The hold of the ship was bare, dark, cavernous, and still, apart from the occasional creak of timber or wash of late evening breeze outside. Which was surprising, to say the least. Half an hour ago there had been a small army imprisoned within it.
A sudden tramping of hooves shook the deck above, accompanied by swift orders. A rattling of cord in locks, and the main hold door was hauled up and dragged aside.
A ladder-ramp was carefully lowered into place. Watchfully, a pair of gold-armored unicorns from Celestia's Royal Guard descended and took up station, lighting the space around the base of the ramp with the gleam of their horns. Following them were two dragon-winged, glowing-eyed nightmares from Luna's Night Guard, who flapped overhead, their gleaming gaze sweeping the shadowy chamber.
A moment's tense silence followed.
WHUMP. A pony dropped straight through the hold door, landing foursquare on the deck: a tall, maroon-coated unicorn with large, heavily-lashed blue eyes. Her berry-red mane and tail were styled in warrior plumes, her horn was a broken stump. She had a scar running across one eyelid. And her face was set in an intimidating scowl.
Noting the irritated glares from the guards around her, she smirked.
"Don't get jumpy, boys."
Glancing about appraisingly, she nodded, and then looked up through the hold door. "It's empty. You can come down, Your Highness!"
More cautiously, a lavender alicorn trotted down the ramp. "Are you always like that, Tempest?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "Just dive in, hooves first?"
"I find surprise generally works in my favor, Princess."
"Twilight, please? I'm only called 'Princess' by ponies who want something."
Tempest leaned closer. "I'd oblige you," she whispered, "but given who's waiting for us up there, I feel like I need to be on my best behavior!"
"You'll be fine," Twilight reassured her. "Now... where the hay did all those Storm soldiers disappear to? Any ideas?"
Tempest Shadow shook her head. "The Storm King gave me all the authority I wanted, but he kept most of his secrets to himself. Didn't want me distracted by details. Or so he said." She snorted. "If we're going to find anything, it'll be in his cabin up front."
A regal voice called down from the deck above. "Everything all right down there, Twilight?"
"All quiet, Your Highness!" Twilight called back.
Tempest glanced at her. "Now who's being needlessly formal?"
"She's my mentor. I'm allowed." Twilight turned to call up through the hold door again. "We're going to head forward, see what we can find!"
A lime-crested avian head poked down through the hatch. Captain Celaeno glanced about, reassuring herself of the hold's safety. "All right if I tag along? Purely out of curiosity?"
"Absolutely, Captain," Twilight said, smiling. "The more the merrier!"
Gripping the edge of the hold door with a claw, Celaeno swung down. Her emerald peg-leg thunked loudly on the deck as she swept her pirate's hat back onto her head and drew a small dagger, all in one smooth movement.
She exchanged a brief glance with Tempest, the two of them silently acknowledging they had unfinished business. Then Celaeno smiled breezily and faced forward again, nudging her hat to a more rakish angle.
Tempest eyed her a moment longer, then shrugged. There'd be time enough to sort things out.
Twilight led the way over to the forward companionway doors. "I'm glad you decided to stick around, Captain," she said. "I wish Capper hadn't left so soon after the party. I never got a chance to thank him properly for all his help!"
"I wish I knew where Grubber disappeared to," Tempest said. "But I can't say I blame him... probably didn't feel like hanging around to face the music after the Storm King fell."
Twilight swiftly undid the magic lock on the doors. And then, with the Royal Guard ponies in the lead and the nightmares bringing up the rear, the party moved through and along the ship's main corridor.
They carefully searched each of the storerooms and cabins along the way. All were empty, apart from basic furnishings, mere living space with little attempt at decoration.
The captain's cabin at the end of the corridor was another matter entirely. The doors were solid, intricately-carved oak. The knobs gleamed with gold. Even the wood of the deck was of a distinctly higher quality.
"He liked everyone to know who was in charge," Tempest said dryly. She suddenly rapped a hoof on the deck. "Hold up!"
The guards paused and looked back.
"He was also a self-styled comedian," Tempest went on, "with a mean streak. The door's likely booby-trapped."
The guards glanced at each other, then glared doubtfully at her.
Tempest sighed. "Fine. Don't believe me. See if I care!"
With a side-sweep of a forehoof, she caught a burnt-out lantern hanging on the corridor wall, sending it into the air. Then, almost too fast to see, she swiped viciously forward, sending the lantern whistling between the guards to shatter on the deck right in front of the doors.
And the entire space in front of the doors was briefly limned in arcing, sizzling bolts of dancing electric energy.
It died away quickly enough, but the point had been made. Tempest nodded smugly. "It'll be safe now. The Storm King didn't believe in backups. If the first trap could fail, it wasn't good enough, was his view."
The guards carefully brushed aside the glass fragments, then cautiously opened the doors and peered inside. Then they led the way in. Tempest followed, and then Twilight and Celaeno. Behind them, the nightmares turned about and took up station outside, silent and watchful.
Inside, they found an opulent captain's cabin with a grand oak desk, a chart-table, an elegant four-poster bed with a candelabra reading-light, and several large trunks. On top of one of the larger trunks there was a barrel-sized chunk of finely cut black crystal, illuminated from within by a tenuous, steadily fading glow.
And seated next to the trunk, leaning against the wall, was a single white-furred, black-masked Storm soldier. He looked half-asleep. As they approached, the mask-like face lifted, the glowing blue eyes slipped open. One arm slowly raised, as if in greeting.
The glow in the crystal flickered and went out. And so did the soldier. He was suddenly not there.
