The Shadowborne Rampage of a Winning Pony

by Gavel Coaster

Rating: teen
Tags: Cloudkicker, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Changelings, Original Character, Sparkler, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure
Length: 17866

Winningverse AU! Cloud Kicker, trapped in the middle of events beyond her control, pushes a little harder for the armor of her ancestor...

AU fic to Chengar Qordath's Winningverse.

When the changeling invasion raged through Canterlot, Cloud Kicker was cut off from most of her friends and trapped in the Kicker compound with her watchponies. It was only her leadership that saved them from the fate of the rest of Canterlot...

Desperate, she ventured into the heart of the Kicker compound to attempt to don the armor of the great Shadow Kicker, but when she stood before the memory of her ancestor, she was denied...

...but what if Cloud were a little more persistent?

Published 2014-03-30 18:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-01-04 12:38:00 UTC

A Shadow Too Bright

In that moment, Shadow opened her eyes again and looked directly at me. She lowered her muzzle and spoke in the quietest voice I had heard her use yet - almost a whisper.

"If thou believe thou canst convince me, descendant...by all means."

It was kinda obvious my last comment had upset her. Yeah, I guess if I were a nine hundred year old living memory of the greatest hero Equestria had ever known getting told off by a thirty generations removed dropout nymphomaniac granddaughter for not living up to her own legend I’d be a bit cheesed off too.

"Right. Fine! I'm not worthy to wear the armor!" I steamed, "but maybe you've forgotten there are ponies dying out there! Ponies with friends they don't know where to find! Or even if they're still alive! Ponies with FAMILIES they don't even know are alive! I'm not letting what happened with Mom happen to any other pony, Shadow!" My temples were throbbing, my face was hot, and I'm sure my voice was rising a few levels. Shadow, for her part, was watching me impassively with no change in her expression whatsoever.

"Every pony in the clan always said you believed in sacrifices for the good of all ponykind! Not just you and your own!" I snapped, barely aware of how feathering childish I might have sounded. "And there's never been any better time for that! My father, my little sister, my best friends and every pony in bucking Canterlot needs you now! Celestia needs you!" Even with all that was going on and just how thoroughly pissed I was, I couldn't help but feel the tiniest glimmer of triumphant glee as Shadow's eyes moved briefly to the side when I said that.

Yeah, she and Celestia totally did it.

"Since the bugs have the princess...and Twilight and the others probably aren't in any position to help..." My voice rose again, and suddenly, I could feel pins and needles rising though my skin, my mane stiffened like it was crackling with magic. Huh, adrenaline rush.

"...don't you think the lives of all those wonderful ponies out there might be a little more important than every little thing being right about anypony who wears your armor?! I know I'm not perfect, Shadow...not by a long shot, but I'm good enough to know when the need matters more than the risks!"

By that point, I knew what I was going to do. Clan tradition and respect for ancestors be damned.

"I'm going to use your armor, Shadow. And I'm going to save Celestia and every other pony and the Equestria you fought to save nine hundred years ago! And you can kill me for wearing it with that ancient, scary curse thing if you like, but not before I use the bucking thing to save the princess, Dad, Alula, Star, Twilight, Fluttershy, and everypony else from those monsters!"

Shadow, impassive most of the way through my little rant, was silent for a few moments. Finally, the corner of her muzzle curled up in what might have been either a smirk or a sneer. I couldn't tell...but honestly, at that point, I was beyond caring.

She finally spoke up again, "Cloud Kicker..." It was the first time she had used my name, but the tone of her voice was ambiguous as that bucking poker face. I couldn't tell if she was mocking me or not.

"...thou wouldst truly defy every tradition the Kicker Clan hath ever followed - not to mention signing thine own death warrant in the process - to save everypony else from powerful, terrifying abominations? Thou? The callow, slatternly, impulsive, irresponsible nag of the family?" She scoffed.

Okay, anypony in their right state of mind would have been either seriously pissed off or demoralized to the point of suicidal depression at hearing that kind of put-down from the hero she's practically worshipped all her life. But - and I still have no idea why - all of Shadow's disbelief didn't seem to matter. I was eerily calm, and somehow, I had never been more sure of anything in my life.

"Yes..." I hissed quietly, "The callow, slatternly, impulsive, irresponsible - and good-looking, you forgot good-looking - nag would do that, and more besides..." At any other time, I might've felt like a complete mule to say something so dramatic and bucking cliche, but right then, hissing and spitting just felt like the right thing to do. "...the nag would serve Princess Celestia's next dessert in the bug bitch queen's skull too!"

Shadow actually snorted, cocking her head at me, sounding more amused than shocked however.

I decided to get her back a little, if only I show her just how serious I was, "And I seem to remember another mare who bucked tradition in the face when she saw how much it deserved it. She chose exile from her home because she'd rather fight for honor and the good of all Equestria than sit at home like a good little filly..."

I'd expected anger, indignation and outrage. Instead, Shadow snorted again and bared her teeth. Holy schmolies, she was actually grinning at me! Shadow Kicker, grinning like a timber wolf!

"Cloud..." she said again, "thou wouldst truly compare thine ordeal to mine own?  Thou art a slight...neigh, thou art truly a noble fool if there ever was one..." Her grin grew wider. "Still, mayhaps Equestria's age of noble fools is too long gone..."

Was she...? Did that mean she would...?

"Oh, mayhaps..." I said, drawing out the word and emphasizing it with sarcasm. "But either way, I'm not going to let anypony else die, and I sure as hay am NOT going to let those bugs overrun the Kicker compound! You can magically drain my life force with that ghastly, terrifying curse or whatever later."

I stood up straight, rising to my full height and refusing to show any demure position to Shadow any longer. "I'm taking your damn armor either way - tradition be damned! Help me or don't, materfamilias! Either way I'm not going to sit down and do nothing when I know ponies - Kickers - are going to die!"

Still grinning, Shadow slowly stepped forwards, slowly unfurling her wings. I tensed, waiting for any kind of wing-blade attack. I knew I could hardly put up any kind of fight against Shadow Kicker herself, but somehow I just didn't care! Even dying here in this vision-within-a-vision-whatever-the-hay-it-was would be better than leaving empty-hoofed now...

All of a sudden, the Kicker Compound around us began to brighten, luminescent shades erupting from nowhere. I glanced around, then looked quickly back at Shadow, who was practically muzzle-to-muzzle with me by now, still grinning.

As the light around us grew, Shadow slowly, almost lazily, unfurled her wings further, tilting her head and neck upwards and sticking out her tense forelegs, “So much like my Gale...”

What?

"It has been too long..." Shadow said slowly as the light around us finally became too bright to look at and I shut my eyes, "...since I have stretched my hooves..."

My heart, already working overtime, promptly began hammering in my chest.

*

Star paced restlessly in the courtyard of the Kicker compound. A lot of ponies at West Hoof had said the wait between battles was the worst thing about war, and it was true. Fear of the danger, the uncertainty of what was coming, and knowing something bad would happen sooner or later was all there. It was a terrible mix of hoping the bugs would stay away long enough to rest and prepare, and wishing they would just attack right now so she could get all the wretched uncertainty over with. Star knew from personal experience that at least fear was easier to deal with in the heat of action...

As she looked around, she could see her for herself many other ponies wished the same thing. Some were injured, some were sick, all of them were tired, and a few had even been reduced to a blubbering mess cowering in the corners. Morale was extremely low, and the news that the changeling queen had triumphed over Princess Celestia had very nearly been the final nail in the coffin. The clan might have demanded a surrender if Cloud hadn't gone to the Kicker vault.

Star did not blame them. Every few minutes, she could feel the sudden twitch in her legs to just panic, scream and run for it, far away to wherever the hay there were no changelings...

But she was a Kicker. And a soldier besides, and she knew better. Nothing got a warrior killed faster than panic, and leaving the compound was a death sentence. And then there was Sparkler...

Sparkler...

Star glanced over at what was left of their field hospital where she knew Cirrus Doo and Sparkler would be, yearning to gallop inside and wrap her hooves around her fillyfriend and never, ever let go. Star promised herself that if she and Sparkler somehow came through all this alive, she was going to kidnap the sweet nag, drag her into her bedroom, magic the door locked and spend a week shaking up the whole Kicker compound...

She blinked and forced herself to look back at the troops.

I've been spending too much time with Cloud recently...

Just what the hay is taking her so long anyway?!

Granted, it'd only been a few minutes since Cloud had left for the keep, but it felt like ages. And nothing. No sign of any progress. For all Star knew, her cousin could still be fumbling with the locks on the door...

There hadn’t been any movement from the changelings either. With the Kicker compound fortified and the Home Watch on high alert, the bugs apparently knew better than to try a full-on assault. Pity, Star thought savagely, maybe we couldn’t kill them all, but I bet we could take many of them down with us...

She glanced worriedly over at the gate to the compound, wishing, not for the first time, that she could’ve managed to plant trackers on every pony in the compound. She’d never be able to keep track of everypony at once in a million years, but at least she’d be able to tell if somepony in the Watch was a changeling impostor. Nowhere near enough time or gems for that though.

Groaning, the unicorn levitated herself up the wall and gazed out over the streets. No doubt about it, Canterlot was a bucking mess.

