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// 46 Divine punishment and mispronunciation 
// Story: Knowledge Brings Change 
// by hydra30 
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Tempest Shadow's mind seemed to swallow itself within a metaphorical vortex that was just as chaotic as the vortex that the tentacles in the sky had emerged from. The eye. The eye that had emerged among the writhing mass. It was hideous, a yellow one would associate with either death or rot, and a pupil that appeared just as gelatinous as the tentacles, and more resembling two pupils revoltingly bridged together.

Tempest Shadow, a pony who had done countless vile deeds, in the name of her liege the Storm King, who had watched countless kingdoms either bend to the Storm King's thrall, or burn it as comeuppance for defiance, was frozen in place as she stared into this inexplicable eye, it in turn focused on her, its gaze seeming to draw her very soul to it.

"HUUUUURRRRLLLK!"

That is until a slathering, gurgling roar tore through the air, the wet sound stunning Tempest Shadow just enough to snap out of her stupor and into her own body. And when she saw what she did next, that's when it truly dawned on her that she should have heeded the warning of her fellow ponies to not draw this creature's ire. She thought she had felt unbridled terror when Hermaeus Mora first appeared, now she realized that was only a taste of the kind of terror he was capable of inflicting.

Uncountable numbers of those enigmatic vortices were opening amongst the other airships that had been inbound for Canterlot, but had halted in place; for their crews were probably had been just as taken by Hermaeus Mora's arrival as Tempest had been, and they weren't just appearing skyward either. They appeared from below the airships and from the sides, as well as from behind, some bigger or smaller than others.

Tendrils then emerged from these vortex's as well, but unlike the first time, these didn't casually slither forth somewhat gracefully. They shot out like striking Quarray Eels, and when they made contact with the metal hulls of the ships... they punched right through them like tissue paper. The sound of tearing metal ripped through the air as Hermaeus Mora's tendrils skewered several ships, great sounds of gushing air joining the cacophony whenever the mighty balloons that kept the vessels aloft were punctured.

But that wasn't the only noise to be heard.

The numerous yeti soldiers that had been aboard all screamed in horror, their grunt voices echoing throughout the landscape as their ships were assaulted from all sides by inky black tendrils. Embedding themselves in the ships was only the first move from these horrific appendages. When they got a good grip, several of the tendrils pulled at a vessel in different directions, and, with more sounds of ripping metal, several airships were rent asunder. Debris and yeti crew alike rained down into the valley below, trees either rustling or being broken entirely when pieces of airship or the yeti that once crewed them impacted them, or the ground below.

But this wasn't the only variety of Hermaeus Mora's wrath.

Several of the tendrils, rather then rending a ship apart, flung them around, twirling them through the air like tether balls before forcibly impacting them against something, either the ground, the side of the mountain (causing Canterlot to shake violently each time,) or even against other airships. Soon enough, the valley below became strewn with the wreckage of what had once been a mighty armada, the countless bodies of their yeti crews lying limp nearby, individually, or in heaps, either dead on impact or impaled upon the debris of their own ships.

Strangely enough, Canterlot was relatively undamaged throughout the afair.

Tempest Shadow had been horrified into paralysis when Hermaeus Mora first arrived and she believed she could not be more terrified upon first glance of him, but she was once again proven to be mistaken after being introduced to his wrath in person. He was destroying her forces viciously and without a shred of mercy, her airships falling out of the sky like flies, and all under his personal volition. Yes, Tempest knew Hermaeus Mora was doing all of this all on his own. Something within Tempest, something almost primal, told her that these tendrils protruding from the multiple hovering vortexes weren't a multitude of other creatures that were similar to whatever Hermaeus Mora is, but part of one whole entity.

Somehow, Hermaeus Mora was capable of being in multiple places at once... omnipresent.

It was here that Tempest had a revelation that returned feeling to her numb legs. If such a creature exists here in Equestria now, and crushed her forces so effortlessly, then that meant conquest of Equestria and the subjugation of the Princesses was nigh on impossible. What hope could she, or even her boss, the Storm King, possibly have against such a being?

