Description:
> Introducing Captain Tempest Shadow, the main antagonist of My Little Pony: The Movie Rewritten.
>
> So about a month ago, I explored the idea of The Storm King being resurrected by Grogar. And for a time, I actually defended the Storm King as a character, and attempted to revamp him for the rewrite. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much Tempest outclasses him in every way, shape, and form as an antagonist and how much his character was not needed at all for the overall story. In the official film, she served as his commander; Raiding kingdoms of their magic on his behalf for a chance of restoring her broken horn. But in this rewrite, she basically takes his place as the big bad.
>
> There are several reasons why Tempest works better as the main villain of the film rather than the Storm King, as I will now explain:
>
> 1. She had a clear goal and motive.
>
> When she is first introduced, it isn't long after the Mane 6 and Spike escape Canterlot that we are given pretty clear reasons of Tempest's invasion of Equestria. Not only does she want to restore her horn, but she also wants to gain vast magical power and use it as she sees fit. She also remarks how the ponies and princesses of the kingdom are wasting their magic on such trivial things like parties, which gives us further ideas of both her character and her goals. She has, in her eyes, better ideas of what to do with all of that power. I would daresay that her goals are also a little act of revenge considering her backstory. The Storm King meanwhile, desired more or less the same thing, but the reasons given are pretty generic. In fact I think there was barely a reason given at all.
>
> 2. She has a backstory.
>
> Unlike the Storm King who's origins are unknown (Unless you read the prequel comic which also states rather vague origins), Tempest has a backstory which not only gives good exposition, but also a slight glimpse into her character. As a filly, her horn was broken off after a run-in with an ursa minor. and as a result she became feared and abandoned by the ponies that she once called her friends. Feeling betrayed, she struck out on her own; Gaining a reputation as a ruthless and fearsome pirate overtime. Its a brief, but well-executed backstory that gives just the right amount of exposition needed for the plot.
>
> 3. She is far more capable and intelligent.
>
> Throughout the film, Tempest displayed many skills despite her broken horn. For one, she proved to be physically capable with her almost acrobatic movements. She was able to fully petrify 3 out of 4 of Equestria's princesses, and even displayed enough power to counter all of their magic at once during her brief bout with the Storm King after he reveals that he was just using her. Tempest also proved to be vastly more intelligent than her boss with her knowledge of the Staff of Sarcanas, and her ability to track the Mane 6 during her pursuit. The Storm King didn't even know what the staff he held in his hands was let alone what it did. And ultimately, the Storm King also proved to just be too immature at times to be taken seriously as an antagonist. Sure, he was physically capable in his own right, but still.
>
> 4. She proves to be just as intimidating.
>
> While the Storm King was very much intimidating to a degree, he fell under the umbrella of having a more brutish exterior. Most of that gets killed off when he is portrayed to be more or less a spoiled little kid on the inside. Tempest meanwhile proved to be just as intimidating in her own way through her skills, capabilities, and intelligence. After the Mane 6 escape Captain Celaeno's ship, Tempest discovers both theirs and Capper's betrayal. The group cower in fear on her and while it is offscreen, it is almost implied that she killed them while destroying their ship. Of course it's revealed later on that everyone survived.
>
> 5. She works better thematically.
>
> Despite being yet another major unicorn antagonist (Trixie, Sunset, and Starlight preceding her), Tempest still manages to stand out through her overall theme of storms and bad weather. While this theme would've probably worked better if she were a pegasus, what makes it fit is once again her broken horn. The magic that shoots out of it quite literally resembles lighting and she uses it for both intimidation and destruction. Much like a real storm. Another good detail that I noticed is during her backstory. As she is leaving her town as a filly, a storm begins to form above her, further emphasizing the theme.
>
> 6. She is the one who gets a villain song.
>
> It goes without saying that "Open up your eyes." is a banger of a song. It not only sounds amazing, but also gives exposition into Tempest's goals, personality, and backstory. Not only that, but Tempest herself is a great singer. I don't see you dropping bars Storm King.
>
> 7. She gets a foreshadowing intro sequence.
