Author's Note

neeeext
The plot thickens^^

Intrigues

Intrigues

Moon Shield waited patiently. It was nothing new to her. Royal Business always came first.

During that wait, several things shot through her head. What her Mistress did was wrong, but she had to obey. She had to obey and report everything, then strike once her Mistress deemed the moment right. Her personal feelings would have to come later, as always. She just hoped the youngest princess would forgive her one day.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long, Captain.”

“No, Princess. I have the information you wanted,” Moon Shield bowed.

“That is delightful to hear. I knew I could count on you,” Luna sighed before taking place in her throne. “My sister forbade me to take any action against Tempest Shadow, but I don’t trust her.” Hesitating, she added, “And Twilight is dear enough to me to warrant further investigation.”

“If you hold Twilight dear enough for this, why don’t you just ask her?”

“Watch your tongue,” Luna hissed, glaring at the mare in front of her. “Now tell me everything.”

“You are approaching this the wrong way, your Highness, but whatever,” Moon Shield mocked quietly. Then, louder, she added, “She is dangerous, that much is clear, but she will listen to everything Twilight says, that I’m sure of.”

“Keep your unneeded comments to yourself, Captain. Are you certain Twilight can control her?”

“Permission to speak freely.”

Luna hesitated, but rolled her eyes after a short moment. “Granted.”

“You are ignoring the facts and what your sister said, Luna!” Moon Shield glared at her, “You act solely from your heart, and it will bring you nothing but doom.”

“Noted. Something else?”

Moon Shield glared at her princess, Luna regarding her with a cold stare before the batpony bowed, quietly growling. “No, Mistress of the Night.”

Luna cocked an eyebrow at that. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“You said you have the information I wanted. I wanted to know how they stand to each other, how they both deal with daily situations. What you give me is an empty assurance,” Luna scolded.

“One that is accurate, my Lady,” Moon Shield replied. “As long as Tempest stays in Twilight’s care, there is nothing to fear.” ‘Despite the usual shenanigans from the Elements of Harmony,’ she added silently.

“Captain, don’t play with me.”

“And what do you think I should do? You ask something from me that gives us nothing but trouble! If Twilight finds out, you might lose her. If Tempest finds out, it could get bad. What do you think will happen if your sister finds out?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Right. And why should I risk my coat for something that isn’t my concern?”

“You are insufferable,” Luna groaned, facehoofing. “Give me the information I wanted, Captain. That is an order!”

“Since it is an order,” Moon Shield growled, “they are bucking. Seems like they have feelings for each other. Report ended. I’ll take my leave.”

Princess Luna could only stare in shock as the captain of her guard spread her wings and left, not sparing her a single glance.

Tempest groaned, annoyed as the first rays of sunlight made their way into Twilight’s tower, disturbing her sleep. Trying to turn around, she found herself restricted and cracked an eye open.

The curse she had in mind died as she took her situation in. Sometime during the night, Twilight had snuggled up close and had not only captured her with her forelegs, but hindlegs as well, leaving Tempest effectively trapped.

Sensing her chance for some mirth, she strained her neck until she reached Twilight’s ears and gently started to nibble on one.

The alicorn tried to escape her teeth, but couldn’t do so without removing her hooves which she refused to, even in her sleepy state. A few seconds into the assault, she cracked an eye open.

“Did anypony tell you that you’re the worst?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Several times, yes.”

“Good. Now tell me why you’ve awoken your princess.”

“You are pretty good at that when you try. But being my princess or not, you occupy most of my body at the moment. Not to say that it is uncomfortable or bad, but the sun is already up, Twilight.”

That brought her mind into gear as she hastily looked up, just to see bright sunshine lighting the windows. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

“I love watching you squirm?” Tempest answered with a smile.

Twilight groaned and plopped her head back down, earning another few nibbles from Tempest that made her squirm. “You are a bad influence.”

Tempest chuckled. “Always love to help my princess. Now get up, or you’ll fall asleep again.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Twilight sighed before slowly getting up. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“We will go to each crashed ship that is in range, destroying the magical communication pools so no one can call for reinforcements or inform the others about the death of the Storm King.”

“Don’t the pools get destroyed when the ships crash?” Twilight blinked.

“They are reinforced with magic and can survive such things, so it is better to check on them and be certain,” Tempest replied, while walking to the pile in the corner that was her armor.

Twilight watched for a few seconds as Tempest struggled with the light armor before she spoke up. “Is that really necessary? I changed the markings, but running around in armor won’t make everypony feel better about you.”

