The slow *drip* *drip* of water droplets falling from the ceiling and splashing onto the ground below echoed through the Canterlot dungeons. Cold air filled the halls, bringing a slight chill to the pair of burly pegasi guards as the walked their rounds, a lantern held in the magical aura of the only unicorn between them.

"I still say they should've focused on rebuilding The Rock underground before these dungeons. We could have her chained up down there if they'd done that. That'd make us all a lot safer." The unicorn muttered, shaking her head.

"They said it was more important to get this place up and running since most criminals are either not that bad, or go straight to Tartarus. Besides, they still want to question her. Two weeks of interrogation and she hasn't said a peep. Mare might be tougher than Captain Valorant." The other guard replied.

As they walked, the jingle of the keys on the earth pony guard's armor alerted a mouse nearby, making it scitter off before the duo could round the corner and see it. The darkness of the next hallway was illuminated in deep orange light by the lantern, casting long, eerie shadows that climbed the walls around them.

"I'm just saying, Swan and troop she has down there could've get a confession out of her in no time." The unicorn shrugged.

"It's too bad they're talking about not even rebuilding down there at all. It's a bit of a strain on resources, but mare, if you need somewhere to store criminals like this one, it's the best place short of Tartarus." The pegasus replied.

"They still think they can negotiate with her. I admire the prince and princess's optimism, but I do not share it."

They rounded yet another corner, coming to a hallway that ended abruptly just a few dozen paces away. There was a single cell at the end of the hall, its iron bars standing out against the cobblestone making up everything else in the dungeon.

"I'll just be glad once they're done with her and we can move her out of here. This place gives me the creeps." The earth pony shuddered.

The guards made their way down the last bit of hallway until arriving at the cell. As they stared inside, the unicorn lifted the lantern slightly, allowing more light to spill into the otherwise dark room before them. Piece by piece of the dark room revealed itself to them, starting with the simple metal sink just by the door. The glistening sheen of shiny metal reflected the orange light back at the guards, illuminating their snow white fur and cobalt blue manes in their golden armor. They saw a small tray of food laying on the floor, only half of its contents eaten from the last time they were down in this cell. Finally, as their eyes drew further up, they saw a mulberry coat, belonging to none other than Tempest Shadow.

The fearsome mare was curled up on her mattress, her back facing to the pair of guards. With her armor and black bodysuit removed, they could easily see a pair of three distinct scars running across her back, as if some monster had swiped at her and cleaved several chunks of flesh off. The sight made the pegasus guard somewhat queasy, but she shook the feeling off and tapped at the iron bar before her. The distinct sound of her iron horseshoe against more iron rang out in the dim and nearly silent dungeon. Even if Tempest was completely asleep when they arrived, there was no way she was now.

"Prisoner, you're being brought up to the interrogation room once more." The earth pony guard announced in her most stoic and authoritative voice.

No response. The pair of mares shared a brief but telling look as they felt an uncomfortable silence linger in the air. After nearly twenty seconds, the unicorn cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Prisoner. Get up. You're due for interrogation immediately." She announced, her voice significantly louder than her compatriot.

Again, no response for nearly ten seconds. However, just as the earth pony mare moved to speak again, they both saw movement. Albeit slowly and sluggishly, Tempest moved from her position on the bed. The briefest flash of turquoise glimpsed them as Tempest spared them barely a glance. A loud *clop* echoed through the otherwise silence cell as Tempest planted one hoof on the floor, then another, and another. She stepped off of her bed and into the lanternlight, a deep scowl seemingly permanently embedded into her features as she observed the two guards before her.

"Approach the door." The earth pony ordered.

Tempest complied without complaint, stepping up to the door and placing her hooves through the rectangular opening they usually slipped her meals in through. The clinking of chains could be heard as the unicorn guard levitated a set of shackles from her uniform and clamped them onto both of her hooves. As she slipped her forelegs back into her cell, the added weight of the metal chains added noticeable heft to her limbs, but she said nothing as her door was unlocked and opened.

"Step outside." The Earth pony ordered again.