The streets were deserted. Plumes of thick gray smoke that could only mean fire were rising from all over the city. Ponies were either barricaded indoors hiding, dead and out of sight, or caught and taken by the changelings. That was the way of war in the cities. They hadn’t seen another group of civilians or soldiers seeking refuge for more than an hour. And, truth be told, that was probably a good thing. The last sneak attack by the bugs had cost them most of their medical supplies and staff, and they were spread thinly enough as it was. After that, Star wasn’t sure she’d permit anypony to enter even if any did show up...

She prayed to Celestia and Shadow she’d never have to make that choice.

She caught a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head to the left just in time to see a changeling lower its head back into a window opening across the street before she could light up her horn.

Old scare tactic. The bugs were reminding them they were still there and they were still watching.

Star was tempted to blast a shot at the window anyway to show the horseapple-eating vermin what she thought of that, but then she remembered Cloud’s warning to conserve her energy. There weren’t many unicorns left in the compound, and if the bugs did manage to get inside the walls again, a little magic could mean all the difference between life and death.

Ducking back behind the walls, she turned and trotted towards the makeshift camps they’d made for the fleeing civilians. From first glance, she could see that at least a dozen were almost too weak to stand. Drained by the changelings and left for dead, these ponies were now almost empty shells. To see the stiff, frozen looks on their faces, the expressions of despair on the faces of their loved ones hovering over them – it was almost too much for Star to bear.

Dammit, Star. You’re a soldier. Toughen up.

She turned around again...almost crashing right into a stallion who had been poised to tap her on the shoulder. Startled, the unicorn reflexively dropped into a stance, lighting her horn.

The civilian who had approached her immediately shrieked and slunk back, “No, don’t!”

Slowly, Star relaxed, rising back to her full height, though she kept her horn lit. “Your cut, citizen.”

The earth pony looked at her, clearly shocked and bewildered, “Wh-what?”

“Your cut!” she repeated, almost snapping in irritation for every wasted second, “If a changeling tried to sneak up on me, I want to know.”

His eyes widened, “Oh! Oh no no, I’m not one of them!” He turned on his side, revealing a particularly nasty-looking scratch just above his mark. The blood was deep red, dripping slowly down his flank to his hind hoof. When Star squinted, she saw he had left a bloody hoofprint behind. She released her focus, letting the glow in her horn fade.

The stallion sighed in relief and stepped back. He was a light yellow with a short, parted brown mane and moustache. He was wearing a coat and a monocle which were stained with blood splatter. Star had a notion he probably looked like the typical, not-quite-middle-aged, upper-class businesspony on a good day. But his expression was something else. His eyes wandered in every direction, like he was still making sense of what was happening and didn’t quite believe his own eyes. His face was crumpled and scrunched with trauma and he looked older than he probably was.

Star decided to try the soft approach. “The Kicker Home Watch is at your service, citizen,” she said calmly, “what do you need?”

That seemed to get his attention. He turned to her and opened his mouth once or twice, then shut it again. Star was tempted to simply cut things off right there when he suddenly blurted out, “We have to give up!”

Star blinked at him "Come again?"

She didn't need her mother's expertise to see the stallion before her was growing more frantic by the minute. "Miss...Cloud Kicker, is it?!"

She shook her head, "Star Kicker, her second-in-command, and sir, I advise you to go somewhere and sit down - you're obviously in a panic."

That made him stiffen. "Miss Star Kicker, I'm afraid I need a moment of your time. The other ponies who made it here have chosen me to-"

Star cut him off smartly before he could dig his hole even deeper, "While we are all happy you made it here, citizen, I'm afraid we simply don't have time to tend to your every need right now. We can expect another attack at any minute!"

"This is going to get us all killed! We have to-"

"Stand down citizen! You're interfering with military operations - a crime that can carry severe penalties for the perpetrator in question!" If Star were ten years older and fifty pounds heavier she knew the scowl on her face might've made him back off, but he plunged on.

"They take ponies alive! We know -we've seen it. But if we continue this way, they'll kill us all! Miss Kicker, we must surrender! They'll-"

"You do not command here!" Star said sharply. "Lieutenant Cloud Kicker's orders were to hold the line and wait for reinforcements! Now go take care of your family, citizen!"

"My family are all gone!" He shrieked loudly, drawing the attention of the ponies around them. "I lost them on the way here! The others lost theirs too! Many of us already lost everything and everypony we had! If we go on like this, we'll all die!" His voice rose even higher, and Star saw to her dismay that many of their beleaguered refugees and wounded were shuffling closer to listen. The stallion began to quiver and stammer, "B-but if we surrender now...m-maybe they'll let us live...and maybe we can see our families again...they must have them..."

Star knew she needed to shut him up. Now. Already one or two of the onlookers were nodding agreement and it was becoming harder to ignore the atmosphere of despair over the wounded. If she let this go on, it could become a full-blown mutiny.

"Stand down, citizen!" Star said loudly and forcefully. "I've already told you our orders are to hold the line. A civilian like you does not-"

"Orders?!" he shrieked, "Buck, your orders are going to get us all killed! Those monsters haven taken over all of Canterlot and they've already taken out the princess! There's no way we can - oof!"

Star spun on the spot and bucked him in the head. The mule hit the ground, but to her dismay he wasn't knocked out. Instead, he just whined pathetically and started crying, pawing desperately at the ground with his hooves as though holding into it would save him. He was obviously scared - really scared. Even worse, some of the other refugees were taking their cue from him and their despair and wailing in the air was growing more audible by the second.

Frustrated and worried, Star turned away from the idiot to find herself face-to-face with one of the older Home Watch members...a clan enlistee named...Left-something. Left Hoof, Left Hold, Left Heart? Star decided to just think of him as Lefty.

Ever the veteran, Lefty saluted crisply, "Permission to speak, Agent Star Kicker?"

From the expression on his face and the tone of his voice, she had a good idea what he was going to say and it was a bad idea. "Denied, soldier. Return to your post - they could attack again at any moment!"

"Agent Star Kicker!" he said urgently, "I take no pleasure in saying this...but perhaps that civilian was right. Surrender may be our only hope of survival now!"

No! Star grimaced and lowered her voice. “What are you doing? Our orders were to hold! You are making this worse, soldier!”

Lefty shook his head, a troubled expression on his face.  His eyebrows were lowered and a deep, sad frown graced his face – as though he didn’t like what he was saying, but he believed it was the only option.  And so he did.

“My sweet great-niece...” he said, “I don’t like this. I never will like this. But I like what will happen if we keep this up even less. We’re facing an army of born killers that feed off our fear. I’ve seen the looks on these bugs’ faces – they were born and bred to destroy! We’re cut off from the rest of Canterlot with barely enough supplies to last us a day and outnumbered a hundred to one. The guard, the princess, everything’s gone! And they came out of nowhere and took us all completely unawares. At this point, and against these odds, there is no shame in surrendering, since further resistance would only get us all killed...”

Star glowered at him, “Princess Luna-“

“-will not arrive in time to save us!” Lefty cut her off. “To march back to Canterlot, she’ll need fresh troops and supplies to replace the ones she’s already overtaxed at the borders – and where will those come from with Canterlot under enemy control?! By the time the Princess of the Night has managed to resupply from the border areas and returned, almost everypony in the city will be either dead or taken – including us! What will all our foolish valor have mattered then? But if we surrender to them, perhaps we can manage to stay alive until the princess does return, and then we can put up another fight...” he paused, his frown twitching as his pragmatism won over his sense of pride again – “...or even if we cannot - since I doubt the enemy would be foolish enough to allow us any such liberty - then at least we will still be alive! Star Kicker, surrender is our only hope!”

“Do you know what these things do to ponies they capture, you complete and utter jackass?!” Star snarled, losing more of her composure for every word she heard from him, “If we surrender, you think they’ll just toss us in nice, cozy cells and say ‘enjoy your room, we’ll bring you supper in an hour’?!”

Lefty shook his head, “Of course not, child. I doubt many of us will survive being their prisoners...” he took the deep, long-suffering breath of a soldier stallion past his prime who had been taught by blood and fire to see the flaw in any cause, “...but there’s a chance some of us might...at least until Princess Luna returns...and surely that’s better than every mare, stallion, and foal under our protection dying pointlessly here and now!” He pointed over his shoulder at somepony behind him to emphasize his point.

Star squinted, and promptly felt a large hole rip open in her heart as she saw what he was pointing at.

A civilian mare, trembling and weeping to herself, was huddled up against the wall of the nearest house, holding a tiny foal in her forehooves. The poor colt couldn’t have been more than a few years old, but his face was twisted and frozen into a rictus of pure terror, pale and drenched with spittle as his breath came in strained, rattling noises.

His mother was shuddering and muttering to herself as she held him close, “Please don’t eat him...I-I’ll d-do anything! Take m-m-me instead! He’s a happy colt...just a happy little baby...please don’t eat him!!”

She was obviously going mad...and from the look of things, her drained and insensate colt wouldn’t be far behind if he ever regained consciousness...

Star shivered and looked down. She was faintly aware of several other Kickers who had been listening in coming closer to add their opinions.

