A Rather Large Adventure

by BradyBunch

Chapter Seventy-seven: Stormkeeper, Part 1

The journey to the coast would have ordinarily taken the ponies another three days. But in the wheeled tank, it only took them less than one.

Fluttershy had managed to heal most of the other's minor wounds. Noble Blade was still getting used to the notion of having a leg that wasn't originally his, but otherwise was doing fine. She had offered to use her ability on Freedom Fighter as well, but he declined, saying having a mechanical arm was useful. Besides, if his own regenerative Element couldn't bring back his arm, it wasn't worth a try.

The inside of the tank was cramped and filthy. It was designed with Noxxa in mind, not ponies. They slept in small recesses in the wall or under a bench if they wanted to rest. Applejack and Spike drove the vehicle, mainly because Applejack was good with mechanics and Spike had very dexterous fingers to work the controls. He wasn't very machine-oriented, though. The first time they had tried to start, they ended up going in reverse for a quarter of a mile before Applejack managed to locate the proper controls. And because he was small, Spike needed awkward blocks tied to his feet to reach the pedals, hampering his control. But he was nevertheless excited to drive, and with the other's help, he did it well enough to reach the edge of a small fishing village on the coastline by evening.

As the tank finally rolled to a creaky stop, the ponies piled out and stretched gratefully. The green grass had never looked more lovely than when they had been surrounded by ugly, smelly steel for hours.

When Spike hopped out of the driver’s hatch, he rotated his shoulders. “Oh, boy. That was an experience.”

“Oooh!” came a squeal as Rarity suddenly rushed up to him and hugged him tight, twirling in place with his head beside hers. “Oh, my Spikey-wikey’s all grown up! Who can drive an enemy tank? You can!”

“Gee, I-I dunno!” Spike stammered, thoroughly red in the face and trying to push away. “I just had fingers. I’m not-”

“And you’ve grown so tall! I don’t remember you ever being taller than my shoulder height!”

Spike gestured down with a finger, and Rarity followed. There were still the awkward wood blocks tied to the bottom of his feet. Rarity’s mouth formed a tight “o” before she cleared her throat and began to untie them. “Yes, well, that can explain quite a bit.”

“I don’t mind,” Spike replied. “Now you don’t have to lean down when I do this.”

And he gave her a smooch on the lips.

“Oop!” she chirped, then giggled. “And you’re only going to get taller from here on out! I cannot wait!”

She returned his favor with another smooch on his lips, her hooves on his shoulders. Then, almost instinctively, their heads turned at the same time.

Freedom Fighter, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Starlight, and Applejack all basically had the same expression upon seeing them together like that. It looked like somepony had smacked them in the face simultaneously.

Applejack pointed a limp hoof at them, keeping her look of shock. “Somepony musta been puttin’ something inta my food, ‘cause I coulda sworn that was Spike and Rarity K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Oh. My. Gosh,” Rainbow squeaked, pushing her hooves into her cheeks in a rare display of adorableness. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, he really did it!”

“Is it true?” Fluttershy asked her close friend. “You and Spike… when did it begin?”

“It’s a, um, recent development,” Rarity explained, setting her hooves back on the ground. Spike removed the wood on his feet so he was his usual height.

“You can say that again,” Freedom Fighter commented quietly.

“It’s a recent development,” Spike said, tossing the blocks aside.

“Look, I didn’t mean it!” Freedom replied, waving a hoof.

“I’m so proud of you, Spike!” Twilight congratulated him, stooping down and ruffling his soft spines. “You’re growing up so fast! It only seems like a few weeks ago when it was still just an unrealized crush.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Rainbow asked, giving him a gentle elbow. “You shoulda done this a long time ago! I learned that lesson myself.”

Noble Blade, supported by Firestorm, followed out of the tank. Noble was still getting used to his legs, but his walking was already steady and familiar. Both paused when they saw what was happening, though. “Should I be concerned?” Firestorm spoke up.

“Um, Rarity and Spike-” Freedom Fighter started, shifting his eyes to the side.

“OH, IT WAS TERRIBLE! They were eating each other’s faces!” Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hooves up.

“I believe the term is kissing, Pinkie,” Noble spoke up. “Although it's a very vivid image. Well done, Spike! Well done. I always knew you had it in you.”

“HA!” came the triumphant roar from the orange pegasus, shooting into the air with a victorious expression. “Ha ha! Oh, a glorious day this is! He got a girlfriend before you did, Freedom!” Firestorm teased, knocking Freedom Fighter on the head with a hoof. “You might want to get on that soon. You’re a total lady killer!”

“He’s more like an everything-killer,” Spike commented. He quickly waved a hand. “No offense.”

“I’ve had worse,” Freedom brushed aside negligently.

“Sure, but mares love a mysterious stallion!” Firestorm pushed on, rolling his eyes. “All dark and brooding, a sad backstory, scarred, powerful, tall, dark and really handsome…”

“Are you actually finding him attractive?” Rarity asked him with a sly, wicked smile.

“What?!” he exclaimed, dropping to earth like a stone. “No! No, what’re you… what are you, gay? Of course I’m not gay! That’d be… gay...”

“Don’t try to hide it any longer,” Noble urged him, giving him a nudge. “Your absurd humor reveals more than your mouth ever could!”

“Then why did I hit on mares all the time?” he demanded, shoving Noble’s hoof away. “Why do I have a cute girlfriend?"

