OMAI: The Empire of Storms

by VeganSpyro97

Chapter 12: Klugetown

“So what are we gonna do with ‘em?” Applejack fumed, trotting back and forth across the floor space behind the small table they’d found in the dining room. “We’re sending ‘em back right? Right?”

“It’s three days back across the desert, Applejack.” Twilight reminded her friend with a grimace. “And we don’t even have the fuel left to make it that far. And we don’t have the time to waste eight days just to take them back to the castle! We’re at war, and every minute we spend not finding a way to win is another minute Gaul can use to enslave all of Equestria! We can’t take that much time!”

Rainbow snorted. “I could do it in an hour.”

“And probably get seen. Rainbow contrails in the sky are rather conspicuous.” Celestia murmured, considering the tactics that Gaul might employ. “Gaul is going to be looking for Luna by now, so he’ll probably have people all around the Everfree by now.”

“So sending them back is not a good idea.” Static surmised. “We’ll have to keep them with us, and keep them safe. That’s extra food, more caution in our plans, and more rooms being used- assuming we don’t have them sleeping with their sisters.” Static looked over to Applejack and Rarity, who definitely did not seem happy to have their sisters potentially sharing their room. “Crystal can stay with us-”

“You’ll bunk with me, Scoots.” Rainbow griped, calling to where the CMC were waiting in the next room. “You’d better not hog all the blankets.”

“And you better not snore like a foghorn!” Came Scootaloo’s snark.

“HEY! I DON’T SNORE!”

“Rainbow Falls camping trip!” Scootaloo yelled back.

“That- wasn’t- I-”

“Whether or not Rainbow snores is irrelevant.” Celestia butted in. “We need to decide what to do now.”

“Simple. We carry on.” Static grunted. “We can’t go back, taking them back will take too much time and potentially leave us a mare down. We need fuel, we need more food and water to accommodate them, and we need to start our mission. We need to go to Klugetown in order to accomplish all of that. So we carry on.”

“They’ll need to pull their weight.” Celeano idly flipped a knife between her claws. “They stay on my ship, they work for their board.”

“Now that’s not really necessary. They’re only fillies.” Rarity interjected.

“This may be your mission, but it’s my ship, and on my ship, you obey my rules. We work for our beds, which means they do too.” Celeano explained. “The ship has pretty much everything it needs, and being kids, they’re not well suited to hard jobs….but we do need a cabin boy.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m being serious. All of us have jobs to do on board, and some of those jobs- Miss Pie- create mess. Having someone around to clean up will be a godsend, just you see.”

Static raised an eyebrow. “Never heard the old saying: clean up your own messes?”

“You really want them to have nothing to do on board?” The Captain raised an eyebrow.
“Oh hay bales, no!” Dash cried, wings flaring wide. “They’ll set the whole ship on fire in twenty seconds flat!”

“I think you’re exaggerating…” Celeano chuckled, but none of the ponies shared that amusement.

“You wouldn’t be laughing if you knew them.” Applejack shuddered.
The captain wisely chose not to ask what kind of awful stories they might have. After all, one of them might just be enough to keep her awake tonight, if Applejack’s face was enough to judge the three fillies' propensity for causing trouble. Having three troublemakers on board her ship was bad enough without knowing just how much damage they could cause.

“Still, keeping them occupied is the best way to keep them from making trouble.” The captain said confidently, at which point Fluttershy started rigorously shaking her head.

“Oh, no, no, no! That just won’t work with the Crusaders!” Fluttershy brushed her mane out of her face and looked at Celeano dead in her own magenta eyes. “They need someone with a firm hoof to keep them in line at all times, otherwise they get easily caught up in their ideas, and they get distracted easily.”

“Well then, Applejack, if you could be their chaperone-”

“No, Captain, I’ll look after them. They respect me enough to listen to me.”

Celeano frowned, raising an eyebrow at the shy yellow pony who had just shut down the Captain’s ideas with a perfectly sound and calm explanation. “Are you sure you can handle the-”

“Girls!” Fluttershy called, and in a single blink, the four fillies were standing at attention before the buttery pegasus.

“I….I guess that decides that, then. Miss Shy, you are now in charge of the Crusaders.”

Fluttershy tilted her head, her mane falling delicately over her muzzle. “Are they still going to be cabin fillies?”

