The Storm King Returns/A Call for Heroes
There was chaos everywhere. Canterlot lay in flames. Before Tempest Shadow stood the shattered, stony remains of the princesses, as well as Princess Twilight's friends, as well as Glitter Drops and Grubber. She could only look down in horror and sadness as the shattered head of Grubber's eyes stared back into her own. Just then, she felt a presence rise behind her.
"Hi, Tempest." growled an oh-so familiar voice.
Tempest knew who it was, but she slowly turned around, and was greeted with the sight of the Storm King, holding an obsidian orb in his three-clawed hand, his piercing blue eyes staring maniacally down at her.
"Consider this... payback!" he roared while laughing as he through the orb at her.
She could only stand frozen in place, both literally and metaphorically, as her body began to turn to obsidian. She looked up and saw him bring the Staff of Sacanas down toward her, a cry literally caught in her throat as he did. Just before she was fully petrified, she saw the silhouette of Princess Luna hovering above her.
"Tempest! You need to wake up!" Luna cried.
Tempest shot out of bed with a scream. Her body was drenched in sweat and her mane clung to her back. Her pupils were the size of pinpricks. She searched around the room for the Storm King and was relieved to not catch a glimpse of him. The dream felt so real to her it was frightening. It had only been six months after the tyrant's defeat and she still had nightmares of him returning. It was getting concerning.
Just then, she heard footsteps and hoofs against the floor. Her bedroom door swung open, revealing Glitter Drops and Grubber in the threshold with concerned looks on their faces.
"Tempetht!" Grubber exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
Tempest took a deep breath and put on her best fake smile she could muster.
"Don't worry, Grubber," she replied. "It was nothing."
"Really?" Glitter asked, "Because you screamed pretty loud there, Fizzy."
"It's just a bad dream, guys," Tempest groaned. "No more, no less. Though I might need to take a visit to Canterlot tomorrow. In the meantime..."
Tempest rolled over and wrapped her blanket over herself.
"Just get some sleep."
Grubber and Glitter exchanged glances but shrugged, Grubber riding on the unicorn's back as the two headed back to their bedrooms.
"Whaddya thuppothe Tempetht dreamed about?" he asked.
"I dunno, Grubs," Glitter replied. "By the sound of her scream, it must've been a doozy."
The next day, Tempest headed over to Canterlot in the airship she had commanded during the short-lived reign of the Storm King, though with the blue lightning bolt insignia replaced with, of all things, a cupcake with lightning blue icing (it was Grubber's idea that just got Pinkie Pie's support). Unlike before, her arrival was treated less with shock and confusion but more questioning on why the newest member of the Crystal Empire's border patrol was visiting Canterlot so... unannounced.
As the boarding door opened, Tempest stepped out, along with Glitter Drops and Grubber at her side, along with a few Storm Guards, this time wearing the same cupcake insignias. The Canterlot royal guards stepped out to greet the burgundy unicorn.
"I need an audience with Princesses Celestia and Luna," she told them. "Immediately."
"What's your reason, Tempest?" one of them asked.
Tempest just sighed. "Look, can you just tell them I need a meeting with them?"
"That doesn't answer our question."
Tempest groaned inwardly.
"It has to do with the Storm King's remains."
The guards exchanged a look before letting her through. With the way now clear, Tempest along with her entourage entered the halls of Canterlot Castle where they were greeted with the sight of not only Luna and Celestia, but also Princess Cadence, Prince Regent Shining Armor, Princess Twilight as well as her friends, and a very young alicorn filly who she recognized as Princess Flurry Heart currently playing with a stuffed snail doll. In addition she also noticed three hippogriffs of royal attire; Queen Novo and her daughter Princess Skystar as well as a grayish magenta hippogriff with a cerulean mane she didn't recognize.
"I apologize for my sudden arrival, your highnesses," Tempest explained with a quick bow. "But, I didn't have time to send a letter in that regard."
Just then, Pinkie dashed up and wrapped her right foreleg over her shoulders.
"Ah, no need to worry about that, Fizzy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm just glad to see you made it to the luncheon!"
"Luncheon?"
"Yepper doodle!" the pink mare replied. "Oh, by the way, I want you to meet Queen Novo's niece and current student at the School of Friendship; Silverstream!"