“And I don’t want to get hurt just because someone can’t reign himself in. Even the guards are doing more than just watching me closely, so I won’t take that risk.”

“Nopony would do that.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Twilight stayed silent at that, looking down at her hooves.

“While I don’t doubt your experience with friendship, you don’t have any experience with the world itself. Sometimes hate and mistrust can do bad things. Things you never expected from anyone.”

“What did they do to you to make you mistrust everypony so much?”

“I had to kill, betray, lie, and hurt others just to be safe. And I accepted it as my life,” Tempest answered. “Old habits die hard, Twilight. But I promise that I will do my best to change it.”

“That’s all I could ask from you,” Twilight hummed gently as she stepped closer and nuzzled the mare once she finished donning her armor. “And I have to admit, this armor really suits you. It’s... sexy,” she completed and looked down, a blush evident on her face.

Tempest sighed and leaned into the touch. “Thanks, Twilight. That means a lot coming from you, you know.”

A loud knock at the door made Tempest jump, quickly seeking distance from Twilight as the alicorn opened the door with a flick of her magic, only to nearly have a heart-attack as Celestia stepped in.

“Calm down, Twilight. I’m just here to talk,” Celestia chuckled. “I want to know what you two are planning now.”

“I can answer that, Princess,” Tempest spoke up, taking a step forwards. “Every ship of the Storm King is equipped with a powerful, magical communication pool. In the wrong hooves, they could lead to another invasion.”

“And what do you intend to do?”

“Our plan was to search every ship and destroy the pools forever.”

Celestia hummed. “I hope you remember your position, Tempest Shadow. While I have no doubt that you won’t disappoint my fellow princess, I warn you to not take anything from the ships without Twilight’s agreement.”

Tempest bowed her head at that. “I can promise that. The only things I want to acquire are my personal belongings from the command ship.”

“I… I have to inform you that it might be too late for that already,” Celestia sighed. “My sister destroyed everything she deemed dangerous on the ship last night and disintegrated half of it in the process. You are free to take a look, but I cannot guarantee that anything will be salvageable.”

“I have to try at least. Thank you for the information, Princess.”

“You are most welcome. I leave you to your mission then. My duties for Equestria, sadly, never lessen.”

As Celestia left, Tempest let out a strong huff of breath she didn’t even knew she was holding. A soft hoof on her shoulder relaxed her further.

“You did well,” Twilight smiled.

“Heh, I was pretty nervous but I think you noticed. I’m glad she doesn’t hold a grudge.”

“Celestia is always kind to everypony. Now let's go. If we want to check every ship today we need all the time we can get.”

“Hold it!”

Tempest growled as the two Royal Guards stopped her from entering the ship’s wreckage, two spears pointed at her.

“State your business.”

“I’m destroying the magical communication pools inside the ships, on orders from Princess Twilight,” Tempest replied.

“Likely story,” the left guard hissed, pushing her back. “Get lost before you can’t anymore!”

“Are you really, really threatening me? YOU?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Buck off!” the right guard added.

Tempest rubbed her temples, but stayed where she was. The result of it was a spearhead aimed for her legs, but she quickly dodged it. Stomping down on the spear, she ripped it from the guard holding it before clubbing him with his own spear down the head. As the other guard charged, she withdrew from him with a slight turn, just to buck her hindlegs in his chest, sending him crashing down.

She snorted as she looked at the two downed guards before worry started to build up. She shouldn’t have done that. Twilight wanted to join her as fast as possible after a letter held her up and she promised, she wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Downing two guards was more than trouble.

Gulping, she retreated backwards before bumping into an armored mass of pony.

“So, what do we have here,” Shining Armor spoke as he glared at her.

“They attacked first!” Tempest shouted, holding up a hoof in defence.

“And why would they attack you without provocation?”

“I wanted to get on the ship and destroy the magical communication pools like your sister ordered! They didn’t believe me and threatened me with their spears until they seemed to lose patience and attacked me!”

“I don’t believe you,” Shining Armor said. “You come with-”

“I believe her,” Twilight cut her off as she arrived. “And you should too, since you saw everything like I did!” she glared at her brother. “I can’t believe my own brother would use an excuse like this to imprison somepony!”

“Listen Twily, I can-”

Twilight cut him off once more. “I don’t want to hear it right now! Tempest? Let’s find that communication pool and destroy it so we can continue.”

Tempest bowed her head and followed Twilight inside, stepping over the two still-downed guards, leaving Shining with a blush of shame behind them.

