The ponies break into an uproar, barking at each other about what the Storm King really means. As expected, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash are the most boisterous, psyching themselves up to go after him right then and there. Applejack would go low, Rainbow Dash high, and Rarity swing around behind. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are only slightly less pugilistic, trying to keep the first three calm before they cause some sort of international incident, yet just as incensed. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight focus more on Celestia and how she freezes up, all of them caught off guard. Chrysalis sits in the back, laughing silently to herself. And Luna, who-

Stares at her front right hoof, which is crossed over her front left, head cocked to the side, oblivious to the pandemonium around her.

“Noon?” Celestia’s breath halts, her mind blanking. That she would allow her filly to be-

The alarm bells blaring in her mind fail to rouse her until after three meaty fingers wrap around her neck, locking just under her jaw. She clasps her forelegs around the muscular arm as the Storm King drags her across the tub. He lifts her up to eye level, seemingly effortlessly, though half of her body remains submerged. She recognizes the hold as the same one he used on Tempest Shadow, her lower half churning the water below in a fruitless attempt to help relieve the pressure.

“That was a good distraction, yes?” the Storm King asks with a delighted smirk. He casually traces the flat side of the Staff of Sacanas against her neck, leaving a line in the fur. He chuckles as the alicorn goes limp, no longer struggling against him. Yet he retains his hold, expecting some sort of trick or burst of action.

“Is that all this was?” Celestia whispers. She cannot keep the quiver from her voice, except it isn’t from shame at suffering an ignoble capture. Instead, it is sadness, a regret that Raikou was unable to rise to his potential. She stares into his black and teal eyes, searching, seemingly unconcerned with the hand gripping her neck.

Raikou stares back. His ebullient expression slowly morphs into one of incomprehension, puzzlement at her submission. He squeezes, hard, hoping to provoke some reaction, but all she does is grip his arm a little tighter while her eyes bug out.

He expected rage, wrestling his arm away, or charging her horn. Some sort of attack! But this? It’s worse, her… disappointment. Is he not strong enough? How can that be?! He looks over at the other ponies, taking in their vitriolic scowls.

“I…” he starts, loosening his grip, allowing the alicorn to breathe once again.

“Hey,” Doug says from the side. He’s moved forward but slowly, trying to keep his voice reasonable and friendly. He knows he’s no match for the Storm King physically, but can’t help but wonder what’s going through Celestia’s mind that she hasn’t blasted him already. “Just, put her down. We can talk this out.”

Raikou glances at Doug, the human holding his hands out to show he has nothing to hide. He frowns through gritted teeth as he turns back to Celestia, affronted by the display of vulnerability. And yet she’s still there, pleading with her eyes. Yet not begging for him to drop her; no, she’s pleading for him to do what she must think is the right thing. The weak thing. He grunts as he lets go, disgusted, yet more at himself for failing Celestia’s test.

The alicorn bobs down, her hind legs again resting on the floor of the bathtub as Doug rushes to her side. A hoof smooths out the ruffled fur as she steadies herself, still in a two-legged stance. Neither she nor Doug take their eyes off the Storm King as he pulls back and studies the Staff in his hands. Her throat hurts, a dull throb, and if it wasn’t for the earth pony part of her constitution she would be worried about suffering a few bruises.

Half a dozen voices shout some variation of, “Celestia! Are you alright?” as the ponies pour toward her.

“Hold,” Celestia commands as the other half gear up to fight. She lifts a hoof, knowing how utterly ridiculous it must seem to allow this viper in front of them a chance to mentally regroup. She nuzzles Doug, more of a short nudge to get him to let her go, but also to let him know that she is okay. He refuses, his hand staying against her side until she hops out of the tub, water dripping onto the floor.

She takes a step closer to the Storm King with the same calm, placating manner Doug used earlier. She studies him; how he crouches, both hands on the staff, staring at it with a clenched jaw and a hard look in his eyes. The kind she sees in her students struggling during a particularly hard examination, especially one they are not prepared for. It is a frustrated look, but beyond that, and if there wasn’t fur covering him she might expect to see veins popping on his forehead.

“You are serious?” she asks. She feels a pang of regret at asking the question, though she hopes it is a kindness that prunes away to leave healthy growth behind.

The Storm King takes a moment to collect himself with a series of deep breaths. He nods, scowling, all jest fading from his composure. “The way I look at it? I’ve got two options. I can go after you, here and now.” He caresses the staff in his hand, a soft touch one might slide along their lover’s inner thigh. But instead of holding love the gesture is cold and callous, a jealousy born from contempt and betrayal. “And your sister. She’s listening, right?” He turns to the cobalt alicorn, forgotten in the commotion.

