45 Breaking Point
Twilight Sparkle's best mare dress...
It was an elegant garment that Rarity poured her heart and soul into, just as much as the other outfits she'd made for this special occasion...
Now it was marred by two gigantic holes near the waistline... and the jacquard pink skirt was steadily being spoiled by a steadily growing crimson stain...
...the blood of the wearer.
The magnificent plateau of Canterlot where Princess Cadance was supposed to have her long overdue wedding was silent, except for a subtle wind that gently ruffled the manes of all the attendees. Twilight, little sister to the groom of the wedding that was supposed to take place this day, Shining Armor, stood before them. The double pronged javelin that had been meant for the bride, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, now protruded from her back, piercing the elegant fabric of her gown, and staining it with her blood.
For a moment, everypony was still, until Twilight's eyes rolled back in her head and she went limp, rippling towards the ground.
"Twilight!" cried Cadance in despair, leaping up from the spot on the ground where Twilight had thrown her to safety, catching her would-be sister-in-law demurely in her forelegs, lightly cradling her against her chest, never once acknowledging that Twilight's blood was now staining her wedding dress.
Her actions, however, seemed to be the trigger the rest in attendance needed and everypony finally started to react to what they had just seen. The majority of them screamed in absolute panic at seeing a fellow pony so violently impaled, turning tail and fleeing into the depths of Canterlot, most likely seeking cover from the danger. The royal guard also slipped into the city, though they weren't escaping, but rather trying to usher the citizens to safety, as is their duty. However, a certain group of ponies, plus one baby dragon, still stood frozen on the spot.
Tempest Shadow paid them no need. Her only focus was on those who were fleeing. Everything, while not going entirely according to plan, was playing out excellently. One sign of violent opposition and the ponies scatter like frightened field mice. While the opposition of that lavender unicorn had come as a surprise to her, even that had worked in her favor, for seeing one of such talent and vigor brought low so effortlessly could only add to the panic. And now it was time to strike while the iron was hot.
With a simple gesture of her hoof, her troops disembarked from her ship, forgoing the ramp she had used in favor of just plain jumping over the railing to the pavement below. The yetis were Tempest's soldiers, similar in build to the Storm King, bipedal and wooly, though not as lanky and appearing to be all muscle, each one was armed with a similar weapon like the one that struck down that bothersome unicorn. Now that pandemonium was sweeping through Canterlot, Tempest could easily take the city.
And the Princesses.
"This is your final warning," she said, trotting casually up to the small but sizable group that hadn't fled. "Surrender, or more will suffer."
There was no reaction, no one in the small crowd even acknowledged Tempest's words, not even looking up as she spoke, their attention solely focused on the limp form of the pony being cradled.
A vein appeared on Tempest Shadow's brow as she scowled, aggravated at being ignored. "DO YOU NOT HEAR ME?! STAND DOWN, OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!"
Still, nopony paid her heed.
Tempest grit her teeth. She had come too far, sacrificed too much to get to this point to merely be ignored. She was Tempest Shadow, top general in The Storm King's army, and her demands would not be blatantly ignored. She scanned the crowd before her, sizing up which would make suitable hostages. If they would not bend to her words they would pay heed to her actions.
"I should have learned my lesson the last time!" The sudden words came from the pony cradling the limp form. "I should know by now that compassion shouldn't be extended to those who won't do anything but abuse it." She lifted her elegant pink head to stare at Tempest, tears streaming down her cheeks like miniature waterfalls, but she also wore a scowl that could slice sheet metal. "Twilight has suffered so much because of compassion. No more."
The others in the crowd also looked up at this point, just as much anguish and tears on their faces, as well as just as much anger.
"Girls... Spike," Cadance said, her voice a quagmire of raw emotions, all directed at the perpetrator who had inflicted this emotional pain upon them. "Shining and I will look after Twilight. I beseech you, use the Thu'um to defend Canterlot and drive this vile interloper from our home."
