“I killed you.”

The words were still echoing in Twilight’s disbelieving mind as the bound mare found some untapped reserve of strength within her to draw magic to her horn once again.

“Fine, I killed you once. I can do it ag—” Starlight began, just before Captain Tempest shoved the opened mouth of a bota bag into the mare’s mouth, pressing on the sides to force its contents into the captive mage.

“Nog gab huff!” gurgled the unicorn, coughing and gasping against the flow of fluid that was being forced into her.

“It’s the only way,” Tempest said calmly, pressing down again to force more of liquid into the mare, whose struggles began to subside and eyes began to close.

“You… bitch,” Starlight murmured, after the unicorn pulled the now empty bag from her mouth. “You fucking bi…”

Whatever else Starlight Glimmer was going to say was lost, along with her consciousness as she collapsed and began to hang limply in her bonds, bound again in a deep, potion induced sleep.

“I’ll have to get stores to bring up a couple more flasks of that stuff,” the commander of the airship remarked, before turning to Twilight and her companions. “We should go before she wakes up.”

“Um… sure,” Twilight replied, following the mare out of the room, and noting that a pair of the large yeti creatures guarding the door had been supplemented by two more.

“Grubber,” snapped Tempest, to her hedgehog subordinate. “Get down to stores and get a couple more flasks of that Retcon potion up here.”

“Pushed her too far again, Tempest?” chided the creature, though Twilight could tell it was meant as a joke.

“No, seems Cloak knows our alicorn here, and not from better times either,” Tempest replied, before looking over at an iron collared Abyssinian who was standing behind Grubber. “Set up a lunch in my dining room for four. Use the good china.”

“Yes Commander,” the cat said, in the silky smooth voice of his kind. “And might I say you did a great job of getting us all out of there.”

“Just do what I tell you and you won’t have to spend another day in the wet box. Remember, I want the good china,” growled the powerfully built unicorn. “You’ve got thirty minutes.”

“Yes Commander, whatever you say, Commander,” groveled the feline, before scampering away.

“C’mon you three,” Tempest ordered, once both her minions had headed off to accomplish their tasks. “Let me show you around Scirocco.”

“Is that the name of your ship?” Trixie asked, moving up to stand slightly in front of Twilight. A quick glance around showed Twilight that Dashiel had taken up a protective station to her rear and was actively glaring down anything that looked like a threat.

“The last ship of the Storm King’s West Wind squadron,” Tempest replied with a clenched jaw. “She’s a good ship though.”

With that, Commander Tempest proceeded to take the trio on a tour of the sky ship, and as such vessels went she was quite large, measuring nearly seventy body lengths long by sixteen wide. The vessel was composed of six decks, the lowest three being various cargo decks, the next upwards being dedicated to tightly packed crew accommodations, then a gun deck that mounted several cannons that were large enough to make Pinkie Pie jealous, were she there.

The top deck, was open to the air, where beings from a dozen species scurried to and fro, doing things of various nautical natures, and it was with no surprise that it was Dashiel who was able to identify various workings of the ship. To the point where Commander Tempest began to eye the pegasus suspiciously.

“Not very many Equestrians know skyships,” commented the commander, as the quartet stood at the railing watching the landscape pass by beneath them. “And you were the one that knew about the Storm King too. I wonder why that is?”

“When I was with the Seaddle Marine Battalion, we used ships like this for resupply,” explained Dashiel, shrugging. “Had to escort in a few Storm King merchant ships bringing in cargo.”

“Seaddle Marines?” Tempest questioned, frowning. “Since when did Equestria have marines, never mind a whole battalion of them?”

Dashiel was about to answer when the Abyssinan from before came on deck. “Uh, begging your pardon, your Commandership,” said the cat, bowing low. “But your lunch is ready.”

“On the good china?” Tempest asked, the narrowing of one eye promising dire retribution should her orders not have been obeyed to the letter.

“Most definitely, your Ruthlessness,” groveled the slave, and Twilight tried very hard not to smile at the touch of sarcasm.

“Good. If you’ll follow me,” the commander commented, stepping forward and giving Trixie a chance to whisper into Twilight’s ear.