Nothing. That's what they could do. Nothing.

Tempest was prideful, arrogant, and self-righteous, but she was by no means a fool. Even she realized, begrudgingly, that her cause was lost. But she dared not retreat just yet. She needed something... anything to bring back to the Storm King, other than the report of her failure, even just a legion of yeti survivors. Not only would it still prove her worth as a general (for who could do better in such a situation then bring back even a few survivors) but she would need witnesses for what transpired. The Storm King wasn't known for his forgiveness or understanding, and failure was never tolerated, not even from a high ranking subordinate like her. Hopefully she could convince him to seek plunder elsewhere, for his own sake and hers and leave Equestria alone.

After all, she couldn't get her promised boon from him if he was dead.

 Looking up, she noticed that practically all of her fleet had been annihilated, with only a scant scattering of ships that had managed to avoid getting ensnared by the writhing, inky tendrils.  If she could not but get to a few of them, she could have them board her own vessel and hopefully they could make a break for it. Her own ship would be difficult to crew with just herself and Grubber remaining of the ground forces at first, but hopefully they could pull it off.

"Grubber!" she shouted, trying to force as much of her terror down as possible and attempting to substitute her normal commanding tone.

Grubber, who had possibly been more transfixed than Tempest had been as he watched the yetis and the airships being slaughtered by what could only be described as the embodiment of both terror and evil, snapped out of his own stupor and turned to her, trying to stand at attention, but his stance was constantly interrupted by tremors of fear that occasionally coursed through his body. "Y...yes, boss-lady, ma'am?"

"We're retreating," said Tempest. Grubber tried to suppress a sigh of relief at her words, for he doubted she would take kindly to him suggesting he supported the notion of running away. "But we need to get to at least one of those airships before we leave."

"Wait wait wait!" he declared, a look of unbridled fear and disbelief crossing his face as he looked back up at the slaughter happening above. "You're not... thinking of going in that, are you?"

Tempest gave him a dirty look. "You want to explain to the Storm King why we returned without even a fraction of his forces?"

Any fear Grubber had towards this omnipotent being destroying all their comrades disappeared in an instant. Grubber was usually introduced to the Storm King's wrath on a regular basis back home, usually whenever he stole some treats that the Storm King had been saving (he just couldn't help himself) but that was just treats. What would his majesty do to them after this fiasco?

Especially if they returned with practically nothing?

"I'll weigh anchor... somehow," said Grubber with no more protest.

But their situation only got worse when they finally turned to board the vessel that had carried them there, only to find nothing but open air and the destruction the craft had wrought on the plateau upon landing. Tempest and Grubber balked in disbelief, looking around for their craft, only finally locating it after a few moments. Or the stern of it, at least. Apparently, while the chaos had been unfolding, Hermaeus Mora had claimed his prize, drawing Tempest's ship into his original portal, which swiftly closed as it vanished from sight into its depths.

"What... what do we do now?" asked Grubber, shaking in fear.

Tempest had nothing to say. Without the airship, the only other options were to either retreat on foot... or surrender. But Tempest would rather face these tendrils than allow herself to be subjugated to Equestrian law. She may realize that the situation was unwinnable, but she wasn't about to give up on her endeavor to restore her horn yet, something that would never happen if she was either imprisoned or struck down. There were other kingdoms to conquer, more sources of powerful magic to seek.

Looking up at her once mighty armada, now a scattering of either wrecked or falling airships, Tempest made the decision to make a tactical retreat on hoof, alone if necessary. But it was here that she noticed something peculiar. Hermaeus Mora wasn't destroying the airships directly above, which explained why no debris had hit Canterlot yet. Instead they were being held in place by tendrils and their crews were being plucked off one by one. Tempest watched in absolute horror as each yeti extracted from an airship was held aloft in the air as a final tendril plunged into their heads and began undulating, the yeti's grunted screaming a clear sign of the agonizing results.

