our best ponies are bucking dead, K! He killed them to get to her!" M screamed.

While M fought to attack Tempest, John discreetly stepped between them, ensuring that if the muscular stallion somehow got through the rest of his entire squad, that he'd have to get through him as well. However, his efforts proved to be unneeded, as the squad managed to physically pull M out of the room and out into the hallway. K hastily shut the door behind him, locking the furious stallion out of the room. With a heavy sigh, K slumped to his haunches against the wooden doorframe.

Slightly muffled yelling still reached them through the doorway for a few moments, prompting K to ignite his horn and cast a silencing spell over the door. With that accomplished, he slowly looked up to John and Tempest.

"L and T were some of the finest recon specialists I've ever known. I hope your mission is worth the cost it's already taken." K muttered, his eyes falling to the floor once more.

"It is. Trust me." John offered.

K softly scoffed, "I sure hope so. What the hay even is that thing anyway? I've never seen anything like it." He asked, pointing to Merkle's body.

"He's a lizard. At least, he's some kind of lizard. He'd never explain anything about himself in the Badlands." Tempest explained, earning a raised eyebrow from K.

"So you knew him? Why did he come for you? To break you out?" K questioned, getting to his hooves as some aggression creeped into his voice.

"He probably heard about Tempest from the ponies panicking on the street last night. The Storm King knows his invasion failed. He doesn't know Tempest is alive. Merkle thought he could take her back to him for a reward." John explained.

Tempest gave John another look of surprise while K simply shook his head and sighed. A tense silence filled the air for several moments until K finally turned around to the door.

"The train leaves in just over an hour. You two should get ready to move. We'll have to send out M and B to scout the station before we move there. I'll grab you in a few." K said over his wither.

John and Tempest both gave a nod as K opened the door to the hallway. The sound of M screaming and shouting over the rest of the squad instantly reached their ears, only to be cut off as K shut the door once more. Now bathed in perfect silence, John and Tempest slowly turned to each other. Tempest bit her lip before looking down to Merkle's body. A large pool of blood surrounded his corpse and soaked into the velvet carpet beneath him. Tempest cringed at the sight, but John simply stepped over the body to grab his boots from the other side of the room.

As she watched him, Tempest found herself struggling to keep her emotions in check. He casually slipped his boots on and threw on his flannel over the white t-shirt he slept in. Within a minute, he was fully dressed and ready to go. He gave her an expectant look as she sat on the floor, an uneasy look on her face.

"You alright?" John asked, before stepping over Merkle's body once more and grabbing his duffle bag with a huff.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Tempest replied, shaking her head and getting back to her hooves.

"Not squeamish about blood, are you?" John questioned.

"W-what? No, of course not." Tempest defensively replied.

John raised an eyebrow but continued on to the door. After a moment, Tempest grabbed her crutch and limped after him. As he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, he intercepted a black hoodie, thrown from slightly down the hall. John easily caught it and raised an eyebrow as the stallion approached him.

"Have her put it on. It'll make it harder for ponies or other creatures to recognize her." K instructed, nodding toward Tempest.

John turned and handed the hoodie to the unicorn. She almost eagerly accepted and sat on her haunches to don the garment. She managed to slip her head into the bottom easily enough, but her broken foreleg and jagged horn made it difficult to get the hoodie all the way down. After a few moments of struggle, she felt two strong hands grab a hold of her wither and the black fabric stuck on her horn. John gently adjusted the middle of the hoodie enough for it to slip down her wither and onto her barrel.

With John's help, her head poked through the top hole of the hoodie, and she managed to get both forelegs through the sleeves. The sleeve covering her cast noticeably bulged outward more than her other leg, but otherwise, the clothing looked normal.

"Keep the hood on." K ordered.

Tempest complied and flipped the hood over her head, her mane smooshing down in the process. Her horn and most of her face were completely obscured by the black fabric, prompting a nod of approval from K. With her disguise situated, Tempest fell in line between John and K as the stallion led them out of the hotel hallway and into the front lobby.

The rest of the squad turned their heads to observe as the trio walked through the doorway. M and one of the other stallions were gone, prompting a relieved sigh from Tempest as she limped behind K.

"Alright, everypony ready?" K asked, looking over his squad.

"Ready." They all replied.

"Let's move out. Standard VIP formation. Mr. Smith will keep close tabs on Tempest while we reach the objective. Keep your eyes open. We don't need to lose any more ponies today." K ordered, gaining several sad nods in response.

Without another word, the squad opened the front doors of the hotel and stepped outside. John and Tempest found their place in the center of the noticeably thinner circle and proceeded down the stairs onto the street outside. A brisk wind breezed through the much emptier street, sending a chill through everyone present. After taking a moment to ensure no threats would appear out of thin air, the group moved forward.

They progressed through the streets unmolested for almost twenty minutes. Big, bright neon signs slowly passed them by as the group continued to walk along the concrete streets, giant skyscrapers looking down on them as if they were ants. Even at the early hour, every light in the city beamed in all directions, turning the dark morning into a veritable rainbow of colors that all illuminated the dark and dull ground in various shades of every color imaginable.

A few were out and about, although whether they were still up late or just up early was fairly easy to determine by the stagger in their step, and the drunken slur of words spewing out of their mouths. The group paid them no mind as they passed several bars and reached the metropolitan center. Dozens more ponies and other creatures littered the streets in the bustling city centerpoint, making the entire group tense.

"Subway is just ahead and down tenth street." K stated.

"Let's go." John replied.

Without hesitation, the group pushed on through the streets toward the subway. A few heads turned their way, mostly observing John due to his higher stature than the rest of the group, but thankfully, nopony noticed the plum mare limping alongside him. It took them nearly ten minutes, but they eventually arrived at the subway entrance and hastily descended the stairs, save for Tempest. With her crutch and limp, she struggled to get down the stairs at any appreciable rate, forcing the rest of the group to tensely wait for her while the sound of shouting echoed from below.

Finally, she reached the bottom of the stairs and they proceeded onward. The subterranean entrance was filled with ponies, all bickering and arguing back and forth at the ticket booth ponies. Bright flashing red 'X's' above each line to the subway indicated that the train system wasn't available, prompting outrage from the ponies all trying to make their morning commute. K nodded toward the line at the far left side of the entrance and led the group toward the only ticket booth with less than a dozen ponies shouting in front of it.

Quickly pushing past the civilians in his way and arriving at the ticket booth, K pulled his badge out of his flannel. The mare at the booth gave a short nod and ushered them through, much to the dismay and outrage of the ponies just behind them. A renewed chorus of angered shouting and screaming echoed from behind the group as they hurried down the stairs to the metro hub below. Bright green and blue lights illuminated the subway with aqua colors, allowing K to easily find their designated train.

"Over there. Six seventy one. That's your ride to Baltimare. From there, it's up to you." K explained, pointing to the train.

John looked to the silver colored train with its flat and smooth design. It almost looked like a bullet, only there were windows lining either side and the doors. He gave a nod before the group dispersed around him and Tempest, allowing them to proceed without them. He quickly led her to the train and found the conductor waiting patiently for them at the helm. John gave a quick wave to the conductor, which was promptly returned with a smile, before turning back to Tempest.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." She responded, before stepping into the passenger cabin.

John turned around to face K and the rest of his squad as the conductor powered the train up and prepared to leave.

"I'm sorry about your ponies. We'll make sure they didn't die in vain." John announced, giving a nod to K.

K returned the nod, "You'd better." He said, before turning away and leading his squad back up the stairs toward the entrance.

Just as John turned around and stepped into the train, a small banging sound caught his ear. He turned around to look for the source of the noise, but saw nothing in the aqua colored subway. His eyes squinting in suspicion, he slowly reached for his concealed pistol. However, before he could do anything, the door shut in front of his face, startling him slightly.

"Oh, sorry about that. These old train doors can get stuck sometimes and make all kinds of a ruckus that echoes off the walls down here." The conductor explained, giving John an apologetic look.

John looked to the conductor and then out the door once more. After a few seconds of searching, and still finding nothing, he nodded once and stepped away from the window. John quickly found his seat across from Tempest as she laid down on the booth in the center of the train cart. After a few moments of silence, the engine fired up and the subway jolted forward. John gazed out the window as the lights passed by faster and faster, until the lights passed in a steady line of blue-green.

His eyes slowly drifted back over to Tempest as she sat across from him. As soon as she felt his gaze on her, she looked away from the opposite window and gave him a questioning look.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." John replied, averting his gaze to look over the top of the booth and to the back of the cart.

John's eyes quickly squinted in scrutiny as he saw something move in the cart behind his and Tempest's. Without hesitation, he pushed himself to his feet and made his way toward the rear door.

"Where are you going?" Tempest inquired, looking at him with some concern.

"Stay here." He ordered, drawing his pistol from his pants.

John kept his gun low as he reached the end of the cart and opened the door. Immediately, the sounds of the engine running and wheels scraping along the tracks flooded the room. The sound was made infinitely worse by the tunnel echoing the noise to a nearly deafening level. Tempest's ears pressed against her scalp and she winced from the sheer volume of the train in the small subway tunnel.

John quickly shut the door behind him, and grabbed the handle of the door leading into the next cart. With a quick shove, he opened the door and stepped inside. Only the outside lighting of the tunnel illuminated the second cart of the train, making long shadows dance up the walls and down to the floor. Unlike the first cart, this one wasn't first class, and lacked in many of the decorative amenities John expected to see. There were only a few places to hide, such as the booth, bathroom, around the corner of the exit to his left, and in the skylight above. However, the light played tricks with his eyes, making shadows appear where they weren't, and long lines of illumination that bended and curved around the furniture in front of him.

John held his pistol close to his chest as he carefully proceeded through the train cart. He quickly peaked around corners and over furniture in search of any threats. Over and over he cleared the dead space of the room, finding nothing but lingering shadows that were quickly illuminated by the flashing lights of the tunnel. Within thirty seconds, he cleared the entire cart, finding nothing out of the ordinary. He slowly looked up to the window, finding Tempest looking back at him from the front cart with a curious look on her muzzle.

John gave her a shrug and a shake of his head, prompting her to nod turn away from him to return to the booth. As she walked away, John reholstered his pistol and made his way for the door, only to pause once more as the sound of something scraping against wood reached his ears from above. He slowly looked up to the ceiling, only to find the skylight blocked out by a minotaur. His hooves and hands were pressed against the edges of the raised portion of the cart, keeping him suspended above John, a fact that quickly changed as he released his hold to drop down on top of the human.

https://youtu.be/7YahQUagmY4

John jumped to the side, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the impact of the falling minotaur, and found himself knocked to the floor immediately. He felt a strong hand grab his ankle and pull him closer, but John quickly kicked the creature in the snout with his other foot, forcing him to break his grip. Now free, John hastily scrambled to his feet, but once again, the minotaur was too fast, and charged him straight into the wall. John felt the air knocked from his lungs as he slammed into the wall under the weight of a bull, and struggled to fight back against the mountain of muscle pinning him.

John's pistol fell from his grasp and landed on the carpeted floor below. He tried to heave air into his lungs but the bull pinned him against the wall so tightly that his chest could not expand. With surgical precision, he cocked his arm back and slammed his elbow down into the minotaur's spine, between his shoulder blades. The creature immediately dropped to its knees, air forcing its way out of its lungs from the impact.

Now with room to breathe, John gasped to fill his lungs, before the bull wrapped its muscular arms around his legs and jumped back, growling fiercely as it pulled John off of his feet. The human landed flat on his back and hissed in pain as the minotaur dragged him away from the wall. John tried to reach for his pistol but he slipped just out of reach before he could grab a hold of it. He swiftly looked up to the bull, finding him rearing back to stomp on his head with one of his heavy cloven hooves.

John instantly rolled to his back, just barely dodging the impact of the hoof and pushing himself to get back to his feet. Unfortunately, the bull gave him no time to right himself, and grabbed him by the collar and the pant-leg. With a feral shout, he picked John up and threw him into one of the wooden support beams just a few feet away. Wood splintered and snapped as John sailed through the beam, before slamming into the wall on the other side of the subway. He fell to the floor with a groan of pain, but quickly pushed himself back up to his feet.

The bull gave him little time to recover, opting to rush the human once more. With only half a second to react, John lunged forward as well, only he stooped low to grab a large splinter of wood off of the ground mid stride. As the two closed the distance, John thrust upward with the wooden stake toward the behemoth's throat, but once again, the bull was too quick and ducked his head low, his horns blocking John's thrust and also catching his thigh, just above his knee. The minotaur gave an angry snarl as he threw his head back, catapulting John over his back and onto the floor in the center of the room.

John landed on his back with a grunt, and quickly rolled over to his stomach before pushing himself up to his feet. Just as he reached his full height, the minotaur turned around and rushed at him again, his hooves pounding on the floor as he swiftly closed the gap between them. John took a split second to look to the floor behind him for his pistol, finding it laying just a half dozen feet away near the window. Without waiting for his foe to catch up, he sprinted forward for the pistol.

John moved as fast as he could, but the hulking beast was simply larger and faster than him, giving him no time at all to grab his gun. Just as his fingers brushed against the polymer frame of the handgun, John felt the muscular arm of the minotaur grab his collar and stop him in his tracks. The bull harshly yanked on his collar, snapping him back from the weapon, sending him flying over the booth, and into the window on the opposite side of the train cart. A spiderweb of fractures appeared on the glass before John slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

John uneasily pushed himself to his feet once more. His back ached and pain lanced through his shoulder all the way down to his fingers. It took him almost five seconds to get back up to his full height, but the effort required to maintain that posture felt completely draining, forcing him to hunch over and rest his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

Across from John, the bull smirked to himself as he prepared another charge. His eyes squinted as he focused on the final charge that would end the human for good. Without even a word, he broke into a sprint, his horns lowered at ready to either impale, or launch John out the fractured window and into the subway train tracks while the train moved at a steady sixty miles per hour.

John didn't move as the bull rushed toward him, steam billowing from his nostrils as each step sent a heavy jolt through the floorboards of the train and into John's feet. Only at the last possible second, did John react, by simply diving to the floor and curling into the tightest ball he could muster, his back aimed at the minotaur's legs. The minotaur reacted instantly, jumping over John and completely dodging his attempt to trip him, however in doing so, he lost any way to stop his advance.

With a sudden shriek of fear, the minotaur crashed through the damaged window and sailed out of the train cart. The sound of rushing wind and shattered glass smashing into stone ground, flooded the train, making John wince as his ears were suddenly assaulted with noise. A meaty thud, along with a squelching noise echoed out in the tunnel, followed by nothing but the rushing wind and engine noise.

John slowly stood back up with a hiss of pain, before staggering over to the window. He looked out behind the train, finding the bull splattered against the wall hundreds of feet away, red blood surrounding his immediate vicinity. With a shake of his head, John turned around and walked over to the other side of the train. He picked up his pistol and sluggishly made his way back to the front cart.

As John opened the door to the front train cart, Tempest looked back over her wither, casting him a concerned glance.

"What were you doing back there?" She asked, taking in his disheveled appearance with a raised eyebrow.

John made his way over to the booth and slumped down into the seat opposite the mulberry unicorn. He let out a long, slow sigh.

"Dealing with one of Merkle's friends." John answered.

"On the train!?" Tempest exclaimed.

"Not any more." John replied.

Chapter 7

View Online

As the train chugged along out of the subway tunnel and into the open air of the Equestrian morning, harsh rays of early sunshine beamed into the large windows of the cart, and forced Tempest to stir. Her eyes groggily opened to see the gentle brilliance of the Equestrian ocean just a few dozen feet away from the train. Small waves caressed the sandy beach as the train ran alongside the waterline toward Baltimare.

Tempest squinted her eyes to see better through the glistening light reflecting off of the crystal clear ocean. After a few moments to appreciate the view, she turned her head to see John sitting across from her, his arms crossed and his head hung low. His hair obscured her view of his face, but upon seeing his fingers tapping on his forearms, it became apparent that he was still awake.

"Morning." Tempest greeted, quietly.

John slowly looked up and met her gaze. He gave a small nod of affirmation before lowering his head back down and resuming his quiet meditations. Tempest watched him with a raised eyebrow for almost a minute before deciding to speak up again.

"So... it was a minotaur. Did you at least get a name?" She asked.

"He wasn't feeling very chatty." John replied, not bothering to look up from his arms.

Tempest slowly nodded, "Ah. Probably not one of Merkle's then. He only had one minotaur ever work for him, and that bull wouldn't shut up."

John only gave a grunt in response, prompting Tempest to prop her head up with her good elbow as she continued to stare the human down. She rolled her tongue in her mouth for a few seconds before clearing her throat and gaining his attention. John slowly looked up through the stray locks of hair spilling down his face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You seem pretty nonchalant about the fact that two creatures have tried to kill you in a matter of a few hours." She acknowledged.

"I'm used to it." John curtly replied.

A tense silence quickly followed, leaving Tempest to anxiously tap her good hoof on the table between them. After a few minutes of tapping, John fixed her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" He asked.

"That's not an answer a normal creature would give to that statement." Tempest said, flatly.

"I didn't realize there was a normal answer to that statement." John rebutted.

Tempest's ears flattened against her head and she gave him a deadpan look, "That's because it isn't normal. Why is this normal for you?" She asserted, a flicker of irritation sparking in her voice.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth, "What do you mean?"

"Why are you doing this? All of it? The killing, the working with Equestria, this whole mission with me? I can not figure you out." Tempest questioned, her frustration finally boiling over in her voice.

John sluggishly sat upright and fixed her with an undiscernible look, "Does it matter?" He asked.

Tempest slammed her good hoof on the table, "Yes! Of course it matters! I don't even know what you are and yet you've killed two creatures to protect me after almost killing me and then suddenly having a complete change of heart! You keep doing little things to be nice to me that no one else notices, but I do! What game are you playing!?!" She shouted, her tirade leaving her slightly panting for air.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth for just a second before responding, "That all?"

Tempest's face morphed into one of disbelief, "A-are you kidding?" W-what do you mean 'is that all'?" She rebutted, her brain struggling to process the human's reaction.

John looked out to the passing ocean for a moment, his gaze as unreadable as ever, and he let out a quiet sigh through his nostrils before his gaze dropped and he returned his attention to Tempest.

"We've got a few hours until we reach Baltimare. Are these really the questions you want to ask?" John replied.

"I-wha-yes! Tempest shot back, shaking her head in disbelief.

John nodded, "I'm a human." He answered, simply.

"Are we really going to play twenty questions here? I know that. You already told me that. Princess Cadence already told me that! What I don't know is what the hay a human even is! Where does your kind come from? I've spent the better part of two decades outside Equestria and never seen anything like you." Tempest responded.

"Well, we evolved from apes. I'm not really sure how best to explain it other than that." John replied with a noncommittal shrug.

Tempest groaned and facehoofed, "You look nothing like an ape, save for maybe the hands and lack of fur..." She trailed off, looking up to John to see that he looked completely uninterested in the conversation, as his eyes routinely glanced out to the ocean, "Fine, I'll just have to accept that that's all I'm getting there. Can you at least answer the rest of my questions?" She asked, an almost pleading tone in her voice.

John returned his gaze to the broken unicorn and gave a single nod, "All I can say is that Harmony brought me here, and gave me one mission: Protect the ponies. While I can still fight, that's what I intend to do."

"But why!? Buck Harmony! That's just a myth they tell little fillies and colts to keep them well behaved!" Tempest exclaimed, leaning forward against the table between them.

"Harmony is more real than you realize. It pulled me from my world... brought me here, and gave me one last mission." John replied, a somber tone in his voice.

"Pulled you from your world? Last mission? What are you talking about? You're not from this planet!?" Tempest exclaimed.

John shook his head, "Not even from this universe."

Tempest's jaw dropped, "What the buck even are you?" She questioned, slowly shaking her head in disbelief.

John smirked, "Human."

It took Tempest a few moments to find the words to speak once more, but when she did, they came with a hint of worry, "W-what did you do back on your world? In your universe?" She asked.

John's eyes fell, "The same thing I do now... only... for less of a righteous cause." He admitted.