Silverstream's head popped up at the mention of her name and her eyes hardened. She flew over to Tempest with a frown.
"Hey, wait a minute," the young hippogriff said. "I think I recognize you. Didn't you help the Storm King overtake Mt. Aris?"
She actually remembers that? Tempest thought in both shock and sadness.
"Ummm, yes...?" Tempest replied with a sheepish grin. "But, I also helped overthrow him too. In fact, I'm responsible for his demise."
Silverstream narrowed her eyes. Tempest began to feel uncomfortable with the eyes of the Princesses, the Hippogriff royal family and the rest of Twilight's friends falling upon her. She felt like she was being pinned down by an invisible compress.
"Well..." Silverstream stared before gaining a more cheerful disposition, shook her hoof, and began to speak in a manner that made Pinkie's rapid-fire speech patterns sound slow. "Okay! Justsoyaknowthat'sjustwaterunderthebridge! Bythewaythatwasjustmetestingyoutoseeifyou'reasreformedasPinkieorHeadmistressTwilightsayyouhaveandyoupassed! I'mreallygladwegottomeetfacetofacebythewayIthinkyoushouldvisitMountArissometimeespeciallywiththerenovationsand-"
Tempest put her hoof on the young hippogriff's beak and gave her a polite smile. "I appreciate the invitation... or at least what I could make out," she told her. "But I need to speak with the Princesses about something."
"What would that be?" Celestia spoke up first.
"I've been having recurring nightmares," Tempest replied. "About the Storm KIng coming back."
"The Storm King?" Rainbow Dash blurted out. "Last time we check, the dude was just a statue in the Canterlot Gardens on Discord's former stand. Why would ya need to worry about him?"
Twilight flashed Rainbow Dash an accusatory glance.
"Well, obviously she wouldn't be here if it didn't worry her." the lavender alicorn explained.
"Personally, I don't blame you for worrying about that ruffian," Rarity proclaimed. "Considering how he nearly took over the world and sent armies after us, who wouldn't worry about him?"
"Yeah," Fluttershy's soft voice rang out. "He was mean."
"Mean?" Applejack asked. "Naw, I've seen 'mean', darlin'. That guy was utterly and undeniably beyond mean. Why, if'n there were a word to describe th' Storm King it'd be-"
"A tyrant?" Queen Novo interjected.
"A blowhard?" spoke up Cadence.
"The kind of person who you don't want to meet in a dark alley, but you do anyway and he just has this really punchable face that you want to ram your fist into over and over and over and over again until he runs home crying for his mama?" asked Skystar, earning Novo's heir several raised eyebrows from the ponies (plus hippogriffs and dragon).
"What?" she asked innocently. "I'm still sore over what he did to Mount Aris."
"Errr, yeah," Spike replied, a bit concerned over just how... specific the normally bubbly hippogriff princess was in her description. "That."
Luna nodded. "I understand completely where Tempest is coming from since I saw her latest dream about him."
Tempest was still meaning to talk to the Princess of the Night about going into other ponies' dreams, but she didn't feel like bringing it up.
"But, maybe it's all it is, Princess Luna," Twilight explained. "A dream. No more no less."
"Not true, Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied. "Sometimes dreams can be... precognitive in their own way."
Unbeknowest to the ponies, in Canterlot Gardens, three figures were sneaking about. One of them was hulking with a white mane braided together into a rudimentary beard. He was stocky and looked very similar to the Storm King, if not a bit huskier and rounder. At his side were two Storm Elite, each clad in their own ornate armor plating and sporting a silver streak between the emblem of their king.
"It has to be around here somewhere," the leader whispered to the Storm Creatures. "But where. Where?"
Just then, he bumped into an obsidian statue standing on a dais. It sported the visage of an all too familiar satyr with eyes wide in shock. He appeared to be haphazardly glued together given the cracks could still be seen between the pieces.
The lead Storm Creature's lip curled into a grin. This was exactly what, or rather, who he was looking for.
"My King."
He gestured to the Storm Creatures which handed him what looked like an obsidian orb, but with a blue crystal instead of a green one. He placed the orb next to the dais and stomped on it, releasing a plume of cerulean smoke.