Tempest complied and stepped between them. As the earth pony set about adding an additional set of shackled to her hindlegs, making it all but impossible for her to fight them or escape, it became incredibly obvious that she absolutely towered over either of these mares. The unicorn's horn just barely came up to her eyeline, while the earth pony's ears failed to even reach her jawline. All the same, Tempest found herself utterly at their mercy as her shackles were connected to each other, making it impossible for her to even take a decent stride without tripping over herself.

"Alright. Let's get you up to the interrogation chamber." The unicorn instructed, nodding in the direction of the way they'd approached.

So began the arduous task of shuffling the bonded prisoner back the way they'd came. The quiet dripping of the water droplets falling from the ceiling was now accompanied by the scraping, clanking sounds of metal chains rubbing against one another and the cobblestone floor. It took quite some time for the environment to change around them. The walk was long and the stairs were even more challenging for Tempest to navigate than the hallways, but even with her extremely reduced mobility, she pressed on. It was apparent to both guards that she was quite familiar with the route, having travelled the same path many times already.

Finally, they reached the level of the castle they were heading to, and after just a few more twists and turns, the guards opened the plain, seemingly harmless wooden door. Tempest braced herself for what was to come, her brow furrowing deeply as the door creaked and groaned from it's own weight and the rust slowly developing in its hinges.

"Step inside." The unicorn ordered.

Steeling herself for the inevitable, Tempest shuffled her way inside, the darkness of the room blinding her to whatever was awaiting her. The only light she could see spilled in from the lantern held outside by the unicorn guard, but that was quickly cut off as the door shut behind her, plunging her into complete darkness once more. She waited, patiently glancing back and forth in the darkness as the sound of hoofsteps grew louder and louder somewhere else in the room.

Then, suddenly, a violet light came to life across the room. Just beneath it, was a face she recognized from just a couple weeks prior. Before she could say anything, however, a series of candles suddenly illuminated in a straight row before her, illuminating a table and a completely unreasonable amount of delicious food. Every meal she could ever imagine was laid out before her, from daffodil sandwiches to tomato soup, and carrot dogs to hayburgers. A smorgasbord of sweets and desserts was built up on a cart just beside the table, along with a butler pony standing patiently beside the delicious looking treats.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Tempest saw more and more faces. All around the room, there were thestrals, poised and ready in case she tried anything, as well as several changelings all adorned in a similar set of armor that she recalled seeing Chrysalis in when she was captured. Lastly, but certainly not least, Tempest found her eyes pulled to the large and beautiful form of Celestia herself, sitting at the table and offering her a patient smile.

"Tempest, dear. Good morning. What would you like for breakfast?" She asked, sweetly.

Dark thunderclouds covered the sky as the clap of lightning echoed through the air, sending a wave of reverberations through the remains of the Storm King's fleet. Flashes of light briefly illuminated the few airships left as rain pelted the frames of the wooden and steel ships huddled against the cold mountaintop. Several yetis walked through their makeshift camp, all of them huddling together for warmth as they battled the chill of the elements they were exposed to. Though, none of them dared walk to the one single fire in camp.

Any yetis unfortunate to be close to the single fire inside the lone cave that they were using for shelter, found themselves cringing in fear as the wrathful voice of the Storm King cried out in fury.

"THE ENTIRE FLEET!? SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VANGUARD! THE TIP OF MY SPEAR TO PLUNGE INTO THE HEART OF EQUESTRIA! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO GIVE ME THEIR MAGIC!!!" He snarled, his voice grating on the ears like nails on a chalkboard.

Standing just before him, a cupcake still held in his paw and half eaten, was Grubber.

"Well, they kinda ambushed us and took her prisoner. There was just no way we coulda seen them comin'." He explained, before hastily popping the rest of the cupcake into his mouth.

"Then how did you escape?" The Storm King growled, rising to his full height.

"They wanted me to deliver a message. Said to tell you that Equestria isn't the place it used to be, and if you know what's good for you, you'll leave them alone... otherwise next time, you'll lose a lot more than a few airships." Grubber recanted, getting increasingly nervous as the Storm King rose to his full height, absolutely towering over him.