Luna breaks from her stupor with a dull, glassy-eyed look. She seems to have barely registered that anything occurred between Raikou and Celestia. She walks on unsteady legs to Celestia’s side, glancing between Doug and her belly.

“Optimally, I get Cadance, too,” the Storm King continues as if having a casual conversation, still smiling. The pink alicorn doesn’t care for the mention, standing straighter as Shining Armor glares. Raikou chuckles, but it is void of emotion. “And Twilight Sparkle. But that wouldn’t be too hard, not really. Just need to hold her friends hostage or something. You’d probably qualify for that, she likes you.”

“You have no idea,” Celestia states, a bit of steel returning to her voice. Twilight wants to counter his assertion, but he’s right; there is very little she wouldn’t give up for her Friends.

“Yeah,” the Storm King agrees as he pulls back slightly, but keeps staring at the staff. “That’s why I’ve never been big on the whole ‘Friendship’ thing. As nice as it is to have someone at your back? It just makes it easier for them to stab you when the time is right.” He raises an eyebrow, his coldness turned on Celestia and carefully watching for any sort of reaction. “Does the name ‘Strife’ mean anything to you?”

Celestia considers for a moment, carefree, as if there wasn’t a being who could at any time use a device capable of stealing their magic. “You have mentioned him. Your lieutenant, or second-in-command, lost around the time you brought the Abyssinians to heel.”

“He was not lost,” the Storm King spits out, gripping the staff so tightly that it cracks. “He turned against me, but his betrayal failed. Though he didn’t call it a betrayal, because you can’t betray someone you aren’t friends with.” His eyes narrow as he stares at Celestia, neither giving an inch of ground. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that, now would you?”

Celestia’s muzzle curls to a thin smirk. “It has never been in my disposition to deal in treachery and deceit. But you must realize the folly of such an action, yes? For why would I employ means counter to the Tenets of Harmony I hold dear? Whose failure would only strengthen your resolve, whose success would only weaken my own?” She shakes her head somberly. “I am afraid it is your actions, your policy of solitude, that drove your lieutenant to commit to his course of action against you.”

A thin smirk crosses Raikou’s face. The two stare at each other for long seconds. Except he seems to be staring past her, his focus on something else entirely.

“Thought you’d say something like that,” he says to himself, nodding along. “Didn’t want to have to do this. But you know what they say.”

Everypony gasps as Raikou raises the Staff of Sacanas with a grim scowl.

And slams it down on his knee, snapping the wood in half like kindling. It sparks briefly, the light blue crystal on the end fading to black. He tosses the broken pieces to the floor.

Celestia stares at the shattered pieces. A part of her cries out at the destruction of any magical artifact. Another cannot believe he would give up such a bargaining chip without obtaining any agreement from her. And another realizes that, without the staff, the only method the Council had of removing her power and giving it to a non-alicorn is now gone, and with it their ability to force her hoof.

“If you can’t beat ‘em?” The Storm King dusts his hands off against each other, ignoring the once powerful artifact, now little more than splinters at his hooves. “Join ‘em.”

He glances at his back, then feels at his head. “Huh,” he mutters, disappointed.

“Were you hoping for a set of wings to go with your horns?” Celestia teases, glancing at Cadance and recalling how she got her horn. The pink alicorn doesn’t return it, unable to break her focus away from the… well, penitent creature in front of her. His glum demeanor, how he sighs, now lethargic in his movements.

“Can’t say it would go with my image,” Raikou says, barely able to crack a smile. He shakes his head. “No. This was a token of my sincerity.”

Celestia stares at him. She can scarcely believe her eyes and ears, wondering if this is some sort of hallucination triggered by a thaumic deficiency. Yet the longer she waits it seems less an illusion and more genuine. She believes the Storm King to be capable of anything, much like Chrysalis. But this?

“I’m listening,” she finally states, drawing back just a fraction. Not enough to seem like a retreat, but deferential, a better position to observe.

The Storm King grins, as if getting his hoof through the wall is all he needs.

“I want your filly’s hoof in marriage.”

Hints of red seep into the alicorn’s eyes. The temperature of the room rises a few degrees as her mane flickers to a bright pink. Just as quickly the shift disappears, returning to her pastel rainbow.