"Your reign begins... again."
The Storm Creatures watched as the obsidian statue began to gain color. The black obsidian turned into grayish blue fur which traveled up the frozen form until it came to the head with a phthalo gray-blue face. His horns were black with veins of blue within them. Finally, a pair of piercing opal-blue eyes snapped open. The Storm King was reborn!
"I'm free." he whispered as he gazed upon his now flesh-and-blood hands. "I'm FREE!"
He tossed his head back and let out a booming laugh.
"THE STORM KING IS BACK BA-ow."
The Storm King suddenly felt a jolt of pain throughout his entire body. It was if someone had replaced his blood with shards of glass and set them on fire.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-OW! OW! OOOOW! OOOOOW!!! Good grief this hurts! Wait, why does this hurt!?"
"Oh, yes," the lead Storm Creature spoke up. "I forgot to tell you that the de-petrification process without the Staff of Sacanas is incredibly painful."
"Oh, gee," the Storm King rolled his eyes... which also hurt like heck. "Ya... think? By the way... who are you again? You look kinda familiar."
"I'm Klavis, my liege." the Storm Creature replied. "General Klavis to be precise."
The Storm King began to ponder on where he had heard that name. It seemed familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. Granted, the post de-petrification cramps didn't help, even if they were starting to fade.
"Klavis..." he muttered, "Klavis... Hmmmm."
"I was stationed to overlook the Canterlot occupation while Tempest went hunting for the last Alicorn, sire?"
"Doesn't ring a bell."
That certainly hurt Klavis emotionally that his own king didn't recognize him.
"We met during a pizza party, sire?"
The Storm King's eyes widened. "Ooooh! I thought you looked familiar. Glad to know you're still around. Now that we have the element of surprise, we can retake this city, and this time, I'll make sure those ponies are locked away in a cold, dark dungeon where I never have to look at their stupid, cute faces ever again!"
"Ummm, about that, sire," Klavis told him with a nervous laugh. "We only have about a hundred soldiers still loyal to you. A hundred and twelve to be exact."
"What." the Storm King looked at Klavis as if he had grown a second and third head.
"Yeeeah," Klavis continued. "It turns out most of our forces either surrendered, retired, or switched sides with the ponies following your defeat. We're all that's left of your army. If we attack them now, we'd be severely outnumbered."
The Storm King shrugged. "Eh, no worries, a few good obsidian orbs and we won't have to worry about numbers. Not with a bunch of equine birdbaths, anyway."
Klavis let out a nervous sound. "Sire, you left Tempest in charge of the orbs. She took them all when she defected."
The Storm King growled at the mention of his former lieutenant's name.
"Oh, I'll be sure to deal with that traitor one way or another." he growled.
"But," Klavis asked confused. "Didn't you betray her?"
The Storm King waved it off, his pain now fading away faster with each movement he made.
"Eh, details, details," he replied. "Just so long as we have the Staff of Sacanai... Sacanhak? Sacranos? Sacramento...? The Staff, we can just steal the magic from the princesses and I can be a walking army once more!"
Klavis let out a nervous laugh. "Ummm, sire... About the Staff..."
(French Narrator: One nervous explanation later...)
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE STAFF-?" The Storm King exploded only to be shushed by his general, who pointed toward the window with the ponies talking with each other.
"What do you mean the staff's somewhere else!?" he whisper-shouted.
"I mean the Staff is somewhere else, my liege," Klavis explained. "We searched the purple alicorn's castle for it but we came up short. We have no idea where they put it or if they destroyed it. I'm sorry, my king, but I speak the truth. The staff is nowhere to be found."
The Storm King groaned as he paced around the garden, his pain now gone. This was just great; first his army was diminished to a few loyalists, then he was without a weapon that could ensure him victory, and now the thing that would've ensured his complete and utter dominance was nowhere to be seen and quite possibly destroyed. How could he be a conqueror if he didn't have the means or resources to conquer anything!?
"Okay, okay, we can still find a way around this," he sighed. "For the moment, we need to lay low and plan our next move."
With that, the Storm King, Klavis, and the Storm Elite snuck out of Canterlot Gardens and into the woods beyond, just as Twilight and her friends along with the Princesses were leading Tempest to the location.
