adventure Elements of Equestria: Chapter 17

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

Chapter 17: Storm of the Century

Back at the campsite, Tempest woke up from her sleep and felt the ground next to her, but was surprised when she felt nothing but the dirt. Tempest looked to her side and saw that Lee was gone, making her sit up and look around the area.

"Lee? Lee, where are you?" Tempest shouted repeatedly for Lee but no response came.

"Hmm, where is he? Did he go somewhere?"

Tempest stood up and walked out of the trees and reached the foot of the hill where she saw Celestia and Luna at the top of the hill preparing breakfast together, but she still didn't see Lee anywhere.

Luna saw Tempest and waved at her, but Tempest simply approached her and Celestia as she continued to look around the camp for Lee.

"Tempest, about time you sleepyheads woke up. Where's Lee at?"

"Hmm, that's a good question actually. Have either of you two seen him?"

Celestia and Luna both shook their heads in denial, but this only made Tempest more worried about Lee.

"Oh, where is he? It's not like him to just take off like this without telling any of us..."

Tempest sat down next to the fire and looked to her left and noticed a piece of paper next to the bag of groceries that Tempest brought with her yesterday. Tempest grabbed the paper and read it carefully.

"Gone for supplies? But we just got supplies... Where did he go?"

Tempest then noticed the brochure for Hydrea in the bag and noticed that it had been recently opened.

"Hydrea? Did he go there? I wonder why..."

After a bit of thinking, Tempest decided that it would be best to go and find him to make sure that he wasn't in any trouble. Luna looked over at her and handed her a plate with scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice for her.

"Is something the matter Tempest? It's about Lee isn't it?" Luna asked.

Tempest nodded in approval to Luna's words as she ate her eggs. Celestia joined the two of them and they all sat together as they ate and discussed Lee's whereabouts.

"He went to Hydrea did he? Any idea why?" Celestia asked.

"No, but we should go and make sure he's okay. You never know what could happen in a strange town like that..."

"Of course, but I'm sure that Lee can handle himself. Besides, I'm sure he'll come back sooner or later."

Tempest finished her breakfast first and laid the plate down as she stood up.

"Waiting's not good enough anymore... Me and Lee just got together and it's my desire to keep him safe and make sure that nopony hurts him. Right now, nothing's more important to me than... my love."

Celestia and Luna watched as they saw Tempest place a hood over her heart, knowing full well that she had her mind set only on Lee. Celestia and Luna then turned to each other and nodded to each other as they both finished their breakfast.

"Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go and find him!" 

Celestia smiled happily as Tempest looked back at the both of them. Tempest smiled too as the Sisters stood side by side with Tempest, eager to find Lee.

"Celestia... Luna... Thank you both!"

Together, Tempest and the princesses walked away from the campsite as they made their way to Hydrea.
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After only two hours of walking, Tempest and the Sisters reached the main gates of Hydrea and they all stood before it as they looked around at all the ponies coming and going.

"Wow! How have we never known about this place before, sister? This looks like an incredible village!"

"Very beautiful indeed! We'll have to mark this place for when we go on another vacation!"

Celestia and Luna continued looking around in awe as they entered the village and walked the streets, but Tempest only had dread and regrets in her mind as she remembered the last time she was here.

"I never thought I would come back here... This is where it all began with Storm. If only I had known better then, maybe all of this wouldn't be happening now."

Tempest approached the fountain in the middle of the village and a horrible flashback of her slamming Storm into the fountain crossed her mind. Tempest held her head in pain for a second before Luna shook her a bit to snap her out of it.

"Tempest, are you alright?" Luna asked.

"Just... remembering what had happened those five years ago. No matter what I do, my past always comes back to haunt me. I just wish I could-"

Just then however, the sound of an explosion rocked the whole area and everypony looked around in confusion and fear. Tempest looked up at the sky and saw a huge black hole surrounding a few houses in the distance, which disappeared after a few seconds. After witnessing this, Tempest and the princesses rushed over to see what was going on.

After a few minutes of running, they all reached the area where the black hole was and Celestia and Luna spilt up to tend to any wounded ponies. Tempest went on a little further down the road and when she reached a small alleyway, she was shocked by what she saw before her: Lee and Storm Breaker facing each other.

"Lee! LEE!!!" Tempest rushed toward Lee and Storm as she saw that they both had their hooves extended for something as Storm looked at Lee with confusion.

