//------------------------------// // The Storm King's reign // Story: The Little Pony legend: The Guardians of Harmony // by MaggiesHeartLove //------------------------------// The Storm King's reign "The City of Canterlot has descended into disarray! On the day of the Guardians of Harmony's first ever Friendship Festival, the wicked Tempest Shadow has invaded the land and taken over! Following the orders of the dreaded Storm King!" "The Guardians have escaped, but now are missing, and the storm creatures have captured everyone with magic absorbing weapons, rendering them powerless! The Queen Avatar and the rest of the alicorns have been turned to stone, and now we are all at the mercy of the Storm King's army awaiting his inevitable arrival!" "And while there is really no point in me even narrating any of this, it's mostly to keep me distracted from the excruciating pain in my spine, on account of one of the storm creatures is currently using me as a footrest!" Shiro Shinobi's hands wobbled at supporting the heavy weight of the storm creature's large hairy, and smelly, paw-like feet. All the while the spa ponies were forced to give him a massage. Shiro's wrists were cuffed, and around his neck was a chained collar that connected to the bindings of a poor saddened pony with a muzzle. After hours of being forced in this position, Shiro Shinobi finally lost the feeling in his limbs and collapsed. "Excuse me, storm creature, would you consider calling my chiropractor?" Shiro asked, raising only one finger. The creature growled in reply. "Yeah, didn't think so." Shiro let his hand drop limply on the floor in front of him, groaning in pain. While awaiting for their boss to arrive, the storm creatures got to work at making their captives miserable. Ponies and humans were forced to wear chained collars in a straight line like a bunch of animals. Tenzin and his family sat dejectedly in their cage, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were forced to watch the rest of their old classmates march along, pushing and pulling large carts in preparation for the Storm King's arrival. Ali, Mika and San hissed at any creature that came their way, while Spike tried to blast them out with his fire, but the flames were absorbed into the cage's surface, much like what happened to Iris and Akari's blasts. Ember tried to bite onto the cage to break it with her sharp teeth, but an electrical current forced her to stop. She tried to push back the pain as dragons always did, but this particular pain left her feeling week that even when she tried to bite again her jaw felt like it was biting on knives. Besides, the most she could do was a small chip on the cage, even after hours of constantly bitting. Her own fire breath proved useless as well. For three days already, everyone kept on fighting against the cages either by force of in coming up with ways to escape. Sadly, their cages had no locks and none of the creatures carried keys on them, so nobody could plan out a way to grab them and escape like the airbenders did when the Red Lotus captured them so many years ago. Benders who weren't in cages were forced to wear the same metal material over their mouths and cuffs that covered their hands entirely. Any attempt at bending would immediately disappear on the spot if they tried. Inside her cage, Songbird Serenade sang a soft ballad to try and lift everyone's spirits. Rara sat beside her, feeling a bit more at ease as she listened to her student's singing. I am here and I see your pain  Through the storms, through the clouds, the rain  I'm telling you you can not escape  Both Songbird and Rara gasped when their shared cage shook roughly. One of the storm creatures banged on the side, growling in anger. The ponies didn't need an interpreter to know what he was saying. With a heavy heart, Songbird stopped her singing. Rara wrapped a comforting hoof around her. Zaheer and P'Li marched along, both wearing the same hand covering cuffs and shackles around their ankles and necks, connecting them to Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst, both of which wore muzzles and cuffs on both their horns and hooves. There was no possible way these creatures were smart enough to come up with all of these strategic ways to preventing anyone from escaping, but Zaheer had heard stories about this Tempest Shadow. If he were still that ruthless Red Lotus member from years back, he would have been impressed by her cleverness. But now, he just felt sickened. As he walked pass Tenzin and his family, the former criminal gave him an apologetic look. Even though it had been years and they had long since forgiven him, seeing the airbenders and everyone captive like this brought back painful memories of when he had done the same thing. Of course, Tempest took it to a whole new level than Zaheer had done, but still. Sunset Shimmer watched helplessly as her friends were forced to march on like slaves, and chained like animals. She sat in a cage alongside Nova and Eclipse, who hugged his mother tightly. "It's okay, sweetie." Sunset said to her son, whispering as low as she