Chapter 7: Assessing Victory
The chaos that had swept over Canterlot during the main assault was finally beginning to subside, as Tempest's forces gradually took control over the entire city. As she expected, resistance was next to nothing as the Storm Fleet swept away what little defenses stood in their way. This effectively made the citizens of Canterlot easy pickings, as the Storm Beasts set to rounding up the swaths of the populace and putting them in chains, enslaving them for whatever purpose the Storm King deemed fit for them. Tempest could think of several ways to prove themselves useful, however that was not the current focus of her thoughts at that moment.
This whole time, from the moment she had left Fireteam Storm to attend to their newly captive princess to now, Tempest felt a sense of unease. She knew very well from which it stemmed. Carter held merit in his concerns, as her choice in sparing the princess did present a substantial risk should she escape. But if there's one thing Tempest never did, it was backpedal from a decision. To do so would display uncertainty, and to display uncertainty in her position would send a message of trepidation, and in turn, weakness, to her troops. Tempest might have been handed her command by the Storm King, but she had to earn the respect and fear of her subordinates through tactical superiority over their enemies, and ruthless efficiency in dispatching them.
She would have to see her decision through by taking the necessary steps in securing the prisoner, one of which had already been enacted by assigning Fireteam Storm as her primary security detail. What other precautions needed to be emplaced no doubt centered around securing the enviroment around her cell, an easy task all thing's considering. She had company's worth of troops at her disposal, and said troops would now be occupying every crook and crevice in the city, making escape already a difficult endeavor.
As she mulled the prospects of containment, it suddenly donned on her that this moment should technically be a victory, a time of celebration. But Tempest felt no such emotion, in fact, she couldn't shake the feeling like things were only going to get worse. While there was nothing substantial to back up those thoughts, the gut feeling simply refused to go away.
"I hope I made the right choice." Tempest wondered.
Tempest turned around and began to head inside the throne room, exiting the grand balcony that laid directly behind it. As she descended the stairway leading to the main floor, she spotted six forms dotting her view. Three were once the ruling princesses of Equestria, whilst the others were two of her storm beasts, and Grubber, the latter doing a very pitiful job of directing them as they moved each of the petrified princesses into place. Along the floor was a giant rune which spread across the majority of the room, with a small recess at its center, fit for one Staff of Sacanas, the artifact that would return what Tempest had lost, and what currently laid in the Storm King's possession. As Tempest past the diarch of the sun, frozen in a gesture of terror, Tempest could only feel utter contempt.
"All this potential, wasted on parties." She seethed.
Were Celestia not needed for the draining ritual, Tempest wouldn't have hesitated to shatter her with one powerful blast of lightning. But alas, she still a job to do, and that required all the princesses to be intact. As she stepped over towards her underlings, they were just in the process of putting Princess Luna in a position where her awkward posture wouldn't make her fall over.
"You guys gotta nudge it left. No my left!" Grubber insisted.
The storm beasts replied with growls of frustration.
"Hey don't look at me! It's not my fault she froze in free fall! Maybe there's a cinder block or something we can lean her up against?"
"Grubber." Tempest addressed curtly.
Grubber, caught unaware's, spun on his heels to meet her.
"Ah! Hey, boss!" He yelped, following it up with an immediate salute and a sheepish smile. "Might I just say, CONGRATULATIONS! You did it, you pulled everything off without-"
"Grubber, I don't need praise, I need a sit rep." Tempest interjected, clearly impatient with her tone.
"Oh, well, we got each of the princesses here, minus the little purple one. Uh..oh, these storm beasts got the cage like you asked and it's sitting over yonder." he said, pointing towards its direction. "All the ponies are currently depressed and enslaved, so that really only leaves-"
Suddenly the doors leading from the main hall to the throne room swung open, revealing the forms of Fireteam Storm and several of Tempest's own elite Storm Beasts. At the center of their formation, stood their escortee, and from the looks of her alone, Princess Twilight was a far cry from her former self. Mere hours ago, she was a princess of Equestria, prepping for what was to be one of the most the momentous occasions of her life. Now, she was no more than their prisoner, to be used and expended in whatever and whenever they wanted.
"-her." Grubber finished.
Content with what lay before her eyes, Tempest began closing the distance between them. As she did, Sanchez took his place at the fore front of the escort group.
"Someone order one princess trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey?" He quipped.
At that moment, Jackson, who had been covering the rear, lifted a leg and forcefully pushed Twilight forward. She yelped through her muzzle as her chains rattled and she was forced to the floor on her knees. Tempest smiled menacingly as she looked down at the disheveled mess that was once the Princess of Friendship.
"Lieutenant Jackson, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, please refrain from damaging the prisoner unless I give the order." Tempest instructed.