Tempest unleashed a bolt of magic on Storm just as their hooves were about to meet and it knocked Storm to the ground as Lee looked at Tempest in surprise.

"Tempest! What are you doing here?"

Tempest stood in front of Lee protectively and looked at Storm in anger as Storm stood back up and saw Tempest before her.

"I had a feeling you would come for him, Tempest! All I had to do was wait and here you are!"

Lee looked at Storm in anger, realizing that she had simply been stalling so that she could get to Tempest. Lee stood up and went in between the two of them as he held his hooves up to keep them apart.

"Wait, please just wait! Both of you, it doesn't have to go like this..."

Both Tempest and Storm looked at Lee with confusion as they exchanged glaring gazes at each other, but Lee remained where he was as he talked to them.

"Storm, please listen to me and remember what I told you: Tempest is not the pony she was. I can tell you from first hand experience that she is not that pony anymore. She was willing to change her ways and help ponies and I know that you can change too."

Storm looked at both Lee and Tempest, breathing heavily but had a look with a mixture of many emotions.

"Tempest, I love you with all my heart, but the simple truth is that you hurt this pony and there's no way to take that pain back. But... you can make amends right now and show her who you really are, the pony I know you as: a kind and loving and caring pony."

At these words, Tempest looked at Lee and smiled at him. Tempest stopped her spell and instead stood in front of Storm with both sadness and regret.

"Storm, you know he's right... I know that words don't do this justice, but I am truly sorry for everything I had done to you. Please, don't do this..."

Tempest slowly approached Storm, but Storm only yelled at her and told her to get back and not come any closer to her.

"Sorry? You're SORRY?! Because of you, I lost everything! Because of you, I have to deal with this pain in my head and it's because of you... that now know that I show my enemies NO MERCY!!!"

Storm blasted Tempest with her magic and Lee watched in horror as Storm sent Tempest hurling through three separate buildings, which rendered her unconscious. Storm laughed menacingly as she did this and unfolded her armored wings all the way to show her strength to everypony around her.

"TEMPEST!!! NOOOO!!!"

Lee charged at Storm and tackled her to the ground as he tried to hold her down, but she merely swept him off the ground with her wings and pinned him to ground with her hoof. Storm brought her face closer to Lee and had a very serious look on her face now.

"This is between me and Tempest. You were one of the few ponies who made feel... normal again, so I'll will give you this. My first and only warning for you..."

Storm picked up Lee with her magic and slammed him repeatedly into the ground.

"...Stay out of my way."

Storm left Lee where he was, but Lee looked up at Storm as she walked away and managed to grab her back hoof and pull her back down to the ground.

"I swear... I swear if you... lay a single hoof on her, I will-"

"What? Do WHAT exactly? Fool, you just don't you get it do you? No, you don't WANT to understand because she's your "marefriend" now... This isn't a game! Tempest wronged me and now... she will pay dearly for everything she has done!"

Storm kicked Lee in the face to make him let go of her and he laid in where he was in pain as he held his face.

"S-Storm... Tem-pest..."
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In Lee's thoughts, he thought only about Tempest and memorized every detail about her: Her smile, her eyes, how amazing and friendly and awesome she was. Lee thought to himself that he was the luckiest pony in Equestria to be with somepony as amazing as Tempest.

"I won't let anypony hurt her... No matter what, no matter who, I will... protect my friends!"

Lee opened his eyes and looked up at the stormy skies above him, but still stood up on his feet despite the pain he had and repeated what he said in his thoughts.

"I WILL... PROTECT MY FRIENDS!!!"

Storm looked back at where Lee was, but was confused when she didn't see him anywhere around her. As Storm continued walking and watching for any attacks, she suddenly heard the sound of somepony screaming her name from above.

Just as Storm looked to sky for the source, Lee flew at Storm at full speed and pinned her to the ground before sweeping her up off of her feet with his wings and tossed her at a nearby building.

"You wanna get to Tempest? You go through me!"

Lee held his wings out protectively in the direction of where Tempest was lying, but this action only made Storm more furious at Lee and she screamed at him.

"Hmph... So be it. I warned you, fool!"

Lee and Storm charged at one another and clashed heads. Storm was first to strike with a ray of energy, but Lee evaded and dodged every attack. Lee then rushed at Storm and head butted her in the torso, which threw her off of her feet and was rammed through another building.