>
> In a scene that was the cut from the film, Twilight introduces new audiences to herself, her friends, the princesses, and the kingdom of Equestria. During the intro, a stained-glass window of Twilight is shattered by Tempest herself, who cackles evilly before the opening credits role. This was a great intro that once again gave good amount of exposition, and foreshadowed Tempest properly as an antagonist. The scene for some reason was cut from the film. I attribute this to corporate meddling but who knows.
>
>
> Now with all of those reasons given, what would I do different you may be asking?
>
> Well to summarize, for this rewrite I cut out the Storm King completely. As I stated before, his character was not needed. He has way too little screen-time, he proved to not be as competent as his subordinate, and he ultimately served as more of a plot device rather than a real character in his own right. Tempest is the big bad, the main antagonist of the story. She is the captain of the Storm Armada, a ruthless fleet that raids kingdoms across the land for their magic. Tempest has in a way developed a bit of a lust for magic and power ever since losing her horn as a filly and works tirelessly to find a way to restore it, but to no avail. She finally comes full circle back to her homeland to steal the magic of the Alicorn Princesses. Her goal is to become an alicorn herself, not only as a means to restore her horn, but also gain as much power for herself as possible. Her conquest is also an act of revenge as Equestria represents the one major thing that she strongly stands against: Friendship; The thing that ultimately failed her as a filly.
>
> Now you might have noticed one big major difference with her redesign, and that's the new pirate garb that she is now sporting. The movie had this overarching nautical theme with pirates, ships, and even mermaids. I wanted Tempest and her army to tie in more closely with that theme. What the Storm King had going on felt vague and unfocused. Hence why Grubber and the storm creatures have completely different outfits. The insignia and color scheme both remain however.
>
> And finally the biggest change I made with Tempest is that she DOES NOT get redeemed in the end. She gets killed off in the same manner as the Storm King: Petrified and shattered to pieces. Grubber is the one who ends up getting redeemed.
>
> And those are the changes that made for Tempest for this rewrite. In the future, I'll be introducing other concepts and characters and how they relate to the overall plot. In the meantime, what do you think of these changes that I made to Tempest? Feel free to share some opinions.
>
> So about a month ago, I explored the idea of The Storm King being resurrected by Grogar. And for a time, I actually defended the Storm King as a character, and attempted to revamp him for the rewrite. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much Tempest outclasses him in every way, shape, and form as an antagonist and how much his character was not needed at all for the overall story. In the official film, she served as his commander; Raiding kingdoms of their magic on his behalf for a chance of restoring her broken horn. But in this rewrite, she basically takes his place as the big bad.
>
> There are several reasons why Tempest works better as the main villain of the film rather than the Storm King, as I will now explain:
>
> 1. She had a clear goal and motive.
>
> When she is first introduced, it isn't long after the Mane 6 and Spike escape Canterlot that we are given pretty clear reasons of Tempest's invasion of Equestria. Not only does she want to restore her horn, but she also wants to gain vast magical power and use it as she sees fit. She also remarks how the ponies and princesses of the kingdom are wasting their magic on such trivial things like parties, which gives us further ideas of both her character and her goals. She has, in her eyes, better ideas of what to do with all of that power. I would daresay that her goals are also a little act of revenge considering her backstory. The Storm King meanwhile, desired more or less the same thing, but the reasons given are pretty generic. In fact I think there was barely a reason given at all.
>
> 2. She has a backstory.
>
> Unlike the Storm King who's origins are unknown (Unless you read the prequel comic which also states rather vague origins), Tempest has a backstory which not only gives good exposition, but also a slight glimpse into her character. As a filly, her horn was broken off after a run-in with an ursa minor. and as a result she became feared and abandoned by the ponies that she once called her friends. Feeling betrayed, she struck out on her own; Gaining a reputation as a ruthless and fearsome pirate overtime. Its a brief, but well-executed backstory that gives just the right amount of exposition needed for the plot.
>
> 3. She is far more capable and intelligent.