“Only if you really think they can handle it, I guess.” Celeano’s resigned sigh was punctuated by the avian pinching the bridge of her beak with her left claw. “Just make sure we make it into port before you let them loose.”

**************************************

Crimson wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been, days, or weeks at least, since Gale had started torturing him and his cellmates on a more regular basis.

Gale had not gotten much more out of Crimson, not that Crimson was even sure about that. The pain was so intense most days that his memory was fuzzy, so he may have said all kinds of things at some point that he just couldn’t remember. His repeated injuries were something that now required healing salves and potions after every session, lest he die before Gale found his precious answers.

In between sessions, when he was coherent enough, Crimson talked with the other prisoners, discovering a motley crew of creatures all as ragged and beaten as he was. There were even a few of his fellow Friendship guards dotted through the pack too. Two of the company’s six Gryphon’s, called Greer and Gouss, the dragon twins, High and Low, High being the shorter of the two, Spinnerette the Changeling, and Autumn the Pegasus- whose actual name was Feather Fall- were the ones he could recognize as his fellow guards. It was possible there were more in the other cells around this place but if there were, he’d not seen or heard anything of them.

Gale was maddeningly passionate in his poor treatment and nasty methods of extracting information, and his insane, gibbering Hound guards weren’t much fun either, especially when they drooled on the floor outside Crimson’s cell.

But then things changed. Gale stopped pulling Crimson and the others out of their cells, and seemed content to let them sit in their squalor for a while. There was no telling how long it was, only that they were given scraps of food to survive off of about eight times before Gale finally came back for one of them.

“Get up, Architect. We’re going someplace special.” Gale snickered. “The King wants a word with you about the Princess, Luna.”

Gale and his guards led Crimson through smooth, cut stone corridors that were lit up by long rows of evenly spaced torches, resting in metal sconces that were bolted to the wall. They passed by rooms of chained up Ponies, and other creatures too, all of those capable of using magic with shiny metal manacles and rings closed tight around horns, wings and hooves. Some of them managed to look up at the passing group before they disappeared behind the doorway, fixing sorrowful eyes on the passing prisoner before he vanished from view again.

Crimson managed to keep pace with the ape-like Jotuns, reaching a large, round room with a short, wide window that stared out of the stone building and onto what looked like the valleys and hills that surrounded Canterlot. And standing in front of that window, hands clasped behind his back, was the Storm King, his staff resting against the wall next to him. Crimson felt his teeth grit in rage, but was momentarily disarmed when the king turned to him, gave him a simple smile, and beckoned for him to sit down at a table that was laden with food and a steaming cup for both of them.

“I trust that you are quite hungry after your time in Gale’s company?” The King asked, pushing a plate of various vegetables and sauces across the table towards Crimson, taking a few himself and eating them in front of him. Seeing as the King didn’t turn blue in the face and fall over dead, Crimson cautiously began to eat, taking advantage of the opportunity to eat well for a change. “Good, eat. I have much to discuss with you.”

Crimson ate as much as he could without straining himself, being mindful not to make himself sick by eating so much rich food. Gaul relaxed in his chair, sipping at his drink and indulging in some kind of sweet treats. When Crimson was close to finishing, Gaul leaned back and steepled his fingers. “Gale is quite erratic in his dealings. I can never tell what will catch and retain his attention next. He seems dead set on uncovering the secret of your abilities.”

“And I suppose you don’t care about them?” Crimson asked, finally, after staring at the king for several long minutes.

“Oh, no. I do.” Gaul admitted. “I just don’t particularly care if Gale finds out how you received your abilities. I am more interested in other things.”

“Such as?” Crimson asked, taking another bite of food, enjoying the taste of some kind of meaty sausage as Gaul started to reply.

“Oh, your skill in battle for one. Your mastery of a blade is impressive. Where did you learn?”

Crimson stopped eating, his eyes flicking up to his captor as he swallowed. “I learned from the ponies.”

“Of course your training continued there, but you’d been fighting for years before they found you. I can tell.” Gaul chuckled, sipping his tea. “Would you tell me the truth?”

“No.”

“Hmmm.” Gaul sighed. “A pity.” Oddly, he didn’t press the issue any further, instead just sitting and drinking his tea, then getting a refill from a steaming pot when he ran out.

