In the hull of an airship, surrounded by screens of crystal, The Storm King is pacing around.
There is nothing much to do except train in secret to get into fighting shape and practice his acting skills.
You need to sound evil to sell the idea that you are evil.
And with nothing but Ocean around him, with the closest piece of land being Storm Island hours away.
"Behold, I, The Storm King, am your new king, no, your Emperor... No no no, That sounds way too pretentious.
Maybe, It should be more casual? Hello, People of Abyssinia, I am The Storm King and as of the moment I entered your borders, I am your new King... Yeah, Casual is better, It's as if I don't care about their suffering while still seeming relatable to the younger demographic, Making a revolt less likely."
Yes.
A Casual evil monologue.
"I am The Storm King, A king who is a storm, And I am now your king. Everything under the clouds is mine, Everything above the clouds is mine. Everything touching the ground is mine. Everything under water is mine.
The world is mine!" That wasn't very casual, But I really liked that. The Tyrant that rules over both heaven and earth!
Yes, The world is going to be mine, In accordance with the OSK (Original Storm King) Plan of world domination.
The OSK's plan is also very basic. Build an army, Attack a kingdom, Steal all the treasure, Move on the next kingdom until all kingdoms in the world are his, While his officers run the governments of the kingdoms he took over, creating a steady income of supplies and resources to continue his conquest around the world.
With the only real weapon to deal with magical opponents on hand being a machine he dug up ruins he found in the outskirts of the Storm Island.
The Magical Machine creates magic grenades that transforms objects and creatures in it's vicinity into crystal statues.
It's basically a crystallization grenade.
The Storm King does a spinning wheel kick.
-------------------------------------------
"Sire, We are reaching land in a days time, we shall arrive by the morning after the next" Strife informs me as I am having dinner.
Say what you want about Airship food, Being a king has its perks. This Steak is delicious.
"Strife, Inform the other ships that once we land, I want a detailed list of all the resources on the ships, From what they had at the starts of the flight, to what they hold now." I tell the cloud, Trying my best to sound powerful and intelligent.
Being a king, no matter how privileged it may seem to an outsider perspective, will not be an easy job for me.
I need to lead the remnants of a nation with declining birth rates, subpar education and no neighboring countries to make deals with.
The Only way off of Storm Island is through a several day flight over the story ocean, A distance that by earth standards, is equivalent to flying from Australia to New Zealand. It's not a particularly long flight by modern standards, only a few hours.
But with the technology of this world, it is closer to sailing on a sixteenth century flagship.
Sure it can fly and thus saves the troubles of fighting the ocean currents, But it's not as fast as a plane.
And With the meager food supplies that my army holds, We will need to, Excuse my language for a bit here, Liberate a town for the purpose of producing rations.
The world I find myself in confusing in it's build. The richest and arguably most powerful nation Is closed off from the outside world, The Only new coming in and out is from the few groups brave enough to go there.
Not because the conditions are terrible, no no no. It's because Ponies, Are inherently close minded individuals. After years of being coddled by an almost immortal princess, learning about the monster in the forest that eats children, Or the big bad Dog person that stalks the streets at night.
They might not say it, They might even disagree with it.
But they are a nation of children and snowflakes.
When you can change the weather on a whim, you don't need to learn to survive a drought or a storm. When something breaks or you get inured, You can get a Unicorn to magic away the injury. When your people are starving, you can just magic up a tree that grows all kinds of fruit to feed them.
They are a terrifyingly powerful species with incredible magical talent.
They are also a species of close minded cowards who still think that a creature walking on the ground or holding stuff with hands or paws or claws is below them.
Why walk on the ground when you can fly through the air? Why climb a ladder to get to the top shelf if you can levitate the shelf to you? Why even try and improve anything when your life is as good as it can possibly be?
What is the purpose of Ambition?
And that mindset, combined with their magical power, is why they are undoubtedly both the strongest and weakest nation in the world.
And when the time comes for me to conquer Equestria, It might prove to be both my hardest and easiest battle.
Because an true villain.
Never lacks in Ambition.