Storm groaned in pain as she stood up again and stretched her aching sides, but still laughed a little at Lee's strength.

"Hmph, you're stronger than I thought you'd be... Where was this when we first met?"

"Tempest... Tempest made me stronger! She gave me strength beyond anything I could have imagined and as long as I have her... nopony will ever get the better of me again!"

Lee placed a hoof over his heart and smiled in triumph as he prepared to attack Storm again. Storm simply laughed again and readied her horn for another magical blast of energy.

"I can't believe I'm saying this... but I like you. You're not like other ponies I've met... So full of spirit and heart and willing to see the good in ponies before the bad, it honestly makes me jealous!"

"Then you know that you can stop this... This isn't who you are, is it Storm?"

Storm looked down for a second and thought about Lee's words, but brushed it off a second later as she faced him again.

"No... no no no!!! I can't trust you... I CAN'T TRUST ANYPONY!!!"

Lightning suddenly appeared in Storm's eyes and she charged up another spell. Before Lee could react, Storm unleashed her magic and sent Lee flying through a few houses and then through the nearby wall.

As Lee landed just beyond the wall, Storm caught up to him again and blasted him again, which sent him tumbling several times across the field until he finally stopped. Lee had difficulty breathing as he struggled to stand up and was now covered in bruises and burns.

Storm stood close to Lee and looked at him with sorrow as he lost the strength to stand up now. Tears appeared in Storm's eyes and she charged up another spell and focused her horn on Lee.

"Please, please... please just stop, Lee... Don't make me..."

"I won't... I WON'T!! No matter what, I will fight for Tempest until the end! Even if you end it here, I will still protect her!"

Storm screamed in anguish at Lee's response and struggled with herself as she went back and forth between charging her magic and releasing it again.

"Then... you leave me no choice! If you're not willing to give her up... then you will share the same fate as her! I... I don't want to do this to you, but I must because it's the only way to make the pain stop!"

Lee looked at Storm one more time and said her name softly, but she simply recharged her magic one more time and allowed it to build up to a massive amount.

"I'm... I'm... I'm sorry, Lee."

Storm finally unleashed her magic and Lee gasped in horror as he shielded his face and waited for impact...

 

A/N: We're close to the end now everypony! This is the home stretch now! What will become of Lee and Tempest? And what about Storm? All questions are about to be answered!

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

Oh, kill me with a cliffhanger then? 

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

3 minutes ago, TomDaBombMLP said:

Oh, kill me with a cliffhanger then? 

Oh, you'll see what happens! I promise that you'll love it! What do you think of Storm?

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

17 minutes ago, DivineQueen1000 said:

Oh, you'll see what happens! I promise that you'll love it! What do you think of Storm?

I don’t know what to think.  I can tell she’s beginning to not want to do what she’s doing though. 

[Misty Shadow 7,078]

Oh, you torment us with the cliffhanger!  Those were some super awesome, riveting action scenes packed with emotion! Lee was so cool with how he wouldn't stop getting up and standing up for Tempest! I know the final chapter is going to be great! 

Also, love Luna eating eggs, knew the ponies weren't herbivores! 

Edited April 6, 2021 by CloudMistDragon
Reworded the joke better.

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,406]

This was an awesome chapter - that fight between Lee and Storm was incredible! I can't wait to see the cliffhanger get resolved.

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

3 minutes ago, LyraLover said:

This was an awesome chapter - that fight between Lee and Storm was incredible! I can't wait to see the cliffhanger get resolved.

Lee just got together with Tempest and he won't let anypony hurt her. Tempest indeed made him stronger than before he met her!

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,406]

Moments ago, DivineQueen1000 said:

Lee just got together with Tempest and he won't let anypony hurt her. Tempest indeed made him stronger than before he met her!

Exactly! He's come so far since the start of the story.

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

@LyraLover I think there will be one more chapter and an epilogue chapter too!

Edited April 6, 2021 by DivineQueen1000

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,406]

4 minutes ago, DivineQueen1000 said:

@LyraLover I think there will be one more chapter and an epilogue chapter too!

Sounds like a good plan. I'm sure both will be great!

[Old Accnt. 3,147]

On 2021-04-05 at 11:37 PM, TomDaBombMLP said:

Oh, kill me with a cliffhanger then?

It sucks to be you past you I get to read the next chapter already haha!!