It was chaos. No other word would suffice. Spitfire was military - she'd trained her whole life to act as part of a close-knit team that not only drilled their routines to perfection but also knew one another so well that reading and anticipating their actions was second nature.
The same could not be said for the other several hundred creatures on the battlefield.
Most of the Guard proper had been taken out in the early hours of the attack - the lucky ones had only been blasted by Cozy Glow, rather than cocooned by Chrysalis or sucked dry by Tirek. Their loss took away even the attempt to pretend there was any coordination to the mob of ponies, changelings, yaks, dragons, hippogriffs, griffons and for all Spitfire knew a swarm of intelligent timberwolves. All she could do was keep her own team together and play their part.
Banking around, they caught sight of where Surprise had gone down - she was being pulled clear by a changeling currently mimicing Pinkie Pie. A tiny stray thought crossed the Wonderbolt captain's mind that the two looked eerily similar.
No time to think about that, though. Giving a quick hoofsignal, Spitfire led her remaining Wonderbolts in another dive. The air screamed past as they sliced downwards, making a beeline for the rampaging Tirek. The monstrous centaur towered over the rest of the battle - but he had his back turned. A flight of dragons was holding his attention - they were trying to meet strength with strength in a typically dragon way. They were losing as each one he defeated made him stronger. But they had his focus.
The Wonderbolts came in for their strike at the same time a group of changelings swung from a similar angle - they had Tirek's blind side. A memory cut into Spitfire's thoughts: the last time she'd led the Bolts up against Tirek. The terror and the helplessness as he'd swatted them away and guzzled them like a pack of sports drinks.
That split-second thought was enough of a mistake. Spitfire's memories ended with a sizzling lance of green. She never saw it coming - at their speed, her eyes were locked on Tirek and the spot right in the small of his back she'd planned on planting her hoof. The changeling queen struck hard, searing off several of Spitfire's primary feathers and sending the Wonderbolt captain spiraling into the ground with a trail of smoke.
"CAP!" Soarin had his own lapse of concentration. They all paid for it - his shout alerted Tirek. The centaur spun around, swinging a beefy arm in the same motion. Most of the attackers twisted away at the last second, but both Soarin and a green changeling took the blow full-on and were thrown wide.
Not that Spitfire saw it. Her head swam and her vision was full of dirt. With a groan, she tried to rise from the spot she'd impacted - her left wing was useless but her legs still worked.
...She hoped her legs still worked.
Spitfire struggled, knees uncooperative and too made of jelly to support her weight. Each push put her concentration on one, and the moment it was off the others they folded. A glance up - and terror stilled the captain's heart. Chrysalis - in her full super-powered glory - batted an earth pony aside as she pushed through the crowd. Spitfire wasn't her target - just an opportunity along the way to the hill and the Elements. That still didn't stop the changeling queen from charging her horn and smiling a shark's smile at the helpless pegasus.
Just before the next lance of energy could fly, there was a streak of black and neon green in front of Spitfire's eyes. The uniform of the Washouts rather than changeling chitin - and she had just enough time to process that before the burst of magic fired. Chrysalis' blast struck the Washout instead, hitting the interposing pegasus directly in the head. The Washout's helmet was torn off, whipping the revealed Lightning Dust's head hard to the side. But the rogue flier kept her hooves planted and spread her wings wide - standing between the queen and the captain.
Lightning Dust narrowed her gaze, though her freshly concussed pupils stayed dangerously wide. "No."
Chrysalis laughed. "Like you have any say in this," she sneered.
The queen didn't even break stride as she continued through the melee. Her horn glowed green again - the second shot hit Lightning Dust in the chest. The Washout tumbled backwards with a cry of pain, sprawling across Spitfire. Still unable to find her legs, Spitfire rolled over and threw her right wing across Lightning Dust's barrel - the only pitiful protection she could manage.
Then as the queen loomed for a third shot, both were tossed away by a wave of force. Tirek's fist struck the ground a short distance away, knocking every creature in the area flat and bowling most clear of the battlefield. Both Wonderbolt and Washout crashed into a nearby bush, saved from yet another hard landing by a mass of leaves and branches.
Above, Princess Twilight was giving a speech - neither pegasus was listening.
Lightning Dust groaned, eyelids fluttering as she regained her bearings. Beside her, Spitfire tried to help by yanking a few twigs from the Washout's mane with her teeth.
A slow blink. "...Never figured I'd wake up with the Captain of the Wonderbolts chewing on my mane."
Spitfire managed a short, sharp bark of laughter. "You keep that up and I won't let you back into the 'Bolts."
The response was a snort-laugh from Lightning Dust. "Who said I wanted back? I found my team."
"Shame," Spitfire noted smarmily.
Both were silent as an orbital friendship strike pounded down on the three tyrants, ending the battle in spectacular fashion.
In the aftermath as their ears rang, Lightning Dust regained her hooves and pulled Spitfire up as well. The Wonderbolt still staggered and slumped, but a wing over Dust's shoulders kept her more or less upright. Which was when Spitfire asked the question. "Why?"
Lightning Dust looked not at Spitfire but at the still lightly glowing Elements of Harmony. "Rivals for life," she noted with a smirk. "But I never said I wanted that life to be short."
Author's Note
Just a from-the-hip quickie - when I saw that picture, it just spoke to me and I had to write the moment.