"I'm not cute!" Rainbow protested, flipping her mane. "I'm hot. There's a difference."

"Use whatever word you want. Doesn't change the fact that I want to kiss you into oblivion. Anyway, if I wanted a dude, I'd've done so already.”

“With who?” Applejack put in. “There’s one stallion per dozen mares or something in Ponyville. That’s another thing. Why in the heck are there so many gals?”

“You could be into both,” Spike suggested, giving a grin. “That way everypony’s fair game.”

“I… don’t you d… I will fire-breathe your face off.”

“Nah. You can’t do it.”

Firestorm paused for a second before chuckling. “You’re right. I won’t. I love this guy. No homo. Fire buddies, up top!”

He and Spike gave each other a fist/hoof bump.

Spike pointed at him. “You do realize I could have sliced your hoof in half, right?”

“Guys, guys, I think we all know who would win here,” Freedom Fighter said, holding up his mechanical arm.

“Win? Psst. Try to at least score with a lady first and then we’ll talk.”

Freedom Fighter rolled his eyes over-casually to the side, locking them with Twilight. They both had the same thought. “Yeah, about that…” he hissed.

“What… do you mean?” Starlight asked suspiciously.

“Daaa, da, da daaaa,” Pinkie sang, imitating the universal bridal theme right beside a suddenly-terrified Twilight. “Daa, da, da daaa…”

“Hey! No! No, that’s not--That’s not the plan--I mean--Why would you--” Twilight sputtered, until she was cut off by a sudden tap on her shoulder. She whirled around to reveal Freedom Fighter, who then held Twilight underneath the chin and leaned in, making her flare red and stammer out a few feeble protests.

They were cut off by his firm kiss, and her indignancy turned into a content hum. Freedom Fighter kept it for a few seconds before pulling away, where Twilight, at a loss for words, simply ruffled his hair in feigned frustration until it got into his eyes. Freedom Fighter retaliated by ruffling her own mane into a puffy mess. Both of them were laughing as they did so.

With a sound akin to a cracking windowpane, Firestorm froze with an expression of pure disbelief tinged with horror. His eyes, with tiny pupils, had bulged out of their sockets, and every inch of his face was deeply etched as his mouth hung open.

Noble Blade, a bit concerned, waved a hoof in front of him. “Are you all right?”

Unsupported, Firestorm fell on his face like a wooden board and fainted, startling Noble.

“OH MY GOSH!” Rainbow squeed, kicking her legs in midair. “TWILIGHT! YOU’VE GONE WILD!”

“HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?” Rarity demanded, eyes alight with wonder. “Oh, what drama! What a conspiratorial act! Spike, catch me.” She followed Firestorm’s example and swooned, with Spike barely catching her before she hit the ground.

"Yeah," Starlight agreed, giving Twilight a playful punch on the shoulder and giving a sly smirk. "How long have you been like this, wily Twily?"

“Ever since the train from Appleoosa,” Twilight answered. “He just… clicked. What’s not to love?” And she nuzzled him under his chin.

“Argh, it hurts. My poor dead, cold heart,” Freedom Fighter fake-bemoaned; he was openly grinning as he ran his hoof of flesh through her mane and straightened it out into her usual bangs. “Careful, you might actually warm it up.”

"Awww!" Fluttershy sighed in delight. "You're so cute together!"

"Y'all really hit me with that outta nowhere?" Applejack asked wryly, removing her hat with a genuine smile. "Aw, shucks. Ah trust you two."

“FINALLY!” Pinkie squealed.

“What do you mean, finally?” Fluttershy asked suspiciously.

“Nnnnnnnothing,” Pinkie deflected, rolling her eyes.

It was at that time when something caught Twilight’s eye. Tempest was watching both of them from the hatch of the tank. And something was off about the look in her eye. A bitter look of regret. What was there to regret? Twilight wondered. And would Tempest ever tell? She doubted it.

Tempest finally hopped out and came over to Firestorm’s inert body. “Is he dead? He’s not acting like a buffoon as usual?”

“No,” Noble observed, sounding surprised as he tapped the side of his unmoving head. “I think he’s genuinely out. Somepony record this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

“Can I draw a mustache on him?” Pinkie Pie proposed with a hoof in the air.

“I think he’d find that a compliment more than anything,” Noble declined.

Meanwhile, Firestorm was stirring with a moan. He put a hoof to his head as he rose and flapped wobbly in the air. “I really just saw that?” he groggily asked.

“Do you want to see me do it again?” Freedom Fighter asked, coming closer to Twilight’s face.

“Uh, no, nonononono, I think I got the message,” Firestorm refused with a furious waving of his arms, settling to the ground. He was staring very intently at the ground as well, and his hoof was rubbing his temple furiously. “Gnnnghagah! Look, I need to process this. Give me a sec.”

"I never thought I'd see the day," Freedom Fighter grinned. "My natural inborn studliness has finally overwhelmed your fragile little grip on reality."

“What makes you think I even had a part in this boring reality of yours? Look, I'm happy for you and all. I really am. I’m just… not used to the idea, I guess.”

“You were the one teasing him about doing it soon!” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Well, I didn’t think he’d just grab the nearest mare and smooch her just like that!” Firestorm defended, his voice high and rising. As he said the word that, he snapped two of the feathers on his wing like fingers to emphasize it. When it happened, Firestorm cut off his thoughts and stared at his wing in utter shock.

