Open Up Your Eyes

"Everything bad that's happened to me has been someone's fault. Sometimes mine." ((RP Blog for Tempest Shadow/Fizzlepop Berrytwist from the MLP Movie. Spoilers))

[dragonfoxgirl]

When war is over.

[curiosityismagic]

@meamongthemighty

[hangthebloodycode-deactivated20]

reblog this if you actually like following me.

[meamongthemighty]

ponyponypuddingandpie

Completely (not at all) hypothetically, how...

Not late at all! And I figured as much XD I didn’t want to throw a random starter with Sugar (Who can annoy a LOT of people with her antics) and have you sort of be like ’…wtf?‘

//Well I’d be fine with it, honestly.

[meamongthemighty]

Completely (not at all) hypothetically, how insulted and/or irritated would Tempest be to be used as a guinea pig/inspiration for prosthetic horns that actually allow for magic to flow through them? And how many pieces would she cut my poor, dishevelled little inventor into for suggesting letting her try a completely untested device on her head?

//Hey, sorry for being late with this reply.

Anyway, I think that she’d be conflicted at best. She’d struggle between the identity of before and her modern identity. I do think that she wouldn’t be against it entirely…until told it was untested, then she’d probably give the inventor a glare that could kill and want to see some assurances about it.

@ponyponypuddingandpie

[meamongthemighty]

Grin thought about scaring this pony, but eventually decided it was a bad idea. She was big, tough, and looked like she wanted to blast something into lots of very small, and probably very bloody, pieces.

It was unavoidable and yet somewhat hypocritical for Tempest to blink twice when she saw the afflicted pegasi. Still, a second blink was all her appearance garnered. 

“You have something to say to me? It’s okay, I won’t bite.” Tempest ventured closer to the shorter pegasi, a wellspring of empathy manifesting in her soft tone. She knew what it was to look on from outside.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:

“Oh, good.” Tempest noticed the strange method of speaking immediately, the fearful twitches in her movement like the ones she’d seen on the faces of those she had conquered. What was it that inspired such fear? Oh right, her horn. Same as this poor thing probably inspired with her teeth. An endless cycle of fear. 

“Can you tell me why you were looking at me? Believe me, I won’t mind. Nothing you do can scare me” Tempest said, sitting down in a relaxed and non-aggressive position.

Nothing you can do can scare me.

Grin bit back the urge to prove her wrong. To take up that challenge. She specialised in scaring ponies. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But eventually, she’d get you. But no, definitely not a good idea.

“I was thinking,” Grin relaxed only a little, sinking down onto the ground. She was still tense, and her wings still looked ready to powerflap her the heck out of dodge, but at least she was on the ground proper, “It would be a bad idea to scare you.”

[meamongthemighty]

Tempest blinked and then had to cover her mouth as she snickered. The formidable mare eventually nodded her head.

“Well, you’re not wrong there. That’s a lot more sense than a lot of ponies had. Still, now that I know it’s you, I won’t blast you.” Tempest winced a little at her wording. This friendship learning thing was pretty tough. 

“I mean, I’d get scared, but it’d be in a good way. A friendly way.”

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:

She watched him pass with an icy gaze, pulling her armor back up and nodding her head. So then, they understood each other. The zealous stallion who believed so utterly in the word that Equestria espoused had compromised and not simply struck her form down. Tempest couldn’t help but feel vindicated that he at least had the right idea going. Still a bootlicker who didn’t have much original thought, but then again, she wasn’t one to judge in that regard. So it was best to not say that.

Tempest was about to open her mouth and say she wished him well, that she hoped he would find his heroism in such an act as sparing her. She’d have given him a curt and respectful nod, a dignified farewell. And then he tripped and Tempest burst into chuckles.

“Hehe. Tip for the future, Mr. Blade…” Tempest strode up to his fallen form and offered a hoof to help him up. “If you’re really going to take me out if I go rogue, please don’t trip like that when the time comes.” She smirked and gave a little brush to his helmet before stepping back. The cocky look was belied by the slight quivering of her ears and hoof as she did so.

Sunlight Blade, honoured guardian and Royal Guard of Princess Celestia, the Immovable Sun… whined quietly on the floor as Tempest all but pulled him up and set him on his hooves again. Miserably, all traces of his previous bravado gone, he tried to dust off his now scuffed armour.