“I don’t like it, Star...but Left Hoof is right...”

“It makes sense...at least we’ll live to fight another day...”

“Pfeh! I can’t believe what cowards you so-called Kickers are! If we die, we die in battle! And ten of these vermin with us for every Kicker that falls!”

“Didn’t you just hear what Lefty said, Steel Heart? This isn’t just about the Kickers!”

“Did you bother asking those civvies what they want to do to those bugs?! I’m sure they’d love to help us kill every single one of ‘em!”

“You stay out of this, Chretienne! Since when did a prancing fool like you ever get the guts to learn the ways of war?!”

“Since I saw my sister get eaten alive by those monsters, Catch! And if you think I’m so damn gutless, why don’t you come over here and say that again!”

“Knock it off, both of you! We have a war to end, one way or another!”

“And if your way of ending it is to give up, Left, then you’re no better than those damn bugs!”

“Look here, you horsefly-infested...“

Star lit her horn and her magical aura flared up around her. “ENOUGH!!!” she boomed, magically amplifying her voice to the point it reverberated all around the courtyard. Every stallion and mare around her fell silent, while the refugees let out gasps of surprise and fright and began to back away.

Star, hot and helpless with impotent rage, was barely aware of Sparkler approaching from behind and putting her hoof on her shoulder. While she didn’t know how long her fillyfriend had been behind her or how much she had heard, Star knew this wasn’t the time to appear weak or sentimental with all these hardened Kicker clanponies watching, so she shrugged her off and took a step forward.

“You thick mules know full and well that there is hope! Right here in the Kicker compound! Something which can save us, and all of Canterlot, from those things!”

A glance of varying emotions went through the semi-circle before her – surprise, fear, polite incredulity, and, perhaps most unsettlingly, faint and joyless amusement.

“You speak of the armor...” Lefty said slowly, his eyes moving briefly up to the ominous, darkening sky.

Chretienne snorted, stamping her silver-shod hooves and overdoing it just as Star knew she would. “Star, my dear cousin...you know I and most of us don’t buy into all those old stories. And besides, what good would just one suit of armor – oh, good armor definitely, but just one suit – do?”

Catch glared at her through his one good, remaining eye, “I don’t like that sniveling, useless filly, but I concede she has a point, Star...” he swiveled towards her with a much gentler expression (and why not, Star thought - after all he was her father’s brother), “I value Shadow Kicker as much as any other pony who calls himself a follower of the Kicker clan, but the armor...there is no proof it was ever anything more than just an antique-”

“There’s no proof it wasn’t either, Catch!” the stallion to his right, somepony Star didn’t know, butted in.

“True...” Catch conceded, shooting another glance over the walls at the plumes of black smoke rising over the city, “...but at this point, can we really afford to pin all our hopes on legends?!”

“Lieutenant Cloud Kicker is down there...” Star said, sensing she was losing ground fast, “And if the armor is our only hope, she’ll find out! And she’ll-“

The crescendo of incredulous gasps, groans, and snorts started almost immediately.

“Cloud Kicker...” Steel Heart snorted, “...ah, yes. Cloud Kicker. The bar-hopping, hoof-dragging, bit-blowing, whorse-banging runaway filly, how could I ever forget?!”

Star lit her horn, but Sparkler beat her to the punch.

Literally.

Star wondered faintly how Lyra would feel if she knew all the time she spent with Sparkler led to a large purple magic fist flying in from out of nowhere to leave a grown warrior stallion cross-eyed on the ground.

Ecstatic, probably.

Chretienne was unable to hide a grim smile at that, but she went on regardless, “I know Cloud Kicker has come a long way in these last few weeks since her mother, Star...but still, that might be a bit much, don’t you think?”

“And in any case...” Lefty said in a tone of finality before Star could reply, “Catch is right. No matter how the stories about Shadow’s armor were or were not exaggerated, we can’t afford to pin all our hopes on just a single suit or the single pony wearing it right now. This is not a children’s story, my dear great-niece – this is war! And we have to assume the worst and hope for the best...”

He straightened, “We must surrender. It is the only way.”

Chretienne immediately started up at him again, “You’re just going to-!”

“STOP!!!” The loud, high-pitched shriek from behind made them all pause. Even Steel Heart, who had been clambering to his hooves and glaring dizzy murder at Sparkler, turned his head.

It was the crying civilian stallion Star had bucked over earlier. He was crawling over to them in the mud, still whimpering as the raindrops hit him, mixing with his tears. Star realized she hadn’t noticed when the rain started.

Then she heard the buzz.

Changelings.

And it was very loud. And getting louder.

Hundreds of them. Star knew any hope of a single small group of bugs making that much noise was virtually non-existent. And from the horrified looks on her comrades’ faces, they’d deduced that too.

It was somehow ominously appropriate, with dark skies, black plumes of smoke rising from the city, and the thick air of despair settling over the compound.

The pathetic, broken stallion crawled closer, his high, screechy voice growing louder with every word, “THEY’RE COMING!! PLEASE!! We have to...stop! Before anypony else...”

But nopony ever heard what he was going to say next.

CRACK!

The sharp, air-splitting noise of an enormous steel chain snapping in the distance immediately drew the attention of every pony in the courtyard.

Star spun around, looking in the direction of the sound.

The central keep.

Right there, before her eyes, one of the stone statues of her ancestors suddenly split right in two with another loud crack before tumbling over to land flank-first in the mud at the entrance.

Before Star had time to wonder which one of her ancestors had just had his dignity stomped on, there was yet another CRACK!

This time from within the building, closer than the first.

And not only that, but the large, decorative Kicker red chains that ran from the apex of the building to the ground were ripping themselves right out of the turf, snapping and shivering right up into the air like heavy steel tentacles before everypony’s wide eyes.

Then there was the rumble. The ground started to heave and groan.

Then the thunder.

But all the noise, all the magic in the air, and all the fear, seemed to vanish. Evaporated in a mere instant, drowned out by the figure that appeared in the doorway of the keep, moving slowly out into the rain.

A lavender pegasus, clad in red steel, had emerged. Her blonde mane seemed to gleam together with the bright armor she wore. Her slitted eyes shone with an unearthy glow behind their lids, a thin line of white light peering from beneath the shadow of the helmet's eyeholes..

The armor was undoubtedly of Pegasopolan forging, the deep inlays and grooves holding the deep, foreboding black of centuries of age, as though each groove held a memory too dark to be shared. And they did. The patterns accross the armor were more than a decoration - they were a history, a story - the story of one of the greatest ponies who had ever lived...

But even the mysteries buried within the armor paled in contrast to the promises it made as it sang with every step...

Star didn’t know how to describe it. The crackling aura that surrounded her cousin was not magic, it was not light, there was no way to say what it was. One moment, the deep, dark, slithering coils of power were there, and the next, they were not - as though a great power were straining to hold itself wthin a vessel too small for it. But the shadows did nothing to hide the proud, brilliant red of the burnished peytral, greaves, crupper, and crested helmet. The Kicker crest surmounting the peytral and helmet glimmered down at them all, and Star swore she could feel it looking at them.

And even at this distance, she could feel her mane standing on end at the sheer presence of the figure clad within.

Cloud looked as Star had never seen her. Was it even Cloud anymore?

Her cousin had always carried herself with an air of confidence and bravery, but now the flippancy and carelessness was gone. Every hoofstep Cloud took practically roared with strength, and if the iron-hard scowl on her muzzle and the fiery gleam in her slitted eyes was any indication, that was precisely the truth...

As she finally stepped from the entryway fully out into the courtyard - every eye upon her and red chains swirling above her head - Cloud slowly halted.

She unfurled her wings, showing the bright glimmer of razor-sharp wingblades that, Star knew, had once spilled the blood of Nightmare Moon herself...

Cloud then slowly tilted her head back and howled...

“DEATH WAITS IN THE DARK!!!”

The Kicker clan words, unheard for centuries, resounded through the skulls of everypony for miles around.

The red chains whipping overhead promptly condensed into a bundle...

...and then exploded, vaporized into red clouds and scattering over the courtyard.

Star gasped as her armor, dulled and marred from years of use, turned a deep, hard shade of red when the dust landed on it.

And before she knew it, hard determination raced through her bones, a presence of strength, hope and iron will flowing into her veins. All from her cousin clad in Shadow Kicker’s armor...

Star leaned back and shouted, “Death waits in the dark!!!”

“Death waits in the dark!!” Lefty roared from beside her, teeth bared and eyes hard.

Before Star knew it, the Kicker clan words were being yelled all across the grounds over the howl of the wind and rain.

And as the changelings broke over the wall and swarmed into the courtyard, the miserable, disheartened, struggling Kicker compound was suddenly full of growling, battle-hungry warponies rushing and flying forward to meet them...

Cloud Kicker was there, leading the charge with a nasty grin on her face - Star and Sparkler barely a step behind...

A Shadow Of A Doubt

Celestia's body was a mess of pain.

Her hooves and legs felt like someone poured molten lead into her joints, her backlashed horn throbbed like every ounce of magic within was trying to break free, and she could have sworn an Ursa Major must have been using her back as a dance floor for the last three weeks…

Groaning, Celestia cracked one eye open…

…to behold a wall of slimy, poisonous green.