"Consider it done, yer majesty," said Applejack, tears pouring from her emerald eyes as she stepped forward, pulling her trademark hat from somewhere and donning it, the shadow of the rim draping over her vengeful scowl. "Nopony hurts Twilight while I'm around!"
"Let me at her!" cried Rainbow, banging one forehoof against the other. "I'm going to pull that broken horn off and jam it where the sun doesn't shine!"
"While a lady should never resort to violence," said Rarity, looking down at Twilight with an agonized expression. "Nopony should just stand idly by as this is done to her friend." She glared at Tempest. "You're going to pay dearly for this!"
"Party crasher sighted!" Pinkie Pie sneered, reached into her mane to pull out her party crasher canon, cocked it and aimed it.
Fluttershy, while just as enraged as her friends, had no words for the situation, but was just as eager to utilize her Thu'um, like her friends. However, she did take note of one thing.
"Spike," she said to the enraged baby dragon next to her, still in his ring bearer tux. "You should let us handle this and get to safety."
"Not a chance," Spike sneered, cracking his claws. "I didn't back down in Morrowind, I won't back down here. Twilight needs all of her friends right now."
Fluttershy didn't argue further, for Spike had a point. And he had known Twilight the longest amongst them, he was practically her little brother. If anyone had the right to defend her, it was him.
"And it's not just you all who will defend Twilight, as well as Canterlot," Princess Celestia spoke up, walking ahead of all of them, Luna by her side, both staring down the invaders with matching scowls and flaring their wings. "You want our magic, you're going to have to drag it out of us."
Tempest Shadow looked from one pony rising up in opposition against her to another, noticing that it wasn't just those that had been huddling the closest to that wounded unicorn, the rest of the crowd were stepping forward as well, all portraying a desire for battle. But Tempest wasn't intimidated. This small group nowhere near matched her legion in numbers.
"So be it," said Tempest, pointing her foreleg out, sending her yeti soldiers charging forward.
"Shining, Cadance, get Twilight to the hospital," declared Celestia. "We'll handle things here."
Cadance's only response was to levitate Twilight's limp body with her magic, trying not to exacerbate her injury. There was no doubt Twilight was badly hurt, but she was breathing and that gave Cadance hope. Shining Armor, for his part, would have liked nothing more than to plow his way through these hairy beasts and throttle that half-unicorn who dared do this, as captain of the royal guard and as a big brother, but Twilight's well being was his priority now. He had failed to live up to his role as big brother recently, what with Chrysalis and Hermaeus Mora, he would not let her down here and now again.
As Cadance began to casually move both herself and Twilight, Shining fell into step beside her, casting a barrier around them for good measure.
And while they did this, the princesses, Twilight's friends, as well as several residents of Ponyville, who had also stayed to give aid on behalf of Twilight, a pony they had come to accept as one of their own. Celestia smiled at this show of support, hoping they could somehow come away from all of this as unscathed as they could be, but amongst the ponies closest to them she saw two faces.
"Haakim, Amira!" she called out as the two Saddle Arabian delegates galloped up next to her, then overtook her, making for the opposing horde. While grateful for the assistance, if those two got hurt it could lead to an international incident. "This is an Equestrian affair, you don't need to become involved..."
"BRAWL!" both Saddle Arabian delegates hollered together as they made contact with the horde, impacting the legion furthest to the right head on.
There was virtually the sound of a bowling ball impacting bowling pins and several yetis were sent airborne, flying up well over a dozen feet before falling painfully back to the ground, meaty thuds echoing throughout the plateau. But it didn't stop there. Haakim and Amira tore into the remaining yetis with a brutality never before seen in the recent history of Equestria.
Celestia, and even Luna, halted in their tracks as they watched Haakim and Amira waylay the intruders, bucking with their hind legs and striking out with their forelegs and dealing more than just combat damage to their opponents. With each blow a yeti found either their weapon or armor splintering like wood.
"This shoddy workmanship is pitiful," mocked Haakim as he wrenched a javelin out of a yeti's grip and proceeded to snap it like a dry twig. "So full of chinks and impurities. Such armament would not last a second in Saddle Arabia."