“Awww…” He complained, “Now the sarge’s going to tan my hide…”

He looked reproachfully at Tempest, doing his best to try and rub a shine back into his chestplate, “You probably think I’m a complete idiot now, don’t you?”

[meamongthemighty]

“Sure, but you’ve got your hoof in the door. So not an irredeemable type, I assure you.” Tempest shrugged, smiling slightly. “You have some good qualities hidden in there. You just need a friend to make them shine.”

Tempest turned away then, looking back with a smirk.

“That won’t be me though. Go and have a talk with Twilight, maybe she can fix you up. The pony Twilight, not the impossible ideal.”

[thecaptainacobskicorncob-deacti]

When your girlfriend is a former raging she-demon and someone provokes her.

Calm yo gurl Twi

[meamongthemighty]

Grin thought about scaring this pony, but eventually decided it was a bad idea. She was big, tough, and looked like she wanted to blast something into lots of very small, and probably very bloody, pieces.

It was unavoidable and yet somewhat hypocritical for Tempest to blink twice when she saw the afflicted pegasi. Still, a second blink was all her appearance garnered. 

“You have something to say to me? It’s okay, I won’t bite.” Tempest ventured closer to the shorter pegasi, a wellspring of empathy manifesting in her soft tone. She knew what it was to look on from outside.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:

“Not the talkative type, huh?” Tempest pulled back a little and cocked her head as she examined the pegasus. Was she some sort of mentally ill vagabond? ‘Or maybe just too experienced,’ a voice spoke in her mind. “Do you want anything?” Tempest said, keeping a good distance to see if that yielded any better results.

“Or do you just want me out of the way?” Tempest laughed a little bit, trying to lighten the atmosphere. She didn’t want to treat the other mare like an animal, but it was hard to keep up an ordinary conversation with a pony who both physically and mentally was clearly not. Yet, she knew that was the best thing she could do at this moment in time; treat her respectfully and hope it affected her a little at least.

“I can talk,” Grin managed a few words cautiously, keeping her mouth *shut* as much as possible to hide her teeth, her luminous eyes suspicious now. Fear was still a huge part of her behaviour, but this mare seemed… different. Grin wasn’t sure how, but the fight-or-flight response, something she usually thought of as a different version of herself, wasn’t warning her away. At least, not yet.

Nightmare Night’s the one time Grin didn’t go out having been swathed in a cloak and scarf to hide her face and body. Being mistaken as a ghost meant nothing tonight. What she wanted was candy. And frights, of course. They were the fun part of the night. She still didn’t think scaring this pony had any good sides though.

[meamongthemighty]

“Oh, good.” Tempest noticed the strange method of speaking immediately, the fearful twitches in her movement like the ones she’d seen on the faces of those she had conquered. What was it that inspired such fear? Oh right, her horn. Same as this poor thing probably inspired with her teeth. An endless cycle of fear. 

“Can you tell me why you were looking at me? Believe me, I won’t mind. Nothing you do can scare me” Tempest said, sitting down in a relaxed and non-aggressive position.

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:

The sight of the flaming magic made the powerful unicorn blink. Not in fear, not exactly, more akin to disgust. As the magic faded, Tempest sighed and nodded, her body growing more slack. 

“I know you will.”

She turned her head away, not letting him see her face for a moment. She might be scowling or smiling for all that she showed, lost in thought before she returned her teal gaze to him. She shifted on her hooves, seeming to shift between an aggressive stance and one that was lower than that every few seconds. 

“I can make the world better in my own way. You can sit back and just watch me from behind, and I hope that one day you’ll see that I can do great things. More than that, I hope you finally open up your eyes and see what a real hero is.” Suddenly, the mare gave a bitter chuckle and raised a hoof to the neckline of her armor to pull it down. “In fact, let’s see if you know. You know I’m not a good pony, that I might do something else bad in the future. So go ahead, hero, finish me off here. That’s what the uncompromising hero would do, live up to the ideal of the greater good without flaw. Or just cover up their flaws, like you Equestrians love so much.” Holding her neck exposed, Tempest strode forward to place it in front of the guard’s horn. Her gaze burned with terrific intensity, but not hateful. Instead, her muzzle quivered a bit with barely disguised curiosity and anticipation.

He looked at her. Before, it was rage. It was understandable for a zealot, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, Sunlight did fit the bill of Zealot. But this… as she exposed a weak point, not just offering, practically begging for him to strike her down, to be that hero, all he could feel… was revulsion.

