The Elements of Harmony

by MarcellusMiro66

Chapter 5: "A Thought In The Arm"

Meanwhile from above in Canterlot, the Storm Guards continued rounding up and imprisoning any ponies in hiding. They also decided to kick them while they were down and mock their insistence on a wedding in the midst of a dire emergency. One of them even thought it best to cut a trio of balloons and let them endlessly float into the atmosphere where they would inevitably pop. Tempest watched from the balcony above and sneered under her breath.

"All this power...wasted on parties...when there are far greater uses..."

She marched and passed by the petrified forms of the three Princesses as she made her way to the (ugh) Pony Princess Wedding Castle ceremonial hall, where the aforementioned wedding was previously being held at and that now served as the penitentiary of many a Canterlot citizen and visitor. Among the many prisoners were the Royal Guards, the Wonderbolts, and...five ponies who seemed greatly familiar but couldn't place her hoof on their identities for a moment's notice. Then she remembered – there were five ponies whom the Storm Guards reported quote "gave them a hard time for a long while"; the fight they put up must've been noble, but ultimately all for naught.

Tempest elicited a small yet knowing grin when the realization became known to her. "So... You five must be the most held-in-the-highest-esteem Elements of Harmony."

"Yeah," a chained-up Rainbow Dash snapped back and banged against the armored cage, "What's it to you?"

In response, a pair of Storm Guards aimed their spears at the prismatic Pegasus, but their Commander silently gestured them to prevent themselves from doing so. Tempest then stepped forward and, while being careful, leaned in close to give the restrained and furious pony some advice: "I suggest you watch that tone of yours, lest you end up in a far worse position like the others who were unruly as you..."

Another pair of Storm Guards approached the hall with a long neck round-bottom glass flask that was filled with some sort of glowing (and rhythmic beeping?) blue liquid. Pushed in front of them was a black cauldron made of iron. When they arrived at the center of the hall, they both exchanged uncertain looks before turning to an impatient Tempest.

"Well? Answer it!"

The one with the flask poured the liquid into the cauldron and a series of dial-up modem noises began echoing. A few moments later, the same creature from the flag appeared in the ensuing mist...well, the bottom half of his face, anyway.

"Where am I supposed to be looking? I never understand how this spell works. Tempest!"

"Over here, Your Excellency."

"Where?"

"Over here."

"Huh?"

"No. No, right. Look right."

"My right?"

"Yep."

The Storm King complied with Tempest's command and soon found himself face to face with her, "Oh. There you are. Here's the deal: I'm in the middle of a big rebrand here. "The Storm King" is tracking well as "intensely intimidating", but you know what? I need to back it up. You know what I need to back it up with? A STORM!" Everyone in the room sans Tempest herself were taken aback by his little outburst. He himself didn't seem to notice as he continued his rant, "That would be great! You promised me magic that could control the elements, and right now, I'm holding a what? A branch, a twig, a... Bleh!"

"Uh, that would be the Staff of Sacanas, Your Excellency," Tempest corrected, "and it will... "

"Mm-hmm?"

"...channel the magic of the three rulers of this land."

"Mm-hmmmm?"

"You'll soon have the power of a hundred armies and maybe a thousand more."

"So that would be a yes on your locking down the four Pegacornicuseses, or whatever you call them?"

"Alicorns, Your Excellency," Tempest corrected again, "Give me three days. I'll have everything ready for your arrival."

"I'm sure you will. Remember, Tempest... Only I have the power to make you whole. Make this staff work, and you'll have your reward. But fail me...and your horn won't be the only thing that's broken."

"I doubt it will be a problem."

A tense silence followed...before the Storm King broke it with ease. Literal ease. "Great! I'm ready to power up, crash and bash, and be the biggest, baddest bugaloooooo…"

The signal beginning to break up, the mist almost instantly sunk down back into the murky black cauldron's depths before dissipating to reveal a sheepish Grubber donning an equally sheepish grin. "Um, sorry. That was spell services. You wanna call them back?"

Commander Tempest could merely roll her eyes and shake her head in disbelief before she wordlessly ordered the Storm Guards to bring to her the petrified forms of the three Princesses.

"Pfft, that's your boss? Seems like a real nutcase to me." Even in her compromising position, Rainbow Dash still found it within herself to snark at this quite intimidating foe.