"Yeah, what talentless schmuck makes this garbage!" said Amira, going back to back with her husband, yanking off a yeti's helmet and proceeding to crumple it like a tin can, before bucking the yeti away in a shower of his own teeth.
Celestia and Luna still sat dumbstruck as they bore witness to Haakim and Amira's savage beatdown of several of the yetis in only a brief amount of time. They had never seen this side of them before. How could Haakim and Amira, ponies who were known to the princesses for being elegant, graceful and polite, have such a side to them?
But then the cloud of puzzlement and intrigue lifted from their minds as they reminded themselves that they had a larger role in this battle than mere spectators. With one last look of acknowledgement at each other, Celestia and Luna took flight and brought the very magic the leader of this rebel coveted so to bear. Pillars of the most elegant yellow and deepest blue rained from above as the wrath of both the sun and moon crashed into multiple yetis, sending them sprawling, oftentimes into their fellows.
It didn't take long for the yetis to retaliate, however, several taking aim with their javelins and hurling them at the Equestrian monarchy. It was then that Celestia and Luna ceased with their pillars of magical might and brought forth their telekinesis, catching the airborne projectiles with relative ease. They could just let them drop harmlessly, but there were better uses for so much ammunition.
It would be here that Celestia would usually hesitate, to try to convince herself that there were more benign ways to settle a conflict, a tactic she had turned to ever since the vice-like grip of the guilt she had felt for what she had been forced to do to her beloved Luna had grabbed hold of her being, but she had no such hesitation now. With her failure to rise to the challenge that was Chrysalis, when she could have gone hoof to hoof with her, Celestia had dedicated herself to defending her nation the way somepony of her station and power should have long ago.
And it hadn't been too difficult for her to throw off the shackles.
Not long ago, a certain artifact known as an Elder Scroll was briefly in her possession, needed to aid in a quest that had recently concluded, and she had inadvertently looked into it. She had been warned of the overwhelming nature of this relic and had been scared at first, but she had neither been stricken blind nor driven mad, as was usually the case involving an Elder Scroll. No, the best that could be described is that Celestia had been shown her life once more, from start to finish, and when she had become herself again, she found she could feel the overwhelming dedication to protect her kingdom that she had lacked over the course of the past millennium. The same passion that had led her to defend Equestria ruthlessly against another interloper of the past, a certain fallen princess by the name of Blood Diamond. And with this restored resolve, Celestia had no qualms introducing the current enemy to her long forgotten wrath.
It was as if the Elder Scroll had sensed her desire to be rid of her weaknesses that she'd not always had and go back to the vengeful defender she had once was and granted her request.
As for Luna, the conflict between Blood Diamond and her necromancers didn't seem as long ago for her as it had been for her sister, so she still had a warrior's heart beating heavily in her breast.
With nothing but a scowl from each of them as a forewarning, Celestia and Luna twirled the dozens of javelins suspended in their telekinesis around and sent them back to their throwers with at least twice the force. Several yetis suddenly found themselves pinned to the ground, impaled by the very weapons they had sought to use to bring the princesses down, their last sight being their blood draining from their bodies before they met oblivion.
---
Elsewhere in the battle...
Rainbow Dash would never admit to anypony how thrilled she would forever be for the skills she acquired by studying in Apocrypha (her stance on things that were for eggheads will never change), but what she would admit at the moment, circumstances aside, is that she was thrilled for the opportunity to try out a certain Thu'um.
'TIID KLO UL'
In front of her, the yeti that had been thrusting his javelin in her direction suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion. Of course, Dash could have easily dodged the blow on her own without the aid of the Slow Time Thu'um, but now that all she had to do to dodge the attack was to casually tilt her head to one side, she had more time to prepare her retaliation. Normally during such a situation Rainbow would only have enough time to strike out at her opponent's nearest unguarded area, like the head, or torso, before they recovered, but now that she had practically all the time in the world, should could strike from a more advantageous position, as well as deal more damage.