Tempest slowly shook her head as she sat back in her seat, her mind reeling from the overwhelming amount of outlandish information she received, "So... so you're just an assassin from a different universe?" She asked.

John nodded.

"Why... why would Harmony send you?" She wondered aloud.

"I don't know. All it said to me was that I was needed and that no one else could do what needed to be done." John explained, his eyes lingering on the wooden grain pattern of the table between them.

Tempest's brow furrowed in scrutiny, "You're lying."

John chuckled exactly once, "Only by omission."

Tempest rolled her eyes, "Oh what, so that's off the table? I just... I do not understand you at all. You're open about some things, and then you won't talk about other things. Why don't you make any sense!?" She shouted, slamming her good hoof on the table.

John listened to her outburst with an unamused look on his face, "Because you don't need to know everything, and I still don't trust you." He replied.

"Oh come on! Do I have to bring up all the nice things you've said to me!? The helping me get back up when nopony else would? Helping me put a bucking hoodie on? You either trust me, or you just want to buck me!" Tempest snarled.

John raised an eyebrow, "That's a hell of a jump."

"Well what the buck am I supposed to think!? Why are you so nice to me!? You tried to kill me! You would have killed me if it weren't for Princess Pudgy back there! Every creature in Equestria hates me except you for some reason!" Tempest screamed, standing up to her hindlegs and leaning over the table.

"She wanted you alive. If you kept fighting me, I would have had to let her down." John answered, refusing to back away from the furious mare across from him.

For a few seconds, they stayed locked in a staredown, neither one willing to back down or budge. Tempest's glare bore into John's dark eyes with enough fury to kill, but he only stared back with a small frown. John's cold gaze soon wore down Tempest's anger, and eventually, she backed down and sat in her seat with an angry huff.

She attempted to cross her forelegs, but her broken leg made that impossible. With a blush and a growl of displeasure, she settled for looking out the window instead of facing John anymore. While John raised an eyebrow in amusement at her childish behavior, he kept his mouth shut for almost a minute.

"Any more questions you want to ask?" He questioned, almost out of curiosity, himself.

Tempest huffed, "Not until you answer the ones I already asked."

John tilted his head to the side, "Thought I did."

Tempest instantly turned on him, "How can you go from having enough hatred to kill me without a second's hesitation, and then turn around and do all these nice things for me? What, do you feel guilty or something? I bet that's a first."

John slowly shook his head, "Hatred is poison. It eats away at you just as much as it does the object of your hatred. I've only ever hated one person... and only because he killed my dog. I never hated you. I was just doing my job. ." He explained.

Tempest gave him a look of confusion, "How... how do you kill so easily then? How can you kill creatures without hate? Is it really just a job to you? Taking somepony's life?" She questioned, her brow deeply furrowed.

"A lot of ponies were going to die in your invasion. Did you hate them enough to kill them?" John asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I was not going to kill anypony!" Tempest screamed, rage finding its way into her voice once more.

"Could have fooled me." John replied.

"I-I wasn't! The orders I gave were to take all ponies alive! I'm not like you! I don't just kill!" Tempest shouted, angry tears threatening to claw their way out of her eyes.

"Over three dozen ponies were being treated at the hospital with life threatening injuries when we left Canterlot. All of those were directly or indirectly caused by you. Would your soldiers have shown them the care and medical attention they're receiving now?" John pressed.

"I-we... I would have..." Tempest found her words dying in her throat, as she knew them to be untrue. Her gaze slowly fell to the table, and then to the floor below.

John observed her for a few moments as the inner turmoil that was her thoughts raged about in her mind. He watched her struggle to fight his accusations for almost a minute before speaking up again.

"For what it's worth, I believe that you don't want to kill anyone. The Storm King on the other hand... that's why we're doing this." John offered.

Tempest slowly looked up to John, "There you go again..."

John shrugged, "I never wanted to kill anyone either."

Tempest gave him a deadpan look, "You can't seriously expect me to believe that." She muttered.

"Why not? In a world with magic and unicorns and dragons... why can't that be true?" John asked, giving her a level gaze.

"Because... just because! The world isn't a nice place, as I'm sure you're well aware. Bad things happen to good ponies, and justice is never served! It took my horn from me, my freedom, and now, thanks to you, my sanity. All you've done is kill and tell me about how much you kill, and now you expect me to believe that you don't want to do it." Tempest spat, a snarl forming on her face.

John eyed her, unimpressed. Once he was sure she was done, he replied, "That what happened to you then? Some pony broke your horn and got away with it? Is that why you came back and attacked your own people?" He asked.

Tempest rolled her eyes, "Oh drop the preachy speech, will you? What? Did the princesses not tell you anything from my interrogation? First the Storm King and now this?" She asked with an exasperated sigh.

"I didn't ask. I was busy dealing with the rest of your army." John explained.

"Killing the rest of my army." Tempest disdainfully corrected.

John paused before letting out a long sigh. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a few moments before fixing Tempest with a more melancholy look.

"I don't enjoy killing, Tempest. It's just all I know." John said.

Tempest let his words sink in for a few seconds. She felt quite a bit of discomfort at John's admission, making her break eye contact to look out the window at the ocean once more. She pursed her lips as she thought over his words, although, the uncomfortable silence weighed heavily on her mind the entire time. Eventually, she quietly sighed and her gaze fell to the passing sandy beaches.

"It was an Ursa minor... when I was just a filly. One swipe of its claw, and I lost my horn and almost my eye too." She admitted, feeling a slight bit of relief at finally having said something.

John gave a small nod, "I'm sorry that happened to you." He offered.

Tempest scoffed, "Why would you be? Why do you care about me at all?

John pursed his lips for a few moments. His sudden silence caused one of Tempest's ears to flick back toward him, followed shortly by the rest of her head as she eyed him with melancholy.

"I need to stop the Storm King. I think you'll be instrumental in that endeavor. I don't see a reason to be harsh or cruel to you." John responded, thoughtfully.

Tempest shook her head as her gaze went right back to the ocean, "You sure you aren't just a machine?" She muttered.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth as Tempest's words stirred about in his head. He opened his mouth to respond, but slowly closed it. He looked over to the unicorn, finding her posture and the frown on her face as an indication that she didn't wish to speak any more. John quietly hummed to himself for a moment before standing up and making way for the train conductor's cabin. Tempest didn't even look over to him as he left.

John opened the door to the conductor's cabin, finding the stallion happily sitting at the controls of the train as it chugged along.

"How much longer until we reach Baltimare?" John asked, curiously.

"Oh, just about an hour or so." The conductor replied over his wither.

"Thanks." John replied, before turning back around to the first cabin.

Baltimare

John stepped out of the train cart and into the busy Baltimare train station with Tempest slowly coming out behind him. John gave the conductor a single wave, to which the stallion enthusiastically returned, before looking down to Tempest.

"Alright, we just need to get to the other side of the city and take a carriage ride to the Badlands. We should only need to stop once for rest. From there, it's on you to lead the rest of the way to the Storm King's shipyard." John instructed.

Tempest gave a single nod before striding off ahead of John, limping on her crutch the whole way. John quickly rushed after her and covered the admittedly small distance between them in a couple seconds, although Tempest kept her eyes straight ahead. John raised an eyebrow at her behavior, but decided to ignore it and continue on while adjusting his duffle bag.

Unlike Manehattan, the ponies of Baltimare didn't notice Tempest at all with her simple disguise. They simply went about their day as if nothing were out of the ordinary, save for the tall, bipedal human walking amongst them. John received several stares and confused glances, but also many gasps of recognition and excitement.

Tempest sourly watched as more and more ponies saw John and their faces lit up in enthusiasm. Ponies waved to the human-savior and cheered for him as he strolled past them. She eyed the tall man for just a moment, finding that while the pony's cheers did bring a small smile to his face, the happiness did not reach his eyes, and he only gave the smallest of nods to the ponies celebrating his arrival as if he were one of the Princesses.

Tempest eyed him warily for a few moments as they progressed to the tram station, her gaze locked on the far off expression John wore as ponies gave him a hero's welcome. There was something else there. What it was, she couldn't quite place, but before she could speculate further, they reached the tram.

"Tickets please." The tram officer asked, politely.

John reached into his pant pocket and fished out a couple of tickets to hand to the officer. The stallion in question gratefully accepted the tickets and looked them over with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Right then, you're all good to go mister Smith." The stallion happily announced as he hoofed the tickets back over to John.

"Thank you." John replied, before placing the tickets back in his pocket and stepping onto the tram.

Tempest managed to make it half way up the step, but her broken foreleg and crutch made crossing the last bit of height impossible. She uselessly kicked her hind legs in an effort to get some leverage, but putting any weight on her cast sent a shooting pain up her leg that made her wince. After several moments of painful, embarrassing failure, she saw a hand come into view before her face. She slowly looked up to the offered hand and the man attached to it, a small scowl forming on her face.

"I don't need your help." She muttered.

"What's so wrong with accepting help?" John asked.

"Because it's yours." Tempest growled as she forced herself up onto the tram with her good hoof.

With a slight heaviness to her breath, Tempest got back to her hooves, finding John slowly retracting his hand. He pushed himself back up to his full height and turned around without another word, before leading her to their seats just a few steps away.

With no other souls on board, the tram gently jostled to life and cantered down the street toward the other side of the city. Tempest deliberately sat as far away from John as she could, which was only a half dozen seats away due to the small size of the vehicle. She adjusted her hood to hide the majority of her face, save for the very edge of her muzzle and looked down to the floor of the tram.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9d3UFRdPBc

John watched her from his seat across the tram, a slight furrow in his brow as he sucked in some air through his teeth. He moved to get up, but paused almost instantly. He quickly sat back down and shook his head. A few moments later, he tried again, only to sit back down and let out a quiet sigh.

Despite the outside noise, and the lack of volume coming from the human, Tempest's ear flicked back toward him, and she slowly turned her head to give him a sidelong glance. He instantly noticed her gaze, and opened his mouth to speak, only for her to quickly look away again.

At this, John let out a tired sigh, making both of her ears flick towards him.

"Listen, I get that you're angry. I understand why and I can sympathize-" John began, only for Tempest to cut him off.

"Oh really? How exactly can you do that? All I am to you is a tool so you can kill the storm King. I'm nothing more to you than I was to him. Just a tool... meant to be used and then thrown away when it inevitably fails." Tempest muttered, her eyes falling to the floor once more.

John eyed the mare for a few more moments, before getting out of his seat and making his way over to her. Tempest's ears flicked toward him as he approached, although her eyes stayed glued to the floorboards directly in front of her. She winced ever so slightly as he sat down beside her, almost as if expecting a blow to land, or a strong hand to coil around her throat once more. Instead, she only felt the close proximity of the human as he sat beside her, his hands staying on his lap.

The tram chugged along through the Baltimare cityscape with nary a care in the world, least of all for the only two creatures on board while they maintained an uncomfortable silence. Outside of the tram, ponies went about their days with smiles on their faces and sun shining down on them. Meanwhile, the cover of the tram bathed both John and Tempest in shadow as they found their eyes pulled to the bustling city life all around them.

Tempest found her eyes locking onto a small filly, a scar none too dissimilar from her own on her face, playing among her friends. She was a pegasus, not more than nine or ten years old. Most notable about the filly, however, was the distinct lack of one wing on her back. She flitted by with her friends with only one working wing and a stump, yet, there was a massive smile on her face.

Tempest stared after the filly long after the tram rounded a corner and she disappeared from sight. Her brow furrowed slightly and she felt her withers slowly sagging as she looked back down to the floor again.

"You want to know why I kill?" John suddenly spoke up, prompting Tempest to return her gaze to him.

She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

"It's because sometimes the only way to protect good, is to do evil. Sometimes... good people have to do bad things, so the ones they care about don't suffer." John explained, gazing out over the crowd of little colts and fillies apparently on a field trip to the zoo down the road.

Tempest followed his eyes to the object of his attention, finding joyful and laughing faces as the class followed their teacher to the zoo just a block away. The tram quickly passed through another intersection, cutting off her view and leaving her staring out at yet another busy street.

"And what if you've only done bad things for selfish reasons? Then what?" Tempest asked, her voice just a quiet whisper.

John took a few moments to answer her, but when he did, he looked down to the mulberry mare and placed his hand on her wither, "It's never too late to change."

Tempest softly scoffed, "Unless you're dead."

John nodded, "That's why you have to be precise when you do evil. Only ever give them what they deserve, no more."

Tempest slowly looked up to John's hand on her wither. The contact felt odd; comforting, yet foreign. It sent a warmth down her wither and into her chest as she continued to raise her gaze until she met John's eyes.

"So did I deserve to die when I attacked Canterlot? Was it only Princess Twilight's word that kept you from killing me?" She asked.

John rubbed his thumb through the dense fur on her wither as his brow furrowed slightly, "At the time... I would've said yes. But... I think I was wrong. We all make mistakes. We all fail. Even me." He admitted, slowly removing his hand.

Tempest watched John for a while after that. Throughout the rest of the tram ride, they stayed side by side, content to watch the beautiful city around them.

Chapter 8

View Online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2pgwlPest8

John and Tempest departed the tram after it arrived at its final destination on the far side of Baltimare. At the edge of the city, they found themselves walking among scores of ponies on their lunch breaks or just enjoying a nice day off as the sun reached its precipice in the sky. The park just ahead was overflowing with ponies, filling the air with the sounds of laughter and joy in the beautiful sunny day.

Tempest limped beside John, her face mostly hidden by her hoodie as she occasionally glanced up at the gatherings of ponies in the soft grass. As they progressed on the sidewalk, she felt herself involuntarily slowing down to linger ever closer to the happy, gentle atmosphere beside her. Her hesitation did not go unnoticed, and after taking a few more steps ahead of her, John stopped and looked over his shoulder. He followed Tempest's eyes to the park, his gaze softening in realization, before he looked back to the mulberry mare.

"Hey, we need to keep moving." He called.

Tempest flinched slightly, as if startled from her thoughts, "O-oh, right..." She replied, slowly turning away from the sight before her and catching up with John.

John turned as Tempest reached his side and continued on toward the taxi carriages just further down the road. They reached the corner within a few minutes, finding no fewer than a dozen taxi's waiting and chatting amongst themselves. The burly stallions didn't notice John or Tempest right away, but after a few moments, one head turned, followed by another. Soon enough, the entire entourage of taxi's were looking at John and Tempest.

"You need a ride, sir?" The nearest taxi pony asked, tilting his head to the side as he gazed up at John.

"Yeah. We're heading to the Macintosh Hills. Do any of you think you could take us to the closest town on the way?" John asked.

"Well... there's Hoofenfield down south, but it's a bit close to the badlands. Those are dangerous parts and it's not going to be a cheap ride all the way out there." The taxi pony replied, scratching his chin in thought.

"That's fine. Bits aren't an issue. Can you take us there now?" John questioned.

"I sure can. For that trip, and the two of you... that'll be about four hundred bits." The taxi pony explained.

John unslung his duffle bag from his shoulder and reached into one of the side pockets. After searching through the pocket for a few seconds, John withdrew a large bag of bits. The golden currency jingled slightly as he held the bag out for the taxi to take.

"This should cover it." He said.

With his jaw slightly dropped, the pony accepted the bits and gave a thankful nod, "W-well alrighty then! Hop on while I get myself strapped in and I'll get you guys there before sunset." He cheerily exclaimed.

John picked up his duffle bag as the pony hurriedly set about strapping himself into the harness of the taxi carriage. Once the bag was resting on John's shoulder once more, he turned to Tempest and nodded toward the carriage. Taking the hint, Tempest made her way over to the vehicle and stepped up onto the cushioned seat in the very back. John patiently waited for her to set her crutch down before boarding and sitting down on the seat opposite of her.

Once they were both seated, the taxi pony finished attaching himself to the carriage and pulled them forward. The carriage jolted forward before settling back down and proceeding comfortably. John looked over his shoulder at the road ahead of them for a few moments before turning his head back to look at Tempest once more. He observed her as she looked out at the passing Baltimare scenery, finding her gaze to be slightly troubled.

"Something on your mind?" John inquired, earning the purple mare's attention.

"Not really. Just a dumb thought." Tempest shook her head.

John curiously raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" He pressed.

Tempest pursed her lips and looked down to the passing sidewalk beside them, "Well... it's more of a dumb question." She admitted.

"What is it?" John asked.

"When you left your world to come here... didn't you leave your entire family behind?" She asked, looking at him with a slightly nervous glance.

John's gaze fell to the floor of the carriage between them. For a few moments, he didn't say anything, prompting Tempest to speak up.

"L-like I said, it was a dumb question. Just forget I said any-" She began, before John spoke, cutting her off.

"No. It's fine. I didn't have any family when I left." He replied.

Tempest tilted her head to the side, "N-no parents? Siblings?" She questioned.

"All dead. That was a long time ago... before I was even ten years old." John answered.

Tempest's lips parted slightly as she took in John's past. She nervously swallowed before responding.

"I-I'm sorry. That must've been hard." She offered, averting her eyes.

"It's nothing I haven't come to terms with-" John answered with a nod, "-but thank you."

Tempest squirmed slightly in her seat, her face mostly hidden by her hoodie. A strange feeling welled up in her chest, encouraging her to continue her questioning. After taking a few seconds to debate with herself, she looked up at John once more.

"What... what about a marefriend? O-or whatever your species calls your mates? Did you have one of those?" Tempest asked, feeling her cheeks burn and her fur stand on edge.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth and leaned back in his seat slightly. He looked up to the sky for a few moments, a look of deep thought on his face as he thought over the question. With each passing second that he took to answer, Tempest felt more and more of her nerves faltering inside of her chest.

Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!! Why would you ask a question like that!? What the buck is wrong with you!? He's absolutely going to take that the wrong way!

As the thoughts in Tempest's mind raged with each other, driving her further and further into her hoodie to hide away from John's gaze when it eventually returned to her, the man in question let out a quiet sigh. He slowly looked back down at the increasingly nervous unicorn before him and shook his head.

"No, not really. Never had the time." He answered, plainly.

Tempest felt a wave of relief instantly wash over her at John's calm reaction, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Why's that?" She asked, reflexively.

Another wave of nerves washed over her, prompting another screaming match with herself in her head as John thought the question over.

"Just never really had the time, I suppose. Met plenty of women over the years, but the job always came first. A relationship would have just gotten in the way." He explained, with a small shrug of noncommitment.

Tempest felt her entire body relax at the answer, before another strange feeling assaulted her mind: Disappointment.

What the buck is wrong with me? She thought to herself, shaking her head to clear her mind of those thoughts.

After taking a moment to collect herself, she leaned back in her seat, fixing John with an even gaze the whole while.

"So you're just married to the job, then? I suppose that means that it'd be pretty easy for you to leave your world and everything you knew behind at the drop of a hat." She gave a slow nod.

John let out a slow sigh, "It wasn't an easy choice, regardless." He admitted.

Tempest tilted her head to the side, "How's that?" She asked.

"Just because I didn't have anyone to call my own doesn't mean I didn't want to live in my own world anymore. It was just... complicated." John explained, after a moment.

"Complicated... how?" Tempest pressed, leaning forward slightly.

John slowly shook his head, "Too complicated to get into right now. Maybe once this is all over and if you stick around, I'll tell you." He responded with a smirk.

Tempest rolled her eyes, "Fat chance of that. Once we're done with this, I'm disappearing forever. You won't see hide nor tail of me in Equestria ever again."

"Shame," John shrugged slightly, "I was just starting to enjoy your company."

Tempest paused for a moment, her brow furrowing in scrutiny. Her mouth opened slightly to respond, but she quickly found her words drying up on her tongue. As she struggled with a response, John looked over his shoulder to the pony pulling their taxi along on the road leading out of Baltimare.

Lush greenery greeted his eyes, beckoning him closer as the taxi slowly reached the edge of the city. Off in the distance, he could make out the snowcapped tips of the Macintosh mountains. He looked down to the pony pulling the cart, finding him happily humming a tune to himself and seemingly unaware of the conversation happing behind him, or just willfully ignoring it completely.

John turned back to Tempest just as she managed to control her jaw and close her mouth. She quickly shook her head and gave him a hard look.

"So-" She started, but John spoke up.