Applejack looked giddy. “Did you just-”

“AAAAAAH!” he screamed, his face pulled in horror once again. “How on Equus?!--All right, all right, when I was a human, I couldn’t do it with the most versatile digits ever. But right here, right now, I can suddenly do it with my wings? How? How?! Tell me, wing!”

The wing didn’t explain it to him, for some reason.

“I thought so,” Firestorm sulked, sitting on his butt and folding his arms. “Out of all the growth I had… I think I’m about to snap here!”

“That’s the idea,” Fluttershy helpfully added. Firestorm gave her a sideways look, but the edges of his mouth were twitching up.

“Hurry up and let’s go, everypony,” Starlight urged. “Let’s not waste any more time here.” Starlight then looked to Twilight and jerked her head at the misshapen, alien, mechanical monster. "What do we do with it?"

Twilight knew the answer instantly. "Destroy it. I don't want someone coming across this randomly."

Twilight enveloped the entire tank in a violet aura, calling upon her Element for aid. At first, it was beyond herculean to lift it, but as the Element lended her aid, the steel monster was lifted into the air like a feather in a wind.

Starlight built up a heavy ball of energy on the tip of her horn, straining enough to break a bead of sweat, and finally released a blast strong enough to punch a hole through the floating tank like a toothpick through a melon cube. It must have hit the gunpowder reserves or an engine, because it almost immediately afterwards exploded in a ball of fiery light that sent heat radiating their way and made them flinch. The flaming, hollow wreckage then crashed to earth with a smaller explosion and lay in a mangled, fiery heap.

"Aww," Firestorm complained, illuminated by the fire. "I wanted to help blow it up…"

"You'll get your chance if we run into a catapult or something," Starlight assured him.

"How did it feel blowing that up?"

Starlight shrugged. "Kinda satisfying. Enemy troops are one thing. The enemy's weapons are another."

"I can teach you all about destroying stuff, you know. Blowing things up is cool."

"This is how we know boys are different from girls," Rarity wryly offered.

Pinkie slowly raised her hoof, her eyes looking down at her Element.

"You don't count, Pinkie." And after a glance: "Or you, Tempest. Or Rainbow, or--you know what?" She cut herself short and sighed.

The ponies made their way down the hill and into the fishing town. There weren't any of the newest commodities around, so most of the houses were made of wood and tile, if not thatch, and there wasn't even a hotel, restaurant, or casino like other seaside attractions. It reminded them startlingly of Maretania, only more recently abandoned.

"You think they fled to the capital?" Applejack wondered aloud as they walked.

"I sure hope they did," Fluttershy said, concerned for their well-being as Fluttershy always was.

The streets were moldy and narrow when they got to the docks some way down on the coast. Wooden boats and small yachts awaited them there, bouncing gently in the small waves, their masters having abandoned them. Ropes also reached way up into the darkening, cloudy sky, obviously being tethered to airships far above.

"Who do you think's decided to park here?" Rarity wondered. "Nopony rich enough to own an airship would dock at a place like this unless he had no other choice."

Twilight squinted up, trying to see through the thick cloud cover. Something was off. It was like a tingle on the back of her neck before a strike of lightning.

"Well, between an airship and a rickety old boat, I'm all for asking the guy who owns it," Rainbow put in.

The silhouette of the airship above the clouds began to grow darker as it descended with a deep groan. Twilight felt her heart sink and her bones shiver at the ominous noise.

"Did they notice us coming?" Pinkie hesitantly asked.

"They must have seen the explosion of the tank!" Freedom Fighter realized. He quickly snapped off a combat baton and ignited it in a bright yellow glow. "If they mean trouble…"

"I think they do," Starlight whispered. She ignited her horn, which was the cue for most others to ready themselves for combat. "Stay close, all of you."

But before she could say much more than that, there came a rumble of thunder from the ship, and a flash of light that outshone the noonday sun. Streams of arcing white lightning shot from the sides of the ship and entered their bodies at the speed of light.

It all happened so sudden. Hundreds of thousands of volts ran up their entire bodies, shocking most of them into unconsciousness immediately.

It left Twilight wondering, as her vision faded to black, just what on Equus happened...

---

Tempest's eyes were weary, but she groggily blinked and opened them fully. There was something crusty in the corner of them, and her legs felt heavy. She was lying down on her stomach, all stretched out. It was all she could do to look up.

To her horrified astonishment, the Storm King was grinning at her, crouching down to leer like a predator.

"You have a nice nap?" he asked, almost casually.

Behind him was an entire escort of the Storm King's guards, fully armored and armed. And bound and gagged at their feet were the other ponies, unconscious and frazzled from electricity. Everyone was completely immobilized; not even an inch could be wiggled about. They were all on some kind of wooden deck, the sound of a chugging engine was dull in her ears, and dark grey clouds were passing them by. They must be on the airship.

Tempest sighed and pounded the deck with a weak hoof. "I am such an idiot." She glared at her former master as she slowly got to her hooves. "This isn't only about the girls! You're after the throne of Equestria!"

"Oh, no. Not yet. Not until I figure out these." He jerked a thumb to the left, and Tempest followed. Most of the Elements of Harmony had been piled unceremoniously in a corner, along with Noble Blade's sword and a struggling, furious Freedom Fighter, who looked like a mummy with all of the ropes binding him. They were all overlooked by two particularly hulking beasts glaring down upon it all.

