The rest of the trip back to Ponyville passed in silence for Tempest and Twilight. Neither made any further effort to engage the other in conversation. Twilight just sat in her cage, feeling forlorn and very sorry for herself, wondering how and why it had all gone so wrong. And Tempest, she tried her best to ignore that guilty feeling deep down inside that continued to gnaw at her.
Before long, Ponyville came into view, and Twilight (still in her cage) was lowered to the ground.
"Come on, princess," Tempest sternly insisted, watching as her captive was removed from her cage, then bound and tied up with chain to ensure she wouldn't be able to escape (not that it seemed the idea of it ever occurred to the princess). "We don't have all day."
Twilight was then led through Ponyville, and she could only take in how much misery there seemed to be all around. Everywhere she looked, she could see various attendies of the Festival of Friendship locked into cages, unable to move around or do much of anything. Even Songbird Serenade had been taken captive, and all she could do was sing a sad, sorrowful song.
It only further contributed to the feeling deep inside the alicorn, that she had let everyone down when they had dependened on her the most.
The sight that truly broke the young princess' heart, however, was seeing the three fillies known collectively as the Cutie Mark Crusaders all thrown together in the same cage. As soon as she saw them in their sad state, the guilt washed over her like a tsunami!
"Sorry, Twilight," Apple Bloom was the first one to speak up. "I know we should've just run away and laid low, but we couldn't leave the others behind."
Scootaloo added. "We joined in a daring rescue plan with some of the others who managed to escape," Then she frowned, looking down at the ground. "But it didn't matter. We never stood a chance."
And Sweetie Belle sighed. "So much for being the big heroes. Princess Luna sacrificed herself for nothing."
Twilight fought back the tears. "Don't blame yourselves, girls. It was great you tried to help," She let out a sorrowful sigh. "It's more than I did to help everyone. All I ended up doing was making things worse."
The three fillies all looked at the princess with surprise. "Whaddya mean by that, Twilight?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"Yeah. I thought you and your friends were going to get help." Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Scootaloo then asked. "This is all part of your plan, right? Right?!" Her tone of voice conveyed just how worried she was, even if she tried not to let it show outwardly.
Twilight merely shook her head from side to side. "No. There's no cunning plan. The bad guys have won. And it's all my fault." She then turned away, unable to look the crusaders in the eyes any further.
Yet the sorrows only continued as the alicorn was led further away, brought closer and closer to the castle that had been her home. Resting right near the castle's front doors was none other than Shining Armor, who was cradling a crying Flurry Heart as best he could. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay," He whispered gently to her, trying to stay positive. "We'll figure a way out of this, I promise." But it was clear just by looking at him that he didn't really believe the words he was saying. Even he seemed to think there was nothing that could be done.
It really was hopeless, wasn't it? Twilight was all alone, her friends wouldn't be coming to save her. And even if they were it wouldn't matter, they trip outside Equestria was a bust. Thanks to Twilight's rash decision, they had nothing to show for it. And with their bonds strained, she now wasn't so sure the Elements of Harmony would respond. They would fail, just as they had failed the last time her and her friends had had their bonds pushed to the breaking point. Unlike that time, there was no Princess Celestia waiting to set everything right.
Was this how it would all end?
Tempest soon pushed open the doors to Twilight's castle, and ushered her captive inside. It was now possible to see the crystalized forms of the other three alicorn princesses, their looks of terror frozen on them for all to see. And it only further drove home the reality of the situation.
Twilight was thrown to the floor as her castle's front doors were slammed shut. She slowly rose to her hooves and whimpered, locking eyes with Tempest as she sought desperately to plead. "Tempest, please! It's not too late, even for yourself! There's good inside you, I can feel it! Please, think about this! You don't have to serve the Storm King! Let me go, and together we can take him down! If you do, maybe I'll be able to get you a lighter sentence, a chance to start your life over."
Tempest would hear nothing of such an argument. "It's too late for that, princess! I made my choice long ago. The Storm King's orders are to be obeyed without question. I have no choice!" She firmly argued. "But don't worry. Once I've frozen you in crystal, you won't feel anything. It'll be just like going to sleep. And something tells me the Storm King won't leave you and the other princesses frozen in crystal forever. He'll set you free, if only so he'll have someone to play with and keep him entertained."