"Yes, Ma'am. Though gonna be honest, I've found a little distribution of pain to be an effective motivator in this kind of situation."
"That being said, I'll inform you when I want any of your....physical reinforcement."
Jackson tilted his head, and though Tempest couldn't see his expression through his helmet, she undoubtedly knew he was smiling.
"Understood." He replied contently.
With that out of the way, Tempest returned her attention back to Twilight, who was struggling to return to her feet through all the bindings.
"Hmm, still standing I see. Maybe you're not as weak as I thought?" Tempest mocked.
It was then that Twilight shot the most hate filled glare she could muster at Tempest. However, the desired effect Twilight had hoped to elicit had the opposite effect as Tempest chuckled at her display of plucky defiance.
"Oh, that's too precious. I sincerely hope you set that anger of yours aside, princess. It'll only make things more difficult in the long run. We'll be spending a lot of time together in the coming days, and I hate to cut this relationship short should you prove to be too much of a problem."
Twilight didn't need an explanation as to what implications that statement entailed. While her look of anger didn't dissipate, it certainly lessened in intensity.
"That's better." Tempest mused.
Tempest then gave Fireteam Storm a slight nod, gesturing for them to place her in the inhibitor cage. Carter nodded and proceeded to pull on one of the two chains connected to Twilight's collar. Along with Green, they made short work of getting her over there.
Tempest watched as they proceeded to take off all her bindings. It would have provided a window of escape had Twilight not been at gunpoint. Jackson in particular had his sights trained on her head, and despite orders to keep her alive, he probably wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger at the slightest flicker of her horn. Thankfully, Tempest seemed confident that the princess knew that as well.
"Seems his aggression towards her served a purpose. Use fear of him to keep her in line. Clever, but somewhat predictable."
At that moment, something clicked in Tempest's head, something that could finally divulge what Storm's real motives were, if there were any. If she could come to understand their personalities and the dynamic in which they played in their teamwork and how they carried out their tasks, perhaps she could piece together what goal they sought to achieve. She would have to be clever about it, and the task would take no small amount of subtly, but the confidence she had in her own abilities would no doubt make such a feat possible. Once they had finished releasing the princess of her bindings, Carter pulled out his sidearm, in a threatening gesture.
"In the cage. Now." He demanded.
Twilight paused, considering her options. However the amount of scenarios of potential escape were outweighed by the almost certainty of death, and she opted to do as she was told. Twilight stepped inside, and once she wad completely within the confines of the cage, Carter slammed the door shut. The tumblers of the internal lock clicked with fervor before falling silent.
"Well, that takes care of escorting her." Sanchez quipped.
"Now onto watching her." Jackson finished.
All eyes fell onto Green, the man who had suggested this course of action in the first place. Green was about to say something before one of Tempest's elites walked in. A good majority of his armor was singed, no doubt by magical means.
"<Commander Tempest, I was sent to retrieve reinforcements.>" The beast grumbled. "<We face highly skilled magical fighters in the central gardens, casualties are mounting.>"
"Seems we're needed elsewhere." Carter relented.
"I'll have my personal guard stand watch for the time being. Right now, I need you four to deal with the situation in the gardens." Tempest instructed them.
Fireteam Storm engaged in a quick equipment check, reloading fresh magazines and making sure all electronic displays were functioning at maximum capacity. As soon as everything was in order, Fireteam Storm wasted no time in heading to their new objective, as Carter turned to the elite who had delivered the news.
"Lead the way." Carter ordered.
"<Yes, Captain.>" The Storm Beast replied.
As they hastened toward their destination, Sanchez couldn't help but deliver a few last words before the endeavor.
"Oh goodie, no rest for the wicked, huh?" Sanchez griped. "Couldn't just sit back, knock a few shots and unwind. Instead we gotta fucking pop some stupid locals stirring shit up.
"Cheer up, compadre." Jackson quipped. "Shit's just about to get fun."
"You live for this stuff, don't you Jackson?" Green asked.
"Better fucking believe it." he answered back.
"Pfft, Psycho." Sanchez mouthed.
As Fireteam Storm disappeared from view, The two elites who had been moving the Princesses took their positions by the cage as Twilight's temporary guards. However despite her situation, a spark of hope managed to erupt in the heart of the young princesd. Perhaps her friends survived and had returned somehow. However, Tempest was quick to notice this slight hint of optimism, and she knew right then and there that that simply wouldn't do.
"It seems a few of your colleagues are putting up some resistance." Tempest noted. "But I wouldn't give my hopes up on them coming to your aid."
"As long as there are brave ponies willing to stand up to you, there will always be hope." Twilight replied defiantly.