“It’s a trap,” hissed the showmare. “It’s got to be a trap.”

“I know,” Twilight whispered back.

“They will try to take me out first,” murmured Dashiel. “That will be your moment to get the bridles off.”

“Coming?” Tempest asked, looking back from the hatchway that led back downwards and noticing that Twilight and her friends were no longer following her.

“Sorry, we were just mesmerized by the view,” Twilight replied, with a quick smile. “It really is wonderful up here.”

“Sure,” responded the other mare, the edges of her armor glinting briefly in the sun. “Anyway, let’s go below so we can eat. And talk.”

Twilight and the rest moved to rejoin the commander, who led them back down below and to the rear of the ship, where they were led into a small, but well appointed dining area. As Twilight took her seat on a comfortable chair, she looked around at the decor.

Sturdy, but tasteful carpets covered the wooden deck, while banners with the Storm King’s dual lightning bolt sigil covered the walls. Light was provided from a large barred window set in the bulkhead behind Tempest’s chair and the sunlight glinted off of silver cutlery and tableware. Twilight saw Trixie raise an eyebrow as she saw the definitely not ceramic plates and shuffle slightly before taking her seat.

“So, I’m curious,” Twilight began, once everypony had sat down, noting as well that the usually ever present guards hadn’t joined them. “What was that potion you gave to that unicorn?”

“Straight to the point. I like that,” Tempest responded, with a small smile. “That potion has a lot of names, but the popular one right now is ‘Retcon’. It puts the drinker to sleep for a time and wipes out the last hour or so of their memory, making it handy for situations like the one you saw. My turn. How does Cloak know you?”

“I don’t think she knows me, personally,” Twilight surmised, resting her chin on her forehooves. “I think she knows… knew, somepony who looked like me.”

“Any idea what her name is then? Ever since we picked her she’s refused to say, so we just call her ‘Cloak’ because that’s what she does for us. Without her Tirek would have gotten us like he did the other four ships I had,” the unicorn paused as the door to the cabin opened and three carts of what smelled like very good food were wheeled in. “Ah good, lunch is here.”

A plate of mushroom risotto was set down in front of Twilight and the savory scents of the dish set the alicorn’s mouth to watering. The servant began to pour Twilight what looked to be a glass of wine before the bottle slipped from her hooves and bounced off the table before landing on the floor and shattering into a puddle of wine and glass shards.

“I’m sorry!” cried out the pony, and as Twilight focused on the servant she realized to her horror that it was none other than Sweetie Belle. Twilight could see the now familiar riveted collar around her neck as she threw herself down to the deck and start frantically picking up the bits of glass.

“Pony, what did I tell you about being careful?” Tempest growled, getting out of her chair to loom over the young pony.

“She didn’t mean it!” came the voices of Scootaloo and Applebloom, zipping around the table to help their fellow Crusader in cleaning up the mess.

Twilight’s eyes caught a shift in the light as the metal feathers on Dashiel’s war wing shifted slightly as the pegasus tensed her muscles in preparation for a fight. Twilight caught her captain’s eye and shook her head ever so slightly. She wanted to see how this played out.

“I know she didn’t mean it, and that like the rest of you, she has no magic. Which is why I’ve told all three of you to be careful,” the orchid coloured unicorn grimly stated. “You three are my personal property. What does that mean?”

“That you’ll take care of us,” all three chorused, looking down at the deck.

“Which is what I promised your families, and I always do what I say I will,” continued Tempest, as Twilight saw Dashiel chew her lip slightly in thought as she watched the interaction. “Now, get that cleaned up and finish serving lunch. You have navigation lessons with Grubber in an hour.”

“Yes, Tempest,” all three said, throwing themselves into the tasks.

“Starlight Glimmer is her name,” Twilight said, as if nothing had happened and decidedly not watching Trixie re-sheath a small misericorde. “Why do you own children?”

“I am a slaver,” Tempest stated simply, nodding to Applebloom as the earth pony slid a laden plate in front of her. “And in the Storm Kingdom no creature has any legal standing other than as property, unless they buy their freedom or earn it. So, when I found those three hiding in what was left of a treehouse near a farm and starving, I took them as my own so they wouldn’t see an auction block.”