"So what about your family? You must've had parents or siblings when you were a filly." John said, taking note of the pointed frown Tempest quickly sported.

"What... what brought that up?" She asked.

John shrugged, "You asked about my family. It's only fair."

Tempest sighed quietly to herself, "I... haven't seen my parents since I was a filly. After I lost my horn... I just couldn't bear to be in that town anymore, so I ran away just a year after it happened. They... they probably think I'm long dead, now." She admitted, a sad look crossing her features.

John cocked his head to the side, a sympathetic look in his eyes, "You ran away when you were just a filly?" He asked, softly.

Tempest gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, "Honestly didn't think about them for two decades... was too busy trying to just stay alive or find a way to fix my horn." She recounted, her eyes failing to meet his.

John thought about her answer for a few moments as the taxi continued along out of Baltimare.

"You're a very driven mare, aren't you?" He asked, already well aware of the answer.

"Only driven enough to abandon my family, live two decades in some of the worst places I can think of, and betray my own kind in the hopes of getting my horn back... Harmony's sake, when I say it all like that I sound like the worst kind of pony in the world." She mirthlessly chuckled.

"Did the Storm King actually show that he could keep to his promise to restore your horn? Or did he just say that he was going to once you gave him Equestria on a silver platter?" John asked.

"He... had a staff. With the combined magic of all four alicorn princesses, he could control just about anything. Day, night, and everything in-between would have been fair game for him to control. I just... figured that if he could control all that, then restoring my horn would be easy." Tempest elaborated, a sad look on her face.

John nodded, "Understandable assessment. Question is, do you think he would've actually held up his word?"

Tempest shook her head, "I honestly think he was going to betray me the second he got what he wanted. That's why I planned to beat him to the punch..." She trailed off.

"But I was there." John surmised.

Tempest nodded, "Yes, you were. You wiped out the army he sent me with and nearly killed me in just a few minutes," She chuckled, "Honestly, I think he was just sending me to probe Equestria's defenses, hoping I'd die and save him the trouble of killing me himself."

"He'll come to regret that soon enough." John replied, firmly.

Tempest gave John a thin smile, "You really are certain you can kill him? He's got an army about fifty times the size of my attack on Canterlot." She questioned.

John nodded, "He can have the largest army on the planet. It won't matter."

"I would ask what makes you so confident... but I suppose you've already shown me time and time again that you're more than capable," Tempest shrugged, before a thought crept into her mind. Before she could stop herself, she continued, "Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do after you kill him?"

John tilted his head to the side, "The same thing I've been doing this whole time." He answered.

Tempest pursed her lips, "Really? No retirement plan? Just... keep fighting and killing until you die of old age?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I told you, as long as I can still fight, that's what I intend to do." John responded.

"I get that, but I didn't think you... literally meant fighting Equestria's enemies until you're on your deathbed... heh, I guess we're both very driven, aren't we?" Tempest chuckled.

John smirked, "I suppose we are."

The duo lapsed into a somewhat comfortable silence after that, both deigning to simply enjoy the passing scenery or purse through their thoughts. As they progressed toward Hoofenfield, the taxi pony continued humming his little tune to himself, content to simply pull the carriage and lost himself in his music. Soon enough, the tune was stuck in both John and Tempest's heads as well.

The sun slowly crept down the skyline toward the horizon, bathing the world below in a blood orange hue that cast long shadows from the scattered trees and hills filling the valley below. Tall grass rustled back and forth in the evening breeze, almost giving the impression that the land itself was breathing and teaming with life. With the ever darkening skies approaching from behind, and the warmth of the fading sunlight to their front, John and Tempest arrived at Hoofenfield.

The small town boasted an equally small population of only a hundred and thirty, as indicated by the sign posted just at the entrance. As the taxi pony pulled the carriage into town, John and Tempest eyed their surroundings critically. Several smallish and medium sized buildings lined both sides of a single lane road leading toward a taller, three story building at the end of the town. From the outside, almost all of the buildings looked the same, save for a few small details such as outdoor furniture or paint color.

Only a couple dozen ponies were out and about at the twilight hour, but those that were, froze in their step as they turned to observe the newcomers to their humble village.

"Anyplace in particular you folks wanted me to drop you off? Hoofenfield is sorta small, so it's only a minute or two walk from one side to the other." The taxi pony asked, looking up over his wither.

"Here is fine. Thanks." John politely replied, before grabbing and slinging his duffle bag once more.

As the carriage came to a soft stop, John jumped down to the ground below with a small grunt. Once he was situated, he turned to Tempest and offered his hand as she attempted to get down without use of her broken foreleg. Albeit with a moment of hesitation, Tempest accepted his offered help and got down to the ground beside him. Together they headed toward the building toward the end of the single lane road while the taxi pony opened up a compartment on the carriage and pulled out his dinner.

As they progressed across the town, more and more ponies stepped out of their homes to observe the newcomers. Several tilted heads and hushed whispers filled the air as dozens of eyes followed the human and unicorn. While John simply ignored the whispers, or just gave them a sidelong glance, Tempest held her head low, instinctively hiding as much of her face under her hood as she could.

Soon enough, they reached the large structure at the end of the town and walked up the steps to the front door. John gave three polite knocks before waiting for a response, his eyes scanning over the ponies all standing around outside. Tempest felt a nervous feeling in her stomach as the seconds ticked by. More and more eyes fell on her and John, making her reflexively tuck her tail in slightly, as if to hide her ruby red hair color from the ponies that might recognize it.

Finally, the sound of hoofsteps on hardwood floors reached her ears, and the door opened, revealing an slightly middle-aged unicorn stallion with a mustard yellow coat. His blue eyes almost instantly lit up upon seeing the human standing before him, and he immediately lost any composure he may have been preparing while he approached the door.

"Oh my goodness... JOHN! The human!" The stallion excitedly exclaimed, slightly startling both John and Tempest.

Without waiting for a word of response from either the human in question or the unicorn standing beside him, the stallion rushed out onto his balcony and shouted to the entire town who, by now were all out in the street and observing the interaction with extreme interest.

"Everypony! It's him! It's the human! John is here!" The stallion announced, a beaming smile on his face.

"Really!?" A stallion questioned.

"It is! I knew it!" One mare shouted.

"He really is here!"

More and more voices cheered for the arrival of the human, prompting a questioning look to form on his face as he observed the crowd now cheering and celebrating his name. The stallion who began all the excitement quickly rushed over to his side and grasped his hand with both hooves, shaking vigorously as he beamed a wide smile up at the tall human.

"I can't believe it's actually you! I never thought we'd get to see our town hero!" The stallion enthusiastically explained.

John hesitantly allowed the pony to continue to shake his hand, "Uh, thanks. Wasn't sure if you'd heard of me." He said, giving a small nod to the stallion.

"Heard of you? Of course we've heard of you! How could we not!?" The stallion chipperly responded, "You saved the princesses from Chrysalis, Tirek, and we just heard word that you stopped that traitor, Tempest! You're a legend!"

At the mention of her name, Tempest buried her face further into her hoodie. Luckily, the movement went unnoticed by the excited stallion, as his attention was solely focused on John.

"Why, we've taken all of your teachings to heart here in Hoofenfield! We just killed a diamond dog last week that kept tearing up our land, trying to find some gems that we sell to the dragonlands." The pony explained, a wide smile on his face.

John slowly nodded as the stallion finally let go of his hand, "I... see. I imagine he was threatening your people quite a bit." John hesitantly replied.

"Oh like you have no idea!" The stallion exclaimed, "That dog was causing a whole mess of trouble for us. We must've lost thousands of bits in trade," He explained, before a look of realization hit his face, "Oh! right, how careless of me. I know who you are but you have no idea who I am! The name's Malt Hoofenfield! I'm the founder and mayor of this town." He proudly announced.

John nodded once, "Right... Thank you Malt. I hate to just cut straight to the point, but I'm in need of a place to stay and rest for the night."

Malt eagerly nodded, "Oh! We've got plenty of spare rooms that you can stay in. The Inn just a few houses down the road will get you all situated. Apologies for not having the sign put up yet, we only just decided that we would use that house as the Inn." He replied, pointing to a two-story green house down the road.

John gave a thankful nod, before turning to leave. Tempest quickly limped after him, ensuring to keep her head low and her face as concealed as possible.

"Oh John! One more thing before ya turn in for the night!" Malt called after them, making John and Tempest both freeze in their step.

"That Tempest pony. We heard word that you were going to have her executed but ended up sparing her. Any particular reason?" Malt asked, a curious look on his face.

John slowly turned to face the stallion. He rolled his tongue for a moment before responding, "We weren't done questioning her. It's... partly the reason I'm here right now."

Malt gave a slow nod, "Ah, I see... and, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice that you're not traveling alone. Will you be needing a room for two?"

John hesitantly looked down to Tempest, finding that she was still frozen in place, her face still mostly obscured by the hoodie. Something was slightly off with regard to her posture. Even with all the eyes on her, her attention was focused on the spot of dirt just before her, as if she were contemplating something.

John quickly turned to Malt, "We would appreciate a room for two. It's been a long day and she's very tired. Not very talkative when she's tired, this one."

"Ah, I know the type." Malt replied, winking at John, "No worries at all, friends! We'll get you both sorted out at the Inn. Sea Breeze should be up at the front desk, so go ahead and head on in. She'll get you sorted for the night." He instructed, a friendly smile on his face.

"Thank you." John responded, before turning back around and heading toward the building in question.

After only a few steps, he noticed the lack of hoofsteps behind him, and turned around to find that Tempest hadn't moved. He immediately turned back around and walked over to the mare as she stood, still as a statue.

"Let's go." He instructed, receiving no response of any kind.

With a frown, John grabbed her wither and gently shook the mare, finally snapping her out of her trance. With a start, she looked up at him, a deep frown visible on her face in the dim sunset lighting. John opened his mouth to question the unicorn, but before he could get a word out, she limped past him, her eyes once more darting to the ground as she held her head low and hid her face.

A few ponies that were still watching from afar whispered amongst themselves as Tempest laboriously made her way to the Inn, John hurrying after her.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" John questioned as he caught up to her.

Tempest pointedly ignored him as she reached the front door of the Inn. Without waiting for him to speak again, she shoved the door open and limped inside. John rushed in after her, a frustrated frown forming on his face at her sudden attitude shift. Before he could question her further, the Innkeeper stepped out to the front desk.

"Good evening! How can I help... you..." Sea Breeze trailed off, her eyes focusing on John, "Oh my Celestia! You're John!" She exclaimed, a beaming smile on her face.

John gave a small nod, "Yeah. Sorry to just rush you like this, but it's been a long day. Is there any way we can just get a room for two?" He asked, as politely as he could.

The mare blushed in embarrassment, "O-oh, of course! My apologies, I understand you must be very busy and very tired. Here, take these keys to room three. It's upstairs." She hastily replied, grabbing the keys out from under the desk and hoofing them over to John.

"Thank you." John responded, giving a grateful nod and heading to the stairs.

As the mare gave a friendly wave goodbye, John reached the stairs, finding that Tempest was already at the top, and slightly out of breath. John quickly made his way up the stairs after her, finding her standing in front of the door marked with a '3'. John unlocked the door and let Tempest in first, before following in after and locking the door behind him.

Once they were alone in the modest room, he threw his duffle bag on the bed closest to him while Tempest made her way over to the other side of the room.

"You mind telling me what's got you all pissed off all of a sudden?" John questioned, irritation clear in his voice.

"You were the one that suggested execution." Tempest spat, her words laced with venom.

Chapter 9

View Online

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."

Chapter 10

View Online

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

John eyed the dozens of ponies in front of him for several seconds. The tension in the air blanketed the entire town, leaving most of the ponies nervously glancing back and forth with each other as they blocked John's path. A hushed silence reigned over everypony present as they waited for John to make the first move.

John's gaze slowly swept over the crowd, looking for the biggest threats among the ponies as well as the quickest route to Tempest. He counted twenty one unicorns, thirteen pegasi, and thirty earth ponies. They only had a few spears and improvised weapons made from farming equipment among them all. John quickly glanced behind him, finding another half dozen ponies at his rear, all unarmed, but two of the bulky stallions looked poised to pounce on him.

Quickly looking back to the crowd, John found that the ponies still in front of him were very slowly advancing, albeit fearfully. His grip tightened on his shotgun's pistol grip as the crowd closed in from the front. The air itself felt thick and heavy as the tension reached its fever pitch. John only heard the sound of hooves scraping on the dirt from behind him, and he instantly reacted.

John dove to the side, narrowly dodging the earth pony stallion charging him from behind. He quickly rolled back to his knees and shouldered his shotgun, pointing it straight at the stallion's chest. Time froze for the pony as a look of horror adorned his face, only to contort into one of pain as John fired, and knocked him to the ground. The concussive blast made every pony in the crowd jump and cover their ears, but that only gave John more time to pick targets.

Turning to the ponies previously behind him, John fired five more shots, striking each of them in the chest or barrel, and knocking them to the ground. He quickly whirled back around to the ponies still blocking his way to Tempest, finding that many of them were already turning tail and running back to their houses. The roughly two dozen that stayed, wasted no more time once they were over the shock of the first round's fired, and rushed toward John.

Two pegasi took to the sky, while the three remaining unicorns stayed in the back, preparing whatever spells they knew that could be of some use against the human. Meanwhile, John aimed at the two closest earth ponies and fired his last two shells off. The closest pony was knocked back and fell to the ground, while the second only staggered from the shot, but continued to rush John. With speed and precision, John rotated the shotgun in the pocket of his shoulder, grabbed another shell and slapped it into the chamber, before smacking the bolt release and chambering the shell.

The charging stallion's eyes widened in fear as John reshouldered the shotgun and aimed straight at his chest. A blinding flash of light and concussion sent the stallion tumbling to the ground, clutching his chest as he wheezed in pain.

With his weapon empty once more, John fished into his pocket and retrieved a handful of shells. He quickly pushed himself to his feet just as a beam of magic flashed right past him. He ducked down and retreated as several more beams fired all around him, while hastily reloading his shotgun. Just as he managed to load the third shell into the gun, one of the pegasi swooped down and slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground and sending his extra shells flying.

The quickly approaching ponies rushed to get to John before he could get his hands on his shotgun once more, but he managed to grab the pistol grip just as the first stallion reached him. John rolled onto his back and fired straight into the stallion's belly and knocking his legs out from under him. With a howl of pain, the stallion rolled on the ground, clutching his gut.

"Above you!" Tempest cried out, before Malt smacked her in the face with a backhoof.

"Keep your mouth shut, traitor!" He shouted, before turning back to the fight.

John gave Tempest a quick nod, but before he could get back to his feet, the second pegasus swooped in and tried to knock the shotgun from his hands once more. However, this time John was ready, and rolled out of the way just as the stallion slammed his hooves into the ground beside him, kicking up a cloud of dust. John quickly canted the shotgun in his grip and fired blindly into the dust cloud. His only assurance that he hit his target was the high pitched squeal of pain from the pegasus as he fell to the dirt.

Swiftly rolling to his side and pushing himself up to his knee, John glanced up at the remaining ponies around him. He only had an instant to react before another stallion swiped at his head with a spear held in one of his hooves. John just barely ducked under the staff of the spear as he rotated the shotgun in his hands, effectively holding it like a baseball bat. Once he got back up, he swung the buttstock of the shot gun in a wide arc, smacking it against the stallion's head and knocking him out cold.

John rolled the shotgun back around in his hands, before noticing an unfired shell laying on the ground in front of him. He quickly grabbed the yellow shell and loaded it into the gun, before looking up just in time to see two more ponies charge him. He hastily shouldered the shotgun and fired at the one on the left, sending the stallion tumbling, before the mare on the right slammed her wither into his shoulder and knocked him to the ground. John's shotgun fell to the ground just a few feet away from him, but before he could attempt to grab it, another stallion kicked the weapon away, forcing John to grab the next available weapon before him.

Just as John grabbed the fallen spear off of the ground, another pony armed with a second spear, swung at his face. John brought his own spear up vertically, blocking the incoming blow just a few scant inches from his nose. Without giving the fearful stallion a chance to swing again, John pushed himself to his feet and kicked the stallion in the face, dazing him momentarily.

While that pony was stumbling back, John spun on his heels and swung the spear in a wide arc, smacking the mare to his right on the top of her head with the back end of the shaft. Without missing a beat, he swept the blade to the side, slapping the stallion beside her in the face with the flat side of the steel. Both ponies stumbled back from the hits, giving John time to hold the spear horizontally in his hands and rush forward, catching both ponies by the throat and slamming them into the house behind them.

John held both ponies against the wooden structure, all eight of their hooves dangling several inches above the ground below as they sputtered and struggled for air. As John held them in place, a beam of magic slammed into his back, making him grunt in pain. Slowly, so very slowly, John turned his head and glared at the unicorn mare who's horn was still smoking just a few dozen feet away. She audibly gulped before turning around and galloping away on shaky legs. With that, John released the two ponies trapped against the house, unceremoniously dropping them to the ground as they coughed air back into their lungs.

Hearing quickly approaching hoofsteps from behind, John turned and adjusted his grip to swing the spear in an upward arc, just narrowly missing the pony as they skidded to a stop just in front of him. With his new angle, John gave a downward swing, smacking the back of the pony's head with the flat side of the blade and nearly shoving their muzzle into the dirt. Then he thrust forward with the blunt tip of the end of the shaft, smacking the pony's forehead and making them stumble back a step.

Finally, John spun on his feet once more while adjusting his grip much like he'd done with his shotgun, and swung the spear in a wide arc. The center point of the staff slammed into the side of the pony's head so hard that the wooden spear snapped in half from the force of the impact, and sent the pony straight to the dirt, unconscious. John threw down the broken spear, before he heard charging hoofsteps behind him once more.

John spun to the side, just narrowly dodging the spear thrust from the previously dazed stallion. He grabbed the shaft with his right hand, then further down with his left, essentially walking his way down the spear. He pulled with his left hand, as he stepped forward, and shot out his elbow, smashing in the stallion's snout and knocking him down to his haunches as he let out a cry of pain. Now with the spear fully in his grasp, John eyed the remaining pony's still presenting a threat. All of them looked at him with terror in their eyes, and with a feral growl, John snapped the second spear on his knee, making all of the ponies jump.

"F-forget this!" One mare cried as she turned tail and ran.

"There's no way we're beating him!" Another shouted as she also fled.

"I think he broke Snowbell's muzzle!" A lanky stallion exclaimed.

John took two steps forward before the remaining ponies scattered and fled, dropping their weapons or spells as they galloped away to their houses. As they ran, John surveyed the street, finding many of the ponies still laying on the ground and rolling about in pain. His gaze quickly flicked back up to the platform, finding Malt still standing his ground with Tempest tied to the post beside him. He was visibly sweating and wide eyed from the display.

John looked down to the ground, finding his shotgun just a few feet away. He walked toward the weapon and quickly picked it up before fishing more shells out of his pocket. He walked toward Malt with a frown on his face as he loaded four shells into the shotgun, the sight alone making Malt wince.

"N-now mister Smith, I think we can be reasonable here..." Malt announced, his voice cracking several times as John reached the edge of the platform.

John simply held the same expression as he walked up the steps to the stage. Once he reached the platform, Malt staggered back several feet until he was just an arm's length away from Tempest.

"J-John, we can come to an understanding, I'm sure." Malt offered, a nervous grin on his face as John continued to approach.

"What if I offered you an all expenses paid trip to... Tartarus!" Malt exclaimed as his horn ignited and a beam of bright white light shot out, aiming straight for John's face.

John swiftly ducked his head to the side, narrowly dodging the beam of energy and pointing his shotgun right at Malt's face in the process. Malt reacted by casting a shield bubble spell around himself and Tempest just as John fired a blast from his gun. The shield held firm, only to be pelted by the rest of John's shotgun ammo, forming a visible crack just in the center. Malt winced with each shot, his horn pulsing with energy as it struggled to block the power of a twelve guage.

