Chapter 1: Introductions and Plan of Attack

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The steady hum of the airship's engines provided the necessary white noise for one's mind to think clearly. Such was the case for Tempest Shadow, Commander of the Storm King's forces en route to Equestria, set with the task of apprehending its leaders, and confiscating all the magical power they possessed. Not an easy task in the slightest. In fact, upon first thoughts, the task seemed daunting, even outright impossible. So many before her had tried and failed at this very task, yet that wasn't quite enough to shake her resolve. Tempest knew very well of all the previous attempts of conquering Equestria that so many before her had tried their hoof at. She knew well that if there was one common thing among the failures of all those past attempts, it was a lack of adaptability, and a complete lack of a fallback plan.

The trip towards Canterlot was quiet, at least on the observation deck where Tempest had ample time to reassess and reevaluate the multiple strategies that detailed the siege of the city. She had each one thoroughly memorized, and for weeks she had studied each of the four princesses strengths and weaknesses, the state and tactics of the royal guards, (which were honestly laughable), and the best place to make a dramatic entrance, which served to bait the princesses into a wide open space, making them easy pickings for the petrification orbs that she had stockpiled. She had carefully taken every possible scenario into consideration, her tactical mind eliminating any and all risks for this mission. There was no room for mistakes, for even one slip up, one crack in the armor could spell failure for the whole operation.

So much was on the line for this one. Tempest's journey since foal-hood had taken her all over the globe to seek out a way to restore what she had lost. This quest had taken her to so many different places, filled with so many strange creatures. And after all those years, one such creature had promised her that if she delivered the core power of Equestria's magic unto, that he would use it to restore her horn.

Failure was not an option, and to make certain that this mission would go off flawlessly, she requested the Storm King's most accomplished and mysterious force to tag along. While she had yet to meet them in person, she heard many things about them. They were the Storm King's clean up crew, his boogeymen, the ones he sent to silence anyone that proved to be a legitimate threat to his rule. Permanently. Even Tempest herself wasn't exactly sure who, or what kind of creatures they were, as they seemed to answer directly to the Storm King. Just like her. But from rumor alone, they were both revered, and feared among the Storm King's ranks.

The loud static start-up of the airship's intercom suddenly erupted eliciting a small twitch of Tempest's ears. The sudden noise was followed by the familiar voice of Tempest's bumbling sidekick and second-in-command, Grubber, broadcasting at high volume.

"*This thing on?*" Grubber said in a heavily lisped voice. "*It is? Okay. Uh, attention Commander Tempest, Fireteam Storm has arrived. Their CO is currently en route to the bridge, ma'am. So uh, yeah.....I-uh..........I think that's it."

Tempest simply rolled her eyes at the more unprofessional aspects of Grubber's announcement, but got up from the table and made herself ready to receive an audience. Her thoughts wandered onto the stories she had heard of Fireteam Storm's more prolific history, stories ranging from assassination to sabotage. The Storm King had them carry out tasks that more or less involved getting your hooves dirty, and this one would be no exception if necessary. At long last, her lifelong search would come to a long awaited conclusion.

"I can't afford to make mistakes. Not this time." She internally reminded herself.

A knock then came from the door, indicating that her visitor had arrived.

"Enter." Tempest called out.

The iron bulkhead swung open slowly, and Tempest's eyes immediately began to decipher a tall figure obscured by shadow. A second passed before it stepped into the light of the bridge, revealing a creature that surprised Tempest, in both appearance and sheer size. The creature in question was one she never seen, nor even one she could recall from her study of the races that inhabited Equus. It stood on two legs yet their structure was strange compared to those of her troops, the Cats of Panthera and the various bipedal creatures of Klugetown. The legs were composed of two central sections, with a foot supporting most of the weight, with its central body mass located towards the torso area. Two muscled arms stemmed from its shoulders, each ending in five fingered hand, something usually attributed to Minotaurs.

That was just the body structure, what the creature wore was what Tempest was mainly astounded by. The entirety of the creatures body was covered from head to toe. It wore some sort of heavy grey leather footwear, weaved in an advanced fashion, some sort blueish grey camouflage suit, sported an extensive armored navy blue chest piece with various pouches and weapons dotting across its strangely webbed surface and donned a strange device that was currently holstered and strapped to the hip of its right leg. The most prolific feature however had to be the almost sinister looking helmet. Unlike those of the Storm Beasts, this one looked almost alien in nature. The various straps, holes, grooves and edges gave it a mechanical look, forming a dome around the entirety of the head. The helmet had multiple cuts and chips across it's black surface, indicating it had seen battle an more than one occasion. It's only semblance of an opening aside from that of its base, had to be the glare of it's electric blue visor.

Taking all these features into account, the creature almost looked more machine than flesh, and Tempest almost shuddered at the thought of being hunted by this thing, let alone being killed by it. Divulging just a bit further on that thought, Tempest somewhat pitied those who had the misfortune of having the Storm King set these things loose on. Being brought to your end by what looked like a professional killing machine brought about a sense of dread and soullessness to ones final moments before death. That alone was haunting to say the least. But alas, Tempest was quite capable of hiding any emotional indication that pertained to these thoughts, as her body and expression remained as neutral as it had been before it entered the room.

"You certainly live up to your reputation as far as looks are concerned." Tempest internally noted.

"Commander Tempest?" an aggressively deep masculine voice addressed through the static of the helmet's audio output.

"Okay, that's unsettling by itself." she thought.

"Am I to assume that you're Fireteam Storm's CO?" Tempest inquired.

"That I am, ma'am." He reaffirmed. "Captain Carter. My team and I were sent here to relay the Storm King's decision on your request. You'll be happy to know that it's been granted. Fireteam Storm is at your complete disposal."

Tempest couldn't help but let out a slight smirk, The Storm King had always been so forthcoming whenever she made requests for additional troops, but to have the most elite of the elite only seemed to bolster her sense of authority to an almost ego stroking level, though not nearly to level the Storm King himself would often boast.

"I'm glad to hear." Tempest chuckled. "Given you and your team's track record, this mission should go off flawlessly."

"We're ready to do our part, ma'am." Carter stated.

Aside from it's unsettling nature, the staticy grain to his voice was starting to become grating to hear.

"Okay, the helmet's becoming a nuisance. Take it off." She ordered in an annoyed tone.

"Huh? Oh, apologies. I sometimes forget how sensitive it can be to the ears."

Carter worked his hands underneath his helmet, undoing a few straps before taking it off. The face that came into view was astonishing to say the least. The threatening visage of the helmet hid a more approachable, yet still intimidating, face. His facial structure was heavily reminiscent of the Storm King yet off in a few ways. His skin was a dark shade of brown, sporting a pronounced nose and a pair of eyes that were light brown. His species seemed akin to that of a ape, bearing no fangs and no hair, he was bald. But of the most noticeable features, and in Tempest's case, most relatable, was the scar along his left eye. Almost instinctively, Tempest's eyes focused on it, memories of how she obtained it flashing through her mind. Her mind puzzled as to how he obtained his, and how long he had bored it. Carter was quick to notice she had dropped the authoritative look for just a second and started staring at him. He began to feel just a tad bit creeped out by it when he suddenly found himself noticing she had her own scar, and on the left eye no less, just like him. Drawing the connection, Carter couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Waddya know, we match." he said with a slight tone lightheartedness. "Can't believe I didn't notice that walking in."

Tempest snapped back to the here and now by his statement. A little taken aback by the sense of humor, something she wasn't expecting from an assassin, especially one with his track record. Despite this, Tempest quickly recollected her thoughts and once again donned the persona of the ruthless war leader she had been infamous for.

"It's irrelevant." She responded quite coldly.

Carter gave her a rather unconvinced look, but was wise enough not to indulge further on the matter.

"Sure didn't seem that way." Carter thought, before tucking the matter away.

"Coincidences aside, I'm curious as to what exactly you are, Captain?" Tempest asked.

"We get that question a lot." Carter replied. "We are what you'd call, human. And, well, we're not exactly from around here."

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Captain?"

Carter was hesitant with an answer, letting out a modest sigh that clearly indicated that this wasn't the first time he'd gone through this question.

"With all due respect ma'am, I didn't exactly come up here to discuss my species and myself. I had hoped to discuss my team's tasks during the operation." Carter admitted.

While she was genuinely curious to know more, he had a point. Time was of the essence, and it was best that he know of the task ahead.

"Very well, I suppose those questions can wait." Tempest conceded. "If you'd be so kind as to follow me over to the table, we can get started."

Carter did as he was instructed and followed her to the table at the center of the observation deck, where her strategic map of the surprise assault had been planned out.

"The objective of this operation is rather simple, Captain. As of now, our fleet is heading towards Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, in an attempt to subdue the nation and its leaders."

"So the usual raid then?" Carter inquired.

Tempest couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle at his ignorance.

"Oh my dear Captain, I'm afraid this surpasses a simple raid for magical trinkets." Tempest said with an almost vile grin.

"What do you mean by that, ma'am?"

"Equestria isn't some backwater nation with scrap amounts of magical artifacts, Captain. It's the heart of all magic in the world, a beacon of prosperity that their Alicorn hegemony would be willing to do anything to protect. And it's the very thing we've been sent to apprehend for the Storm King."

Carter seemed to get the bigger picture, and the higher stakes that came with it.

"I'm guessing once we have it, we deliver it to the him?" Carter asked.

"Well, more like we'll be watching it until he comes to get it, but the same principle applies. And once he has it-"

"He'll give me what was promised." "He'll make good on his promise."

The two shared a surprised look, utterly unaware that the other was promised something for their service. While they were both genuinely curious as to what the other had been promised, Tempest chose to simply continue with debriefing him.

"Anyways. Tell me, are you familiar with my kind, Captain?" She asked.

"Can't say that I am, ma'am." Carter replied. "We've had a few run-ins with ponies, but not enough to get a firm grasp on how they tend to act as a species. In fact, I'm certain your the first one I've come to be acquainted with."

"Well, Captain, trust me when I tell you that you wouldn't be impressed. My kind has let themselves be coddled into a state where they border on spoiled. They profess to be the pinnacle of friendship and kindness yet still manage to be a walking contradiction when faced with something they perceive as different. I learned that a long time ago. We are one of the few races that possess the ability to channel magic and yet the rulers of ponykind would rather have said talent wasted on parties, like this, Festival of Friendship, hosted by none other than Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship."

Tempest's rather distasteful tone on the emphasis of those words painted a pretty clear picture on how she felt about it, one which Carter could relate to as he couldn't help but cringe at the names.

"That was my initial reaction too." Tempest added, noticing his response. "But luckily for us, this little party is getting crashed."

"How so?" Carter asked.

"While Equestria's guards and populace are borderline helpless, their leadership can be quite formidable. Any direct assault would likely end in failure. And it doesn't help that they're the key to this operation's success. But if there's one thing the Princesses' have that could remotely be considered a fatal flaw, it would be their predictability, which in turn leads to an inability to adapt to certain, situations."

Carter was beginning to figure out what she was alluding to.

"Let me guess, you want to catch them in an ambush?" Carter asked.

"Very perceptive, Captain." Tempest complimented. "That's precisely what I mean to do. My ship will approach the city spewing a trail of thick smoke screen, no doubt gaining the attention of their security, and with any luck, their precious Princesses. We'll land right in the center of their little festival, concentrated here in this large courtyard."

She pointed out her hoof to the area on the map she was referring to, and Carter was now studying the visual plan of attack that was laid out across the table, following the multiple phases of the operation as Tempest explained them.

"So you'll be acting as a distraction?" Carter inquired. "To buy time for the troops to set up the ambush?"

"Precisely, my little intimidating display will no doubt provoke a response from the Princesses themselves. While I have their attention, the other ships will move in concealed by the smoke. They'll unload the shock troops on these nearby balconies for them to set up the ambush. Once it's sprung, the remainder of our forces will descend from above. The sheer chaos and suddenness of the attack is certain to catch the Princesses off guard, providing the ample opportunity to subdue them."

"And how do you plan on doing that? If they're as powerful as you say they are, I have to imagine that they're formidable fighters."

"They are, but I never said I had any intention of fighting them. No. I do believe this will be more than sufficient to handle the likes of them."

Tempest pulled a green and glowing softball-sized orb from a nearby saddlebag and revealed it to Carter.

"Petrification orbs." He said, recognizing the object. "Not a bad choice."

"Indeed." Tempest confirmed. "Once this shatters, simply being within an inch of its dispersal radius is all it takes.

"I know what those things can do. We've used a few on previous missions. They can turn a raging dragon into rock in seconds. But what's to stop the Princesses from simply deflecting them?"

"These ones have been modified to have a hefty resistance to magical barriers. These orbs can be fended off for about two seconds at most before they launch through any magical defense."

"You'll need to be pretty close to land a clean shot."

"Maybe for you Captain, but I've been practicing with dummies for weeks. Record currently stands at 30 yards on a moving target."

"Sounds pretty far fetched if you ask me, ma'am."

"I know it does, and I won't hold it against you if you have doubts in my abilities, but rest assured, I'm confident in my aim."

"And if you miss?"

Tempest simply responded with a smile and moved her hoof up the map, towards two areas circled in red.

"Well that's where you come in." Tempest informed. "While I'll be drawing out the Princesses and the regular troops will be carrying out the main assault, I need your team to be cutting off any and all routes of exits. Given that the airships will effectively cut off any sort aerial retreat, that leaves only two readily available routes of escape from the courtyard. They are located here by this large outdoor aviary, and here by this bridge over the river running through Canterlot."

"So we're just the contingency plan?" Carter asked, a little surprised that they be playing a rather secondary role in the Op.

"That's the polite way of putting it but don't take it as an insult, Captain." Tempest confirmed. "In the off chance that one of the princesses does slip by me, I need the best to ensure they don't escape. It also means that I need them alive. I know your team usually carry out assassination missions, but we can't afford to lose even one of the Alicorn Princesses, which means dealing with them by non-lethal means. Understood? Just to let you know, I don't trust any other unit in the entirety of the Storm King's army to handle this. You and your team have done some incredible things in service of the Storm King, which makes you four the only unit capable of handling this assignment."

Carter gave out a slight smile, whether it was out of amusement to how hard she tried to make her statement seem sincere or out of sense of gratitude, Tempest couldn't say.

"Then I I'll see to it we don't disappoint." Carter said. "But if I may ask, what happens if the Princesses don't even come to you? What if they send the guards to handle your little stunt?"

Tempest returned his inquiry with a smile of her own.

"Like I said, Captain, the Princesses are quite predictable, and I am quite certain that intimidating them on their newest addition's little festival will result in a direct confrontation. But in the case that they don't confront us, there's always a plan B, and a C, and a D."

Tempest then proceeded to inform Carter of every one of her fallback plans, each one accounting for just about every scenario. It was no different than before, she couldn't afford to fail here, and from the sounds of it, neither could Carter.

Chapter 2: Meeting the Team

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Carter stood there over the course of an hour, diligently paying attention to every detail of every contingency Tempest had in place. The amount of variables each one covered ranged from quite plausible to outright ludicrous. Nonetheless, they were a testament to Tempest's strategic side, and if they were anything like her on the field expertise, the state of readiness and adaptability of her troops were second only to his unit. Carter was beginning to understand how this little Pony had become a Commander so quickly in the Storm King's ranks, her no nonsense personality pretty much synced with her tactical expertise, which was astounding for one of her kind.

"You really thought of everything, haven't you?" Carter expressed in honest admiration.

"This mission calls for it, Captain." Tempest replied. "It's success will effectively give the Storm King the means to rule this world, and in turn, my..........reward."

As curious as he was to know what said reward was, the way she said it made it clear that she did not wish to elaborate on it. Carter wouldn't have even had the time to inquire about it before Tempest took the conversation in another direction.

"Now that you now know the details of the invasion, are you and your team up to the task?" Tempest inquired.

Carter went to pick up his helmet before answering her with a somewhat devious grin.

"Like a walk in the park." he replied. "Between your tactical grasp of the situation and the fact that you now have the best unit in the Storm King's forces under your command, I'd say those poor bastards' fate is sealed."

Tempest let herself enjoy a slight smirk from the human's response, admiring the get-it-done-right attitude the Captain seemed to possess, something in surprisingly short supply among the regular forces of the Storm King.

"Nothing is set in stone until the task has been completed, Captain." She reminded him. "But I appreciate your optimism."

Tempest began to head towards the exit of the observation deck when she asked yet another inquiry.

"If you don't mind, Captain, I'd like to get acquainted with the rest of team. I like to know who I'm working with ahead of time."

"Certainly, ma'am." Carter replied. "Fair warning though, their social graces aren't exactly the best."

"As long as they're capable, Captain, I'm willing to overlook any shortcomings they may have." Tempest informed him.

The duo stepped aboard the rather archaic elevator (At least by human standards), with Carter yanking the chain pulley to send it going up. As the elevator gradually took them up through the levels of the ship, Tempest took the opportunity to bring up those questions that had been put aside earlier.

"So Captain, going back to what I had asked earlier, what exactly is a human? I've never heard of your species, let alone where you are from."

Carter gave her a rather reluctant look, yet conceded to answer anyway.

"There's a reason nobody on this world knows what a human is, ma'am. It's because we technically don't exist on this world."

A few seconds passed, Tempest giving Carter a raised eyebrow as his mere presence served as a sheer contradiction to his statement.

"Come again?"

"We're what you might call.....alien. At least in the traditional definition, we didn't actually come from space."

"You mean to tell me you and your team are from another world?"

"Considering there's really no other way of putting it, Yes, We are in fact visitors from another world."

Tempest would have argued the sincerity of his claim, but between his strange equipment and the fact that she had never even heard of his species, the reasoning seemed plausible.

"Well, that explains the strange equipment. So, how did you end up working for the Storm King?" She asked.

Carter went quiet, a reluctant expression overtaking him.

"It's a long story." He said.

"Is there a short version?" Tempest asked.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am. It's not a story I'm keen on retelling."

The way Carter said it made it evidently clear he didn't want to discuss the matter. Tempest herself could see the pain it seemed to be causing him by the look she was given, one that expressed a clear disinterest in relaying the subject altogether. It's resemblance to Tempest own unwillingness to discuss her stakes in the mission did not allude her.

"I guess we all have our secrets, then." She thought to herself.

While that conversation had been cut off rather quickly, the slow pace of the chain-lifted elevator gave rise to another.

"So, Captain." Tempest started off by saying.

"Yes, ma'am?" Carter asked.

"You seem to possess some rather advanced equipment. I find it odd that the Storm King failed to mention this to me after I became his second-in-command."

Carter brought his helmet around, almost showcasing it to her in his hands.

"Goes in line with the secrecy that surrounds us." He explained. "While I can't divulge on how most of it works, for security reasons and under the direct orders of his majesty, most of it was brought with us when we came here, well before we were hired by the Storm King as his personal assassins."

Tempest now inspected the interior of Carter's helm, noting the various straps and electronic bits that were housed within.

"Even he doesn't know how most of it works." Carter informed her.

"How is that even possible?" Tempest asked. "He always seems desperate for new magical artifacts."

"Well that's the thing, none of it is powered by magic in any way."

"None?"

"None. Magic is next to non-existent where I come from. Just know that it's pretty much centuries ahead of any weapon you'll find here."

"Then how is it powered then?"

"Well that was part of the agreement we made for working with him. Since our tech isn't magic based, it more or less wasn't as useful in furthering his end-goal, at least when wielded by him. However if you have four people who are masters at wielding them effectively, as well as being just about the most efficient and skilled soldiers you could ever hope to find, well that's an asset you can't pass up."

"So you're mercenaries then?"

"Sort of, we don't exactly do what we do for money."

"But there was a price?"

"Correct. Our price was rather generous. Simple food and shelter, one other thing that I won't divulge, and lastly, no questions asked about equipment. In return, we do whatever he tells us, and we do it no matter how morally ambiguous said tasks may be."

"So that device strapped to your leg, am I to assume that's your main weapon?" Tempest asked.

"Sidearm actually. Our main weapons are stowed away in our transport topside. You'll see it in just a minute. Along with the others"

Tempest harbored some rather inquisitive thoughts towards that as secrets that could effect the outcome of the operational performance weren't exactly an appealing quality to her. It seemed the more time she spent with Carter the more questions seemed to arise, both on the man, his species, and furthermore, his technological advantage.