"Tempest, you really shouldn't worry," Twilight told the chipped-horned unicorn. "We got the Storm King's statute under lock and key."
"I just want clarification, Twilight." Tempest replied. She was already feeling anxiety over seeing her former king's petrified form.
"It's right he-heee-heee-heee-heee-heeeee-heeeee-heee-HEEERE!?" Twilight stopped in shock at the sight of the Storm King's statue... or rather the lack of it.
"Bu-bu-but," Twilight stammered as she walked over to the empty dais. "It was right here. It was here this morning. It couldn't have just... walked off! He couldn't have just w-walked off. Where is he? Where is the Storm King!?"
"Maybe they moved it?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly hopeful.
"Fluttershy," Applejack deadpanned. "Ya don't just move a statue fer the sake a-movin' it. Ya have ta have a reason ta move it."
"Yeah," interjected Rainbow Dash. "Besides, don't you think somepony woulda told the Princesses they were moving the statue of the tyrant who nearly conquered Equestria in a day?"
"We could just ask them," Rarity suggested before turning to Luna and Celestia. "Did you-"
The Princesses' response was blunt and simultaneous. "No."
Just then Spike noticed something on the dais. It was blue and stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Hey, guys," he said. "Has that always been there?"
The ponies' attention was turned to what Spike was talking about. Grubber stepped up and rubbed the residue. When he realized what it was, his already wide eyes got wider.
"Oh," he spoke, uncharacteristically darkly. "Thith ain't good, guyth. Thith is the rethidue of a thapphire orb!"
"A what?" Spike asked.
"It wath developed fairly lately into the Thtorm King'th reign. They were dethigned to counteract the effectth of the obthidian orbth."
"Why would anyone create those?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Kinda defeats the purpose of having a super weapon that can freeze ya in your tracks."
"Inthurance purpothes mothly." Grubber replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Y'know, get 'em frozen, then uthe one 'a thethe and get 'em ta thpill the beanth or proclaim their loyalty to you tho they won't get a face full of obthidan again."
"I thought you were gonna talk about those." Spike gestured to four sets of footprints leading away from the dais.
"The Storm King is free." Twilight spoke in an emotionless tone which belied her shocked face. "Th-The Storm King is... free."
She chuckled anxiously as a humorless grin started to appear on her face while her eye twitched. "The... The STORM KING... Is... Free. Heh heh heh, heh-heh. Heh."
"You're taking this better than usual, Twilight." Pinkie spoke up.
That proved to be the tipping point as Twilight's wings flared up and her voice rose to an enormous high.
"OH SWEET HORSEFEATHERS ON THE WINGS OF FAUST HERSELF, THE STORM KING IS FREE!!!!"
Twilight's outburst caused her friends to jump, even Celestia and Luna flinched at the lavender alicorn's outburst.
"This is bad, this is very, very, very bad! Who knows what kind of damage the Storm King can do now that he's free!? But, we can cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. Oh, WHO am I KIDDING!? This bridge has already been crossed and danced on at this point! But, right now, the best thing we can do is remain calm and hope it doesn't escalate!"
She then whipped around to face her friends, a manic expression on her face.
"CALM, EVERYPONY! WHY AREN'T YOU ALL BEING CALM!? THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO PANIC!!!!"
*Smack*
At that point, Pinkie had walked up to the spiraling Element of Magic and smacked her face with her hoof.
"Feeling better?" she asked.
"I guess," Twilight replied. In fact she sounded better... for about two seconds. "BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T CHANGE HOW THE STORM KING IS GOING TO WIPE THE FLOOR WITH US IF WE DON'T STOP HIM-!"
*Smack x2*
Pinkie once again hit her panicking friend.
"Okay, okay." Twilight paused to catch her breath. She then noticed Pinkie about to smack her again but caught her hoof with her telekinesis.
"Umm, that's okay, Pinkie," she told the Element of Laughter sheepishly. "I'm all better now."
"That still doesn't change our situation," Tempest spoke up. "The Storm King is out there and possibly with loyalists. We need a plan to stop him and now."
"Eh, why should we be worried?" Rainbow Dash asked arrogantly. "We beat him before, and we can beat him again. He doesn't have the Staff of Sacrat-"
"Sacanas," Luna corrected.
