//------------------------------//
// Bonus Chapter - Tempest's Patrol 
// Story: The Armada Trilogy I: The Lieutenant 
// by TheMysteryMuffin 
//------------------------------//

Armada Occupied Land
A few months before the invasion of Canterlot

The sky was thick with fumes and black fog, looking like nothing but a sea of darkness. It was noisy, busy and was a death trap for inexperienced of drivers who were flying through the maze of clouds. Every minute or so, an Armada skiff came into view and traveled into a clear section of the sky, making it visible for the hundreds of Storm guards that were constantly patrolling every inch of the area. There would be a ship that would occasionally appear as well, but would quickly vanish away into the thick, black clouds before any Storm guards could stop it. There was never a slow moment for those who were traveling through the blinding maze of dangers which could easily take them down if they ever made contact. Everything was fast and almost nothing but a mere glance to those who were watching everything from tall watchtowers which were standing from the ground below.

A skiff appeared from the thick fog. It blew its horn and continued its journey through the blinding labyrinth, alerting any ships that were traveling towards it. It had a red coat of paint, almost crimson, a black roof and the logo of the Armada plastered to its front, along with two horns built into the face of the skiff, pointing in the direction of travel. Two large banners were hung from the sides, showing the sign of the Armada. The horns would blare every one hundred metres or so. There were the top of buildings that were just in the way of the skiff, which were knocked off after the skiff made contact with them. The driver of the skiff had only one purpose; to find some bounty hunters and catch them.

There had been reports of rebellious gangs of ponies who were taking down cargo ships that were carrying military equipment to some of the other camps that the Armada had across the outskirts of Equestria. The skiff that was traveling through the fog was especially important; it was carrying the plans for the invasion of Canterlot which was to take place within a few months or so, just in time for the official Friendship Festival, ran by Princess Twilight Sparkle. Once conquered, Canterlot would be the Storm King's new headquarters, along with some of the most wanted criminals which Equestria had ever known. It was all essential; the plans couldn't be lost. And that there were some ponies out there trying to prevent the Armada, it was one of the most important missions that the pony who was driving the skiff ever had to take.

Suddenly, a small shuttle ship appeared from the fog very quickly, failing to notice the skiff that the soldier was driving and banged into it at a force that caught the attention of the skiff's driver. The shuttle dragged along the front of the skiff, creating sparks of light when it made contact with the paintwork. After twisting and turning in the air, the shuttle fell into the path of the skiff. The skiff then opened a hatch and shot a harpoon into the woodwork of the shuttle, drawing it in until it became eye level.

After the shuttle stabilised, the skiff stopped moving altogether. The crew on the shuttle, all shocked and confused, emerged from inside and stood directly in front of the skiff, all armed with weapons and anything that their could grab in time before they were dragged in. They waited for whoever had snatched them to emerge from the mist of the skiff.

"Who goes there?!" the first crew member asked, "Show yourself!"

A figure appeared from the mist. It was a unicorn, certainly a mare, standing on the floor of the skiff. She was tall, with a long mane in the shape of a mohican, that was placed on top of her purple-red head. In the light, the crew could make out a scar across her face and a broken horn on top of her head, almost completely sheered off. The crew gasped; they knew who it was immediately, without having a second guess.

Tempest Shadow trotted slowly towards them without saying a word. The crew all froze in place; no one of them could move for their feared what this particular pony could easily do. She had nearly all the power she could ever have and easily with one signal, Tempest could bring down a whole army. As she stepped forwards, the ponies all stepped back, until they were on the very edge of the skiff.

"May I ask why did you crash into me, exactly?" Tempest asked, in a low and sinister voice, "And what are you doing in these  parts?"

Neither of the crew would reply at first, but eventually the captain of the shuttle, a light-blue stallion with a black mane and a pair of wings for a cutie mark, walked closer to Tempest.

"We didn't see you... er... Commander Tempest..." he said, nervously, "...we're merely delivery ponies."

Tempest remained still for a moment, but then walked back and forth the front of her skiff, looking at each of the ponies. She noticed that they were all in some kind of brown uniform which was scruffy and dirty. There were six ponies; three stallions and three mares. All of them looked as if they had been in conflict; there were scars and bandaged parts of their bodies. One of which was a Pegasus, who had her wings wrapped up. Tempest had a look deep into her frightened eyes and grinned.

"You all seem to be doing your job," she said, looking back at the cargo on their shuttle, "and you have a permit to transport goods? As in a permit that is officially approved by the Storm King himself?"

The stallion pulled out their delivery papers and presented them to Tempest, who looked very carefully at them. She then handed them over.

"Everything seems to be in order; I apologise for my quick arrival."

Tempest began to turn away and return to her skiff. The crew returned to their shuttle and started to leave. After their departure, Tempest continued on her way through the fog that was engulfing her surroundings at full speed. 

Then, Tempest was interrupted by a call coming from someone who she knew very well and wouldn't be too happy to hear what had happened. Tempest pressed the answer button and listened away to the caller on the other end.

"Is that you, Tempest?" the voice at the other end asked. Tempest sighed.

"Yes, it's me, your Excellency," Tempest replied back, "is everything okay?" There was a loud cough that replied back to Tempest's question.

"I want to know where are you?! Aren't you meant to be gathering my army to help invade Canterlot?"

"I'm in the middle of nowhere at the moment. I'll shortly be arriving at the next checkpoint soon. Your army is fifty miles away from the city, awaiting my orders to invade. I'm expected to arrive by nightfall. I'm apologise, but due to certain circumstances involving some civilians getting in the way, I've been pushed behind. Everything is ready for the invasion."

"Good, Tempest. I expect this and more from you. I'll see you after the invasion."

The communication switched off and went silent. Immediately afterwards, Tempest turned the skiff around in the air and went back in the opposite direction. Tempest drove the skiff back to where the shuttle was still stationary and continued driving towards it. The captain gasped and started the engines.

"Everypony, all stations! Quickly! Hurry! We need to get this thing moving before-"

Just when the stallion was about to finish his sentence, Tempest's skiff crashed straight into shuttle without slowing down, making it explode into lots of different pieces of material. Tempest ignored the impact and continued towards Canterlot at great speed, before chuckling to herself quite peacefully.

"Silly little ponies."