Tempest felt her heart lurch. "The Elements…"

"Yeah, about that…" the Storm King replied, rubbing his cheek with his other hand on Stormkeeper in its sheath on his hip. His bulky right leg was made of jointed wood and metal, as was his right horn, which was spiked and sharp like a cruel mace. "I figured it was best for us all to possess it instead of those pathetic Equestrians. They want them back, they can just buy it back."

He offered a seemingly soft hand to help her up, but Tempest batted it away instantly. "I'm no simple mercenary!"

Her electricity crackled to life and scorched the deck beneath her as she lunged at him, but he drew Stormkeeper immediately and knocked her aside with the flat of his blade. Tempest went flying, and her electricity was sucked into Stormkeeper. It was pulling the magic out of her, draining her, making her head pound and quiver and roar with the rush of blood.

Finally, however, the Storm King stopped, and Tempest collapsed on the deck, shivering hard.

"Mercenary?" The Storm King wafted Stormkeeper casually, sending sparks flying out. "I prefer the term adventure capitalist. Selling merch isn't enough to run a kingdom."

"You don't know what you're doing!" Tempest spat at him.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing. I'll pry the Elements from their gold prisons, sell the gold, keep the jewels for myself, and watch from the sidelines as the Noxxa obliterate Equestria. Then while they're licking their wounds, I'll drop in and wipe them out with the Elements. What's the downside you see? They're big, shiny, and powerful, and it'll make me the ruler of the world."

"Those aren't just diamonds, and they're not just magic batteries either. We were wrong from the start! They're divine artifacts! Those are the only things capable of stopping the devil himself. You take that away, and we're all doomed!"

The Storm King looked thoughtful, then eventually shrugged. "What is a devil to a non-believer?"

Tempest remembered saying almost those exact words. And she felt her heart lurch within her chest. "Don't… do this…"

He spat. "Feh. Ponies really are all the same. And here I thought you liked getting your hooves dirty, Tempest. Think about it. If nobody took advantage of their situations, nothing would ever get done in the world. What kind of creature would I be if I didn't use my power? I'm just… looking out for number one while providing collateral in case of an Equestrian counterattack."

Tempest just growled and crouched, ready to fight him head-on. "Then… you will do it… without me."

"Oh, Tempest," the Storm King lamented sarcastically. "I'll admit, I'm disappointed. When did you ever become an idealist like Twilight? We were this close to having all our dreams fulfilled, and you picked now of all times to grow a conscience? Ponies have ruined you. I still offer you forgiveness, though, and a chance to save your horn. For once in your life…" He tapped his temple with an evil grin. "...do the smart thing."

"You never intended on healing my horn, did you?" Tempest whispered. "I see it in you now. You used people before, and you used me the same way. You always did want power for yourself. Friendship means nothing to you. You're a liar who doesn't keep his promises!"

The Storm King gave her a surprised glance, then sighed in exasperation. "Get off your soapbox, Tempest. See, that was strictly on a need-to-know basis. And, well, now you know."

"You had sworn," Tempest breathed. She wasn't shocked, just disappointed. "You made me swear to our promise."

"Next time, get it in writing. Now I suggest you bandage up that bleeding heart of yours, Tempest. It doesn't suit a, ah, mercenary."

That was the final straw.

"I defy you."

The Storm King folded his arms. "Oh, really?"

"You can't make me do anything anymore. You have no more control over my life! The devil is already on the earth. It's you!"

Tempest lunged at him again, but his left hand shot out, gripped her by the throat in midair, and slammed her into the deck hard enough to splinter the surface.

Pinned down by his fist, Tempest, struggling for air, could see him out of the corner of her eye shaking his head.

"I hate it when I have to do anything myself," he breathed. He barked something in a hooting language to one of his subordinates, and the Storm Guard picked up the unconscious Twilight by the mane and pressed the tip of his spear into her eye socket.

Tempest's heart jolted. Freedom Fighter began to roar against his gag and struggle even harder against his bonds.

"Let's see what you value more, Tempest. Me or her."

Tempest heaved for air to speak. "Don't," she whispered. "Kill me instead."

"Oh, trust me, I will." He let go, and Tempest clutched at her throat and wheezed for her breath. "But when I do depends on your attitude. You may yet be of some use to me." He barked another order to the guard holding Twilight, and he removed the spear from her face, but dragged her and Applejack like sacks of potatoes to the door leading below deck. The other guards picked up everyone else but Rainbow Dash and the writhing Freedom Fighter, and followed suit.

Tempest took her eyes off her friends to look around, and her heart sank. All around them was the Storm King's fleet of airships. Tempest could count at least ten of them, plowing through the clouds like plump whales. There was no way they could escape from this.

"Hey, Tempest," the Storm King snarked as her friends disappeared below deck. "Where's that defiance you were talking about, huh?"

Tempest couldn't look him in the eye.

---

As Rainbow Dash gradually returned to consciousness, she heard muffled voices in the background. The first was a bunch of hooting that she couldn't make out. The second response was clear to her ears, however.

"Oh, really? Well, I don't care if we are heading into a storm. I wield Stormkeeper, and the electric heavens are mine to control. Keep our course, helmsman."

As she blinked and fully opened her eyes, she spotted a reclusive Tempest Shadow held at spearpoint by several towering creatures. Tempest spotted her as well, and she looked… sorry. Every emotion storming in her eyes was a powerful one. Tempest then hung her head, as if to say It was all hopeless.

And then she saw an awfully familiar satyr towering above her. He looked like he was spotting a puddle of vomit.