The young alicorn again protested. "And you really think he'll give you what you want most? You think he can bring back what you lost so long ago? If you'd just come to us and surrendered, none of this would've had to happen."
The hornless unicorn only grumbled in reply. "You're not going to change my mind, princess. After everything I've done just to get to this point, it would be foolish to throw it all away now," Then she looked her captive deep in the eyes and whispered. "Besides, once the Storm King is powered up, he and the rest of the world will see what I'm truly capable of. They'll all see what I can really do."
"Is that so? How fascinating," A sinister, sadistic voice called out from afar. Its owner soon revealed itself in the form of the Storm King in all his evil glory, his staff clutched firmly in his paws. "Enlighten me, Tempest, what can you really do?"
Grubber (who had been by Tempest's side up to this point), gulped and hastily excused himself. "Uh... I think I'm just gonna... go check on the preparations for the victory party. Y-yeah... that's it!" He then ran off as fast as his legs would let him, quickly exiting the castle as the doors opened and then slammed shut behind him.
Tempest, meanwhile, spun around as she turned her full attention to the one she had thrown her lot in with all those years ago. She tried her best not to appear intimidated as she managed to force out. "W-why... serving you as your second-in-command of course, just like I always have been and always will be."
The Storm King appeared to be satisfied with that response. He opted not to press Tempest any further. "That's what I thought," His smile grew brighter. "I must say, you've certainly redeemed yourself, Tempest. After your failure at Mount Aris, I was beginning to have my doubts about you. But now I see that the only reason you failed at Mount Aris is because you had yet to fully embrace my teachings. Showing mercy to your enemies is a waste of time: Enemies are to be conquered and crushed."
"Yes, your excellency." Tempest slowly nodded.
The Storm King then approached Twilight, quickly taking notice of what was different about this captive alicorn compared to the others. "Then perhaps you can explain why this one is still standing, not trapped and frozen in crystal like the others."
The hornless unicorn answered. "It doesn't matter. She's lost the will to fight back. She has been broken."
The evil satyr gave a wicked laugh. "Well good, that means she'll be the perfect victim to test my new powers on! Soon, all will fear the name of The Storm King!" But his happy mood soon faded as he then started to complain. "But first, I think a little change of sceneary is needed. This place is hardly fitting of my glory."
Tempest nervously asked. "W-why? W-what's wrong with it? It's a castle, isn't it? And a castle's a castle, right?"
The Storm King nodded back. "Yes, I suppose it is. But this place is just a little too... oh, I don't know... cute!" He spat out the last word with noticeable malice and venom. "It stinks of ponies and I don't like it! So come on, make with the punchline already, Tempest, because that has gotta be a joke!"
At that the hornless unicorn whimpered and stepped back! "A... thousand apologies, your so wonderful badness. I... never considered how ill fitting this castle would be. I... wasn't expecting you to show up so soon. B-but... we can still make this work."
"Yes," The Storm King seemed to agree. "Some paint, a little elbow greese, and a good bit of remodelling, and even a castle like this can be made into the splendid jewel in the crown of my empire!" Then he thrust his staff down hard into the ground! "Ah, but first, I must have what I came for! I will not be denied!" Within seconds, magic from the horn of Princess Twilight and all the other princesses all flowed out of them and into the staff. When every last drop of magic was drained, the staff glowly brightly and surged with power.
The Storm King clutched his staff, stroking it with a claw and admiring the warm feeling he felt from its glow. "Yes!" He triumphantly proclaimed! "The power is all mine!" Then he turned to the one alicorn not trapped in crystal. "Say, princess, fancy helping me test my limits?"
"No." Twilight replied.
The Storm King was hardly one to be denied, however. He merely used the powers of his staff to pull the alicorn close to him, then flung her hard into one of the crystal walls. "Seems you still have a little bit of fight left in you after all. Not to worry, we'll soon fix that!" His eyes narrowed as he gleefully and sadistically exclaimed! "Now it's time to play! And believe me, I play rough!"
All Twilight could do was gulp and swallow hard. She was completely at the Storm King's mercy.