could so the creatures wouldn't hear. "Iris and the others are still out there." "They'll get us out of this." Nova said, ruffling his son's hair. The sound of wheels clanking was heard all across Canterlot. The city had become so silent that only the dangling of chains and metallic hooves clopping the cobblestone grounds were heard from miles around. The cages that contained Nori's father, Kombu, Double Diamond with Sweet Gala and Half Pipe, Soarin, Fire Fly, Thorax, Ivy, Leo, River, Cheese Sandwich and Cookie Cream, all aligned in a single row. Each prisoner looked up, their ears dropping and eyes widening in horror at the sight. Starlight, Sunburst, Zaheer and P'Li gasped underneath their metal mouth covers at seeing Big Mac and his wife, Sugar Belle being forced to pull a wagon carrying Iris and Akari, sitting inside a cage of their own. The adults wanted to ask the princesses where the others were, but when Starlight dared to walk up and ask, the storm creature snarled and aggressively knocked her down. Akari and Iris gasped, their eyes begging Starlight not to make another move or she would receive a far worse punishment. P'Li and Zaheer helped her back up, watching helplessly as the wagon rolled away with the princesses inside. Iris and Akari felt like crying, but their bodies were paralyzed with desolation. Their sadness blocked by a lump of anger while at the same time converging in a way that they felt the need to invent a new word to describe this flawless combination of sadness, anger, grief, horrified and powerlessness. The beautiful City of Canterlot was once a shimmering rainbow of happiness, but now buildings had been knocked down, homes were cracked and everywhere they turned they saw the broken spirits of those they loved being forced to either remain encaged or work as slaves. The urge to free them all in one swing overwhelmed the two princesses, but their anger within flared at the realization that there was nothing they could do, which made them feel just as broken-hearted as everyone else did. With Tempest Shadow marching ahead, Iris and Akari caught glimpses of the Mane Six's families. Chi would have been literally broken to pieces upon seeing little Eclipse look so distraught, crying his little eyes out. Nori's heart would sink like a stone upon seeing her father encaged like this, and Hiro and Mai would have simultaneous heart attacks and go on a savage rampage if they saw Sweet Gala, Half Pipe and Cookie Cream being frightened by the storm creatures that snarled and growled at them whenever they tried to talk to one another. Thorax held his triplets close, while his older brother Pharynx sat crestfallen in his separate cage. The fearless, and at times ruthless, changeling general looking so defeated was never a good sign. If someone like Pharynx had given up, Iris and Akari didn't even want to imagine what the future would hold for everyone else. Iris and Akari wanted to speak, to send them words of encouragement, but the cage wheeled past them before they could get a word out. Even when they tried to speak up, Tempest's horn would flare and she would aim the sparks of magic towards one of their family members. A warning to keep their mouths shut. All the girls could do was give them all apologetic looks and mouth with their lips, "It'll be okay." It wasn't much, but it was something. Things only got worse when they were wheeled by the cage that held Songbird Serenade and Rara. Even behind her bangs, the girls could feel the pop singer's own grief penetrate through the cold stone surface of their cage. But it was the cage not too far away from them that made the girls really get a lump in their throats. Bolin and Asami sat on the cage, their heads hung low, looking exhausted and paler than normal. Iris could hardly recognize her aunt and uncle. Both were always so full of joy and bubbly energy, especially Bolin, but just like with Cheese and Cookie, their spirits were slowly wavering. Dark bangs hung under their eyes, indicating they hadn't slept at all. When they looked up, their eyes widened and Iris could literally see their hearts breaking in two. Both husband and wife gained the strength to stand up to see the two, but just like the others, they wondered where the other children were. When the cages were close enough, Iris outstretched her hand and Bolin did the same. Her fingers brushed against Bolin's for a moment before Iris was wheeled away. "They're okay." Iris mouthed, and she felt some sense of relief when she saw both Bolin and Asami form small smiles. They knew what she meant. As happy as they were that Hiro and Mai were still alive, they were still crushed upon seeing their niece become a prisoner just like the rest of them. Iris saw her adopted siblings, Ali, Mika and San and like with her uncle, she reached out for them. Their cage was a lot farther, so all Iris could so was tap the top of San's extended claw. Akari reached out her hoof for her uncle Spike, who reached out as well. He saw so much of Twilight in her. That same spark and intelligence and bravery. Spike swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched the two wheel away. The scenery didn't improve, for the closer they got to the castle, Iris and Akari saw Tenzin and his family, Lin and Suyin and their family, Kuvira and the sirens to the griffins, Iroh and Lu Ten, Tahno and his nephew Pao, Varrick and his family, even Wan Shi Tong and Goldie. Their feathers were a ruffled mess and the winged spirits looked as exhausted as everyone else. No doubt they had put up a good fight, even while encaged, but after days of restless rebellion, they were slowly succumbing to their imprisonment. The cages and cuffs weren't just keeping them from using their magic, it was making them weaker, as if draining their very life force. It was no wonder Queen Novo didn't want to face the Storm King again. No wonder Captain Celaeno were so terrified of his wrath. The Storm King was truly a monster in every sense of the word. (~) The storm creatures opened the doors that led into the throne room. The stoned alicorns were just as Tempest had left them. Akari's heart sank even further upon seeing her aunt, cousin and mother still frozen in their horrified state. Her nightmare was slowly turning into a tragic reality. Iris let out a pain stricken gasp when she saw her mother alongside Twilight, as well as Leilani, Celestia and Luna. As if things were't bad enough, Tempest had the audacity to have even their fathers and the Elements of Harmony predecessors placed in the same room like decorative lawn ornaments, all facing the alicorns as Tempest's twisted way form of amusement. The storm creatures lifted the cage and placed it opposite to where Korra and Twilight were. The princesses took one last look at Big Mac and Sugar Belle, who turned their heads back at the princesses, silently saying how sorry they were. Grubber closed the door, laughing in amusement. Iris and Akari ignored him, their eyes landing again on their mothers. They knew they were still alive, but knowing Tempest, they were horrified to even think about what she would do once this was all over. "It's a good thing they're stone, isn't it?" Tempest said, approaching the two. "That way you can't see their disappointment." "Tempest, don't do this." Akari pleaded, "Don't give the Storm King—" "Your magic? Did you think you'd keep it all to yourself? Time to share." The unicorn smiled as she looked back at the doors. Before long, she would walk out of here with her horn restored, and then her dreams of revenge will be realized. Her power will return and she can go back to the way she used to be. Whole, powerful and free, and this time she wouldn't let any 'friends' get in her way anymore. "I'd love for everybody out there to know what I can really do." "Ooh, fascinating! What can you really do?" For the first time, the princesses saw traces of genuine fear in Tempest's eyes. A tall figure entered the throne room, blocking the rays of sunlight from behind the door. The Storm King wasn't as large as Wan Shi Tong, but taller than Discord by at least five heads or so. Never the less, even if his height wasn't as impressive as anything else the girls have seen, he still carried himself every bit of the king he prided himself to be. A truly wicked king. His body was primarily covered in snowy white and gray colored fur, resembling a snow baboon, with a long bushy tail and cloven hooves, resembling a goat's. He had only three fingers in both hands, and wore black armor that covered his large chest and broad shoulders with a collar wrapped around his thick neck. On his head he wore a horned crown and in his hand was the Staff of Sacanas. "Your bidding, of course, Your Mighty One." Grubber said, saving Tempest from her slip up. The last thing she needed was for the Storm King to realize she had defied his rules in order to go on a quest to capture Iris and Akari if anything to get her revenge on their parents. Like Grubber said, Tempest could have made due with the alicorns she already had, but she had come too far to get back at them, and she wasn't going to risk anything by letting those two princesses out there with the chance to fight back. Grubber bowed down before the Storm King, while Tempest stood still like an obedient soldier. When nothing else happened, Grubber quickly ran out the room, closing the door behind him. Tempest rolled her eyes at his cowardliness. "Bidding's good. I like bidding!" The Storm King said, his tone taking on a slightly more upbeat one, completely contrasting with the ominous one he had a few moments ago. He smiled, baring his sharp teeth, only to look at the princesses, completely unimpressed. "Um, what are you two supposed to be?" After witnessing so much misery outside, Iris and Akari no longer wished to allow this monster's reign destroy their spirits as it did the Hippogriffs or Celaeno's crew. This wasn't over, not so long as they had anything to say about it. Iris and Akari stood tall, even within their cage, facing the Storm King with narrowed eyes accompanied by regal and stone solid stances. "We are Avatar Iris and Akari." Iris said powerfully. "We are the Princesses of Friendship!" Akari finished, taking