“You care,” Trixie said, and it wasn’t a question.

“I was a foal once, and then this happened,” Tempest replied, motioning to the jagged stub of her horn. “Everypony I knew abandoned me and left me to make my own way in the world. Can you imagine that? A filly. Horn shattered, magic a frazzled mess, left to find her own way in the world.”

Silence rained as the stern unicorn’s jaw worked, obviously fighting down strong emotions and the quiet continued even after the Crusaders had left the room and the door clicked close behind them.

“The truth is that Tirek killed their parents while stomping their village flat,” Tempest added into the silence, and this time the unicorn’s eyes were haunted by not very old ghosts. “They think their folks are in some refugee camp somewhere, waiting for me to bring them back once it's safe. But I know the truth, and when I realized their situation I decided they wouldn’t be abandoned by Equestria like I was.”

For a minute there was no sound but the clink of spoons on plates as Twilight and her friends absorbed what the unicorn had revealed to them.

“So, you said you had a way to stop Tirek. What is it?” Tempest bluntly asked, her stern demeanor in full force once again.

“We have with us an artifact that will contain and control Tirek’s magic. Turning it against him as a binding restraint,” Twilight responded. “Once he’s under control we can separate him from his stolen magic and restore Equestria.”

“What’s left of it,” snorted Tempest. “This may not be relevant, but it’s been driving me crazy. Why are you wearing that outfit? Makes you look like the Princess of Lust or something.”

“Oh, my suit?” Twilight asked, taking a moment to look at her shiny black foreleg, its mana lines pulsing as the suit shifted power around. “Sometimes I forget I have it on, or that I can’t take it off.”

“Oh really?” Tempest replied, mockingly. “You can’t take the suit off. Or what? You’ll die, I suppose.”

“No, I actually can’t take it off at all. It’s a living suit that’s bonded to me physically and magically,” Twilight replied, and over the next fifteen minutes or so she told explained to Tempest the concepts of alternate timelines, of how she and her friends were from another Equestria, and of some of the things she had encountered in her travels. Like the latex symbiote she had been tricked into wearing and was now as much a part of her as her hooves or tail.

“So you’re telling me that you’re sealed into that fetishist's daydream with no way out, and the reason you’re wearing a collar is that controlling it lets you control the suit?” Tempest asked, and Trixie did not at all like the look the airship commander was giving her liege lady. “That you’re essentially a slave to the suit.”

“Well,” Twilight began, “that’s the way it—”

“Trixie has a question,” the pale blue mare began, deliberately but smoothly interrupting Twilight. “When were you planning on performing your sudden, yet inevitable betrayal?”

“Wait, what?” was the response from the room.

“Oh you play a good game, Commander. Showing us your softer side, getting us to let our guard down with a tour of your ship and a friendly lunch. A lunch I may add, IS NOT ON CHINA AT ALL?” Trixie demanded, placing a hoof on the table to pose dramatically.

“How DARE you accuse me of betrayal!” Tempest shot back, a small crackle of electricity gathering around her horn.

“Puh-lease,” Trixie scoffed, utterly dismissing Tempest’s response. “Trixie has been a performer in and out of Equestria for over a decade. She always knows when somepony else is putting on a show, or when the eyes of an audience are on her. Like the eyes of the extra guards that are standing outside the door to this very room, waiting for either your command or some signal from you to pounce.”

“Well,” drawled Tempest, leaning back with a satisfied look on her face. “I’ve got to admit, nopony’s ever seen it coming before. Or if they did, they never came right out and said it before like you did.”

“Trixie’s only question is how you plan to do it,” stated the showmare turned knight. “Poison in the food? Gas in the air? Surely you didn’t think you could just rush us?”

“I was kind of thinking that, yeah,” was Tempest’s response. “The pegasus is a good fighter, but this is close quarters. Both you and the princess here are bridled, so magic isn’t a concern, and even if it was, my fighters and I wear armor that sheds magic like water.”