"And they gave you a little parting gift... how quaint." The Storm King replied, now towering over the diminutive form of Grubber.

"U-Uh... t-t-they uh, forced me! Y-yeah! They made me eat the cupcakes... uh, trying to poison me with sugar!" Grubber hastily replied, shrinking in on his already miniscule size.

The Storm King gave him a fanged smirk, "Oh, how creative of them. Not to worry. I have the cure for such ailments." He said, sweetly.

Grubber stared blankly at the Storm King as the large, imposing yeti king slowly leaned down to his eye level. He nervously gulped as he stared into the icy blue eyes of the largest yeti he'd ever seen.

"What you're going to do, is run. You're going to run as fast and far away from this mountain as you can, and pray that I don't catch you, because if I do..." He menacingly trailed off, leaning ever closer, "I'm going to rip you apart piece by piece and eat your entrails until I taste some of that sugar myself."

Grubber stared blankly at the Storm King his entire body stock still with fear as he struggled to comprehend the severity of the threat.

"You'd better get going. I'm only giving you a five minute head start."

Suddenly snapped from his frozen state by the impending doom he'd been informed of, Grubber quickly turned tail and ran as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. He darted out of the cave, bolting past a pair of guards and any unassuming storm soldiers standing post outside. Said guards watched him run down the mountainside, slowly disappearing from sight in the cold wind and rain.

The sound of armored paws walking up behind them made the guards stand at attention.

"I want one of you to bring me back his head. Go. Now." The Storm King ordered, receiving a snappy salute in response.

One of the soldiers quickly galloped off, chasing down the chubby hedgehog and disappearing into the rain. With a snarl, the Storm King turned back around and headed back into his cave. He walked along the cave wall beside his fireplace, the cold stone feeling in stark contrast to the warmth of the burning fire just beside him. Though the fire was comforting, he couldn't quell the rage burning in his chest, and with a feral growl, he slammed his fist into the stone wall so hard that a spiderweb of cracks appeared around it.

Hot mist poured from the Storm Kings nostrils as he slowly breathed, his teeth grit in fury. He clenched his paws as the rage threatened to overtake him again, but a sudden sound caught his attention. At first, it was faint, too faint to make out, but as it persisted, the sound became clearer and clearer. Soon enough, he was sure of it; laughter. Though it wasn't joyous or mirthful, it was scornful, and villainous. The sound made him even more furious.

As if the sudden onset of mysterious laughter wasn't enough, the fact that it appeared to emanate from everywhere around him, made the Storm King even more enraged. He glanced back and forth, his fists clenched and ready to pounce, yet just as suddenly as it started, the laughter ceased.

"Apologies, but that was too entertaining." A voice suddenly spoke out, making the Storm King whip his head around to search for the source.

"Where are you!?" The Storm King shouted, whirling around to look for the illusive source of the voice.

"Oh, of course. Where are my manners. Allow me to slip into something more... visible." The voice replied.

The shadows around the Storm King appeared to suddenly shift and slip off the walls themselves. The massive yeti leapt back toward the fire, startled by the sudden movement all around him. Black ooze bled from the walls, forming a puddle of darkness that coalesced into the shape of a pony. Slowly, the form materialized and turned from jet black to a more recognizable color. Dark gray made up the coat of the stallion forming before the Storm King, followed by a blood red cloak that appeared to be made out of thick fur. What animal it could have come from, he couldn't say, but the yeti's attention was pulled to pony's head and face forming just in front of him. Blood red irises stared back at him, nothing but malice and amusement in those pools of red.

Finally, the horn of the dark unicorn materialized, standing out as red as the cloak he wore over his barrel. The Storm King furrowed his brow as he stared at the fanged smirk of the pony now fully formed before him. Said pony held his gaze for just a moment before holding up a foreleg to block the light from the fire from his eyes.

"Would you mind?" He asked, nodding toward the fire.

Wary of the whole situation, but curious enough to hear what this strange pony had to say, the Storm King stepped slightly to the side, allowing his shadow to cast over the dark unicorn before him.