In mere moments Tempest and the Captain were staring across the main deck of Tempest's flagship, The Bolt. Ever since she had been entrusted with commanding it, the ship had a serious reputation, putting down many a would be pirate raid and utterly devastating against ground forces. With speed, maneuverability, and an array of firepower to back it up, Tempest couldn't have asked for a better airship.

"This way ma'am." Carter informed her, gesturing for her to follow.

As she followed the Captain, watching her troops and crew carrying out the various tasks necessary before their attack, she looked ahead to see something incredibly strange. At the very center of the ship's forefront section of the deck sat a rather strange machine. While it was not very large, it looked to be constructed in a manner that it could fit two pilots within it's strange bubble-like fuselage, more specifically, two human pilots. On it's sides were two flat planks of unknown material, with an array of straps dangling from the side. Resting atop it's main structure was a more rectangular-shaped extrusion, housing a rotary of at least 5 or 6 long, flat blades that spanned well past the reach of the main machine itself. Jutting from the rear was a long and slender stem, ending in a strange fin-like configuration which sported a much smaller rotary sporting only 4 blades of a much shorter length. The machine as a whole rested on the flat surface of the deck via a set of two large bars which raised the structure off the ground by at least 3-4 feet. The entirety of the exterior was a jet black, with the Storm King's sigil painted in grey across both sides of the fuselage.All-in-all it had to be one of the strangest contraptions Tempest had ever laid her eyes on.

"You came here in that?" Tempest asked astounded.

Carter let himself sport a prideful grin.

"That we did, Ma'am. Say hello to the MH-6H Special Insertion Helicopter, or the Little Bird for short."

As she eyed this "helicopter" over a second time, she noted the figures standing around it. Each one of a similar height and geared up in a similar configuration to the Captain.

"I assume they would be your team?" Tempest asked.

"Yes ma'am. Why don't I introduce you to them?"

As much as Tempest wanted to know more about the aircraft, along with the rest of their technology for that matter, she had come up here with the intention to get acquainted with Fireteam Storm and knew that Carter wouldn't be too keen in sharing the details of the craft anyway. The mission itself was only a day away, and while she was genuinely curious, her curiosity didn't take precedence over the mission. She needed to know who she would be working with.

"Of course, Captain." She said in agreement. "I'm eager to get-"

"WOW COOL!" a loud voice called out in a static traced tone.

Both Carter and Tempest turned their attention to where it had come from, and saw that one of the members of Fireteam Storm was approaching them. Out of the four, he had to be the largest in both body size and overall gear, leaving a rather intimidating impression. He seemed to be wearing more armor than his CO, sporting a set of pauldrons and thigh plates that matched the same material consistency to his chestpiece. His helmet seemed to sport additional armor around the faceplate and above the visor, and much to Tempest's dismay, an artistic interpretation of what she assumed was the jaw portion of the human skull was painted across the faceplate region. He crouched in front of Tempest, his face at the same height as hers. As intimidating as he looked, what he said next completely ruined whatever presence he had inadvertently gathered.

"OH, MY, GOD. She's so cute! Is she like the ship-mascot or something?" The imposing figure asked.

Tempest gave the man a rather angered glare that would petrify any other one of her subordinates, yet this poor sod seemed clueless about it.

"Green. Th-" Carter said in a rather short tone.

"Awwww, but what happened to her horn? Poor thing." He interrupted as he clasped his hands around Tempest's cheeks.

Tempest's eyes began to speak volumes on just how ready she was to send this poor stupid soul in the void with one quick blast of her magic.

"Green." Carter said once more in a seething tone.

"OOH! Do you think-"

"GREEN!!!" Carter barked.

"Yeah, Cap?" Green asked, unphased by Carter's authoritative tone.

"This is our Commander."

Green felt a jolt make its way through his body. Upon learning this, he quickly removed his hands from Tempest's face and retreated from the now on the verge of irate Commander, who's broken horn already began to emit bright cyan sparks. Her look of pure unbridled anger was now made apparent and was directed solely at this man by the name of Green. The two remaining humans standing by the Little Bird had been watching this whole exchange, with the one to Green's left throwing his head back in a fit of laughter that he had apparently been holding in. The one on the right had been somewhat partially engaged, inspecting his long and strange looking weapon, only to simply shake his head in a dismissive gesture when Green got caught in the embarrassing act.

"Moron." The one on the right said in an cold southern accent.

"Oh my God, Green, you couldn't have fucked up more!" The other said with a Hispanic accent, unable to hold back his amusement. "¡Eso fue demasiado gracioso!"

As Green nearly froze from his rather stupid move, Tempest could hear the quite audible groan from Carter, laced with clear traces of annoyance and contempt as he effectively facepalmed.

"I see what you meant by poor social graces." Tempest said to Carter.

Ignoring the rather unprofessional display that had just unfolded, Carter was quick to regain his grasp over the troops.

"Storm! Front and Center!" Carter ordered.

His subordinates followed the directive without question, forming a line as they stood next to one another shoulder-to-shoulder, earning a small bit of admiration from Tempest in the process by how quickly he was able to take charge.

"Commander Tempest, I'd like to introduce you to my Lieutenants. Without further incidents."

Carter had been eyeing Green when he said that, causing Green to look to the ground just a little and earning a rather amused smirk from Tempest.

Carter then began to go down the line, each one removing their helmets as they were introduced.

"This here is Lieutenant Sanchez. Fireteam Storm's combat engineer, explosives specialist, and tech expert."

As Sanchez removed his helmet, the face that greeted Tempest was quite different from the Captain. His Skin tone was mocha colored, made more evident that that the sleeves to his uniform were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his forearms. His face had a chiseled quality to it, with modestly refined looking nose and a set of hazel eyes. Unlike Carter, Sanchez had quite the head of black hair styled in a top crew cut, with a chevron mustache accompanying the quirky smile he was giving her. Combining all these features together and everything about him screamed that he was the joker of the group.

Moving to inspect his equipment, Tempest was quick to notice that on his chestpiece was a large pouch with a faded symbol of a wrench at its center, and his helmet differed in the fact that it had some strange ocular device stemming from some sort of hinge above the visor, implying that it folded down. These two things seemed to correlate with Sanchez's role in the team.

"Pleased to meet you, Commander." Sanchez greeted her.

"Pleased or amused, Lt. Sanchez?" Tempest asked. "Kind of hard to tell with that stupid smile."

Sanchez opened his mouth as if about to come back with something sarcasm, but quickly noticed the death glare he was getting from Carter. The look alone screamed "Don't even fucking think about it", and despite Sanchez's innate desire to respond with something sarcastic, he knew the price would probably end up having to do with those sparks he saw the Commander emitting from her horn. Sanchez simply rolled his eyes before diverting back to the Commander.

"No ma'am, just pleased." Sanchez said in obvious reluctance. "Just a little surprised you're a pony, that's all."

"Oh don't let my looks deceive you Lieutenant Sanchez." Tempest smirked rather menacingly "I'd hate for you to find out first-hand what the price for making such a mistake would be."

Sanchez raised an eyebrow, if but to appear unphased by the statement. Yet he could still feel a slight chill go up his spine after she said it, finding the mere concept of being bolted by magic more than unpleasant.

"Tell me, what exactly does a combat engineer do?" Tempest asked.

"Well despite the name, I don't really find myself building too many things, I more or less deal with anything that can be considered a technical obstacle. I operate the more advanced tech we use, make sure we're stocked on supplies and ammo. I'm also responsible for piloting the Little Bird and making sure she's running. I do repairs on just about all our equipment as well, fashion replacement parts and what-not from time to time. But. When a strategic target needs to be wiped off the grid--aka what I call fun--I'm there with just about any explosive you can think of."

"So you're a mechanic, and a sapper?" Tempest said, the contrasting factors not lost to her in the slightest.

"Pretty much." Sanchez confirmed. "When something needs to blow up from the inside or out, I'm given the call."

"He mostly just deals with locked doors." Carter informed her.

"Yeah doors, bridges, buildings, hospitals, orphanages, half a city. I like to think I delve in variety of different mediums." Sanchez retorted. "Es un arte!"

Tempest found Sanchez's darker sense of humor just a tad bit amusing, but not nearly enough to warrant a laugh.

"Well Sanchez, you'll be happy to know that you will have the chance to practice your craft on the mission ahead." Tempest informed him. "In fact, as your CO will inform you later, I'm going to be counting on it."

"Diablos, sí!" Sanchez chuckled. "I look forward to it."

Tempest proceeded to move on to the next member of Fireteam Storm, one Lieutenant Green, the who had so foolishly had the nerve to assume she was the ship's mascot.

"I do believe you've already been...acquainted...with Lt. Green." Carter said with a slight derision to his tone. "He's our support gunner, pointman, and heavy weapons specialist."

Green instinctively rubbed the back of his head, his helmet obscuring any embarrassed look he may have had.

"Hello, m-ma'am." he stuttered.

"I'd rather have this discussion face to face, Lieutenant." Tempest said.

"C'mon big guy." Carter said.

Green let out a rather defeated sigh before undoing the straps holding his helmet in place. As he took it off revealing the man beneath, Tempest was greeted with someone who more or less the part of the big, strong heavy-warrior type, yet still maintained an approachable and somewhat gentle aura around him. Standing well past 6-feet tall, his skin tone was just a shade darker than Carter's, and he sported a rather stout clean-shaven face with a small snub nose, deep brown eyes and a short-cut mohawk adoring the top of his head. While she could appreciate his choice in hairstyle, the little stunt from earlier had taken a lot of the intimidation and respect he could have otherwise earned out of her. Despite the menacing aesthetics he seemed to possess, the rather sheepish behavior she was seeing out of him tended to paint him as more of a gentle giant than a juggernaut.

"Am I safe to assume your the muscle of the group?" Tempest asked.

Green nodded with a contrite frown.

"Look, I'd just like to formally apologize for my earlier behavior." Green finally said. "If I had known-"

"Apology accepted, Lieutenant." Tempest said cutting him off. "Now onto what you do."

Green seemed to perk up a little bit, but that apologetic look didn't seem to completely dissipate either.

"Well, as the pointman I'm usually the first one in a fight." Green explained in a not so enthusiastic tone. "Most of the time our enemies tend to run away when they see me coming."

"¿Cuál es el asunto, Green? You love it when you get to say that line." Sanchez claimed.

Tempest rolled her eyes at Sanchez's comment, continuing to train her focus on Green.

"That's quite the talent." Tempest complimented.

"Yeah, doesn't help that I'm the one who usually wields our most devastating weapons." Green added. "Shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc."

"I...........have no idea what any of those things are." Tempest informed him.

"Trust me, you probably don't want to know what they can do."

"Oh, quite the contrary, Lieutenant. I'm more than eager to see Fireteam Storm in action for myself, though I do ask you keep the damage to our primary targets at a minimum, should you come upon them."

Tempest proceeded to move onto the last member of Fireteam Storm. Giving him a through look over, she noticed that like Sanchez, he had some strange ocular device attached to his helmet, however it seemed to jut out from above the visor. What the device's exact purpose was, she couldn't say, however the helmet itself seemed to be adorned with several tally marks. He wore some sort of grayish-black camouflage net around his shoulders and neck, along with a large combat knife strapped onto the bandolier that wrapped around his right shoulder. Unlike any of his companions, Jackson seemed to be the only one holding his primary weapon. Tempest marveled at it's strange construction before Carter disrupted her train of thought.

"And lastly, Lieutenant Jackson." Carter said. "Fireteam Storm's reconnaissance scout, infiltrator, and sniper."

"Ma'am." He addressed bluntly.

Tempest wondered what exactly a sniper was as he took off his helmet. Tempest suddenly found herself a little unnerved from what she saw. His skin was easily the palest of the four with it being a beige tone. His face was narrow and concave, sporting a slightly beaked nose and a pair of nearly pale-blue eyes that seemed to pierce whatever met their gaze. His face seemed worn and weathered, leaving a rather unsettling feeling in Tempest as she imagined what those eyes must have seen in their time. His hair was brown, cut down to a simple short blunt crop, with a beard shaved down to a scruff. All in all, there was a subtle cold-nature to Jackson's appearance that had been absent in the other members of Fireteam Storm.

"Is somethin' wrong, ma'am?" Carter asked.

Tempest shook herself out of whatever trance she had been worked into, unaware that she had been standing there for a few seconds without even responding.

"Apologies." She said. "I was thinking about something else."

"I'm sure you were." Jackson chortled with a devious smile.

Jackson's response didn't seem to shake off Tempest's previous feelings towards him, if anything, it served to unnerve her even more.

"Anyways, I'm curious, what exactly is a sniper?" She asked.

"It's a type of marksman. I take out targets from long ranges. I also scout out enemy positions and report them back to the rest of the team."

Tempest once again found herself looking at the weapon he carried. It resembled the types of crossbows minotaurs used, but way more advanced. It seemed constructed out of some strange metal, with various pieces and mechanisms dotting the exterior. Resting at its top was a pronounced scope, spanning nearly a third of the length of the weapon itself. At the rear was a complex-looking butt stock, and at the front was what Tempest assumed was some sort of stability device.

"I assume that which you carry is your tool of choice?" She asked.

Jackson leveled the weapon out for a second before lowering it again, letting out a rather prideful grin--showcasing his lack of a top left lateral incisor in the process--that showed an apparent appreciation for the weapon.

"That it is." Jackson replied in a raspy voice. "Wanna see it in action?"

At that moment, Carter stepped in to end where the conversation was going.

"Another time perhaps." He said, giving Jackson a rather cold look. "And there you have it Commander, the men of Fireteam Storm."

As she looked over them one last time, Tempest found herself both confused and intrigued at how these four outcasts became the epitome of infamy within the Storm King's ranks. They seemed like bumbling fools at first glance, but with a track record like there's, there was no denying they possessed a skill set unmatched by any other unit. Perhaps she had her expectations set too high, perhaps behind those personalities, they were just cold-blooded killers, though with Jackson's case that honestly wouldn't surprise her.

"Well, I'm glad I had the chance to meet all you in person." She announced with a neutral expression. "I look forward to your performance in the field, gentlemen. The Operation begins at midday tomorrow, however the task I have in mind for your team requires a preemptive insertion. Captain Carter will debrief you on the details. For the meantime, I'll have Grubber show you your quarters. Rest up, and report back here at 0500. That will be all. You're all dismissed."

As she turned around and departed back to her quarters, Carter gave himself about ten seconds before giving his subordinates the long-awaited reprimanding they deserved.

"Just what the fuck is wrong with you three!"

Chapter 3: Speculation, Suspicion, and Study

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Tempest once again found herself sitting at the center of the observation deck, passively glancing at the now thoroughly memorized operational plans. Her focus had been centered around one thing, and that was the stakes this mission held. It had been a lifelong struggle living without the ability to properly cast the very magic unicorns were heralded for, and the very injury she sustained so long ago served as a constant reminder of that. Yet at the same time, she found herself distracted by a strange curiosity about the circumstances surrounding Fireteam Storm, the newest asset at her disposal, as it seemed that she was not the only one with an end goal that differed from the Storm King's.

"Uhhh, Tempest? You okay?" Grubber asked.

Tempest focus shifted to her second-in-command's query. He had been standing there talking her ear off about something or another, most of it she was able to drown out.

"I'm fine, Grubber." She replied bluntly.

"Oh, okay. It's just, you seem really tense. Plus you've been staring at those things for like, ten minutes straight without so much as-"

"I said I was fine, Grubber!" Tempest reiterated more sternly. "Leave it at that."

Grubber went silent and meek upon Tempest's command. Tempest questioned why in Equestria Grubber was even here some days, as he seemed to lack both the courage and moral grey to serve the Storm King. Sure he wouldn't argue against any command she'd give him, but he seemed to do it out a sense of either obligation or self-preservation rather than any sense of loyalty. Alas, that was a more redeeming quality in some sense, as it meant Tempest didn't need to fear a potential rival undermining her in an effort to take her place.

Diverting her attention once again to the plans before her, any effort to memorize them further was found to be redundant by her at this point. And just like before, Tempest once again found her attention fixated around that strange curiosity towards the newest troops at her disposal. Normally she wouldn't care about the motivations of others so long as they didn't involve her, but the motives of Fireteam Storm undoubtedly differed from the Storm King's, and their personalities differed immensely to what she was initially expecting. Those two facts alone did enough to garner her attention to the fullest extent, and made her even more curious when she recalled Carter's statement from before.

"*Make good on his promise?*" Tempest whispered to herself. "*But how? And why?*"

Tempest pondered on the ramifications Carter's statement held for quite some time. Knowing little to nothing about their race did her no favors in deciphering whatever potential motive they may have had, and Carter's reluctance to elaborate on it made her suspicious. Had they been sent with accomplishing a secondary task? Did said task involve her? Was her lack of knowledge on it intentional?

These questions served to plague her thoughts, and finding that she had some time to spare, Tempest decided to indulge herself in reassessing what information she had on the rather infamous group in an effort to get a grasp on who she was dealing with. She turned to Grubber once more, ready to give him a directive.

"Grubber, get me all the records on Fireteam Storm and bring them to me." She ordered.

Grubber, caught off guard by the order as he was currently distracted with something in between his toes, haphazardly stood to attention.

"R-right away, boss!" Grubber stammered with a rather haphazard and crooked excuse for a salute.

Like frightened prey ready to scatter, he darted over towards the ship's archives to retrieve what was requested, almost hitting the wall on his way out. Tempest rolled her eyes at his clumsy exit as he raced out the door and down the hall. Now left to her own thoughts, she began to decipher a potential end goal that these humans had, and whether or not they involved her own goals, or worse, undermining them, or her. Though the possibility of her being subjected to some sort of purge was low, as she hadn't done anything to make the Storm King question her loyalty, nor had she any intent of doing so, she couldn't rule it out.

But perhaps this was just paranoia thinking. Upon giving it a second thought, what sense would there be in Carter alluding to his own reward if it had any ill effects for her? What sense was there in essentially tipping her off if they were just going to off her later? Perhaps it was just an arrangement like hers? A few minutes passed and soon, Grubber returned to the room, the items she requested in hand.

"There they are, boss." Grubber announced as he placed them before her on the table. "All the files on Fireteam Storm."

"Did you check the entire archive, Grubber?" Tempest asked in scrutiny.

"Yes, ma'am. The files were all in the confidential section. In fact they were the only files in the confidential section. You'd figure a guy like the Storm King would have more secrets. Like what he plans to do after he conquers the world. Or that nacho supreme recipe the chef serves us every Tuesday. Or-"

It was at that moment Grubber noticed the gradually growing look of annoyance spread across Tempest's face, a clear message that she didn't wish to hear his statement go any further.

"-I'll just..uh...go announce lights out." Grubber finished.

"See to it that you do." Tempest pressed with the clear desire that she wished to be left alone.

Tempest looked at the stack of scrolls and manuscripts. Though quite small, it was about the only information on the team that was available to her. Upon her initial read, much of the details on past missions and each member's background were crossed out in black ink. A simple fix for a unicorn with a proper horn, though in Tempest's case, the method of extracting the necessary information would prove to be a lot trickier.

One thing was clear though, she couldn't afford to trust them, not until she knew what the details of their relationship with the Storm King entailed. As far as anyone was concerned, Fireteam Storm was the Storm King's shadow, and the possibility of them having an alterior motive was evident, and even if they didn't know it, Tempest would be keeping a close eye on them and everything they'd be doing. She'd come so far in her quest to restore what she lost, and just like when she requested their presence to mitigate risk, she wasn't about to risk the possibility of them undermining that goal, no matter how little the potential of it occurring was.

"What are the odds the Commander doesn't trust us?" Green asked to his squadmates.

"Rock fucking solid." Carter answered bluntly. "She'll probably be watching us like a hawk from now on."

After the formal introductions with Fireteam Storm had concluded, Carter proceeded to fill them in on the mission details, a surprisingly easy task considering their previous engagements. After that he and his team proceeded with unpacking their gear and stowing it away in their quarters. After a short meal and a quick workout, the time was now drawing on 9:00pm. The Operation's early start required a good night's rest, but despite that, the team continued to last minute tasks whilst engaging in the usual banter to discuss their mission, and in turn, their new CO.

"You really think so?" Green asked once more for verification.

"Your introduction didn't do us any favors, Green." Carter so bluntly stated. "Same could be said for the rest of you damn clowns."