Tempest could attest to that, "He is a nutcase, thank you."

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday."

The Storm Guards arrived back at the ceremonial hall with the petrified princesses in tow. Using her broken horn, she somehow managed to restore them from their stone forms before wordlessly ordering the Storm Guards again; this time to restrain them and place the same devices for the unicorns on their horns to prevent them from using their magic. Regaining consciousness, Celestia was the first to take in her surroundings and find Tempest watching them with an almost vacant expression, the only thing keeping it from being identified as such being her tone of glee.

"Wakey, wakey..." Tempest called out mockingly. "Well, if it isn't Princess Daybreaker, her younger sister Nightmare Moon, and...Candlewick, the one that reeks of love." That last word she treated with disdain, much to the annoyance of the awaking princess of such. Cadance had more problems to worry about than somepony mocking her namesake, however, as she immediately noticed the device that rendered her horn (and her magic as a whole) useless.

"Well-played, Commander Tempest," Cadance stood up and faced Tempest with a hardened determination as Celestia and Luna both regained consciousness, "but you'll never take over Canterlot and all of Equestria! We shall see of it."

Tempest examined what was before her: not a trio of committed royal officials whose statement was rendered a promise, but rather a trio of helpless cowardly princesses who attempted to sound tough despite the waver in their voices. She scoffed and turned a blind eye toward them, giggling under her breath as she did so. It felt like an insult to her, actually; to think she would take over this hellhole as compensation for what had happened to her when she was just a young filly.

"Who said anything about taking over Canterlot or all of Equestria? I certainly never did," Tempest giggled some more...before it transitioned to a full-on cackle. "If I did, I would've known it and done it a long time ago." Her frighteningly delightful tone had the prisoners on edge, as if her intimidating presence weren't enough. "No... Though it may surprise you, I don't want to take over Canterlot or all of Equestria."

"You don't?" Cadance exchanged a series of worried glances with her adoptive aunts, fearing the worst...and that's what she got.

"No... I WANT TO DESTROY IT!"

With a howl and a jump, Tempest smashed through the floor of the ceremonial hall and fell into the crystal caverns, sending many a caged pony into backing up into their small barred walls. Inside the same place where Princess Cadance was being held before, her horn lit up and provided her the faintest hint of light as she travelled deep with the rocky labyrinth that was an abandoning mining system. Taking a while to find her destination was worth it, as she had all the time in the world; it was basically a library that housed a collection of magical artifacts. Recognizing the wizard who owned it, Tempest observed the property of Star Swirl the Bearded until she found what she was looking.

"Ah, the Alicorn Amulet... You thought you could hide this from me..."

Slipping the artifact of doom around her neck, a sense of otherworldly power flowed through her. Her opal eyes turned bloody red, as did her horn in spite of lacking a magical aura of her own. As she strolled back to the hole and leapt up through it, she turned to face her army of Storm Guards. "My Guards... It's come to my attention that the Storm King hasn't been treating you properly as I have. He's hindered your chances to realize your full potential and execute it, rendering you useless other than sport or entertainment. Well, I say this to you: down with the Storm King!" They began to murmur in agreement with their Commander, as did the Changelings she imprisoned, "We will show Equestria no mercy! We will take every pony, every dragon, every creature...and make them serve us! Serve us or perish, that is the decision to make! Those who dare defy us will be destroyed! Equestria...will be ours."

The Storm Guards and even some of the defected Changelings cheered in encouragements over their self-proclaimed new leader. Many of the prisoner ponies exchanged looks of worry and fear as they sent a round of applause to Commander Tempest. When they finally settled down, their ears perked up at the sound of what appeared to be a lone pony(?) clapping. Everypony turned to the source – a light turquoise Pegasus donning the familiar Shadowbolt uniform along with a pair of... Metallic wings...? Rainbow Dash's jaw hung agape in shock.

"Beautiful," the Pegasus began, "That was just simply beautiful. Honestly, I thought I shed a tear or two. Now, when you're done, I have a proposition to make."

"And whom might you be?" Tempest reverted back to her cold demeanor.

"The name's Angel...Archangel. And I just like to point out that these are not all of the prisoners you've captured."

"Really? Please...elaborate."