Without giving Malt a chance to recover the shield, John threw the shotgun to the ground and drew his Glock 17 from his waistband. He fired once, sending another crack all the way across the shield as Malt struggled to keep his mana field from snapping under the strain. John fired again and again, forming a spiderweb of cracks all along the shield until finally, after nine rounds, the shield shattered, and Malt stumbled back, his horn fizzling out with a shower of sparks.

John quickly cocked his arm back and threw his pistol as hard as he could at the stallion, smacking him right in the face and knocking him to the floor. John quickly rushed the stallion as he tried to get back to his hooves, before sweeping his legs out from under him, and dropping Malt to his belly. The now terrified stallion looked up to John in horror, blood flowing freely from his nostrils and the new cut directly under his horn.

John stared down at the stallion, his fists clenched in anger, however, he slowly released the tension in his hands, and let his shoulders slump some as he caught his breath.

"It's over. Go back to your home and don't follow us. The next time you see me, I'll kill you. I'll kill all of you." John growled, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared Malt down.

Malt hastily nodded his head as he held up his forelegs placatingly, "O-okay... whatever you want."

John gave a single nod, "Go. Now." He ordered.

Without another word, the stallion scrambled to his hooves and bolted for his house just a little further down the street. John watched Malt all the way until the stallion scampered into his doorway and slammed the door shut behind him. With a satisfactory nod, John turned around and made his way over to Tempest, observing the rest of the ponies still in the street as they rolled about, clutching their wounds and bruises.

Now that he was actually close to the mulberry unicorn, John could see the actual extent of the damage she'd sustained. Heavy bruising on one side of her face, combined with dirt matted all over her fur and cheek were heavy indicators that she was beaten into the dirt, and then beaten some more. One of her eyes was completely swollen shut, and the other had a broken blood vessel. Her hoodie was ripped in several places, especially around her cast, which also appeared to have been cracked several times and matted with dirt.

As John arrived at her side, he reached into his other pocket and pulled out his knife. He opened the switchblade and set to work cutting the ropes binding her to the post in the center of the pyre.

"You need to stop getting yourself into these kinds of situations." John muttered, with a smirk.

"I'll... try to keep that in mind, next time." Tempest replied, no small amount of gratitude in her voice as she was quickly freed from her bonds.

Once she was free from the rope, John knelt down to her level, his gaze soft.

"Listen, about what happened between us-" He started, but stopped as Tempest lunged at him, her good hoof wrapping around his shoulder as she buried her muzzle into his neck and hugged him tightly.

She trembled as she held onto John as if he were her only tether to the ground itself. Soft sniffles soon became harsh, and after just a few moments, she sobbed into John's neck. The contact left John speechless yet again, and he simply stared down at the distraught unicorn, his mouth slightly agape, for some time. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around her barrel and wither, pulling her into a gentle hug that she eagerly accepted.

For a few minutes, they simply held each other, the contact as comforting as it was foreign. John softly stroked his hand through Tempest's disheveled mane, the soft bristles playing through his fingers as they sprang back up to their natural resting position. Tempest only squeezed him tighter in thanks as she shook in his warm embrace.

Eventually, they pulled away enough to look into each other's eyes, although they stayed in each other's arms.

"You... you came for me... why?" Tempest asked, her voice just a whisper.

John rubbed small circles on her wither with his thumb, "I made a promise. No harm would come to you under my watch. I keep my promises." He answered, softly.

Tempest slowly looked down to her disheveled appearance, before looking back up to John and cocking her good eyebrow back, "You sure about that?" She asked.

John gave her a deadpan look, "You know what I meant." He smirked.

Tempest held his gaze for a few seconds before a small grin formed on her face as well. She let out a giggle, prompting John to quietly chuckle with her. The quiet air filled with the sounds of their soft laughter, and for a short while, they only enjoyed the moment, content to hold and be held as the night warmth of the now flaming pyre kept the nighttime chill at bay.

As with all things, it was not destined to last, and they both relaxed once more. John looked into Tempest's good eye, his brow furrowing ever so slightly as he thought over the right words, but before he could speak, she spoke up first.

"I... I'm sorry. For running away. I just... well, you know." She admitted, her gaze falling to the floor.

John gently cupped her chin with his thumb and index finger, guiding her gaze back up to his. However, instead of the disappointed gaze or even harsh glare Tempest expected, John simply looked down at her with an undeniable softness in his eyes.

"I understand... and I'm sorry too. I was wrong to order your execution... I've been stuck in my old way of thinking for so long that I thought you were irredeemable. That... wasn't fair of me. Not when I've made mistakes too." John responded.

Tempest stared back at John with a slightly slack jawed expression, "W-what do you mean?" She asked, hesitantly.

"I've made mistakes too... killed people that didn't deserve to die. When I was cornered and about to die, Harmony saved me and brought me here. I guess I got to thinking... if I got a second chance after the wrongs I've done... why shouldn't you? So I'm sorry. I should've given you a second chance like I was given." John elaborated.

Tempest took a few moments to take John's words in. Her mind raced as the implications whirled about in her brain, and as her brow furrowed, she glanced down to the floor once more. Eventually, she felt a strange feeling of elation in her chest. Almost as if she could suddenly breathe easier, despite the bruising her ribs sustained just minutes prior. She looked up to John, a moment of silence hanging in the air between them, before she finally responded.

"T-thank you... for saying that. I guess you aren't just a machine after all." She quietly chuckled.

"Last I checked, at least." John replied, a small smile on his face.

Several groans of pain suddenly caught Tempest's ears, and she looked over to the scene of carnage in front of the platform, finding all of the ponies John fought to get to her, struggling back to their houses. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, before looking over to John and finding that he was also looking at the injured ponies as they retreated.

"You... didn't kill them?" She asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

John shook his head, "I tried not to kill any of them. Some are hurt worse than others, but they should all make a full recovery." He offered.

"B-but... how? I've seen you kill creatures three times their size with your weapons. How did you not kill any of them?" Tempest replied in bewilderment.

Rather than answer verbally, John reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the remaining yellow shells. He held it up for Tempest to inspect, while pulling one of the red shells out of his other pocket.

"Bean bag rounds. Meant to incapacitate, not kill," John explained, before holding up the red shell for Tempest, "Buckshot. For killing whatever you need to kill."

Tempest looked at the two shells before her with clear interest. After a few moments to read the lettering on the sides of the shells that confirmed John's explanation, she looked up to the human with a small smirk.

"So you do have a non-lethal mode." She teased, receiving a snort of amusement from John.

"On occasion," John answered, before putting the shells back into his pockets and pushing himself to his feet, "Can you walk?" He asked.

Tempest moved her casted foreleg slightly, before giving John a small shrug, "Well luckily they weren't able to do much more than twist my foreleg a bit. The cast took pretty much all of the damage, so I don't think they rebroke anything. It doesn't hurt any more than it did before to put weight on it or anything. I just don't have a crutch anymore."

John gave a sympathetic nod, "We'll figure something out. For now, let's just get back to that Inn."

Tempest arched her eyebrow, "Are you seriously saying we should stay the night here? After what you just did to the ponies in town?" She questioned, a stark amount of disbelief in her voice.

"It's not like we have anywhere else to go for the night. Besides, what are they gonna do? Ask us to leave?" John smirked.

Tempest giggled as she shook her head, "I suppose they wouldn't want to earn your ire twice in one night." She replied.

"Then that's the plan. Come on, some sleep will hopefully help heal that foreleg enough for you to actually walk on your own." John said as he walked over to pick up his pistol and shotgun.

Once his weapons were secure, John helped Tempest walk down the steps of the platform and through the now vacant street. Orange light from the pyre easily lit the way for the duo as the broken unicorn leaned most of her weight against his thigh. Within a few minutes, they found themselves at the front door of the Inn, and although the lights were still on, there was no sign of Sea Breeze. Without a word, John opened the door and ushered Tempest inside, before leading her over to the staircase heading up to their room.

Tempest sluggishly made her way up the steps while John patiently walked behind her, ensuring the she didn't fall or stumble. Soon enough, they reached the top of the staircase and stepped into their room. John quickly closed and locked the door behind him, as well as place a chair under the door handle to prevent any chance of somepony breaking in. Lastly, he went into the bathroom and closed the window, ensuring to lock the latches on the frame, just in case.

With that, John walked back into the room to find Tempest already laying down on her bed.

"Before you go to sleep, take the hoodie off." John ordered, receiving a wide eyed stare of confusion from the mulberry mare.

"Uh... w-why?" She asked.

"To make sure you aren't bleeding or hurt anywhere else." John replied, sitting on the bed, just beside her.

Tempest gave a small nod and got to her haunches. She attempted to remove the hoodie, but quickly found the task almost impossible with only one good hoof. After a few moments of her struggling, John reached over and helped slip the hoodie off of her head and forelegs, exposing several nasty cuts and bruises all along her barrel. Tempest wilted slightly under John's wondering eyes, but he quickly found a spot on her back that needed attention.

"Looks like a pretty deep cut. Could probably use some stitches." John announced, before grabbing his duffle back and fishing out some sutures.

John sat down on the bed again, motioning for Tempest to come closer and face her back to him. She closed her eyes and winced as John pricked the first suture just below her wither. He worked quickly, and soon enough the wound was sutured up nicely.

"Alright, you should wash that blood off and then get some rest." John explained as he put his stitches away.

"Well... I can't exactly reach my back right now," Tempest replied, looking over her wither, before an idea forced its way into her mind, "Unless... you want to help." She suggested, a blush forming on her face.

John shrugged, "Sure."

Chapter 11

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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.

Chapter 12

View Online

"His fleet has over one hundred air ships. Each one has eighty infantry troops on board with vehicles and support troops ready to deploy on command." Tempest explained, her steely gaze focused on the troop movements below.

John watched the troops moving with a steady frown on his brow, "Equestria doesn't have the firepower to take on even a quarter of that." He responded.

"Bit overkill isn't it?" Tempest asked, knowingly.

"Yeah."

"That's because it's not an invasion force. It's an occupation force. Whatever weapon the Storm King has in that pyramid building... he's convinced that it'll be enough to either make the ponies surrender immediately, or wipe enough of them out until they have no choice." Tempest explained.

"Well then we'd better get down there and stop them before they can take off." John replied.

"Not a good decision. I know you're strong, but several thousand armed and armored storm soldiers are a bit larger a threat than a town of untrained ponies, don't you think?" Tempest reasoned.

John watched a half-track filled with two dozen storm soldiers speed by on the road a few hundred feet below them. He chewed his cheek in thought for a few moments, before turning to Tempest once more.

"Stealth it is, then."

Tempest nodded, "Our best shot is going to be taking out the fuel supply. It's highly explosive and with all the air ships lined up like this... assuming they're all fueled up and ready to go... you could potentially wipe out the entire fleet and weapon facility in one fell swoop." She explained, tilting her head to the side in thought.

"Sounds like that's the plan." John replied.

Tempest scratched her chin in thought, "Only one problem. You're going to need a pretty big explosive to rupture the fuel tanks and cause a chain reaction of that size. I don't suppose you have anything that fits that bill on you, do you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

John shook his head, "No... although..." He trailed off, his brow furrowing in thought.

Tempest looked up at John before following his gaze to the pill-shaped fuel cells just a few hundred feet from the pyramid building, "What's on your mind?" She asked.

John nodded toward the fuel tanks, "Is the fuel a gas, or a liquid?" He questioned.

"It's a liquid, but the vapors are what's flammable anyway. Why, what are you thinking?" Tempest responded.

"If I can punch a few holes in the tank and let some of those vapors out, a little electricity would probably make the rest of it go up in flames." John explained, looking down to Tempest's broken horn.

A small grin found its way onto Tempest's face, "That just might be crazy enough to work. We'll have to get close though. I can only control my magic for a short distance. After that, it just goes to the path of least resistance... we might be a bit too close to the tanks if I'm being honest." She finished, her grin turning to a slight frown.

John nodded, "Unless you have any better ideas, that's our only choice. We don't have long to do it either. They look like they're about to move out." He pointed out, gesturing to the troop movements as they boarded the ships below.

Tempest sighed, "I suppose you're right. How do you wanna do this?"

"Stay close to me. Once we're spotted, it'll get real loud, real fast." John replied, as he shuffled back out of the hole they'd both crawled into.

Tempest followed his lead, and crawled back outside. Once they were both free, John set his duffle bag down on the ground and unzipped it while unbuttoning his flannel with his other hand. He pulled out his Sig MCX and the Benelli M4, as well as his Kimber 1911. Tempest watched in amazement at the assortment of weapons laid out before her, only to tilt her head to the side in confusion as John started stripping out of his pants as well.

"Uh... what are you doing?" Tempest asked, her eyes not so subtly wandering all over John's body.

"Changing." John answered, simply.

Tempest opened her mouth to reply, but as John pulled out a suit from the duffle bag, she closed her mouth and pursed her lips.

"You know... this isn't exactly a formal affair." She said, cocking an eyebrow back.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that-" John replied, as he pulled his pants up, "-but I don't have any other kind of body armor here."

"Body armor?" Tempest tilted her head to the side.

"The suit has armor woven into it." John explained as he donned his vest and jacket.

Tempest nodded, "I see. That must be some impressive stuff if it can fit into a simple suit like that. Let's hope that it'll do the trick against the Storm King." She added.

John grabbed the M4 and slung it onto his back before grabbing the MCX and slinging it on his front, "Here's hoping." He replied, before digging through the duffle bag for more ammo.

Tempest eyed the amount of ammunition in the bag, as well as John's already somewhat encumbered appearance with a frown. After he shoved three magazines into his pockets and pants, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Why not keep most of this in the duffle bag like you've been doing this whole time?" She asked.

"Need to access it quickly. If it's on my person, I can get to it faster." John answered, pulling out several pistol magazines.

Tempest hummed, "Well, if I'm being honest, I don' think that your suit has enough pockets for all of this. What if you gave some to me?" She asked.

John raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

Tempest nodded, "Might as well."

John returned the nod before placing a few more magazines back into the duffle bag and tightening the straps enough to fit on Tempest's much smaller frame. He slid the straps over her barrel as she guided her forelegs through them, quickly securing the duffle bag. Once that was in place, John pulled out another belt from the bag and strapped it around Tempest's barrel.

"Uh, what is that for?" Tempest asked, quirking an eyebrow as John cinched the belt down on her barrel.

"For this." John replied as he pulled out his Kimber 1911 and its holster. He clipped the holster under the belt and tightened it down just a hair more to ensure it wasn't going to fall out or get lost.

Tempest eyed the gun now mounted to her body with a worried glance, "This thing isn't going to just go off on its own, is it?" She asked, attempting to angle her body away from the barrel of the gun.

"Unless someone pulls the trigger, no." John answered.

With one final check over the tidiness and tightness of their gear, John nodded toward the shipyard below, "Alright, let's get moving. We can use the trees for cover until we reach the perimeter. We'll have to go building to building after that, unless we can hijack one of those vehicles."

Tempest gave a nod of acknowledgement, "Alright. Let's do this." She replied.

John headed down the side of the mountain, Tempest close on his heels as the shipyard bustled with activity. They rushed from cover to cover, finding small bushes, trees, or boulders just large enough to hide them from view as the sentries passed by on their routes. Quick enough, they arrived at the road leading straight into the camp, both diving to the ditch on the side of the road as a squad of storm soldiers ran past near the entrance to the base.

John slowly peeked his head up from the ditch, his eyes scanning over the shipyards defenses now that he was closer and could identify weak points easier. Sharp, angular fences lined the entirety of the perimeter of the base, making entry from anything other than the designated roads, almost impossible. He mused over the idea of creating a distraction at one side of the gate and climbing over another, but his thoughts were cut short as the rumble of another half track filled the air.

The vehicle exited a tunnel that bore into the mountainside, it's heavy engine echoing off of the walls as it chugged along toward the shipyard. Instantly, John could see that there weren't any storm soldiers on the back; instead there were several cannons and large harpoon guns, half covered with black tarps that hung loosely off of the barrels and frames. John quickly looked down to Tempest and nodded toward the approaching half track.

"Looks like that's gonna be our ticket in. Gonna have to hop on as it passes though." John quietly explained.

Tempest eyed the half track with suspicion, "Are you sure that's the best way? Sometimes those get inspected by the guards on the way in." She reasoned.

"Unless you've got a secret entrance up your sleeve, that's our best shot. Plus, they're about to leave. They're in a rush." John shot back.

Tempest let out a quiet sigh, "Alright, fair point. On your mark." She replied, crouching down into an athletic pose as she prepared to move on the vehicle.

John crouched down beside her, taking a similar pose as he prepared for the inevitable arrival of the half track. A few moments passed, nearing a minute, and with each passing second, the sound of the vehicle grew louder and louder, until it was nearly on top of them. Just as the rumble of the engine, and the vibrations of the tracks shook the ground around them, John bolted out from his position on the side of the road, Tempest right at his heel.

John jumped forward and caught the back door panel of the half track and quickly hauled himself up onto the flatbed on the back. Tempest swiftly leapt onto the opposite door panel and hooked the frame with her hooves. With a helping hand from John, she easily climbed up onto the flatbed as well.

With the gate entrance quickly coming into sight, John crawled under one of the tarps. Tempest followed his lead and hid herself under the tarp just adjacent to his, ensuring to tuck in her tail and keep her mane under the fabric. Together, they waited in hushed silence as the track approached the front entrance of the shipyard. Just as they reached the gate, the vehicle came to a stop, and two storm soldiers approached the driver from either side of the cab.

John slowly, and carefully lifted the tarp just enough for him to glance under the fabric and see the soldiers as they communicated with the driver in their strange tongue. A series of grunts reached his ears over the sound of the engine, but aside from that, he couldn't discern what they were discussing.

Eventually, the soldier John could see, nodded his head toward the direction of the center of the camp and turned around to resume his post. A moment later, the half track jolted to life once more and pushed forward into the camp. John smoothly hid his face beneath the tarp as he passed by the guards, before lifting it back up slightly so he could see where the vehicle was heading to.

Across from him, Tempest did the same, her eyes scanning the passing tents and structures for any sign of their objective. For a few minutes, they only saw the mundane aspects of the shipyard. Mess halls, barracks, and formations of troops loading onto the airships, passed by at a steady pace, before quickly being replaced by much more of the same.

"Any of this look familiar?" John asked, his eyes still scanning for his objective.

"Vaguely. I remember a few of these buildings... I think we're going to reach the fuel tanks at the next intersection, but I can't see out in front to be sure." Tempest responded.

"I think I see an opening. Get ready to jump out and move to me on my signal." John announced, getting to his knees under the tarp.

Tempest quickly pushed herself to her hooves and scooched over as close as she could to John. A few moments of tense silence passed, before John spoke up.

"Now." He ordered, throwing the tarp over his shoulder and quickly dismounting the half track.

Tempest was only a second behind him, and with two distinct thuds, they both hit the ground and broke into a sprint and gallop toward an open doorway leading into a tall, jagged building. John rushed in first, shouldering his rifle and quickly clearing the room of any signs of life, before Tempest rushed in after him, closing the door just enough to leave a crack of light peering in for them to see with.

There were no windows in the room, only a few basic electronics and radio equipment that seemed completely unattended to for at least a few days. Tempest kept her eyes glued to the crack in the door, her gaze scanning for any approaching storm soldiers as John walked through the room and looked up the spiral staircase leading to the roof.

"Do you see anything?" Tempest asked.

"Nothing. Just some old radio equipment," John replied, lowing his rifle and looking over to Tempest, "You?"

"I see the fuel tanks." Tempest answered.

John quickly walked over to her side and glanced out the crack in the door to see the fuel tanks just a few hundred feet down the road. The storm soldiers surrounded the fuel tanks with no less than fifty guards, along with barbed wire fences, and several vehicles with armor thick enough to stop a cannon. John frowned at the sight before him, stepping away from the door and fixing Tempest with a contemplative look.

"I can get us to the fuel tanks, but it won't be quiet. They're gonna know we're coming and they aren't going to be showing any mercy. You ready for this? You're going to have to kill to survive this." He stated, firmly.

Tempest turned away from the door and gave John a nod, "I am." She firmly replied.

John leaned down and grabbed the mana nullification ring on her horn for a few seconds. The ring flashed green before unlocking and falling away from Tempest's broken horn, and allowing the feeling of magic to finally register on her broken appendage once more.