"Ah, much better. Thank you." He politely replied, bowing his head ever so slightly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The Storm King questioned, his tone leaving no doubt that he was in no mood for small talk.

"Straight to the point, I see. Very well, let's get introductions out of the way. I'm well aware of who you are, but I doubt you've heard of me. My name is King Sombra. I hail from the Crystal Empire, north of Equestria. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sombra greeted.

"King Sombra... what do you want?" The Storm King questioned, noticeably tensing at the mention of Equestria.

"Relax my friend, relax. I'm not with those pathetic Equestrian ponies. I'm a stallion who sees an opportunity that will benefit us both quite handsomely, and I want to offer you the chance to have everything you've ever wanted." Sombra replied, offering a fanged smirk.

"What in blazes makes you think I need your help?" The Storm King rebutted, crossing his arms.

Sombra gave him a deadpan stare, "Need I remind you of the report your little imp just gave you? Seventeen ships lost, all crew captured and your commander being held prisoner by the very ponies she was supposed to turn to stone and deliver to you?"

The Storm King growled, "Just how long have you been following us? Was it you that tipped them off!?" He snarled, taking a threatening step toward Sombra.

Sombra rolled his eyes, "Oh please, as if I'd ever help the Equestrians. I've been watching you for a very long time. You see, I see all things from the shadows. I've watched the world grow and change ever since I was defeated several years ago... the ponies think me gone, reduced to ashes... oh how wrong they are." He replied, slowly pacing back and forth in the Storm King's shadow.

"You were defeated by these sniveling ponies and somehow you think I need your help?" The Storm King scoffed.

Sombra turned to him, a brief snarl forming on his muzzle, "Yes, because you're making such excellent progress all by yourself." He sneered.

The Storm King swung at him without warning, his clawed paw arcing through the air and straight into Sombra's throat. Much to the Storm King's surprise, however, it had absolutely no effect and simply phased right through the stallion's body as if it weren't there at all.

Sombra simply gave him an unamused stare, "Are you quite finished?"

"How? What in the world even are you?" The Storm King questioned, his brow furrowing as he checked his claw.

Swift as the swipe was, there was something distinctly off about his paw phasing through the stallion before him. There was a distinct wrongness to it, as if it simply shouldn't have been possible, but the feeling that sent a wave of chills down his spine was the coldness he felt as his digits passed through. It was as if his paw was touching death itself. The thought made him even more wary of the being standing just in front o him.

"As I said, I should be dead. Umbrum don't handle that much magical light from the crystal heart itself well... yet here I stand. A creature not of flesh but of shadows. They thought me gone, and yet... I remain. I'm offering you a chance at greatness and if you simply listen, I think you'll find that it's a proposition that's more than worth your time." Sombra replied, staring down at his own hoof.

The Storm King appeared to ponder his words for some time. With his brow furrowed in thought, he turned around and walked back to the fire. He stared into the blazing flames for some time before turning back around and fixing Sombra with a hard look.

"What exactly are you offering me?" He questioned.

"A partnership." Sombra replied, his smirk growing back onto his face.

"And what exactly am I to gain from this 'partnership'?" The Storm King shot back.

"Isn't it obvious? Equestria. The combined magical might of all four royal alicorns. Perhaps even the changeling Queen." Sombra grinned.

"What is a changeling?" The Storm King questioned, bluntly.

Sombra raised an eyebrow, "You mean you don't know?"

The Storm King leveled a glare at the stallion, "If I did, why would I be asking?" He rebutted.

The Storm King chuckled, "Apologies. I forget that not every creature is as well-traveled as I am. Changelings are shapshifters that feed on love to survive. Long have they plagued Equestria with their abilities to infiltrate and impersonate any pony they should so choose... and now they're not just allied with Equestria, but their Queen is engaged to the herd of Celestia and Luna."

The Storm King felt something of a weight form in his stomach as Sombra continued.