“And here I thought you’d be waited on by servants.” Crimson said, emphasizing the word servants and wrinkling his nose at the implication.

“I prefer to eat alone, with food I prepared.” Gaul answered, still smiling.

Crimson raised an eyebrow, looking at the spread before him, not believing a word.

“Of course, you may believe what you wish about me.” The king continued, taking a slice of meat and happily chewing it. “As can anyone, if they so wish.”

“Anyone who believes you shouldn’t be in power is an exemption, then?”

The King stopped, then placed his cup down, placing his elbows on the table and steepled his clawed fingers while gazing directly at his “guest”. “Anyone in power is a fool if they allow such dissenters to continue spreading such beliefs. Allowing individuals to have them, however, is no concern. They can think all they want. Not even I can stop that.”

Crimson stared at the King, then decided to play his game, and simply shrugged, taking an apple from the table and biting into it. Gaul smiled.

“You know, you’re quite rude, even for an uncivilized Arcan.”

Crimson’s chewing stopped. “Arcan?”

The King blinked, before his smile grew a few sizes. “You don’t know your own people’s name?”

“We’re Architects.” Crimson returned, not looking the King’s way as he ate more of his apple.

“So, you’re from Homestead then. Interesting.” Crimson nearly spat out his mouthful of apple at that, and only barely held it in. He failed to stop himself from choking on that piece though. Once he had cleared his throat, he saw Gaul had stood up again, and was walking back over to the window. “Thank you, you’ve told me what I wanted to know.

“What are you- HEY!” Crimson tried to go after the King and get an answer, but the guards had already entered the room and grabbed him by the arms, lifting him up and dragging him bodily away from the table.

“Wait.” The guards stopped. “Now that he knows the risks, I’d like to ask him some more questions.” Unceremoniously, the guards dumped Crimson back onto the floor, and left the room, leaving the young man along with the vile monarch.

Crimson sat back down in his chair, slowly, and picked up his tea cup as Gaul did the same.

“Now that you know the stakes, I want you to tell me what Princess Twilight and her friends will do.”

Crimson stared down at his cup, his hair, longer than normal and ratty from being unwashed and uncut for the last few weeks, dangling down around his head and leaving his pointed ears exposed. He almost wanted to hear Static making a dumb remark about him being an elf.

“I don’t want to have to force it out of you.” Gaul said, his voice low. When Crimson remained silent, Gaul frowned. Then he put his cup down and took up a bundle of grapes from a platter, picked one off it’s stem, and delicately held it between his claws. “I know you care for the ponies, but family is always a difficult thing to simply let go of, even when they are far away and distant. If you tell me what the ponies will do next, then your family will stay completely safe, ignorant and hidden away in their little hole in the ground, and you can continue being the black sheep of your family.” Gauls claws started to tighten, leaving the grape deformed and elongated on both ends, but contracted in the middle. “However...fail to tell me the truth, or fail to tell me at all, and there will be…” The grape squirted juice over the claw that had pierced it’s side, the fleshy pulp oozing out as Gaul continued to press, mangling the fruit until it was unrecognizable. “Consequences. So... will you talk? Or will you stay quiet?”

Crimson lifted his head to look at the bits of fruit slowly oozing down the King’s claws, and stared defiantly at the tyrant, keeping his lips firmly sealed and saying not a single word.

“Ah. Ever a brave one. You made Gale work to get what little information out of you that he did, and that I commend. Resilience is something I respect and admire quite a bit, hence why I kept Tempest Shadow around for so long. But everything has a time and place, my friend. And I’m afraid this wasn’t it.” Gaul stood, went over to retrieve his staff, then walked to the door on the opposite side of the room than the one that Crimson was brought in through. He stopped, turning to look at Crimson one more time. “Now, like with everything else, there will be consequences.”

Gaul didn’t even tell the guards to do anything. They just shut the doors and left him in there. There weren’t even knives or forks anyway, nothing that could really be used as a weapon, and he wasn’t really feeling up to trying to break the thick, sturdy looking table legs. Instead he just slumped back into his seat, wondering what exactly it was that he had just done.