"How was I supposed to know she was the Commander?!" Green said defensively. "But do you honestly think that's grounds for second-guessing us?"

Sanchez, who was working on the equipment they'd be using in the mission ahead, looked up to add his two cents to the conversation.

"It's without a doubt, amigo. Shit, one look at Jackson and she was like, 'Fuck that, I'm watching my ass around this creep!'" Sanchez chuckled.

"Yuck it up, hombre." Jackson quipped right back. "Her ass isn't the one you should be worried about tonight."

Sanchez had been accustomed to many of Jackson's idle threats at this point, and decided to play along for laughs.

"What, you going poison me or something while I sleep? Huh?"

"Nah, that's too clean. Don't worry, I'll think of something creative, just know there'll be blood."

"Alright you fucking sociopath." Sanchez said rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say."

Carter had just jumped into his fatigues when he added another query to the conversation.

"So.......................team. Jumping back to the subject of our Commander, any thoughts? Observations?" Carter asked curiously.

They were silent for a moment, before Jackson rose up to speak.

"I'd say she's like any other melodramatic basket case her kind has to offer, like that pink cult leader bitch we ran into last year. But if I'm gonna be honest, she didn't really strike me as such." Jackson admitted. "More of the no bullshit, get things done, kill you in a heartbeat if you get in my way kind of girl."

"So like Carter here when he's had a bad day?" Sanchez insinuated with a shit-eating grin.

"Couldn't said it better myself." Jackson concurred.

Carter simply rolled his eyes, not really phased by the slight mocking from his men.

"Very perceptive." Carter quipped as he gave them the finger. "Dickheads."

"Certainly wasn't expecting her to be a pony." Sanchez said.

"With a name like Tempest Shadow? What were you expecting?" Carter asked.

"I dunno. Female Minotaur?" Sanchez shrugged.

"Eh, fair enough." Carter guessed.

"Yeah, but instead we got a little angry edgy-looking unicorn pony who almost vaporized Green's ass." Sanchez concluded. "What are the odds?"

"Again. I didn't know." Green reiterated.

"Doesn't really matter what she is. From the looks of her alone, she's a fighter, and a damn good one at that." Jackson noted.

"And what exactly gave you that impression?" Sanchez asked.

"Are you really that damn stupid?" Jackson said in held-back disbelief. "Was the busted horn and scar not enough of a dead giveaway?"

"Okay, so what? She's got a few bruises. Carter here has got one too, but that doesn't make him Bruce Lee."

"Oh, I'm sorry, have you tried to pry a unicorns horn off with nothing but a combat knife and your bare hands under a blood moon, desperately trying to pin the fucker while blotting out his desperate cries of terror?"

The rest of the team was silent for a moment, contemplating the rather disturbing way Jackson had worded that sentence.

"A little too descriptive there, Jackson." Carter informed him. "But go on."

Jackson, unphased by his terrible social skills being pointed out for the umpteenth time, continued to explain.

"It's not like that horn is a piece of glass. The thing's tougher than bone. I gave her wounds a good look while she was talking to El Stupido over here. Looks like she garnered both at the same time, and by pissing off the wrong thing."

"You're saying another thing did that to her?" Green asked.

"No question about it, and that means that whatever did it was big." Jackson explained, before looking at Sanchez directly. "Meaning that she went toe-to-toe with whatever it was and lived. You understand that now?"

"Or she tripped down the stairs as a kid." Sanchez suggested in defiance. "It's really fucking weird when you try to piece shit together about people you don't know, Jackson."

"Whatever." Jackson mouthed. "That's all I gotta say about her."

"I dunno guys, I kinda feel really bad for her." Green admitted.

"Why?" Carter asked.

"Well, when I usually hear about unicorns, I always imagine them as these happy and magical creatures. But she looks so upset."

"That's probably cause she's a bitch who's pissed about losing her horn, amigo." Sanchez pointed out. "Plus you touched her face without asking. I'd say she's within her right to look upset."

"If you ask me, she seems paranoid. Afraid to fail." Carter pointed out.

"She have something on the line?" Jackson asked.

"Seems so. Something about a reward the Storm King promised her. Doubt it's anything traditional, though."

"So, like us then?" Green inquired.

"So our Commander made a deal with the boss?" Sanchez shrugged off. "What about that makes you think she'd be paranoid?"

"Sanchez, she had a backup plan involving a method to combat a possible temporal displacement scenario. No sane person would even conceive of that unless something big was at stake, and if we're being honest, I'm surprised none of y'all aren't just as nervous."

"¿Hombre, quién cuida? We got nothing major to worry about. One more op and were done this bullshit." Sanchez noted.

Everyone in the room savored that fact, so many years of working for the Storm King and they'd finally put an end to nearly a decade's worth of problems, yet Carter wasn't so convinced just yet.

"That's only if the mission goes off without a hitch." Carter pointed out.

"Guess that depends on how good the Commander says she is, right?" Green asked.

"That it does." Jackson answered. "Shouldn't be too hard. How much fight could four princesses put up?"

"Quite a lot." Carter indicated. "Tempest said herself they're the most powerful of her race, thousands of years old with plenty of experience under their belt. Any direct fight would probably end in getting your ass handed to."

"Yet you said the Commander calculated every possible move they could make." Sanchez insisted. "We got nothing to worry about, Cap."

"And if things go wrong?" Carter questioned.

"If things do get bumpy, we can handle it. It wouldn't be the first time shit would go wrong on an op. But if we handle like we do every other mission, we'll be fine. So take it easy already, alright emano."

While Sanchez's statement could be seen as naive bravado, he had some merit to his statement. As a team least they had the experience to handle just about any situation, with years of training both physical and mental to back it up. That alone more or less bolstered everyone's confidence that things would go smoothly. With a somewhat defeated sigh, Carter relented.

"Yeah, maybe your right." Carter admitted.

"Well duh, I'm always right." Sanchez insisted.

"Like hell you are." Jackson mouthed.

All of a sudden, the ship's intercom went live, broadcasting the voice of Grubber for all to hear, whether they like it or not.

"*All hands, uh, lights out. Tomorrow's the big day! T-the day we're...y'know, gonna conquer all the ponies. So......yeah........everyone, uh, go to bed I guess. Except for the patrol guards, uh, you guys gotta stay up and...........y'know.........guard...........the ship. okayI'mdonenow!*"

As the intercom turned off, the members of Fireteam Storm were left to make of that what they would.

"How the hell is that little shit gremlin even here?" Jackson asked. "Figured he'd have like two days to live after joining these ranks."

"It doesn't matter." Carter cleared up. "Best to follow the little turd's advice and turn in for the night. We got an early start."

The rest of Storm agreed and proceeded to hit the rack for the night. Carter walked over the the oil lamp, the one remaining light source in the room, giving out one last statement before extinguishing its flame.

"Tomorrow's a new day gentleman. One more mission. One more task ahead of us. Do shit right, and be smart. We move out at 0400."

Three hours had passed, and with it Tempest had only managed to scratch the surface of only a handful of the documents. Courtesy of some rare concoction found only in the most isolated parts of Abyssinia, Tempest was able to remove the black ink on the personnel records and a few of the combat reports concerning Fireteam Storm, but much to her dismay, it turned out that the personnel records themselves were rather sparse with information, with only their names, combat roles, and general assessments available.

Captain Andre Carter,
Age: 32
Height: 5'11
Combat Roles: Commanding Officer, Grenadier, Combat Medic, Team Coordinator
Assessment:
Shows distinguished leadership skills even in situations of duress, with the highest success rate of any Commanding Officer in the entirety of the Storm Fleet. Despite his injury to his left eye, Captain Carter displays heightened senses, with an almost innate ability to think on the fly. Personality is direct, methodical, yet still sustains a slight level of charisma.

Lt. Joshua Green
Age: 29
Height: 6'2
Combat Roles: Heavy Weapons Expert, Support Gunner, Ammo Bearer, Pointman
Assessment:
Despite Green's rather tame behavioral tendencies and general friendliness in non-engagements, he is quite capable in combat, bordering on being a downright juggernaut when on the battlefield. His combat effectiveness exceeds the regular intervals by at least 70%, and his knowledge of handling a variety of firepower to maximum effectiveness is almost unmatched.

Lt. Eduardo Sanchez
Age: 30
Height: 5'10
Combat Roles: Combat Engineer, Explosives Specialist, Sapper, Tech & Equipment Specialist
Assessment:
Sanchez shows a rather confrontational attitude to authority by means of jokes or otherwise comical remarks directed towards both his peers and superiors. Despite this though, he displays a high-level of knowledge on operating with and on a variety of mechanical constructs and equipment. He's also crafty with demolition work, able to point out and take down key points in just about any structure.

Lt. Seth Jackson
Age, 31
Height: 5'11
Combat Roles: Designated Marksman, Reconnaissance Scout, Stealth Operator, Saboteur.
Assessment: Jackson displays a high level of sociopathic behavior, very few with words and when he does speak, his mannerisms come off as unsettling. Works best at long range engagements exceeding anywhere from 500-1500 yards, possessing an accuracy unrivaled by any in the Storm Fleet. His Stealth skills are also noteworthy, capable of a variety of Sabotage ranging from diversionary to crippling in effect."

The level of skill each member possessed both impressed and concerned her simultaneously, this was only increased when she read over the operational history. Unlike the personnel records, the mission reports were quite detailed, and as she scrolled through the missions, the more her eyes began to narrow. Some of the stuff seemed almost unreal, as if it couldn't have been carried out by the hands of the men she met today, well, Jackson maybe, but the others seemed almost unfit for this kind of stuff. Yet it seemed to be legit, giving the clear picture that these guys weren't to be underestimated.

The Assassination of Saddle Arabian dignitaries and their kin to rob them of their magical heirlooms. Burning an entire Yak village and its inhabitants to the ground for harboring a deserter of the Storm Fleet. Destruction of an entire Diamond Dog colony who stole precious cargo from the Storm King with the use of high level seismic charges, effectively caving them in. Turning a loudmouthed informant to stone, some dragon named Gravedigger, after the fool threatened to rat one of the Storm King's top secret excavations in the Dragonlands to Dragonlord Torch. And the icing on the cake had to be one of their more recent tasks, the assassination of Strife, Tempest's predecessor. While that might be cause for concern, she knew all to well that Strife had it coming. You don't just steal right from under the Storm King's nose, damage his ship, and make off with most of his fleet and treasures and expect to get away with it.

Tempest continued like this throughout the night, trying to find some indication at what Fireteam Storm was hoping to gain out of all this bloodshed and secrecy. What drove them to do what they did, whether it was money or power, though Tempest doubted that it was anything so material, as they seemed to already possess things almost out of this world. Tempest sat and pondered for several hours on end, the gears of her mind set into overdrive in an effort to try and formulate what they could be after. Alas, her efforts were not going to yield fruit on this night. As Tempest glanced out the window, she judged it had to at least be nearing midnight, and she felt almost irritated at herself for spending so much time dwelling on someone else's goals when her own was about to near its end. She quickly condensed the contents of the table back into a neatly piled stack. Thankfully the concoction had an after effect in restoring erased contents, effectively covering any traces that she had accessed them in the first place. Once she had returned them to the archives, she deduced that she needed to rest. Tomorrow would be the day Equestria would fall, and its conqueror would need to be at her best.

"Remember your priorities, Tempest." She sighed. "Focus on what you spent years dedicated to. You have your mission, they have there's. Tomorrow, everything comes to a close."

Chapter 4: Deployment

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"*<Commander Tempest.>*" A garbled series of grunts addressed over the direct communication station in Tempest's quarters.

The loud static-traced voice sprung Tempest awake from her sleep. While initially groggy from just waking up, she was quick to get up on her hooves. Judging by the lack of Ponish being spoken, the voice most likely came from the ship's helmsman. Approaching the rather crude magically imbued console, Tempest used her forehoof to press down on the button which would relay her voice back.

"Report." She bluntly requested.

"*<Fireteam Storm is topside, awaiting further instruction.>*" The Storm Beast replied.

Tempest instinctively glanced at the nearby clock and to her surprise, the time was 4:30 am, a whole half hour earlier than when she had expected them to be ready. While Tempest could admire the clear initiative of their actions, it hardly did anything to impress her.

"Understood, instruct them to wait for my arrival. I shall be up shortly." Tempest relayed.

"*<Yes, Commander.>*"

With that exchange concluded, Tempest proceeded to ready herself for the day she had long anticipated, the day that would mark the beginning of regaining what was lost. Heading over to the drab wardrobe on the far side of the room, she began by opening it's doors to reveal her armor set resting on the pony styled-rests within. It only took a few minutes for Tempest to adorn her armor, a process that she had learned by heart without the aid of magic. Concluding the process by slipping into her armored hoof boots, Tempest looked upon herself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe's swinging doors, a pony weathered and made strong by time and hardship staring back at her.

"Today's the day. Nothing is going to stop me."

And with that she set off towards the top deck of the ship, very fiber of her will did everything to deter any doubts or worries, for if this mission was to be a success, she would need confidence, a clear head, and the will to what nopony in Equestria could fathom.

Carter paced back and forth across the deck of the command ship, the thump of his boots on wood keeping his thoughts in sync. He, like his subordinates, was fully garbed in combat equipment with a HK416 dangling from his right hand. His fellow squadmates, gathered around the Little Bird, either watched or engaged in their own habits to kill time as they awaited further directive from their Commanding Officer, who had yet to arrive.

"Yo, hermano, ease up already?" Sanchez said to Carter.

"I'm fine, just a nervous habit." Carter stated. "A lot on my mind."

"Same here, but you don't see me getting all worked up over nothing. We'll do fine, like we always do."

"Unless we don't and things all go to shit." Jackson piped up, flicking the last remnants of his cigarette off the side of the ship.

"You're not helping, asshat." Sanchez muttered.

"Just sayin'." Jackson said.

"I dunno guys, I'm thinking this one seems real dodgy." Green admitted. "Like I can't shake the feeling we'l-"

"Green, shut up! Everything's gonna be fine!" Sanchez reiterated more aggressively. "Cap! Stop pacing like ya gotta piss. Jackson, fuck off with all the negativity. Green, just.......just stop thinking."

"Now look who's nervous?" Carter jested.

" I'm not." Sanchez said defiantly. "But you guys are all nervous over nothing! This mission's practically a fucking cakewalk! Especially with the back up we'll be getting come sunrise! We've done plenty of demo ops in the past, with dodgier security, and bigger margins for error. With Jackson's finesse and my explosives, catching those prissy princesses will be easy. Como un paseo por el parque."

"You so certain about that, amigo?" Jackson asked in an unamused tone. "Ain't exactly like track and capture was a regular op with our targets. Usually just offed the poor fucker when we found em'."

"Normally yes. But! I had some spare time to touch up on this puppy before bed last night."

Sanchez proceeded to sling around one of his many homemade devices to showcase to his peers. The device in question was a heavily modified net gun.

"Ta-dah! *Sparkle* *Sparkle*" Sanchez exclaimed.

"Seriously, the net-gun thing?" Green questioned.

"You have gotta be shittin' me." Jackson mouthed.

"Fuck you guys! Yeah, the net-gun thing." Sanchez affirmed. "Been working on the baby non-stop since the last time I used it. Improved hydraulic launchers, magnetized weights, taser-grid netting, magic-dampening fibers. Combined with a skilled group of individuals such as ourselves, I can guarantee that those princesses won't stand a chance. So stop your bitching, because when Storm rains down on their world, the reaction's bound to be.......shocking."

Carter gave him a rather unamused look, one that conveyed that he really wasn't in the mood for any jokes or really bad puns at the moment. But even Carter had a hard time dismissing Sanchez's claims, their track record was practically spotless, nearly one for one on every op the Storm King had sent them on. Yet so many of his thoughts dwelled heavily on the mission ahead, and the reward that came with it should it go off without a hitch. This scenario wasn't the run of the mill mission, it involved inconspicuous entry into the capital of a nation, the night before a major celebration. Security was bound to be at a high. But then again, Tempest herself stated that her kind weren't ones to be feared, strongly attesting to their weakness almost immediately.

While he could have spent several minutes dwelling on this particular subject, any of those thoughts were immediately stamped out upon seeing Tempest Shadow emerge from the lower hull and onto the main deck. Carter's team was quick to notice as well, and began to gather for any last details.

"Gentlemen, good to see you up an early." Tempest addressed them. "That must mean you're as eager as I am to get started. Or perhaps nervous, not getting cold feet are we?"

Carter's team turned their CO, an amused smirk stricken across their faces that no doubt stemming from the boldness of the Commander's claims. Carter immediately took a readied posture, undoubtedly out of defiance.

"No, ma'am." Carter replied bluntly.

Tempest gave him a neutral nod in acknowledgement and proceeded with one last debrief of their objectives.

"Then your mission is as follows, and given how dawn approaches in just a few hours, I suggest you work fast."

Tempest quickly covered their objectives, which Storm studied to a tee last night, a necessity to keep up the level of professionalism they were renowned for. Simple infiltration, avoid security en route to Points Alpha and Bravo, which served as the main entry and exit points for the festival. Green and Jackson would take Alpha, located atop a rooftop botanical garden that gave them a bird's eye view of the main plaza center. Carter and Sanchez would take Bravo, a bell tower overlooking the main bridge that more or less served as the main way out. From there they would set up demo charges along the two passages that led into the plaza. After that they'd simply have to wait for the main assault to start. Once that commenced, they would detonate charges and block the escape routes, trapping most of the ponies, preferably the princesses, like rats in a maze. Once she concluded, Tempest gave the four one last directive.

"Remember, if I should happen to fail in apprehending any one of the princesses, I'll fire a signal, you'll know it when you see it. If it comes to that, work quickly. And bring her back to me. Alive."

"Understood." Carter replied.

"Good. Then I won't keep you. Good luck gentlemen, if all goes according to plan, this should be the easiest mission of your careers."

They each gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement before proceeding to their strange vehicle. As they walked away, Tempest couldn't shake the feeling that they may be conspiring on some level. None of their behavior seemed to indicate any sort of foul play but the chance they could keep such things hidden was undeniably likely. What exactly this collusion entailed remained a mystery to her, but as far as she was concerned it could very well conflict with her own interests.

Once all four had boarded the strange vehicle, the "Little Bird" as Sanchez had called it, the man in question flipped several switches. The hunk of metal roared to life as the blades atop its chassis began to rotate, gradually increasing in speed with each second passed. The noise was loud, but not deafening as Tempest would have theorized. Within less than a minute, the strange craft lifted from the deck of the Bolt at a remarkable speed, and in no time at all began speeding towards its objective. Tempest once again found herself awestruck by the advanced nature of these creatures, more so by the fact that none of it was magic-based.

"Where did the Storm King find these guys?" Tempest asked herself. "And what could they possibly want from him? They seem set for life with that kind of technology."

Alas, Tempest didn't dwell on the subject for too long, as she needed to tend to more pressing matters leading up to the assault. Today would cement the end of her journey, and failure was not on the table.

The night in Canterlot was relatively quiet for the most part, at least in the region Helm Chaser was assigned to guard for the night. Elsewhere was a little hectic with pre-festival excitement or dealing with the incoming visitor traffic. But that was a solid 20 or so blocks away, far from the serene silence of the botanical gardens. It was a godsend compared to his duties earlier today when he was stationed at the city gates. A whole day of directing countless ponies to nearly a dozen different places in the city, checking everypony's credentials, and settling a few minor disputes from weary and ornery travelers would tax anypony's patience. Top it off with the summer heat and it was downright exhausting.

Then of course was the pitiful excuse of a reprieve he was given. Time was cut down to make guard activity a constant throughout Canterlot. 6 hours to rest wasn't nearly enough to recuperate if Helm was concerned. But he lucked out on this posting, given how he was all alone and the next patrol shift wasn't scheduled till dawn, meaning catch a few Z's without his superiors noticing, and nopony would be the wiser.

Helm leaned against a wall, propping himself up on his spear, a tried and tested technique of the guard to catch some sleep while on duty. His eyes closed, and while not the most comfortable, it was adequate for the circumstances. A minute or two passed, Helm was just on the verge of drifting into slumber when a slight rustle jostled him into conciseness. Fearing it was another patrol, Helm jumped to attention and stepped away from the wall.

"He-hello? Who's there?" he called out.

