Regrouping
I laid next to Rapids and watched her chest rise and fall. Occasionally she'd twitch and whimper, but she didn't wake up. I didn't doubt that she was having horrible nightmares, and likely had been having them for quite a while. Once I'd freed Luna I'd have to have her help Rapids with that. She didn't deserve everything that had happened to her in the past few weeks. Heck, she didn't deserve what happened to her during the war. I grimaced and draped one of my wings over her. She grunted and nestled deeper into the feathers as she opened her eyes.
"Prince Antares?" she whispered.
I gave her a comforting smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm here. Don't worry, Rapids, you're safe. We've retaken Baltimare, and we're going to retake Canterlot very soon."
Rapids whimpered and flinched back in a way that rather reminded me of Fluttershy. Her jaw wobbled and tears began welling up in her eyes. "They told us that they had killed you. They said they had your body strung up outside of Canterlot Castle."
I shook my head. "Clearly not. They came pretty close, but I came out on top in the end." I gently nuzzled her, and she relaxed a little bit. "Now, if you aren't up for it, that's fine, but I want to know what happened after the Storm King took Canterlot."
Rapids whimpered and curled up into a ball. Tears streaked down her face and she raised up a hoof to wipe them away. "W-we retreated out of Canterlot once it became clear that the city was lost. Prince Shining Armor, Night Stalker, Raining Skies and I all regrouped back here and gathered every soldier we could to fight them. W-we set up a defensive perimeter around the city and got every civilian we could into the center of the city so that they wouldn't be in the fighting. Every able-bodied stallion and mare was conscripted into the army. We barely had enough weapons and armor to arm them, but we were fighting for our homes.
"Their airships arrived within a day. We tried to send up a pegasus force to take them down, but they were shot out of the sky while their ground troops poured into the city. We couldn't fight them back with the forces we had. Us commanders tried to organize the mess into an effective fighting force, but th-they were killing so many of us! I don't know what happened to Raining Skies, b-but Night Stalker was hit with two arrows, and the Storm Creatures dog-piled Prince Shining Armor and kept stabbing him. I wanted to help him, but I just... froze. Everywhere around me ponies were dying and... and pegasi were falling from the sky." Rapids's breathing became heavier and her tears fell faster.
"I saw Tempest fighting, and for a moment I just thought if I could kill her then maybe we'd have a fighting chance. I had a clear shot at her with my spear. I just needed to throw it and she'd die and we could fight them back. That's when she killed the pony she was fighting and turned straight at me. She grinned at me and her horn started crackling and I just... ran. I dropped my spear and ran as fast as I could in the other direction. We were losing and with the other two dead and one missing the troops needed somepony to rally them but I just ran! I was a coward!
"I ran into an alleyway and tried hiding behind some trash cans. I hid my head under my wings and tried not to hear the sounds of the battle. The screams of ponies fighting and dying just wouldn't stop! I don't know how long I laid there, but eventually the battle died down and I was left there, wallowing in my own cowardice. I heard the sounds of hoofsteps coming toward me and for a moment I thought that we'd won. When I looked up I saw that it was Tempest. She had the nastiest grin on her face, and she told the Storm Creatures to grab me. I wanted to fly away, but my wings wouldn't move!
"I was grabbed by two Storm Creatures and dragged out into the middle of the square where they'd already strung up Night Stalker's body. I don't know what they did with Shining Armor. T-Tempest told them to take off my armor and hold me down. I thought... I thought they were gonna..." Rapids shuddered, but after a moment she continued. "Tempest grabbed a knife, got on top of me and..."
Rapids couldn't continue from there. She just curled up and began loudly sobbing, covering her face with her wings. I had to hold back my own tears as I scooped her up and held her close. She leaned into my chest and held on to one of my forelegs as if I was the only pony left on the planet. After a few minutes of letting her cry, I lit my horn and cast a dreamless sleeping spell on her. She didn't need to remember what had happened.
I gently laid her down on the bed roll and pulled a blanket over her before standing up and walking out of the throne room. Kristen was talking with Grorim, and both of them stopped their conversations when I approached.
"How is she?" Kristen asked.
I grimaced and shook my head. "She's... it's going to be hard for her. She'd been through a lot even before all of this, so I'm not sure what's going to happen once this is all over. I'll do my best to help her, but I don't know if she's ever going to go back to the way she was."