Fluttering to the right side of the yeti and taking up position, Rainbow readied a fireball spell and hurled it like a fast ball. The destructive spell impacted with tremendous force, and, still in slow motion, the yeti released his grip on his weapon, fire splashing over his body as he began to gradually lift off the ground, the momentum of Rainbow's spell having been enough to knock him airborne. While even the brash Rainbow Dash would normally not resort to such brutal tactics, all it took was for her to remember that it was one of these beasts who so severely hurt her friend to feel no remorse.
As she still had a few moments before her Slow Time wore off, Rainbow looked around for any situation that her increased speed might benefit from, and noticed a yeti bearing down on Rarity from behind as she blasted away another yeti with an Unrelenting Force.
"Oh, I don't think so, buddy!" said Rainbow with a condescending scowl and took off in the direction of the cowardly yeti who would resort to striking an opponent from behind.
The Slow Time wore off precisely the moment Rainbow impacted the yeti, who only had enough time to give her a single sideways glance before Rainbow Dash plowed into him with all her might, knocking him over and sending him sprawling, tripping up several of his fellow yeti in the process.
Rarity gave a very meek eep as she turned on the spot just in time to see Rainbow brushing off her hoof, the yeti that had been about to strike her still hazardously rolling through the crowd.
"Oh my! Thank you, darling!" she said.
"Not a problem, Rares," said Rainbow, taking up position behind her. She briefly noticed that Rarity's outfit, as well as her own, were already pretty scruffed up, and Rarity's mane and tail had definitely seen better days, but Rarity didn't even so much as acknowledge any of it.
"I guess all this has even brought Miss Prissy Pants here to the breaking point," Rainbow thought to herself, silently admitting seeing Rarity as such was mildly disturbing and hoped to Celestia she would go back to the immense drama queen she had always been.
At that moment a yeti appeared at their left, brandishing one of the elegant pillars from one of Canterlot's many elegant buildings, rather than a double pointed javelin, lifting it up as if to bring it down on them. Rarity and Rainbow took up defensive stances, but suddenly the yeti grunted slightly, seemed to go rigid, then suddenly fell backwards, dropping the pillar, which toppled on top of him. Rarity and Rainbow Dash could only stare as their would-be opponent lay motionless under his own improvised weapon.
"What... just happened?" Rainbow asked, stunned, an equally stunned Rarity beside her.
"Achilles tendons," said a sudden voice in a deep prench accent, Rarity and Rainbow watching as the spa proprietors from Ponyville, Aloe, and her twin sister Lotus, walked around from behind the downed yeti. "Very sensitive muscles," Aloe continued, a dastardly grin on her pink face. "Applying pressure to them at certain points can be quite painful."
Rarity and Rainbow could only stare at the very ponies whose job back home was to soothe the delicate flesh entrusted to them at their establishment, who had just so mercilessly brought down a foe that was just as living as any of their customers without so much as batting an eye.
"What?" asked Lotus at their slack jawed expressions.
"Didn't expect something like this from such demure ponies such as us?" Aloe continued.
"Uh, well, no actually," Rarity admitted, surprisingly the first to regain her voice, Rainbow still too taken aback from what she had just seen. After all, it wasn't everyday you saw somepony you know to be delicate to act almost as awesome as her.
"Several of us in Ponyville did some thinking while you were gone," said Aloe, a yeti suddenly coming up behind her, but she merely thrust her left foreleg upwards, nailing it in the soft muscle where its neck met its head, Lotus then proceeding to buck it away with her earth pony strength while it staggered in agony. "It occurred to us why none of us got involved whenever something came to threaten Equestria."
"Yes, we began to understand that it didn't make sense that only you six stepped up when something went awry, especially considering we're just as much ponies as you are," said Lotus with a proud smile.
"That is why we and several others from Ponyville will fight beside you now," said Aloe with a respectful bow of her head. "Besides, we owe this to Twilight. She is one of us, so we'll be sure these creatures rue what they have done."