"Yeah, thanks, Princess," Rainbow muttered before continuing. "He doesn't have any obsidian orbs, so good luck trying to petrify any of us. And he's only got, maybe, what? A hoof-full of loyalists with him? What's there to be afraid of?"
Tempest cast Rainbow Dash a dangerous glare and marched up to her until their muzzles were touching.
"What's there to be afraid of, Rainbow Dash?" she asked in a deathly calm voice. "What's. There. To. Be. Afraid. Of? You'd be surprised. Yes, you beat him before, but that was because of one lucky shot and him getting caught up in petrification mist. I'd however, like to point out that the Storm King, oafish that he may be, is still a conqueror with several victories under his belt, even without the Staff of Sacanas. He also possesses a strategic mind unlike anything you've ever comprehended. The only reason you beat him the last time was because of sheer. Dumb. Luck. So, my advice to you, Dashie?"
She got up so close that her muzzle was now pressing up against Rainbow Dash's.
"Underestimate him at your own peril."
"Okay, okay," Rainbow Dash replied. "Point taken."
"So, what do we do?" Spike asked.
"I can ask Novo to send the Hippogriffs on patrol around the borders." Celestia volunteered.
"But what about a direct confrontation?" Twilight inquired. "Because, if he does get his hands on a fully-charged Staff of Sacanas, we're in big trouble. And considering Sunset and her otherworld friends already filled it up with his own runaway magic, he can just skip the middle stallion and simply fry us without needing to absorb our magic."
"It'd be worse if he finds out what it can also be used for." Luna spoke in a dark tone.
That made the ponies pause in fright. There was something else the Staff could be used for?
"Forgive me asking this, Princess," Rarity gulped. "But, what can it also be used for."
"It can be used to awaken the most ferocious beast in all of Equestria," Luna replied. "The Great Stormbringer."
Fluttershy squeaked up, "Wh-what's a Gr-Great St-St-Stormbringer?"
"A dragon who could summon storms with the mere waving of her talons, the flapping of her wings, the whip of her tail, or the sound of her roar." Luna answered.
"Oh, so, it'd just be the Staff of Sacanas," Twilight asked. "Except, instead of a staff, it's a dragon?"
"No." Celestia replied. "The Great Stormbringer could summon storms that could swallow entire continents, even the world if left unchecked. That is why, all those years ago, Luna, King Scorpan, the Pillars, and I sealed her away in a stone tomb and cast her into a deep slumber. The Staff was created to keep her asleep and given to Scorpan to keep her in check until the end of his days when it would've been passed to his heir or anyone else willing to take the throne of King Vendak. However, the Staff was stolen from his tomb-"
"By the Storm King." Tempest finished gravely. "If he finds out what that's used for..."
"We can kiss Equestria goodbye." Rainbow Dash realized, her wings drooping to her side and eyes widening in horror.
"Not just Equestria," Twilight spoke softly. "The entire world. Girls, I-I don't think we'd be enough. We're gonna need outside help. I don't just mean the Dragons, or the Griffons, or the Hippogriffs, or the Changelings, or the Yaks, or, even, and I can't believe I'm saying this, not even Discord."
The moment Twilight said that name, a swirling, pink and purple tornado materialized in the garden center. The tornado spun towards Twilight at a frightening speed... only to stop. Then, with the sound of a party horn, multi-colored confetti launched out of the tornado into her face as a voice could be heard.
"DID SOMEPONY SAY MY NAME!?"
The tornado dissipated and transformed into the familiar form of the Draconequus who was clad in a multi-colored tuxedo that would make Rarity faint on just how... unsightly it looked.
"I'm so sorry for being so late to the luncheon," Discord apologized. "I had to save the people of the Ninth Dimension from a giant monkey man."
He then scowled and pulled up a t-shirt with a picture of the same disappointed face. "Kinda wish I didn't because they only gave me a t-shirt for my troubles. Last time I stick out my neck for another dimension other than this one if they can't give me a reward better than this."
He tossed the shirt at Rarity's face.
"Here, Rarity," he told the white unicorn. "You can give that to Opal as a scratching post."