Tempest smiled as she felt the familiar feeling of her admittedly untamed arcane might, and let a few sparks fly, almost as if testing to see if she could still do it. With a happy nod of affirmation, she looked up to John and smirked.

"Let's blow this place." She said.

John nodded, "Alright. You know the plan. Stay close to me."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxN9NQNohek

With that, John grabbed the door handle and shoved it open. He sprinted out into the street with Tempest galloping close at his heels. Together, they rushed past dozens of storm soldiers, many of whom recognized the mulberry mare and tilted their heads to the side as she galloped past them alongside a creature they'd never seen before. Such confusion was short lived, however, and after just a few moments, several of the soldiers recovered from their shock and shouted warnings and commands to their comrades upon seeing where Tempest and John were headed.

The storm soldiers guarding the fuel depot all turned their attention to the rapidly approaching John and Tempest, many of them assuming a defensive position with their spears and shields. John shouldered his rifle as he closed in, his finger migrating to the trigger and squeezing off several rounds as he slowed to a brisk walking pace. The echoing gunfire ricocheted off of the metallic structures around them, amplifying the colossal volume of the rifle as bullet after bullet sped through the air at thousands of feet per second.

One soldier fell, then another, and then another. Those that weren't covering their ears, covered their chests as bullets tore through their armor and flesh like a hot knife through butter, leaving them bleeding profusely from the many new holes in their bodies. Tempest's ears flicked down in agitation as each shot fired made her flinch, but she managed to keep pace with John, her horn sparking to life to keep back any soldiers that might approach from John's rear while his attention was occupied.

Dozens of soldiers sprinted toward the duo, spears and swords at the ready as they quickly covered ground. Tempest sparked her horn to life, sending a wave of magical lightning across the ground in front of her and catching all of the closest guards. They cried out in agony as the electricity seared their fur and sent their nerves haywire, making many of them spasm or contort their bodies in all manner of different ways.

With his back covered, John quickly dispatched the last of the guards protecting the entrance to the fuel depot. He reached back with his left hand and tapped Tempest's wither, gaining her attention and nodding toward the depot. She instantly got the hint and followed after him as he rushed toward the front gate, jumping over a few dead bodies along the way. They both quickly found themselves standing among over a dozen fuel silos, each one labeled with their maximum quantity of fuel on the side.

Forty thousand gallons per silo John thought as he looked over the silos.

Half a dozen more storm soldiers inside the depot rushed toward John and Tempest, their weapons at the ready. John quickly reshouldered his rife and canted it to the side, aiming with his red dot sight at the close range threats. He fired six more rounds before his magazine ran out of ammo, forcing him to switch to his Glock. As John peppered the approaching soldiers with nine millimeter ammunition, Tempest covered his back once more, sending a continuous bolt of lighting at a soldier just as he rounded the corner. The lightning seared his skin, making the creature howl in pain as it collapsed to the ground, writhing about for a few moments before falling still.

Beads of sweat dripped from Tempest's brow as she caught her breath. The strain of practically dumping her magical energy on the first few soldiers to approach her, left her feeling drained. She took a quick breath and shook her head to clear the slight dizziness from her mind, and focus on the next approaching soldier while John reloaded his weapons, six dead soldiers laying in front of him.

The next storm soldier to round the corner thrust at Tempest with his spear, but she deftly jumped over the weapon and flipped into a somersault, her hind leg spinning into a downward kick that caught the back of the soldiers head and drove his jaw straight into the mud below. The creature let out a grunt of pain as he slammed into the ground, his spear falling from his grasp and somewhere out of reach as he tried to push himself back up to his feet.

Just as the soldier looked up once more, Tempest kicked out a hindleg cracking his jaw for good and knocking the beast unconscious. As she turned back to John, an crossbow bolt sailed right past her face, before slamming into the fuel tank just a few dozen feet away from her and splintering into a thousand shards of wood. Both her and John looked over to the nearby guardtower, finding the source of bolt nearly instantly.

John quickly shouldered his rifle, and with a gentle push, increased the magnification of his optic enough to see his shot clearly. He squeezed the trigger and fired off another round, dropping the storm soldier immediately as blood spewed from the new hole in his head. With that threat cleared, John turned back to the fuel depot and fired off a volley of bullets that pieced the metal frame of the silo nearest to the both of them with ease. Plumes of green smoke billowed from the dozen holes now present on the fuel tank, filling the air with a noxious gas that John and Tempest stepped away from.

Without hesitation, John emptied the rest of his magazine into the other silos present in the fuel depot. The air filled with a haze of green gas that made it difficult to see more than a few dozen feet ahead. John quickly reloaded his rifle before turning to Tempest and nodding toward their exit.

"Let's get to a safe distance, and then you can light it." He instructed, turning on his heels and rushing to the front gate.

Tempest nodded and raced after him, her hooves plowing through the bloodied mud as she kept on John's heels. They quickly reached the exit, only for over three dozen storm soldiers to rush them from just outside the perimeter. John instantly fired his rifle, not even bothering to shoulder the weapon due to the extreme proximity of the soldiers, while Tempest ducked under the first soldier's sword and leapt upward, using her jagged horn to puncture the soldier's throat.

The gas quickly approached them from behind as they fought against the soldiers surrounding them. Both Tempest and John were too busy fighting to notice the quickly encroaching gas as wisps of green licked at their heels. Soldier after soldier dropped in front of John, multiple new holes littering their corpses and running the ground red with blood. Beside him, Tempest dropped the second soldier to approach her by jumping over the horizontal slash of his sword and headbutting him as hard as she could. The action both knocked the soldier to the ground, and cut her forehead, leading to a bleeding wound the spilled down her face.

Momentarily blinded by the blood now filling her vision, Tempest stumble back a step, only for a claw to grab her by the throat and throw her into the street, away from the depot and into the center of the crowd of soldiers. She landed with a splash of mud and blood, but she managed to quickly roll to the side to avoid a spear plunging into her belly.

Across from Tempest, John quickly shouldered his rife and fired three rounds, killing the soldier nearest to her before he could attempt to spear the unicorn again. Unfortunately, in his moment of focus, John didn't see the soldier approaching from his other side, and was brutally thrown nearly a dozen feet away. He landed with a splash, just a few feet away from Tempest. He let out a grunt of pain from the impact, but quickly pushed himself to a kneeling position just as the soldiers rushed from all sides.

John aimed his now very muddy rifle at the storm soldiers approaching from in front of the fuel depot. He fired again and again, his bullets cutting down several of the soldiers until he ran out of ammo. Tempest ducked under a spear while kicking her hindleg out and knocking the wind out of the soldier behind her. She deftly rolled to the side, dodging a sword swipe from another guard but found herself completely surrounded. As she frantically looked back and forth for an escape, she saw the green wisps of gas as they reached the outside wall of the depot.

"Get down!" Tempest screamed, her horn sparking to life.

Without hesitation, John dove to the mud and rolled away from the guards while Tempest shot an arc of lighting straight into the thick of the cloud of gas. The electricity connected with the wisps of fuel vapor, igniting the flammable material and turning the entire cloud of smoke into a blazing inferno that quickly enveloped the whole fuel depot. The following explosion sent all the soldiers, Tempest, and John flying as the entire world around them blew up into a bright flash of blindingly brilliant light. The fire burnt so bright and hot that entire buildings blew away, and tents ignited instantly.

As Tempest slammed into the ground, dozens of feet away from the entrance to the depot, she fell unconscious, her vision quickly fading to black.

Chapter 13

View Online

"Hey."

Tempest felt her eyelids straining to flutter open, but the crusty, sticky sensation on the inside of her eyes kept them closed.

"Hey! You alright!?" A voice reached her ears, so faint that she couldn't be sure she'd even heard it.

"Wake up! Come on!" The voice shouted, much closer this time.

Tempest willed her eyelids to open, much to her immediate discomfort. Her entire body felt warm, much too warm to be comfortable, and a throbbing pain ached all the way from her hind legs to her forehead. She gasped for breath, her mind immediately becoming aware of the fact that she hadn't breathed in quite some time. The smell of sulfur and burning flesh instantly filled her sinuses and mouth, making her gag and cough almost as soon as her lungs filled with air.

After several moments to accept the newfound stench that surrounded her completely, Tempest finally looked up to her surroundings, finding nothing but scorched earth and burning airships all around her. Smoke billowed through the air, filling the sky with greenish black clouds that looked almost as sickly as the carnage they orbited. Charred bodies littered the streets and filled the collapsed tents and structures all around the fuel depot. She slowly surveyed the destruction, her eyes moving from one desolate ruminant of the storm king's fleet to another.

Tempest gagged again as she looked at the bodies scattered all over the shipyard. Memories of just a few minutes prior quickly flashed through her mind, and she quickly found herself struggling for breath. She vividly recalled the feeling of her horn spearing into a soldier's neck, his blood oozing down her forehead and into her eyes. His gagged gasps of agony filled her ears, driving her to nearly hyperventilate as the memories rushed into her mind, one after the other.

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Her heart rate slowly decreased, but the nauseous feeling in her gut lingered, making her swallow back the bile before she would lose control and vomit into the mud. It was a losing battle, and after only a few moments, she doubled over and dry-heaved, her stomach attempting to empty its contents.

Aside from a small amount of spittle and bile, Tempest vomited nothing. She heaved breath into her battered lungs, each breath nearly sending her back into a puking fit as the stench of the charred world around her filled her sinuses. Slowly, but surely, she managed to control herself and quell the feeling in her gut that seemed to only want her to empty her insides. Finally, after wiping the last of the spittle from her muzzle, she looked up from the mud below and surveyed the carnage once more.

After taking some time to look over the damage, Tempest became aware of an acute ringing sensation in her ears that didn't seem to want to go away. She flicked her ears back and forth in an attempt to clear them or pop them, but found no such luck. She slowly brought a hoof up to her ear and rubbed the fuzzy extremity. Her hoof came back in front of her face covered in blood. She stared at the crimson fluid soaking into her fetlock with wide eyes and a blank stare.

Despite all the stimuli around her, Tempest hardly registered the feeling of a gentle hand on her wither. Only after a good shake, did she look over to her side and find John kneeling beside her. Black soot and mud caked his face in dozens of places, nearly appearing as if he was wearing some kind of war paint. His suit matched his face well, and he appeared to be covered in more dirt and mud than even she was.

After nearly ten seconds of staring at John, she realized that he was speaking to her.

"What!?" She cried, her voice a strained croak that she could barely hear.

"Are you okay!?" John shouted back, grabbing her head with both hands and looking over her bloodied ear.

"I c-can barely hear." Tempest replied, looking back to John with a slightly fearful look.

John tilted her head to the side and inspected the bloodied ear in question. While her entire face and head were caked with dried blood and mud, he easily found fresh crimson fluid soaking around the appendage in question. He gently folded her ear inside out and looked at her inner ear, finding that there was little blood inside of the extremity. He quickly traced his finger along the outside edge of her ear until he reached the base, finding a laceration just underneath. With a small sigh of relief, he released her head and with his left hand and calmingly rubbed her cheek with his right thumb.

"It's just a cut. Don't worry, your hearing should come back in a bit." John explained, giving a supportive smile.

Tempest let out a shaky breath but nodded her head in thanks as John pulled away. He quickly checked his rifle and magazine, finding that he still had nearly a dozen rounds left. With that done, he got to his feet and looked back over to Tempest.

"Can you still fight?" He asked.

Tempest looked around the scene of utter desolation around them, "Fight what!?" She asked, louder than she meant to.

John pointed to the sky behind her. Tempest turned on her haunches and looked up, finding a sight that made her heart sink.

Just beyond the burning remnants of the shipyard, nearly a dozen airships hovered, all with large, green tanks affixed to their hulls that could only be carrying a volatile payload of the storm king's secret weapon. Beneath the airships, the pyramid shaped building that housed the storm king's weapons, burned. The sight was as beautiful as it was terrible, but the airships ominously hovering just above, only served to douse her elation in kerosene and ignite it. The sinking feeling in her chest only worsened as she saw the storm king's flagship, hovering high against the blue sky, the black smoke surrounding it on all sides.

"B-but.. how?" She weakly asked, despair clawing its way into her voice.

"Must've got airborne before we were able to destroy the fuel depot." John answered, getting to his feet.

Tempest shook her head side to side, "How... how are we going to stop them? We've got no way to cover that distance and get into the air." She replied.

John rolled his tongue in his mouth. He quickly surveyed the destruction around them, before his eyes landed on a vehicle that was still intact. The entire left side was scorched, the black tarp was reduced to nothing more than a few smoldering rags, and the paint was blistered, but the tires were still in usable condition. What held his attention, however, was not the vehicle itself, but rather, the large harpoon gun on the rear.

John quickly turned back to Tempest, "What kind of range does that harpoon gun have?" He questioned, pointing at the aforementioned battle implement.

Tempest's muzzle scrunched up in thought, "Uh... about five or six ship lengths. That was probably going to be mounted to one of the airships before we destroyed them."

John nodded as he turned and walked over to the vehicle. The building beside the half track crumbled in on itself as he walked, having taken the majority of the explosion and more than likely saved the vehicle from becoming a casualty as well. Tempest quickly pushed herself to her hooves and rushed after him, although, after just a single step, she nearly lost her balance. She shook her head clear and hurried after him, her mind still struggling to catch up after the massive explosion.

"You can't seriously be thinking what I think you're thinking." Tempest spoke up, eyeing the track wearily.

"I am." John replied.

"Those airships are well past that gun's range right now, and there's no way in Tartarus that piece of crap is starting after that explosion." Tempest responded.

"Only one way to find out." John rebutted as he reached the driver side door.

John threw the door open and stepped up to the driver's seat. He looked around the admittedly foreign design of the storm soldier's vehicle for a few seconds before finding a key in the ignition. With an almost indiscernible shrug, he grabbed the key and twisted. The heavy engine turned over several times, but failed to start. John tried again, and within a few seconds of cranking, the engine roared to life, a puff of black smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe and into the already blackened sky.

Tempest shook her head in disbelief, "I can't believe this piece of crap started..." She muttered.

John looked over to her as he revved the engine, "Get in." He ordered.

With just a sidelong glance to the storm King's airborne ships, Tempest obliged and made her way to the passenger door. She quickly hopped inside and found her seat. Once she was seated, she gave John a small nod, to which he shifted the vehicle into drive and stepped on the gas.

https://youtu.be/6GKFnwanS1I

The half-track jolted to life, its wheels pushing through the muddied ground with relative ease as it slowly accelerated. John kept his gaze up on the airships, his eyes quickly attempting to find the closest one that they could harpoon and board.

"You're gonna need to get on that gun. I think I see our target." John announced, pointing up at the lowest airship.

Tempest squinted her eyes as she followed John's finger to the airship, finding that it was heading away from them and gaining altitude.

"We're gonna need to go a lot faster if we're gonna catch up to that before it's out of range." Tempest replied, before turning around and sliding open the rear window.

"What do you think I'm doing?" John muttered as Tempest crawled out to the harpoon gun on the flatbed behind him.,

The half track plowed through mud and half burnt tents, quickly closing on the airship as smoke billowed from its rear. The engine growled and roared as John pressed the pedal against the floorboard as hard as he could.

"They just fired up their main engine! We need to get in range in the next twenty seconds or that ship is gone!" Tempest shouted as she manned the harpoon gun. She aimed up at the airship as black smoke poured from the cone shaped hole on the stern of the ship.

"I'm working on it!" John rebutted, before turning off of the road and heading straight for a shoddily built wooden barracks, "Hold on back there!" He called over his shoulder.

Tempest complied and ducked down behind the gun as John plowed the beefy half track straight through the barracks. Wood splintered as the heavy vehicle obliterated the small building, sending fragments flying in all directions. A shower of wooden splinters rained over Tempest and the half track jolted heavily from the impact, but she managed to hold on as they continued on a direct path to the airship.

"We're getting close! Get ready!" John ordered, slamming his foot on the gas pedal as hard as he could.

Black smoke poured from the exhaust pipe as the half-track strained to meet it's driver's demands. Obstacles and debris did little to slow the barreling behemoth as it raced through the remains of the shipyard toward the fleeing airships. As they quickly covered distance, John looked back over his shoulder, finding Tempest already aiming the harpoon gun at the airship in question.

"Tell me you've got a shot!" John shouted over the roaring engine.

Rather than reply verbally, Tempest squeezed the massive trigger of the gun. A blast of smoke and concussion rocked the half-track as the harpoon sailed through the air, heavy steel cable waving through the air behind it. John and Tempest both watched for over a second as the harpoon soared toward its target. Time seemed to slow, and for a moment, neither man nor pony could breathe as they watched the projectile.

Finally, the harpoon slammed into the back of the airship, sending a tremor through the entire hull and filling the air with a solid *thwack*. John and Tempest both watched, part in awe and part in relief as splinters of wood fractured from the hull of the airship from the impact of the harpoon. Once she was sure they were connected, Tempest leaned down to the cab of the half track.

"We need to get off this thing before the airship gets up to speed. It'll rip the gun off of the bed!" She shouted, getting a nod of affirmation from John in response.

John quickly turned in his seat and let his foot off of the gas. The roaring engine instantly quieted down as the throttle closed, swiftly slowing the vehicle down as John climbed out of the back window and onto the flatbed. Once there, he hurried up to the harpoon gun, finding the rope already being pulled taught by the airship as their half-track slowed. He quickly tightened the slings on both his MCX and Benelli M4 before jumping up and grabbing a section of the rope with his hands and pinching another section with his feet.

The thick rope easily held his weight as he slowly climbed upwards, making room for Tempest to jump on as well. She wrapped all four hooves around the rope and bit down on a section, using her jaw as something of an anchor for her to pull herself up with. Just a few seconds after they'd both cleared the flatbed of the half-track, the vehicle slammed into a berm on the edge of the shipyard. The harpoon gun instantly snapped from its mount and dragged along behind them, making the rope sway and ungulate from the impact and lack of anchor point.

John and Tempest both held on as tight as they could as the rope swung back, forth, up, and down. With determination and sheer strength, they pulled themselves upwards toward the airship. Each foot upwards felt like a titanic task that sapped away at the strength of the tendons in John's fingers, as well as the muscles of Tempest's jaw. Foot by foot, inch by inch, they struggled and fought their way up the rope. The airship grew ever closer as it rejoined the rest of its squadron.

As John clawed his way up the wisping rope, he took note of the lack of soldiers peering over the edge to attempt to dislodge the harpoon from their ship. He heaved breath into his lungs as he silently thanked his lucky stars that the soldiers didn't seem to notice or care about the potential boarding party they were about to receive. He cast a quick glance back to see that Tempest was still holding on for dear life, her teeth digging into the rope as she squeezed it as tightly as she could with her hooves.

"You good!?" John called over the sound of the wind.

Tempest couldn't nod or reply without letting go of the rope, so she opted to simply wink at John and continue her slow ascent after him. Satisfied with her answer, John turned back toward the ship and pressed on. Inch after inch they climbed until finally, John reached the side of the airship. Due to the harpoon's impact location, their only means of boarding was to climb up the side of the airship nearly a dozen feet to the deck. John hastily looked for a hatch or window for them to break in through instead, but found that the only hatches were gunports that were all closed.

John braced his heel against the harpoon and pressed his arms against the hull of the ship to keep himself balanced as he leaned over to the only gun port within reach. John stretched his arm as far as he could, his fingers just touching the hatch as he tried to wiggle them into the crevice between the hatch and its frame. After a few seconds of precarious fenagling, he found that the hatch was locked, preventing him from pulling it open. Before he could attempt again, he felt Tempest reach the harpoon and wrap a hoof around his leg.

Upon releasing her vice-like grip on the rope, Tempest spit a few twines of the black fibers out of her muzzle and worked her jaw over a few times to try to get a semblance of feeling back into it. John looked back to her, opening his mouth to tell her that the hatch was locked, only for it to suddenly open behind him. John twisted back around just in time to see a storm soldier lean out to look outside.