At her words Rarity and Rainbow took full stock of the conflict they were engaged in, and sure enough, it wasn't just them who were participating. Several familiar faces were in the crowd fighting off the yetis, ponies such as Bulk Biceps and Pokey Pierce making great uses of their respective special talents in the battle. Some weren't full on participating, those such as Granny Smith were ushering the younger wedding attendants, such as the Crusaders, to safety, under guard by Big Mac, who would buck away any yeti that got close, his overwhelming strength enough to send each yeti hurtling through the air, as well as two other unicorns that were recognized as Twilight and Shining's parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light.
Rainbow and Rarity looked back at each other and, rather than grow concerned for their friends and neighbors, felt a great sense of pride as they looked back at Aloe and Lotus.
"For Twilight," Rainbow Dash declared, clear readiness to return to battle in her voice.
"For Twilight!" they all chimed, entering the fray once more, just as Fluttershy flew overhead, trailed by several birds whom proceed to peck at several yetis' eyes, Fluttershy having used the Animal Alliance Thu'um to enlist their aid, for she would never dare use her own ability to communicate with animals to fight, and the Thu'um instills such actions in the nearby animals anyway.
Fluttershy silently prayed none of her feathery friends would be hurt.
---
Twilight's world was shrouded in darkness...
...She felt nothing...
...She thought of nothing...
...Then consciousness steadily began to return to her, and with it, an unimaginable pain radiating from her lower back.
Twilight jolted awake with a pained gasp within Cadance's magic field, gritting her teeth and clenching her eyes as she writhed in agony.
"Cadance, she's awake!" called out Shining Armor, great worry in his voice.
"Hang on, Twilight!" said Cadance, her own voice filled with just as much worry. "We're on our way to the hospital."
As her brother and soon to be sister-in-law spoke, Twilight painstakingly opened one eye, looking behind her at the yeti javelin protruding out of her back. With the small amount of willpower she could muster, she brought her magic to bear, seizing the weapon in her lavender telekinesis.
"Twilight! What in Celestia's name are you doing?!" gasped her brother in horror.
Cadance looked around at what her fiance was referring to just in time to see Twilight wrench the javelin from her body, the immense pain that this resulted in causing her magic to falter, the javelin clattering to the pavement as Twilight couldn't hold onto it anymore. Cadance's eyes dilated in horror, as well as Shining's. What had Twilight done that for? She would surely bleed out well before they got to the hospital now.
But then suddenly Twilight's body was bathed in a golden light that seemed to originate from within her very being, Cadance becoming so startled by the unexpected phenomenon she accidentally dropped Twilight. But Twilight didn't just fall limply to the ground, no, she landed gracefully on her hooves, her stance perfectly steady. Looking behind her, they could see that, while her dress was still covered in her blood, the grievous wound was gone .
"What happened?!" she asked, looking around their surroundings. "Where's Tempest?"
"Twilight... what... what just happened?" Shining Armor asked.
"You... you were so hurt a moment ago," said Cadance.
"Oh, that," said Twilight, looking over her back at the blood soaked hole in her dress. "Avoid Death perk. A master of restoration can recover automatically from near fatal injury once a day. But you haven't answered me..."
Twilight was suddenly drawn into a huge hug from either side, Cadance and Shining latching into her tightly.
"Oh, Twily, I was so scared," whimpered Shining, his tears trailing down his cheeks to land on Twilight's neck and shoulder.
"Twilight, I'm so sorry," Cadance said, her own tears splashing on Twilight as well. "I should have known better than to interfere, and try to convince you to extend mercy to that horrible pony..."
Despite her confusion Twilight returned the hugs.
"It's okay, Cadance, Shining. I'm fine now," she said. "But what happened?"
It was then that Shining and Cadance finally informed her about what happened after she had been struck.
"I refuse to let my friends fight this battle without me!" Twilight declared, stomping a hoof, lightning up her horn in preparation for teleportation.
"Twilight, bring us with you," recommended Cadance, her expression sharpening, Shining expressing approval.
Twilight didn't argue, for apart from being one of her closest friends, and her brother, Shining Armor was captain of the royal guard and Cadance was a princess. It was their right to come to Equestria's defense. Draping her magic over them, the trio vanished in a plume of lavender light.