"You." The Storm King picked up Rainbow by the scruff of her neck like a small kitty, and Rainbow was now partially awakened. His claws were sharp and dirty, and none too gentle. "Look at you, bleugh. Stinking rainbow pony prissy-pants. To think my troubles are mostly because of filth like you. Ha!" He indicated his horn with a tip of his head. "Do you even remember cutting this horn off at Mount Aris?"

At this height, Rainbow could definitely see the artificial replacement. Scared and confused, she murmured, "Why do you care so much?"

He practically threw her to the ground, like a football. Rainbow rolled and bumped for a few feet, pain erupting all over her body and fully waking her up.

"Creatures like me," he explained, like an exasperated parent telling a child that two and two are four, "take their horns very seriously. You wouldn't know, of course. You're not a minotaur or a yak. But even ponies understand the importance of horns; I've been around Tempest long enough to realize that. So you must be really stupid. A horn is an outward sense of pride. The longer and tougher it is, the higher-quality the animal." He grinned lopsidedly. "It gets you horny, get it?"

Rainbow groaned and rolled her eyes. How could he be so menacing yet so immature?

"I can handle my leg being lost. That was lost in combat, fair and square. But for you to swoop in out of nowhere and emasculate me… that's crossing a line of my patience. You're officially on my naughty list."

He punted Rainbow's body, again like a football, and she hit the guardrail and flew out, away from the ship. Her wings were still bound as she sailed away, and her heart panicked and she screamed-!

"Ho ho!" The Storm King managed to grab her mane just in time, and she was hanging from the roots of her hair with her limbs bound. "Don't wanna lose my prize too soon, huh?"

Like a catapult, his arm came down, and Rainbow crashed into the deck hard enough to splinter it. Her entire body was now sore, and blood had come out of multiple spots on her.

“And who’d have thought?” he remarked as Rainbow struggled to get up. “I’d be thwarted by a pony of magic, and a rainbow. The irony is just sickening, isn’t it? The one thing I want and the one thing I hate, conspiring against me. The universe is so threatened by my path that they resort to using scum like you!”

“You know what I think?” Rainbow said, looking into the stormy abysses of his eyes. “I think you just like to hear yourself talk!”

The Storm King actually laughed at that. “Oh, definitely! See, you get me, right?” A glint entered his gaze. “But there’s a sound I love even more than that. It’s SCREAMING!”

And he grabbed a hunk of Rainbow’s mane and tore it out with one violent rip.

And Rainbow did scream. It was enough to make a tear come to her eye. The pain felt like her scalp was on fire. And it hurt her heart to see a chunk of tangled rainbow hair on the deck.

“Stop it!” screamed Tempest from the side. She violently struggled against her captors. “If you want to kill her, just do it! Get it over with!”

“Hmmm…” he considered. Then he shrugged. “Nah.”

And he kicked Rainbow in the stomach, making her topple to the deck once more.

“Do it to me!” Tempest practically begged. “Hurt me all you want, but leave Rainbow alone!”

It made Rainbow’s pain stop. Just the idea that she would do such a thing… it lessened the burden. From where she was, Tempest looked frightened out of her mind.

"Tell ya what. I’ll split the difference. I’ll torture you both! And whadda ya know, there just so happens to be several magical artifacts nearby that can do the job!"

Rainbow spotted several of the Storm King's minions curiously picking up the Elements and fondling them. Each of them were letting out brainless gurgles of laughter as they let the jewelry hang from their claws or around their arms like a bracelet.

"Hey," the Storm King gestured at them. "Why don't you put them on and see if you can use their power, eh? I wanna see what unlimited power looks like!"

The storm creatures hooted in excitement and quickly put on the available Elements like arm bands or bracelets--a tiara, in the Element of Magic's case. One of them gripped Noble Blade's glowing sword tight, but it looked like a thin rapier beside his hulking form. They actually looked cute, in a bizarre way, with the cute gold stuff on their very large frames. The only Element unaccounted for was Freedom Fighter, who was still struggling against his bonds on the deck far away from everypony else.

"Come on, then," the Storm King urged. "Let's see if someone other than these puny ponies can use 'em. If brainless things like you can, anyone can."

The eight creatures didn't even recognize the insult. They instead concentrated hard and made loud grunting noises as they tried to draw out the Element's inherent gift-giving power.

And to Rainbow Dash's horror, the Elements did indeed begin to glow brightly in their grips. They looked just as startled as Rainbow or the Storm King. But soon, that gave way to giddiness. They laughed mindlessly as pretty colors swirled out of the Elements and surrounded their bodies. A few tried swiping their claws through the colored streams emanating off the Elements. The guard with Noble’s sword gave a few experimental swings, and the blade hummed and roared with power in every arc of blue.

There was a twinkling in everyone’s ears, like a music box. The lucky guards giggled and began to swat at each other, while the Storm King clenched his fists and roared in triumph.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" roared the Storm King. "What did I tell ya? You all aren't special! The Elements ain't your gift! Equestria will be mine with this power, and you all will discover-"

He stopped. The Elements were still glowing, but they had grown darker. In the blink of an eye, the Elements turned to a shining obsidian in the creature's grips. The twinkling was gone and replaced by a dull roar in everyone's ears like the flow of electric power.