"Oh trust me, princess. There won't any brave ponies for much longer."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Well, I find that making an example for others does wonders for quelling any would-be uprising." Tempest chuckled.
"Example?"
"Oh, princess, do you think the weapons my forces carry are for show?" Tempest asked rhetorically.
Twilight tilted her head in confusion, before coming to the horrifying realization of what her words meant.
"Wait...No!....No you didn't send them to........Please, I beg you, nopony needs to die!"
"Maybe they do, maybe they don't. It's really not up to me. Fireteam Storm will deal with them however they see fit, but let me make something clear to you. They had specific orders to take you alive, but that luxury doesn't extend to the rest of your subjects. If your people want to start trouble, I guarantee the consequences will be severe."
"Why? Why do this?" Twilight asked. "Why stoop to such a barbaric level?!"
"Because this is a war, princess. Casualties are a given."
"But we did nothing to you! We did nothing to deserve this! How could you do this to your own kind!?"
Tempest slammed against the bars of Twilight's cage, sparks of lightning spewing out of her broken horn. Twilight jumped back out of fear. Anger was blatant in Tempest's expression as she showed bared teeth. She wanted to break it to her, how Twilight's precious Equestria had abandoned her after her most traumatic experience, how big the hypocrisy spread in her established mindset that Equestria was this utopia of harmony. But to do so would be rash, and with a good grasp of the situation, unnecessary. Tempest slowly backed away from the cage before taking a deep breath, and chuckling.
"Oh but that's the best part of it all, princess. Because you're right and wrong in that statement. Your precious Equestria committed the cardinal sin of complacence." Tempest smirked. "Your fellow co-regents should have had knowledge of our campaigns across the globe. The fall of Abyssinia, the conquering of Hippogriffia, and despite all the warning signs, they did nothing."
"I...I-"
"You made our takeover easy. You fell right into our trap without so much as a hint of trepidation, despite it being so obvious. Perhaps you should have spent less time throwing stupid celebrations to inflate your infatuated egos and more time hardening your defenses. You may have been right in that you did nothing, but your wrong if you think you didn't deserve this. You were asking for this to happen. Tell me, how many times has the peace of Equestria been at significant risk in recent years? Five, six times now? Seven?"
"I-I'll admit, too many, but we've dealt with threats like you before!" Twilight said defiantly.
"Wrong. You've only dealt with other egotistical idiots like yourselves. Fools who either blatantly gave you an advantage through their own ineptitude or shortsightedness. Unlike them, I focus on the task at hand until it's finished! And when I've accomplished my goal, I don't let my guard down. I have no qualms in having those who resist the Storm King's will killed! I have no qualms in breaking your spirits, enslaving your children, yourselves, uprooting your lives by force, anything to ensure that all threats to the mission are eliminated. One way or another, Equestria as you know it is dead. You failed."
Any response Twilight could have relayed back had died out. Twilight could only look at Tempest with the soul snuffed out in her eyes, completely at a loss of words with her mouth hung agape. Despite her cold nature, Tempest's words held a merit of truth do intense it gave Twilight pause to really reflect on choices she and the other princesses had made. That alone laid out the reality of the situation she found herself in, effectively shattering the very idea of what it meant to be a good princess. Twilight began to wonder if Tempest was right, for it was certainly sounding that way. Seeing the effect her verbal onslaught had on the Princess of Friendship gave Tempest a sense of satisfaction she could scarce describe. Perhaps she had broken her this early, but that remained to be seen, for it was at that moment that two more Storm Beasts had suddenly approached, with one carrying a rather large vial containing a bright blue liquid. Twilight got a full view of the substance, and thus was able to pick up on the fact that it seemed to be chiming a rather peppy tune. Tempest began to walk towards them, letting out one last statement as she left her prisoner to her thoughts.
"As for loyalty to ponykind. It's been a good long while since I've given a damn about any of you. In my experience, the strong rule, and the weak diminish, and I'm embarrassed to say there's nobody weaker than my own kind. But that will change soon enough."
The Storm Beasts stopped in front of the large basin that stood in the center of the room. As she approached, the beasts uncorked the bottle and poured it's contents in the basin. Upon contact, the substance violently erupted into sparks and in its place, rose breath of blue flame. The flame gradually got larger and larger before stopping and expanding. After a few seconds, the details of an armored cuirass, white fur, and fanged mouth with gray wrinkled skin could be seen. A humming echo then emanated from the flame before gradually transitioning into a voice.
"...where am I supposed to be looking?" said the annoyed figure. "Ugh, I never understand how this spell works. TEMPEST!?!"
"Over here, your excellency." She greeted with an uncharacteristic patience in her tone.
"Where?" the voice asked.
"Over here." she instructed further.
"Huh?"