And it struck her all at once.

The changelings! Queen Chrysalis’ attack! Her defeat and the horrible buzz of hundreds of the abominations descending on her city!

She was strung upside down in a green cocoon of changeling ichor. Celestia tried to stretch out her wings and legs – only to find they were restrained by sticky cords. And lighting her horn did no good. A wave of dizziness crashed over her when she tried…

This was no common changeling ichor – Chrysalis must’ve wound her in the stuff herself…

Turning her head with what tiny leverage she had, the alicorn felt sick at what she saw…

The tower was full of changelings from floor to ceiling, a deafening buzz filling the air and drowning out the noise of the scared, sobbing ponies they were holding captive. Practically the entire royal court were down on the floor with their hooves over their heads – everyone from court dignitaries to the vizier to her highest-ranking military officers…

Celestia groaned inwardly. That sneaky, slimy abomination! She’d planned her attack for just the right place and time to round up all of Equestria’s higher civilian and military ponysonnel in one fell swoop! It was the royal wedding of the princess of love to the captain of the royal guard – who wouldn’t be there?!

Which meant all her little ponies down in the city would likely be running around in a panic, unable to organize themselves or form any kind of cohesive defense against these monsters…

Celestia had to stop herself from throwing up and suffocating in this tiny cocoon…

“Ahhh, you’re awake! Good!”

That voice! Celestia tried to light up her horn again – determined to break free and fight – only for the wave of nausea to crash over her again and still her struggles.

“Ah no no no, my dear Celly! None of that now!” Chrysalis’ haughty voice was tinged with cold, harsh laughter as Celestia swiveled to look at her.

The changeling queen was seated under the archway on the dais, gazing down at her children holding the captives. There had obviously been a fight of some sort. One of the armor-clad guardponies was sprawled, unmoving, in a pool of blood at the foot of the dais, with another one being wrestled into restraints by three changeling drones, pinning his wings with ichor and forcing him to the floor. Many of the guests looked like they’d been struck and knocked out cold by the changelings, who’d obviously been under orders to take them alive…

Even worse, one of the unrestrained ponies on the floor had gone pale and stiff-faced, spittle dripping from his mouth as he lay limp in catatonia…the changelings had fed off him.

Celestia’s heart sank at the sight of Shining Armor and Cadance among the captives, trembling and holding each other at the front of the crowd, with Tornado Kicker and his assembled lieutenants not far behind…

“As you can see, Celestia…” Chrysalis declared smugly, tossing her antennae-crowned head and flaring her gossamer wings, “there is nothing you can do. Further resistance is futile! Submit, and maybe your little ponies will survive for as long as they can feed us!” She gloated, chortling, “Although perhaps it makes no difference now whether you submit or not. Canterlot - and soon all of Equestria - is ours!”

Celestia gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut against a rogue tear. Hold tight! Twilight Sparkle and her friends will save us!

She then heard the slow, chitinous clack of changeling legs approaching her prison, and, almost as though she had heard her thought, Chrysalis stood before Celestia’s cocoon.

“If you’re thinking of that nosy, suspicious protégé of yours, Celly…” Chrysalis cackled, “I wouldn’t get my hopes up! My drones have apprehended her and her little friends and have them on the way back here as we speak – ah! Here they are now!”

Celestia hoped against hope the changeling queen was bluffing, but, sure enough, the doors down the hallway began to creak open…

No! Celestia thought, jerking her head frantically over to try to look at the doorway. No! It can’t be!

But it was.

Twilight and her five friends were there, bound in ichor and being dragged in by changeling drones, and the Elements of Harmony were nowhere in sight…

Celestia slumped in misery. The Elements had been their only hope…

Though, thankfully, she could see Twilight and her friends looked mostly unharmed. A few scrapes and bruises, but she saw no signs of serious injury or catatonia. Obviously, the battered changeling drones who dragged them in gave hide and hoof to take them alive…

“Ahhh…” Chrysalis almost crooned, stepping away from her cocoon to walk towards the captive Twilight, who was struggling with her bonds and trying to light her cocooned horn. “Twilight Sparkle…how wonderful to see you again! During your brief absence from the ceremony, I took the liberty of thinking of several ways to thank you for your inspiring contributions to my wedding…”

The tone of her voice made Twilight freeze in place, then start to quiver with fright…

Celestia broke her silence, opening her mouth as far as she could to yell a threat, “Leave…her…”

She stopped. She could still speak, but the ichor wrapped around her muzzle weighed it down and she felt like she was speaking through a mouthful of treacle. Green, foul-tasting treacle. But Chrysalis obviously heard her, as her head snapped back around to look at her, “Why, dear Celly, what was that?”

Celestia opened her mouth again, “Leave…her…alone…”

Chrysalis smirked, taking two steps closer to her cocoon and cocking her head mockingly, “I’m sorry, Celestia, I didn’t quite catch that. Such a pity you ponyfolk can’t share in the wonder of the hive mind…”

Celestia growled inwardly. She could tell from her tone and expression that Chrysalis had heard her perfectly well; she was only trying to humiliate her further. When she didn’t repeat herself, settling for glaring murderously through her cocoon, Chrysalis halted in front of her. With Celestia’s inverted position, the changeling queen’s sharp grin somehow looked even more menacing with her fangs only inches from Celestia’s eyes…

Suddenly, Celestia was aware of a jolt running down her horn.

Her eyes widened.

Then she felt it again.

An old presence – one she had not felt in centuries – travelling down her horn and into her mind. A warning.

“Sha-“ In Celestia’s shocked state, her surprised exclamation didn’t reach its second syllable with her muzzle still gummed up.

For just a moment, Chrysalis’ triumphant expression seemed to waver slightly, as though she was not sure what she had just seen, “What?!”

Celestia, still startled, gave into the unthinking reflex to try to say it again, but this time, her word was less than a whisper. The changeling queen kept up the stare for another moment, and then, seeing Celestia was not about to repeat herself again, her eyes swiveled sideways to look at her captives, “What a colossally ridiculous irony this is, ponyfolk! Your beloved princess talks and talks and talks when she’s sitting on her throne! And now when she’s strung up in a cocoon before her superior, she talks no more!”

Shaking her head, she then turned to look at the captive Twilight again.

“I know just the way to start punishing you for your bad-mannered meddling, Miss Twilight Sparkle…” Chrysalis said, an evil grin slowly forming over her face, “the perfect way…”

She slowly raised a leg, pointing in Celestia’s direction, “I was going to feed on her out in the town square, before the eyes of every pony in the city…but now that I have you here with us, this is really too sweet an opportunity to miss…”

The gagged unicorn’s eyes widened, and she shook her head frantically, tears starting to grow in the corners of her eyes. Her five friends weren’t happy either – they started giving muffled yells and struggling with their bonds. A half-dozen changeling drones quickly buzzed over and held them in place.

Celestia, still stunned, barely registered Chrysalis’ words as the changeling queen slowly began to approach. A million thoughts were zooming through her mind all at once.

The Armor?! But who is left to…?

As her eyes drifted over to the captive Tornado Kicker, he locked gazes with her for a moment, and quickly, almost imperceptibly, his eyes twitched towards the window and the west side of the city…

The answer hit Celestia like a bolt of lightning…and suddenly, it was difficult to stop herself from smiling.

Chrysalis must have noticed, for she halted immediately. “What lunacccy is this?! You are smiling?! Why do you smile, Celestia?!” Suddenly, the changeling queen sounded less sure of herself, and her smug expression had given way to an annoyed scowl, “Imbecilic pony! Your city and your whole kingdom rests between our fangs, and the only hope you ever had is held captive before your very eyes! Why do you smile now?!”

There may be hope yet…Celestia thought, her smile breaking into an inverted grin.

Chrysalis growled, “Obviously fear has unhinged your mind, Princess Celestia! It will make for quite the tasty-“

BOOOOM!!!

An enormous crack of thunder sounded from outside in the city. The captive ponies gasped and turned every eye to the windows.

Suddenly rain came lashing down and the sky instantly darkened…

And somewhere in the distance, there was a faint humming sound - like hundreds of voices cheering…

The changeling queen spun on her legs, glaring at Celestia again, “What did you-!”

Her slitted eyes then suddenly dilated. Black pools filled up those poisonous, glowing orbs as Chrysalis’ senses went far away...

“NO!”

The single word burst from her mouth before she could stop herself, spat like a foul curse.

Before the eyes of everypony in the room, Chrysalis took two angry steps and blasted Celestia’s cocoon with magic. She felt the painful sting of course, but at that point, Celestia was too grateful to care. Chrysalis had just confirmed what she hardly dared to hope was true. She kept grinning at the angry abomination, who snorted and blasted her again for good measure.

“A clever move…” Chrysalis snarled, flaring out her wings and lighting her horn as an evil black-and-green aura grew around her, “…but one I shall not allow!”

And with a disgusting sucking noise, her chitinous hide collapsed on itself, deflating like an air balloon and vanishing…

…leaving only a green glowing light that promptly flew up and out the throne room’s balcony.

Changelings are stupid.

Beyond stupid.