>
> Throughout the film, Tempest displayed many skills despite her broken horn. For one, she proved to be physically capable with her almost acrobatic movements. She was able to fully petrify 3 out of 4 of Equestria's princesses, and even displayed enough power to counter all of their magic at once during her brief bout with the Storm King after he reveals that he was just using her. Tempest also proved to be vastly more intelligent than her boss with her knowledge of the Staff of Sarcanas, and her ability to track the Mane 6 during her pursuit. The Storm King didn't even know what the staff he held in his hands was let alone what it did. And ultimately, the Storm King also proved to just be too immature at times to be taken seriously as an antagonist. Sure, he was physically capable in his own right, but still.
>
> 4. She proves to be just as intimidating.
>
> While the Storm King was very much intimidating to a degree, he fell under the umbrella of having a more brutish exterior. Most of that gets killed off when he is portrayed to be more or less a spoiled little kid on the inside. Tempest meanwhile proved to be just as intimidating in her own way through her skills, capabilities, and intelligence. After the Mane 6 escape Captain Celaeno's ship, Tempest discovers both theirs and Capper's betrayal. The group cower in fear on her and while it is offscreen, it is almost implied that she killed them while destroying their ship. Of course it's revealed later on that everyone survived.
>
> 5. She works better thematically.
>
> Despite being yet another major unicorn antagonist (Trixie, Sunset, and Starlight preceding her), Tempest still manages to stand out through her overall theme of storms and bad weather. While this theme would've probably worked better if she were a pegasus, what makes it fit is once again her broken horn. The magic that shoots out of it quite literally resembles lighting and she uses it for both intimidation and destruction. Much like a real storm. Another good detail that I noticed is during her backstory. As she is leaving her town as a filly, a storm begins to form above her, further emphasizing the theme.
>
> 6. She is the one who gets a villain song.
>
> It goes without saying that "Open up your eyes." is a banger of a song. It not only sounds amazing, but also gives exposition into Tempest's goals, personality, and backstory. Not only that, but Tempest herself is a great singer. I don't see you dropping bars Storm King.
>
> 7. She gets a foreshadowing intro sequence.
>
> In a scene that was the cut from the film, Twilight introduces new audiences to herself, her friends, the princesses, and the kingdom of Equestria. During the intro, a stained-glass window of Twilight is shattered by Tempest herself, who cackles evilly before the opening credits role. This was a great intro that once again gave good amount of exposition, and foreshadowed Tempest properly as an antagonist. The scene for some reason was cut from the film. I attribute this to corporate meddling but who knows.
>
>
> Now with all of those reasons given, what would I do different you may be asking?
>
> Well to summarize, for this rewrite I cut out the Storm King completely. As I stated before, his character was not needed. He has way too little screen-time, he proved to not be as competent as his subordinate, and he ultimately served as more of a plot device rather than a real character in his own right. Tempest is the big bad, the main antagonist of the story. She is the captain of the Storm Armada, a ruthless fleet that raids kingdoms across the land for their magic. Tempest has in a way developed a bit of a lust for magic and power ever since losing her horn as a filly and works tirelessly to find a way to restore it, but to no avail. She finally comes full circle back to her homeland to steal the magic of the Alicorn Princesses. Her goal is to become an alicorn herself, not only as a means to restore her horn, but also gain as much power for herself as possible. Her conquest is also an act of revenge as Equestria represents the one major thing that she strongly stands against: Friendship; The thing that ultimately failed her as a filly.
>
> Now you might have noticed one big major difference with her redesign, and that's the new pirate garb that she is now sporting. The movie had this overarching nautical theme with pirates, ships, and even mermaids. I wanted Tempest and her army to tie in more closely with that theme. What the Storm King had going on felt vague and unfocused. Hence why Grubber and the storm creatures have completely different outfits. The insignia and color scheme both remain however.
>
> And finally the biggest change I made with Tempest is that she DOES NOT get redeemed in the end. She gets killed off in the same manner as the Storm King: Petrified and shattered to pieces. Grubber is the one who ends up getting redeemed.
>
> And those are the changes that made for Tempest for this rewrite. In the future, I'll be introducing other concepts and characters and how they relate to the overall plot. In the meantime, what do you think of these changes that I made to Tempest? Feel free to share some opinions.
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