Sunlight was not a violent pony by nature. Certainly, he could be violent if he had to be. And had been on several occasions. But this? His face twisted as he fought to contain himself, finally settling on a cold, impassive face. The face of a guard on duty. A face he’d had years of practice setting over his face.

“I’m no hero,” He told her in an icy voice. He could keep the emotion out of his face, but his disgust that he ‘test’ had evoked in him couldn’t be taken from his voice. Not this time, “Never claimed to be. Anypony could do something horrifying in the future. But…”

Tail thrashing behind him as another sign of his emotional state, (At least the floor behind him wouldn’t have to be swept today) he finally brushed past the source of his anger, ignoring the weak spot she’d opened on her neck, but pausing momentarily beside her, “No matter how much you try, I won’t stoop to your levels. Killing for the sake of killing, no matter how you try to justify it, is never heroic.”

And, with that, he made to walk away. Except…

Finally, his clumsiness decided now would be a good time to reestablish itself and, as he went to take his second step away from her, he tripped on his own tail and, unceremoniously, crashed face first into a heap of pony and metal on the floor with a yelp and a cry of pain, any and all possibility of being taken seriously now, officially, gone with the wind.

[meamongthemighty]

She watched him pass with an icy gaze, pulling her armor back up and nodding her head. So then, they understood each other. The zealous stallion who believed so utterly in the word that Equestria espoused had compromised and not simply struck her form down. Tempest couldn’t help but feel vindicated that he at least had the right idea going. Still a bootlicker who didn’t have much original thought, but then again, she wasn’t one to judge in that regard. So it was best to not say that.

Tempest was about to open her mouth and say she wished him well, that she hoped he would find his heroism in such an act as sparing her. She’d have given him a curt and respectful nod, a dignified farewell. And then he tripped and Tempest burst into chuckles.

“Hehe. Tip for the future, Mr. Blade...” Tempest strode up to his fallen form and offered a hoof to help him up. “If you’re really going to take me out if I go rogue, please don’t trip like that when the time comes.” She smirked and gave a little brush to his helmet before stepping back. The cocky look was belied by the slight quivering of her ears and hoof as she did so.

[meamongthemighty]

{Caddy} "Um, Fizzle." Caddy sneaked into the room where she could find the unicorn alone. "Hey, change of plans. Twilight and I just talked it over and sent word to the kirin leader. The kirin are going to come to Canterlot instead of sending you guys to them. We think it would be a better sign of peace to bring them out of Kirin Grove and show some of them to the city... I really think Flurry will like their company too."

“Hm. It is a bit more peaceful. Shame Flurry wasn’t going on another trip out of her comfort zone” Fizzle murmured. Of course, the diplomatic endeavors were important, but she had to prioritize her student’s development too. “They seem a little too similar if you ask me. The kirin only just got finished with that little…social experiment of theirs. They both need to be whipped into shape. Don’t worry, I won’t bite their heads off.” Fizzle chuckled and bumped Cadance’s side as she passed near her.

“Right. Where’s the dossier on the kirin? I read the last one, but you know, apparently that’s changing up now” she mock-pouted.

[curiosityismagic]

meamongthemighty‌:

If Tempest was not a pony who minced words, then Autumn was a pony who took a paper shredder to every single syllable. Her ears twitched like a metronome to the kirin’s endless jabbering, and she laughed politely but with strain. 

“Big deal indeed” Tempest finally replied, nodding her head in short, quick bobs. This situation was entirely different from the bully Flutterponies, whom needed to be dealt with sharply, or common ponies whom she had grown closer to. These were isolated royals who were nothing but kind, the exact kind she had a bad history with. It was unnerving, to say the least. Yet, when she looked at her student, girlish phrases and all, Tempest was able to breathe and remember that she had changed for the better. She didn’t have to fear saying something to the ambassador.

“If you’re staring at the Moon so often, you probably noticed that event a few years back. When the Mare on the Moon vanished? What’d you think of that?” Tempest asked casually, a bit awkward at first but regaining her coolly proud swagger quickly enough.