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Luna and her entourage had teleported into the warehouse just an hour earlier, engaging the Storm Guards that were looting the Ponyville emergency food storage and dispatching them with quick and concise strike teams. Now they were simply on the lookout for approaching danger while loading up the rest of the food themselves, to take back into the forest.

As Luna oversaw the loading and kept busy by regarding the maps of the surrounding region, one of her scouts came flying back in, the thestral panting heavily as he had been one of the furthest out and apparently rushed back. “Your highness! I just spotted the King’s flying citadel! It’s moving!”

“To the north?” Luna asked, keeping her worry out of her voice and remaining the stern leader she was supposed to be.

“No, south-south-west by my reckoning, your highness.” The guard replied, still saluting.

“South-west?” Luna murmured. “But there are no cities or targets in that direction. There is nothing but vacant rainforest and desert to the south west....” She racked her mind for why the king would take his behemoth to those regions when her face suddenly fell, recalling Princess Twilight’s guardian knight, and the tale of his home that her fellow Princess had relayed to her in her reports on the fellow. “The caves of conundrum…” She whispered.

“Princess?” The guard asked.

“Soldiers! Gather your arms and ready yourselves! We must make haste at once! Innocent lives are under threat, and I will not allow them to be extinguished without a fight!” Luna bellowed, lighting her horn and teleporting the carts of supplies back to the castle while her fighters looked up at her in worry and uncertainty. “Gather to me! We must not tarry, my friends. We go to the fight once more!”

In a flash, they vanished too, leaving the warehouse empty, save for the dead Jotuns left in their wake.

***********************************

The Skylark rolled into Klugetown early the next morning, with the Crusaders kept inside under threat of never getting desert ever again for the rest of their lives, by Twilight’s royal decree- even when they were grown up.

The adult ponies however, were keeping their ears open and eyes peeled for any hint of something wrong, with both the Pegasi and the Alicorn among them falling into instinct and somewhat resembling birds with their behavior, their heads on a swivel and their quick movements very reminiscent of birds on the lookout from their perches.

The city seemed to be fashioned almost entirely out of the remains of previously existing wooden structures, and nailed together without seeming to have much in the way of rhyme or reason, resulting in buildings with curved walls, floors that hung out over empty space that had to held up by support struts, and stairs that broke off mid level that went somewhere in what the wall they were attached to was part of.

“I don’t think these folks have even heard about buildin’ codes…” Applejack remarked, quietly, while Twilight ground her teeth at the illogical structural decisions and layouts.

“Quiet, all of you. The guards will be Jotuns, if they hear what they think are slaves talking out of turn, they’ll have us all thrown in the stocks!” Caelano hissed from her place at the wheel. She pulled the lever that governed the engine power and set it to slow as they reached the entrance to the harbour, a sky dock that was rather more like a traditional naval shipyard that had a roof, with various slipways meant for mooring, and maintaining ships. Two tower like structures suspended over nothing, held up by a small forest of pillars and supports, with walls lined with mounted cannons and deck guns, and two extendable doors to seal off the shipyard, were currently home to a small group of Jotuns each, one on both paying attention to the ship.

What they saw was not all that unusual.

A crew dressed in the messenger uniforms of the Storm King’s army, basic overalls that covered most of their body without allowing for much in the way of concealed weapons. There weren’t many, postal crews were barebones most of the time, usually with one or two guards accompanying them, though that wasn’t always a necessity. Several of the spots seemed to have been taken up by pony slaves, each dressed in simple, ratty and threadbare sackcloth that had seen better days even before being used to make clothing, four unicorns, three pegasi, and two earth ponies. Each was wearing a collar as per regulation and seemed absolutely miserable, as they should be. The ship was waved on through after a few moments, and the guards went back to watching the skies for attacking ships, not knowing they had just let the wolves in the front door.

The Skylark crawled into the open slipway that the skydock signallers, armed with signal flags and no sense of what the words “too close” meant, directed them to. They slid into the narrow gap between the planked walkways on either side, nearly crashing into various pieces of improperly stored dock equipment, which Caelano started yelling rudely at the dock workers for.

While the Captain was busy giving the dockhands a tongue-lashing, Twilight and the rest of the ponies started to unload cargo at the direction of the Avian crew, who acted the part of the taskmaster, complete with whips that only occasionally hit one of them by accident, leaving Static’s backside smarting when Lix accidentally smacked her across the cheeks, causing her to drop her end of the box she was helping Fluttershy carry.