Uneasy glances pass among the ponies; the practice of arranging marriage is far from unheard of, but mostly among very set-in-their-ways earth ponies such as the Pies. Even then, it’s done by the parents when they think that the match will be a good one. Perhaps it is done among the nobility, seeing how many of them herd up with each other, but that could easily be a product of their social circles.

The Storm King waves a hand as Celestia opens her mouth to retort. “Woah, woah, woah. I can hear your objections already! She’s not old enough, what if she doesn’t like me, what will the other creatures think.” He flashes her a toothy smile, and it does little to mollify her wrath. “I can wait until she can and does make that choice. And until she does?” He starts listing things on his fingers. “I want a full alliance. No restrictions on trade, free movement between our people. And yes, that means you can come visit. A defensive pact, but more than that. You support our… expansion, against any who might stand in the way of ‘Friendship’.” He says the last word with a sneer, immediately trying to correct it to a half-hearted smile.

“You think we would bargain a foal away like a piece of chattel?” Doug demands, striding forward. His arm sweeps behind him. “We’re not some sort of…”

Doug trails off as he glances backward, noticing Chrysalis’ scowl. He recalls how she bargained away her changelings, ordered them on missions that might or even certainly would involve those kinds of carnal activities. But what concerns him more is how Luna has the same expression.

“Luna?” Doug asks, the rancor gone from his voice. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering Doug, Luna addresses the Storm King. “Thou art genuine in thy desire for an alliance? Sealed in blood and bond, to adhere our nations - neigh, our world - to our cause of Friendship?”

Raikou nods solemnly, the motion short. “You know how I treat my allies. And how I treat my enemies. What better way to tie our nations together?”

“An arranged marriage?” Doug asks pointedly. The Storm King’s brows briefly furrow before he nods superfluously. “Sorry. I don’t see that happening.”

“Indeed?” Luna asks neutrally. She regards Doug carefully, her words deliberately chosen. “T’is what we share. Or dost thou believe we married for love?” She keeps from sneering, just a slight tilt of her head the only indication she is not perfectly happy with their arrangement.

“You… what?” Doug ekes out at the unexpected revelation. His legs go weak, and he can only keep himself standing by leaning on Celestia. He glances at Rainbow Dash and Rarity, but mostly Rainbow Dash. She starts to turn her head away before stopping herself, forcing magenta eyes to return his stare. He cannot bring himself to say the words.

Luna can. “It was a marriage, a herding of convenience. It was what our little ponies expected of their rulers. We have no intention of returning on the promise we made to you, even should a more suitable suitor arrive.” She spares a brief glare at Chrysalis, the changeling merely raising her nose in the air, before turning to the Storm King. “We would expect the same from you.”

“Hey, as long as she’s doing something for me,” Raikou says with a leering grin at Luna. She returns a cold stare. “And knowing you alicorns? I bet there’s a lot she can do.”

“We shall… consider… it,” Celestia states diplomatically. How much is a coded refusal is impossible to tell, the look in her eyes pensive.

Raikou laughs as he straightens, much of his boisterousness returning in an instant. “Hey, that’s a lot better than I thought it might go. And I’m still in one piece!” He works his hands down his arms, then his legs, as if he didn’t trust that to be the case. His ebullient attitude ebbs as he spots Doug’s dour expression. He bends down to be at eye level. “I’m sensing that you don’t like me.” He winks with a wry smirk. “Dad.”

“Gee,” Doug deadpans. “What gave you that impression?”

Raikou chuckles, slapping Doug on the back and nearly bowling him over. “You know what we need? A little chat. Just us guys. What’d’ya say?”

“This seems like a terrible idea,” Doug replies, looking to Celestia for support.

He finds a soft smile and a gentle nudge in return.

“Seriously?” Doug sighs, rubbing at his forehead. “We need to be back to the Council, and-”

“-Hey, I get all that,” Raikou interrupts, cutting to the chase. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. We’ll get to know each other a little better while these fine ladies-” he motions to the mares with a wide sweep “-hash out some sort of agreement. I’ll make my counter-offer, we’ll go back and forth a bit. It’s how these things go.”

“I-I’m not sure,” Doug trails off, glancing at his mares. To his surprise, Twilight Sparkle steps forward.

“It’s okay,” she reassures, barely needing to stretch up to nuzzle him. She offers him an apple-eating grin. “I’m sure everything will be just fine.”

Doug wants to strangle her but settles for a very tight hug around the neck.

Next Chapter: Ch. 46 - Tempered Flesh, Part One Estimated time remaining: 24 Hours, 39 Minutes