Instantly, Tempest fired off a spark of magical lightning, electrocuting the storm soldier and making his entire body go rigid for several seconds. So much electricity flowed through the soldier's body that he couldn't even scream in pain, as all the air was driven from his lungs within an instant. Finally, after nearly five seconds of blasting her magic, Tempest extinguished her horn, allowing the soldier to slump down over the gun port, half his burly body dangling out the window.

John quickly reached over and grabbed the singed arm of the soldier and strained to pull him out the rest of the way. After a few seconds of struggle, he managed to drag the rest of the yeti out of the gun port and drop him to the world below.

"Nice job!" John complimented, before reaching to the now open gun port and grabbing the frame.

"I aim to pleashe!" Tempest replied, still working her jaw some.

John hopped off of the harpoon and hoisted himself into the gun port. Once he was inside, he quickly surveyed the room, finding no sign of any other storm soldiers. Once he was sure it was clear, he turned around and reached out the window to Tempest. There was a considerable distance between them, and considering her smaller stature compared to his, she couldn't quite reach all the way across.

"You're gonna have to jump!" John instructed.

"Seriously!?" Tempest exclaimed, looking down several thousand feet at the passing land below.

"You got a better idea!?" John shouted back at her, reaching out with his hand again.

Tempest looked back and forth from John's hand to the world below several times before gulping and preparing herself to jump. She took a few deep breaths before crouching down slightly to aim for the gun port. With a final wiggle of her hips, she leapt off of the harpoon and reached out for John with her forelegs. For a split second, she sailed through the air, nothing but her forward momentum keeping her from falling to her death, several thousand feet below.

Then, she felt John's arm wrap around her barrel, and she instinctively wrapped both forelegs around his back as her hindlegs dangled in the open air below. She squeezed herself as close as she could to the human, thanking her lucky stars that he had fingers and could maintain a solid grip on her barrel as he heaved the both of them back into the airship. Once her upper half was inside, she clambered her hindlegs up to the port and pushed herself the rest of the way in, before releasing her death grip on John and collapsing to the floor as she panted for breath.

Once she was safe, John sat down against a wooden support beam and caught his breath as well. For a few minutes, they simply panted for air in the empty room. The only sound to join them was the rushing air, passing by the still open gun port.

"Let's not... do that again." Tempest muttered, after some time.

"Deal." John replied, eyeing his hands.

"What's wrong?" Tempest asked, tilting her head to the side.

John shook his head, "Nothing. Just rubbed my hands raw, climbing that rope." He explained, showing Tempest his bloodied palms.

Tempest's eyes instantly widened in alarm, "Harmony's sake, are you okay?" She asked, getting to her hooves.

"I'll be fine. Just burns a bit, is all." John replied, dismissively.

"If you say so..." Tempest trailed off, although she didn't quite look convinced. She curiously looked over the room they were hiding in for a few moments, finding one cannon still tied to the wall, alongside dozens of bags of black powder and cannonballs, "Hey, John." She said, her eyes glued to the explosive material.

"Yeah?" John responded, looking up to Tempest, then over to where her gaze was pointed, "Ah, I see."

"I always did tell them that much black powder in one place was practically begging for the entire ship to go up if any creature ever hit one specific spot." Tempest acknowledged, shaking her head.

"Think there's enough here to completely destroy this ship and any of the Storm King's special weapon?" John asked, pushing himself to his feet.

Tempest nodded, "There's enough black powder here to light this ship up, the next ship over, and still have enough to put a dent into the Storm King's flagship all at once if we can get them close enough to each other... then again, I know his ship is reinforced with steel in most places, so we might need more than this ship to take his out. As for the weapon... I know almost nothing about it. I just know that he was convinced that it would bring Equestria to its knees if he ever had to use it."

"Bit counterintuitive to destroy the land you want to conquer and render it uninhabitable, don't you think?" John questioned.

"That's how the Storm King is. He'd rather see an entire continent burn and rule over the ashes as a show of his power, than let a nation stand up against him. It's not about what he's ruling over to him, it's about what he's shown he can conquer. The only reason he wanted Equestria in the first place was for its magic. If he can't have it, he'll gladly wipe it off the face of the planet." Tempest explained, solemnly.

John walked over to the bags of black powder and rolled his tongue in his mouth. After a few moments, he turned back to Tempest, a slight frown on his face.

"Well then none of these ships can be allowed to make it to Equestria; Canterlot, specifically. We're heading North right now. How long until we reach Canterlot in this thing?" John asked.

Tempest chewed her cheek in thought for a few moments, "At cruising speed, it should take just a day... but after what we did to his fleet already, they're moving in high gear. My guess? At this rate, we'll be in Canterlot airspace by the afternoon. What's our plan?"

John grabbed one bag of the black powder, almost as if testing its weight. After hefting the bag a few times, he set it back down among all the rest. With that done, he walked back over to the gun port and looked outside at the rest of the airships still flying in formation. After a few moments, he nodded and turned back to Tempest.

"There's nine other airships, including the Storm King's flagship. We take control of this ship, use the cannons to take out the ships nearest to us. There's three that we can easily destroy as long as the ships hold formation. Once that's done, we'll get as close as possible to the the next ship closest to us. We can use the harpoon gun to get close. Once we take that ship, we scuttle this one." John announced.

Tempest gave a hesitant nod, "That... still leaves five other airships that we'd need to worry about. They'd all just open fire on us once they saw us board the next ship." She replied.

John looked down and chewed on his lip for a few moments as he thought over the wrench now firmly wedged into his plans. Eventually, he came to a conclusion and looked up to Tempest once more.

"Then we board the Storm King's flagship instead."

Chapter 14

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"You sure about this plan?" Tempest asked, looking at the doorway leading out to the rest of the munitions deck of the airship.

"It's the only option we have." John replied, checking the magazine of his rifle.

He saw that there were still a dozen rounds in the magazine, and proceeded to change it out with a fresh magazine from one of his pockets. He quickly realized that he only had one full magazine left, and as he reloaded his MCX, he turned to Tempest.

"I'm gonna need the rest of the ammo from the duffle bag." He stated.

Tempest nodded and unslung the duffle bag from her withers before hoofing it over to John. He swiftly filled his pockets with the remaining magazines of 5.56 before filling his pockets with the rest of the shotgun shells and pistol magazines. Once he was fully loaded, he gave the duffle bag back to Tempest.

"You know, there's still a chance the rest of his ships will fire on us even if we're on board his ship." Tempest mentioned as she put the duffle bag back on.

"There's a greater chance that they wont. If the Storm King is anything like you say he is, he won't tolerate his own troops firing on him." John reasoned, stepping toward the door.

"His ship is reinforced with steel. Even if they do fire on his ship to kill us, he probably won't even notice. Also, if we don't board fast enough, they can seal us out. If that happens, we won't be able to get in until the they open up to attack Canterlot." Tempest rebutted.

John paused mid step. He looked over his shoulder to Tempest and nodded, "Well then, we'd better be fast."

With a quiet sigh, Tempest followed after him and took her place on the opposite side of the doorway, "Alright, but if this goes sideways, just remember that it was your plan." She replied, with a teasing smirk.

John chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind. You ready?" He asked, shouldering his rifle.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Tempest responded, preparing herself for what was about to come.

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

John nodded. With a calming breath to collect himself, he reached forward and twisted the door handle, pulling the door open. Immediately, he was greeted by two storm soldiers on the far side of the deck, both seemingly bored and not paying attention to him as he came into view. That quickly changed as John stepped into the room, and both soldiers jumped to their claws, spears and shields at the ready as the human pushed into the room.

John fired off several rounds, dropping both soldiers in a matter of seconds. With the threat neutralized, he pushed forward toward the ladder leading up to the next deck. Just as he reached the ladder, his rifle already pointing up at the open hatch leading to the next deck, another soldier looked down at him, a sword in his claws as he peeked at the deck below. John fired another round, instantly killing the soldier and knocking him onto his back as his brains leaked out of his skull.

John quickly climbed up the ladder and up to the next deck, finding no less than a dozen storm soldiers surrounding him on all sides of the deck. He quickly engaged the soldiers directly to his front as the rest closed in on him from all other sides. However, before they could get close enough, Tempest hopped up from the ladder and took her position watching John's back, her horn already sparking at the ready.

Three storm soldiers fell from John's hail of bullets before any of them could get close. The first soldier to close in met Tempest head on, only for her to blast him backwards with a bolt of lighting from her horn. As quickly as she dispatched one, however, two more were on her, and Tempest quickly ducked to the side to avoid a downward slash from the soldier to her right. She quickly leapt to the opposite direction to avoid a spear thrust from the other soldier, her horn glowing as she prepared a powerful wave of electricity.

Meanwhile, John emptied the magazine of his MCX on two more soldiers, before ducking under a sword, and then spinning to the side to dodge another. He held his rifle up vertically in front of his face, catching a blade between the magazine and pistol grip, before yanking the rifle down to get the sword clear of his person, and thrusting at the creature's face with the buttstock. The hard plastic connected with a heavy impact, knocking the soldier back and giving John a moment of breathing room. He quickly drew his pistol and fired three rounds off. Two struck the yeti's stomach, making him hunch over, before the third punched right through his mask and into his skull.

Just as one assailant fell, another swung at him, forcing John to spin out of the way to dodge the attack. The yeti's momentum carried him between John and Tempest, giving John an opening that he immediately seized.

"Tempest! Duck!" John ordered, before shooting the soldier before him, in the knee.

Tempest, while busy dodging and ducking under two sharp blades, did as instructed, and quickly dropped to the ground. John spartan kicked the soldier before him, knocking him back and forcing him to trip over Tempest and block the two soldiers attacking her for a moment. Tempest gladly took the newfound breathing room to push herself to her hooves and jump back from the three soldiers before firing a wave of magical energy forward. All three soldiers howled in pain as they were knocked off of their claws and sent flying off of the deck of the ship.

Just behind her, John dodged another swipe of a sword, the blade just barely cresting the tips of his hair. He quickly aimed behind to shoot the soldier approaching his rear, and fired off a round, striking the creature in the stomach. The approaching soldier stumbled, giving John the opportunity to duck low and sweep his legs out from under him. The yeti slammed to the deck between John and the other soldier, giving him just a moment of space.

John used the room to his advantage, firing two rounds into the approaching soldier's chest, making him stumble back. Pressing his advantage, John fired three more rounds, dropping the soldier. However, just as he turned to deal with the last soldier on the deck, he felt a strong claw wrap around his leg and pull him down to the ground. John used his free leg to hold the soldier at bay as the yeti tried to rip into him with his claws. John felt the impacts against his thigh and hip as the soldier swiped at him, before angling his pistol to get a clean shot.

Once John managed to find a sight picture that wouldn't result in him shooting his own leg, he fired, killing the last soldier. With the work finished, John got to his feet and changed the magazine of his pistol. Once that was done, he moved to drop the magazine of his rifle, only to find that the trigger guard was snapped inward, and there was a harsh dent in the frame of the rifle. He released the bolt and tried to pull the trigger, but couldn't complete the action, as the trigger locked in place.

With a heavy sigh, John unslung his rifle and dropped it on the deck. He unslung his M4 from his back and checked the chamber to ensure he still had buckshot at the ready. He quickly fished any rifle magazines out of his pockets and dropped them on the deck before turning to Tempest, finding her panting for breath as sweat dripped from her brow.

"You good?" John asked, walking toward the helm of the ship

"Y-yeah... just gotta... catch my breath. That spell always takes a lot out of me." Tempest replied, walking after him.

"Well we're gonna have to jump ship soon. Our entrance wasn't exactly subtle, and the infantry on the decks below will be up here soon." John responded as he reached the helm.

"What's wrong with your... other weapon?" Tempest asked, eying the MCX behind her.

"Trigger mechanism was damaged. It won't fire now." John answered.

"I see..." Tempest said, before turning back to John and tilting her head to the side, "Uh, do you even know how to steer an airship?" She inquired.

John hesitated for a moment, before sighing, "I was kinda hoping you would take the reins on that one." He replied, stepping away from the helm.

Tempest smirked, "Just leave it to me."

The plum coated unicorn quickly trotted up to the helm and took her position. She eyed the airships surrounding them with a scrutinizing gaze, scanning for a target of opportunity.

"I think I found us a window." She said, pointing to the airship at the head of the fleet.

"I'll get the powder." John announced, before rushing down the deck and to the ladder leading below.

As Tempest steered the airship, she observed the other airships closest to theirs. She watched for any sign of gun ports opening, or ships turning to aim their harpoon guns. While she could see movement and several soldier's pointing at her from afar, she didn't see any sign of retribution from the surrounding fleet. Instead, she heard the muffled sound of gunfire from the deck below. The concussive blasts sent vibrations through the wood of the deck and into her hooves, making her wince at just how much more powerful those shots sounded.

Within thirty seconds, she saw John climb back up the ladder. Once he was up, he rushed back over to her side while hurriedly loading more shells into his shotgun.

"Alright, we've got a trail of powder leading to the ammo room. I locked the hatch leading below, so that should hold them until we can board the Storm King's flagship." John explained.

"Good. We've got no way to know just how long that powder will take to burn, so I'll light it as soon as we're ready to board. If you man the harpoon gun and hit the ship at the front of the formation, it should reel this ship in without any more guidance from me. That should at least take out the front three ships and this one in the chain of explosions." Tempest replied, giving John a nod.

"Just tell me when." John said as he ran back down the deck to the harpoon gun.

He quickly manned the massive gun, its giant triggers taking up both of his hands as he aimed the rudimentary crosshair sight at the specified target ship. Once he had a clean sight picture, he gave a thumbs up to Tempest, who returned the gesture with a nod.

"Harmony, if you are real... please let me do this right." She whispered, before stepping on the throttle.

The engine of the airship roared as it pushed harder and harder, black smoke billowing from the rear and propelling the ship forward. Just as the ship jolted forward, Tempest saw gun ports open on both airships beside theirs. A volley of cannon fire reigned through the sky, black lines shooting past and through the airship as cannons ripped through the air. Tempest nearly fell over as a cannon slammed into the wood behind her, showering her with splinters.

The airship managed to avoid the majority of the volley, having only been hit by the very front guns of the opposing airships, but the damage was still severe. However, much to her surprise and elation, as Tempest looked over her wither, she found that the storm king's soldiers did more damage to themselves in the crossfire. Both airships now behind her sported a scattershot pattern of holes and black smoke billowing from their insides. She let out a grateful sigh of relief as the two airships slowed to a halt behind them, their engines too damaged to continue.

One airship even started falling from the sky, it's balloon having been torn asunder by shrapnel and cannonballs, while the other sustained severe damage to the tank holding its payload of the storm king's weapon. Blackish green smoke wisped from the ruptured tank, catching the breezing air and engulfing the hull of the airship. Tempest watched, part in fascination, and part in fear as the hull hardened into stone, increasing the weight of the ship tenfold. Much like its comrade, the other airship quickly plummeted out of the sky and to the land below.

Tempest watched as the enemy airships fell below her field of view before returning her attention to the Storm King's flagship as it quickly came into range. She squinted slightly to see the ship at the front of the fleet, ensuring that it was still in position. Luckily, it hadn't reacted to the destruction behind, yet.

Tempest turned to John, "As soon as we're alongside the flagship, fire the harpoon and I'll light the powder!" She ordered, turning the helm slightly to position their airship on a flight path that would give them the admittedly small opening they needed.

"Got it!" John called back.

The airship barreled through the air, a trail of smoke and falling debris trailing behind at they flew in close to the Storm King's ship. Once they reached the stern side of the flagship, John squeezed the trigger of the harpoon gun. A blast of concussive force rocketed forward from the airship as the harpoon sailed through the air and impaled itself in the hull of the distant airship.

"Let's go!" John shouted, abandoning the harpoon gun as the winch swiftly spooled to life, pulling the airship on a boarding course.

Tempest nodded and rushed over to the ladder leading down to the second deck. She quickly found the trail of black powder John trailed all the way back to the munitions room. She sparked her horn to life, igniting the powder and sending a flame down the line toward the back of the ship. With that done, she quickly turned on her hooves and rushed up the steps of the ladder to the deck. Once there, she hurried over to John's side as he climbed onto the railing to jump to the flagship beside them.

Tempest followed behind and climbed onto the railing, her eyes searching for the best place to jump to. After just a few moments, several gun ports opened, before nearly a dozen cannons quickly presented themselves, all trained on the hull of their airship.

"Shit." John muttered, just before all cannons fired off at once, peppering the hull of their airship with cannonballs.

Both John and Tempest nearly fell off of the railing as the shock of the cannon fire rocked their airship. Wooden splinters sailed through the air as the airship's hull was decimated by the close proximity barrage.

"We need to jump now!" Tempest shouted, casting a fearful glance back at the deck ladder.

"Go!" John responded, before leaping from the railing to the side of the flagship.

John slammed into the opposite railing, his arms quickly wrapping around the wooden frame as he quickly clambered up. A moment later, Tempest landed in much the same position, her hindlegs scraping against the wood and steel inlaid hull as she tried to get onto the deck. As they both managed to climb to the deck, they found that, to their surprise, there weren't any soldiers on the top deck. In fact, there weren't any yeti creatures at all. John shouldered his shotgun and hastily cleared the entire top deck of the flagship, finding no sign of any life at all. Once he was completely sure that there weren't any soldiers around at all, he turned to Tempest with a frown.

"Dammit. They're locked in." He said, walking back over to Tempest's side.

He received no response for a moment, as Tempest's attention seemed completely focused on their previously hijacked airship as it closed the last of the distance and collided with the airship at the front of the pack. Just a moment later, a massive explosion rippled through the air, completely obliterating both airships, and sending a flaming chunk of debris falling to the earth below.

"What's the move here, Tempest?" John pressed, looking down at her.

"He's locked the hatches. They're reinforced steel," Tempest sighed, "I don't think even your weapons can punch through that." She explained.

John frowned, "Is there any other way to get inside?"

Tempest shook her head, "Unless you want to go crawling down the side of the airship with no harness or rope and try to pry one of those gun ports open again, no."

John heavily sighed, "Well we need something here." He stated, urgency in his tone.

Tempest bit her lip, "There is nothing here. We weren't fast enough. We're stuck until he opens the hatches back up, and half of Canterlot will already be solid stone by then."

John tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean 'solid stone'?" He questioned.

"That's the weapon. I saw it leaking from one of the airships that fired on us before we boarded. They caught each other in the crossfire and ruptured the tank. That dumped the weapon out. It's the same gas that he filled my medusa orbs with when I attacked Canterlot. His plan is to turn Equestria into stone." Tempest explained.

"Are you certain?" John pressed.

"I watched it turn the entire ship's hull to stone, so yeah. Pretty sure." Tempest replied.

John quickly turned on his heels and walked over to the front of the ship. He squinted slightly as he watched the slow approach on Canterlot mountain. Just as Tempest trotted over to his side, he turned around again and marched back over to the center of the deck. Tempest gave him a confused look, but continued to follow behind as John checked his watch. She tilted her head to the side as he twisted the face of the watch a few times. Eventually, he unscrewed it and removed the face entirely, before dropping a purple crystal out onto his hand.

Tempest's eyes widened as she observed John place the crystal on the deck, "Is that a communications crystal?"

John nodded, "Insurance policy." He said, as the crystal glowed to life.

A fuzzy image appeared above the crystal. It appeared faint at first, but quickly cleared up, giving an image of the crystal castle, and the cutie mark map surrounded by six pony-sized thrones and one smaller one. Sitting on one of the thrones, her muzzle buried in a book, was Twilight. A half eaten bagel laid on the table beside her, along with a healthy amount of crumbs.

For a few seconds, she didn't notice that she was being watched, but eventually, the little purple alicorn looked up, shrieked, and jumped, falling out of her throne to the crystal floor below.

"Ughhhhhh." She groaned, getting to her haunches.

"Twilight, can you hear me?" John asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Yes, I can hear you. You scared the heck out of me, John," Twilight responded, looking up to the hologram before her, "And I see you're on a ship... oh hi, Tempest!" She added, giving a small wave to the mulberry unicorn.

Tempest hesitantly returned the wave with a small one of her own, while looking to John for help. Ignorant or uncaring of her plight, John cleared his throat to get the friendship princess's attention.