A few concerned grunts came from the storm creatures, and they tried to pull them off. But they stayed attached like they were welded to the skin. Concern turned to fright as the creatures tried to pry them off with increasingly desperate scratches and yanks. Then the Elements began to steam, and the creatures yelped and howled in anguish.

The Elements of Harmony were not to be wielded by simply anybody; only those proven with the right authority could harness such power. The storm creatures quickly learned the price for their attempts.

Applejack's Element sprouted long, glowing ropes that quickly ensnared the wearer’s guard from head to toe in an iron grip with his arms at his sides, and they glowed and burned an intense orange. The guard's screams were muffled by the burning whips over his mouth while his quivering flesh burned like a brand pressing into a cow.

Pinkie's Element spread a glowing pink aura around the guard, who only had the time to look into the Storm King's eyes in horror. Looking sick, his stomach suddenly bulged like a balloon and his head twisted like a screw. Then, screaming himself hoarse, he stretched incredibly thin for fifteen feet in the air like a piece of taffy, squashed himself together like a ball of cookie dough, and exploded in a pink puffball. Nothing but a twinkling pink ash falling on the discarded Element of Laughter was left of him.

Rarity's Element made the flesh shiver and clench as the guard's arm quickly turned to a dark blue crystal. Staring in shock at his arm, he screamed and tried to shove the Element off his forearm, then tried to cut off his arm's circulation by squeezing it. It was of no avail. The crystal quickly spread throughout his shaking, kneeling body until he was nothing but a living blue crystal, still screaming. The crystal then glowed brightly from his chest, creating spidering cracks in his body, until it promptly exploded and scattered shards of him across the deck.

Firestorm's Element burned hotter and hotter on the guard's arm until it made the guard who was holding it erupt into flame spontaneously like he was covered in napalm. He screamed a horribly pained screech and fell, rolling helplessly on the deck as flame consumed his form and ate away at his flesh.

The guard with Fluttershy's Element felt his arm stiffen and lose all feeling. He quickly redoubled his efforts to get it off; the flesh beneath the Element was becoming wooden. Just like Rarity's crystal Element, the wood stiffened his fingers, then spread up his stiffening arm and down to his chest, then his legs, and up his neck. As he quickly developed roots and became more and more of a tree, he became stuck in place as branches sprouted out of his head and leaves began to blossom on him. Unfortunately for the tree, the guard on fire rolled into him, and the tree suddenly caught fire. The tree began screaming once more as he was quickly enveloped in intense flame.

The guard who had Noble Blade's burning sword stuck on his hand suddenly received an even worse surprise. The glowing sword spun in his hand, breaking his wrist, and cleanly sheared the guard in half down the middle like a pair of scissors halfway through cutting a sheet of paper. He fell with a wet, heavy thud, quickly expiring in a pool of bubbling blood.

The guard with Twilight's element stuck on his head fell to his knees, enveloped in a deep purple energy. His entire body seemed to steam from the sheer magical overload, and his fur soon shriveled up and his eyes began to dance in their sockets. A few drips fell from his arm, and his face began to stretch unnaturally as he screamed in horror. His skin bubbled up as his body temperature rose dramatically from the inside, melting muscle, boiling blood, charring bones. Soon, his skin peeled off like wrapping paper, and blood and muscle dripped off his body to stain the deck beneath him. He tried raising his arm, but his bones just broke apart and his blood dripped like wet, heavy rain. Eventually his head caved in, making the tiara on top of him droop into his skull as brains poured out of his ears. All the while, he was screaming, and the horrible scent of burning flesh was just intensified.

But Rainbow's eyes were on what her Element was doing. It was discharging bolt after bolt of lightning to course around the guard wearing it until his fur and skin were charred pitch-black and crispy. His burnt smell further added to the terrible stench. Every pulse of lightning blinded her temporarily. Every crack seemed to split the air apart.

Finally, the Elements ceased their glowing once every last guard had been completely and utterly obliterated. Burning corpses, glittering dust, shattered crystal, and pools of blood had ruined most of the deck. The tree that had sprung out of nowhere was now blackened and dead. And the Elements were lying amongst those piles of gore and burnt stubble innocuously. There wasn't even any damage to any of them. Not a single mark or scratch.

The Storm King was rendered speechless. But there was an open grin on his face, a glint of fascination in his eye, as he watched them die painfully. He eventually blinked hard, however, and grimaced. "This… might be a bit trickier than I thought."

"Hey, my Lord," Tempest called from behind the spears at her throat. "Where's that power you were talking about, huh?"

The Storm King actually managed to growl at that. He snapped his fingers at one of Tempest’s guards. “Collect the Elements and bring them to my personal chamber. The pony included!”

The guard who had been addressed nodded frightfully, then set about collecting the things with a high whimper, flinching as he touched them and collected them in his arms.

The Storm King sighed at him, then yanked a struggling Rainbow yet again and dragged her like a sack of potatoes to the edge of the deck. What was he going to do to her? Was this how she died? But instead of hurling her overboard, he just allowed Rainbow to look beside him into the increasing void.

“What do you see?” the Storm King asked her in a deceptively mild tone.

Nothing but other airships moving in a black void as they pushed even deeper into dangerous weather. “Uh… Weather clouds?”

“These are my weather clouds,” the Storm King corrected. He stretched his arms wide, like he was expecting a hug. “I control lightning, and so I control the power of the heavens. The pegasi can manipulate clouds, but I! I am an angel, striding the skies with lightning in my fist and the world beneath my feet. Everything you see, I command.”

