The Fall
"Now I truly am The Storm King! And the entire world will bow to my ba-ba-ba-boom baby!" The Storm King shouted triumphantly, as he looked out at the violent winds ravaging the Equestrian capitol city of Canterlot.
Tempest came up to the towering satyr who was gloating in his apparent victory.
"Yes, yes, you are every bit as powerful as I promised, Sire. Now, restore my horn and I swear to use my magic to serve you!"
The Storm King glanced down at the unicorn standing before him, gripping the ancient magical Staff of Sacanas in his claws, and he smirked.
"Kneel." He commanded, and Tempest bent her front right leg, bowing her head and nearly pressing her chest to the stone floor, the wind whipping at her mohawk and tail.
"Your reward, Commander." He stated, lowered the tip of the staff, and touched it to the chipped remains of her horn.
Tempest's entire head began to tingle. Softly at first, then came the surge of energy. With a gasp, she couldn't help but take a step back as the Storm King withdrew the staff. She squeezed her eyes shut as her horn began sparking wildly as more and more magic surged from the broken tip. The pryotechnic spells she uncontrollably shot off were quickly lost to the violent winds.
A severely weakened Twilight watched from the other corner of the balcony, trying to summon the strength just to stand. Just as quickly as it had started, the unicorn's horn stopped casting. Tempest Shadow's eyes shot open, glowing a brilliant white, and as another gasp escaped her lips, a curved glowing spike of pure aetherial energy protruded from the remains of her horn. She drew in a deep breath as the glowing in her eyes subsided, and the surge she felt within stabilized. She had never felt this much magic before.
"So tell me, Tempest... How do you feel?" The Storm King asked, as he planted the Staff of Sacanas on the floor of the balcony, and the cyclone in the courtyard slowly started to subside.
Tempest looked up at him, but before she could answer, they heard a dull thud; an explosion from down in the courtyard. The two conquerors turned to the railing to look, and saw that a giant cannon had been aimed at the castle, and had just been fired.
Tempest saw them first. She quickly turned to the Storm King and reached out with her newfound power. Anticipating betrayal, the satyr brought the Staff of Sacanas into a defensive position. But all he felt was one of his obsidian orbs being grabbed. With the orb in the sickly purple grasp of her magic, the unicorn turned her focus back to the sky, and telekinetically flung the magical grenade into the sky. At the last moment before it exploded and released its green immobilizing gas, he saw what she had aimed at, and smiled wickedly as he lowered the staff from its poised stance, watching as the five now-crystallized pony projectiles slammed into the walls and balcony, smashing and shattering into pieces, scattering onto the ground of the balcony, throne room, and courtyard below.
Twilight laid there wondering what had been shot at them... Until a chunk of obsidian tumbled toward her, coming to a stop in front of her, bearing most of a three-balloon cutie mark, and her gaze rose to the rest of the balcony and she saw literal bits and pieces of her friends.
Her heart rate began racing, her eyes began watering, and her mouth went dry, as what very little magic she had remaining gathered at the tip of her horn.
"Gods damn you!!!" She screamed hysterically, wings flaring out.
"So much for friendship, Your Highness." Tempest said, turning to the distraught princess, her artificial horn glowing brilliantly.
The Storm King grabbed another obsidian orb, and reared back.
"Batter up!" He shouted before hurling the orb towards the Princess of Friendship. The surge of adrenaline allowed her to leap up and over the railing moments before the orb exploded, its gas enveloping nothing.
The Storm King and Tempest stepped up to the railing and watched as she fell, and spread her wings at the last moment, nearly colliding with the ground, and struggled to remain airborne in the unstable, violent wind.
"Shall I pursue?" Tempest asked, turning to the Storm King, who only scoffed.
"Why bother? Everything that ever made her a threat is right here." He answered, pointing a single claw at Tempest's new curved, glowing horn, before turning and walking back to the severely damaged throne room, followed by the unicorn.
"Now, to ensure that these three will never be a threat again." The conqueror said menacingly, motioning to the three crystallized alicorns in three corners of the marble floor. "Go on, Commander. Let's have a demonstration."
Tempest smiled deviously, her horn beginning to crackle with energy as she stepped up to the stairs where the thrones sat. She focused, beginning to gather a massive amount of magic in her horn. What was once unstable arcs of magical energy was now smoothly concentrated, as the three alicorn statues began to levitate and drift towards the center of the room. When the three immobile rulers touched, Tempest released the gathered energy, and it burst forward from her horn in a brilliant blue beam of magic. When it impacted, there was a blinding explosion that forced her to shield her eyes with a foreleg, but she still maintained a shield, which pulverized bits of obsidian bounced off of.
When the explosion faded, all three alicorns were gone, and so was a considerable part of the throne room roof. The Storm King cackled as he applauded from the single moon-emblem throne that was still standing.
"Ba-ba-bravo, baby!" The satyr complimented as he sat down, as more Storm Guards entered the room.
"Your will, my King?" Tempest asked, turning to the Storm King, and knelt, as pieces of the roof's new hole continued to fall and crumble.
He smiled satisfactorily as his troops gathered behind and to the sides of the throne he occupied.
"Commander Tempest Shadow, congratulations on successfully spearheading this invasion of Equestria. You have certainly made this twig work, and have been made whole again. You are every bit as cunning and driven as you led me to believe, and represent what little is impressive about your race. But, this city was just the beginning. Now, you will be the vanguard of this kingdom's complete and total submission. Go and root out the pockets of resistance that will inevitably pop up. Tell them they can submit and live, or they can fight, and join Canterlot's fate. Go... And show Equestria what you can really do."
Saying nothing, Tempest bowed her head momentarily, and then got to her hooves, turned, and walked out of the throne room, smiling triumphantly, her new horn thrumming with energy.
Equestria would experience a tempest like it never had before.