"I am sorry, Antares," Grorim said. "I know she was a good soldier and a loyal friend."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Yeah. We'll do everything we can to help her, but for right now, I'm not optimistic." I shook my head and pushed those thoughts aside. I'd deal with Rapids once I'd taken Equestria back. "Any more news?"
"We've freed the civilians and are doing our best to feed them," Kristen said. "They, uh, burned your church down. There were some ponies in there and..." Kristen's wings fluttered uneasily. "Also, um... we found Shining Armor. What was left of him, anyway."
"I see. What happened?"
"They strung him up in a different part of the city," Grorim said. "Right outside the entrance. I guess to deter anyone from coming in. We're not sure what happened with their heads. It's hard to interrogate the Storm Creatures. They don't speak our language."
"Leave that to me," I said. "I have some ideas of how to get them to talk."
"TD, don't do any--"
"End of discussion, Kristen." I turned my attention back to Grorim. "Where are they?"
"We've taken them to your palace dungeon," Grorim said. "I have some of my finest guards making sure they don't try anything."
"Good. I'd like to talk to them, then," I said as I began walking in that direction. I heard Kristen groan from behind me, but I ignored her. She didn't have the stomach for the kind of nasty work I had to do to protect my country. She probably would eventually, especially after the invasion, but for the moment she still needed to grow up a little bit.
The three of us reached the dungeons where, as promised, a group of minotaurs were guarding the dozen or so Storm Creatures we had captured once we'd taken the city. All of them averted their eyes as I passed the cells. I smirked at them. Guess they didn't like it so much when the tables were turned. I took a deep breath and made it to the final cell at the end of the hallway where a single Storm Creature was sitting on the floor in the middle of the cell. His armor was a little more ornate, showing me that he was some kind of leader. He'd do.
"TD, I don't like this," Kristen muttered.
"We have to find out what has happened to Canterlot since we've been out of the country," I said. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible."
I lit my horn, which made the Storm Creature look up. When he saw me he let out an almost pig-like squeal and tried running around the cell in a vain attempt to stop whatever I was going to do. I caught him in my magic and pulled him right to the bars. He thrashed around, but that didn't stop me from putting the tip of my horn onto his forehead. He instantly stopped thrashing around and went limp in my grasp. My eyes went white as I poured magic into his mind.
"Who are you?"
The Storm Creature twitched and whimpered. "Name Tinra," it groaned. "Loyal soldier of Storm King."
"Why have you invaded my country?"
"Heard tales of pony magic. Pony treasure. Storm King wanted treasure. Wanted power. Wanted to control world. Might of alicorns too good to resist."
"Where are you from?"
"Land far away. One many weeks away by airship. Land of poverty. Storm King gave us purpose. Gave us glory. Gave us might. Storm King rules over many lands."
"What has happened to Canterlot?"
"Alicorns drained of magic. Won't beat Storm King. Will drain your magic. Will be unstoppable. Will control night and day itself."
"What of my daughters?"
"Storm King drained all alicorns."
My heart sank and I exchanged a glance with Kristen, whose eyes were wide in horror. Even Grorim was shifting uncomfortably. I glared at the Storm Creature and went back to my interrogation.
"What happened to the heads of the captains?"
"Taken to Canterlot. Put on pikes outside palace. Unsure of where pegasus captain is."
"And the Element bearers?"
"In chains in catacombs. Will publicly execute them upon your defeat. Want to wait until Storm King's might is absolute."
I felt a little stress wash away at the news. Even if the Elements couldn't wield the Elements anymore, they were still a beacon of hope for Equestria. They were symbols and national heroes. If we could rescue them, that would help us a lot. I put more magic into my horn and prodded a little deeper into the Storm Creature's mind.
"Where is your army?"
"Withdrawn back to Canterlot. Will inflict your final defeat there, then we will have total control of your country for good. Will move on to other nations. Slaughter soldiers. Enslave populace. All will serve the Storm King in the end. None shall oppose him once he has your magic."
Yeah, we'll see about that. If the Storm King thought that, he had another thing coming. I'd take him and put his head on a pike before this war was over, then, once I felt content, I'd erase even the memory of him from the history books. It would be like he had never existed at all.