The Jotunn guards at the entrance of the gave the ponies a fright when they demanded a search of the crates.

Then those fears were waived away when the guards didn’t even sift through the contents of the crates, just casually glancing at the stuff on top. They looked at the packages of fresh produce, and the bolts of fabric used for repairing the sails, but didn’t bother checking underneath for any kind of contraband hidden inside.

The ponies hauled the boxes out of the dock, guided by their Avian crewmates and one lone worker who looked about as enthusiastic about the arrangement as the ponies were. Caelano, who had initially stayed behind to deal with the awfulness known as documentation and paperwork, entered the side building where they were storing their stuff last, and after looking around, closed the door behind her.

Without a word, her crew started undoing the collars and bindings the ponies had been under, while Celestia and Rarity helped the Crusaders and Spike climb out of the half empty food crates the ponies had brought there. Caelano took one look at the dockhand, who was wide eyed at the sudden shift in the situation, and produced a trio of gold coins, not too dissimilar to Equestrian Bits, and placed them in the dockhands palm.

“You never saw this. They were never here.” She said firmly, and waited for the Dockhands agreeing nod before she opened the door and let him leave.

Once he was gone, the ponies quickly dug through the crate of cloth bolts and retrieved their armor and weapons, along with some cloaks that Rarity had made in her spare time- which was most of the trip, given they didn’t need to repair any damaged sails.

“Stay down, and follow me, keep quiet, and don’t draw attention to yourselves. We’re mercenaries, common as cutlery in a kitchen. Got it?” The Captain growled at the ponies, specifically at the young ones. “It ain’t too uncommon for Mercenaries to move their families every once in a while, so you five, stay in the middle, and you’ll be fine.” She said, looking at the four fillies and young dragon. They all nodded back.

One last check to make sure they were all ready, and Caelano pulled up several floorboards, revealing a narrow boardwalk underneath the house. “This comes up just outside a gap in the city walls. We slip in, and we move to a safehouse I know. We get separated, we’ll meet up in the marketplace, aye?”

“Aye.” The group all whispered back.

“Lix, Mullet, Squabble, go back to the ship. Keep her safe.” Caelano ordered, the three Avians quickly gathering their things and heading to the door they all entered through. “You get any unwanted attention, you scarper.” Mullet nodded in compliance, and Lix and Squabble wasted no time following the first mate out.

With that, Caelano motioned for Twilight and Applejack to climb down first, then had Boyle join them. The others followed one by one, the fillies in the middle, with the Captain bringing up the rear and making sure the entrance to the secret tunnels were covered over.

“Ya think they’ll be lookin’ for us once they realize we’ve not come back outta there?” Applejack asked, balancing precariously on one of the narrow boards that hung underneath the supported platforms that made up the skydock section of the city. The rest of the city was underneath them, quite a ways down and curling down and around the base of a large rock spire in the middle of more desert lands, the buildings all constructed by bolting wood together in haphazard combinations and hoping they stayed upright and intact. One particular building stood out, as it had a windmill perched at it’s crown, while also having a large water wheel on the other side, dipping into a river that lazily stretched across the dusty desert plains and meandered off to the east somewhere. The wheel was barely moving thanks to the slow current, and the windmill tower above it swayed gently in the breeze, threatening to pitch over at the slightest gust of stronger wind- or it seemed like it would.

Caelano shrugged her shoulders at Applejack, but didn't say a word.

The largest building though was a great hall in the center of town, the roof made of one single ship hull, upturned and poked through with metal chimney pipes that stuck up like a miniature forest.

It all lay beneath them, dozens of meters down the spire’s rocky face and it’s lower inclines. The dock seemed to be a separate part of the city, not included in the walled off grouping of buildings that tried to reach it. And it didn’t seem to be the only one. There were other raised platforms that ships were docked at all around the outer edge of the city, but the one the rebellious group were sneaking out of seemed to be the largest, with multiple slipways and skydocks all clustered around the rock spire like a ring of wood and metal.

Creeping along the boards and trying to ignore the huge distance between them and the ground, the wingless members of the group took shaky steps as they traversed the path, while the Pegasi and Alicorn were far less hesitant, and offered words of encouragement to the others in hushed tones until the path finally intersected with the city wall.