Sure, with a guiding intelligence behind them, they can show a basic knowledge of mixed combat tactics with little to no communication with each other - that’s the advantage of a hive mind – but put them in a spot where they’ve gotta improvise or try to sort out the finer points of strategy and they’re no smarter than your average house pet…

So far as I could tell, their sole tactic was shrieking, charging, and leaping at us as soon as they got in range…since thanks to my Shadowborne cloud-kicking their wings were too heavy to carry them anymore. Wet bugs can’t fly, and shaking their wings off didn’t do them any good since more rain was coming down. Pegasi, on the other hoof…

My watchponies formed a solid barrier, weapons extended, while the bugs hammered against us. Naturally, defense had the advantage here in our compound - with the added bonus of the changelings being grounded, but not the pegasi. The bugs were natural killers, but they operated purely on animal instinct - not trained combat skill. Add that to the fact that even the oldest and youngest of us were well-armed and armored, and the only advantage the changelings still had was numbers. And if I had my way, that wouldn’t save them for long…

Drone after drone leapt upon my wall of revitalized Kicker watchponies, promptly being ripped to bits on our wingblades and spears. Forget bugs into the bug-zapper – they were jumping into the bug-grinder!

I wondered briefly why the bitch queen hadn’t bothered transmitting better orders to her mindless minions. She had probably been expecting nothing more than a few battle-weary, disheartened, rag-tag militia left in the compound by this point – hardly a challenge for a massed force of hundreds of drones.

And to be fair, half an hour ago she might’ve been right. Last time, the changelings had caught us shaken up and with only half of us battle-ready. They almost won then, but they wouldn’t win now!

A bug was bounding right for me, hissing and spitting from a mouth dripping with green goo. It came at me with its fangs bared and died the same way as my wing seemed to move almost on its own. My pinion-adjoining blade tip neatly stabbed right through its mouth and out the top of its skull, and the thing was dead before it hit the ground.

Getting control of the armor had been kinda difficult at first. I remembered trying to take my first couple of steps in it…only to almost faceplant into the wall when I must have leapt about five meters! Controlling the raw power of the armor had felt like trying to balance Manehatten Island on a particularly tiny twig.

Even after I figured out that part of the armor’s enchantment was for flying and lifted off the floor, I was still so discombobulated by my new four-digit equilibrium I must have slammed into at least six walls on my way out of the vault (I now felt a renewed sympathy for a certain rainbow-maned pegasus).

But right here, on the battlefield, it seemed the armor almost didn’t need me.

Another drone tried to leap off the battlements at me. Without thinking, I neatly sidestepped the thing’s clumsy swipe as it descended towards my head. I pivoted and slashed - once, twice, three times - on the rebound. Four shapeless piles of chitin, gross green ichor, and loose changeling guts were the only things that hit the ground.

They were lithe, quick creatures, but now I was quicker. It looked like they were moving in slow motion when they came at me – and even if any of them were ever strong enough to cut through the armor - which they weren’t - they never got close enough to try it…

I was in awe of my own strength as I kept smashing into any drone I could see. Contrary to what anypony might’ve read in the books and seen in the motion pictures, chopping a pony-sized creature’s head off or cleaving it perfectly in two isn’t easy. Skin, sinew, cartilage, bone - and in this case, chitin - do not part gracefully under a blade. Not unless it’s extremely sharp or moving fast enough for the shockwave to pop the entire body like a balloon…but I was doing it with hardly any effort at all.

Shadow’s wingblades cleaved through the bugs’ exoskeleton easily, the guts within sliced clean as paper…and that was what really surprised me. I knew that shouldn’t have been possible, even with Shadow’s armor.

You see, it wasn’t much known, but Shadow’s wingblades were older than her armor.  Ancient Pegasopolan warlords commonly saved showy, ceremonial pairs of wingblades for their formal armor and used more practical stuff when they had to go into battle...

…but Shadow didn’t.

Her warblades and formal trappings had always been one and the same. She didn’t see the point of keeping any ceremony from practicality – a trait she probably inherited from her Striker clan heritage. Sure, the slots on her armor’s backplate had been crafted specially to fit the same pair of wingblades Shadow always used, but the blades themselves technically weren’t part of the magic armor…

…and still I swear I could almost see them cut through the air itself when I slashed. Were Sunbeam Sparkle’s enhancements really that strong?!

The rest of it was all obvious, though. The flickering not-shadows running over the armor protected me from harm, enhancing my special talent while I manipulated almost every cloud over Canterlot into this storm that was grounding the enemy. I never felt as in control of my combat skills as I did then. The smooth motions of strikes, slashes, and stabs were almost an instinct already, but the tiny bump in every step, the twinge I always seemed to have somewhere in my muscles during the most difficult part of a maneuver, the tough twists and clutches for balance that always seemed to be the awkward link in any technique – they were all gone! Every single step of my practiced moves flowed as smoothly as the last, and I swear I could feel the armor sing every time I struck the enemy.

If I were any kind of pony to boast, I’d say I was fighting like a bucking Tartarus-spawned demon!

But then a changeling shrieked in my face while sliding off my blade, and I was painfully reminded of one other effect I didn’t enjoy so much…

The armor was enhancing my primary senses…and trying to keep my brains from melting out my ears was getting hard. My sight, hearing, smell, touch and even the taste of my own tongue were all beating down mercilessly on my head like a tap-dancing dragon!

Seriously, try to imagine looking through a hundred magic telescopes, sniffing ten pots of glue, holding an ear trumpet to a gramophone, and munching on a muzzleful of breath mints all at once and you’d be getting pretty close to how I felt. I don’t know how Shadow could bear it...

And right then, in my own head, I heard her voice again…

“Ignore it, Cloud. Choose some and ignore the others – thou wouldst go insane if thou were e’er to take them all at once…”

…Well, not that I didn’t feel like I was going cuckoo already with all the crazy stuff that’d been dropped on me today, but Shadow was right. I needed to keep my head…for now at least, and put on a brave front for the troops.

The enhanced senses were handy in some ways though – that changeling that had been trying to sneak around my flank might’ve skewered me before I even knew it was there if it weren’t for the armor.

How could you block it all out? I asked the uninvited guest in my skull, it’s like trying to fly away from the wind!!

“At first, yes,” Shadow responded grimly, “but thou needst focus. Thou must remain fixated ‘pon thine objective. Too much contemplation will drive thee insane…”

Right, because it’s soeasy to concentrate when I’m seeing, hearing and smellingeverything for miles! Couldn’t these little suggestions you keep putting in my head tell me how to turn thatoff?!

I could almost hear the grim smile in Shadow’s voice. “Now thou art beginning to understand why I would only allow the worthyto wear my armor…”

Right, after that bit of smart-flank from Shadow, I redoubled my efforts at beating back the bugs. There must have been a thousand of the creepy-crawlies, but with the armor, maybe I could swat a few hundred of them. Morale was high for the moment – the sight of me in Shadow Kicker’s armor and the light show it had kicked off had revitalized the watchponies’ morale and they were fighting with renewed vigor – but I knew it wouldn’t last.

The thing with the raining red cloud I made from the chains was just a cosmetic thing – aside from redoing their paint jobs, my Shadow-enhanced cloud manipulation hadn’t done a thing for their skills or prowess. They weren’t tireless or invincible – and it was up to me and Shadow to turn the tide of battle before the changelings overran us. And I had to do it quick. There would only be a short window between me taking the fight to the bugs and Chrysalis sending new orders to her minions…

I summoned the armor’s power and a flaring aura erupted around me as I leaped off the ground, charging right into the middle of the changeling ranks. Their claws and fangs ripped at me, but they couldn’t do a thing to pierce the enchantment.  Some of them spat ichor at me, but it slid harmlessly off the armor, protected against unwanted adherents. And all the while I still tore into them just fine…

A dozen shrieks erupted around me as I charged into the changeling ranks. Shadow’s armor sang with every swipe of my blades. A large, salivating changeling came charging at me, and I spun on my hooves and bucked it sharply in the face, caving its skull-face in and hurling it right back into a line of its kin. Not one of them survived long enough to get back on its feet.

And I wasn’t alone. The bugs, already halted by my assault, were facing an answering charge from the ponies following me. Star, being her usual clever-flanked self, had drawn up two dozen watchponies in an arrowhead wedge, widening the gap I was leaving behind as they cleaved at the changeling’s sides. No doubt about it, the armor had picked everypony’s spirits up – even if my little light show back there was just that – a show. Everywhere I went, Star, Sparkler, and a column of other watchponies were hard on my hooves, laying about them with earnest. It was payback time.

Star was following the path I’d made, blasting her magic at any bug still standing. She was lathered and breathing heavily, but she still grinned like a virgin in a whorsehouse as she stomped heavily on a downed bug’s neck, cracking it in two.

Sure, you might think a mare her age who hadn’t even finished military training yet would be trembling like a leaf and working herself up into a traumatized mess over her first real hoof-to-hoof kills – but hay, these things were monsters! Not to mention they had her uncle, cousin, and most of Canterlot held hostage. Right now, shock had to be the last thing on Star’s mind…

Another bug bounded in from my left side, snapping at me with its fangs. I slowed just enough to avoid losing traction on the wet ground as I spun and swept my right wing in a downward slash. The raindrops parted upon the razor-sharp edge of the blade, bursting into tiny, shimmering specks of silver caught in the rush of my arc…

My blade came screaming into the side of the drone’s open, eager jaw. The falling rain was mingled with a spray of slimy green ichor. The changeling froze, stiff as a board, a faint expression of surprise on its crusty face – before it fell, twitching, its head parted lengthways almost to the very back of its throat.