"What are your tactics? How do you think you shall beat us?"
The Storm Creature groaned and I felt him trying to fight back against my mental attacks, but he was never going to win in a fight against an alicorn. I forced more magic into his mind, and he twitched and began whimpering. I hit the point where I could see every single one of his memories if I had wanted to. Instead I just focused my attention on the Storm King. He began thrashing about more violently and foaming at the mouth a little bit. I saw his memories of the Storm King. He was a satyr dressed in black armor with a rather unpleasant look on his face. He carried some kind of staff that I imagine he'd used to drain my family's magic.
I probed even deeper into his mind and saw his usual tactics. True to my guesses, he'd never fought a defensive war before. His blitzkrieg tactics had always destroyed any resistance to his assault. His airships proved to be his biggest advantage, as most of his targets couldn't fly up to meet them in combat. I saw that Tempest was a recent addition to his army, joining him in a forest setting less than a year previous.
"TD, that's enough!"
I snapped out of my prodding when Kristen put her hoof on my shoulder and shook me. I powered down my horn, causing the Storm Creature to flop down onto the ground in a weak heap. I stared at him as he twitched, and I had no doubt that I'd completely destroyed his mind. For the briefest of moments I felt a shred of pity for him, but that quickly faded away when I remembered what he had told me and what he was. With a quick spell I stopped his heart, letting him slip away peacefully.
"I must admit, I had not expected him to reveal those things, Antares," Grorim said quietly. "You are right: the Storm King must be stopped at all costs. What he has done to your children is beyond twisted."
I didn't respond, choosing instead to walk out of the dungeon with Grorim and Kristen following closely behind me. Kristen put on some speed to walk alongside me.
"TD, I know we have to stop this guy. We have to rescue your family. Do you have any plans on how to stop him? Something beyond just throwing your troops at him and seeing if you can break past his lines?"
"I'm thinking, okay?" I growled. "I know it's going to be an advantage to have the griffin army, but we have to be careful so that they don't share the same fate as the pegasi defending Baltimare. I have to talk to the other leaders about it. Now that we have an idea of what we're up against, we need to be smart about this. One thing I can assure you of, though: the Storm King is going to pay in ways he never even imagined."
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This is an irredeemable Tempest, I hope she gets what's coming to her.
Antares is gonna go full-on war-crime now, huh? I imagine that Tempest's fate is gonna be especially nasty, turning traitor on her people and all.
Tempest may not be redeemable like in the cannon version, but she is clinically insane so the element might cure her ?. But this Equestria has taken a darker turn and what is right is not always what is needed.
But even if she would get herself healed i cant see the ponie population up and forgive her. And looking at the country's they have conquered she will not have a good time even if they helped.
Cannon version is happy and forgiving for a reason.
Not sure if that bit with the storm creature was intended to inspire sympathy for them because I didn't feel anything for it. Kill em all.
Damn, so even Shining Armor didn't make it. I really feel bad for Flurry Heart now. Hopefully Antares will be able to help her heal after the war's over.
The Storm King and Tempest are only digging deeper graves for themselves with each passing day. Hell, at this point. It wouldn't surprise me if Antares takes a page out of the Imperium of Man's book and orders his forces to kill all the storm creatures while shouting "PURGE THE XENOS!"
OK someone needs to take Kristen aside, and tell her that there is a point where she needs to back off. seriously she shouldn't be getting away with it at this point.
Did... did you make Tempest do what I think is implied there? Yikes. I get that this version of Tempest is supposed to be hated, but this just looks like overkill.
Okay....
Just..... To give an idea of what I expect... what I want... Has anybody read up on their history of say.. Ghengis Khan?
Because there comes a time when you have to fight someone so evil, his entire civilization is predicated on destruction.
It's about this time that payback has to be sought after. Do a Reverse Khan.
And by that, the Storm creatures need a whole genocide with their cities in ruins, the entire culture's literature burned, and the entire populace dumped into mass graves made of napalm.
Because this isn't about forgiveness anymore. This isn't about trying to save or reform someone or their people.
Sometimes, you do have to play the bad guy in order to save someone else. Sometimes, in rare circumstances, you need to utterly destroy your opponents. This is one of those times.