There was a small alcove built into the wall itself, which the ponies were glad for, as it was a much larger place to stand that could fit them all without too much wasted space.

Caelano knocked on one of the wood panels, and waited, listening with her feathery ear pressed up against the boards, waiting for a responding signal. After a few seconds, a knock was heard in reply, a quick three tone beat followed by two light taps. Caelano grinned and pushed two boards aside, allowing the ponies to step through one by one. It was a tight fit, and Boyle nearly got stuck, having to suck in his breath and hold it until he could wriggle himself through. They refused to use magic, as it was a bright and flashy method that could easily get them caught.

There was a watchman lying by the entryway, pretending to be snoring the day away. Caelano silently slipped him some more gold coins and lead the group away.

They stuck to as many back alleys and crowded streets as they could, using both anonymity and discretion to bypass patrolling guards as they followed the city down the rocky slopes.

Their path led them to a cliff face with a stairwell down, which served as a kind of overlook for the rest of the city. As a mixture of creatures of all kinds walked, squawked, trotted and scurried about on their way, Caelano took a moment to breathe, looking over the city and pointing out a cluster of courtyards and tents not far from the great hall. “That’s the market place. See that building off to the left side? That’s a tavern known for having more...open minded owners. If we get split up, wait for us there, if you can.”

The ponies nodded once again, and then they all started the long climb down the cliff-stairs.

************************************

Crimson watched as the landscapes slowly drifted by the windows, the familiar rolling hills and mountains of Equestria now having been replaced by dusty plains and rock formations that aspired to be like their giant, mountain cousins, but failed in the attempt.

They were familiar too, a place that Crimson knew perhaps even better than Equestria. He could just about see them on the horizon, a dark smudge of reddish rock that was dotted and pitted with dark shadows and black marks.

He was nearly home, and he wished he wasn’t. He knew that something terrible was about to happen, and there was nothing he could do while he was locked in this stupid room. Fresh food had been brought in for him, but he’d barely touched it, nor had he even tried to escape while the Jotuns stood guard over the doors, their heavy weapons and armour more than a match for Crimson’s weakened strength and magic. All he could do was watch the inevitable get closer and closer.

He heard one of the doors open, and some footsteps enter. Not the Kings, they weren’t heavy enough. No, these sounded like…

“Hello again, Pureheart. It’s nearly time.”

Crimson turned, and couldn’t truly hide the flinch at the sight of the deranged torturer who had been entertaining himself with Crimson’s screams for the last few weeks. Commander Gale stepped closer to Crimson, who instinctively stepped back, causing the Hound to chuckle inside his helmet. “No need to worry. I’m under orders not to hurt you.” Gale tittered with amusement. “Much to my dismay, of course, but I obey my liege.”

“You obey the one who holds your leash, you mean.”

“So he does know how to speak civilly. I had thought that incoherent babbling from pain and stubbornly screaming insults was all you knew how to do.” Gale said, moving to stare out of the window. “I don’t want this to happen either, you know.”

Crimson stared at the sadist in disbelief. “Why not?”

“Oh come now. Surely you aren’t that dense.” Gale snorted. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Why I’m so interested in how you got your powers?”

“I don’t care why.” Crimson snapped.

“Ho-hum. Your loss.”

Despite his own words, Crimson felt the flutterings of curiosity in his head. “Fine. Just tell me. That’s why you came here, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Gale replied. He reached up to grasp at the strap buckle holding his helmet in place, and undid it, then lifted it off of his head without much pretense of drama. He shook out his short hair, and turned to look at Crimson, who stared in wide eyed horror at the scarred mass that was the commanders face. “And now you know why I’m so interested.”

The faint blue markings on his face were misshapen from the scar tissue that intersected them, and his brown hair was rather fairly kept, despite the hairline being just as disrupted by the scarring. His forehead was cut up in a fashion that mimicked the Storm King’s sigil, and his blue eye was paired with a white one that still saw despite it’s appearance.

Gale grinned a vile grin at Crimson. “I want to unlock mine and my Hounds.” The twisted, scarred Arcan said, and then he walked out of the room, not bothering to put his helmet back on.

******************************************