For a moment (just a teeny-tiny little moment, honest) I wished these things were actually capable of thinking and feeling for themselves – it would’ve been oh so satisfying to see them scream, turn tail and run like rabbits after seeing that…

Then, almost as if somepony had heard my thoughts, the changelings broke off their attack, backing away from my rampaging wedge of watchponies and trying to retreat back over the walls, but that didn’t do them any good since they didn’t have ladders and their gossamer wings were useless from the rain…

The rest was all butcher’s work. Or should that be exterminator’s work? I don’t remember too much of it – truth be told I was too caught up in adrenalin. Short version is some of the last remaining bugs took a leaf out of their smaller relatives’ books and crammed together into piles, clambering over each other and building living ramps out of their own bodies to get back over the walls and out of the compound.

It felt like an hour, but it was probably only less than five minutes before the bugs were either gone or squished. The last drones left in their living ramps hardly even put up a fight as we cut them to pieces - the hive mind obviously knew they were lost.

I was still wheeling around and looking for something else to fight - lost in bloodlust and probably snorting and stamping like an idiot - when I finally heard the cheering…

My watchponies were stomping on the turf, cheering enormously (and very painfully, thanks to my new enhanced hearing). They shook their weapons in the air, the pegasi hovering up to the walls to jeer at the retreating bugs and flip them off with their middle pinions. I knew the war had only just begun, but their spirit was infectious and I couldn’t help but grin as I strutted back among the lines. Sparkler was there too, all aglow with an aura of magic and an adrenalin-powered grin of her own on her face. The cheering redoubled as I raised a hoof in salute at the troops, and they started chanting.

“Cloud Kicker, Cloud Kicker, CLOUD KICKER!!!”

Suddenly, feelings of power bubbled up in my veins. I was unstoppable! A broad grin broke out on my face and - despite myself - I let out a jubilant whinny and reared up, slashing the raindrops in the air with my blades and willing my shadows to flare out, much to the cheering of the watchponies.

“Not now, descendant! Do not let it go to thine head!” Shadow snapped (the idiom had apparently already hit the dictionary in her era), “This serves only to raise their expectations of thee for the battle to come…”

It was true. There was no time. I needed to act before I got swarmed with a crowd of congratulators and everyone got a little too comfortable with the respite we’d bought. I fell back onto my forehooves. There was no question about what to do next. The armor worked, Shadow was with me, and we’d repelled the bugs’ assault. This meantaction. Princess Celestia was a prisoner, along with Dad, Alula, and most of Canterlot’s elite military at the wedding. Princess Luna was far away. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Twilight and the others were all likely prisoners…

…or worse.

I shivered briefly at the thought of Eepysqueak in the clutches of those things.  Sure, she was famous for telling off Equestria’s most feared and deadly predators…but somehow I didn’t think even Fluttershy could guilt-trip the changelings into submission…

It was up to me. With Shadow Kicker’s armor, I was probably the only pony in the world who could stop the bug bitch queen now…

“Sergeant!” I yelled. I knew there were several sergeants in the Home Watch, seasoned and approaching retirement, who were more than capable of doing what I had in mind. It wouldn’t matter which of them responded to my call first.

One of them, a stallion I recognized as Steel Heart, promptly cantered over and saluted. I knew he was a bit of a self-important plothole, but a capable ex-officer nonetheless.

“Take three squads with you and see to the injured. Take stock of the deceased and make sure no changelings tried to hide amongst our troops,” I said in my most authoritative, commanding tone.

I could practically see the protest at being left behind for cleanup duty forming on his muzzle before I turned my back on him and went to call the celebrating Kicker troops back to order.

Shadow’s armor had yet another capability I was planning to use now. Since it was still customary for rulers and commanders to deafen everypony for a hundred miles in Shadow’s time, her armor had a minor enchantment to substitute for the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. Steeling myself for the pain I knew it would cause until I finally figured out how to turn the damn thing’s enhanced hearing off, I activated the enchantment and struck my smartest pose.

“PONIES OF CLAN KICKER, GATHER THINE ARMS AND STRENGTHEN THINE HEARTS!!” I bellowed, surprising myself as archaic speech came to my lips. Could be I had more of a flair for the dramatic than I knew. Or maybe Shadow was planting more seeds in my head. “THE BATTLE LIES BEFORE US!!!”

The watchponies cheered and stomped their hooves in reply. Now that I was getting a good look at them, I could see not many of them were injured, and there wasn’t a single casualty anywhere I could see. Still, I knew this didn’t mean we could get cocky…

“WE MUST PURSUE THE ENEMY E’ER THEY ESCAPE OUR WRATH! TOO LONG HAVE WE HUDDLED BEHIND OUR WALLS WAITING TO DIE! FORM RANKS AND PREPARE TO TAKE TO THE SKIES AT ONCE!”

I could feel Shadow’s approval as the watchponies hastened to obey without a single objection. “I confess, descendant…I did not expect my story would survive o’er the end of the next generation of ponies. Yet nine hundred years anon, my loyal clan still obeys the memory of me…”

More than that, I thought to her. You’re a legend amongst the clan, and all of Equestria! They even have a cult dedicated to you, and a sect of elders that preach your return…

From the tone of Shadow’s reply, I could imagine her applying non-existent hoof to face. “Is that so? Mayhaps I ought to have discerned there would be those who would continue to honor me as such beyond my final days. ‘Tis likely my own error I did not make my wishes clearer in my memoirs should such nonsense continue forthwith. Be warned, Cloud, thou must make thine identity clear to anypony who e’er mistakes thee for I returned from the dead…or the repercussions may likely be severe…”

Right, gotta make sure nobody starts raving about the return of the Chosen One and all that other golden-age Power Pony horseapples. Granted, throwing Shadow’s name around after all this mess was over might cause a lot of trouble, especially in the clan.  There would be a lot of arguing over who I was, if I was Shadow’s unwilling puppet or master, or if I was always carrying my ancestral hero’s spirit around just behind me and so on.  The Cult of Shadow would probably harass me every five minutes, and one or two of the old Pegasopolan clan fanatics might start getting some funny revenge ideas.

Even if it would get me an army, a castle, and a personal harem of the most beautiful Shadow-groupies in Equestria…

I jumped and tried not to yelp when Shadow zapped my head again. Probably her way of reminding me to focus.

The watchponies had gathered into rank and file, waiting for my signal to lift off.

Oh, right, the objective. Forgot to mention that. No good just scattering into the streets and killing any bugs we happened across…we needed a plan. Well, first objective was to secure the outer grounds to make sure the enemy was really gone and regroup with any survivors we could find. Then, we’d have to divide our forces and head for the palace. Our objective there would be threefold – cut off any escape routes, rescue the hostages, and then find Queen Chrysalis and smash her head so far down her neck she’d be breathing out her slimy, chitinous plot for the rest of her life.

One advantage to fighting a hive mind – take out the queen and the drones would be reduced to mindless lumps that couldn’t even fight back anymore…I hoped. I knew it was a risk to face the changelings without unicorn magic or earth pony strength, but for the sake of speed I might have to leave Star and the other groundbound behind to hold the compound afterwards while the pegasi and I went to secure the palace and anypony the bugs were holding captive there.

I swallowed behind my new helmet. That’s where I’d find Dad, Alula, Fluttershy, Rainbow and the others…unless…

…No, couldn’t think about that. This time, we finally had a chance to start giving it back to the bugs!

I braced myself and lifted off the ground into the heavy rain, the assembled vanguard following me. Fifty-odd revitalized pegasi and about thirty watchponies groundbound. I hoped it would be enough.

“LUNA FORMATION!” I bellowed, “SECURE OUTER PERIMETER AND WATCH FOR ENEMY! ENGAGE ONLY AT MY COMMAND!” Sure, I could’ve told them to give any changeling they saw a good kick, but - as I learned back during West Hoof mock field operations - it was a bad idea to give a little too much freedom to the troops. The watchponies weren’t featherbrained – far from it – but it wouldn’t be the first time rank and file might take it on themselves to sort out the details of broad and vague orders like ‘smash any bug you see’ only for it to turn out a big mess…

Shadow was silent, but I could feel her approval of my choice as we swept in a crescent over the compound grounds, a guard of unicorns and earth ponies following in a phalanx formation on the ground. The Luna formation was one of the most basic – but very useful – formations for swift movement, allowing for all three pony tribes to take advantage of their respective strengths. The heavily-armored earth pony vanguard lined the front and flanks – the unicorn battlecasters would gather in the center, and the pegasi flew overhead for scouting, skirmish, and bombardment.

It was difficult to see everything in the gloom created by my storm, but the changelings, having few higher brain functions and losing the advantage of air mobility, would probably be simple to spot.