His query went unanswered, and a quick survey of his surroundings revealed that he was still by himself. He let out a sigh and a slight laugh at how silly that must have looked.

"Just the wind, Helm. Just the wind." He assured himself.

He had more or less said that to calm himself more than anything else. He was ready to turn around back to the wall to resume his rest, when an unexpected and bone-chilling reply nearly made his heart stop.

"Not quite." a gruff voice replied.

It came from behind, but before Helm could turn to meet the gaze of the individual, a pair of long arms overcame him, one pinning his forelegs while the other clenching down on his muzzle, stifling his speech. Helm immediately went into panic mode, as he struggled to escape his attacker's grasp, his muffled cries going unheard as his attacker was clearly stronger than him. Suddenly, he felt some sort of fabric run across his muzzle, followed by a whiff of something rather potent. Helm soon found he could no longer attempt to struggle, and It wasn't long before everything went to black.

When the guardpony had stopped struggling is when Jackson finally released his grip, as he carefully settled the unconscious equine on the ground to prevent the armor from making any loud noise.

"Night-night, asshole." Jackson mouthed rather coldly.

Jackson began to pull out the rappel rope and harness he would need to set up the explosives. Green soon entered the garden from the adjacent rooftop of the neighboring building. They had made it here undetected with little trouble, evading the patrols with ease and sticking to less crowded areas of the city. Apparently an infiltrator loyal to the Storm King had supplied Tempest with detailed patrol routes, and the botanical gardens happened to be one of the least busy.

This one guard being the only take down of the night, and given how his replacements weren't coming till dawn, it gave them plenty of time to prepare. Now came the time to plant the ordinance, a field Jackson would oversee. In the meantime, the sniper would see that his squad mate would do something about the pony.

"Green, stow him somewhere safe and out of sight while I plant the charges." Jackson ordered.

"I'm on it." Green acknowledged. "There's a janitor's closet in the building we just came from."

"No. Somewhere more practical." Jackson clarified.

"More Practical? How is a janitor's closet not practical?" Green asked confused.

"God dammit, Green! We gotta hide him somewhere within his patrol route, make it look like the bastard snuck off to catch a few winks! It's why we didn't straight up kill him, remember?"

"That's gonna be difficult, Jackson. Ain't a lot here to.......oh wait."

As Green effortlessly lifted the guardspony from the floor and headed towards a nearby storage shed. When he went for the small handle he found it was locked.

"Aw man, where's Sanchez when you need him?" Green griped.

Jackson lifted a head over his shoulder after he was done planting the first explosive.

"What the hell's the hold-up?" Jackson seethed.

"I'm working on it." Green chided back.

Green, frustrated by the situation, looked for other avenues. He was ready to straight up bust the door down when the comms in his helmet went off. It was Sanchez.

"*Green, I think I see some lockers through to room to your right. You may be able to fit him in there.*"

Green turned to his right to see the door leading to the building that housed the garden. Unlike the shed, this door wasn't locked when he went to check it, and neither were the lockers inside. Green wasted no time in stuffing the knocked out guard in the locker shuffling the various items inside to make room for him. Once he was secured, Green finished by closing the door quietly to avoid any noise.

"Thanks Sanchez." Green said over the radio.

"*No problem amigo. Jackson, you got the charges set yet?*"

Back in the garden Jackson had just begun planting charges.

"Just started. You?" Jackson replied.

"*Aye-aye-aye, you're getting slow, Jackson.*" Sanchez teased. "*I'm already done, bro.*"

"No shit you're done, your tasked with collapsing a small bridge." Jackson noted. "That's fuckin easy, a two-year old could do it. Bringing down a building is a whole other ball-game, you should know that."

"*Cut the chatter.*" Carter barked. "*It ain't a competition.*"

Carter was currently in the bell tower overlooking the whole plaza. The mission had gone swimmingly up until this point, and while the other members of his fireteam had a severe case of what he could best describe as "assumed success", Carter willing to sacrifice unit integrity for it. He had put up with this little feud between Jackson and Sanchez for long enough. He turned to face Sanchez, who was directly beside him, and looked him straight in the eye.

"I get it, this may be our last mission but we ain't done yet, hell we're just gettin' started." Carter clarified. "So all of you get your shit together! Anything could happen and we need to be ready for it. So stop acting like you're in fucking boot camp and reel it in! Jackson, when you're done, you and Green get into overwatch positions."

"*Understood, sir.*" Jackson replied.

"Sorry, Cap." Sanchez apologized.

"See to it doesn't happen again."

With that problem nipped in the bud, Carter relayed his attention to the area around him. Despite his worries, the end was in sight. This plaza would be the final act for them, the scene of Fireteam Storm's pivotal moment, the deciding factor that determined each of their futures. The charges were set, the team was in position, and the fleet, along with the Commander, was on its way. The pieces of the board were stacked and ready to crash down on their foes. All that remained was to wait for the time to strike, a process that, naturally, felt longer than it really was.

A minute passed and Jackson relayed that he had completed setting up the charges at each of the building's integral structural points. He and Green took their positions, and the "waiting game" ensued. Several minutes passed before a conversation naturally erupted, this time around, Carter welcomed it as it eased his nerves.

"You know that big stage reminds me of the bandshell back home." Sanchez noted.

Carter looked out to what he was referencing. The stage in question was instantly noticeable, it's silhouette outline being the most easily distinguishable among the structures littered across the platform.

"*What the hell's a bandshell?*" Jackson asked over the comms.

"It's a stage in central park. When I was a kid, orchestras and bands used to play there all the time. Well I suppose they still do but uh, well y'know."

"What you some patron of the arts?" Carter asked.

"No, but my mom was. Always used to drag me and my siblings to go watch." Sanchez explained. "This little festival they're planning just kind of reminded me of those times."

"*Heh, I hear you on that one, Sanchez.*" Green said. "*I was kind of thinking the same thing, but it reminded me of the Six Flags that I went to.*"

"*Hmm. No shit, which one did you go to?*" Jackson asked.

"*St.Louis.*" Green revealed.

"*Ah, west of the border. I went to the one in Louisville from time to time.*"

"*Man, just thinking about it makes me crave some funnel cake right now.*"

"*Shit, amen to that brother.*" Jackson chuckled.

"It's so weird to hear something positive out of your mouth, Jackson." Carter noted.

"*Hey, I might be a cold motherfucker, but like any man, I enjoy good fair food.*"

"We wanna talk about good fair food, nothing beats the churro, bro. Especially like them jumbo sized ones they got." Sanchez added. "Man I could down five of those any day of the week."

"I'm quite fond of the elephant ear myself." Carter shared.

"*Oh wow, way to be original, Cap.*" Jackson mocked.

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Carter questioned.

"Elephant ear's just a funnel cake but all dough, dude." Sanchez teased.

"Man, fuck you guys." Carter smirked.

The team shared a laugh, partly from the conversation and partly from the fact that a bunch special forces soldiers were talking about fair food on the vital mission of their career. But it was one of the few reprieves offered in their line of work, one that was always welcome when the situation permitted.

"*Guys we should go to a fair or something when this is all over.*" Green suggested.

"Sure, you buying Green?" Carter asked mockingly.

"*You know what, I just might.*"

"Yeah, well, maybe when this is all done, we'll get the chance to do just that. But first we gotta see this op through." Carter announced. "Stay vigilant, Gentlemen. It's gonna be a long night."

Chapter 5: The Storm

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Hours passed and the sun had now risen, giving light and life to the city. Ponies ushered through the streets with activity and celebratory events abound. Despite the increased traffic, Fireteam Storm managed to stay out of sight and out of mind, observing the festivities, lying in wait for their allies to arrive so that a citywide invasion could begin. While his subordinates past the time with hushed conversations on their surroundings and the events that unfolded within them, Carter was wound up with anxiety, wishing that the attack would commence and rid him of his nervousness.

"Any updates for me, Sanchez?" Carter asked.

Sanchez had taken the opportunity to operate the heli-quad drone to scope out the area of attack. To prevent a panic by the locals, as the drone itself would stick out like a sore thumb if left as is, the small remote craft was implemented with experimental cloaking technology leftover from long ago. While not completely invisible, it did a good enough job at a distance that one could hopefully pass it off as a bird flying by or an eye floater evading away from one's pupil.

Carter had been doing his own surveillance with a set of binoculars, as did Jackson through his rifle scope while Green kept a lookout for nearby patrols. A standard routine for stakeout missions in the past, and they'd been at it for about an hour an half. In that time, fairly little of interest had turned up, at least in terms of their current mission.

"Nadda. Though I did see a street magician. Think if we watch long enough we'll see her pull a rabbit out of her ass?" Sanchez quipped.

"Unless it's our backup, one of our targets, or a guard rotation, I ain't interested." Carter reprimanded.

"Ah, c'mon boss, maybe we can stop by, get ya a balloon animal. Will that make ya happy?"

Carter slugged Sanchez in the arm, an annoyed glare on his face.

"Hey, c'mon, I'm piloting this damn thing over here." Sanchez warned.

"Then focus on that instead of your dumb jokes." Carter suggested before placing a finger to his comm radio. "Jackson, you got anything on your end?"

"*Nothing so far, a few guard patrols here and there but nothing-..........wait.*"

"What is it, Jackson?" Carter asked anxiously.

"*Scratch that, I got eyes on one of our targets.*"

"What? Where?"

"*Far side of the balcony*"

Carter directed his gaze to where Jackson had made his claim. After a few seconds of surveying the scene, sure enough there she was. Sporting both wings and a horn, light lavender coat and a dark violet mane with highlights, rear markings displaying two six-pointed stars, one pink overlayed on one white with several more forming a ring around. The target matched her visual profile to a tee.

"So that's her, huh?" Carter said.

"*She's one of em'. Rest are hiding somewhere.*" Jackson explained.

"Well, not for long."

There was a lull of silence as Fireteam Storm watched their potential prey go about her business, having some exchange with a few of her fellow peers. Carter could see a look of uncertainty in her expression, despite the colorful festivities around her, she seemed troubled.

Carter then shook his head to diverge from these thoughts, it wasn't healthy to sympathize with the target, no matter how close to human nature it seemed. Carter valued his skills and expectations from his line of work, and no matter how much sympathy he could share for a victim, it never had an effect when it came to pulling the trigger or vice versa. He and his team had done many bad things leading up to this point, many things they weren't proud of, and he'd be damned before he'd let it all go to waste on some innocent and naive stranger. However, this period of said silence and its lasting effects were short-lived, when a sudden beat could be heard.

"Uh, do you guys hear music?" Sanchez asked.

"It's a festival, Sanchez, music isn't exactly unheard of at these sort of things." Carter claimed.

"No, no, no amigo. I mean, do you hear......that."

The group was silent once more before the audible beat of drums and tempo became overbearing, giving way to a plethora of ponies engaging in a symphony of song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8bz5SNJsOQ

"Are-are they....singing in a fucking musical number?" Sanchez questioned.

The men were stunned into silence as the ponies went on with their highly choreographed and almost professional level of singing as if they had just ran into a flash mob being performed by Broadway actors with studio level quality, they watched as with each note carried with it an almost flawless vocal delivery, leaving Jackson with only one thing to say.

"*Okay this place got gayer.*" Jackson mouthed. "*When is that invasion coming?*"

"Convenido. No wonder the Commander hates it here." Sanchez concurred.

Carter was about to put a stop to the griping when he heard the unmistakable hum of Green's voice over the comms, matching the melody of the ponies' tune. Jackson and Sanchez began to take notice as well, and Green, who was oblivious to the staring eyes of his fellow squadmates for a few seconds, continued humming to the song, eventually transitioning to whispering some of the words.

"*♪It's the festival of friendship♪, a-*"

"Green, what the fuck are you doing?" Carter inquired with an annoyed inflection.

Green soon noticed that his squad were staring at him, leaving an abrupt end to his tune.

"*What? It's catchy.*" Green defended.

"Green, you are aware that we're about to bring fire and brimstone to their front door in less than an hour, right?" Sanchez asked.

"*So? Doesn't make the tune any less catchy.*" Green claimed.

"*Thank Christ our track record and reputation makes us look professional.*" Jackson sighed. *Because if Green were the face of the squad, no fucker in the world would take us seriously.*

"Okay, enough." Carter stated loud over the comms. "I don't wanna hear another word until we see our ships."

"What about a large dark cloud of smoke screen?" Sanchez asked.

"Did I.......wait, what?"

Sanchez simply pointed to the distance where a dark blotch on the horizon rested. Pulling up his binoculars, Carter saw the pluming dark cloud slowly gathering mass and gradually getting closer and closer to their position. All four of them had seen this tactic before, and knew its implications. The moment of truth had finally arrived, and the team wasted no time getting to work.

"Showtime, boys." Carter announced.

The lower decks of the flagship, the Bolt, were bustling with last minute activity as Tempest's main force were but mere minutes away from their destination. Storm Beasts had donned helms and hauberks, strapped on bracers and breastplates, and armed themselves with shields and spears. While they were no fireteam storm, these creatures knew battle, and knew it well. As the Storm Beasts took formations near the lower ramp, the Bolt's smoke screen measures were being worked to full capacity, leaving a thick plume of smoke in the ship's wake as a heavy blanket of mist vented and lulled within the confines of its interior. The latter was less obtrusive overall and only obscured one's vision slightly.

Tempest stood primed and ready. Armored, determined, and prepared for anything and everything. Weeks of anticipation and planning were about to be put into action, the end resulting in the conclusion of her life long ambition. She stood amongst her personal guard, Storm Beasts who proved their worth on the field of battle and bore the hot burgundy highlights and plumes that signaled their status. This attack would cement her future, as well as the Storm King's rule across the continent. Today, Equestria would fall.

As she stood in anticipation for when they would make landfall, a faint creak of springs intertwined with sounds of tiny pattering footsteps caused a slight twitch in her ear. Following the sound's source, Tempest gaze was met with the sight of Grubber, squeezing his way through the ranks to find a place by her side. In his hands was one of the great announcer phonographs. Usually heralding an impending attack before actually initiating it seemed redundant to Tempest, but today, it would play a pivotal role in drawing the Princesses out to their doom, a bait they would undoubtedly take without so much as a hint of hesitation.

"I got the big megaphone thingy like you asked, Commander." Grubber informed her.

"Very good, Grubber. You know what to do." Tempest said in neutral tone. "Make it.........noticeable."

"Oh you bet, Commander." Grubber concurred eagerly. "I practiced for the last couple of nights on what I'm gonna say! It's sure to make them tremble with fear. I can see it now!"

Tempest could only roll her eyes and rely on her iron will of a patience to ignore the babbling of the crew's most vocal subordinate. His task and the effectiveness in which he carried it out wasn't very important in truth. Grubber could fail miserably at his task and it probably still wouldn't matter. He was simply an outcry, a boast, a challenge to Equestria's leadership to come out from hiding and face Tempest in person. As she had shared with Carter before, her people were all but predictable at this point, so easily fooled that it was almost comical to a degree. But Tempest knew better than to underestimate her foes. As gullible as they may be, they still retained a power greater than anything Tempest could hope to match. A power, that if given the chance, could easily destroy the entirety of Tempest's forces.

Suddenly the sound of thunder cracked, sending a seismic shockwave through the hull of the ship. It's source however was authentic in a nature, a war siren beckoning its call for one singular purpose.

"We've finally arrived." Tempest said. "Soldiers, take your positions!"

Those few Storm Beasts who were still prepping dropped whatever minor task they attended to and immediately formed up with the rest of their troop, awaiting both their landing and the order that would follow suit. A jolt through the hull signaled the slowing down of the engines as Tempest could feel the ship begin it's descent.

"*Mother Bird's beginning her descent.*" Jackson relayed.

"Copy, I have eyes on." Carter replied.

Fireteam Storm had watched as the great two-horned sigil of the Storm King glowed vibrantly through the thicket of storm clouds, The Bolt emerging forth as its bearer. The great flagship cast a foreboding shadow across those ponies that stood to bear witness to its arrival, either out of fear or curiosity. Carter and his team undoubtedly knew the former would soon take hold of them all. The team watched as The Bolt made its descent unto the grand balcony plaza, the side of its hull ramming and knocking down three architecturally grand flagpoles in the process, the rubble toppling a few tents and stands.

"*That's one way to make an entrance.*" Green stated.

"Think they'll bill us for the damages?" Sanchez asked.

"*Shut up Sanchez.*" Jackson mouthed.

Once the ship had settled, the left external ramp dropped with a heavy audible clank as a gasp echoed throughout the by-standing crowd. A few seconds of anticipation and uncertainty passed as the crowd huddled close, clearly unnerved by the sudden and unexpected arrival of this strange aircraft. Emerging from the dark interior of the ship came a small yet familiar figure, in his claws was one of the mega-phone like devices, one of the many creations courtesy of the Storm King.

"*Carter, I have eyes on the remaining targets.* Jackson informed him. "*Tall building balcony above the plaza.*"

That immediately caught Carter's attention, as he averted away from the crowd by The Bolt and towards the directed sighting. Sure enough there they were. Three alicorns colored soft pink, navy blue, and serene white. These three were amongst the three most powerful beings this world had to offer, and here they were, playing right into their hands as Tempest had foretold. At this point, Grubber had set down the device and deployed it.

"Okay, all the players are here." Carter said. "Now all we have to do is wait for this babbling idiot to-"

Carter sentence was cut off by the sheer volume the voice emitted the minute Grubber began speaking.

"Ponies of Equestria!" Grubber announced with a booming tone. "We come on behalf of the fearsome, the powerful, the almighty............"

As Grubber paused for dramatic effect, three banners unfurled from the top of the ships main blimp.

".....STORM KING!"

Two of the banners proudly displayed the Storm King's sigil, while the last one displayed the Storm King himself in the iconic "Uncle Sam" pose, thanks to the insistence of one "Eduardo Sanchez".

"Heh heh! Ah, that shit still cracks me up." Sanchez chuckled.

Carter simply rolled his eyes in slight annoyance as he watched the Princesses survey the scene from the balcony.

"And now, to deliver the evil, EVIL message, put your hooves together for COMMANDER TEMPEST!!!!"

At that moment, Tempest began her approach, mildly impressed by Grubber's introduction as it stood in stark contrast to the babbling she had grown accustomed to through the Bolt's intercom system. But she didn't dwell on his menial achievement for very long, as a much bigger prize required her attention. She emerged forward from the mist for her fellow ponies to see, horn sparking with energy as she came into full light. Another gasp of shock made its way through the crowd, as Tempest no doubt envisioned that her kind couldn't fathom that she, a fellow pony, would even remotely be associated with this sort of lot. The idea of hammering that fact home to them almost made Tempest smile, but her resolve was tried and true, and her demeanor did not change.

Fireteam Storm had maintained a visual on the four prime targets during the entirety of the Commander's arrival, and thus were aware the minute three of their targets took flight from the balcony and towards the crowd.

"Targets are on the move, approaching Mother Bird. Jackson, Green, move to secondary positions." Carter ordered.

"*Copy that, we're oscar mike.*" Jackson relayed.

As Fireteam Storm's sniper and heavy were moving away to the secondary position that would clear them of the blast zone, The Princesses of Night, Day, and Love landed in front of their subjects like one would shield a child from danger. Three of the four targets were in direct sight of Tempest.

"Well isn't this just perfect." Tempest thought to herself.

"Tempest, is it?" Celestia inquired. "How may we help you?"

The plan up to this point was playing out flawlessly, as every reaction and move she had anticipated from her prey had come to pass. Judging by the lack of a guard presence and the unexpected effects her arrival had on the crowd, it seemed evident that Storm had infiltrated with no problems.

"Oh I'm so glad you asked." Tempest mulled with a smile of feinted pleasantness. "How about we start with your complete and total surrender?"

Several yards away, Sanchez and Carter watched and overheard the exchange, audio being transmitted through the drone, which hovered about 15-20 feet above the princesses themselves, cloaked and out of sight.

"Shit, amigo. Commander fucking called it like it is." Sanchez said surprised.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Carter suggested. "Trap hasn't been sprung just yet."

Back on the ground, Tempest caught a faint of lavender moving behind the three Princesses that met to challenge her. Emerging from Cadence's right revealed the last of Tempest's prime targets, Twilight Sparkle herself.

"Hi there! Princess of Friendship." Twilight greeted with an uneasy cordialness. "Not exactly sure what's going on, but I know we can talk things out."