“Oh, I remember that! I remember the kirin calendar predicting it too! Rain Shine did some magic math and knew the time when the Mare on the Moon would return! She sent a message to Celestia and everything. It was pretty cool. We were all so proud of her. I mean it was scary when it happened. You’re always like—ah! When something goes right that you predicted would happen you’re not ‘happy’ happy about it. You know what I mean? But you’re like, ‘Wow, I can predict the future!’ Anyways,” she laughed. “That was pretty cool how you conducted that lightning back there. I’ve never seen anycreature do that before. It was like a living lightning rod! Those pegasi were like ‘Ahh!’”

Snow couldn’t help but chuckle at how much Autumn was talking Tempest’s ear off. But it was at least pleasant chatter.

The group reached the theater and Flurry stopped at the door, which she opened with her magic. She gestured inside with a long wing and offered everyone else to go in first politely. Rain gave a grateful bow and entered, followed by her company of quiet kirin and the chatty, bouncy Autumn.

It left only Flurry and Tempest at the door when everyone had filed inside. Flurry let out a breath she seemed to have been holding for too long. But she smiled at Tempest. “I like them. They’re nicer than the…um F-Flutter Pony Queen. Thank you for taking care of those pegasi…” she whispered.

[meamongthemighty]

Tempest flushed at the praise, smiling softly at Autumn and bowing her head humbly. She was beginning to like the kirin, they seemed to have good heads on their shoulders. She gave Autumn a friendly nudge on the shoulder as they entered the theater before Flurry began speaking to her. 

“Oh, them? Well, I heard a story about my protege scaring off some bullies, and you know that I can’t let her start thinking she’s ahead of me.” Tempest kept up a frown for a moment before breaking into a look of pride and patting Flurry’s broad shoulders. Tempest wasn’t going to hold up the kirin, but she also needed to make sure her student knew how proud she was. “Nice work. Now then, remember, you sit behind them and laugh at the jokes in the theater even if they’re not funny. It helps to bridge the cultural gap, makes them know what you as an Equestrian find funny and not. All clear? Now let’s go to the show.”

[meamongthemighty]

Grin thought about scaring this pony, but eventually decided it was a bad idea. She was big, tough, and looked like she wanted to blast something into lots of very small, and probably very bloody, pieces.

It was unavoidable and yet somewhat hypocritical for Tempest to blink twice when she saw the afflicted pegasi. Still, a second blink was all her appearance garnered. 

“You have something to say to me? It’s okay, I won’t bite.” Tempest ventured closer to the shorter pegasi, a wellspring of empathy manifesting in her soft tone. She knew what it was to look on from outside.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

Something Grin had heard before. Suddenly she got the feeling that being so easily visible wasn’t such a good idea. But sudden moves never worked in her favor….

Oh Ghosts and Ghouls!

Each step Tempest took towards Grin saw the mutant mare take a half step back, bunched up like a cat ready to bolt at any second, and a half-hearted warning growl rolled out of her throat. This was a unicorn, she had to be on her guard. A broken horn wasn’t much of a comfort, seeing as she also had a scar on her face, and was wearing armour. 

Suddenly, Grin felt very, very stupid.

[meamongthemighty]

“Not the talkative type, huh?” Tempest pulled back a little and cocked her head as she examined the pegasus. Was she some sort of mentally ill vagabond? ‘Or maybe just too experienced,’ a voice spoke in her mind. “Do you want anything?” Tempest said, keeping a good distance to see if that yielded any better results.

“Or do you just want me out of the way?” Tempest laughed a little bit, trying to lighten the atmosphere. She didn’t want to treat the other mare like an animal, but it was hard to keep up an ordinary conversation with a pony who both physically and mentally was clearly not. Yet, she knew that was the best thing she could do at this moment in time; treat her respectfully and hope it affected her a little at least.

[meamongthemighty]

Grin thought about scaring this pony, but eventually decided it was a bad idea. She was big, tough, and looked like she wanted to blast something into lots of very small, and probably very bloody, pieces.

It was unavoidable and yet somewhat hypocritical for Tempest to blink twice when she saw the afflicted pegasi. Still, a second blink was all her appearance garnered. 

“You have something to say to me? It’s okay, I won’t bite.” Tempest ventured closer to the shorter pegasi, a wellspring of empathy manifesting in her soft tone. She knew what it was to look on from outside.