Tempest didn't know what Hermaeus Mora was doing to them, but noticed that one of the airships still had a sizable crew, and were it to descend, it would make landfall upon the plateau. A plan forming in her mind, Tempest ignited her fractured horn.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Grubber questioned fearfully, the sparks of Tempest's magic dancing in his eyes. "Last time you did that, this happened!"

But Tempest either didn't hear Grubber's words, or didn't intend to heed them, for she fired off her spell, the multicolored lightning bolt ascending into the sky at a fast pace. But it didn't impact Hermaeus Mora this time, no, this time it struck the only airship that still housed surviving yetis, puncturing the balloon. With a loud hiss, the balloon deflated, the entire craft actually slipping between Hermaeus Mora's tendrils as the width decreased with the air being let out. As Tempest predicted, it fell to the plateau with a mighty crash, directly before Tempest and Grubber. Instantly, as if not even jostled by the crash, the yetis disembarked, scrambling over each other to escape the now derelict craft. 

"ALL OF YOU, WE'RE RETREATING!" Tempest commanded the small legion that remained of her yeti, who, upon comprehending the order, immediately abandoned any sense of panic and took up formation and made for her.

With that done, Tempest made for the depths of Canterlot, accompanied only by Grubber and a few dozen yetis. Hopefully she could slip through the wilderness of Equestria and make for the Storm King's kingdom, and pray he'd be merciful.

"DO YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE?!"

Before Tempest and her party had made it too far into one of Canterlot's many pristine streets a massive orb of gelatinous material similar in composition to Hermaeus Mora's tendrils sprang from the ground before them, causing all of them to stop in their tracks before the pulsating mass. Before they could comprehend what was going on, the whole thing suddenly exploded in a shower of black gunk, a great mist spreading over the area momentarily before swiftly dissipating. And now Tempest found their path to safety blocked by an opposing horde, this time consisting of hulking beings even larger than the yetis, covered in scales and fins.

Followers of Hermaeus Mora would recognize those creatures as Lurkers.

The Lurkers tilted their heads to the sky, letting out animalistic roars, multiple black tendrils extending towards the sky from their mouths. Then they charged.

Tempest was once again thrown into a stupor as the Lurkers drew near, their pounding footfalls like miniature earthquakes, which swiftly grew more violent as they approached. First the sky was filled with tendrils which completely destroyed her armada, now there were these creatures, clearly at Hermaeus Mora's beck and call. Not only was he some sort of omnipotent entity, but he also commanded an army of his own? Just what had she walked into this time?

There was no time to do anything other then meet the approaching horde head on, and when the yetis and the Lurkers clashed it quickly became obvious who possessed superior combat abilities. The yetis, if they weren't outright trampled, were either tossed or kicked away, or wound up on the receiving end of the barrage of tendrils that either protruded from their opponents mouth, or sprung from the ground when they stomped. The only upside was that, unlike the tendrils that ravaged the airship, these creatures could apparently be wounded. The yetis javelins pierced their scaly hide, though with extreme effort.

This fact, however, was of little comfort, for the Lurkers didn't go down easily and even if a yeti was successful in downing their opponent they were swiftly overwhelmed by another. The only one who seemed to be having a margin of success was Tempest, her chaotic magic able to dispatch a Lurker relatively easier than any methods available to her comrades, but not by much. It was during this that Tempest decided to forgo any sense of responsibility and save herself, directing her focus primarily on carving a path to safety for herself alone.

With effort that left her panting, Tempest eventually emerged from the skirmish and made for the outskirts of the city, leaving her comrades to their fate.

"Boss! No! Don't leave me behind!" Tempest Shadow looked over her shoulder to see that Grubber had managed to dislodge himself from the battle as well, most likely due to his diminutive stature. While holding no personal interest for his well being, Tempest waited for him to catch up. After all, he could still speak out in her defense once they made it back to the Storm King.