The sheepish smile she gave out did little to endear her to Tempest, as she saw Twilight Sparkle as byproduct of Celestia's coddling rule.

"Oh goodie." Tempest drawled with sarcasm. "All four Princesses."

Tempest began her approach down the ramp, posture and presence unfaltered in the slightest.

"Here's the deal, ladies, I need your magic." Tempest announced. "Give it up nicely, please. Or we make it difficult, for everyone!"

"And why should we cower before you?" Luna challenged. "There's one of you, and hundreds of us."

Tempest simply smiled with an amused chuckle. Suddenly, her personal guard emerged forth and into view, their electric blue eyes glowing vibrantly like monsters in the dark.

"I was hoping you would choose, difficult."

Suddenly the cry of war horns echoed through the sky, and emerging from the great dark clouds of the Bolt's smoke trail came the rest of the Storm Fleet. The armada of airships began to encircle the skies, cutting off any escape by air away from Canterlot. Shortly after the storm beasts descended from on high, forth from the belly of the Bolt, and over the railings of the grand balcony as they began their attack on the crowds around them, ensuring that a torrent of chaos and confusion ensued. It was at this point that Jackson and Green finally reached their positions in the building adjacent to the one they currently had charges on. Carter and Sanchez had stood by awaiting confirmation to cut off the first exit, leaving only the second, which would only be detonated if one of the targets made a run for it.

"*Carter, Jackson here! We're in position, waiting on you!*"

Carter didn't hesitate as he reached a hand to his comms and practically yelled out his command. No one was escaping today.

"Blow it!"

Without delay, Jackson clicked the detonator. The building they had once occupied but moments ago was suddenly engulfed in fire and debris. Each charge planted on each floor of the three story building did its job as the structure exploded out into a torrent of rubble, collapsing shortly afterwards with little effort.

The Princesses, already caught off guard by the sudden arrival of a fleet of airships and carried out afterwards, were nearly knocked to their hooves as a building behind them erupted in fire and seismic fury. Tempest wasted no time and capitalized on the opportunity. With a quick succession of movements, Tempest leapt into the air and unholstered one of the pertrification orbs, launching it directly at Princess Cadence. Cadence, still recovering from the shockwave of the explosion, had no chance to defend herself as the orb shattered into a green mist around her. She screamed in terror as her body began to harden into some obsidian-like rock.

"CADENCE!" Celestia screamed.

"AHH! I CANT' STOP IT!!" Cadence pleaded in terror.

Those would be the last words out of her as her face was enveloped, leaving her as nothing more than a full-figure statue of her former self. In abject terror and knowing that there was little time to waste, Celestia turned to Luna.

"Luna quick! Go south, beyond the badlands!" Celestia instructed.

Upon making landfall, Tempest charged towards her targets. She transitioned into a slide, curving her legs around and up as she unleashed yet another orb. Lightly tossing it, Tempest used the momentum of her maneuver to kick the orb directly at the currently oblivious Princess of the Sun.

"Seek help, from the queen of the hippog-"

Celestia's sentence gave way to her panicked scream as the orb shattered upon impact, delivering the same fate unto her which had befallen her niece. This caused a panic in Luna as she blasted a nearby Storm Beast and took flight. Tempest however had planned for that. Unlatching another orb and tossing it into the air, Tempest unleashed a full force kick, sending the orb flying in a straight shot trajectory at Luna. Just like her previous two attempts, the orb found its mark as it shattered upon Luna a she was mid-flight. Her panic was immediate as her legs and wings hardened into stone and she began free-falling. Before she made impact with the ground however, Twilight caught her in an aura of her magic.

"Luna!" Twilight cried out.

The situation was devolving fast, and Twilight found herself alone and surrounded. Tempest let out a self-serving malicious chuckle.

"Like lambs to the slaughter." Tempest pondered gleefully as she leapt into the air, and with one seamless front-flip, launched what was hopefully the last orb directly at Princess Twilight.

Twilight's horn lit up, ready to defend herself from the encroaching storm beasts that surrounded her. But out of the corner of her eye came yet another dreadful orb, and this time it came spiraling towards her. Twilight's eyes went nearly white upon this realization, and did her best to ready a defense. But before she could, she heard a familiar raspy voice call out her name, along with a body barreling into her. The orb shattered into a green mist, and as it dissipated, the form of an alicorn could be clearly seen. Tempest beamed with satisfaction as she let out one last chuckle. The plan had been executed without a fault, and it suddenly felt as if the greatest burden had been relieved from her shoulders, though she had no plans to show it.

"Easy as pie." Tempest stated.

"Oh I love pie." Grubber stated as he came up beside her.

During all of this, Storm had witnessed the Commander at work, and found themselves utterly awestruck at her performance in the field. The physical prowess, maneuvering, and accuracy she displayed for a quadrupedal creature was unprecedented for them.

"Damn. She got some moves." Carter said breathlessly.

"Some moves?" Sanchez questioned. "She took out a moving airborne target just by kicking a fucking magic baseball!"

"*Told ya' she was a good fighter.*" Jackson mouthed. "*But when does anyone listen to me?*"

Green was silent, mouth agape that the pony that he found so cute the day before had highhandedly turned four regal princesses into lawn ornaments.

"Alright, Jackson. You got me. I was wrong." Sanchez admitted. "Guess this one can go down in the books as the easiest op we-"

"Wait a minute." Carter announced.

Carter continued to watch as their Commander reigned in her victory. But as he surveyed through his binoculars, he spotted something off through the green mist, as last he recalled, the princesses horn didn't have a string attached to it. Back on the ground, Tempest approached what was once the princess of friendship, with Grubber not far behind her.

"Oh you totally got the last princess!" Grubber congratulated.

Tempest would have afforded herself some room to be smug, did she not realize the very thing Carter had through his binoculars. When the green mist finally dissipated, so too did Tempest's confident composure, as clarity had revealed that the form she assumed was Princess Twilight was in fact just a simple pegasus pony with a lavender party hat.

"That's not the PRINCESS!" Tempest growled, horn sparking with rage.

Tempest slammed on the crown that Princess Twilight left behind with her iron hoof-boot, shattering it as her horn sparked into an electric fury, firing a pure bolt of unbridled energy into the air, where several feet above, it detonated into something akin to a firework. Fireteam Storm saw and instantly knew that this was the signal the Commander had mentioned to them earlier.

"Last Target's mobile!" Carter yelled over the comms. "

"*Anyone have a visual!?!*" Jackson inquired.

"*I do!*" Green roared. "*She's making a break for the bridge, Less than twenty meters from your position!*"

That was something Carter didn't want to hear, but under duress is when Carter worked best.

"SHIT!" Carter cursed. "Alright, Sanchez and I are moving to intercept! Jackson, Green, make your way to our position! Sanchez, be ready with that damn net of yours! I have the detonator! DOUBLE TIME IT, PEOPLE!"

Fireteam Storm pounced into action as if overcome by a second wind. Carter and Sanchez raced from their positions and down the stairs to get to the bridge. With luck they could cut her off in time. Detonating the charges then and there would have been helpful the moment she got away, but given the target's close proximity to the bridge, their was a chance she could get caught in the blast, something they couldn't afford.

"I hope that stupid fucking thing of yours works, Sanchez!" Carter yelled as he and Sanchez raced down the stairs.

Before Sanchez could utter a remark in defense of his creation, they found themselves on the streets, right next to the bridge where they could see their target making her way across with a group of her subjects. Without hesitation, Carter and Sanchez raced forward to meet them, Sanchez taking aim with his modified net gun. But before he could pull the trigger, two storm beasts fell down in front of their path, ready to meet the Princess as well but oblivious to Storm's presence. Carter went into panic mode immediately as their clear shot was blocked by friendlies. The Princess of friendship charged her horn to defend herself from her would-be attackers. The storm beast raised shields, but the moment before Twilight cast her spell, a roar from behind caught everyone's attention.

"MOVE GOD DAMMIT!!!" Carter roared.

The minute the storm beasts turned around and created an opening is when Sanchez pulled the trigger. The gun's net sprung forward at high velocity towards Twilight. The Princess of Friendship had no time to react as the weighted net ensnared her and sent her flying back towards the other side of the bridge. Two storm beasts who had given chase managed to dodge her trajectory as she slammed against the side of a nearby building. The net then began to distribute an electric shock to its victim, causing Twilight to scream in pain, much to her friend's dismay.

"TWILIGHT!" They all cried.

Seeing them as a detriment to the mission's success, Carter clicked the detonator without a second thought. The bridge crumbled from the middle out in the wake of the following explosion. Twilight's friends lost their footing and found themselves falling down in to the river below with the rubble that the charges left behind. Their screams of terror were soon drowned out by the rushing river, and Carter, Sanchez, and the Storm Beasts watched as they floated down and over the waterfall.

Then there was a silence, made evident by the fact that Carter could hear his heart beating in fury. A few more seconds passed before a word was spoke.

"Okay..............that was too close." Sanchez declared.

"No shit." Carter concurred.

Carter watched as the two storm beasts on the other side gathered around the motionless form of Twilight Sparkle, and a slight panic once again found its way over Carter.'

"We need to get over there. Now." Carter informed.

Looking at the newly made gap in the bridge, Sanchez was surprised to see that only the middle portion had collapsed. For a pony without wings, The jump would be next to impossible. For two human special forces operators however, the gap could be jumped with a good head start.

"We'll have to jump it."

Carter and Sanchez wasted no time, working their way back a few yards. Once reaching a good distance, they turned back around and sprinted towards the gap, launching themselves forward as they met its edge. Carter stuck the landing with a roll that ended with him on his knees while Sanchez managed to stay on two feet, though closer to the gap than he would have liked. Brushing the dust aside, the two made their way towards the still motionless target, just in time for Green and Jackson to regroup.

"Took your sweet ass time, huh?" Sanchez remarked.

"Ran into some trouble on the way here." Green informed them.

"Couple of guards made the mistake of trying to jump us." Jackson explained further. "Did you guys-"

Carter simply pointed him in the direction that most likely held the answer to his question.

"Well low and behold." Jackson murmured.

The four went forward and approached the princess of friendship, just as she stirred back into consciousness. The sight that greeted her sent her gasping in panic. Surrounding her were two of the large imposing creatures that had attacked Canterlot, and four new ones that seemed utterly alien, bearing the same two-pronged sigil on the arm patches of their camouflage uniforms. They looked down onto her through electric blue visors and machine-like helmets that obscured their faces and in turn, any sense of emotion. One held the device that had shot the net that currently had her ensnared.

"Look who decided to wake up from her nap." Jackson taunted.

Twilight tried to cast a spell to escape, but found her ability to cast anything suddenly weakened.

"Oh, having trouble there are we, senora?" Sanchez asked jokingly.

The cold overtones of his comment sent a chill down her spine as she quickly figured out that something about the net was cutting her off from her magical abilities. But that concern gave way to another more pressing matter. She looked around frantically for any signs of her friends, any sign of immediate aid. Alas, there was none, only a gap in the bridge where they once stood, and this caused Twilight to transition into a state of abject terror.

"Where are my friends?!" she demanded.

"Not here." Carter replied bluntly.

Twilight's eyes began to water as she became scared out of her wits. With no friends or allies to save her, Twilight quickly realized she was at the complete mercy of these malevolent creatures.

"W-what are you going to do with me?" Twilight asked.

Carter heard the tell tale signs of iron on tile approach. Turning his head, his gaze was met with a familiar figure.

"You might want to take that up with her." Carter suggested.

He, his team, and the storm beasts stepped aside, revealing the sight of Tempest Shadow approaching with Grubber and her personal guard in tow. Tempest's expression transitioned into a malevolent grin upon seeing her prey once again. With her trapped, magicless, her fellow princesses turned to stone, her friends gone, and her nation's capital city under siege, any semblance of hope Twilight had left was shattered. The Princess of Friendship now squirmed in fear as the imposing unicorn approached closer and closer, before Tempest finally stood over her, her shadow casting a dark veil of terror over Twilight.

"So, Princess Twilight." Tempest addressed with a sinister smirk. "Still feel like talking it out?"

Chapter 6: A Fateful Decision

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The sound of clanking iron hooves drew closer towards the shaking figure of Twilight Sparkle, as the most unusual but intimidating of recent enemies regrouped with those that currently surrounded her. Twilight began to hyperventilate in absolute terror as this seemingly living nightmare played out before her. Thoughts and stress from planning and living up to the expectations of the festival seemed meaningless as some of her worst fears had come to fruition. Her friends were gone, whether they were even alive remained a mystery. Her fellow alicorns were petrified and lifeless, stone cold expressions of terror struck across their frozen faces. Worst of all, she remained alone in this hour of turmoil, left to face the threats to her home city, an endeavor which she had utterly failed at in a matter of seconds. Her adversaries had won and now this Commander Tempest held all the cards. Twilight's already kneeling form gradually shrunk in fear as Tempest drew closer, the confines of Sanchez net serving as the only barrier between them. Suffice to say, it did little in the ways of protection, making Twilight feel all the more vulnerable until the dark brooding mare towered over her.

"My oh my, what a sight to behold." Tempest gloated with feinted surprise.

Carter turned to his superior, hoping that this whole ordeal could be brought to a swift and effecient end now that every conceivable threat to the mission stood neutralized.

"Target secured, ma'am. Just waiting on your orders." He addressed.

"Very good Captain. But allow me a moment if you will."

Although she couldn't see it through his helmet and visor, Carter gave his Commander an impatient glare. He viewed such a request begrudgingly, preferring that the target be subdued immediately to avoid any potential risks of her escape. But at the end of the day, she was leading this operation, not him, and therefore her orders outweighed any authority he held.

"As you wish, ma'am." Carter complied.

With a devious grin, Tempest proceeded as she pleased, circling the ensnared alicorn like a vulture would a carcass. For Twilight, the experience was unnerving to say the least. The way Tempest was looking at her felt invasive for the young princess, adding to the already tremendous amount of trepidation that plagued her very being. Thoughts of her fate raced across her mind, as did those of her friends, and any potential routes to escape seemed fruitless as all of her magical abilities were utterly drained.

"The glorious Princess of Friendship, without any friends." Tempest chuckled. "Cowering like a small foal. How inspiring. And here I thought you might actually be deserving of your newfound title." Tempest chuckled.

"Why are you doing this?" Twilight pleaded. "How could you do this to your own people? Your own home? How could-"

Twilight went silent as Jackson quickly stepped forward with indicative aggression in his posture. One stomp and his gun being raised was all it took for Twilight to immediately regret talking back.

"Quiet!" He yelled.

"At ease, Lieutenant." Tempest ordered. "The time for hostility has passed. Besides, I don't think our guest is going anywhere. Are you?"

Tempest intentionally unveiled yet another petrification orb, in plain view for everyone to see. Twilight froze in fright for a few seconds, as she recalled how three of the most powerful and closest ponies she knew had so easily succumbed to its effects. Tempest saw her reaction, content with knowing that the message got across. She would know what the consequences were if Twilight stirred up any real trouble.

"No. I'm not." Twilight relented with a defeated sigh."You've clearly seen to that."

"Indeed I have. I must say the fact you slipped past my initial attack was commendable, but only due to sheer luck. You had no chance of escape, as you've no doubt learned already. Now to answer your question, it was actually quite easy taking over this eye-sore of a city." Tempest answered in her near confident tone. "I haven't called this place home in many years, and I could care less about the ones who do."

The unapologetic honesty took Twilight aback, unable to fathom that anypony could hold such a mindset. But then again, this pony was unlike most she had come to know.

"Why? What did we do to you?" Twilight asked in earnest.

Tempest mulled the prospect of answering, the chance to finally vent her lifelong grudges upon the very byproduct of what she saw as the source of unhappiness and betrayal in her life. But a quick glance at her compatriots revealed a level of restlessness, as posture alone encouraged that this little conversation come to its end. This stance was only reinforced further upon Carter's direct scrutiny.

"Are we finished here, ma'am?" Carter asked, clear impatience in his tone.

Tempest squinted at him, showing her disdain towards his dissidence of her actions. But his concerns held some merit, as every minute spent talking only prolonged the window for something to go awry.

"I believe so." Tempest confirmed.

Tempest then took a few steps back from Twilight lay and took a position near the rest of Fireteam Storm.

"So what do we do with her?" Green asked.

"Do we even need to answer that?" Sanchez remarked.

It was safe to say that most of everyone present had the same idea.

"No. We don't." Tempest replied.

Tempest followed up her declaration by tossing the orb in the air, eliciting a gasp from the Princess of Friendship as she watched it descend and land on Tempest's raised foreleg, within her hoof's grasp.

"While I do hold my own grievances against you and Equestria, princess, they're ultimately inconsequential. The truth is the Storm King wants the magic you have, and I think I speak for everyone here when I say we don't plan on disappointing him."

With a quick set of reflexes, Tempest bounced the orb in the air just as she raised her hind leg to catch it, resting in balance before she would inevitably launch it at Twilight. The alicorn in question tried yet again to muster a spell, only for it to fizzle out again which in turn made Tempest laugh.

"Oh how precious." Tempest mused in feint before changing to a more disdainful tone. "Know that when we're done, we'll be using magic for more useful applications than you or any of the other alicorn princesses could of ever imagined."

Fireteam Storm took a few steps back as Tempest began to motion her body into a spin, which if done right, would send the orb flying towards Twilight. The alicorn closed her eyes, awaiting for the inevitable when all of sudden, a certain voice cried out in protest.

"Wait!" Green cried out.

Tempest stopped and glared at the man in question. Despite being a good 2 1/2-3 feet taller, Green could feel the imposing nature of Tempest's ire, one that demanded an explanation. His fellow squadmates also gave him peculiar looks; as best as they could with helmets donned, as this move seemingly came out of nowhere. Twilight opened her eyes, and much to her confusion, saw that her defense came from the tallest of these unknown creatures, the one whose helm depicted that of some sort of skull.

"Green, what the hell are doing?" Carter asked with clear anger rising towards his current course of action.

Green stood there as all eyes were set upon him. Carter pegged this as some last ditch excuse to refrain from petrifying the princess. He knew Green's habits of sympathy, even for the enemy. But strangely enough though, Green's response was not what he would have expected.

"The Storm King wants magic, right?" Green asked. "Well why stop at just the alicorn stuff? I mean, you said it yourself Commander, this place is the source of all magic in the world. Odds are there's more of it just lying around, hidden from public eye. But I have a safe bet that a princess would know where it is. She could be useful to us."

"She's already useful to us petrified." Tempest declared. "Not to mention secured."

"Green." Carter pressed, unsure himself where Green was taking this, but ultimately uncomfortable with what he was suggesting. "We got her. There's nothing left to ask of us. Step aside."

"I'm not protecting her, but think about it." Green insisted. "If we deliver what was promised and more, we'll definitely get what we want. Maybe we'll even find an exact solution or method, Captain?"

Those amongst his Fireteam pondered what he was suggesting, but for Tempest, unaware of what he was even referring to, remained unconvinced. Green was quick to catch that, and miraculously came up with even further points to defend his argument.

"A-and you, Commander. If the Storm King sees that you went above and beyond to get him his magic, think of the reward he's going to give you."

As Tempest took his suggestion to mind, the other members of his Fireteam were quick to let their feelings towards his proposition known.

"No fucking way. Leaving her free to move around like this is just asking for something to go wrong." Jackson argued.

"Not if we have someone watching her at all times. Hell it could be one of us! Green might be onto something here, Cap. We never really talked about how our reward's going to be given to us." Sanchez countered.

"Exactly! The more we know, the better our odds." Green concurred, then turning to look at the Commander. "And the more we have to offer, the better the reward."

Carter pondered his subordinates' argument, thinking of the possibilities. But this in turn only led him to dwell on the risks, and how it possibly go wrong. Ultimately, Carter remained unconvinced.

"No. I say we use this damn orb and that'll be the end of it." Carter stated.

"Oh c'mon Cap! Who's gonna rescue her now, huh? Her friends are gone, her guards are on the verge of collapse!"

"I said no! She's too much of a liability! We petrify her, that means no loose ends and no problems down the line!" Carter argued.

"I'm telling you, we're making a mistake by petrifying her! Think of the boss! Think of how happy he'll be if we bring him the alicorn magic and then some!"