Sure enough, there was a great crowd of them assembling further down the street beyond the compound entrance. They were in the park. Nesting in the old floating gardens…

And by that I mean the gardens almost floated in mid-air.

Our ancestors had built them centuries ago with the help of the earth ponies, to honor the dead of the Lunar Rebellion. Each garden was placed upon a circular stone basin, all of which were attached to a massive stone pillar, the gardens spiraling along it in a helix pattern so it resembled a massive, perfectly symmetric tree...okay, it did look slightly ludicrous when viewed from far away - it was one of those eccentric architect’s creations that you had to get up close to appreciate…

And the fact the bugs were using it as a rallying point was intriguing…if a bit scary and sickening. Tactically speaking, it was a mistake, since we still had the advantage of air mobility while the bugs didn’t, and the open grounds made enemy ambushes impossible.

However, the floating gardens did look faintly like a giant bug hive at this distance. Maybe the changelings had more homing instinct than we thought…

But on top of it all, they weren’t running or preparing an attack…

…no, they were standing perfectly stock still on the basins with every eye on us. They were waiting.

Suddenly, a chill fell on me as the armor grew cold and heavy on my coat. Startled, I glanced down on pure instinct to see how high up I was in case I lost flight - and saw the Kicker insignia on my breastplate was glowing dully.

A warning.

The bug bitch queen was somewhere nearby.

“HALT!” I yelled, drawing several surprised grunts from behind me at the sudden stop. If I’d looked behind me right then, I’m dead sure I would’ve seen about a dozen young pegasi go face-to-flank into the pegasus in front of them. I don’t doubt that heroic, intimidating show of valiance would’ve sent the bugs running for the hills…

“Pay heed, Cloud Kicker,” Shadow warned, her voice echoing urgently in my ears, “Queen Chrysalis may be very dangerous ‘ere she even lifts a claw. She was but a larva in my lifetime, and even then I gained cause to regret trading words with her. Guard thine heart well, for even my armor cannot protect thee from whatever game of manipulation she may play with thee…”

Don’t worry about that, Shadow. The second I see Queenie I’m gonna…

“Stay thy wrath, foal!” Shadow’s voice cracked like a whip and I knew no force in Equestria would let me disobey her. “Thou shalt show the proper presence of mind whilst ponies of Clan Kicker may live or die under thine command!”

Okay, now that was just dirty. Shadow had just reminded me it was all my fault if this got anypony killed by acting before thinking. And just when I thought I’d finally got a way to settle on my terms too. Things had been going so well up to now that the fear actually faded a little. Then again, just goes to show basic West Hoof training: don’t assume an advantage will last forever.

Well, all the more reason to move fast. Chrysalis might not have any kind of plan for dealing with the armor yet, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to come up with one if I gave her the chance…

One of the changelings perched on the middle platform suddenly collapsed into the shrubs, twitching. On a normal day, I would’ve wondered if the thing was having a seizure, but with just the one bug sprouting longer limbs and a face swelling to the size of a watermelon on one side…well, I had my doubts…

The thing’s exoskeleton cracked off almost every joint, the foul yellowish-white membrane underneath stretching like cotton candy over gristly black muscle tissue…before the chitin suddenly warped with a telltale glow of magic, and refused itself again with a soft crackling. Two long pairs of gossamer wings sprouted from its stubs, thick with pulsing jigsaw veins pumping some kind of disgusting green crud. Blue-black tendrils sprouted from the top of the skull, eclipsing the tiny horns on its temples and elongating into what faintly resembled a mane…well, a mane that hadn’t been washed or combed for years. The protrusion on the forehead lengthened and twisted. A pair of antennae sprouted from the tiny spines on the top of its head and grew a thin webbing that faintly resembled a crown. The blue glow in the eyes faded and was replaced with a poisonous green as the cornea promptly shifted and sprouted deep, slitted irises.

And when the thing rose on its long legs again, there was no doubt who I was looking at.

Queen Chrysalis. The changeling matriarch.

My first instinct was to charge, lift my blade and slash her right between her eyes, but then I remembered this was the monster who had my father, sister, Eepy and many of the other ponies who mattered to me. And I didn’t know just how much she knew about me. If she could switch hosts like that, who knew if she would be capable of going back to execute somepony if I let her have it right off the bat?

As she stood, glaring at me, I heard several audible growls and agitated flapping from the troops behind me. The watchponies may not have known who the bitch was exactly, but anypony with eyes could see she was some kind of officer or leader. No doubt half of them were waiting for my order to dive and spit her on a wingblade. Before I could make any sort of decision, however, Chrysalis raised a leg and pointed in my direction.

I felt a brief tingling sensation, which rapidly became uncomfortable. When I squinted, I could see Chrysalis’ horn – or whatever it was she had - was lit. Not being a unicorn, my magic had never clashed with another’s before, and I was quickly learning to appreciate that….

I always knew magic friction was supposed to be extremely uncomfortable, but…that was probably even more true for somepony like me who’d never felt it before. I was quickly gaining a new respect for the abilities of Twilight Sparkle and the other magi I knew as I felt the bug bitch queen pounding on Shadow’s protective enchantments.

Shadow obviously felt it too. “Steady thyself, descendent!” she warned urgently.“She is testing my armor’s limits. Thou must not falter even for a moment! Always keep thy full strength hidden from thine enemy!”

Some of the troops were starting to mutter, now really sounding confused. I knew Shadow was right, and I needed to take action quick and deal with the consequences later. Gritting my teeth against the magic assault, I flared my wings and barked a command. “SPREAD AND CIRCLE! VULTURE MANEUVERS!”

 This was it. Hostages or not, there might be Tartarus to pay if we didn’t blow Chrysalis all the way there first. My pegasi were about to encircle the gardens and perch on the nearby rooftops when we all heard the shriek.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE, CLOUD KICKER!!” Chrysalis screeched (apparently even bug queens needed some way to shout over everybeing else for miles), “CELESTIA DIESIF ANY OF YOU MOVE!!”

That made me halt. So abruptly my wings almost locked up and sent me plummeting to my death. That screeching-stop line must have had a similar effect on my troops as well, because in the next few moments all the air around me was alive with worried, angry chatter. “SURRENDER YOURSELVES AND YOUR CLAN HOLD NOW!” Chrysalis snarled, “AND SURRENDER SHADOW KICKER'S ARMOR TO MY CHANGELINGS…OR YOUR PRECIOUS PRINCESS DIES!”

Well, she may have been a carnivorous, love-drinking, insanely-magical bug queen…but she didn’t know the first thing about negotiating. Drawbacks of being a tyrant I guess.

I flared my wings, powerfully, summoning the clouds. I didn’t need my hooves anymore with the gifts Shadow had given me. The cumuli drew closer with an ominous rumble, slowly elongating themselves into snaking arms that entwined overhead as I answered her.

“THIS IS YOUR FATE, CHRYSALIS!” I yelled, “IF YOU HARM OUR PRINCESS, OR ANY OTHER PONY IN EQUESTRIA, SHADOW AND I WILL CONSUME YOU AND ALL YOUR WRETCHED CHILDREN!”

I heard the brief mutters around me. I might have been imagining things out of personal guilt, but somehow, I got the idea that me trading Princess Celestia’s life like a strip of haybacon didn’t sit too well with some of the troops. And who could blame them?

“Thou must hold fast, descendant,” Shadow reminded me. “Do not worry - Chrysalis is no fool. ‘Tis known to her that her hold o’er the Canterlot citizenry and duress over Luna dies when the Commander does. ‘Tis known to her that if she cannot force thy surrender, her remaining forces shalt suffer heavy losses to destroy thee. She will only take Celestia’s life as a final resort…or else risk total war she shall not win.”

But the clanponies, Shadow…no matter what we say, they’ll hesitate… I thought back.

It was almost as though I could feel the faintest flicker of a smile cross her face as she answered.

“I shall handle that, Cloud Kicker.”

It’s kinda weird to describe what happened next. I don’t know how to say the feeling exactly. Think of it like your fur is a one-piece domarenatrix suit that just suddenly gets too loose for you and inflates with a rush like a hot air balloon – with you still trapped inside. (If that was what magic felt like all the time…suddenly Twilight Sparkle’s quirky, high-strung personality made a bit more sense…) Anyway, end result was a shade of Shadow Kicker, just as I saw her in the vision, but four times as large, all luminescent, white-eyed and wearing a perfect copy of the armor I was in, flared into sight around me…

…Just in time for the next bolt of lightning and crash of thunder too.

And then she was gone again.

I could almost see Chrysalis cringe as she recognized the pony who stitched her up (literally) hundreds of years ago.

Asymmetric warfare alright.

As if that changeling mug wasn’t ugly enough already, the look of unbridled, frothing rage that followed was almost enough to make me wonder if it was possible to be lethal amounts of hideous…

“What a brave little morsel you are…” she growled up at me, obviously angry, “and what a fool. If you think that enchanted scrap-pile and whatever sliver of Shadow’s putrid, rotten memory lives on in it will save you, then you truly doom everybeing you care about, Cloud Kicker. For don’t you realize my minions hold them all?”