"Which means that the changeling hive has become unified with Equestria. You now have to fight not only four alicorns, but a hive of insect-like creatures that can turn into anyone and anything they like. They'll die for their queen, and if the alicorns of Equestria have her won over, then you could wipe out a thousand Celestia and Luna's and never be even remotely close to actually capturing the alicorn power you so desire." He finished explaining, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

Now faced with this new information, the Storm King took to pacing back and forth. His brow was furrowed as his thoughts lingered on the umbrum before him, as well as the sincerity of his words. There was a good chance that he was lying about everything, and only planning on using him to get whatever it was that he so desired.

As the yeti before him paced, Sombra continued to stare at him with the smallest of smiles on his muzzle. He knew it wouldn't be long, and right he was. After less than a minute, the Storm King turned to him.

"How do I know that I can trust you?" He questioned.

"My, so direct. Would you believe that I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart?" Sombra teased.

The Storm King grit his teeth, "Not on your life..." He muttered.

Sombra snorted, "Right you are. To answer your question, I am only offering you assistance so that we might take out the threats that Equestria poses to either of our plans for the future. What I require, is the Crystal Heart's capture. When it's gone, I can finally retake my form among the living and reclaim my power-"

"Crystal Heart? What is that?" The Storm King impatiently questioned.

Sombra quietly huffed, "The Crystal Heart is what powers the entire Crystal Empire. It is the source of their strength and protection. Without it, they are powerless and defenseless." He explained.

"So you intend to use its power to restore yourself?" The Storm King surmised.

Sombra nodded, "Syphoning its power will restore me to my former greatness, though... I will need a unicorn of some skill to channel the magic into dark magic so that I may use it... conundrums for another time. Once I have what I want, I will destroy the heart right in front of her..." He muttered, bitterly.

"Her?" The Storm King raised an eyebrow.

Sombra quickly shook his head, "Nevermind that. It is something that will happen after our partnership is concluded. Speaking of which, after the Heart is mine, I plan to take the Crystal Empire and use its vast army of slaves to attack Equestria. With you and the rest of your fleet attacking from the other side, Equestria won't be able to stop us both, no matter how many alicorns they throw at us." He explained.

"I need alicorn magic to make this stupid staff work. Unless you can give me that, then I don't have any use for your suggestions." The Storm King dismissed, gesturing to the staff of Sarcanas.

Sombra brought his hoof to his chin, as if he were pondering the Storm King's words for a moment, "Hmm... well, what if I make you a deal? There's one alicorn in the Crystal Empire. Subduing her is no problem for a stallion of my talents... I could give you her magic after we take the Empire. It would give you the means to fight against the princesses of Equestria until we take them down and then you can take all of their magic with ease." He offered, that same predatory smirk forming on his muzzle.

The Storm King raised an eyebrow at the stallion. For a few moments, he pondered the offer, his mind racing with the possibilities that were afforded to him, should he accept. Though one question kept gnawing at the back of his mind.

"Why would you give me that much power so willingly? How can I trust you to not betray me the second you have what you want?" He questioned.

Sombra held his gaze for a second before darkly chuckling. His deep, baritone voice echoed off the walls of the cave as his chuckle turned to a deep, bellowing laugh.

"Oh, you needn't concern yourself with that. I'm much more concerned with revenge against the ponies that turned me to ash last time. After the battle is over and you have all the alicorn magic you can stomach, then we can worry about destroying each other. Besides, it'll be more of a fair fight then." Sombra replied, holding his hoof out.

The Storm King stared at the offered hoof for a long time. Nearly a minute passed as his narrowed gaze lingered on the stallion before him, but eventually, he did reach forward and grasp the offered hoof. Shockingly enough, this time there was actually something solid there, rather than the cold, nothingness he'd felt the first time.

"Very well... I'll look forward to burning Equestria to the ground."

"Excellent. There's just one little piece of hardware we'll need to pick up on our way to the Empire. Don't worry, I know exactly where it is..." Sombra darkly chuckled.

Author's Note

Hopefully the Storm King comes across as more than a bumbling idiot in this story than he did in the movie. I love the MLP movie because bae(Tempest) is introduced in it but man, it's so hard to take the Storm King seriously as a villain since he's so... goofy? Tried to rectify that in this story so let me know what you think.