Twilight could only watch in dejection as what started as a faint hope turned out to be a ploy to use her. The strange beings engaged in a heated argument over whether to turn her into stone or keep her prisoner so that she could lead them to further sources of magical power. All the while, Commander Tempest continued to stare down the alicorn princess with those lightning blue eyes, watching her like a hawk as she listened to what her subordinates had to say. Hopes of finding a newfound ally, utterly shattered, as once again she found herself alone in this ordeal.

"We're not taking that kind of chance, Green. Period. And I don't think the Commander wants to take it either." Carter asserted.

Carter and the others stood there, waiting from a response from their Commander. Alas she was inclined to stay silent.

"Commander?" Carter said, not so certain as to why she was so quiet.

Tempest shot him a quick glance before turning her attention back to the princess, none to eager to say anything that might solidify or contradict his statement.

"Oooh, Ohoho! Perhaps not?" Sanchez suggested with a comical tone.

It didn't take long for Carter to read the implications of her demeanor, as the realization that the Commander might take the chance of keeping her around into consideration.

"Commander you're not seriously considering-"

"I'm thinking." Tempest calmly but assertively proclaimed.

Tempest stared down at her captive as she pondered the decision. The more thought she poured into the prospect, the more new and substantial rewards seemed possible. While she wasn't entirely convinced Green brought this option forward for the reasons he claimed, they did hold some weight. While Twilight Sparkle was certainly not the most seasoned and wisest among the alicorn princesses, she undoubtedly knew quite a lot. Perhaps there were secrets yet to be discovered within the walls of Canterlot, secrets that would only bolster the prowess and power the Storm King wished to achieve. Perhaps it would be enough to place herself higher in the Storm King's favor, enough to surpass that of her predecessor Strife. Another part of her wondered if this was a trick, but that argument died upon a second glance, as she doubted a convincing level of turmoil between Fireteam Storm would have ensued as they argued on the subject. While they held a knack for many talents, deception of emotions seemed unlikely.

Seconds felt like minutes as Twilight looked on in terror as her fate was decided, an experience that only drove the unyielding stigmas of dread and anxiety she felt even further. Then suddenly, as if a bolt of lighting had struck, Tempest sent the orb flying upwards, only for her to catch in her right hoof, and stow it away where she had once had it. She then began to approach Twilight in a menacing fashion, until she found herself towering over her once more. After a heavy draw of the breath, she made her decision.

"Very well, Mr. Green. You've convinced me. We keep her as a prisoner for as long as she proves useful." Tempest announced. "Seeing as it was your idea, I hand responsibility of her security over to you, Captain Carter, and the rest of Storm.

Green was rather pleased with this decision as a minor victory, however he knew better than to show any signs of approval or celebration as both Jackson and Carter stared him down with bristling levels of anger over this newly assigned task, one that was neither planned or desired by at least half of the squad. Truthfully, the things he said were a cover for his true intentions, as he simply didn't wish to see another one of the princesses be turned to stone, a concept that always unnerved him.

"It would seem there's still some use we can get out of you, princess." Tempest said with a jeering tone. "Consider this your lucky day, as long as you prove useful that is, and so long as you behave. I trust you know the price should you try anything.......defiant?"

Tempest gestured towards the holstered petrification orb with a quick tilt of the head. The Princess of Friendship found herself at a loss of words. On one hand she escaped the fate that had befallen her fellow alicorns, but on the other, she would now face whatever sinister plans this Commander Tempest had in store for her. Tempest took the silence as acknowledgement, and content that the message was clear. It was then that the iron-clad commander turned her attention to the two Storm Beasts who had watching this exchange unfold.

"You two." Tempest sharply addressed.

The two soldiers immediately stood at attention.

"Inform the Bolt's cargo-deck officer to have the inhibitor cage ready and delivered to the castle."

The Storm Beasts grunted in acknowledgement and set out to fufill her orders. As they left, Carter was borderline irate about this whole situation. So much time and planning, a clear-cut strategy for subduing the targets only for Green to let his morals get the better of him, enough for him to intervene and convince the Commander towards a new but uncertain course of action. He had to speak his mind on this, even if it wasn't his place or decision, he couldn't let this one slide.

"You can't be serious about this, Commander." Carter argued as he approached Tempest.

"I can assure I am, Captain." Tempest corrected.

"Ma'am, this is a security risk we can't afford. If she escapes, the Storm King will be furious and with that goes any chance of getting what we want. She narrowly escaped us once already, it can happen again!"

"I appreciate your concerns, Captain, I really do. But I wouldn't be going through with this if I thought we lacked the capability to keep her detained."

"Capabilities aside, I don't think we're doing this for the reasons you think we are. Green-"

"Wants to keep her this way out the goodness of his own heart? I know. I pegged him as a softie the minute he.....touched my cheeks." She snarled in disdain, before taking a deep breath to resume. "Nonetheless, he makes a fair argument. And like I said, I don't plan on disappointing the Storm King."

"Even if the risk of her escape could screw us all!"

Tempest's horn flared with unstable magical energy, and the display was enough for Carter to reel back his tone.

"The risk is dealt with, Captain!" Tempest asserted, stepping forward whilst shooting him a scowling glare. "She has no one left to turn to. Any allies she had are either dead or captured with the rest. I understand your concerns, and truth be told, I had my own reservations. But giving it some thought, keeping her around provides us an opportunity we can both benefit from. We use her to eek out whatever magic is left, we deliver it all to the Storm King, and we both get what our reward. And that will be the end of it."

"But Ma'am-"

"This is not up for debate, Captain! We'll be keeping her prisoner and that's final! Understood!?"

The look in her eyes was adamant, and any effort spent towards convincing her to change this course of action would undoubtedly be ineffective.

"Understood." Carter complied.

Tempest made no hint or change in her expression as she turned around to address the others.

"As for the rest of you, you have your new assignment. If you feel the need for more security, take whoever you see fit."

"An additional squad of Storm Beasts to accompany us, maybe. Just to be safe." Sanchez requested.

"Granted." Tempest replied. "I'll have them sent your way shortly. See to it she gets to the palace quickly. I want you and your team watching her every step of the way." Tempest ordered before making her own way there. "We'll discuss the next stage of operations when you arrive. Dismissed."

Tempest began to make her way to the palace herself before pausing once more. It was at that particular moment that she noticed a gang of prisoners accompanied by their escorts. Taking note of the inhibitor sleeves, bridle gags, and thick neck collar, and how the guards possessed a handful of spares, Tempest was seemingly reminded of a few things Storm would need to accomplish their task.

"Oh, and one more thing, Captain." Tempest called out. "I believe you'll want these. Do see to it that our guest is comfortable."

It was then that she used her unstable magic to violently throw a set of each item on the ground at Carter's feet. The malevolent grin that followed Tempest's statement gave Twilight a pretty clear indication that whatever she had in store for the future was going to be unpleasant. After her final bits of instruction were finished, she set off to the palace where she could oversee both the transport of the other princesses, as well as giving the Storm King the good news.
Several seconds passed as Commander Tempest left earshot, and soon enough she was out of sight. Once dhe was, Jackson wasted no time. He immediately turned to Green, the latter completely off guard when the punch was delivered his way. Both captors and captive were shocked by this sudden outburst as Sanchez immediately intervened by getting between them.

"WHOA! WHOA! EASY!" Sanchez pleaded. "Jackson! Emano! Dude, calm down!"

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! We had this shit in the bag!" Jackson roared, borderline irate as Sanchez held him back. "You just couldn't help yourself! Couldn't turn a blind eye this ONE FUCKING TIME!"

Green wasn't knocked to the ground, but the punch left quite the impact, even for one as imposing as himself. Green was ready to offer a rebuttal before Carter interjected.

"That's enough! STOW IT, both of you!" Carter demanded. "It is what it is, even if it is Green's fault, we have our orders."

"Bullshit! THIS IS FUCKING STUPID!" Jackson argued.

"THIS IS HOW IT'S GOING TO BE!" Carter maintained. "Now I don't want to hear another word, or see another fist thrown! So help me God, you pull that shit again, Jackson, and I'll shoot you myself! We clear!?"

Jackson, after several tense seconds of him and Carter staring each other down, finally relented by shoving himself away from Sanchez.

"Fuckin' crystal, sir." Jackson seethef.

Content that the fight had been stamped out, he then turned to Green.

"As for you, Green, we'll talk about this later." Carter scowled. "Right now, you and Jackson see to the prisoner."

There was a reprieve of silence before Jackson uttered a response.

"Fine." Jackson spat.

"Yes, sir." Green sighed.

The two men approached Twilight, Jackson pulling out his sidearm as they closed in.

"First, a little demonstration for her higness." Jackson announced.

With one hand, Jackson lined up on one of the nearby statuettes that decorated the archway of the nearby; and now destroyed, bridge. With a pull of trigger and an audible clap, his weapo discharged and found its target, shattering the figure into several pieces. Twilight had watched in terror at the destructive display, as the marble work of art seeming shattered into thin air.

"Now tell me, princess? Are me and my friends gonna have to use these?" Jackson asked in a threatening display.

The answer came to Twilight very quickly.

"N-no." Twilight stammered. "You won't. I promise."

"Good. Now don't move." Jackson warned.

Jackson and Green raised their rifles at the ready, making any chance for Twilight to cast a quick spell undoubtedly fatal as Sanchez and Carter went to retrieve and release Twilight from the net. She was now in the wolf's den, and what they had in store for might just prove worse than what had befallen the other princesses.

Chapter 7: Assessing Victory

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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.

Chapter 8: Motivational Reminder

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A loud and deafening blast echoed in the air as yet another Storm Beast was sent flying back several yards. This would have made Starlight's Fifteenth bad guy for the day, unfortunately, it wasn't going to be the last. With everypony she knew either captured or otherwise, Starlight had attempted her own escape from the city with her friend Trixie. However given the magician's rather panicked disposition during emergencies, that had lasted all about 2 minutes before they found themselves discovered and surrounded.

Thankfully at that moment, the combined force of Equestrian Guards lead by Shining Armor and the pillars of old Equestria had just so happened to be at the right spot at the right time. Seeing as both parties had been attending the festivities, they had managed to intervene before any harm could befall the duo. With their combined strengths, Starlight and the pillars had managed to work their way all the way to the gardens, near the hedge labyrinth that resided within.

However what had begun as their escape had now turned into an effective holdout, as they repelled wave after wave of the invading forces. The fighting had lasted a solid fifteen minutes without interruption, and in that time their numbers began to dwindle, as many were either killed or hauled off by the ever surmounting horde of Storm Beasts. Soon, all that remained were herself, Shining Armor, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Rockhoof, and Starswirl the Bearded.

"Rockhoof! On your left!" Flash shouted.

Rockhoof turned to see two Storm Beasts wielding Halberds begin charging towards him. While the hulking equine wasn't particularly fast on his reflexes, he was more than capable when it came to his defense. Rockhoof flipped up his trusty shovel before catching the rear of the handle with his teeth. With two quick strokes he was able to parry the Storm Beast's lunges and quickly followed up by slamming the spade into both of their heads. One's helm had cracked under the intense force Rockhoof had put into his strike.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Somnambula and Starswirl were in a tag team effort of dispatching their own set of enemies. Somnambula, with the aid of a pilfered enemy quarterstaff, swiftly flew in and out of the oncoming foes, landing light but swift blows on the Storm Beasts. In truth, she was playing the part of bait, as Starswirl used the windows of opportunity she opened up to blast the witless brutes with a variety of spells. Starlight, Flash, and Shining Armor found themselves using a similar tactic, with a few intermittent brawls of melee coming in for those Storm Beasts who managed to close the distance to land a strike.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" Somnambula cried out, as she evaded a Storm Beast's sweep with a blade

"Anypony have any bright ideas!" Rockhoof shouted, stomping down and probably breaking a Storm Beast's leg. "Now would be the time."

"I would teleport the remainder of us out of here, but to do so would take time!" Starswirl declared.

"How much time?!" Starlight yelled.

"Two minutes, but with onslaught we'd be lucky if we got thirty seconds!"

"Volley!" Shining cried out.

A rain of arrows came descending from on high, but the magically adept amongst them were quick to respond with shield spells that encompassed their party. The arrows bounced off the glowing aura before landing harmlessly on the ground. The remaining party were then quick to see yet another wave of heavily armored Storm Beasts approach, shields up and spears pointing out in their direction.

"They just keep coming." Flash breathed, nearly exhausted from the amount of maneuvering he'd been doing in the last hour.

"We have to meet them." Starswirl stated adamantly, horn already glowing and ready to cast.

"My friend, you can't be serious? " Somnambula questioned.

"Starswirl, there's too many of em', we need to fall back." Rockhoof insisted.

"Where to!? They're all over the city!" Flash cried out. "We'd be lucky if we made it another 100 yards!"

"We have to think of something!" Shining stated. "Maybe the Princesses are in the castle leading another defense! If we can fight our way there we can-"

"Uh, guys." Starlight quavered. "Where did they go?"

The remaining members of the party looked around, and to their astonishment, they found their enviroment devoid of the Storm Beasts, aside from those who lay injured on the ground.

"Where did they go?" Somnambula asked.

"Maybe we got them on the run." Flash suggested optimistically.

"No, I don't think so. They had the pressure going." Shining said, thinking strategically. "Why would they just stop when they had the advantage?"

Suddenly a slight clank of metal on stone came into earshot. The ponies instinctively turned around, only to see a small green cylindrical object bounce it's way towards them before losing momentum and transitioning into a roll. Starlight looked at the object, noting the strange white text that seemed almost printed on it's surface. Something about it striked her as familiar, but she hadn't the clues to pinpoint exactly what. In any case, Starlight and those present stepped away, unsure of what purpose it served, however everypony present doubted it spelled any good for them. Suddenly, the object made a loud pop before discharging a thick plume of white smoke, growing and spreading out in intensity with every second that passed.

"What in blazes?" Rockhoof muttered.

"Everypony get back!" Starswirl ordered.

Through the hiss of the cylinder hissing smoke, the sound of clanking metal was heard again behind them. They turned around and sure enough, another one of these cylinders came tumbling there way. Then another came hurdling over a nearby rooftop, and another from over the hedge.

"What is this devilry!?" Somnambula cried.

"Some sort of contraption." Starswirl noted.

"For what?" Starlight asked.

Starswirl set up a magical barrier around the lot of them, in his many years of wisdom was able to come with a quick conclusion.

"If I had to guess, they're meant offset us, perhaps obscure our surroundings?"

Starlight looked around, and found his words held merit as she could barely make out the surrounding area, as thick clouds of smoke obscured everything from view.

"Seems to be workin' flawlessly in that department." Rockhoof quipped. "Can't see a blasted thing through this smoke."

Starlight couldn't help but ponder this change in tactics from the enemy, almost as she had seen this maneuver before. Then it hit here like a lightning bolt, and she could feel her heart sink in her chest as she realized who they were now dealing with.

"We need run! Now!" Starlight pleaded.

But it was too late, something in close proximity to them let out a deafening crack, causing everypony to instantly recoil to the painful change in volume, only to become immediately distraught as something at break-neck speed effortlessly shattered Starswirl's barrier. This was immediately followed by a loud *thump*, leading to an equally frightening detonation behind them. Splinters of metal and strange reflective dust scattered in it's wake. Somnambula and Shining Armor were the closest, and thus suffered the immediate brunt of the attack. The two cried in pain as fragments of shrapnel tore through them.

"Shining Somnambula!" Starlight screamed.

Those who had been shielded by their comrades turned around to come to their aid, only for the deafening roar of the thunderous cracking sound to be repeated at sustained intervals, and a continuous stream of shearing tracers to follow. Attempts to raise another protective shield were achieved, but fleeting, as the able bodied unicorns felt their power waning, leaving their prospective barriers as little more than a slight obstacle for their attackers as they shattered like glass.

"Evade and scatter!" Flash cried out, taking flight." We have to get out of this smok-"

Another deafening crack cut his directive short, as another unseen projectile closed the distance and made it's mark in Flash's lower back, tearing through his body and exiting with a splatter of his blood.

"No!" Starswirl cried out.

As Flash plummeted to the ground, a figure obscured by the white smoke came rushing towards, making a B-line towards Rockhoof and Starlight.

"Starlight look out!" Rockhoof he yelled, pushing her away so that she was no longer in the trajectory of the enemy's charge.

The huge creature that now on closer view, looked like it was half machine, collided with Rockhoof, who just barely had time to brace for the impact. Despite the hulking equine's best efforts, the collision caused his hind legs to stumble, letting the gargantuan figure push him back several feet. Starlight, who currently battled both her unseen attackers and her fear of them, wasn't able to see the other large figure racing towards her from behind. She had only managed to turn her head by the time it had gotten close enough to attack. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the thundering end of it's fist, colliding into her temple which sent her to the ground unconscious.

Somehow through, the chaos, Starswirl saw the attack on Starlight unfold. The attacker in question resembled nothing he had ever seen, possessing an almost ape-like posture but bipedal, and yet had the exterior of some highly advanced automaton. Had it not been for the rolled sleeves revealing tanned skin and patched hair, he would undoubtedly guessed it was some sort of machine. The attacker turned his gaze to Starswirl, and responded by raising a rather large device towards him, the end of it resting on it's shoulder. Quickly concluding an attack was underway, Starswirl raised another barrier. Although weakened, the magical prowess Starswirl had achieved granted him some fortitude against whatever chemical dust still hung in the air. The creature's device discharged, revealing to Starswirl that it was the source of the loud cracking sounds that had permeated the air. Projectiles bolted forth from the weapon, leaving a bright streak in their wake. One or two had made impact on Starswirl's barrier before it had shattered into tiny pieces. Starswirl ducked in the nick of time, just narrowly evading three more as they soared over him. Starswirl was ready to press the attack, when suddenly another bout of cracks emanated from behind him.

Starswirl's eyes went nearly white as he felt their entry. The feeling they caused was overwhelming, as if shards of glass had tore through his ribs and organs. He only let out a pitiful exhale, as he seemingly felt as if he'd somehow been disconnected with reality. He still stood, but felt his strength gradually wane until it could no longer support his stance. He fell to his knees, coughing out sputters of crimson onto the ground as he did. His vision was directed downwards, as the seconds passed like minutes. He saw it with his own eyes, his own subconscious unable to divert away from it as if transfixed by some spell. He was looking at a puddle of his own blood, which grew and grew with every passing moment.

A loud tap managed to catch his attention for a second. Using what little strength he still possessed, he turned his head and saw a pair of legs slowly close the distance to him from behind, each step sounding like an avalanche to his ears. Finally, his attacker, no, his murderer, had stopped. By this time, Starswirl was on the ground, his robe and fur soaked a deep red. He could feel the life seeping away, slowly but surely. He had only the strength to let out one final query.

"W..why?" He mumbled pitifully. "Why do this?"

His attacker only stared down at him through the electric blue of his visor, a helm of advanced make obscuring any emotion. By the time he finally answered, Starswirl was gone.

"Because I'm done waiting." Carter hissed under his breath.

Sanchez checked his surroundings as he stared down the ACOG attached to his M4 SOPMOD. Upon finding no further threats, he quickly linked up with Carter after effectively subduing the other unicorn with a clean punch. Upon inspection of Carter's handiwork however, Sanchez whistled in astonishment.

"Old timer really held out, huh?" Sanchez quipped.

"Doesn't matter." Carter stated. "None of them had any chance. What's the status on the other hostiles."

"Them? Well I'm pretty sure the pegasus Jackson nailed is dead. If the bullet didn't kill him the drop sure as hell did. I'm pretty certain the two you blasted are still alive but down for the count. Those dimeritium grenades I made for your 40mm don't pack much of a punch when it needs to make room for the powder inside. And as for the other unicorn, pfft. I knocked her the fuck out."

Carter rolled his eyes as he watched his subordinate raise up his strong arm in admiration. Meanwhile, Carter could hear a scuffle taking place, just a few meters away.

"Hmm, well why don't you go make sure they're all still combat ineffective while I help Green." Carter suggested.

"Why would Green need help? When it comes to fighting I mean, dude's a giant!"

Carter simply pointed, to which Sanchez followed it's direction. Through the clearing smoke, Sanchez could see as Green and the large Earth Pony had been effectively duking it out for about two minutes now.

"¡Noombre! They're still fighting!? Pony must be fucking tough." Sanchez chuckled. "Either that or Green really has gone that soft."