9122996
I'd tell her to fuck right off and tell her this is war, and this is vengeance. She can try to play the good conscience on his shoulder, but that time passed. The kid gloves come off when he nearly died several times, his entire family has been captured and brutally tortured to death, his populace slaughtered and enslaved, and his enemy has no intentions whatsoever of stopping. This is the part of history you will love to forget Kristen, but this is also the part where you need to kindly fuck off until the slaughter is done.
9123006
No, that was when she carved coward into her chest. She didn't do... That, despite Rapids's fears that she was about to.
9122996
No kidding. The information gleaned from that mind-reading spell Antares was performing was what was going to make or break the whole world's future. And Kristin wanted to stop!
On the one hand that innocent naivety is beautiful and is something I can't help but feel warmed by in times of peace. To treat others well. Right now though the fate of the world is on the line and there are wars and battles all over the place - lives are already being lost. That level of innocence would only get in the way of those that have to do horrible dirty jobs.
@Bronywriter
This spell looks like it's only torturous if the target resists it. At least that's the impression I get. Is it something they'd be able to submit to and not lose their mind?
Man. this story has taken a truly dark turn.
9123006
Breaking your horn and being shunned by society does not remotely justify any of this. Tempest has become the pony Dirlwanger.
9123135
Now is when you can the story dark?
2dark4me
9123092 Ah, my bad. I'd forgotten about that detail.
9123160
I consider "heads on a pike" to be an ultimate act of barbarism.
Plus, Shining Armor, a major character, has perished.
9123113
To be fair, Kristen has never gone through this stuff before. She didn't go through the war, and she doesn't have the trauma that TD has had, nor has she had his job. This is all new for her. Besides, she's never seen her brother like this.
9123326
I get the feeling it's gonna be her and not Antares who demands strongest for some sort of genocidal response.
So this Tempest isn't some Noble Top Enforcer, but blatant villainous Dragon. No redemption for this lady. And better for her, if Antares free other alicorns before capturement of her, or her death will be very painful, instead of fast one. Traitor mistreating her own race deserve nothing more.
Not to tell you how to write your story but at this point if you could idea for Groram to report on the interrogation and not Antares.
Something that just occurred to me: The Changelings.
After the battle where Luna managed to wound Chrysalis with a Nightmare Weapon, she decided she wanted no more part in Purgle's plan to conquer Equestria. I imagine she'd enjoy the idea of having them in her debt, and infiltrators to take out any chain of command would be an invaluable asset. Whether they can contact her about this, though...
9122996 Agreed. If an opponent is the aggressor, and they open with war crimes then all pretenses of 'we won't do unto you so you don't do unto us' has already been thrown out the window.
9123911
Definitely agreed. There comes a point where it makes more sense that the laws of war are not a set of enforced rules, but a set of broken rules. If your opponent is just going to go for the forbidden weapon anyway, why would you let him keep the advantage?
Immediately thought of this story. At least having some levity with very dark humor.
9122996
Might need to change her name to Karen. She has the power to change a lot of what is happening but won't, then stops others from dealing with situations she bypassed because she's not comfortable. I feel genuine dislike for her as a character.
10340641
To be fair, it is war, and she's more or less a civilian among soldiers. These people just got done with a world war, and her brother is seen by many as the god of war. She's in a new body in a new world with new powers and has never dealt with this before, much less seen her brother be capable of the stuff he's doing.
10340652
Didn't she see him kill Discord? And she watched him kill Verko and Capper after Antares was tortured by them, as well as the previous fighting in Canterlot, Tempest attacking Calaeno's ship and killing some of the crew while Antares killed some storm creatures, the fighting to retake Baltimare... She's a civilian, but she's seen a lot more death and violence than the average human, let alone pony, at this point. But she's never stopped second-guessing Antares despite her own general lack of action, except when they decided to go Call of Duty when boarding Calaeno's ship.
She's been consistently like this across both stories I've gotten to so far as well. I get that she might lack confidence, experience, or even training to act when a situation presents itself, but she never lacks the self-assuredness to decide she knows better.
10340711
Even when she's fighting, she's not killing. When she said "Call of Duty" it was more of a charge in than sneak in. Not a "let's kill everyone." I think she's just still in the mindset on a certain level that there's still her brother in this "Antares" person, and she can't imagine her brother doing this stuff.