---
Tempest could only watch in horror from beside her ship as her legions were not only fended off by the ponies but were gradually being overwhelmed. This didn't make sense. From her life in Equestria so long ago ponies were known to be pacifists that absolutely shied away from combat, yet her troops, consisting of beings that had held multiple other kingdoms under the Storm King's thrall indefinitely for so long, were being battled to a standstill, even steadily losing ground.
Not to mention that a certain handful of them had unique abilities that she had never heard of, bringing forth spells the likes of which she had never seen with naught but a bizarre word from their mouths, same as the one that unicorn used to knock her around like a toy. And only one of them was a unicorn, yet the others used this magic to an equal effect!
What kind of magic was this?
Just as Tempest thought the situation couldn't get any worse, the unicorn and alicorn that had carted the injured unicorn away suddenly appeared in the thick of the conflict in a flash of what she recognized as teleportation magic and joined the battle, the wounded unicorn herself among them, though appearing as if she hadn't been injured in the first place. Tempest Shadow could only feel hopelessness wash over her as, after a brief tearful reunion with the ponies that had been using this bizarre voice magic, the purple unicorn entered the fray, her added effort accelerating the inevitable conclusion to this battle.
That conclusion being every last yeti that had disembarked from Tempest's ship laid either dead or incapacitated on the ground.
Walking past their fallen foes, Twilight, her friends, and the ponies of Ponyville trotted towards Tempest. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna landed on either side of Twilight, all of them wearing merciless scowls.
"I'm not going to bother with the olive branch this time," said Cadance from behind Twilight. "Take her down."
Tempest, realizing she had been backed into a corner, (or perhaps to the edge of Canterlot,) turned to her one remaining companion. Whatever that unicorn had done to her hadn't worn off yet, she couldn't even rely on her own chaotic magic, so she had but one option left.
"Grubber! Summon the rest of the forces!" she ordered, her voice somewhat frantic.
Grubber, who had been steering clear of the battle, emerged from wherever he'd concealed himself and ran up to the device he had been using to make his pompous announcement when they'd arrived and pressed a button on it. It let out a loud trumpeting sound that seemed to reverberate throughout the kingdom.
From the ominous clouds that had settled over Canterlot several other airships began to descend.
Everypony's eyes widened at the sheer volume of force that now opposed them as the airships loomed ever closer, several of the ponies who had fought valiantly now beginning to have doubts about their chances of victory. The only group that stood their ground without flinching were Twilight and her friends. They would not back down, and the same went for the princesses. They would defend Equestria with all that they had.
But it would appear to be a day for the unexpected... for at that moment Twilight and the others' altered Cutie Marks began to react.
It was here that their determined looks finally faltered as they all looked to their flanks, their eyes widening in horror at the undulating tendrils and blinking poisonous yellow eye. The princesses also noticed their demeanor and when they spotted the reacting Cutie Marks their expressions became ones of shock too, for this could only mean one thing.
"What... what does he want?" asked Celestia.
Twilight and her friends seemed to focus for a moment.
"Hard to tell," said Twilight, unease in her voice. "But I don't think he intends to help. I feel an intense intrigue from him, nothing more."
When Twilight and the others Cutie Marks acted like this it usually meant something involving Hermaeus Mora was about to go down, and, while encounters with him had been beneficial in the past, they were wary to count on every encounter being the case. After all, Hermaeus Mora was a Daedra, and they are the very embodiment of self-serving.
"But why is he coming now?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked down at a fallen yeti. "These guys must have brought something that piqued his interest."
"Really?" inquired Rarity. "What could these ruffians have brought that would interest him?"
As they discussed this, Tempest watched eagerly as the rest of her troops drew nearer. The ponies had put up more of a fight than she'd expected, but even they would fall with such overwhelming numbers. And then she could deliver the princesses' magic and finally get her wish.
"Hmhmhmhmhmhmmmmm!"
The voice was silent, yet deep, and it didn't seem to be coming from any particular source. It was like it was coming from everywhere.