a single hoof-step forward and daring to spread her wings a bit to showcase her bravery. The Storm King only laughed at their adorable attempt at being all tough and brave, but the girls didn't flinch. This type of reaction from someone who clearly didn't understand friendship was nothing new to them, or anyone else for that matter. "Ha, ha, ha! Oh. That's nice." The Storm King wiped away a single tear that escaped his left eye. His smile morphed into an angry snarl when he turned towards Tempest, dawning his ominous tone once more. "Why are these two still moving?" "They and their friends put up a bit of a fight, but it's just them now." Tempest smirked at the princesses, feeling a warm satisfaction within her chest. "They won't be a problem." "Yeah. So, speaking of problems…" The Storm King lumbered across the room, petting Tempest's head as if she were his fateful lapdog. Normally, when ponies got pet in the head it was a sign of affection from their human friends, but when the Storm King did it, it made Tempest shudder in disgust. She bit her tongue, resisting the urge to bite his hand. She may be his Commander, but she was not his pet. "This place, it seems a little too, oh, I don't know—CUTE!!!" Iris and Akari flinched, their ears ringing at the Storm King's booming outburst. Tempest didn't seem phased at all. Just another one of the Storm King's childish complaints. "I don't like cute! I never did like cute! Doesn't really go with my whole "big bad powerful magic guy" thing, does it?! Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke!" The Storm King lifted his staff over his head and slammed its end into the floor. Incidentally, he had slipped it right into a small oval shaped hole, which connected to the symbol of the four petaled flower in the center of the room, where the alicorns were placed. The Storm King, Iris and Akari stared in alarm, but only the Storm King looked excited when his staff started to glow. Now this was more like it. Something cool and magical happening. The room filled with a familiar source of power, one the princesses recognized all too well. The same energy began to radiate from the stoned alicorns. Strings of light began to grow from Leilani, Celestia and Luna's hooves, expanding and reaching upwards like luminescent veins until it reached their horns, which glowed with their respected magical colors, along with their eyes. The same process happened to Cadance and Flurry Heart, followed by Korra and Twilight Sparkle. The star on Korra's forehead and her eyes glowed alongside Twilight's eyes and horn. The outlines of the floor's flower petals glowed with alicorn magic, and that very same glow began to radiate underneath Akari and Iris's cage. The princesses tried to move their feet and hooves, but the force of the ritual kept them solidified on the ground against their will. The same illuminating vein-like forms began to manifest on their bodies, holding them in place as they felt their magical energy being yanked right out of them. Their eyes glowed and magic came swirling out of Akari's horn and the star symbol on Iris's forehead. "No!" The Storm King laughed with child-like glee at the magical energy being transferred from the Alicorns into the staff. "Check out the light show!" But the transfer wasn't limited to just the alicorns. The same magical energy and glowing veins manifest on the statues of Mako, Flash and the Mane Six. Each of their eyes glowed white and the magical energy within them was ripped out and melted into the floor beneath their feet, rapidly reaching towards the staff's jewel, which sparked with magic. The same energy spread all across Canterlot, frightening even the storm creatures. An aura of melting color covered the land. Benders, unicorns, pegasus, spirits, dragons and changelings of all kinds felt something yank at their chests. A piece of them was being pulled out. Bolin fell to the ground, his skin paler than before and Asami held him close. Thorax and his children screamed, hissing in rebellion at the magic being taken from them by force. The airbenders, police force, and all spirits fell to the ground, their energy and powers complexly drained once the colors disappeared from the city, reeling back towards the balcony of the palace. Spirits like Wan Shi Tong, Goldie and Aiwei's scorpion spider companion shrunk down in size, and dragons could no longer breath fire or fly. Spike gasped when he saw Ali, Mika and San now the same size as they were when they were kids. They couldn't even speak, only adorable squeaks came out of their mouths. Their mind were still those of young adults, but their bodies had reverted back in time. Spike held them in his claws, his ears dropping sadly as Mika pressed her now tiny forehead against his. Even non benders and earth ponies could feel something being yanked from them, though it wasn't as strongly as it was for those with physical magical abilities. Much like earth ponies, humans had a more passive form of magic even if it wasn't manifested in a physical form as it was for other ponies or benders, but this energy wasn't looking for