“Bridle? What bridle?” Trixie innocently asked, the orchid unicorn’s eyes goggled at Trixie’s sudden lack of headgear.

“What? How?” Tempest demanded. “I saw that bridle go on myself!”

“Trixie spent six months in a Saddle Arabian seraglio under lock and key, and when a mare is held like that, watched every second by geldings whose only purpose in life is to keep her bound and bridled, she pickled up a few things,” Trixie confided, preening at Tempest’s shock. “Trixie is doing this because she knows her Princess would prefer to try friendship before fighting.”

“As you see it, what are my choices?” Tempest asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

“We know you want us in chains, and now you know that we know. You also know something of what Trixie and her friends can do, and are smart enough to guess at some of the things we haven’t said,” Trixie summed up, quickly glancing to either side to make sure both Twilight and Dashiel were ready to act. “You can either work with us to stop Tirek and be a hero, or you can fight us, knowing we’re ready for you. Dashiel alone will take out the first three that comes through that door.”

“Seven,” corrected the soldier mare, smiling. “Well… eight, just for you.”

“Why Dashiel, I didn’t know you cared,” Trixie quipped back.

“Well, let me explain to you my options,” Tempest stated, and there was no merriment at all on her face. “I came to Equestria with five ships, and now I have one. Either I go back to the Empire of Storms with something worth four lost airships, or the Storm King will put me on the block. And wouldn’t you know it? I just had an alicorn princess fall into my lap.”

“We don’t have to fight!” Twilight insisted, trying one last time for peace. “Isn’t defeating Tirek worth it?”

“For Equestria, maybe,” Tempest admitted, taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders. “But the Storm King only cares about what benefits him and his kingdom. However, you are right, we don’t have to fight.”

“We don’t?” Twilight hopefully asked, perking up in the hope that there might be a new course of action available.

“No, we don't. You can calmly accept your fates like the rest of my cargo,” Tempest replied, as the door swung open to reveal not just four of the yeti-like creatures, but a line of them packing the corridor outside.

“614 suit, remove clothing,” Twilight commanded, instantly feeling her symbiote begin to eat at the magic cancelling bridle around her head as it obeyed her command to remove any outerwear she had on.

“Get them,” commanded Tempest, almost in the same instant, and the fight was on.

Half an hour later three unconscious, bound, bridled, hobbled and muzzled mares were carried out of what was left of the cabin and the rooms on either side of it. Dashiel had indeed taken out the first eight storm creatures that had charged into the room, but Tempest’s ability to create what amounted to a lighting storm had been her trump card and the slaver had played it ruthlessly.

Again and again, Twilight and her friends had been on the verge of gaining the upper hand when Tempest had made the very air around them erupt with shocking tendrils of electricity that struck both friend and foe. Dashiel and her metal wing had been the first to fall, followed by Trixie as she attempted to protect her princess. Finally, Twilight had surrendered as Tempest held a blade to Dashiel’s throat.

A last blast of lightning had put the alicorn down for the count.

“I used almost almost every soldier we had left on the ship, Tempest,” advised Grubber, wincing as the survivors carried the bodies of the dead out. “That pegasus played for keeps. What are we going to do now?

“Head for the coast.” Tempest ordered, trying and failing to hold back a wince as an orderly tended to her own cuts and bruises. “I want the unicorn and the pegasus in so many chains they can barely move. Cage them too.”

“And what about that sexy alicorn you’re drooling over?” Grubber asked.

“We’ve got another one of those racks we put Cloak in, right?” Tempest asked, getting an answering nod from her subordinate. “Good. Put her in it, and make sure the gag in her muzzle is double thick and that the muzzle is strapped down as tight as possible. Got it?”

“You betcha!” Grubber replied jauntily, snapping a salute. “One ‘Fun-Time’ special for the captain.”

“That pony has secrets she hasn’t told us,” growled Tempest, looking down at the ruins of her armor. “I’m either going to break them out of her, or I’m going to break her.”

Sorry this is super, duper late. I ran into health issues, and my editor had a death in the family. Between the two of us neither of us had much ability to get this out. Both of us are recovering. Will do my best to have another, bigger, chapter out this month.