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:

“Spare me the speeches. I’ve heard them all, and from better speakers than you. I’m sure you can justify why the princesses get to live in the lap of luxury while others suffer, why they completely disconnect from common ponies as if they’re just a figurehead, and why only two of them are real heroes. You could justify it, but that’d be the true hypocrisy; to dare espouse heroism and harmony while doing nothing like that.” Tempest rolled her eyes, giving a contemptuous huff as she struggled to keep herself from merely calling down a bolt of lightning on him. She succeeded in that endeavor at least, and she was able to crack a small and apologetic smile very slowly. “This is why I feel like leaving Equestria is for the best. I’m not like you ponies. I tried to be, and I’m trying again, but I know what failure of your world is like. Twilight knows too. You should ask her about when she and her friends broke apart at Mt. Aris. Maybe then you’d use the world hypocrisy properly.” In another life, where sacrificing her horn to the bear had made Tempest an alicorn, she might have agreed with him. But in one where she had seen a pony who failed and was hypocritical still rise after her own failure…the idea of supporting such childish idols of perfection as Celestia seemed absurd.

“Whoever you think you are,” Sunlight replied stiffly, “To decide you know the reasons…”

He cut himself off sharply, trying hard to not speak in anger. It was difficult to hear such talk for him. Most times, Sunlight did his best to keep an open mind, and to understand some ponies believe different things. But this mare… Just seeing her made his blood boil. This was the mare that had enthralled his patron goddess in stone. The mare who had turned her back on her own people. And now, despite never being punished for her treachery, she had the gall to speak this way!?

“I think you’re right,” He said darkly, looking her in the eye with a fury that he had never felt before. A blazing hatred he had difficulty keeping under wraps, “You should leave. You should get out and away from Equestria. Away from this castle and away from me,” his magic consumed his eyes, misting away at the edges in his rage, and the temperature around him began to rise, “Perhaps when next I see you, I’ll have calmed down. I’ll have forgotten your words. But know this. I’ll never forget your attempt at regicide. And may Twilight forgive me for this, but I cannot ever see myself forgiving you.”

With self control he didn’t know he had, Sunlight Blade stepped back and stood tall, fixing her with a glare as his magic faded, “If I ever see you again,” He continued, “It will be too soon. And know I will keep an eye on you. Of your every step.”

[meamongthemighty]

The sight of the flaming magic made the powerful unicorn blink. Not in fear, not exactly, more akin to disgust. As the magic faded, Tempest sighed and nodded, her body growing more slack. 

“I know you will.”

She turned her head away, not letting him see her face for a moment. She might be scowling or smiling for all that she showed, lost in thought before she returned her teal gaze to him. She shifted on her hooves, seeming to shift between an aggressive stance and one that was lower than that every few seconds. 

“I can make the world better in my own way. You can sit back and just watch me from behind, and I hope that one day you’ll see that I can do great things. More than that, I hope you finally open up your eyes and see what a real hero is.” Suddenly, the mare gave a bitter chuckle and raised a hoof to the neckline of her armor to pull it down. “In fact, let’s see if you know. You know I’m not a good pony, that I might do something else bad in the future. So go ahead, hero, finish me off here. That’s what the uncompromising hero would do, live up to the ideal of the greater good without flaw. Or just cover up their flaws, like you Equestrians love so much.” Holding her neck exposed, Tempest strode forward to place it in front of the guard’s horn. Her gaze burned with terrific intensity, but not hateful. Instead, her muzzle quivered a bit with barely disguised curiosity and anticipation.

[meamongthemighty]

{Caddy} "Um, Fizzle." Caddy sneaked into the room where she could find the unicorn alone. "Hey, change of plans. Twilight and I just talked it over and sent word to the kirin leader. The kirin are going to come to Canterlot instead of sending you guys to them. We think it would be a better sign of peace to bring them out of Kirin Grove and show some of them to the city... I really think Flurry will like their company too."

“Hm. It is a bit more peaceful. Shame Flurry wasn’t going on another trip out of her comfort zone” Fizzle murmured. Of course, the diplomatic endeavors were important, but she had to prioritize her student’s development too. “They seem a little too similar if you ask me. The kirin only just got finished with that little…social experiment of theirs. They both need to be whipped into shape. Don’t worry, I won’t bite their heads off.” Fizzle chuckled and bumped Cadance’s side as she passed near her.

“Right. Where’s the dossier on the kirin? I read the last one, but you know, apparently that’s changing up now” she mock-pouted.