"Don't fall behind," she warned as Grubber fell in step beside her, both making for the exit of Canterlot, leaving the yetis to the mercy of the Lurkers.

---

Back at the plateau, everypony was doing their best to remain calm under the protection of Shining Armor's forcefield, but it was proving exceedingly difficult. The savagery with which Hermaeus Mora wiped out the airships was something completely unprecedented in Equestria, yet none of them could look away from the unbridled destruction. The brutal savagery of it all just drew their attention almost like a moth to a flame. The only one who observed it all without a look of perplexion and fear was Pinkie Pie, who sat on her tail, bouncing excitedly and munching popcorn.

After all, it was kinda like a movie or a video game... only, actually happening.

Not far away from the dome of magic being projected by Shining Armor a yeti stirred. At first glance it would seem like the yeti had been spared being a fatality like so many of its brethren, but it was soon revealed that the source of the movement was the result of a tiny form that had been pinned underneath it. Spike emerged from under the yeti, crawling out from under its back and heaving a sigh as he took in a breath of fresh air. During the initial skirmish Spike had fought alongside his friends, but had been unfortunate enough to be behind a yeti that was to be felled by one of his pony companions, which then proceeded to topple backwards onto him, the impact and the girth of the creature rendering him unconscious.

It was only a short time ago that Spike had regained his senses, finding himself under the corpse of one of these things, and proceeded to extract himself from under it. But Spike didn't see the devastation Hermaeus Mora had wrought on Tempest's forces, nor the bubble of magic his friends were taking refuge under. No, from his vantage point he saw the horde of Lurkers tearing into a legion of yeti. He briefly wondered when Hermaeus Mora had gotten his towering fish-creatures involved but quickly lost all desire to focus on anything as he saw Tempest and that little creature that had spoken into that contraption extract themselves from the battle and take off, obviously trying to escape.

"Oh, I don't think so!" seethed Spike in his mind, crawling all the way out from under the motionless yeti and cracking his claws, an image of that pony signaling for that javelin barrage appearing in his mind, the memory making his dragon blood boil. "She's not getting away, not after what she did to Twilight!"

'MUL QAH DIIV'

Spike was soon enveloped in the orange and blue aura of the Dragon Aspect Thu'um, the vague image of the Dovah of Nirn appearing around him, including a luminous set of wings on which he quickly took flight on.

---

Tempest Shadow had no prior reference to the layout of Canterlot other than their aerial view upon approach and hoped she was going the right direction.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The sudden voice drew both Tempest and Grubber's attention upwards, where they spotted the little purple dragon that had been with the ponies flying above. They gawked at his appearance, for he now had an aura surrounding him, some of which formed a set of, apparently, fully functional wings. But Tempest quickly shook off her surprise and fired a bolt of magic at him.

The impact knocked Spike off kilter, but he quickly reoriented himself in midair. His Dragon Aspect had protected him from being harmed, but the actions of his quarry proceeded to anger him further. Spike puffed in aggravation and rage as he took off after Tempest once more. He angled himself above her, drawing a Thu'um to the back of his throat that he was sure would incapacitate her long enough for him to apprehend her and take her back to the Princesses to face judgment for her crimes. But as he prepared to speak something within him stirred. A sort of savagery that clashed with his usually docile nature. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to mix up the ancient words in his mind. Spike spoke the words, only slightly aware of the slight itch on the nape of his neck.

'RII VAAZ ZOL'

Tempest hadn't even checked to see if her magic had been successful in throwing off their pursuer, her only focus escaping. That is until a massive sphere of blue light impacted her from above. Tempest's eyes widened, her frame suddenly wracked with immense agony as the light washed over her, and her legs locked up, sending her crashing to the ground.

Grubber, drawn to the sound of her fall, looked to see his superior had fallen, twitching and spasming, surrounded by a nimbus of blue light. "Boss! What is...!?"