"Twilight, we have a problem and we need your help." John started, getting her full attention.

"What do you need me to do?" Twilight asked, her entire personality adopting a much more serious tone.

"We're on the Storm King's flagship. We were able to destroy most of his fleet but a few ships managed to get away before we could burn them. At the moment we count five airships, not including the flagship." John explained.

Twilight quickly magic'd a notepad and quill before scribbling down her notes, "Alright, and what about his secret weapon?" She asked.

"It's the same one he gave Tempest when she attacked Canterlot. His plan is to turn Canterlot and everything along his path to stone. He's barricaded himself inside the flagship and we can't get in. You need to get word to all of Equestria that a storm is coming from the South. Evacuate Canterlot and every town or city along our path." John instructed.

Before he could continue, the ship jolted upward, nearly knocking both Tempest and John to the deck. They both looked around in confusion for a moment before a look of realization flashed across Tempest's face.

"Oh, buck..." She whispered.

"What? What is it?" John questioned.

"Buck, of course he would..." Tempest muttered.

"Tempest, what is he doing!?" John demanded.

"He's going to a higher altitude. My guess is the edge of the troposphere. John, if he releases that gas at that altitude, he won't have to get anywhere near Canterlot. The wind currents will carry the gas across the entire continent!" Tempest explained.

John's brow quickly furrowed as his gaze fell down to the deck below. After a moment, he looked over to Twilight, "Any ideas?" He asked.

Twilight bit her lip in thought, "This is worse than even I was expecting. I understood the Storm King was ruthless, but not completely reckless. He could easily end up turning a quarter of the planet to stone. Is there any way you can force him to stay at a low altitude?"

John shook his head, "Not on the flagship. Everything's covered in steel and I don't have a weapon that can punch through that.." He admitted, "At least... not on me right now."

Tempest tilted her head to the side, "What does that mean?" She questioned.

Rather than answer her, John fixed Twilight with a serious look, "How quickly can you teleport to my room in Canterlot Castle?"

"I can be there right away. What do you need?" Twilight replied.

"On the bottom shelf in my closet, there's a safe. You can't miss it. The combo is six, three, seven, seven. You'll find the biggest rifle I have. I need it along with all the ammunition in the drawer below it." John explained.

"I'll be right there." Twilight responded, before disappearing in a flash.

While the duo waited for Twilight to return, Tempest tapped John on the shoulder, earning a curious look from the man.

"What kind of weapon is she bringing?" Tempest asked.

Before John could respond, Twilight reappeared in the crystal image. She held a long metallic rifle in her magic. Atop the frame, rested a long scope, capable of six to thirty five power magnification. A folded up bipod sat under the barrel while the buttstock rested on the floor due to the sheer length of the gun. Twilight held several box magazines and massive .50 caliber bullets in her magical grasp, all with red and silver tips.

"This the one?" Twilight inquired, huffing slightly from the exertion of teleporting twice in such a short time.

Tempest's eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of the weapon, along with its ammunition.

"That's the one. Can you teleport it to our position?" John asked.

"I can try. You're moving pretty quickly, and if your crystal's signature is any indication, you're closing on Canterlot pretty quickly too... alright, I think I know where to teleport this. Be ready." Twilight answered, closing her eyes in concentration.

A few seconds passed as her horn lit up in a violet hue that slowly turned white. Eventually, the rifle disappeared in a flash, only to reappear just a few feet in front of John, and drop to the deck. The rifle made a loud, metallic *clang* as it hit the deck, followed by the sound of bullets reigning down around it.

"Thanks, Twilight. If all goes well, I won't have to call you again until this is all over." John said, giving a thankful smile.

"Just make sure you both get out of there safe, okay?" Twilight replied.

"Will do. I'll see you soon." John gave a nod.

With that, the crystal image faded away and John stepped over to the colossal rifle. As he grabbed and loaded the weapon, Tempest picked up one of the bullets with her hoof and examined it.

"Why is the tip colored red and silver?" She asked.

"Armor piercing, incendiary tracer rounds." John answered.

Chapter 15

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John finished loading the bullets into the magazine, ensuring to place the extras in his pocket, while Tempest tried to lift the behemoth of a rifle.

"For buck's... sake," Tempest groaned as she heaved the rifle into her hooves, "How much does this thing weigh?" She asked, incredulously.

John looked over to Tempest, "It's a Barrett .50 cal. It's about thirty pounds. That's why I didn't bring it with us from the start. Here, give it to me." He replied, holding his hand out for the weapon.

Tempest sluggishly hefted the Barrett over to John's waiting hands, and albeit with a grunt of his own, he took the rifle and set about loading it. He shoved the magazine into the mag-well and pulled the heavy charging handle back. The large spring squealed as it was compressed, before slamming the bolt home with a metallic *chunk*. With that finished, John hastily made his way over to the railing and rested the handguard of the rifle on the wooden frame.

"Do you know roughly where to aim to hit the munitions' cache on those ships?" John asked, resting his cheek against the cheekpad.

Tempest squinted as she looked out at the airship that John was aiming at. After a few moments of deliberate thought and observation, she nodded her head.

"Do you see the starboard window, to the left and above the gun port hatches?" She asked.

"Yeah." John answered.

"Aim level with the gun ports, but directly under that window." Tempest instructed.

John moved the rifle slightly, "Got it. You might want to cover your ears. This one is particularly loud."

Tempest quickly heeded his warning and clamped both hooves over her ears. She watched as John let out a steadying breath, his finger slowly squeezing the trigger, until he reached the wall. With just a few more pounds of pressure, he fired, and a blast of concussion washed over her so quickly and ferociously, that she was nearly knocked off of her hooves. Even with her hooves coving her ears, the sound of the rifle was completely deafening, sounding more akin to a cannon firing just beside her head, than a rifle.

Despite nearly being knocked to her haunches, Tempest watched in awe at the sight of the bullet speeding through the air. A red beam of light bolted through the sky at blistering speed, before slamming into the hull of the airship and exploding in a flash. However, the airship did not explode. Tempest felt her hopes quickly die as the smoke from the impact faded away behind the airship, leaving nothing more than a scorch mark on the wooden hull. Just as she opened her mouth to voice her despair, however, John fired again.

Another bolt of red hot light streaked through the sky, covering the distance just as fast, before once again slamming into the hull of the airship with a flash of light. This time it was swiftly accompanied by a massive explosion that ripped the entire hull apart and sent pieces of wood sailing for hundreds of feet though the air. This time, Tempest did fall to her haunches, her mouth agape in awe at the fantastical explosion brought on by only two shots from the massive rifle in John's hands.

"B-bucking Tartarus..." She whispered, shaking her head in amazement.

"We've still got one more to take out." John stated, as he hefted the Barrett from the railing and hurried over to the starboard side of the deck.

Once there, he rested the rifle on the railing once more, finding his target just a few hundred yards away. The crew on board the airship frantically rushed back and forth, the captain fearfully turning to the ship to run away. John quickly acquired his sight picture and focused on the same spot as before, only from the other side this time.

"Can that thing really punch from one side of the airship to the other?" Tempest wondered, her hooves still covering her ears.

"One way to find out." John muttered as he squeezed the trigger.

Another blast of fire and concussion rocked through the frame of the railing and deck, all the way back into Tempest's chest and lungs as the bullet sailed through the air once again. The laser beam of death slammed into the hull, exploding in a flash of light once more, but failing to ignite the munitions' room. Without hesitation, John fired again, and again. Each shot sent a wave of pressure through the air that made the steel around them ring, and the wood creak.

Tempest felt the air being forced out of her lungs as each blast of explosive power washed over her like a mini explosion, making her ears ring and her bones shake. Finally, after eight violent blasts, John pulled the trigger once more, only to receive a *click* instead. He set the rifle against the railing and hastily released the magazine, before fishing extra bullets out of his pockets.

With her senses no longer under constant assault from the beastly rifle, Tempest looked up over the railing to find several trails of white smoke following the airship as it tried to continue its escape. She even saw the beginnings of flames licking along the side of the ship, nearly cresting onto the deck.

"Even if you didn't hit the black powder, I think that ship is still going to burn down soon." Tempest mentioned.

John merely nodded as he finished reloading the rifle. Without another word, he took aim once more and fired off five more rounds at the fleeing airship, seemingly ensuring that the wooden hull caught fire. Only when he could see flames billowing from the deck and climbing the ropes to the air balloon, did he finally return his attention to Tempest.

However, just as he turned to look at the mulberry unicorn, John's blood nearly froze in his veins at the sight behind her. While they were focused on killing the rest of the Storm King's fleet, the soldiers aboard his flagship had quietly filtered on deck.

"Tempest!" John shouted, wheeling the barrel of the massive sniper rifle around to face the now rushing soldiers.

Tempest barely managed to duck under the barrel of the gun as she turned her head, her eyes widening in alarm at just how close the soldiers were. The closest soldier was already preparing to thrust forward with his spear, its tip aimed right at John's chest. Unfortunately for the soldier, however, John was just barely fast enough to spin the Barret into position and squeeze the trigger.

https://youtu.be/3DsGp9so6qs

Tempest instantly lost her hearing as the shockwave of concussive fire exploded forward from the barrel of the gun, the bright flash instantly blinding the soldiers in front and nearly knocking them off their paws. The bullet shot forth like a rocket, blasting straight through the chest of the approaching soldier and sending a fountain of blood spewing from the half inch hole in his chest.

Without so much as a struggle, the soldier lifelessly dropped to the deck, his spear flopping out of his claws as the wooden material ran red with his blood. The soldiers beside him covered their ears in pain from the volume of the rifle, while Tempest tried to correct the dizziness in her head and clear the ringing in her ears.

John, on the other hand, took full advantage of the confusion to pivot and fire a second shot, knocking the next soldier off of his paws and sending him sailing backwards, blood erupting from the hole in his chest as well. The last soldier in such close proximity finally snapped out of his surprised stupor, his eyebrows furrowing with rage at just how quickly John killed his brothers. He quickly rushed forward, swinging his sword in a sideways arc, aiming for John's neck.

With barely a moment to react, John instinctively slipped the buttstock from his shoulder and dropped the rear of the rifle, bringing the muzzle up to aim the rifle straight upwards and block the blade just before it could cut into his throat. The sword crashed against the steel of the rifle, sending a spark flying through the air as the creature pressed forward, quickly pinning John against the railing.

With no room to maneuver, and the snarling soldiers growling down at him, just a few scant inches between them, John glanced up. The muzzle break of the rifle sat just a few centimeters away from the soldier's temple. An idea formed in his brain, and with grit teeth, John twisted the rifle with all his might to aim the vent holes of the muzzle break straight into the soldier's ear.

The blade inched closer and closer to John's throat, but he kept his focus on the muzzle break and his trigger. Millimeter by millimeter, the barrel twisted in the standstill, the openings of the muzzle finding their target just a hair's breadth away. Finally, just as the edge of the blade pressed against his skin, John squeezed the trigger. The blast of concussion from the Barrett slammed into the side of the soldier's head, cracking his skull and hemorrhaging his brain in an instant. He quickly fell to the side, all the fight leaving his body as blood oozed from his furry ear.

Now with some breathing room, John looked over to see Tempest holding off the rest of the soldiers, her horn blasting wave after wave of magical electricity through the remaining soldiers. He felt relief at the sight, but just as he pushed himself up to aim his rifle at the group and help her finish them off, the airship suddenly listed to the side, nearly knocking him over the railing and making everyone else on deck stumble. While he managed to keep himself from falling, John could not maintain his grip on his rifle and keep himself on the deck, and he quickly lost control of the rifle, sending it falling off the side of the airship to the ground far below.

John glanced up at the airship's balloon to find a new hole venting the helium gas inside at an alarming rate. The airship quickly lost altitude, and descended down into the clouds below. While the rest of the soldiers stumbled and fumbled over themselves, all trying to figure out what exactly happened, John hastily unslung his shotgun and took aim. He emptied the tube of his weapon, red shells flying out into the air and falling the thousands of feet to the ground below, and killed the remaining soldiers on deck.

With all the present threats taken care of, John rushed over to Tempest's side, finding her panting for breath while sweat dripped from her coat.

"You alright?" John asked.

"What!?" Tempest shouted back, looking up to him as she slowly caught her breath.

"Are you okay!?" John shouted back, looking her over for any overt or serious wounds.

"I'm good! Just a little... winded!" Tempest replied, before turning to the front of the deck, "What happened!?" She questioned.

John tapped her wither, regaining her gaze, before pointing up at the air balloon. A shocked look adorned her face, before she looked back down at John.

"We need to get off of this ship!" She shouted.

"The Storm King has to die first!" John replied.

"He'll die in the crash!" She shot back.

"I'm not taking chances!" John shook his head.

Before either Tempest or John could say anything else, the airship jolted heavily, nearly knocking them both to the deck. They both looked around in confusion, before John rushed over to the railing and looked over the side of the airship. He saw what appeared to be the bow of the airship splitting open, and folding out to the side.

"What the Hell is happening down there!?" John questioned, just as Tempest looked over the side.

"I don't know! I've never seen anything like that before!" Tempest replied.

John and Tempest watched in disbelief as another, smaller airship slowly descended from the bow of the flagship. It only took a moment for them to realize what was happening.

"He's escaping!" Tempest exclaimed, looking over to John.

"We need to get on that ship!" John said, rushing over to the railing at the front of the deck.

"What are you planning on doing!?" Tempest questioned.

"What does it look like!?" John answered, before climbing onto the railing.

Tempest shook her head and opened her mouth to respond just as the airship finally dropped out of the cloud cover. Now with a clear view of where exactly they were going, they both looked over the front of the airship, finding Canterlot fast approaching. They were noticeably lower in the sky than either would have liked, giving them only a few seconds before the airship would crash into the upper district.

"No time! Jump!" He ordered, before jumping off the side of the airship and falling toward the smaller airship below.

With barely a moment of hesitation, Tempest galloped after him and jumped off the side of the airship as well. They both fell, seemingly in slow motion, through the debris-ridden air. They both aimed as best as they could for the helium balloon, each trying to twist or angle their bodies to land on the soft fabric. Just a couple of seconds passed, but for them, an eternity, before John slammed into the balloon, followed closely by Tempest.

Due to his larger frame and weight, John bounced much higher off of the balloon than Tempest did. He caught enough air to flip back over onto his back and land at the edge of the balloon while Tempest bounced and landed in place. Her eyes locked on his as he slid from the edge of the balloon, off of its side and toward the ground below.

"John!" Tempest shouted, reaching out with her foreleg, though she knew it was a fruitless endeavor.

John desperately tried to grab a hold of something to keep him anchored to the balloon, but found nothing. Just as he slipped off of the side, however, his frantically grasping hands caught hold of a length of rope tied to the balloon. Under his weight, the rope quickly snapped on the rear of the balloon, sending him falling down once more toward the city below.

With only a few dozen feet between him and the buildings, John tucked his legs up as high as he could to avoid slamming them into the rooftops of the cobblestone buildings littering the streets of Canterlot. While he occupied himself with dodging buildings, Tempest looked down at him from her spot atop the air balloon. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of him still breathing, but found her attention quickly pulled to the obstacles coming at him.

John's eyes narrowed as he held onto the rope, the buildings growing bigger and bigger with each passing second. He eyed several houses or gardens he could potentially land on, but found nothing that wouldn't shatter most of his bones on impact. With his time running out, and no options available, he settled on simply dropping from the rope at the last second before impact.

He didn't have to wait long, as the airship scraped the rooftops of the buildings, and John watched the cobblestone street approach much quicker than he was hoping for. With his options running out, and only fractions of a second left, John let go of the rope and tucked his body down. He hit the street hard and fast, ensuring to drop his shoulder and roll to disperse his kinetic energy as much as possible. He rolled nearly a dozen times before slamming into a fruit stand, destroying the plywood construction and sending fruits of all kinds flying in every direction.

Just a few seconds after John's body came to a halt, the Storm King's flagship smashed into the buildings just up the street and ignited in an explosion that ripped the entire frame apart. Burning wooden splinters sailed through the air as fire and toxic gas exploded in all directions. Every building in a several hundred foot radius went up in flames as gunpowder, fuel, and wood sprinkled all over the city.

Over at the fruit stand, John sluggishly pushed himself to his knees. Everything hurt, from his head, all the way down to his feet. He sported several small cuts on his face and hands, along with a healthy share of splinters and quickly developing bruises. Luckily though, nothing felt broken, although he noticed that his pistol was missing from its holster. With a groan of pain, John searched around himself for the pistol, but could not find it amongst the debris. After a few moments of searching, he sighed heavily and forced himself to look upward at the destruction and burning city before him.

"John!" Tempest cried out, as her airship swiftly turned to leave the city.

John looked up to Tempest, finding that she was just barely visible atop the Storm King's airship.

"Can you bring that airship down!?" John shouted as he pushed himself to his feet.

"I can try!" Tempest called back, just before losing sight of him.

Just as John turned to limp after the airship, he caught sight of the quickly approaching gas as it engulfed the street, turning everything in sight to solid stone. He pushed himself to get away from the gas, the pain in his knee almost making him limp. He pushed through the pain, gritting his teeth and growling with each breath. Behind him, the toxic gas swiftly consumed the fruit stand he'd crashed into, turning even the splinters of wood to solid stone.

John rounded the corner, scanning for the airship as the buildings around him obstructed it. He hastily searched the sky for any sign of the ship, and after a moment, caught the barest glimpse of the dark black fabric belonging to the balloon of the airship, as it rushed to escape. He hurried forward to follow after it, quickly pushing the pain in his leg to the side and running forward, gritting his teeth with each throbbing pain that jolted through his knee.

With his goal in mind, John unslung his shotgun from his back and rushed through the deserted streets. The gas swallowed the buildings behind him, pushing him to move even faster, lest he find himself turned into a statue among the remains of the city.

In the air above him, Tempest eased herself down the side of the air balloon, grabbing hold of the dangling rope John fell from, to make her way down to the deck of the airship. She was instantly spotted by several soldiers on the deck, each of whom unsheathed their swords or pulled out their spears to attack the quickly descending unicorn.

She landed on the hard wood deck with a *thump*, her horn igniting with malicious intent as the first soldier swung at her. She deftly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the swinging blade before firing a bolt of energy at the second soldier and kicking out her hindleg to strike the first one in the temple. Both soldiers were knocked to the floor, giving her time to rush forward to the helm.

Tempest jumped clear over the horizontal slash of another soldier's sword, before using his back as a springboard to leap forward into the amassing group of no less than a dozen soldiers. Her horn glowed white hot as she poured every once of her magical might into another massive blast of arcane energy, and as her hooves connected with the wooden deck in the center of the gathering of soldiers, she fired a wave so powerful that it sent all of them flying off the deck.

However, in her haste, Tempest failed to see the kegs of black powder behind the group of soldiers. The wave of electrical energy blasted through the kegs, igniting the powder inside and creating a chain explosion that ripped the deck apart. The pressure wave knocked her off her hooves and to her back, while flames engulfed the majority of the deck and reached for the air balloon above.

Quickly shaking the shock from her head, Tempest looked up at the destruction she'd caused on the deck. Her path to the helm was barely accessible, as most of it covered in flames. She hastily galloped over to the bow of the airship, her eyes scanning the deserted city for any sign of John. After a few moments of searching, she found a hastily moving dot in the middle district, running down the street away from the gas quickly descending over the entire city.

"John!" Tempest shouted as loud as her lungs would allow, "Middle district! Get to the platform! I'll steer the airship over there!"

Unsure if he'd heard her or not, Tempest rushed back over toward the helm of the airship. She carefully dodged the flames now engulfing the better part of the entire deck of the airship, and climbed the stairs leading to the helm. Once she was there, she grabbed hold of the wooden spokes and redirected the airship toward the middle district of the city, while also lowering the altitude of the airship. She carefully descended until the ship was flying just a few feet above the rooftops of the buildings below.

Several more of the storm soldiers rushed out onto the deck, all equipped with firefighting tools or extinguishers. They fought to control the flames and douse them while Tempest throttled down the airship until it was just barely coasting along toward the aerial platforms on the middle district. Before she could properly land the airship, however, several more soldiers rushed the helm, their weapons at the ready.