"One little unicorn managed to evade capture." Lightning Dust absolutely made sure that her little tale caught the curiosity of the three Princesses before continuing, "She then decided to play hero, heading south of the Badlands to seek assistance...from the Queen of the Hippogriffs."

If the fact that a few ponies actually escaped had their curiosity in her grasp, then the mere mention of the Hippogriffs gripped onto their attention. The aforementioned three Princesses in question exchanged hopeful if concerned looks, while Tempest took the Pegasus's regale into consideration. "So...the tales are true. And if the tales are true...then the Pearl must be."

A look of determination decorating her face, Tempest turned to Lightning Dust. "Alright, little Pegasus. You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention. What is your proposition?"

"You and I aren't that different," Lightning Dust explained, "You lost your horn, I lost my wings. These wings..." before she walked past her and performed the same action back at the barn...this time on a couple of Storm Guards who were unfortunate enough to be nearby. As a result, the prisoners gasped in horror and shock as the bladed wings embedded themselves into their heads before launching back into Lightning Dust's actual back. "...are just second nature. And I just got them only yesterday. I obtained them because I was in pain... Pain that was brought forward in light of an event that plagued me for eight months straight. It was an event that prompted me in self-exile, never to face my family or Equestrian society again..."

Rainbow Dash's mind began rewinding back eight months, her shock outweigh all and any emotion her face showed. She wondered if...that event involved...this Pegasus. This...familiar Pegasus. This...very familiar Pegasus. "Lightning Dust...?"

The Pegasus in question ceased her pacing and shot Rainbow Dash a glare. "Do you mind? I'm trying to talk here."

She was taken aback by her tone of voice. It wasn't one void of hotheadedness or a short temper, it was...calm annoyance. She... She didn't recognize me...

"Anyway..." Lightning Dust continued, "What I'm trying to propose to you is this: let me...help you...conquer them."

The prisoners exchanged looks of worry and fear again as Tempest contemplated her proposition. "Hmm. You have proven yourself capable of combat. You may be use to me, but there's the matter of my horn..."

"You let me worry about that," Lightning Dust waved her worries away. "I'm sure there's a spell somewhere beyond the sea..."

"I see. Then we leave at nightfall. Grubber!"

Lightning Dust watched as a small hedgehog approached the unicorn. "Yes, Commander Tempest?"

"Prepare my ship...and two additional ones. Have them ready by nightfall."

"Yes, ma'am!" He ambled off just as Tempest and Lightning Dust exchanged tense expressions.

"If you dare consider backstabbing me, Archangel..."

"I wouldn't dare dream of it. Besides, I receive the backstabbing and never give them...but I make them make the first move so I can stab them in the back in return. Talk about reverse psychology, eh?"

"Hmm... I suppose." Tempest managed herself a smile and walked past Lightning Dust, "Watch my prisoners."

As Tempest exited the wedding hall turned prisoners' cabin to check on the condition of her ships, Lightning Dust approached the cage the Mane 6 (specifically Rainbow Dash) was being held in and slipped off the mouth mask, never revealing her eyes. "Why did you call me that?"

"What?"

"You called me Lightning Dust during my conversation with Commander Tempest. Why?"

"... I don't know. You just remind of someone that I used to know."

"Was that someone a friend of yours?"

"... I guess you can call her that."

"... Yeah. I lose a friend, too."

Marking the end of their conversation, Lightning Dust turned tail and walked away from the cage, not giving Rainbow Dash a chance to get the last word in. She (the latter) took a good long look at her (the former's) metal wings, intrigue and terror overwhelming her for a moment before Commander Tempest arrived back with Grubber by her side.

"Tempest, I know how that feels. I want the Storm King to fix that crazy horn as badly as you do. It looks like a crackly chipped tooth on the top of your head. And you know you don't look good in that. The escaped prisoner may think so too."

Suddenly, Tempest lost her tempest and her horn crackled in response. "That prisoner is not gonna keep me from getting my horn back! Prepare my ship!"

Grubber yelped in fright and ran off. Tempest huffed in frustration and turned to face Lightning Dust. "I hope you're right."

"I'm not always wrong, Commander." Lightning Dust shrugged with a smile, "Besides...how far can one little pony get on her own?"