"No. No-right. Look right."
"My right?" He said as his face lowered into full view.
"Yeah." Tempest said.
Twilight was unfamiliar with what this creature was, but his visage and how Tempest addressed him was enough for her to deduce that this, was the Storm King.
"Oh, there you are." He said, relieved he could finally get the conversation underway. "Okay, so! Did what you suggested and took the rest of the fleet to the to eastern sky temple place. Went there, broke in, burned it down, took the twig, the whole shebang."
Twilight was beginning to wonder how this being was renowned and infamous Storm King, and how he had found himself commanding the formidable force that had invaded her home when he sounded less like an evil king and more like a lawyer.
"So here's the deal I'm in the middle of a big re-brand here, the Storm King is tracking, wwwelll, as intensely intimidating. But y'know what, I need back it up. Y'know what I need to back it up with? A STORM! THAT WOULD BE GREAT!"
The sudden outburst sent sparks flying forth from the basin, making everyone but Tempest recoil. Tempest maintained her neutral expression and continued to listen.
"You promised me magic that could control the elements." The Storm King went on. "And right now I'm holding a what? A branch? A twig? Bleugh!"
"Uh, that would be the Staff of Sacanas, your excellency." Tempest informed him.
"Mmmhmm." The Storm King hummed.
"And it will channel the magic of the four rulers of this land. You'll soon have the power of a hundred armies."
"Ssssooooo, that would be a yes on you locking down the four pegacornicusessszzhha, whatever you call them?"
Tempest let a smile across her face, as the satisfaction of delivering the news of her success was too good to pass up.
"The forces granted to me did exceptional work, your excellency. Fireteam Storm was instrumental in their role, and the four princesses have been dealt with. Everything is ready for your arrival."
Suddenly, the Storm King's expression changed from uncertainty to satisfaction.
"Ohoho! Now that's what I like to hear." The Storm King said with a smug grin. "Now, I'll entrust you'll make certain it stays that way."
"Of course, your excellency."
"Good, good. Because remember Tempest, only I have the power to make you whole." The Storm King reminded her with menace in his tone. "Make this twig work, and you'll get your reward. Fail me, and your horn won't be the only thing that's broken."
Tempest's eyes squinted in determination.
"It won't be a problem."
"Great!" The Storm King exclaimed, effectively doing a 180 with his tone. "I'll power up and then you, me, and Storm will crash and burn the place in the biggest baddest boogaloo this side of Equus! Speaking of Storm, where the hell are they?"
"Dealing with some stragglers, your excellency." Tempest informed him.
"Ahh, well I'd rather not go into the details, I know it's bound to be messy, kinda of their trademark now that I think about it. Well, anyways, trip should take me about three days. Have everything ready when I arrive, you know I hate delays."
"Yes, your excellency." Tempest said with curtly bow.
"Alright, now how to turn this thing off-"
With one spark form her horn, Tempest was able to disconnect.
"Grubber, with me." Tempest ordered. "As for the rest of you, stand watch over the prisoner. Deal with any outbursts harshly. Anyone comes through those doors who isn't one of us, dispose of them!"
The Storm Beasts grunted in confirmation, taking up their positions around the cage. Without so much as a minute to spare, Tempest headed back out into the city to finish up the final sweep with Grubber trailing behind. Everything would be perfect for the Storm Kings arrival, nothing was going to stop her this close to the finish line, not even a few would-be heroes.
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I would drop a like, but for whatever reason likes here are cumulative for the story so you can't hit the big "thumbs up" every chapter. Which, as I frequent SB/SV, I find rather limiting to my ability to engage with the story.
Still, lovely work. I for one am wondering how the Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal is going to work out and what will prompt former adversaries to work together... Or not.
How does 106 likes sound? Xd
Great chapter bro! While I certainly prefer seeing more of the other story, I definitely find this one interesting and exciting!
I loved the movie dont get me wrong, but this has a more realistic view on how things would have been, which makes me wonder all the more how this will end. We know for a fact the storm king will betray them, so it leaves how both tempest and fire team deal with it. If they resist and somehow overcome the storm king then what? Tempest will technically be the new ruler of the storm empire, but will she rule exactly as she has been, or make slight changes? Hopefully better ones? Who knows.
This chapter shows that tempest does not fully trust the storm king, so I imagine she might come up with contingency plans most likely, the question is, does fireteam [specifically carter] suspect this possible outcome as well? Being the veteran soldiers they are I would think it's at least crossed thier minds, are they prepared for that type of outcome thou? We will have to wait and see.
Xd
Lets get it on! I've been spending some time away from Fimfic so I was here when you uploaded but I'm here now. The only disappointment is that I'm already done. So many things can happen in 3 days. Lets see shall we?