“You are really lucky I was able to see everything,” Twilight sighed, once they were deep inside the ship. “Where is this communication pool?”

“We have to look for the airship registration, then I can tell you exactly.”

“Airship registration?” Twilight tilted her head.

Tempest chuckled as she began to explain. “Every airship produced by the Storm King’s shipyards has a registration number containing five numbers. The first two numbers tell what design it is, the third number tells you where it was built, the fourth number tells you its purpose and the last number, which regiment it belongs to.”

“Just how many of these things are there?”

“Well, we arrived in Equestria with twenty-five ships and left thirty behind, while another twenty were under construction.”

“So there might be fifty ships left that could attack anytime?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide. “We really have to talk to Princess Celestia again later.”

“There are a limited number of officers that can steer those ships. Without the Storm King, there won’t be any newly appointed captains, so the twenty new ships will lay dormant until they find a solution. That leaves us time to come up with a solution of our own, so heads up,” Tempest replied softly while she took the lead. “We have to go to the engine room for the number.”

“Are you really sure about that? It seems that anypony could fly an airship.”

“Not those apes, trust me,” Tempest chuckled.

It was a short and uninteresting walk until they reached the cramped engine room, most of the contents were destroyed in the crash landing. Still, the plate with a silver number on the wall was intact.

“Support ship class,” Tempest mumbled. “The communication pool is in the Captain’s quarters, but they are destroyed. I think that concludes this case here.”

“Please explain this number to me,” Twilight said before Tempest could turn.

“Well, thirty-one is the code for a support class ship. The four says that it was produced in Storm Harbour. The two indicates that it was used for supply transport. And the one here says it was one of the ships under my command.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome?” Tempest answered slowly. “We should get going. The next ship is my command ship. I hope Princess Luna left some pieces intact.”

They quickly learned that the pieces left weren’t much. The ship’s hull had multiple magical burns over it, which was itself impressive since it was resistant to magic. What was the most astonishing, however, was the giant hole in the side of the ship.

Tempest whistled softly. “Remind me to never get into a fight against Princess Luna. If she managed to overcome the resistance of the hull, I wonder what else she’s capable off?”

“Let’s see if there is anything left of your belongings, then we’ll take a look for the communication pool.”

They walked quietly into the belly of the ship and towards the deck that contained the hidden area leading to Tempest’s chambers. Most of the ship was a mess. Bits and pieces ripped out of it, mostly technology. Tempest had no idea what made the lunar princess think that a speaker for ship alarms would be dangerous.

“We are here,” Tempest sighed as they stood in front of the remains of what were her chambers just hours ago.

The hidden door was ripped out and the bed smashed into pieces, as well as most of the other objects. Sensing a bit of hope, the unicorn approached the small shelf, checking upon a small book lying on it. Despite some ashes and dust, it was still intact.

“What is it?” Twilight asked curiously, but Tempest quickly stuffed the book into her armor.

“Maybe I’ll tell you someday. I can promise you it’s nothing dangerous.”

Twilight only hesitated for a heartbeat. “I trust you. Is there anything else here?”

“Nothing of value to me, just a few books about the ships and the Storm King.”

“Do you mind if I take them?” Twilight asked. “We basically own no books that give us any information about those topics.”

“Feel free to grab whatever you want.”

Twilight smiled thankfully as she collected every single book in her magic, floating them alongside her and Tempest. “I love learning new things! And I’m sure I can find out a few interesting things from these!”

Tempest couldn’t help but laugh softly. After all, Twilight was still a bookworm. Even if, she had to admit, a cute one. “Let’s go see about the communication pool. It is on the main deck.”

Twilight practically jumped out of the room, books in tow. There was no doubt that she was happy to find new knowledge. Tempest was hot on her tail, following her through the ship’s hallway, up a set of stairs, and onto the main deck. She had no idea how Twilight knew how to reach the deck, but that thought was quickly wiped from her mind.

“Twilight, we have a problem.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked, looking up from the books in her magical grasp, just to gasp as she followed the unicorn’s gaze to the middle of the deck.

“It’s gone.”

Where once the magical communication pool had been stationed, there was nothing but a hole left.

Twilight just hummed. “Do you think Luna destroyed it?”

“No, or there would’ve been an explosion from the exposed energies of the pool. This pool was cut from the hull, stolen.” Tempest groaned and closed her eyes. “Why can’t this be easy for once?”

They would find out soon enough.