[curiosityismagic]

meamongthemighty‌:

Fizzle sucked in a breath when she saw the kirin show up. She was so reminded of the cordiality of the hippogriffs. Her ear tips twitched before stiffening back up as she kept herself at a distance from the action. The princess up front with her vampire just a bit behind, and then her at the back. That was the way it should be. A little bit of bitterness entered Fizzle, but she brushed it off. This was a day for peace.

And apparently those pegasi hadn’t got the message. A flare of protective instinct, spurred on by her anxiety about the meeting saw Fizzle leap forward immediately. Rearing onto her hind legs, Fizzle thrust her horn upwards and let herself become a lightning rod. Sparks and left over bits of static crackled all over her form, the strong mare not even having flinched at the impact. She didn’t say a word to the teens, just gave them a glare that probably shaved ten years off their life.

“Stay close to the group. Some ponies love their frivolity” she murmured to the kirin, her gaze briefly flickering to Snow and Flurry for them to salvage the moment.

The pegasi in the clouds had looked down and realized what they were dealing with when they saw a unicorn conduct the electricity without flinching. It didn’t help to see a majestic alicorn, an angry dhampir and a tall unidentifiable creature. Perhaps their game should be taken elsewhere… They flew off and Flurry gulped, grateful for Tempest’s presence.

She collected herself as if the event had not frazzled her and told Rain Shine.

“Then we will be off to the theater. I expect you have your singers?”

“All accounted for,” Rain Shine told her cheerily. 

“Good!” Flurry caught herself and tried to become calm and regal again, less girlish. “I mean, fantastic. Let us be off then. Hm…”

Flurry tilted her head to the side to count the number of kirin who had come with their leader. Not too many. A walk through Canterlot should not be a problem with she, Snow and Tempest accompanying them. 

“Stay near,” Flurry said softly. 

Rain Shine nodded and gestured to her company with a special sign of the hoof. That called them all into a tight pack behind her like sheep and then they were off, Rain taking a place nearby Flurry as she walked so the Princess could speak to her as they toured through the city. This put the little ambassador, Autumn Blaze near Tempest.

“This is so exciting. Historically our people haven’t been in the city for ages, you know. Sometimes I think about that. I lie awake at night looking at the moon and realizing somewhere out there somepony who knows about the kirin in Canterlot is staring at the same moon and thinking something similar. ‘Where did they go? Will they reappear?’ That makes today such a big deal, doesn’t it?”

[meamongthemighty]

If Tempest was not a pony who minced words, then Autumn was a pony who took a paper shredder to every single syllable. Her ears twitched like a metronome to the kirin’s endless jabbering, and she laughed politely but with strain. 

“Big deal indeed” Tempest finally replied, nodding her head in short, quick bobs. This situation was entirely different from the bully Flutterponies, whom needed to be dealt with sharply, or common ponies whom she had grown closer to. These were isolated royals who were nothing but kind, the exact kind she had a bad history with. It was unnerving, to say the least. Yet, when she looked at her student, girlish phrases and all, Tempest was able to breathe and remember that she had changed for the better. She didn’t have to fear saying something to the ambassador.

“If you’re staring at the Moon so often, you probably noticed that event a few years back. When the Mare on the Moon vanished? What’d you think of that?” Tempest asked casually, a bit awkward at first but regaining her coolly proud swagger quickly enough.

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

meamongthemighty‌:.

Tempest bit back a snappy comment about the frankly disturbing cult surrounding the elder princesses. This wasn’t the Storm King’s army anymore; she had to be civil. At least with strangers.

“Calm down, little pony. I doubt they ever will fall permanently. Twilight will always be there to pick them back up, loving pupil that she is. You can’t take credit for that though, sorry to say.” A bit more blunt and crass than she intended, but hearing of any kind of diminishment to the accomplishments of a true hero such as that struck a nerve. 

“Celestia and Luna, I don’t doubt their bureaucratic skills. Great for writing bills and for keeping up a good economy. But they aren’t leading anyone anymore. It’s a different world, and Twilight’s the star who shines the way. You could maybe give her a little more credit, a bit more focus.” Tempest paused, giving a shiver and then shaking her head. “On second thought, don’t. Keep that with the older two. Make sure it stays with them.”

Shame turned to anger at her words, and he found himself having to bite back comments of his own, memories of his father’s lessons keeping him in check.

To speak without thought in rage is a Guard’s greatest shame.