Startled, Twilight trotted cautiously forward, reaching out a forehoof to gently tap the crystal. "Okay..." she said. "Now we know why the Storm King was so into old relics... and the magic to power them!"
"And why he never left garrisons behind," Tempest said, equally surprised. "Just tweaked the existing power-structure and moved on... otherwise everyone would have known his army was an illusion. Projected by this!" She jabbed a forehoof at the crystal.
Twilight nodded. "It must also be why he was on such a tight timetable." She peered into the crystal's black depths. "He had to charge up the Staff of Sacanas and gain its power, before the store of magic powering his army ran out."
Tempest shut her eyes, shook her head. "That's just so him. Building up an entire empire based on nothing but intimidation... and lies!" Her voice grated; the stump of her horn crackled dangerously.
"We'll move this to the Archive," Twilight said gently, "along with any other relics we find. They'll be out of harm's way there, trust me!"
Tempest forced herself to calm down, and nodded. "Good plan, Princess." She looked around the cabin. "And as long as we're here... let's just see what else my lord and master was hiding from me!"
She trotted across to the other side of the room, to the leftmost of three heavy trunks set side-by-side. With a swat of a hoof she threw the lid open. Inside, the trunk was filled to the brim with treasure: glittering bits and gemstones, pearls and gold jewelry, even a gem-encrusted crown or two.
"Hmph. Pretty flashy!" Tempest tilted her head with a puzzled expression. "Not really his style. He tended to operate on a leveraged shoestring."
The next trunk, when she opened it, held a pile of weaponry: swords, daggers, axes, slings, and other implements of professional disagreement.
Celaeno whistled. "I've seen crates packed like that before..." she said, peering over Tempest's shoulder. "... when I was running weapons!" She glanced around self-consciously. "Er... former life, you understand?"
Twilight smiled reassuringly. "We're not judging you, Captain. But are you saying this might have been an arms shipment?"
The parrot captain shook her head. "More like appeasement. For Klugetown, probably Verko. A carrot... just in case it took the Storm King a while to get his mitts on the stick to go with it."
Tempest looked over at the third trunk. "So... what's in here?" She flung open its lid.
Her breath caught.
The trunk was filled with horns. Of all shapes and sizes, a pile of curved, ridged, and edged ivory, filling the trunk to overflowing. Thankfully most of them appeared to be cast-off animal bone, or fossils taken from some museum. But there were a few that were a little too straight, a little too smoothly spiraled, a little too... well maintained.
Twilight gasped at the sight. "Who," she asked, tensely, "would want something like that?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Having explained the vanished army, and finding nothing else of substance in the rest of the forward compartments, the party returned to the hold and then climbed back up onto the main deck, emerging into the cool, starlit air. Waiting for them on the deck were the tall, regal Princesses, Celestia and Luna, surrounded by more of their respective guard ponies.
Tempest let Twilight lead the way, and carefully avoided meeting the quietly stern gaze of the Princesses. She felt distinctly in excess of requirements as she listened to Twilight summarizing what they'd found.
"That is disturbing," Celestia finally said. "Very well, Twilight. Once the rest of the ships have been thoroughly searched, we will give orders for the relic you found to be moved to the Archives, as well as any other items that seem to be of importance." She glanced around at the battered airship, and the others like it still hanging in the night sky over Canterlot. "And then I very much think we should have these monstrosities dismantled and scrapped. It will help with the healing process for our subjects."
"Ah, excuse me? Your Highness?"
"Yes, Captain Celaeno?" Celestia raised an eyebrow at the parrot. Celaeno had removed her pirate's hat, and she held it in her claws as she went on one knee before the Princess.
"Do you think Your Majesty might be persuaded to avoid scrapping, let's say... that ship over there?" Celaeno pointed to the airship parked a stone's throw away to the left.
"Of course, Captain! Any particular reason?"
There was a sharp whistle from the other ship.
Celaeno leapt to her feet and swept the hat onto her head with a proud smile. "Because my scurvy crew and I have just commandeered her!"
From over the top of the other ship's balloon an arrow flew, trailing a rope behind it. It arced down and thunked into the railing. Leaping to it, Celaeno grabbed the rope and swiped at the end with her dagger, cutting it cleanly. With a cheery wave, she swung across to the other ship.
On board, a lantern had been lit to guide her in. In its glow the heavy-set parrot Boyle was visible at the helm, turning the ship about towards the west. A rousing cheer went up from the other pirates, still emerging from their hiding places, as Captain Celaeno landed neatly on the foredeck and smoothly took over the wheel.
The Royal Guard hurried to the railing, as did Luna's nightmares, waiting tensely for the word of command to go after the rapidly departing airship.
But Celestia merely looked on with a knowing smile. Then she turned to Luna.
"I think we shall put that one down as... on extended loan, perhaps? Do you concur, Sister?"
"Well put," Luna nodded. "And we concur, Sister."
"And unless anyone else feels like borrowing an airship," Celestia went on, "we'll continue with our plans for the rest of them. Twilight, could you let us have your usual written report, as soon as it's convenient?"
"Of course, Princess!"
Nodding to her, Celestia turned away without another word. Accompanied by Luna, she crossed back over the improvised gangway leading to the celebration area in front of the palace.
The guard ponies, with a few dark glances at Tempest, all trotted or flew after their respective Princesses.
Leaving Tempest standing unguarded next to Twilight, and feeling very confused.
"So... what happens to me, now?"
Twilight smiled reassuringly at her. "If you've no other plans, why don't you come back to Ponyville with me? We can put you up at the castle while you're finding your hooves here."
"You really don't have to put yourself out like that, Princess."
"Ahem... Princess of Friendship?" Twilight reminded her. "It's kinda what I do!"