"What is that?!" Tempest cried as the dark chuckling resumed around them.
Twilight and the others stared at her.
"You've been away from Equestria for a while, haven't you?" Rainbow Dash inquired.
"Yeah, only a blind and deaf pony wouldn't know when old Hermy is about to come on scene," said Pinkie, a goofy grin plastered on her face as she pulled popcorn out of nowhere, apparently getting ready to enjoy the show.
"What are you babbling about?" Tempest asked.
"I had hoped to come across an equivalent of the Dwemer airships somewhere in this world..." said a voice that was as sinister as if someone had given voice to evil itself. "And here, we have so many fine examples..."
"The airships! Of course!" said Twilight in realization.
Her friends looked confused.
"The airships?" Rarity inquired, looking at the vessels in question. "Why would he want those horrid things?"
"You are all familiar with the Dwemer, right?" Twilight asked. How could they not be, the Dwemer were practically the progenitors of their world. "Well, then you are aware that they had respect for no one other than themselves, the Daedra included, and shared nothing of their society with any outsiders, even them. This means Hermaeus Mora doesn't have extensive knowledge on the Dwemer, or any of their accomplishments or inventions.
"One such invention was an airship eerily similar to these, only vague drawings of which remain today."
Understanding flashed in all their eyes, though it didn't ease them any.
"I've heard enough!" shouted Tempest, a deep scowl on her face. "If whoever is speaking is after my airships he's going to have to go through me and my forces!"
This statement from Tempest only increased their unease.
"If you know what is good for you, you will just let Hermaeus Mora take what he wants," Rainbow warned, unable to help but tremble uneasily a little.
"Yeah, you don't wanna mess with him none," insisted Applejack.
But Tempest had no intention of heeding them. This Hermaeus Mora, whoever he is, wasn't going to interfere.
Suddenly, there was a great sloshing sound from above and everypony looked up to see that, among the dark clouds that had heralded the arrival of Tempest and her forces an even darker vortex had opened up, twice as big as Tempest's airship, inky black tendrils emerging from its depths.
Any bravado or anger in Tempest's expression melted away to be replaced with absolute bafflement as she beheld the sight, falling to her hunches. "What... is that?"
"That," began Celestia, flaring her wings authoritatively. "Is Hermaeus Mora. And I suggest you heed Rainbow Dash's suggestion and not interfere, for your own good."
But all Tempest heard of the princess's words was that this... thing, this mass of tendrils protruding from a vortex in the sky, was the being that had been speaking on the wind. Never before had she encountered a being like this, in all her career of conquest. What... is this thing?
"Yessss... this will make a splendid addition... to my library," said Hermaeus Mora, his tendrils reaching for Tempest's own airship as it lay 'moored' at Canterlot, like the ancient kraken legends of old.
Tempest watched, her mind in a deep stupor, but as a tendril began to coil around the stern of her vessel something in her snapped. She had already lost her horn, she didn't want to lose her ship, the flagship of Storm King's armada, either.
"Stop!" she cried, her broken horn lighting up in a mess of colorful auras, Twilight's silence having finally worn off.
"No! Don't!" all three princesses, and a number of Twilight's friends, declared at once.
It was too late.
A multicolored lightning bolt flew from Tempest, straight for the epicenter of the great vortex in the sky. For a moment her prideful sneer returned. This spell brought down the forcefield protecting Canterlot with relative ease, this monstrosity could never stand up to it. Her spell approached...
And phased straight through the vortex, as if unable to make contact.
Everything was still for a moment.
"Shining Armor!" Celestia addressed her captain. "Put up a barrier big enough to surround the ponies in the area, but do not, I repeat do not, get anywhere near the ship. We don't want Hermaeus Mora to think we intend to interfere too."
Shining obeyed, and soon all of them were huddled under his shield, fearful of Hermaeus Mora's reaction to Tempest's resistance.
Tempest was sitting stock still, stupefied that her signature weapon that had cowed entire nations was ineffective against this being, staring upward as a great black orb emerged from the vortex in the sky at the center of the tendrils. But she did react when the orb split apart, revealing the most hideous yellow eye Tempest had ever seen.