---

It was nighttime now and the six-member group were stuck in the middle of the desert. They were tired, hungry, and sore from walking for approximately six hours now. Nonetheless, they persisted and by their own hoof; this surprised Twilight and Sunset, who believed that the four behind them would easily tire out as much as they would at this moment. Starlight, Trixie, Photo Finish, and Apple Cobbler proved them both wrong, however, and managed to last longer than they expected.

Twilight located a cave not far from where they currently stood and led the group to that spot. When they all entered inside, they immediately plopped down in exhaustion.

"Dear Celestia..." Trixie groaned as she stretched and brushed off the dust off her cape, "Saving...Equestria...is a...lot harder...than I thought."

"You think you've had it worse?" Photo Finish scowled at her as she attempted to fix her mess of a mane, "My mane is quite rare, given the type of hairstyle it was fixed with. It'll take me months to restore it to its proper glory."

"Nopony asked you to come," Apple Cobbler shot her a glare as she bit down on a previously discarded apple, "but you insisted. So, what's the problem?"

"Girls..." Starlight nervously smiled, "As much as I hate to intervene, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, and neither will those attitudes of yours."

Twilight and Sunset wisely stayed out of the four-way debate, keeping the fire going and making small talk between them both.

"So..."

"So...?"

"What's your story?"

"... My story?"

It was the former who spoke first, wanting to know the latter's story seeing as she (Sunset) was told hers (Twilight).

"I mean, if you don't feel comfortable telling me..."

"Not yet. Long story short... I faced a similar situation like you, but with one difference."

"What's that?"

"... Nobody tried to kill you, right?"

The moment those words were spoken was the moment the cave fell more silent than it already was. Trixie, Starlight, Photo Finish, and Apple Cobbler turned to Twilight and Sunset (but specifically Sunset) with their various expressions of shock.

"Some...somepony tried to kill you...?" Photo Finish clamped her hoof over her mouth in horror.

"....Everypony tried to kill me."

"But...why?" Starlight scooched over a little more.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. It's also a long story."

"Nopony believed me before," Twilight smiled just barely, "Besides, we've got plenty of time."

Sunset chuckled, "Get situated, then. This might take a while..."

Author's Note:

Chapter 5 Summary: Commander Tempest has rounded up all of Canterlot's citizens and transformed the castle into a prison. Lightning Dust, now known as Archangel reveals that Twilight Sparkle has escaped her clutches and is currently seeking the aid of the Hippogriffs. Hoping to use the Pearl of Transformation to restore her horn, she is currently unaware of her new assistant hiding a secret agenda up her sleeve.

For the most part, Lightning Dust is more of a neutral party and loose cannon in the heist-like wild goose chase. She is neither a good guy nor a bad lackey, but she is rather fighting for her own side...for the most part, anyway. She can kick ass and continuously rotates between aiding the good, the bad, and the ugly. Think an amalgamation of Vivian Rutledge from The Big Sleep (1946), Kathie Moffat from Out Of The Past (1947), Ilsa Faust from Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015), and Qi'ra from Solo (2018).

The chapter title "A Thought In The Arm" is a play on the phrase "A shot in the arm", which means an encouraging stimulus. Lightning Dust encourages Tempest to pursue Twilight in order to take her mind off the prisoners and focus on her horn. As a result, her "plan" is set in motion.

Comments

[Zeprto678]

Whatever LD is planning, it'll fail.

[MarcellusMiro66]

9329593
I wouldn't worry for now. There will be some major changes that will diverge from canon, but not to where there is no reference to it. The lighthearted tone will drop significantly when we arrive at Klugetown, but there will be a small fire of hope. It will be dark and realistic in terms of a poverty-stricken town, but not to Batman v Superman-levels of grittiness... I hope...

[MarcellusMiro66]

9329704
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention: Lightning Dust doesn't care at all if her plan fails. She's just in for the thrill of the ride.

[Zeprto678]

9330532
But she does know that she'd be going to the dungeons as soon as she's defeated, right? Even if she escapes from being arrested, she'd be marked as a criminal and be on the run her entire life.

[LinkGirl]

This is a bit of a mess in some places but what can I say, you have me. I hope you come back to this 'cause I really want to see how our going to have this new team work together

[GlitchyFox]

10365164
Freindship=Magic