"I'm gonna go with the former on that. Thing's fucking huge for an Equine. Precisely why Green chose to tackle it. But now, it's time to put an end to this."

Carter loaded a fresh magazine into his HK416 and began his approach. However before he could so much as take a solid step, Sanchez placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey. Humor me, cap. Let's see where this goes before we intervene. Besides, I think we can all agree that maybe Green needs a reassessment." Sanchez suggested.

"Reassessment?" Carter questioned.

"A chance to prove he's still in the game." Sanchez clarified.

As much as Carter wanted to be done with this, Sanchez proved a point. Green had effectively slipped a fast one on them all when he intervened on the princess, and despite his verbal reassurances, Carter had a suspicion that Green wasn't as in on the game-plan as the rest of them. Carter needed to see if that was the case. If Green killed this one with as much ruthless efficiency as he had shown in the past, maybe there wasn't much to worry about. If not, Carter would need to discuss some things with Green.

"Okay then. You've convinced me." Carter said, lowering his gun and spectating the fight between Green and the Earth Pony.

At this point, the smoke had cleared. The fight at some point had reached to a battle of melee, as both combatants had somehow been disarmed of their primary weapons, with an old shovel and Green's M249 laying several yards away from both each other and their owners. Green's helmet had been either thrown or knocked off at some point, with his face now possessing newly earned bruises and cuts.

The pony, which had been addressed as Rockhoof by his companions, was pressing the attack, launching consecutive blows with both his hind and forelimbs. Green was desperately dodging or blocking the pony's kicks and slams. Despite his advantage in size, one well placed attack to the head could have easily killed him. He was lucky the first time when his reinforced helmet took the blow, but simultaneous came off from the sheer force of the attack. Suddenly, Rockhoof then spun on his hooves and jumped, rearing both legs towards Green's head in the process. Green was quick though, and by ducking under Rockhoof's attack, he found his opening for a counter attack.

Green used the opportunity to deliver and uppercut directly to Rockhoof's lower abdomen. The equine in question winced in pain, but was able to quickly face his attacker in an attempt to set up a defensive response. However this would backfire, as speed suddenly seemed to be on Green's side, providing him an ample target for his next attacks. With all his strength, Green slammed down on the top of Rockhoof's head with one fist, then a precision jab at the underpart of his jaw. Rockhoof only managed to block the first one with his foreleg, but took the other directly. He could feel something snap as he yelled in pain. Green didn't relent, following his successful attack with more precision blows to both disorient and damage his opponent where it mattered, the head. One slug across the right of his jaw, another uppercut; this time to his throat, a powerful double handed slam to the top of the skull.

Each impact further tested Rockhoof's resolve, but each blow made him weaker and disoriented by the minute. He was still standing. In an attempt to get the offensive, Rockhoof stood on his hind legs, ready to shatter the ground beneath his attacker. This was a fatal error. Green was given his window, and with precision accuracy, delivered a knock-out punch, square on Rockhoof's muzzle. Green could feel the crunch of broken cartilage as blood spurted out from Rockhoof's nostrils. Any momentum Rockhoof had managed to gather faltered in an instant, as the momentum of Green's fist sent him falling to the ground on his back.

Green had to hold himself back as the adrenaline surged through his veins. Several seconds passed, and as his battle high began to subside. He could hear clapping coming from his left, and looking over his shoulder, he could see Carter and Sanchez standing there, the latter clapping his together.

"Way to go, amigo!" Sanchez cheered. "Finish his ass!"

Green's attention was then turned to the coughing fit that came from his opponent. Looking down, he saw that Rockhoof barely moved, the immense level of pain almost overloaded his senses. When he could finally make sense of his surroundings, his blurry vision revealed a looming form standing over him. Through his heavy breaths, he was able to utter a sentence.

"You.....you....you're...pretty tough, ain't ya." He panted, spitting out blood that had collected in his mouth. "Haven't......lost a fight..............in ages. What..........what in Equest......gah.....what the hell are you?"

Rockhoof began an attempt to get back on his hooves, but stumbled in the process. Green pulled out his Mk.23, and trained it on the pony.

"STAY. DOWN." Green warned him.

"I've......never been...one to stand down from a.......scuffle. I don't mean to change that." Rockhoof asserted. "You've already killed two of me closest mates...............I'm not gonna sit down..........and let their sacrifice..............go in vain."

Rockhoof was now on his feet, much to the anger of Carter, who felt Green should have down what needed to be done at this point.

"Green! End it." Carter ordered.

Green wanted to, or at least a part of him wanted to, to look like a professional, to convey to his squad that they were all on the same page. But this didn't feel right, something compelled him to hesitate.

"Go on killer...............do it............do as your buddy tells ya to." Rockhoof provoked.

"I said stay down!" Green barked once more.

Rockhoof then chuckled, as if laughing in the face of death himself.

"You think just becau-"

A Gunshot permeated the air as Rockhoof's eyes went white. He fell with a thud as his body went limp, the last traces of life exiting with one wheezed breath. Green was equally wide-eyed, quickly realizing that he hadn't accidentally discharged. When he turned his head to the right, he could see Jackson approaching, smoke venting from the barrel of his modified Mk. 12 SPR which he held in one hand, stock resting at the joint above the elbow. In his other hand was Green's helmet, which had been knocked off his head when Rockhoof bucked his legs into it, snapping the chin strap. Jackson walked directly up to Green before lightly pushing the helmet into his chest. Green took hold of it and donned it back on his head before meeting face to face with Jackson. Despite the helmet masking all emotion, Green could tell he was less than pleased.

"Can't save em' all, huh?" Jackson quipped with a malicious tone. "Prick."

Jackson intentionally bumped into his shoulder as he made his way past him to link up with the others, Green trailing behind, picking up his dropped machine gun and contemplating the severity of what he failed to do.

"All hostiles down." Jackson announced. "Orders?"

"Get the Storm Beasts in here to take care of the bodies and restrain the prisoners." Carter ordered. "Sanchez, Jackson, you two oversee the process. I need to chat with Green for a moment."

Those words nearly caused an anxiety attack in Green, as he knew he was about to get chewed out. Sanchez and Jackson replied with a simple nod before setting out with their task. Carter directed his attention to Green.

"Follow me." Carter ordered.

Green did as he was directed without saying a word. Carter led him to a nearby street that cut through a building via a tunnel. On a regular day it would no doubt be bustling with activity, but with the current occupation being enforced, it offered quite a bit of privacy. A Carter stopped just underneath the entrance, so did Green.

"Cap, look I know-"

"Helmets off." Carter ordered. "This needs to be a face-to-face conversation."

Green stopped talking and did as told. As he did, so did Carter, revealing his irate expression that was being solely directed at Green. For Green, the sense of letting the team down at such a pivotal moment made it hard to look Carter in the eye.

"Cap, I know I messed up. I'm sorry I-"

Carter cut him off quick gesture of the hand to stop talking. A second or two passed before Carter spoke.

"Green, where are we?" Carter asked.

The question came across as confusing.

"What, what do you mean?"

"No. I'm asking the questions. Just answer. Where are we?"

Green, confused but ultimately trusting the better judgement of his CO, opted to answer.

"Canterlot, sir." Green replied.

Carter nodded, but the overtones of anger in his posture were evidence enough to know that this conversation wasn't a simple inquiry.

"Canterlot. Would you call this place home? Do you want stay here? Hmm? Do you wanna stay in this shithole for the rest of your life?"

With one sentence, it became evidently clear where this was going. Green's only real option was to the verbal onslaught, and opt to do better in the future.

"No, sir." Green replied.

Carter then proceeded to get right in Green's face.

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Carter roared. "This is twice now! TWICE that you've not been able to go through with the task at hand! The fuck is wrong with you!? What happened?!"

"I don't know, sir." Green answered defensively.

"Oh you don't know!? Well let me educate you then!" Carter said with sarcasm in his tone. "You think we're in the home stretch just cause' this is our last op. That we can just take it easy now that the mission's done!"

"No, sir, it's not that." Green argued.

"Oh you better believe it's not that! I warned all of you not to get complacent! Not to let your guard down! But look what happened. You come to the princess' rescue!"

"I didn't do it to save her!" Green shot back.

"Aw bullshit! You wouldn't have stepped out in her defense we're it any other op, but she was a princess, she was innocent, you couldn't step back, look the other way, you couldn't fucking help yourself! THE ONE TIME WHERE IT MATTERED! And then onto what just happened now. Couldn't pull the trigger. No qualms beating his ass to an inch of his life. But you couldn't kill him. Why? Answer me, why?"

"I, thought he would stand down." Green replied.

"And make it harder on yourself!f? Cause' that's what you've essentially done. You've made our job harder! We had her! RIGHT FUCKING THERE! But now we gotta guard her! Contain her! Make sure that anyone of these motherfuckers who live in this city don't stick their neck out and try and save her! And don't feed me that bullshit that you wanna earn favors with the boss by giving him more than he asked! No, you did it cause' you feel guilty! That's why you sweet talked the Commander, that's why you couldn't pull the trigger! Cause' you feel guilty! Don't you!"

Green didn't have a response, clearly his Captain had read him like a book. Carter took a deep breath, apparently he was able to vent his frustrations out. He posture and tone changed as he placed both hands on Green's shoulders.

"Green. You need to get your head back in the game. Need I remind you that we have one chance to do this right. We pull this off. We. Go. Home!"

That last word, that one word hammered the message across.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Green replied.

"Don't be sorry. Be better. Prove to us that you're still with it. Cause we can't let our conscious keep us away from where we belong."

Green nodded in affirmation. Content that his point had been delivered effectively, Carter gave Green some breathing room and donned his helmet once more.

"Alright, c'mon big guy. We still got work to do."

Reflecting on his commander's words, Green tried to tell himself that whatever crimes they committed here would be inconsequential in the greater scheme of things. But a biting nerve in the back of his head told him that this still wrong, and no matter what was said, or how greatly it could be justified, the feeling of guilt would never be so easily whisked away. Now, it was onto to Green whether his sense of morality took precedence over the team's endgame. A one-way ticket home.

Chapter 9: Captives

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Starlight could only wince as a sharp pain relayed throughout the nerves of her face, recuperating from the blow that had been delivered. Whatever hit her had remarkable strength, enough to make her black out. But for how long she wondered. Well, Starlight was about to find out. She slowly raised her head, hoping to get a take of her surroundings and predicament. Things took a horrific turn as the first thing she saw was Starswirl's lifeless body lying face down in a pool of his own blood. She jumped taking a step back only for the rattle of chains and the tug of their restraints to keep her from going back. She panicked, wanting to scream but found she could not speak, feeling the muzzle and bit press hard against her mouth and jaw.
Her mind raced with precarious and nervous thoughts, her eyes darted in all directions only to be met with even more nerve-racking and soul crushing sights. The bodies of Rockhoof and Flash Magnus being loaded onto a cart with even more dead piled on, Innumerable Storm Beasts carrying out their heinous tasks of rounding up and enslaving the population, the sight of the three remaining pillars with tears of sorrow in their eyes being led away in chains. The cherry on top of this nightmare scenario was what was being done to Shining Armor. Unlike the others, a chain had been roped around his neck and legs, all anchored to a metal street lamp. There she saw them, the creatures she hadn't seen for what felt like ages ago, back when she was a different pony. Three of the four stood behind another smaller figure and watched as two Storm beasts sent electric shocks coursing through his body with magically imbued staffs, harnessing the magical element of lightning.

Then there was her. Stepping forward into view and standing before the broken and battered Shining Armor was none other than the pony who brought these creatures here in the first place, the unicorn with the shattered horn. Commander Tempest. She was speaking to Shining Armor, no doubt interrogating him for information, though anything she said was little more than a muffled echo to her as her senses were still recuperating. Nonetheless it seemed the former Captain of the guard was being less than cooperative, as Tempest smiled and nodded to her soldiers to send another wave of electricity coursing through his body. A burst of rage coursed through Starlight as she pressed forward, but to no avail. Her senses had just about returned when she felt a sharp kick to her abdomen. She winced and screamed through her gag as she collapsed to the floor.

"I wouldn't do that." said a menacing voice.

Looking up with an expression of pain and anger, she gazed upon the fourth of the strange creatures, the one that happened to frighten her the most. He stared her down, any expression hidden behind his mechanical mask and the blue haze of his visor

"Hope you had a nice nap. It's good to see you again." He mocked maliciously.

Starlight's eyes went wide as he said that, confirming her fears.

"And It's good to see you remember me." He proclaimed in feigned surprise. "Cause' I certainly remember you."

Starlight began to hyperventilate, recalling the incident that led her to cross paths with these creatures. It was only a year before Twilight came to her village, a pony had come to her commune and seemed a little too eager to give up his cutie mark. She had figured that maybe he was just enthusiastic about the prospect. In reality, he was hiding, seeking refuge from his pursuers, the four strange creatures she now found herself at the mercy of before. He had apparently done dealings with them in past, only for relations to sour to a point where they actively sought to kill him, an endeavor they ultimately succeeded in only after nearly torching her village to the ground.

"I like what you did with the hair, lot better than that 50s bang garbage you had goin' on before. But it wasn't enough to keep me from recognizing you. You see, I never forget a face. Comes with the job, you look down on people through a scope long enough and you discern details in a flash, almost like its second nature. Even if you ponies have the same damn facial structure, there's always one thing that let's me tell you apart."

He took his helmet off, and the face that Starlight often wondered about in her deepest fears somehow surpassed the frightening expectations. No horns, no fangs, no pincers, forked tongue, or slitted pupils, but the face she saw, pale, eyes an almost soulless void of blue bordering on gray, eyes that spoke volumes to the monster he was. The eyes of a killer who relished in his actions. He smiled in pure malice and he leaned in close, too close for comfort before revealing his answer to her.

"It's the eyes. The gateway to ones soul." He revealed. "I almost didn't recognize you, but when I saw those eyes, the eyes of fear that stems from seeing me firsthand, wasn't a doubt in my mind who you were."

He backed away, and Starlight would of felt relieved had he not still been smiling.

"But don't worry, I have an idea to fix that. Make certain that I never forget who you are again."

The creature began to unravel the sleeve on his left arm, rolling it down the entirety of his forearm to reveal a large and grotesque burn scar that stretched over most of his appendage. Starlight felt her heart skip a beat when she saw it, remember that it was she who inflicted it when attempting to escape their assault.

"Besides I still need to pay you back for this lil' parting gift." He said with clear malevolent intent. "You left your mark on me, I think it's only fair I get to leave mine on you. I have just the place in mind."

He began to slowly unsheathe the knife from the back of his belt, slowly but intently twirling it in his hands, moving closer and close towards her face till the tip was mere inch away from her eye. Starlight tried to backpedal, but her bonds prevented her from her escape. She audibly begged for him to stop, but any pleas were drowned out and made inaudible. Just when she thought the knife's tip would pierce her eyes is when a voice ordered him to stop.

"That's enough, Lieutenant." Said a commanding voice that was distinctly feminine.

The creature seemed to reluctantly obey, as his knife was still drawn out for a few seconds longer than what was probably expected. But alas, he complied, his body language giving off the impression that he was dissapointed by this turn of events. Coming up from behind him was the Commander followed by the three other creatures.

"Care to explain why you're torturing this unicorn?" She asked.

"We have history." Jackson replied bluntly.

"We do? When did-" Sanchez blurted when he suddenly gave Starlight another look. "Oh..........Oh wait. ¡Noombre! It's the pink cult leader bitch!"

"Oh my god! You're right!" Green exclaimed.

"Come again?" Tempest asked.

"A run-in from a last year. She was the head of a commune that one of our informants turned traitor sought to hide in with." Carter explained, himself now recognizing her. "Suffice to say, it didn't work. Tore half the village apart before finding him, and Jackson suffered a third degree burn to his arm, courtesy of who you see before you."

Tempest stared down the unicorn mare with indifference, wondering what made this particular unicorn so powerful and mighty when suddenly, she recalled the briefing files on one particular target of interest aside from the elements and the pillars. Then it dawned on her.

"Starlight Glimmer." Tempest said suddenly.

Starlight went cold, as if her bones had frozen over at the mere mention of her name.

"Guessing that's her name, but who is she?" Carter asked.

"Starlight Glimmer." Tempest repeated. "Former enemy turned pupil of Princess Twilight Sparkle."

The others now glared at her, making her even more uncomfortable then what she had thought was possible.

"Remove her gag, but keep the inhibitor hood on." Tempest ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Jackson replied, seeing as he was the closest.

As he unlatched the brace to her gag, he whispered something into her ear.

"*Consider yourself lucky, guess we'll continue our little meet-and-greet next time.*"

As the heavy piece of metal and leather slipped away from her muzzle, she felt a mix between anger and fear, and thus instinctively lashed out the minute she could talk.

"YOU'RE MONSTERS! MURDERERS! ALL OF YOU!" She shouted with tears in her eyes.

"Bold talk for someone in your position." Carter said. "I'd suggest you dial it back if you don't wanna get hurt."

"Heed the Captain's wisdom, Miss Glimmer. It may just cost you your life." Tempest reinforced.

Tempest then began to circle her, mentally dotting down every detail as she assessed her captive, much to Starlight's dismay.

"What are you doing?" Starlight asked, clearly frightened by her predicament.

"Wondering what makes you so special." Tempest said. "What made the Princess even give you the time of day. You look rather average if I'm being honest."

Tempest was intentionally trying to provoke her, an trap Starlight was all too eager to fall into.

"Then take this hood off! You won't think I'm average when I'm done with you!" Starlight spat venomously.

All but Green were now smirking from amusement, admiring the bravery this little pony had in the face of what could easily have her killed.

"Damn, lot a gall on this one." Sanchez noted.

"Rebellious I see." Tempest chuckled. "You're certainly different from the princess, but what would I expect from someone with such a colorful past."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER! WHAT HAVE YOU-"

Before she could finish, Tempest nodded to Jackson, a que to action that he was all too eager to carry out, as reared the butt of his rifle straight into her abdomen. Starlight wheezed a pained yelp before falling to her knees. Tempest slowly approached the collapsed form of Starlight, placing her hoof underneath her chin, forcing her to look up and into her eyes.

"The first outburst was amusing, Miss Glimmer. Any following ones come with consequences. Now be silent and listen, because believe it or not, I'm debating on whether I should let Lieutenant Jackson here kill you or not. I'd prefer not to, but if you become a continual nuisance, I'm afraid you'll outlive your usefulness."

Starlight's attention was focused solely on her captor, never had she met a pony as cruel as this unicorn, made worse by just how effective she was at this interrogation.

"Usefulness?" Starlight questioned. "What use could I be to you? You already won, you have the city!"

"Indeed, I do. But I do need something from you, or more accurately what I need someone else, something that you'll provide."

"Providing what?"

"Insurance, more or less." Tempest answered just as quickly as Starlight had asked. "You'll be relieved to know that Princess Twilight is alive, well, and mobile so to speak."

"Mobile?" Starlight questioned.

"Means she wasn't turned into fucking stone." Jackson clarified.

"The others weren't so lucky." Sanchez added.

As much as she the instinctive need to reprimand these monsters for their abhorrent crime, her fear of Jackson's reprisal prevented her from taking such an action, thus she simply listened, trying her best not to provoke the wrath of her captors.

"For all intents and purposes she was supposed to succumb to that same fate. But upon Green's rather informative argument, she proves more useful to us as a live prisoner. She no doubt has access to several key facilities here in Canterlot, facilities that could prove useful to the Storm King's endeavors. However in order to do that she needs to work with us, and I question her level of cooperation after the events of today."

Tempest finally stopped circling her, standing firmly in front, only to give in to a sly smile.

"That's where you come in." She said in a directive tone.

Starlight was no stranger to where this was going, and it was made evident in her expression, enough for Tempest to pick up on.

"Ah, see where this is going? Perceptive." Tempest said. "So long as Princess Twilight cooperates in our endeavors no harm shall come to you. However, if she proves to be too troublesome and difficult to work with..."

"I die." Starlight said in a defeated tone. "Good to see you're no different than the company you keep."

"Tsk. Tsk. I'd work on that sarcasm, my dear. I'd hate to put an end to you early should you start getting on my nerves." Tempest warned.

As if on que, Jackson cycled a fresh round into the chamber of his Mk.12 SPR, an audible warning that only complimented the Commander's.

"Yes, Ma'am." Starlight begrudgingly conceded.

"Good. To make sure that she's aware of the gravity of her choices, you'll be working as my personal steward in overseeing the tasks across Canterlot. I think knowing that your continued presence will be up to her choices will work wonders. Don't you think?"

Starlight didn't answer, not wanting to give her new cruel master the satisfaction of turning her into what was essentially a slave. However, the others weren't willing to let the matter go.

"The Commander asked you a question." Carter scolded. "I suggest you answer her."

"Yes Ma'am. I think it will work." Starlight answered, a tear running down her cheek.

"Such manners. Keep this up and you'll have nothing to worry about. As I sign of good faith, I'm keeping the gag off. Don't make me misplace my trust."

It was then that the five turned their attention back to the slumped form of Shining Armor, still out cold and smoking from the vigorous torture he had just endured moments ago.

"What about him?" Carter asked. "He may not have talked, but he's a strategic asset. Former Captain of the guard, Prince, as well as being the princess' brother."

"Yet his resistance to our methods makes me hesitant on keeping him around." Tempest admitted.

"So what, we kill him? Make him a message?" Sanchez suggested.

"More like a martyr." Jackson mouthed.

They all turned him, somewhat confused on this sudden reluctance to kill someone.

"This is the first time I think I've ever heard you be against killing someone." Sanchez said in disbelief.

"Oh don't get me wrong, he's gonna die either way." Jackson clarified. "However you do it here, in front of his friends and after he resisted torture, he'll be a rallying cry. Better to make him squeal first."

"I take it you have a suggestion then?" Tempest inquired.

"That I do. Captain Karak is chief interrogation officer on the Black Lighting. I've seen his handiwork first-hand, crafty for a Storm Beast."

"So you think he'll get our friend talking, relinquish what he knows of Canterlot's secrets?"

"More than likely, and make him wish he were never born in the process."

Tempest pondered the idea, as having every outlet on the city and its undoubtedly various vaults and hidden sections could yield many opportunities of exploit.

"Very well." She conceded. "On the condition that he be kept alive until I say otherwise."

"You're the boss." Jackson replied.

Tempest then switched her attention her two elites that stood on either side of the unconscious Shining Armor, relaying her orders to them to which they carried out immediately. As they walked past the group, Jackson got one last word in.

"Tell Karak Jackson sends his regards."

Starlight could swear she could hear the two beasts chuckle, though she couldn't be sure. She was nerve-racked at this nonchalant towards the murder and torture of other ponies. Truly, Starlight saw the reality before her, one in which she wasn't certain she'd walk out from alive. She was now a sheep amongst wolves.

"Well, it seems resistance has been thoroughly quelled in every other sector of the city. Well done, gentleman. The city is ours."

Their posture seemed to relax a bit after that was finally said, though their guard was far from dropped.

"Other than security detail on our VIP, I can't think of any pressing tasks to assign." Tempest said.

While a new recruit could have mistook that as a a chance to take reprieve, Storm was well too versed to see that statement as anything other than incentive to find something else to do.

"Actually Ma'am, we'll need to retrieve the little bird from where we stowed it some 15 miles west of here." Sanchez said.

"He's right, we'll need to nab that before too long lest someone or something stumbles upon it. He'll need his co-pilot." Carter said, clearly indicative that he'd need to go with him.

"Very well, retrieve your vehicle ad have it set down in the balcony plaza with the rest of the ships. Green, escort the rest of the prisoners to holding pens. Jackson, accompany me to the palace. I do believe we need to pay our special guest a visit and inform her of the newly arranged conditions concerning her friend."

"With pleasure, Ma'am." Jackson replied menacingly.

With orders and tasks assigned, they each left to carry them out, with different agendas and thoughts occupying the headspace of their minds. For Jackson, it was revenge, for Sanchez, it was getting to his baby and flying her back to safety. The others however had more complex thoughts to contend with. For Carter, it felt like a burden had been lifted, yet their was still an unshakable feeling that something had been missed. For Green, he felt guilt and regret, uncertain as to whether they were making the right choice, even if it meant it was their only ticket home. For Tempest, she felt like she could finally take a breath and reassess the situation in relative comfort, but worried that if this gamble produced nothing, that it would reflect badly on her performance.

And finally there was Starlight, just made a pawn in a much bigger game that went well above her. A game that could take her life, a prospect that shook her to her core. This wasn't like previous adventures in the past where she would save her friends from Chrysalis' clutches and getting the pillars to make amends with Stygian. She was in company of killers and criminals, slavers and mercenaries. How she was going to pull this off and get out of the city with Twilight in tow still alluded her, but she had to find a way. It seems the fate of Equestria was once again on her shoulders now. For the meantime, she'd have to play along, but starting now, she was beginning to formulate the beginnings of a plan.

Chapter 10: A Walk in the Woods

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The route from to the clearing where they landed was quite the incline, especially in full kit. But it did little hinder them as the decline back was much more traversable, and it was completely unable to dampen the spirits of Sanchez, who was casually singing to himself, much to Carter's irritation. Carter was profoundly impatient at that current moment, and what made it worse was that he didn't know why. He should have been ecstatic, at the very least relieved that their final op had been completed, the one that bought their ticket home. Yet their was this unyielding nerve that screamed that something, at sometime was going to undo all the work they had done to get to this point.

"♪I'll never let you turn around, our back on each other! That's a good idea, break a promise to your mother!♪"

"Sanchez! Give it a rest dammit!" Carter barked.

"Can't help it, amigo! We did it! ♪Turn around your back on each other!♪"

Carter found a nearby stone and slight chucked it at Sanchez who managed to dodge it.

"HEY! Now c'mon man that would've hurt!" Sanchez said.

Carter didn't say anything, letting his angered look do the talking. While it managed to put a cork in Sanchez' singing, it only elicited his scrutiny.

"Seriously? How? How can you still be like this after everything that's happened?" Sanchez questioned.

"Because now we have to deal with the liabilities that come with it!" Carter replied.

"So?" Sanchez stated. "We'd be dealing with that shit even if we hadn't decided to forgo an additional pony princess statue! Granted Green's little stunt did complicate things, but it's nothing we can't handle, we've dealt with worse!"

Carter opened his mouth to reply, but was only able to voice a frustrated grunt and continued walking. However, Sanchez wasn't about to let this go.

"Cap." He called out.

"I'm done talking about it." Carter dictated.

"Carter I-"

"You deaf now too, cause I shouldn't-"

"ANDRE!" Sanchez practically shouted.

Carter stopped speaking and listened. Unbeknownst to the entirety of the Storm Fleet, Fireteam Storm had a sort of unwritten rule when it came to first name basis. While common military doctrine dictated the action be met with reprimand, Storm's situation was unique, where there ranks within the Storm Fleet felt rather meaningless. Up until now they'd only used rank or last names to keep communication quick and to the point, but use of the first name warranted the individual in question to get serious real fast.

"You can cut the rank and file bullshit. What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" Sanchez asked in earnest. "You clearly got shit on your chest, so let it out. Nobody's around but you and me to hear it."

Carter was quiet at first, unsure of how to answer. He felt anxious, but couldn't really place a definitive reason as to why.

"I don't know, Ed." He answered rather quietly. "But something's got me on edge like no fucking tomorrow."

"I can see that, but what?" he asked.

"I don't know, it just feels like we missed something. Something that's gonna bite us in the ass and undo everything we did to get to this point."

Sanchez was quiet, contemplating what Carter had said. He himself wondered what it could be, as every single loose end and threat had been dealt with.

"I know it seems stupid." Carter relented.

"No, it seems like you're just being alert." Sanchez said. "What I'm worried is if you're becoming paranoid."

"Paranoid?" Carter questioned.

"I don't mean to question your judgement, man, but you've been on edge about this op since the beginning. Hyper focused on it playing out the way it was supposed to. But with Green's little display of compassion, I think you've been thrown off your game, looking for threats that aren't there."

Rather than decry his assessment t, Carter gave it some thought. Maybe he had become a little unhinged with the plan taking a different turn, to the point where he couldn't help but feel he'd failed and now when faced with the reality of the situation, he was desperately looking for something that just wasn't there. Carter sighed, a sign of possible acceptance.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I had my head set on the way things were supposed to go. And now that the Commander has us keeping eyes on that little shit, I'm off my game. Typical that Green finds a way to fuck it all up."

"Hey to his credit, I don't blame him." Sanchez commented.

"Seriously?" Carter questioned.

"Don't get me wrong, he threw a wrench into things with that stunt but it didn't break the machine. Regardless, I can't blame him for doing it. Whether its been someone getting petrified, or smoked, or tortured. We've done a lot of bad shit to get here, Andre."

Carter raised an eyebrow and smirked, honestly surprised Sanchez of all people would be pulling this card.

"Seriously dude, after all the shit we've seen? Don't tell me you're goin soft, Ed?" Carter smiled.

"Hardly, but I can't exactly say I like seeing it happen."

This sudden sympathy was doing little to sway Carter, wondering if Sanchez was beginning to lose focus.

"Need I remind you that we all agreed to do this shit if it meant getting home?" Carter questioned.

"No, you don't. But I'm starting to think you're losing the gravity of what we've done." Sanchez stated. "We've upended God knows how many governments and replaced them with a power hungry dictator hellbent on obtaining all the magic this world has to offer and we've had a major hand in his rise to power."

Carter was no longer smiling, processing his friend's analysis of his recent mental faculties. He was part outraged and part contemplative, how one would feel when told an inconvenient truth, which this very well could of been, wondering if he was right. But some of that adamant confidence that a good leader needed came forward to deny Sanchez' insinuations.

"Look, Ed, these people, this world, it's not our problem. The only thing I give two shits about is getting home." Carter asserted.

"Andre, look I'm not saying you get a hard-on for it like, Jackson." Sanchez said defensively. "I'm just saying you've gotten colder over these last couple of years. It's like you don't even care that we've ruined lives."

"That's because I don't care!" Carter insisted.

Sanchez gave him a startled look, honestly taken aback by the harshness of that statement. Carter sighed, and took a moment to recollect before delving further into his statement.

"Let me try explain. You use humor to cope with our situation, Jackson relishes in the suffering he dispenses, and Green uses his sense of morality to draw from when he feels guilty, as stupid and unhealthy as that is in this line of work."

"What I'm saying is that I'm aware of the plight we put these people through, but we have our own to worry about. This is the one opportunity to be free of our situation, Sanchez, to go back where we came from and start again. We've done what was asked of us down to the letter, and trying to see to it that it stays that way. My focus is what keeps me in check. Everything we've done for the boss is worth it if it means we accomplish that goal."

"Still, you don't feel for these people?" Sanchez asked.

"Why should I? They didn't care about ours?"

Sanchez needed no further convincing, as the mere mention of that awful memory made him feel slightly angered by how it ended. Sanchez sighed and ultimately came to the same conclusion, although he didn't verbally acknowledge such. Content the message had gotten through, Carter proceeded to continue their route. A few minutes passed and they found themselves at the nearby riverbed where they had landed the little bird, which laid underneath a pile of brush to which the two had to clear.

"Doesn't look like anyone saw her." Carter stated.

"And why should they when I'm Inconspicuous as ever? My skills of concealment are unparalleled!" Sanchez boasted sarcastically.

Carter rolled his eyes as he helped Sanchez remove the impromptu cover from their vehicle. It was a quick process, taking little over a minute to complete. The two then proceeded inside the craft, and as they began their pre-flight check, Sanchez struck up conversation once more.

"So, you think the situation back in the city is under control by now?" Sanchez asked.

"Undoubtedly." Carter answered. "Commander sent a pretty clear message today. Just wish it ended with four stone statues rather than three."

"Well look at it this way, at least with this guard duty we'll be kept busy. Y'know, stay on our toes so that if something does happen, we'll be ready. At the very least, I can hope it'll calm your nerves."

"Despite the fact that this guard duty is what's got me on edge?" Carter addressed with a raised eyebrow. "Your skills at optimism and observation quite frankly suck, Sanchez."

"Y'know I try to help, but then everyone's got to be a goddamn critic." Sanchez cursed, shaking his head before igniting the ignition to the flying machine.

The thrum of the engine roared and soon, the rotors above began to whir to life, as the machinations of the little bird began to work in conjunction. The trees and plant life around them began to whip and lash wildly as airflow was generated and spread across the aircraft. Sanchez grabbed the control stick, pulling back as the craft began to slowly lift off from the ground, soon ascending to great heights and back towards the city of Canterlot.

It was unfortunate that the two hadn't been more observant during their lift off, for if they had, they may very well had spotted the group of five soaked ponies and a drenched dragon watching them from behind the cover of thick foliage. Deeming the area to be safe, the group came out from hiding, to discuss what they overheard.

"I think we're safe, for now." Fluttershy announced.

"Twilight's still there! And she's alive!" Applejack stated.

"We gotta go back! We gotta save her!" Rainbow insisted rather foolheartedly.

"I agree, darling, but we're in no position to do anything of the sort!" Rarity argued.

"No KIDDING!" Spike concurred. "DID YOU SEE THOSE GUYS!"

"Seriously Spike!" Rainbow said dumbfounded. "You're the closest to Twilight out of any of us, how could you turn your back on her?!"

Applejack, with an angered glare was quick to yank Rainbow by the tail, causing her to fall first on her bottom, before shooting a glare her way and snapping at her.

"Nopony's turnin' their backs on anyone, Rainbow!" Applejack scolded. "But in case you haven't noticed, we all have ones we care about stuck in the city! My family, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, not to mention Starlight and the Pillars!"

Rainbow paused, taking on a rather shameful expression, no doubt as a result of her rash hoof-pointing. Content that the message had been delivered, Applejack's mannerisms took on a more sympathetic quality.

"I understand you're eager to get your hooves back in the fray, but we just don't have the slightest chance in rescuin' any of them by our lonesome! It's just a fact."

"I'll say!" Pinkie concurred. "For Equestria's sake that crazy unicorn crashed the party with an entire fleet of warships!"

"Not to mention an angry horde of spear wielding monsters!" Spike added.

"And the estranged creatures we just saw! My bits have them as the ones for blowing up both that building and the bridge we were standing on!"

"Speakin' of which, we haven't even covered those odd fellas that flew off in......whatever that contraption was." Applejack said. "By how they were talkin' Canterlot's probably well under lock and key! And by the looks of them, they seem well capable of keeping it that way!"

"So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack pondered the idea, and it didn't take very long for her to come with an answer.

"We need help, from anypony that's willing to give their hoof to free Canterlot. We've made plenty of friends and allies over the years. I'm certain they'll give us the help we need when we tell them of our situation. Problem is, we need to split up to cover more ground as quickly as possible."

The five elements and Spike were apprehensive of that prospect, but ultimately came to agree with a simple nodding gesture.

"Now onto who goes where." Applejack announced. "I guess I'll head to Appleloosa, got plenty of family there already, and I'm sure Little Strongheart can sympathize with our situation. I'll round up any ponies and Bison who'd be willin' to help."

"I'll head North to the Crystal Empire." Rarity announced. "Prince Armor and Princess Cadence might be gone, but Sunburst and the Crystal guard should still be in reserve."

"I'll head even further north and see if our buddy Prince Rutherford could help." Pinkie shared.

"I'll head into the Everfree and talk with King Aspen, Zecora, and the woodland creatures."{ Fluttershy stated.

"I'll talk with Thorax, see if he can lend a hand." Spike announced. "Although his hive isn't quite what it used to be since the reformation."

The ponies all looked to one another before staring back at Spike, who in turn was beginning to feel awkward with all eyes trained upon him.

"What?" he questioned.

"Actually Spike, we're probably going need you to get of two groups." Rainbow clarified.

"Huh I don't-..........Oh! Ember and the dragons!"

"Exactly." Applejack concurred.

"Well, they'd be a tremendous help for certain, but I don't know if Ember could get them all to help. Dragons from the dragonlands aren't the most sociable creatures."

"Nor the most charitable." Rarity added.

"Hey it's still worth the effort." Applejack argued. "If we can even get a portion of em' to lend a claw, it'd increase our chances."

"I guess you're right." Spike said glumly. "What about you Rainbow?"

"Well seeing as you're still a baby dragon, my guess is that you'll need a chaperone." Rainbow replied.

While his pried would have argued differently on any other occasion, the circumstances surrounding the here and now made her company all the more beneficial, not to mention expedient as Rainbow could fly faster and cover greater distance than Spike ever could hope to on foot.

"Appreciate that." Spike said earnestly.

"Hey, no problem little dude. Sorry about what I said before. We'll get Twilight and the others back." Rainbow promised.

"That we will. Applejack concurred. "We all got our missions, when we're done, we meet back at this spot, and get ready for the fight of our lives. Let's show Equestria why we were chosen to be the elements!"

Applejack outstretched her forehoof, a gesture for the others to add theirs to the pile. They did so immediately and in unison, raised them up, shouting in one voice.

"FOR EQUESTRIA!"

The atmosphere of the throne room felt cold, dark, and dreary, a farcry to its once splendous glory. Where once Twilight had been a guest within these halls, she now sat behind bars, showcased as a trophy of war, as a prisoner. It had been hours since Commander Tempest had left her to attend the disturbances taking place across the city. The writing on the wall had been laid out just before she left, and her heart felt shattered by the mere implication that somepony, anypony, more than likely a pony she knew was about to be killed.

Suddenly, the clank of iron hoofsteps emanated from further down the castle. Twilight looked up, nearly felt her heart skip a beat. Other than the Commander and the creature who had seem to relish in making her suffer, was Starlight Glimmer, chained and brought forward in a state of disarray, sporting a profound bruise across her face. They approached Twilight's cage and upon arrival, Jackson yanked Starlight's chain leash forward, causing her friend to fall to her knees, much like herself when the cruel creature had kicked her to the floor.

"Princess Twilight." Tempest announced with clear condescension in her voice. "Allow me to introduce Miss Starlight Glimmer, I assume you two are antiquated?"

The mere fact that they got to her pupil put any sense of anger aside, replacing it with unyielding concern for the safety of what could very well be her last living friend.

"What are you going to do with her?" Twilight pleaded.

"Well now that you mention it." Tempest mused. "Starlight here is going to be my personal assistant for the remainder of our occupation, helping me sift through the various tasks of overseeing both stability and whatever assets our search reveals."

Tempest slowly began circling her cage, that same malicious smirk never leaving her face. Twilight new she had another purpose from her friend, one that put Starlight in peril.

"She'll also being serving as further incentive for your cooperation." Tempest explained.

Despite knowing it would come, the revelation still made Twilight's heart sink. Tempest completed her loop around the dimeritium cage and returned to where Starlight stood, caressing a hoof under Starlight's chin, much to the captives disdain. continued

"I could go into further detail, but I'm a rather busy woman. Given how I'm short on time I'll make it brief. Fail to meet my desired expectations, and I'm afraid I'll have no other choice but to have Lieutenant Jackson here oversee her supervision."

She could hear the monster in question chuckle under his breath. Twilight had already been subject to his methods once already, and judging by the bruises on her friend's face and body, it seems she met a similar fate. Any reservations Twilight had on aiding Tempest had effectively eroded, now knowing that not only her life was at stake, but that of her friend's put any hint of resistance to rest.

"That won't be necessary. I'll help you. Just don't hurt her." Twilight pleaded.

"That's what I like to hear." Tempest smirked. "And if you should stay true to that promise, no harm will come to her. Now, I suggest you get some rest, It'll be sundown soon enough and we have a very busy day tomorrow."

Both Equestrians tilted their head in confusion to that statement, wondering how the Celestial bodies were going to move at all without the guiding hoof of the alicorn sisters, but they didn't voice it fearing a reprisal. The trio that had entered now began to leave, and just as they we're about to leave Twilight's visual Range, Tempest turned around to her once more.

"Oh by the way, expect one of Storm shortly, they'll be your nightly security until the Storm King arrives.

Tempest proceeded to leave, as Twilight was just praying that if any of the strange creatures were to show up, it be any one but the one she had in tow. Despite her disdain for the creatures, Twilight was simultaneously curious about them, as they didn't seem to even be of this world, right down to strange machinations, vests, armor and pouches that adorned their bodies. Furthermore was their motive, and why they had allied themselves with this cruel band of marauders rather than the ponies of Equestria. She supposed that she'd never find out, but in time, that would be far from the truth.