passive magic, but rather actual physical magic. This spell was stealing their power. Asami and Bolin looked up to see where their energy had gone, but she also noticed something else. Their cage let out faint sparks around the corners of the bottom, as it did for the others. Asami looked at it suspiciously, her eyes following the trail that led back to the palace. The staff sparked with intense magical energy and once the Storm King removed it, he could feel its power coursing every bone and muscle in his body. "Wow! Wow!" He laughed victoriously. The statues stopped glowing as did Akari and Iris's eyes. Their legs were numb and they collapsed to the bottom of their cage. They wanted to believe there was still hope, but their magic was now gone and their friends didn't know where they were. All hope trully was lost. "Let's get this storm started! Ooh, hey, that's good. I should trademark that." The Storm King was more than excited to test out his new toy. And he knew just who to test it on. He shot a jolt of energy at the princess's cage, using its magic to lift it up and throw it against one of the stained glass windows. The blast was strong enough to break the cage, which was now powerless against all that magic. In fact, it broke apart like it was nothing. Iris and Akari cried out in pain as they rolled onto the balcony. Debris and shards of the window flew across the floor. Smoke from the impact clouded their vision but the Storm King's towering presence manifeste faster than the girls wished. "Not bad. Actually, kinda first rate. What else does it do?" Tempest followed him out onto the balcony, "Your Excellency, you promised to restore my horn and—" "Deh-deh-deh-deh-deh, okay. Hang on." The Storm King interrupted her, shaking the staff, testing to see what other powers it possessed. Iris took the opportunity to crawl closer to Akari, wrapping the weakened alicorn pony in her arms. The two flinched when the Storm King rose his staff, only to have a blast of fire come shooting out of it, creating fireworks in the sky. Unlike other displays, these fireworks were red like the color of blood, and the flakes dripped in mid air, capturing the rays of the sun. The Storm King tried again, only this time a slate of rock rose from the ground beneath, where storm creatures and captives scattered in fear when it rose up. The Storm King tried again, and city's plants rose upwards as his command. The water within them was extracted out, leaving the once lovely plants to wither and die. The waters rose up to form a floating bubble over the Storm King's head, which he then turned into pure ice and forced it to break. Shards of ice fell like sharp rain waters, causing Iris and Akari to shield themselves. "You weren't kidding! I have control of the elements! A ha ha! Now this is what I'm talkin' about!" Iris's body trembled. "No! That's--That's impossible!" "Actually, it's more possible than you think." Tempest said with a smug. "You may have heard of Lord Tirek, right? All magic could do for him was regenerate the powers he already possessed. It was just a means of charging him, not granting him those powers. He tried replicating the powers of his father's staff, but failed miserably." The unicorn looked down at the princesses, taking amusement in the frightened looks on their faces. "Scorpan put up quite the fight when I stole it from him. But, the old timer didn't know who he was messing with. There is a whole other world beyond Equestria, you know. With magic and weapons unlike anything you have ever seen. Not that you'll live long enough to see it." The Storm King let out a very loud, forced yawn. "Yeah, yeah, history lesson over. Time to play!" He moved over the princesses, not even bothering to destroy them. In their state, they were harmless, and he now had all the power he could ever want. He could always destroy them later. The creature waved his staff around, unleashing each of the elements in order. "Water, Fire, Earth, Air! Aqua, Fuego, Tiera, Aire! Rain, Heat, Rock slide, Windy! De de bup bup bup bah bah bah…" The intimidating aura of the Storm King had vanished as quickly as when it had arrived when he made himself known. He didn't know the power he held, only that it was power, and here he was playing with the elements like a five-year-old boy with his new race car play set. While Tempest was not as invested in any of this, at least the Storm King got what he wanted. Now, it was time to get what she wanted. "I hope it's worth it." Akari said to Tempest. Her voice chilling cold. "Destroying all these lives just to get what you want." "Save me the "holier than though" talk, sweetheart. I wouldn't expect you to understand." "I've seen where your path leads, Tempest… but it's not too late. You can make a different choice. You can change--" "SHUT UP!" Tempest shouted, her horn sparking, her jaw clenched. "I hate everything you stand for! I hate you, I hate your family and I hate your stupid, brain-numbing philosophy!" Tempest panted, her anger flaring like her horn. "When I get my horn… you and your parents will be the first to feel my wrath." (~)