Rainbow gave him a raised eyebrow in return.

“This is my domain, Rainbow Dash! And as its ruler, I figure I was a little too harsh on you, a simple visitor in my land… so to speak. You ought to be treated better!”

“Really?” Rainbow asked, emulating Tempest’s dry responses. “What, are you gonna give me a lollipop?”

“Oh, you’re delusional,” the Storm King laughed sentimentally. “No, I want to show you an ocean tour!”

It wasn’t really a surprise, but Rainbow still felt scared enough to joke. “Hey, look, drowning isn’t exactly hospitable-”

“Oh, you’re reading too much into the metaphor,” the Storm King insisted, rolling his eyes. “Stinking ponies. You know something?… they have no business ruling the world. Cutesy little happy colorful creatures focusing on trivial pursuits. None of you see the bigger picture here!"

"Fine. What all-important picture do you see?"

The Storm King softly grinned, exposing his teeth. "Conquest. Wealth. Power and opportunity ripe for the taking. Never stay complacent, my little pony. Go beyond the horizon and seize what you can get before you’ve lost it and you’re too late. Would it surprise you if I learned that lesson for myself? I used to be nothing. I was a beggar once. Ahh, I hated every moment of it. Long story short, it was only until I managed to become king that I decided there’s a reason why the strongest have to naturally be on top. It just… feels nice to destroy things. Haven’t you noticed?"

Rainbow couldn't bear it anymore. It was like mental torture. "Why?" She had to look up to meet the Storm King's gaze.

"Hmm? Why what?"

"Why do you… take so much pleasure in the suffering of others? Are you… actually that sick?"

The Storm King thought about that for a little bit. Then he finally said, “Aww, don’t look at me that way.” He shrugged. "I just think it's fascinating."

Rainbow recoiled. How on Equus-?

"I already know what you're thinking. What a strange outlook, right? But hear me out here. Rainbow Dash, we're all animals. Suffering is in our nature. Peace is wonderful because of the lack of problems, but something about it… just doesn't feel right. We’ve kept death out of our personal lives! Now that’s no way for respectable creatures to live! We were designed to withstand pain and suffering. In fact, we revel in watching it to hide the pain we’re in ourselves--the world is finally waking up to it. We like seeing people we don’t like suffer. Cruelty is entertaining. Evil is interesting. Power… sells. Why else do you think I created all my merchandise? And so taking away pain and hardship is like cutting ourselves off from an essential part of life.

"I'm an agent of pain, Rainbow. You ponies think I’m a barbaric animal, but I’m simply coming to terms with my own brittle nature so when my time comes, I can accept it. Now, in the meanwhile, I intend to study pain by inflicting it upon others and learning more about our fragile condition as I work my way to higher power… and reach enlightenment as the world burns at the foot of my throne."

"Are you hearing yourself?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? Oh, Rainbow, I am," he whispered, a shadow crossing his electric blue eyes. "I'm mad at you, and at all those who've thwarted me on my path to the ascension of Equus. And I gotta admit, even though I consider myself to be an even-tempered satyr, you and your friends're a bigger pain in the neck than I ever thought possible. Congrats, you win a limited-edition Storm King doll! Perhaps I'll even hang your skin on my bedroom wall. Next to Tempest's, of course."

"Don't," Rainbow whispered. "You won't hurt any of my friends if I have anything to say about it!"

"Yeah, well, that's the thing. You don't." He gripped Rainbow by the shoulders, by her tattered mane, and began to bend her over the edge of the ship. "Here, let’s start the ocean tour to make up for it!"

"Stop it!" Rainbow screamed, thrashing around in his grip. The darkness beneath her was an abyss of nothingness. Hell awaited her. "STOP IT!"

"Hey, you hear that?" the Storm King mocked, pushing on her even harder. "Your friends are calling for you!"

"NOOOO!" Rainbow bellowed in defiance, tears dripping from her eyes.

A flash of lightning erupted behind her followed by the thumps of two bodies, and the sound of clinking armor on wood followed. The Storm King turned around, ready to lash with Stormkeeper-

But he never could. Tempest Shadow, burned with her own electricity, had charged right into his chest with all her strength. They both toppled off the edge of the ship, breaking the banister into splinters, and fell through the air, both of them screaming.

It only registered a second later. Tempest Shadow had saved her life. But it had been at the cost of her own.

Rainbow couldn't allow that.

Even though Rainbow Dash had been fighting against this exact same thing, without a second thought she jumped after them.

Rainbow plummeted, wind tearing at her squinting eyes. The Storm King and Tempest were just a few seconds behind. If she could streamline her fall-!

But her limbs were bound. So were her wings. Luckily, with all the thrashing around, her bands had loosened a bit. But not enough to break through with a single push or pull. She pushed against her bonds with all her strength and narrowed her profile to fall faster than them.

The falling pair both noticed Rainbow’s rapid descent. The Storm King angrily whipped Stormkeeper at Rainbow, and an arc of lightning fired at her with a loud sizzle. She narrowly managed to evade it by twisting her entire body, and continued her fall. There wouldn’t be much time before they hit the ocean. She had to do this now!

A few seconds later, she did collide with the Storm King and Tempest, throwing them into a massive free-falling tumble. The razor-sharp blade narrowly managed to evade her ear a few times, but it did cut across the binds holding her hooves together. It made a deep gash across her arm, but they were at least now free!