"Hey, Discord," Fluttershy spoke up. "We kind of need your help here."
"Oh, anything for you, dear Fluttershy," Discord told her sweetly. "Do you need me to help with Harry's irritable bowels again?"
"Ummm, no."
"Does Angel need a playdate? Of course, that means turning Quincy into a biped and you know how much he hates that."
"No."
"It doesn't involve saving the people of the Eighth Dimension from the LITTLE Monkey Man, right?"
"Goodness, no."
"Well, what is it?"
"Well, for one thing, it's not animal-related."
Discord raised his smaller eyebrow.
"Well, what is the problem you need me to help with?"
"It involves the Storm King." Fluttershy answered.
"The Storm King?" Discord asked before realizing who she was talking about, "Oh, do you mean that satyr who tried to conquer all of Equestria and put so much stress on Twilight it nearly destroyed her friendship and got her into a nasty verbal fight with Pinkie Pie?"
The moment Discord mentioned that, Pinkie and Twilight exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other, both remembering how painful that spat was.
"Ummm, yes?" Fluttershy replied.
"Hey, wait a minute," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "How did YOU know that happened? You weren't even there!"
"Oh, my dear Rainbow Dash," Discord said as he coiled around her. "You forget; I am the spirit of Chaos."
He then teleported into a meditative pose with a turban on his head and a third eye on his forehead, his eagle talons and lion claws pinched together.
"I AM OMNIPOTENT!!!!" he spoke in a booming, multi-layered voice that made the Canterlot Voice seem tame by comparison.
He then teleported again, this time without his tuxedo or his turban.
"So, what do you need help with?"
"We need heroes from somewhere else who can help us."
Discord nodded.
"Ah, yes, a search for heroes," Discord said. "Well, let's see what the ol' multiverse can offer us."
With that, Discord snapped his fingers and a bluish hole appeared, with what looked like TV static in the center.
"Now, let's see what we can see," he announced pulling out a remote control.
He began surfing through the "channels" to find a universe from which they could bring heroes from. The first was a universe where the ponies looked like characters from a Rubberhose cartoon.
"Nope." Discord said.
He flipped the channel to a universe where the ponies looked like something out of an anime.
"Cute, but, not what we're looking for." Discord commented.
The next was a channel where the ponies looked like gritty 90's characters in a post-apocalyptic Equestria.
"Definitely not. We're trying to keep this story somewhat child-friendly!"
Afterwards, Discord started flipping through channels at a vigorous rate. Just then, the ponies saw images of what looked like heroes that weren't from Equestria.
"Hey, wait," Pinkie spoke up, "I think I saw something."
"Hold on, let me circle back." Discord replied as he started going back, not letting up on the speed. "Just tell me when to stop."
The ponies watched as Discord cycled back to where they had seen the images until they saw them again and shouted at him to stop. When he did, they watched the images play out before them. What they saw left them awestruck. There were five figures, each unique to each other; a muscular, pink starfish summoning clouds of ice cream with the power of his mind, a chiseled teal octopus using a clarinet to produce sonic booms, a... squirrel wearing a bowl over her head doing battle with a giant worm, a crab fighting off a legion of ghosts armed with nothing more than a wet mop, and finally, a yellow, square-shaped sponge striking a heroic pose with a spatula like a sword.
Were these the heroes Equestria needed? Well, there could've been worse options. And, frankly, they were desperate.
"Luna," Celestia told her sister. "Go to the vaults and retrieve... it."
Luna nodded and teleported away. Five seconds later, she teleported back, a large, multi-colored gem in her telekinetic hold.
"Princess," Twilight asked. "What is that?"
"This is the Summoner Opal." Celestia replied. "It will allow our friends from that universe to come into our world. We simply need to send it there and have them touch it."
She turned her attention to Discord.
"Do what needs to be done." she told him.
Discord snapped his fingers and he was now wearing a golfer's attire. He placed his club next to the Opal and lined up the shot.
"OPAL IN THE HOLE!" he shouted and he launched the Summoner Opal into the portal which closed behind it.
"Now what?" Applejack asked.
"Now?" Celestia replied. "Now we wait for our new friends to find it before it's too late."
And so, the ponies could only hope the Opal arrived in its location...
Bikini Bottom.