His words were suddenly cut off when Tempest suddenly screamed in pain and a stream of blue light sprung from her body, extending upwards like the spray of a fountain.

Spike watched all of this unfold from above, confused at what was going on. What was happening below wasn't the effect of Unrelenting Force, the Thu'um he'd thought he had used. But then the stream of light emerged and proceeded to barrel towards him. At first Spike thought Tempest was retaliating and braced for impact, but when the light washed over him with a rushing noise he felt nothing. Spike looked himself over as the light swirled around him, wondering what was happening, and noting that it seemed to actually center on his 'pocket' he possessed among his scales. Reaching inside, Spike extracted a black crystal, which the light seemed to be flowing into. What was this thing?

Then it all occurred to him at once.

That Thu'um hadn't been Unrelenting Force. It was Soul Tear. The Thu'um that drains an opponent's life, soul traps them, then raises them as undead. How had he mixed them up? And this crystal... this... Black Soul Gem... where did it come from? He would never carry such a vile object. Then Spike remembered. When they were first allowed to explore Apocrypha, he and Rarity had found a cache of gems from Nirn, like Welkynd Stones, Sigil Stones... and Soul Gems.

Spike had been quite taken by the flavor of the latter and was stuffing himself with them before Rarity had diverted his attention to her, afterwards he had stuffed this one into his pocket for later. But he had since forgotten it was there, because he had learned the function of these things and was very appalled by them. But he had apparently had it all this time, since his time in Apocrypha and now that he had struck Tempest with Soul Tear...

"Oops!" he commented to himself, covering his mouth in horror as he looked down.

Down below, Grubber watched in horror as the stream of light flowing from Tempest suddenly ceased and she was lifted up, more blue light swirling around her body.

"Boss... you alright?" he asked as Tempest was suddenly deposited on her hooves by whatever this force was, her facial expression blank.

Tempest looked up at him, her eyes glowing blue, groaned dully...then shot a bolt of  her unstable magic at Grubber's feet.

"Hey, watch it!" Grubber protested, leaping out of the way.

Tempest only groaned again and fired off another shot, which Grubber ducked to dodge. He was usually used to this, for this sorta thing happened on occasion, due to Tempest's short temper, but something told Grubber that this time was different. This wasn't Tempest's usual reprimanding, she was genuinely out to do him serious harm. With a squeal like a frightened girl, Grubber ran off, Tempest in pursuit, groaning occasionally as she continued to fire bolts of unruly magic at Grubber.

Spike silently watched this from above, the now filled Soul Gem in his claw. Tempest was, for as long as the magic that now animated her lasted, his thrall, and would attack anyone who he deemed as an enemy, including that little creature. And she would surely kill him.

But, despite all of this, despite having just inadvertently Soul Trapped a pony and sicking her animated corpse on another; other than the initial shock at first, Spike strangely felt nothing. No shame or guilt. Maybe it was because of what that pony had done to Twilight.

Whatever the case, Spike decided to head back to the plateau to regroup with the others, hoping for Twilight's well being... as well as absentmindedly scratching his neck.

---

There was an explosion on the western side of Canterlot and two smoking interlocked figures flew out into the open air. Grubber futilely grappled with Tempest as she held onto him, her look still blank. Grubber, on the other hand, reacted properly to suddenly plummeting to the ground.

"Boss, do something!" he pleaded with Tempest as the air rushed past them.

Tempest's only response was to groan once... then she subsequently vanished in a cloud of dust. Grubber could only watch as his employer practically dissipated into nothing, but only dwelled on it for a second until he realized he was now falling alone. He screamed the entire way down before he impacted into the valley below Canterlot with the sound of a squeaking rubber duck.

That night, carrion birds would gorge themselves on Grubber's obese corpse until nothing was left but his chubby skeleton. As for Tempest...her ashes would blow in the wind of Equestria for all eternity, no one remembering who she once was, or the length she tried to go to achieve her goal.