Rainbow grabbed Tempest around the waist, whose horn was sparking electricity in dangerous arcs around them all. It made her hair stand up and her teeth hurt. The ropes binding her wings began to smolder.

“GIVE HER BACK!” the Storm King bellowed, plunging Stormkeeper at Rainbow. Tempest’s armored hoof, however, shot up and redirected the blade to the side. Her other hoof punched him right in the face, and it was loaded with static electricity.

They were thrown in different directions, and the accumulated force from everything thus far had finally taken its final toll on Rainbow’s bindings. They slipped off, and Rainbow flapped in place, holding Tempest tightly.

The Storm King continued to fall, but with a desperate thrust into the air, Stormkeeper drew out six different streaks of electricity from the black clouds around them, suspending him in midair. And with a pulse of even brighter light, he was thrown up at a tremendous rate like he was thrown from a slingshot. He disappeared among the clouds.

“I’ll keep him occupied! Tempest, go and release the others. We gotta get out of here!”

“But without your Element, you’ll die!” Tempest yelled in return over the deepening rumbles of the storm clouds.

“Tempest!” Rainbow replied, giving a wide smile of reassurement. “I’m in my element right now!”

Rainbow flapped back up as fast as she dared without dropping Tempest. The further she went, the worse it got. The wind and rain began to pick up, and water soon covered them and got into their eyes and ears. Electricity somewhere rumbled and roared, and light blinded parts of her vision. It was like navigating the ocean depths without a light. It was hard to find where the ships were, let alone which one was the lead ship. But, through a whisper of direction from an unknown source, she finally found several dark, plump ovals in the clouds.

By the time she finally hovered above the lead ship and dropped off Tempest, rain was lashing at them and rocking the ships from side to side. Lightning roared and flashed all around them, from what Rainbow assumed was the Storm King. Which meant...

“He hasn’t found his ships yet!” Rainbow cried triumphantly amidst the overwhelming sound. “I can keep him up there!”

“Rainbow!” cried Tempest before she could take off. “I…”

“What is it?” came Rainbow urgently. Tempest looked like she was struggling to find what was right to say.

“...Thank you,” she replied. “I’m… grateful you’re my friend.”

Rainbow, soaked and misshapen, smiled. Everything was said in that smile.

Then she took off, leaving Tempest there on the soaked deck.

---

The ship was rocking now. It creaked and groaned with wood and iron, making Twilight woozy and irritable. All of them were awake now. They were in a suspended cube of crossing iron bars, still bound and gagged.

If only she could use her magic to break out! But they didn’t know if the cage was the safest place for them at the moment. The storm, the loss of the Elements, the potential of the Storm King wielding those Elements… Twilight didn’t want to lose all of her friends to a stupid mistake.

The door to the outside opened with a creak, a flash of light illuminated the dark room, and a howl of wind whipped into the ship’s hold. There came the sound of a kick and a sizzle of electricity, and several of the Storm King’s hairy guards were thrown from the balcony onto the metal deck with loud clangs.

Tempest was there, rushing to the controls of the cage already. Tempest looked singed, and a long, spidering burn mark ran down her neck and under her armor into her torso. But she looked more focused on them instead as she hit the right controls. The suspended cage was gently settled down with a clatter of chains and the underside opened up, depositing all of them onto the floor.

Twilight used her magic to unloose her gag, drawing in a deep breath of relief, and her magic soon got to work on the others’ gags as well. Soon the hold was full of deep breaths and coughing as Tempest was getting to work on cutting their bonds with a halberd one of the guards had dropped.

“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Applejack and Firestorm asked almost at the same time.

“And Freedom Fighter?” Rarity added.

“Freedom is in the king’s personal quarters with the rest of our stuff,” Tempest told them, averting her eyes. “And Rainbow Dash…”

After a moment, Fluttershy spoke up. “She’s fighting the Storm King, isn’t she?”

Tempest glumly nodded.

“She’ll get killed!” Noble worried, levitating the halberd into his hoof as soon as the last person’s binds, Pinkie’s, was cut. “Without her Element, her survival isn’t guaranteed!”

“”Now you hold on a minute, mister knight,” Applejack swiftly assured. “Rainbow Dash is even tougher than anypony here gives ‘er credit for! If there’d be one pony Ah’d choose to take ‘im down, it’d be her.”

“I fought him,” Noble reaffirmed. “I could barely keep up. The Storm King can manipulate lightning.”

“And Rainbow can control the lightning sources,” Firestorm stated with finality. “Give her a little trust!”

“It’s not that, it’s…” Noble let out a grunt of frustration and let go of the halberd to push on his skull with a free hoof.

“If we want to help her,” Starlight cut through, “We need to take out this fleet. Tempest, you know the layout of these ships better than us. Which way to the captain’s quarters?”

Tempest nodded at Starlight, and pointed at an iron door leading out. “This way. Stay close!”

The ponies and Spike followed their lead. Twilight stayed at the back to protect their flank.

A nagging thought came to her. Was Starlight beginning to take better control of the group?

And why did it matter to her if she did?

Comments

[Jade Dawn]

"Mercenary?" The Storm King wafted Stormkeeper casually, sending sparks flying out. "I prefer the term adventure capitalist. Selling merch isn't enough to run a kingdom.”

Atlantis reference.

"What is a devil to a non-believer?"

Still a devil.

[BradyBunch]

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And devils are only labeled as such by the opposing side. Anyone can be an angel or a devil. All it takes is for someone else to claim it.