"Mortal... no one stands between me and my prize... NO ONE!"
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The war between the Daedric Princes and the Storm King has just begun.
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Yeah.... no one should EVER anger an Daedra Prince like what Tempest did.
Tempest Shadow is quite literally, one of the most stupidest and arrogant ponies I have ever seen!
It's bad enough for what she did to Twilight. But now, she should have wished she was never been born, once an very pissed off Daedra Prince gives her a fate worse than death!!!!!
Hope that the next chapter doesn't take too long to show up.
P.S. I was very surprised that the other Ponyville Residents finally grew some steel balls to actually fight back for once.
Aloe and Lotus were both right about not being so heavily dependent on the Mane Six ( And Spike. ) to save the day all the time.
Hah! A very useful "gaming" tool.
How the hell doesn't she even know about Hermaeus Mora for the past three years!!!???
Despite being away from Equestria for a long time. She should still heard rumors about a VERY GIGANTIC Lovecraftian Horror-inspired Daedra Prince of Knowledge!!!!
Isn't she supposed to be a "competent" military commander that should know this!?
I hope Mora creates a male alicorn form to fight in style. Alicorn prince of knowledge.
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Will there ever be a 'war' at all? It's like even less noticeable than swatting a fly.
Whelp. She's dead.
Oh Tempest, you've done fucked up now.
Haven't got to read this yet.
But I wonder if Spike got to go with the Mane 6 on this and got to get cool powers stuff too?
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Read to find out
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The only comment I had after editing the chapter was "Well, she's fucked."
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Is there any hints though?
(Since it stings in seeing him getting left out or just play secondfiddle to the girls).
I'll try to read it when I get some time actually.
Just wishing Spike doesn't end up missing out on what the girls get to see or gain..
Do not !@#$ with someone whose job can be described as "applied biology". Masseurs are just as relevant to this as doctors.
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This isn't war. This is pest control. (The Daleks weren't even bluffing in that scene, it really was as one-sided as this will be)
Good seeing one of my favorite stories here update. One thing I wanted to point out is that how Twilight spoke about the avoid death perk. I would have phrased it differently to disassociate it from game mechanics a bit. Something like, " One of the perks of being a master in restoration, I can recover from a fatal injury once daily." Aside from that one nitpick, good work.
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Honestly, I think if faced with Eldritch abominations beyond the universe, the Storm King would find better things to do.
For the same reason, he has Tempest head up this force instead of going himself.
He clearly doesn't like being around ponies. Why force the issue, if he can't get magic out of the deal?
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And its a REALLY SPECIAL kind of "L" to make Hermaeus Mora sound ANGRY, not even at his worst sounded angry before...
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Shame too. Between his innate power and the inevitability of his acquiring most medical knowledge, he could've easily restored that horn of hers... but noooo, she just had to ignore the clearly eldritch nature of this guy and pick a fight.
Tempest better hope those crystal orbs she had in canon to freeze the princesses will slow old Herma enough for her to run. Things aren't gonna end well for her, in either case...
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I highly doubt that. If lightning or any other offensive attack can just phase through him like he is Ghostfreak or Big Chill from Ben 10.
What the hell do those "petrifying" orbs going to do to him?
And what's stopping him for reflecting back to her instead?
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I did say she'd better "hope"
It's about the best shot she's got xD And not a good one at that!
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all her data on Equestra is at least a decade out of date, if not more. ol Herma Mora has only been poking around for the last three years
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only if shes very, very lucky...and given her past, i do not have a great deal of stock put into her chances...
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the Woodland Man is basically a God, only another God would even stand a chance against him, and even thats iffy considering his spheres of influence in Knowledge and Fate, the only being mad enough to even try would be Sheogorath...
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If she was supposed to be a "competent" military commander, she could at least be up to date of what the heck's going on in Equestria?
Then again, she fully trusted somebody like the Storm King to keep his end of the bargain.
I honestly thought this story was discontinued, but cool update!