Tempest tried to duck and dodge the blades being thrust and swung at her while also trying to steer the airship, but quickly found the combined tasks impossible. She felt the cold steel of a sword slice her wither, making her gasp in pain, before a thrusted spear caught her flank with the edge of the blade, cutting deeply into her flesh and making her cry out. Wave after wave of agony pulsed through her wounds as she tried to avoid the onslaught of blades, and despite her best efforts to use her magic, the strain of using so many high powered spells simply left her too drained to rely on it anymore.

She was forced to back up to the edge of the deck, her haunches bumping into the railing as she panted in ragged, pained gasps. Sweat and blood dripped from her body to the wooden deck below as the three soldiers cornered her, all prepared for the kill. However, before any of them could make a move, a blast rang out from the platform beside them, and one of the soldiers fell to the deck, blood splattering from his chest.

Tempest and the remainder of the soldiers instantly looked over to see John, sweat soaking his clothes as he heaved air into his lungs. He fired two more blasts from his M4, cleaving a section of the arm off of one soldier and knocking another to the floor. Without another word, John rushed forward and leapt from the platform, covering the twenty or so feet of air between him and the airship in spectacular fashion, before landing on the deck and rolling to a kneeling position. The bolt on his shotgun was locked to the rear, indicating that he was out of ammunition, but he quickly remedied that by hastily loading another shell into the chamber, hitting the bolt release, and finishing off the last soldier.

As the soldier fell to the floor, his body landed on the throttle, slamming it all the way to the max. The airship jolted forward with force as the engine roared and a cloud of black smoke shot out the back. However, John ignored the state of the airship and rushed over to Tempest's side, his hands quickly grabbing hold of her and pulling her close as he inspected her wounds.

"Are you alright?" He asked, breathlessly.

"I... I think so." Tempest wheezed, leaning gratefully into John's torso.

"Okay. You stay here. I'll finish this." John announced, looking down at her.

"No chance in Tartarus. We do this together." Tempest firmly asserted.

John looked into her eyes for just a few moments, before giving a small nod.

"Okay. Let's get the bastard."

Chapter 16

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John and Tempest made their way down the ladder leading to the lower decks of the airship while the Storm King's soldier's busied themselves with putting out the massive fires Tempest started. They were able to easily sneak by unnoticed, and soon found themselves in what appeared to be the main internal deck of the airship. Unlike the previous wooden interior of the last airship they boarded, the interior of the Storm King's escape ship was made entirely out of metal. Dark, angular steel support beams ran the length of the deck, while panels of welded black steel adorned the walls and floor.

Aside from a few thoroughly thrashed training dummies, however, the deck appeared to be empty. John swiftly cleared the entire floor, finding no trace of the storm king in the dimly lit room.

"Where else could he have gone?" John asked, turning to Tempest.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen this style of ship before. For all we know, he could be any-" Tempest began, only for a loud bang to grab both her and John's attention.

They both turned to the massive steel doors behind them. John aimed his shotgun at the doors, waiting with his finger hovering just above the trigger for any kind of threat to appear and attack, but nothing happened. The only sound to fill the air was the sound of the engines roaring from the other side of the door, their mechanical chugging muffled by the thick steel plate between them and the rest of the room.

John slowly stepped toward the door, ensuring to step to the side in case something were to punch through the steel and into the room with him. Tempest mirrored his actions on the other side of the door, and they both quickly reached the handles. John grabbed one side while Tempest grabbed the other, both giving each other a look to confirm they were ready, before yanking the doors open. John instantly shouldered his shotgun and aimed into the room as the roar of the engines filled the air.

However, as John and Tempest swept the room, they found no sign of the Storm King, or any of his soldiers. John's eyes narrowed and he slowly lowered his shotgun. Just as he and Tempest turned to face the rest of the room, however, a white mass of fur and steel dropped from the ceiling, slamming into the floor just a few scant inches in front of John. Before he could aim his weapon at the massive creature, a steel-clad claw lashed out, hitting his shoulder so hard that it sent him tumbling to the ground several feet away, his sleeve ripped all the way down to the last few layers of Kevlar.

https://youtu.be/PLe3pznz9oM

"John!" Tempest cried out, her eyes wide in alarm.

Tempest and John both looked up to the massive creature standing between them, the ladder gritting his teeth in pain. The Storm King stood nearly nine feet tall, his beastly form towering over even John. He wore black steel armor over his white furred torso, and atop his head sat a twin horned helm. Staring down at John and Tempest, full of contempt, were two icy blue eyes.

"Well, well, well. Welcome back, Tempest. I see you've brought a guest." The Storm King growled, his voice just as cold as the steel surrounding them.

"It's over. Your invasion, your rule, and your life end here." Tempest snarled, sparks trickling out of her horn as she prepared to fight.

While the Storm King's attention was focused on her, John pushed himself to a kneeling position as quietly as he could. He nearly silently shouldered his shotgun and moved his finger to the trigger.

"That would require you to have enough magic left to fight me, Tempest," The Storm King scoffed, "But I think we both know you've got one, maybe two shots left in you." He replied, before swiftly spinning on his claws and kicking John in the chest.

With a grunt, John sailed through backwards, before slamming into a steel support beam nearly a dozen feet away. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and he grit his teeth in pain as his back absorbed the impact.

"No-ehgh" Tempest grunted as the Storm King swiftly grabbed her by the throat.

The titan of a yeti easily lifted the small unicorn several feet into the air until she was dangling higher than John's height. She writhed and gasped in his grasp, her throat squeezed shut by the massive claws wrapped around it.

"You know, considering how easily you two killed my soldiers, wiped out my fleet, and destroyed my medusa gas cache, I'd have thought you'd put up more of a fight. Guess I was wrong to assume." The Storm King coldly stated, squeezing his claws tighter.

While Tempest desperately tried to free herself from the Storm King's strangle-hold, John fought to clear the blurry vision in his eyes. He felt throbbing, agonizing pain emanating from all over his back and shoulder, and a ringing sensation filled his ears. For several seconds, he struggled to right himself and get his bearings, but all he could manage to do was cough up a measure of blood. The crimson fluid dripped down his chin as he forced air into his battered lungs.

"J-Jo..hn.." Tempest croaked, her vision fading to black as the Storm King's grip tightened even more.

At the sound of the mulberry unicorn's voice, however, John's eyes lit up in realization, and he looked up to the sight before him. As if spurred on by a wave of magical clarity, John's eyes focused, and he realized just how perilous Tempest's situation was. He hastily shouldered his shotgun and fired a shell into the Storm King's back.

The blast caught the yeti completely by surprise, both in volume and force, and he stumbled forward, his grip on Tempest's throat failing as well. The unicorn fell nearly three times her height and crumpled into a heap of gasping, heaving pony as the Storm King fought to keep his balance. He growled from the pain of the steel plate covering her back absorbing the impact, before leaping to the side just as John fired a second shot.

Fragments of lead scattered through the air as the buckshot slammed into the steel wall, making both John and Tempest duck their heads. When they both looked back up, the Storm King was quickly rushing toward John, his claws thudding on the floor as his massive frame sprinted the admittedly short distance between them in just a mere second.

John reacted as quickly as he could, just barely managing to fire another shell off at the Storm King's breastplate, and stagger him back. John aimed for a hasty headshot to end the confrontation as quickly as possible, but just as he pulled the trigger, the Storm King ducked low, seemingly already recovered from the shock of buckshot at near point blank range. He brought his claw into an upward slash, intent on ripping John's head clean off his body, but the attack just barely missed as John threw his head back to dodge the slash.

With John on the backfoot, the Storm King aimed low, delivering a sweeping kick that took John's legs out from under him and knocked him flat onto his back. John grit his teeth and growled in pain as the Storm King stepped on his shotgun, keeping him from using it. With his other foot, the Storm King stepped on John's chest, his immense weight and size nearly caving in the human's ribcage in an instant.

Just as the Storm King went for the kill, however, a bolt of lightning blasted him in the back, electrocuting him and making his entire body seize in agony.

"GRWAHAAYA!!" He screamed, smoke forming from his horns and armor.

Despite being pressed under the behemoth, John felt none of the effects of the lighting coursing through his entire body. He took the reprieve to push the foot off of his chest and try to free his shotgun. Meanwhile, just a few feet away, Tempest panted heavily, her horn sparking and sputtering as her magic reached its last legs. She managed to hold the spell just long enough for John to pry his shotgun free from under the Storm King, before it sputtered out and she fell to her knees.

With his body no longer held in a constant state of agonizing electrical paralysis, the Storm King looked down just in time to see John point the barrel of his shotgun right at his face and squeeze the trigger. Unfortunately, the yeti was simply too fast, and spun just enough to move his head out of the line of fire as another concussive blast of twelve gauge roared past his ear. As he spun on his feet, he kicked one leg out, connecting with John's shoulder and sending him flying nearly a dozen feet.

Dazed, but still lucid, John slid to a stop, his shotgun falling from his grasp and landing just a few feet out of reach. He struggled to push himself to his feet, but another cough forced its way up, and he felt his lungs throb in pain as more blood splattered to the cold floor beside him. He pushed himself to his feet as the Storm King attacked a Tempest who simply had very little fight left in her. She ducked under one swipe of his claw, but simply could not dodge the second in time. The steel-clad claw ripped three more gashes into her wither, forcing a bloodcurdling scream from her maw, before he silenced her by grabbing her throat once more.

John rushed to grab his shotgun, only for the Storm King to throw Tempest at him as hard as he could. The little pony was easy for the mountain of a yeti to launch the distance at a frightening speed, and before John could even reach down to grab his weapon, her body slammed into his shoulder, knocking them both to the floor, on top of each other. John landed on his back once more while Tempest found herself tangled in a mashup of his left arm and her forelegs as she laid on his chest, her breaths coming in quick, ragged rasps.

John could only grit his teeth and look over Tempest's rapidly heaving barrel to see the Storm King rushing toward them both. John looked over to his Benelli, finding all too quickly that he still couldn't reach it. He hastily looked down at Tempest's barrel as she struggled to not slip into shock, instantly finding his 1911 still holstered on the belt wrapped around her waist. With less than a second to react, John grabbed and unholstered the pistol, his thumb flicking the safety down while his finger reached for the trigger.

John frantically fired off all eight rounds of .45 ACP, striking the Storm King in the thigh and making him stumble as he gasped in pain. Two bullets slammed into his chest plate, with another hitting him in the shoulder, and a fifth clipping his forearm. The sixth punched through his neck, just barely missing his jugular, while the last two flew high and missed. The Storm King staggered back in pain, blood pouring from his now numerous wounds and turning his white coat red.

With a moment of breathing room finally established, John hastily moved to reload the pistol, but as he moved his left forearm to grab another magazine from the duffle bag on Tempest's barrel, he found that his arm was trapped underneath her weight. With the moment slipping away, he set the pistol on the ground beside him and dug into the duffle bag with his right hand. He managed to grab a magazine, but just as he moved to load it into the 1911, he felt the Storm King's claw constrict on his foot like an anaconda.

The Storm King ruthlessly yanked John away from the pistol and out from under Tempest, growling in fury all the while. John reached out on instinct and managed to grab ahold of the stock of his M4, before the Storm King violently threw him as hard as he could. John sailed through the air, before slamming into the door beside the engine bay. The whiplash of the impact made him slam the back of his head against the steel, instantly concussing him and nearly knocking him unconscious. The metal bent slightly from the impact, and John slumped down to the floor, spitting out more blood in the process.

His head spun and he dazedly tried to get back to his feet, his spine, shoulder, and most of all, ribs, protesting heavily at the thought. With a colossal amount of willpower, John fought to get to his feet, his sight reduced to blurry tunnel vision as he wheezed and fought to fill his battered lungs with air. He looked up, finding with no small amount of dejection, that the Storm King was quickly approaching him. John brought his M4 up to bare as quickly as his battered body would allow, just barely managing to shoulder the weapon and fire before the yeti could grab ahold of him again.

John winced from the recoil of the shotgun as it pounded his wounded shoulder, and momentarily lost sight of the Storm King amidst the blast and gasses that exited the barrel. He blearily blinked his eyes to catch sight of his target, but found nothing but a thin cloud of smoke and darkness. With no body laying on the ground before him, John was forced to push himself off of the wall and search the dimly lit room for any sign of the massive yeti.

As John stepped into the light of one of the weak white lanterns illuminating the room, his head throbbed, and his breaths came in weak, gurgled rasps. He coughed up another small measure of blood, before spitting a wad of the sickly red fluid onto the floor. Struggling to maintain his focus amidst his injuries, John heard a cackle run through the room. He quickly whirled around toward the source of the noise, but found it nearly impossible to pinpoint with his senses blurring the way they were.

"You know, I must give credit where it's due. You are the first creature in my lifetime to ever injure me." The Storm King's voice echoed off the walls, giving it a sickly, taunting aura.

John elected not to respond and continue his searching. He kept his finger just a hair's breadth off of the trigger as his eyes meticulously searched every corner as best as they could.

"If I didn't have to kill you both, I might even have considered offering you a place as one of my generals..." The Storm King continued.

John checked around one of the metallic pillars before looking up toward the ceiling for any sign of the yeti. He continued to come up empty, only finding shadows and steel everywhere he looked. A blur of movement caught his eye just as he checked behind another pillar, and he whirled his shotgun around to aim at the threat, only finding more of the same dark room around him.

"Too bad you and that traitor won't survive to have that chance." The Storm King announced, his voice suddenly much closer this time.

John saw a blur of white, red, and black motion as the Storm King lunged out from the pillar behind him. He spun on his heels and and pointed his shotgun in the direction of the yeti barreling toward him, but there simply wasn't enough distance and time. Just before the muzzle of the M4 could find its mark, the Storm King grabbed a hold, halting the barrel in its place, aiming just barely off to the side of the yeti. With his other claw, he grabbed John by the throat, and hoisted him into the air.

John choked as he felt the vice-like grip tighten around his throat, forcing him to release his grip on his shotgun and try to pry the claws off of his neck with both hands. The sharpened steel covering the Storm King's hands dug into John's neck, lacerating the flesh as he squeezed. John grit his teeth as the stabbing, burning, crushing pain inflicted on his neck threatened to cut right through his jugular and possibly even decapitate him completely.

The Storm King effortlessly tossed John's shotgun away, his victory all but assured as he squeezed ever tighter. With time quickly running out, and John's options running out even quicker, he desperately reached into his pocket and pulled out his switchblade. He hastily flicked the blade out with his thumb, before thrusting the steel into the Storm King's wrist with all his fading strength.

The thick, furred hide of the massive yeti absorbed the blade all the way to the hilt, but the Storm King only winced. He growled as he grabbed the knife with his other claw, ripped it out, and threw it to the side. With a snarl on his face, the Storm King squeezed even tighter, the blades on his hand inching ever closer to John's jugular.

With his options exhausted, and his body too oxygen deprived to fight back, John's hands fell limp at his sides as his vision faded to black. The last thing he heard was the cackling, heinous laugh of the Storm King as he choked the last of the life from him.

However, just as John faded from consciousness, a blindingly brilliant blast of white lightning burst forth from the shadows, forcing the Storm King to drop John to the floor as the massive yeti was flung all the way into the engine room from the force of the electricity. He crashed into one of the engines, his giant frame and steel armor leaving a sizable dent in the cylinder head of the motor while more and more lightning poured forth from Tempest's broken horn.

Step by step, she walked forward, her magic blasting the Storm King in an unending torrent of arcane might that she didn't even realize she had. Despite her energy feeling as if it were completely depleted just mere moments ago, she found new life being breathed into her as each step forward, and each spark of magic, made the imposing yeti scream in agony. Her magic wildly attacked everything in sight, searing orange hot gashes along the steel and sending sparks flying from the engines caught in the crossfire.

As she reached the doorway to the engine room, her magic slowly returning to its bluish tint as her renewed strength dwindled, she grit her teeth and bared down even harder. The pain in her wither, barrel, neck, and horn ached immensely, but the adrenaline pulsing through her veins numbed her senses to anything other than completely eradicating the Storm King. Tears streamed from her eyes but she couldn't blink, nor could she look away as the Storm King's fur caught fire, and he wailed a horrified, tormented wail as he burned.

The wayward lines of magical energy whipped at everything in the room as the yeti convulsed and writhed about, most of it finding its way to the engines. It only took a few moments for the fuel lines to heat up to the point of boiling the fuel inside, and only a few moments past that for the pipes to rupture, spraying flammable, superheated gas fumes into the air. Errant strands of magical energy quickly caught the wisping gas, and an explosion immediately followed.

The explosion was relatively small, only consuming the engine room and knocking Tempest off her hooves and to the floor, however it was only the first. A chain reaction of explosions ripped through the hull and toward the fuel tanks, each blast sending a vibration through the ship that almost launched Tempest back into the air each time. It only took a few more moments for the chain to reach the fuel tanks, before the final, most massive explosion tore through the hull of the airship and completely obliterated the entire stern of the ship.

This explosion, and the accompanying drop in altitude, did launch Tempest into the air slightly. She flopped to her belly as fire tore through the stairway leading up to the top deck, and a massive dent appeared in the floor as the majority of the explosion was directed out through the weaker wood frame below. The sensation of falling quickly registered on her mind, and she felt her stomach in her throat as the airship dropped from the sky.

Tempest frantically looked around the room as the sound of rushing wind echoed above her. She found her gaze almost inexplicably pulled toward the motionless form of John, laying just a couple dozen feet away. The ship's gravity swayed back and forth as it rapidly descended toward the ground, but it managed to thankfully stay upright, making the short but trying walk possible. She forced her hooves to move, each step feeling like a herculean task, but the adrenaline still pumping in her blood gave her a respite from the weariness she felt for just a little longer.

On shaky legs, and with blood still dripping from her wounds, Tempest sluggishly made her way over to John. The journey could have taken a minute, or a few seconds, or even the better part of an hour, as each passing second seemed to blur into the next. Tempest finally managed to reach John's lifeless form, finding his eyes to be just barely open, and his chest weakly rising and falling every so often. Blood pooled around his neck where the Storm King's claws dug deeply into his flesh, and he didn't even react to her arrival.

"John?" Tempest asked, her voice a fearful whisper in the violently shaking world around her.

John's response was only the tiniest stir of movement, but for Tempest, it might as well have been an entire sentence.

"John! Can you hear me?!" She exclaimed, fear, panic, and even hope in her voice.

John's eyes slowly fluttered shut, making her heart sink with despair.

"John! Get up! Please!" She cried.

For the first time, he felt strength well up in his lungs, and a weak, desperate plea sang from his lips, "Did... did you do it?"

His voice felt broken, and jagged. It could more aptly be called a croak, not a voice, yet it was enough for her.

"Y-yes... it's done." She answered, sniffling once.

"Good... that's good." He softly murmured.

"John... please no." She whispered, leaning down until her head was just a few inches from his.

"Knew this was... a one way trip." He whispered, the strength in his voice nearly gone.

"It... it doesn't have to be. We can... I can get you out of here." Tempest pleaded, tears dampening the fur on her cheeks as she hugged John close with her forelegs.

"I'm... sorry... but we both know that's not... gonna happen." John replied, almost absentmindedly.

Tempest sniffled hard as the tears came. She squeezed John's body closer to hers as she bawled into his chest. For a few moments, that was her entire world; just her tears, and the warmth of the human dying in her forelegs, but her eyes snapped open as she felt something touch her cheek. She glanced down to see John's hand weakly caressing her cheek, his thumb stroking a long, slow circle into her fur.

"Don't cry... you did good. You did... real good... I'm... proud of you... Tempest." John's voice trailed off.

Tempest held back her sobs as John lost consciousness. His hand fell away from her cheek, and he let out a quiet sigh. With her lip trembling, she laid down beside him, holding herself against his chest and resting her cheek on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable. The simple act allowed the last of the tension, adrenaline, and pain to leave her system, and she found that she was indescribably exhausted. Her entire body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, but the feeling of John beside her, comforted her as the airship reached the ground and crashed.

Epilogue

View Online

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.

Once More Into the Fray

by CrimsonWolf360

Prelude

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue