> The New Storm > by ChaosKing23 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Interrupted at the last moment > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was obvious from the beginning that Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy glow would lose to the ponies again. They were uncoordinated and couldn’t hold a conversation for 5 minutes before breaking out into an argument. They may have taken down Celestia, Luna and Discord but they had a wildcard. Grogars bell.  If not for the bell, the 3 villains would have been outmatched before they could have come up with a plan to end Twilight Sparkle and her friends.But even with a powerful magical artifact they had acted like normal dumb villains. They had waited too long and had not cemented their positions when they had the chance. They had given the heroes too many chances to come back and now they had finally struck out. They wouldn’t be getting a second chance after this. They had everything they needed to succeed but they had thrown it away for pity revenge against their enemies. They risked everything to gain nothing in the end. But luckily for them some other creature had its eyes on these final events, and watched as they unfolded.  The villains watched as Twilight Sparkle, and her friends were lifted into the air by the magic of friendship. They were soon joined by another group. Both the Pillars and the young six who had gathered all of their friends across Equestria. The villains stared in awe as this happened before them. They had seen this before and they knew what would happen next. And as Twilight finished her speech and was about to fire the Friendship Rainbow beam at the villain's. No one noticed that the clouds above began to darken and move closer to both the wendigos and Twilight sparkle. Twilight's horn flared showing a glimpse of the rainbow power she was about to summon, and then…… she struck the ground at an alarming speed. The villains were the first to let out gasps and coughs as a cloud of dust and was picked up in front of them. “What happened?!? I can’t see anything” Cozy Glow exclaimed as she was swatting the dust out of her eyes with a hoof. Tirek spit out some dust and rubbed his eyes while Chrysalis was blinking rapidly trying to see in front of her. “How am I supposed to know we all saw that same thing” Tirek said as he was still trying to get his vision back. The villains backed up as one trying to get their sight back and see what was going on.  On the hill just seconds after Twilight was struck everycreature was trying to figure out what was going on. The mane six, Young six and the pillars all fell abruptly as Twilight’s hold on them disappeared. The Pegasus and gryphons quickly caught them before they fell and got hurt.  Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first ones to respond and shouted Twilight name down the hill. Everycreature on the hill went to the edge to see if they could spot what hit Twilight. They all waited in silence as the dust and smoke began to disperse.  What they saw shocked them to the core. Twilight Sparkle who moments ago was about to overcome one of the greatest threats ever seen in Equestria, was pinned to the ground.  Somecreature was on top of her holding her down with it’s foot. It was some sort of Biped with long arms and legs that shifted backwards like that of a satyr. It was covered in thick black armor that seemed to absorb the light around it. And was staring directly at Twilight. It made no movements and seemed like it was waiting for something. Twilight wasn’t moving either she looked a little bruised but looked fine otherwise. She must have blacked out from the abrupt impact with the ground. Everycreature on the hill let out a gasp or shout of surprise at what they saw. Some...thing was standing on top of the new princess of Equestria and using her as a carpet. Rainbow and a few other gritted their teeth in irritation. Both Celestia and Luna quickly trotted forward to try and get a better look at this new creature but it was too far away to see anything specific.  As Celestia and Luna stepped forward the new being seemed to take notice as it moved it’s head up towards them. It stayed like that for a few seconds before moving back down to look at Twilight.  Neither Celestia or Luna would say something but when that being turned to glance at them they both felt cold as if they were being frozen from the inside. Only when it looked away again did they both let out a gasp of air and look towards each other in worry. They both didn’t know who or what this was. They were as speechless and as unsure as every other creature here with them.  The first thing Twilight felt when she began to awake was the harsh pain on the back of her neck and the excruciating headache that was pounding in her head. She tried to pry her eyes open but stopped when she felt something impeding her ability to stand up. She slowly opened her eyes to try and see what was happening around her. The first thing she noticed was the hill and all her friends that were still on it. She squinted as she saw them all crowded up on the edge of the hill and seemed to be watching something intently.  She attempted to move her head but was stopped when the pressure that was impeding her from getting up started to turn her. She was laying flat on her side but her head was now facing directly up and her withers were pressed up against the cold dirt.  Her pupils shrunk as her brain began to register the situation she was in. She heard shouting and turned her head rapidly, seeing all her friends shouting at the creature currently holding her down.She looked back to the creature who seemed to register there shouting and glanced at them. Seeing an opportunity to try and escape the creatures clutches. Her wings flared on instinct to be free and started flapping. She tried to push herself with all her strength out of the forced hold, she was in. Before she could even gain a little bit of ground. She was shoved back into the dirt forcefully by the being on top of her.  She closed her eyes and let out a groan of discomfort as she was forcefully reminded of how the cold hard dirt felt against her fur. She quickly looked back towards her friends and peers. They had stopped shouting afraid that another action would set off the creature and put Twilight in more pain.  The creature took another few seconds looking at the hill and her friends before looking back down at Twilight.  Twilight was staring up at him now, just as he was staring at her. His unblinking red eyes looked determined and made Twilight flinch as he moved his head closer to get a better look at her. As she stared at his red eyes she noticed that the determination she caught a glimpse of before was not the true motive in its eyes. She saw something hiding behind it.  It wasn’t the calmness of a sunset or the hatred of a Mad King like Sombra. No, it was as if she was staring at ferocious, ocean waves crashing onto land. His eyes were filled with something Twilight had never truly experienced before. Vengeance.  She had only been looking into his eyes for a few seconds before she closed her eyes trying to forget what she had seen. The image scared her brain and she knew that it would haunt her for many nights to come. Fear had encompassed her when she realized that she could do nothing in the face of this new threat as she was pinned and down for the count. She felt weak and powerless despite being so strong and defiant in the face of an overwhelming enemy only a few short minutes ago. Twilight opened her eyes trying to muster up some form of courage knowing her friends needed her she noticed something that shook her to the core. A sigil on the newcomers shoulder plate. A wendigo shrieked in the background as Twilight’s pupils turned to pinprick's. She thought to herself on the ground, a victim of fear and hopelessness.  ‘The Storm King’s Sigil?!?!?’ > The Bargain Of Two Lifetimes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight was beginning to panic. She didn’t understand the storm king was gone. He wouldn’t be coming back. He couldn’t have come back. Twilight new that for sure. His statues remains were still within Canterlots vaults and no one could get close to them. Guards watched the vault nonstop and even then the vault was sealed with a magic key that both Celestia and Luna hid from everypony. Not even Twilight or Cadence knew because it was that important.  She knew for a fact that the vault was secure she had been assured by both Princesses that no one had ever broken in. Besides discord but that was because he didn’t obey any laws. Not even the laws of nature.  But then that meant that this couldn’t be the storm king. It was impossible. Twilight slowly started to think over everything in her head, spending several seconds breathing heavily before thinking everything over. ‘OK, the storm king was tall, had white fur, black armor with a blue sigil,’ Already Twilight started to note the differences between the two. ‘This creature has more armor, and a red sigil’. ‘Not to mention it’s eyes are red and the storm kings were blue! so, who is this? Why did it attack me’ Twilight started rapidly thinking up question after question as she tried to find an answer. Was this another old villain that was locked in Tartarus years ago by the Princesses? Twilight wasn’t sure what to do next.  As Twilight was having her small panic attack and still trying to recover and understand what was going on. Every other creature was trying to find a way to approach this newcomer. Most failed before they even started. Having Twilight as a hostage had given the ponies and their friends a scare and made them rethink any hostile actions. So they tried to figure something out while on top of their very comfortable hill. “We have to do something, Twilight is in trouble. She's being used as a carpet by that jerk we should go over there and..” Rainbow Dash began to say before she was interrupted. “No Rainbow uses that head of yours for once, we can’t just rush down there and start brawlin. Don't you remember what happened when we did that with the other villains. We got out flanks dished out on a platter because of them” Applejack replied harshly trying to knock some sense into her.  “Applejack is right Rainbow Dash, this needs to be solved another way. We can’t risk Twilight getting hurt or injured in any way. We need to approach this more carefully.” Celestia said calmly getting in between them.  “My sister is right Loyalty, we don’t know what we are dealing with here. We have never seen this creature before, we are as surprised as the rest of you”. Luna said quickly agreeing with her sister as she trotted up next to her.   “The dragons stand behind you Princess, Twilight has helped me in times of need, I stand behind you Princess”. Ember said.   “We’ll help too, Me and the Changeling owe a lot to Twilight for all she has done to help us thrive with our new ways, I’ll help if I can”. Thorax said quickly trotting up next to Ember to show his support.  “Yaks help too, Purple pony friends with pink funny pony” The yaks all agreed and cheered together.   The Gryphons and Ponies all gathered around and showed their support by nodding to one another showing determination and fearlessness.  All of them showing true strength in the eyes of a new opponent.  Only one pony had hesitated to join the rest. Looking down at the newcomer she saw something all the other didn’t. And it frightened her to the core of her very being. Her past was back to haunt her no matter how far she was from the source.  Magic ran up her horn and sparked as it reached the cracked end.   Across the way on the opposite side of the clearing. The 3 villains had been having their own little conversation.  “What do you mean stay put, I don’t take orders from you. Were working together until we defeat those ponies and then we're through” Tirek said angry that the ‘Queen’ was trying to order him around. “What I mean is that we need to play this smart”. Chrysalis hissed at him getting closer showing that she wouldn’t back down.  “But look at them, they are distracted and weak now, and whoever that is has Twilight in its clutches. We can crush them easier than before now”. Cozy said joining Tireks side opposing Chrysalis’s sudden outburst.  Chrysalis groaned and put a hoof to her forehead before speaking again “Are you two that daft?!?. We were seconds away from being blasted by Rainbow magic before that thing interrupted it. We would have lost before we could have gotten out of the way”.  Cozy and Tirek looked at each other for a few seconds before accepting Chrysalis’s point.  “Then what do you suggest we do? Sit here and wait for them to resolve their differences. We still have a chance to strike while they are distracted” Tirek said continuing the argument. Cozy was quick to nod in agreement. “That's exactly what we should do. If we wait this out then we have a chance to find out who this new creature is and what we have to do about it” Chrysalis said as she looked back at the newcomer.  Tirek scratched his chin in thought before looking back at Chrysalis”Fine but we don’t wait long, I still want to crush those puny ponies for what they did”. All 3 villains nodded in agreement before they backed up getting farther away from the commotion, fading into the distance but not going too far. They would listen, learn and then decide what to do next.  Twilight had barely moved since she was pinned to the ground. But the newcomer had. Eyes shifting back and forth the newcomer was listening to all their conversations intently and had not liked what was being said. It wasn’t a being to be thought less of or used as a distraction. They would find that out very soon.   Princess Celestia and Luna both stood strong in the face of this new adversary. They were at the front and showed no fear. They would be strong for their subjects and friends. Twilight had helped them both become better ponies and had saved Equestria many times. It was time they helped her instead of sitting on the sidelines.  Just as Celestia opened her mouth to speak. The creature made its presence known to those around, it spoke. ““She will not be released until I have what I want.” He said, his voice resonated with power and authority. It was not the happy voice of a pony nor the gruff voice of a griffin or dragon. He was not loud like a yak or quiet like a changeling or sea pony.  His voice told them everything they needed to know. He was not here for games or friendship. He was here for a purpose. And he would sink his claws into that purpose no matter who was standing in his way. That was a fact. Celestia took a step back after hearing his voice. It was a he that was obvious now. His voice was gruff and had no sign of any feminine traits  His eyes and posture showed strength and power as he stood above the Princess of Friendship holding her down with only his foot.  He spoke again giving no time for the Princesses of the Sun and Moon to respond to what he had said. “What I want is something you can’t give me” He spoke slow and strong. Letting the ponies soak in what he had said before he began speaking again. “I already have a piece of what I came for”. He looked down to Twilight for a moment seeing her flinch slightly.  The red eyes that seemed to glow through the slit in his helmet closed for a few seconds in thought. ‘Pitiful, to think this is what has caused me so much grief’. “What do you mean a piece? What is it you want from Princess Twilight?” Celestia asked in confusion. She would not let her pupil be treated like some piece on a chess board she had earned her right to respect just like the other princesses, even more so for all the good she and her friends had accomplished.   The newcomer took a moment to look at Twilight once more before looking back to Celestia.  “Isn’t it obvious Princess?. What I want is Twilight Sparkle”.  “You cannot be serious Twilight Sparkle is a pony. She has the freedom to make her own choices and choose her path”. Celestia Responded harshly not liking where this conversation was leading too.  “Let me make things a little more clear then Princess”. He seemed to turn more threatening and made the Princess of the Sun glare at the newcomer.  “You have no magic, no power, and are no threat to me. You are not what I came for and you will not be able to stop me when I leave. The only thing you can do is try to negotiate with me”.  “You already made yourself clear, and so have I. You want Princess Twilight and you will not take her, no matter what”. Celestia said determination radiating off her, inspiring the other creatures around her. “Actually there might be one thing you have that may make me reconsider”. He said staring at the hill. Celestia noticed that he was not staring at her or even anywhere near her. She tried to see where he was looking but was unable to see where it led to. There were too many creatures around her to know for sure who he was talking about.  “It took me a very long time to get you out of hiding, but I guess I only had to wait. Honestly those 3 idiots did most of the work for me, but now that you're here. I’m going to get my revenge for what you did’. His voice became much deeper as he said those final 3 words. He let out a low growl as his eyes and posture became more rabid. He seemed to shake with anger as he stared at her. “The hero and savior who risked everything to stop the Storm King, Tempest Shadow”.   “So glad that we have finally met after all this time, we have so much to talk about”. His red eyes stared at her blue ones. Tempest was not fearful of many things, but some things are meant to be feared. Especially things that come from the past.  > Shock and Awe > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tempest was afraid. That much she was sure of. As she locked eyes with this creature she tried to think of anything she could do to get out of this situation.  Tempest had found a nice peaceful town to settle in after the entire Storm King issue. She had finally stopped her voyage of hate and quest for something she had lost long ago, but she had come back because of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight had shown her that life wasn’t all about power and that pain would heal no matter how deep that wound was.  So that's why she came back, she had laid low for so long but now she was back to help save Equestria from a new threat. But now, she didn’t care why she was here or how she even got here, She just wanted to leave and never look back.  Tempest had been wary of something before Twilight had even begun her speech and began charging her friendship power. She was the only one who had noticed the clouds darkening and becoming more twisted and angry. She had spent many years around storms but none had seemed like this, It made Tempest feel uncomfortable in her own fur. “I truly wasn’t sure how long I had to wait, but now with you here It was worth every second”. He said still staring at Tempest.  “The tales of your ruthlessness and willingness to seek power were a tale throughout the entire Storm Lands. Everycreature knows of your position and your strength”. He took a moment to pause before speaking again “But now, look at you. You are a shamble of what you once were. A rat hiding in a hole. I truly thought I would have to drown you out of the hole, but it seems luck has favored me. Of course you hadn't expected me to be here because of something else”. He looked behind him finding the three distractions he was referring to before turning back to look at Tempest.  “Tempest shadow has been pardoned. She is a free pony now, you have no sway over her”. Celestia stepped in. “I don’t need to sway over her for her to understand what is happening. This does not involve you. It involves these two”. He pointed at both Twilight who was still below him and Tempest who was beginning to feel that weight of the situation fall upon her. She could feel something about to happen but she didn’t know what it was… yet. “Involves them how? The Storm Lands have gone back into isolationism, they have done nothing in any countries and have retreated back to the storm Lands after the incident with the Storm King, who are you?” Celestia demanded. She was losing her patience quickly.  “I am a survivor. That’s who I am. I’m the one who has lost everything only to come back from the dirt from which I was put in. I am the remnants of an empire and the memories of a conqueror. My name means nothing to those around me. But my title means everything to the ones I have come for, and I will not be stalled any longer”.  He was speaking not just to Celestia but to everycreature around. He was speaking to the heroes and the villains. He was not just speaking to the creatures around him. He was speaking to all of Equestria. To every changeling that hides in a disguise. To every pony that ran and hid from the danger. And even to the wendigos that had caused the storms and cold winter to form in the sky.  “ I AM CYCLONE, THE SON OF THE STORM KING.”  The ground shook as his words pierced their ears and struck their minds. Realization came to many. Some looked on in horror while others had faces of anger and sadness.  The emotions of the weak played no part in his plans. Only two ponies mattered to him and they would be judged.  Celestia and Luna now realizing the importance of both Tempest and Twilight. Tried to come up with some plan or single thought of action. But they would not be fast enough.  As Tempest stared on in horror at the knowledge she had just learned she failed to see the blue light that was forming at her hooves.  The light grew brighter and she eventually noticed it. Looking down she saw some sort of magic taking place. It gave a spark of electricity before it flashed brightly and she was forced to close her eyes in order to not get blinded.  She reopened them a few seconds later looking at the ground. The magic was gone but she felt no different. Did the spell fail? She was confused and shifted her gaze upwards before realizing what had happened.  She was now in front of the Cyclone. She had been teleported towards the one thing that had made her afraid.  She quickly tried to back up but was stopped before she could even lift a hoof. Cyclone’s eyes pierced through her like a knife through butter. She hesitated and froze before him. She was stuck. The two things Cyclone desired were within his grasp. And Cyclone didn't even need a second to reach out and snatch them.  His armor glowed a light blue and as he lifted his right arm his right claw began to glow a light blue much like the magic that had teleported Tempest. It crackled with small fissions of electricity before exploding outwards in a small ball of magic.  The ball hit the Tempest before she could react. She had not expected magic to come from this creature. She had sensed no magic or even a pulse of energy the entire time she was watching him. Where had it come from?  As she was thinking this. The spell took the time it needed to complete its task. The ball hit her directly on the chest and it began to summon constructs of magic. Light blue chains sprang from the ball as it attached itself to Tempest Shadow. The chains started from the ball and soon covered her entire body restricting her movement and completely immobilizing her.  She tried to spark out some magic quickly to try and overload the spell, but was unable to summon any magic from her horn. When she looked at her horn it was covered in chains as well, these chains were glowing more and seemed to have more sparks of lightning coming from it. Realization came to Tempest right when the spell had finally completed. She was now trapped. Twilight Sparkle was in a sense of disbelief from what she was seeing. Not only was this creature using a new form of magic which excited her intellectual side a lot, but he was also the son of an enemy that had almost conquered Equestria in a single day. Her mind was running a million miles an hour.  But as Twilight watched Cyclone capture Tempest she saw a chance to escape. Twilight had paid close attention to Cyclone the entire time he was holding her down. She noticed his leg tense and his paw would squeeze when Twilight made any attempt at moving and even when she made a noise. Now however he was distracted and when Twilight moved she realized he wasn’t squeezing his paw against her.  She activated her magic and tried desperately to teleport away before he would notice her. She closed her eyes and pushed as much power to her horn as possible in order to travel as far away as she could, but her horn gave her away all too quickly.Cyclone reacted in an instant and sent magic to his foot. The magic came from his chest and quickly moved to his foot that was holding Twilight before it began glowing brightly.  Twilight magic cancelled out in an instant. She opened her eyes and saw that Cyclone was looking at her again. She gasped as she felt her magic completely leave her. She could not even feel it within her anymore. It was as if it had been ripped from her very being in an instant.  Tirek had done a similar thing when he had drained the magic from Twilight but it was never this quick and it felt so different.  “How… what did you do” Twilight weakly said, looking up at him with sadness and a confused expression. Being unable to comprehend what was happening.  “You ponies and your magic. You don’t advance yourselves you hold yourselves back. Magic doesn’t make everything easier. It makes you weaker. My father……. he thought very highly of you ponies because of your magic. He wanted it all for himself because he thought he would be the strongest. But he was wrong. You don’t win with magic. You win with power. That's something you ponies will never understand”. His voice was threatening and determined. His aggression seemed to soften when he mentioned his father but picked back up again. “Speaking of power. I suppose there is one more thing I should take before I leave”. He said turning away from both Tempest and Twilight.  His gaze turned to where the villains had gone. He saw them flinch slightly as his eyes stared into their very souls. His gaze quickly left them which made them sigh in relief before following his gaze to his new target.  The Bewitching Bell that was left out in the open field.  It took the three villains a few seconds to realize what they were looking at.  “What? You idiots didn’t grab the bell!”. Chrysalis said to her two “Allies”.  “Me? I thought one of you two had it. You're the one who came up with the plan to run away”. Tirek pointed an accusatory finger at Chrysalis. “Uhmm…. Guys?” Cozy tried to put it into their argument but was promptly ignored by the other two villians.  “Just because I came up with the play doesn’t mean I kept track of the bell! That was your job!” Chrysalis said putting her hoof into Tireks chest to emphasize her point.  “My job? I'm not one of your subjects oh mighty ‘Queen’ I'm only working with you is so I don't have to listen to that annoying brat all the time by myself.” Tirek said getting even closer to Chrysalis as the argument got heated.  Cozy decided that she would ignore Tireks' comment for the moment. She realized that the two were getting into a heated argument.  She quickly flew up to the two as they were almost face to face and pushed their head in the opposite direction.  “You dofuses. Look!” Cozy said getting the attention of both the villains.  While the Centaur and the Changeling Queen were bickering like an old married couple. Cyclone had already retrieved the Bell with his magic. He had sent out a pulse of magic which exploded outwards in a large radius in front of him which hit the Bell directly. The bell shook for a few seconds before zooming across the field towards Cyclone.  Cyclone extended his right arm and caught the bell just as it was about to hit him. The bell shook for a few seconds in his grasp before going still once again. Cyclone pushed magic into the bell and it seemed to glow yellow like it had done before.  It glowed brightly before opening a portal like it had done before when activated. It was pointed into the air instead of in towards any specific creature. As everycreature watched in wonder about what was happening. Three creatures let out shrieks magic was sucked from them by force. The Wendigos were being drained of their magic. The action was swift and quick. The Wendigoes had no time to react as their bodies were stripped of their ancient magic. They seemed to fade from the sky as the bell stopped it’s glowing and closed once again.  Cyclone pushed magic into the bell once again activating the spell again. The portal opened once more above him but there was nothing left to take from the Wendigos. They were gone. So what was he aiming for? The bell started glowing a dark red instead of a yellow and the portal seemed to shrink until a small barely visible hole was visible.  The villains watched in awe as the bell had done something they had never seen before, but while they were distracted something happened. They were all beginning to glow a light red and had not noticed until it began to burn them from the inside. Chrysalis Cozy and Tirek all let out cries of shock and anger as the burning sensation became worse. Then it began pulling something from them.  Cyclone had activated the magic inside the bell to retake the magic that was given. It drained Chrysalis Tirek and Cozy of all the magic that they had taken from the bell. They all collapsed to the ground as the magic was ripped from them.  Cyclone seemed to admire the bell for a few seconds before looking at the ground that he was standing on.  He raised his left arm above him and gathered a large amount of his magic in his claw. It grew larger and larger until it was the size of a basketball.  Everycreature around him watched as he held it above his head for a few seconds. Then he slammed the ball into the group while going into a kneeling position.  Magic flowed through the ground at an alarming rate before creating a large rune that surrounded everything around him.  Cyclone back up and looked at the Villains who were watching in shock as they had been defeated at their prime without even a battle.  Cyclone looked over to Equestria and its allies that were watching with confusion and uncertainty as the events unfolded before them.  Celestia and Luna realized too late what was happening.  Celestia shouted in a her royal Canterlot voice “WAIT DON'T”  While Luna could only stare at the events that were unfolding.  A second later. Cyclone Twilight and Tempest had vanished from the field.  > The Reason > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hundreds of miles away a large rune glowed brightly on the floor of a dungeon. It was the only light around and seemed to grow brighter and brighter by the second until with a final bright flash three beings appeared in the circle. The rune lost it’s glow and returned to just being symbols upon the ground.  Two of the beings collapse instantly due to unconsciousness. The other being fell to one knee breathing heavily and trying to catch his breath.  Cyclone would need time to recover from the effects of the rune. He knew the risks, but it didn’t matter now, he had what he wanted. Cyclone stared at the ponies that he had taken with him. A pit formed in his stomach as he looked at them. But that pit soon turned into burning anger as he reminded himself why he was doing all this.  Cyclone turned around away from the ponies before heading off into the darkness that surrounded them. It was Time to work --------------- Silence filled the field as both villains and heroes stared upon the spot where Cyclone had teleported both Twilight and Tempest. Princess Celestia was in shock. Her pupil and soon ruler of Equestria had just been kidnapped by a creature she barely knew anything about. Celestia’s mind raced. She didn’t know what to do.  Celestia looked to her ponies and realized that most of them were looking to her for guidance. She put on a calm face, she had done this for a thousand years alone. She would lead her ponies to safety again no matter the situation. “Sister, what do we do” Luna whispered, coming up beside Celestia to try and show the ponies that they were still in safe hooves.  “Right now we need to get everycreature to safety and help them. Many ponies are scattered around Equestria because of the Wendigos but we need to help them find their way back to us”. Celestia said to her sister as she looked at her ponies.  Celestia noticed that the other races were unsure of what to do and most looked to either their respective leader or Celestia for guidance.  “Everycreature we need to regroup and find out where Twilight went that much I am sure of, but for now we need to go back to Canterlot and make sure everycreature is okay. I will send some of my best unicorns to find out where both Twilight and Tempest went. And we will get her back that much I promise”. Celestia said trying to reisure the crowd.  Many ponies looked worried about what had happened to Twilight. The elements of Harmony and young six looked the most distraught as they realized that they couldn’t do much to help at the moment,  “Luna sent word to Cadence and Shining armor. We will need their support for the time until we can get back on our hooves”. Celestia said, turning to Luna. “Of course sister, I will send word as soon as we get back to Canterlot”. Luna said she took a glance at the crowd that was beginning to get restless.  Both Celesita and Luna looked upon the crowd of ponies and others alike before turning back towards each other with worried looks.  “Will we be okay sister? I have never seen you like this before” Luna said, noticing Celestia struggling to maintain her composure. “For the first time since your return, I am unsure of what is happening sister, I am even more unsure of what to do, I hope we can help our ponies in this time of danger”. Celestia said looking at the crowd that was preparing to leave. Both sisters looked ahead in the direction of Canterlot. They both took one more glance at each other before heading to the broken city that had been their home for so long. As they both took the first step the others followed closely behind them. --------------- ...light ...wilight “Twilight!” Twilight's eyes opened abruptly as her ears were assaulted with somepony yelling her name. She quickly looked back and forth trying to find the cause of the noise but was unable to see anything, it was too dark. “Over here Twilight” Twilight spun here head to the sound of the voice as her eyes started to adjust to the darkness that was in front of her.  Twilight was able to make out the form of a pony that was lying up against a wall. Twilight couldn’t make out any distinct feature but was able to see that she had a horn, and it had no tip. “.....Tempest? Is that you?” Twilight asked towards the only other pony in the room. “Yea it's me, I don’t know where we ended up after that….huge blast of magic. I was unconscious when we got here. I woke up a while ago and I've just been waiting, trying to figure out what happened”. Tempest explained  Twilight glanced around the room trying to find anything she could recognize. The walls had no prominent details; they weren’t shining and clean like the ones at her crystal castle. They were dark, bleak and seemed to absorb all the light around them.  She looked to the other side of her and saw a door that seemed to lead out of the dark room. It was definitely not a door meant for ponies. It was tall and had no prominent details on it. It was a door leading out and that was all Twilight cared about at the moment. Twilight out of instinct attempted to stand on all fours but didn’t have the strength to get up. She fell back down onto the floor but quickly pushed herself to try again. She got up almost halfway before falling down again. She breathed in air quickly while trying to figure out where all of her strength went.  Twilight was never the best pony at physical exercise but she wasn’t the worst either. She felt so weak and out of energy. Twilight had never been this tired just from trying to stand, it was like she had been drained of all her energy and motivation. She became simply content with just lying on the floor for as long as she needed to.  “Hey, take it easy, whatever that Cyclone guy did, it somehow weakened us a lot. I can barely move because of what he did and magic isn’t even an option. I can’t get a single spark on my end.” Tempest said in a worried state. Twilight took another big gasp for air before trying to force magic out of her horn. If she could just get a single spark she would be able to force even more magic out of her horn and maybe get them out of the room they had been put in. But no matter how hard Twilight pushed she couldn’t get anything to happen. No matter how much she focused or tried to reach her magic she couldn’t even sense a small spark of it. It was as if the magic inside her had been ripped out completely.  Twilight began to hyperventilate; she was the element of magic, magic can't just disappear from somepony. It can replenish over time so why did she not feel any of her magic replenishing. Magic can return to a pony in only a few hours and with Twilight's level of knowledge and being an alicorn she should have gotten all of her magic replenished by now.  “Twilight you have to calm down, I don’t know what's going on but whatever happened is affecting us. Right now the only thing we can do is wait fo-” As Tempest was talking the only door to the small room opened violently and loudly as it was thrown off its hinges. The door landed on the ground in front of the two ponies. Not coming close enough to hurt either of them but scaring them both as it landed with a loud crash.  A dull blue light seemed to be burned into the door side. It glowed briefly like a hot burn mark before fading away making the room pitch black once more.  As Twilight and Tempest took in a breath of air, something shined from the hallway where the door was blocking. It became bright after a few seconds and both ponies had to cover their eyes. The light didn’t let up and even got closer to the two.  Twilight couldn’t see anything even though she was trying to look at what was causing the light.  It got close enough where Twilight could feel the sensation of the energy and felt the heat it was producing upon her fur. She directed her eyes over to Tempest trying to avoid blinding herself by looking at the light.  “You're awake, It took longer than I thought. I was under the impression that the new Princess of Equestria had a little more fight in her. I guess I was wrong”. Cyclone said. His voice was strained and seemed much less threatening than before.  The light began to lose its brightness as he said this and Twilight realized what she was looking at now. It was Cyclone, he still had his armor on, but his presence was much different than it was earlier. Twilight could feel the amount of magic on him, it was much smaller than it was when they first met. His red eyes seemed to be more relaxed instead of the burning waves she had seen before. And his armor seemed to let off tiny sparks of some kind of blue energy.  “W-what? What did you do? W-why did you ponynap us and bring us here” Twilight asked her voice cracking and showing her obvious fear of the armored creature that stood before her.  “.....You still don’t get it.” Cyclone sighed to himself as he looked at the sight before him.  A pony that had made his life a shell of itself, without even the knowledge of doing so. It made his blood boil as he looked at Twilight Sparkle. The icon of Harmony and Friendship that so many creatures had rallied behind to help Equestria.  But what about creatures like him, ones that had been hurt by her wonderful ‘Friendship’ that solved all of Equestria’s issues.  She didn’t get to just ignore what she did. He wouldn't let her forget what she did to him. He wouldn't allow it. No matter what. “I-I I don't understand, why did you attack me. Why did you hurt me and Tempest, but then suddenly took out Chrysalis and Tirek and Cozy Glow, what do you want from us??” Twilight asked desperately to understand what Cyclone wanted from her and Tempest. Desperate to understand what was happening even a little.  “What I want is something you can’t give me. What I want is you to pay for what you did. WHAT I WANT, is for you to suffer like I suffered” “TO FEEL THE PAIN AS I DID” “Because of your actions, because of your Friendship and Harmony that you cherish so much” My life is a broken shattered, SACK OF SHIT THAT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME”. Cyclone breathed heavily as he let out his emotions to Twilight and Tempest. He looked at Twilight as she Flinched back each time he shouted at her. Cyclone got closer and closer to Twilight in an Angry and Threatening manner. Twilight's ears swiveled back and flopped against the sides of her head. Cyclone was staring into the small pupils of Twilight eyes as she was assaulted by his anger and unrelenting shouts. She tried to move away from him, but was unable to even move, she was helpless.  “Leave her ALONE” Tempest shouted Cyclone became quiet and seemed to lose his rage. Still breathing heavily he walked away from Twilight and took a few steps before stopping. “But you can wait” Cyclone looked down upon the other occupant of the room “I’m gonna save you for last, this one will be first”. Cyclone stood in front of Tempest as her eyes turned to pinpricks. > Motives > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Are you a Hero, Tempest Shadow.?” “W-what, why…..” Tempest looked confused not expecting the more monotone voice Cyclone used after he had just let out a range of emotions on his two prisoners. “I asked a question, Are you a hero Tempest Shadow?” “I-I I don’t understand” Tempest was beyond confused. Her anger fading away quickly as she was lost in confusion at the question. “I suppose I will have to answer for you then,......You are not a hero. You are the farthest thing from it”. Cyclone spoke with authority now his voice deeper and more commanding like that of a military leader. Cyclone moved his head down so he could look Tempest in the eyes. “You are a pony, consumed by her own pity and grief that you do not seem to care about your actions anymore”.  “If you are trying to threaten me or make me feel like I have done something wrong then you better try harder than that. I wasn’t born yesterday” Tempest focused her glare on his eyes and tried to see what his real motives were.  “You did everything you could for power. You trusted no creature, whether it be pony or any other creature. And through it all the one thing you desired was power. You wanted your horn, you wanted to feel whole again, but all it took was a few words from a princess to show you the error of your ways……. So tempest let me ask you this”. Cyclone grabbed Tempest's muzzle and pulled her closer until they were but a few inches apart.  “Do you feel whole?” The room held no noise within it. Nothing moved. Nothing made noise. Only the breathing of one creature could be heard and it was of Princess Twilight watching the exchange between the two intent on understanding more about this new enemy.  “....I will never feel whole again, I may try and try to regain what I lost but it won’t come back. I have found new things that I believe in. My past doesn’t define my future, I learned that from my mistakes”. Tempest stared definitely back into Cyclones eyes showing no signs of backing down. “It is a shame that you believe that, such a valuable lesson. Your past mistakes don’t define your future.” Cyclone let go of Tempest's muzzle and let her flop to the ground unceremoniously.  “Your past mistakes may have been forgotten and forgiven by many, but I haven’t forgotten. I will never forget no matter how much you believe to have changed. Your past defines me Tempest Shadow. So I will make sure you remember it.” Cyclone turned away from her but didn’t move an inch.  “Even if you are to hide in the darkest hole on the opposite side of the world. I will find you, and I will make you remember, you will never be safe. You will always be reminded of your mistakes and you will never be whole again. That is what I take from you Tempest” He stood for some time before turning back to look at Tempest. They shared one final glance before Tempest moved her gaze to the side. Eyeing the wall next to her. She tried to distract herself from the chilling words he had said. But they sunk deep into Tempests fur like knives. They struck her deep and they might never come out. She knew what her past actions had caused and yet she knew she would never come to terms with some of the things she had done, but there was always that sliver of hope that she had a chance to be whole again. To live a happy life. But that hope died out in an instant when Cyclone said those words. Everything she had done since the Storm King was for the good of somepony else. Whether it simply be giving directions or just helping somepony who needed it. Tempest worked hard, harder then when she had  to prove herself in the Storm King's ranks. She pushed herself to be better, slowly helping herself become more of an ideal pony. Somepony who could make something of herself and find a way past her problems. She pushed herself because she believed that she deserved to finally have some rest and now it was being stripped away from her, again. Her fury came back full force, she would say what needed to be said. ‘What gives you the right”Tempest’s voice was barely above a whisper. Her words carried fury and anger but shaky as Tempest spoke her mind. “.......” Cyclone said nothing, he only looked at her with intrigue as she began shaking with an unbridled rage that could have scared a dragon to a quivering mess, but Cyclone did not falter; he watched and waited for her to speak again. “I have worked and helped all those that I have wronged. I have finally become a better pony. What gives you the right to take that away from me. I have sacrificed and given up everything to try and make amends for what I have done to those around me”. “I was finally better, why do you want to take that away from me”. Tempest seethed in her own anger. She spat her words out with little to know gaps in between her sentences. She took breaths only when she was done speaking. “......You ask why, and yet you already know the answer. You ask me what right I have but you already know that answer” Cyclone spoke. “What gives the right to kill my father…...and then act like a hero. You act as if you are the most broken pony in the world. You act as if you have the right to ask me ‘why’. You want to know why I'm taking this from you, because you took something much more important to me”. “You took my father away from me, and the hate I feel for you will not go away, just because you believe yourself to be better. I don’t care if you solve the world's problems, Tempest, because you created all of my problems”. Cyclone spoke his final words to Tempest before moving away from Tempest. He was no longer concerned with her to even spare her a glance.  Tempest said no more. Her anger faded, her struggle against her emotions ceased. She was helpless and unmovable. She would no longer fight a losing battle. She was a soldier, she knew when the battle was lost. She could not win this fight. No matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t keep going.  Cyclone moved towards Twilight Sparkle. His armor seemed to let off much more of a noise as he walked over to Twilight. She noticed a spark of the blue magic she had seen earlier. It was gliding across his armor at a rapid speed. Twilight tried to keep track of it but it was too fast. It moved before Twilight could even get sight of it. All she could see was the slight light it produced that shined on his pitch black armor.  Cyclone took one final step, he was now directly in front of Twilight. He had waited for this moment for so very long. He was going to get his answer and finally bring his life back together. He made a promise to himself. And he would keep it no matter what.  Cyclone closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I will be whole again, I will not end up like her.’ His eyes opened once again and they stared into Twilight's very soul. She would not be defiant like Tempest. His questions would be answered. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Everypo- Everycreature is here Princess” a Guard faced the Princess’s looking ahead with no real show of emotion, but if one were to look closer they would see that he was shaking slightly before remaining still like a stature once again.  To Princess Celestia it was no real challenge to see this action. She felt her heart sink as she saw one of her little ponies afraid of the future. There was no clear way forward and they had been looking to her for support but she had yet to provide anything for her ponies.  “Thank you my little pony, please make sure everycreature is comfortable and please bring the element bearers to me as soon as possible”. Celestia’s motherly tone seemed to calm the stallion as he saluted and trotted off without a second glance. Celestia had to be strong now she couldn’t afford to be weak not when her ponies needed her more than ever.  “Tia I can feel my magic returning but it is slow, it is as if something is stopping it from moving back to me”. Luna said quickly trotted up next to Celestia  “I can feel it for Luna, I don’t know what this Cyclone has done but he will not get away with this. I have faith in Twilight, she will find a way no matter what”. “Unicorns are already working on finding out where they have gone, there are large magic signatures scattered all over the area where he teleported. It will take time to find both Twilight and Tempest. Let us hope it is soon”  “Umm not to put in or anything, actually yes let me but in very much. What are we going to do about them?” Discord was fast enough to pick up on the moment of silence and shoved his mismatched head in between the two sisters before pointing to the three giant elephants in the room.  Tirek, Cozy Glow and Queen Chrysalis were all in the corner of the room weakened and surrounded by no less than 20 guards. They had lost all the magic power they had stolen but that didn’t stop them from being any less dangerous…. Or any less annoying to one another. At the moment they were shoving each other around in their new small corner they called home. Words were being  shouted and flung at one another as they were unable to find even a sliver of common ground to work on.  Celestia and Luna both looked to one another for an answer before nodding simultaneously and speaking in perfect sync.  “Make them help us” “Execu- Make them help us obviously” Luna was quick to correct herself before being stared at by the other two immortals in the room. She quickly gave out a big smile before backing up leaving the Draconequus and the Alicorn of the Sun to stare at her before they realized that she wasn’t coming back.  “Yea... so just to clarify, we are somehow going to get the three villians that just tried to destroy Equestria to somehow help us. That seems like a long shot even for me and my charm” Discord said questioning everything about this new plan.  “We don’t need them to help us entirely, we just need them to not help each other”. Celestia said giving a smug look to Discord. ------------------------------------------------------------ “T-that's all I know I-I promise” Twilight was in no way like Tempest, she wasn’t a soldier that had seen action and followed orders like her brother. She may have faced danger but she always had the support of her friends, but here. She was isolated, away from her friends. Away from her colleagues and family. She had only one pony that she could trust and she could do nothing but watch as her mind was plucked and prodded for questions by Cyclone.  “Then you're more useless than I thought. You have no idea where it is or where it could be do you”. Cyclone turned away from her before raising a hand to his armored head.  “N-no I don’t, I never kept track of it. It was taken somewhere in Canterlot but that's all I know so please just let us go”. Twilight shivered as his voice dipped into a much colder tone.  “You just forgot about it like it was a piece of trash. You completely ignored it as if it never existed, As if HE never existed. Ohhhh Twilight you aren’t going anywhere, not until my goals are complete and you have suffered for what you have done.” Cyclone said no more after that. He simply looked from Twilight to Tempest and then back again before taking calm casual walking steps to the door.  He took one last glance behind him, his eye glowing a deep red before going through the door. His armored feet against the stone was the last thing they heard before the room was completely silent.  Twilight could do nothing as her situation became worse. She simply looked at the stone floor in front of her before closing her eyes. Hoping that her friends would find her soon.  ------------------------------------------------------------ Cyclone left the room feeling nothing but annoyance and anger. He had got only a fraction of the answers he needed. His goal would be delayed even further because of this, but for now he would be patient.  After leaving the small dungeon room he headed straight to a separate room. Far from the dungeon where no one could find him. This was his haven, he would not be bothered by anycreature.  The room wasn’t very large and didn’t contain anything that seemed important. It was a simple room with shelves and a few large metal desks with various tools and glowing items atop it. There were other items scattered around the floor and hanging on various shelves.  Cyclone ignored these and instead went straight to an armor rack that was empty. He slowly took off his helmet, and looked at the reflection it gave off. He saw his white fur and his red eyes. He saw himself and nothing more. He saw his sadness and his rage but he couldn’t see anything beyond that.  He looked back to the armor rack and placed his helmet on it before removing the rest and placing it on the rack. He looked at the complete set before turning and going over to one of the metal desks.  He picked up a few tools on his way over before placing his items on the table. He cleared a space for his work before placing an object at the center of everything.  The Bewitching Bell glowed brightly with power but it seemed off. It sparked with power but everytime it would be a different color.  Cyclone grabbed a tool before beginning his work on the bell. It let off a sick crackle as he worked on it. He was not detected however. He didn’t hesitate to continue working even as the Bell sparked violently.