“I would never,” he managed to reply back in a relatively neutral voice, with a bare hint of the growl he felt was more than necessary, “That you would assume I would, for even a moment, detract from Goddess Twilight’s accomplishments, even before her ascension! She is, was and will ever be, a hero. Prayers for heroism will be met with her name, as grace is for Celestia, and beauty for Luna, love for Mi Amore Cadenza.”

Sunny was now, more than ever, aware of the armour he wore. Who he represented right now. He couldn’t show weakness. He couldn’t be that guy, no matter how much he wanted to lecture her, or rant at her. He was a proud Royal Guard of Her Majesty Princess Celestia, his patron Goddess. He refused to do her shame.

“I might just be a guard,” he continued coldly, “And you might not think much of myself, or of my charges. But without them, none of us would be here. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle would have eventually ascended without their help, but it would have been in a different world. A different life. I pledged my life, and my services to her Divinity to protect that, and her. I will not hear you of all ponies speak ill of her or her ways. To detract from her prowess as a ruler is tantamount to detracting from Goddess Twilight’s prowess as a hero, and such hypocrisy, in my eyes, is tantamount to heresy.”

[meamongthemighty]

“Spare me the speeches. I’ve heard them all, and from better speakers than you. I’m sure you can justify why the princesses get to live in the lap of luxury while others suffer, why they completely disconnect from common ponies as if they’re just a figurehead, and why only two of them are real heroes. You could justify it, but that’d be the true hypocrisy; to dare espouse heroism and harmony while doing nothing like that.” Tempest rolled her eyes, giving a contemptuous huff as she struggled to keep herself from merely calling down a bolt of lightning on him. She succeeded in that endeavor at least, and she was able to crack a small and apologetic smile very slowly. “This is why I feel like leaving Equestria is for the best. I’m not like you ponies. I tried to be, and I’m trying again, but I know what failure of your world is like. Twilight knows too. You should ask her about when she and her friends broke apart at Mt. Aris. Maybe then you’d use the world hypocrisy properly.” In another life, where sacrificing her horn to the bear had made Tempest an alicorn, she might have agreed with him. But in one where she had seen a pony who failed and was hypocritical still rise after her own failure...the idea of supporting such childish idols of perfection as Celestia seemed absurd.

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.

[ponyponypuddingandpie]

His own eyes narrowed, and he had to physically stop himself from preparing a spell as she drew in closer. It wouldn’t look good for a guard to be so paranoid, even if it was about this mare.

“I don’t know what that word you said means,” He admitted honestly, “I’m not the most well read stallion. But my Goddesses will not fall. I will take that burden on my shoulders if I must, on my own if I have to. But I will not allow such harm to come to them. Be it from foreign or domestic sources.”

His normally bright expression hardened, and darkened. But not with anger, with shame, “I failed them twice already. To do so again would be….” He had no words for that. He already prayed for forgiveness constantly for his previous failures. To do so again.

[meamongthemighty]

Tempest bit back a snappy comment about the frankly disturbing cult surrounding the elder princesses. This wasn’t the Storm King’s army anymore; she had to be civil. At least with strangers.

“Calm down, little pony. I doubt they ever will fall permanently. Twilight will always be there to pick them back up, loving pupil that she is. You can’t take credit for that though, sorry to say.” A bit more blunt and crass than she intended, but hearing of any kind of diminishment to the accomplishments of a true hero such as that struck a nerve. 

“Celestia and Luna, I don’t doubt their bureaucratic skills. Great for writing bills and for keeping up a good economy. But they aren’t leading anyone anymore. It’s a different world, and Twilight’s the star who shines the way. You could maybe give her a little more credit, a bit more focus.” Tempest paused, giving a shiver and then shaking her head. “On second thought, don’t. Keep that with the older two. Make sure it stays with them.”

[meamongthemighty]

Sunlight Blade looked warily at the broken-horned unicorn, "I don't trust you. You're a badass, but I don't trust you. It is both personal, and professional."

At first there was a flash of something like a scowl. Only for a moment though, as her face lowered. 

“I don’t expect you to. We can’t all be saints.” And nopony who was could be that ideal forever. “If you’re scared that I’m going to try to conquer Equestria again, or something like that, at least put that out of your head. That princess Twilight of yours…she’s got a way with words I have to say. A real sesquipedalian mare.” Tempest paused oddly, narrowing her eyes furtively and then drawing in closer. “Make sure she stays that way. When the others fail, she’s the key…” she warned ominously.