“You kill Princess Celestia or anypony else…” I shot back loudly, “and my guardsponies and I will personally make sure every single changeling in the world is hunted down and exterminated. It won’t matter where you run, where you hide – with Shadow and Luna we will find you, and there’ll be Tartarus to pay!” There was an approving growl from my pegasi, but Chrysalis threw back her head and cackled mockingly.

“The inept, sluggardly harlot threatens me!  Luna is already finished. My children work to destroy her moon as we speak. Shadow Kicker is dead – her stinking bones rot beneath the earth until my children find them and lay the nag to rest more appropriately. Chewing pony bones really does wonders for my changelings’ digestion, you know…" She chortled. As if that was supposed to scare me or something, "And speak of Tartarus to a being who doesn’t call it home, Cloud Kicker!”

I had heard enough. Summoning a lightning bolt, I fried a patch of earth just in front of Chrysalis' perch. That shut her up pretty quickly...and I admit the angry scowl on her face when she looked up at me again was probably the sweetest thing I'd seen all day...

“KILL THEM ALL!” Chrysalis roared at her children, her hideous shriek quickly drowned out in the answering, deafening buzz and roar of a gale from hundreds of wings as the changelings lifted off their perches to obey…

…and promptly fell to their deaths as Shadow fed her strength into my special talent again. Like I said, I didn’t need my hooves to kick the rainclouds anymore…

Thunder crashed as the rain came lashing down - the changelings with it as their wings suddenly turned into heavy, soggy blankets. Another weakness to a hive mind, I suppose. One poor, emotionally-driven blunder costs a whole swarm of drones, not just the ones dumb enough to take flight in a rainstorm. Grounded and confused, most of the drones didn’t even manage to get on the feet before our ground troops pounced on them like predators and tore them to pieces.

This triggered a scream of rage from Chrysalis, who lit up her horn on her perch, emitting a fierce, black-green magic aura as she began casting battle spells down at the watchponies.

My jaw fell open as I realized just how powerful Queenie was. Chrysalis was blowing a lot of big holes in the turf…and I winced as she fried both a scuffling earth pony trooper and the bug he was fighting and they collapsed to the ground. Looks like she wasn’t concerned about wasting her own children along with the watchponies...

That’s cold. Even for her.

I knew we could still get in serious trouble if she kept that up. Bug collateral or not, I didn’t want anypony else dying if I could help it. And now, with the armor, I could help it…

I snapped my wings in and dived, aiming for Chrysalis. No doubt about it – I wanted a piece of her (and not in the pleasant, bedroom-y way I usually wanted a piece of a mare either)…

But Chrysalis sensed me and looked up as I drew near.

Come on, I’m close! I can get her before she-

With a hiss and snarl, she promptly sprouted a bright green bubble shield. I was in the middle of a full-on dive bomb with my wings streamlined - no way to stop in time! I shut my eyes and braced for impact. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d crash right through the thing – sure, I’d probably get several serious injuries, but at least I’d still hit Bug Queenie…

Turns out that wasn’t what she’d cast though - maybe she’d anticipated the same thing I had. It wasn’t a solid barrier...it was a damn trampoline! When I crashed into the barrier, it gave and stretched in.  I pushed and flapped with my wings to try to break through shield, but the laws of physics just gave out the closer I got…

And before I knew it…the rebound caught hold and I was spinning snout-over-plot backwards.

The really unnerving experience was how quickly my head cleared. Try spinning fast enough to get so dizzy you don’t know which way is up, only for it to be immediately corrected by an enchanted helmet…like getting high on the air in the upper-atmosphere before shooting back down to the ground…

…Not that I’ve ever done as such, mind you. Ahem.

When my wings kicked in and I regained my balance again, I planted my hooves and set myself down on her floating garden. When I faced Chrysalis and flared out Shadow’s wingblades - that was the first time I saw doubt and fear in the changeling queen’s eyes. We both knew I now had an advantage in close-quarters. Chrysalis was a creature of powerful magic – but that wouldn’t make much difference to her options now, with me clad in magical armor and only a few feet away. She looked cruel enough, but Chrysalis didn’t exactly strike me as the physical, mortal-combat type – not to mention chitinous body armor probably wouldn’t allow her to match my speed and agility. And that’s not counting the reminiscent pain the sight of Shadow’s blades must’ve been stirring up in her memory…

But, to my mixed disappointment and satisfaction, she didn’t turn to run. Instead, her eyes narrowed from wide gorges into venomous slits, and from the hiss and fierce snarl that came onto her face, I guessed she was kinda feeling a bit indignant at her own hesitation.

“So be it, Cloud Kicker!” she hissed, “I gave you so many chances for mercy! I allowed you so many chances of escape that were more generous than your circumstances permitted! Do you really think your Kicker clan survived that long because I could not crush you all any time I wished?!” She slowly ran her green tongue over her fangs in an ominous manner, “Were it not for the respite I left you and so many of my other enemies, every single pony who dared stand against my changelings would be dead – as your mother is…”

She drew herself up and planted her hollowed feet for a charge. I did the same.

I would’ve been an idiot to charge Chrysalis first, since that was probably what she taunted me for. Instead, I waited…until she spoke again.

“Well, what are you waiting for?!” Chrysalis snarled, “A fool and a coward to boot, are you? Pathetic! Has the line of the legendary Shadow Kicker truly fallen so far?!!”

I grit my teeth and tried to keep myself under control as we circled each other. Chrysalis was trying to provoke me into a trap – I knew it and I couldn’t fall for it! I had to wait for her to fall into my trap instead, so I just stood there silently even as the battle raged on around us…

…

…Damn, this was getting difficult.

Chrysalis snorted, “Perhaps your strategy is to prolong this until I die of old age?! That was certainly what your witless, twisted old magpie of an ancestor hoped for! She was too cowardly to kill me as well…”

Keep calm!

“And just imagine what your dear Alula - so full of love for her dropout, failure sister - will think when I tell her you challenged me and balked - right before I suck the life out of her!” she parted her lips and grinned. “A tasty morsel your adoring little sister will make…”

Oh, that was it! Somehow I didn’t care about whatever she was planning anymore – I was gonna break through it and splatter this monster all over the landscape!

I screamed and charged, lifting off the ground and stretching out my wingblades. Shadow called out a warning, but right then, I couldn’t even think straight.

Chrysalis was mine!

The bitch queen grinned, and her throat promptly constricted before she spat out another great glob of green goo at me.

Huh. So that was her bright idea. Apparently, changelings never wise up.

Ponies do, thankfully.

Without breaking stride, I flicked a wingblade vertically, slicing the ichor missile clean in two and knocking it harmlessly to either side…

…and promptly slammed into Chrysalis herself, who had broken into a charge while the gunk obstructed my sight.

Horseapples. So, the goo wasn’t it.

Time stood still for a moment as we crumpled into a tangle against each other, our limbs and rumps slowly lifting in opposite directions from our momentum. My wingblades careened forward to either side, missing Chrysalis’ body by inches. My head was crammed into her shoulder, my neck and breastplate mashing against her torso as our respective inertias did furious battle…

Unfortunately, even though I was faster, Chrysalis was still larger and heavier than I was…

The wind left my lungs as we were hurled backwards, rolling over the turf while Chrysalis snarled and snapped at my face with her fangs. I felt one of my wings creak painfully under my shoulder as we rolled and stifled the urge to scream. Instead I gritted my teeth and tried to push the bug queen under me.

But when we finally rolled to a stop in the fresh mud, I was the one underneath. Chrysalis, hissing furiously, stomped down on my left foreleg, pinning both it and my damaged wing beneath it to the ground. Before I could lift my other wing to slash her head off, she stomped on that one too, pinning me almost helplessly beneath her while I beat at her face with my only free forehoof. I tried to poke her in the eye, but Chrysalis dodged it and snapped at my hoof, missing by a hair’s breadth.

I wasn’t out of tricks yet though. When she tried to lean down to bite my throat, I braced and pushed up with my free forehoof, my helmeted noggin cracking her square in the jaw.

A trio of buffaloes started tap-dancing on my skull and my ears rang a racket worse than Vinyl Scratch’s Pieday single, but I felt a satisfying crunch as Chrysalis’ ugly kisser caved in and most of her fangs popped loose.

While she screamed through a broken jaw, I pulled a hind leg free and kicked her in the…well, whatever changelings had between their flanks…before I struggled free and rolled away, gasping and coughing to clear out my winded lungs. Air had never tasted so good.

My ribs already felt tender and my left wing hurt, but there was no time to check it now. With a furious hiss like a steam engine, Chrysalis got to her hooves at the same time I did. Her horn glowed briefly and her jaw abruptly straightened itself again, new fangs cracking through the chitin, as she glared at me.

Now that I was up close and hoof-to-hoof with the bug bitch queen, I could see this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. From a distance her hide looked smooth and streamlined. But this close, I could see her chitinous armor was in fact covered with tiny, razor-sharp spines, and it was irregular in places, with knobby protrusions and thickenings almost everywhere a hoof could hit her without getting pricked. And from the ache in my chest I was slowly becoming aware of, I’d probably already taken a few scratches from our little roll.

But I wasn’t afraid…oh no…not anymore.

As any fighter will tell you, fear only lasts as long as the battle takes to get going. Once you’ve gotten into it and really worked yourself up, all fear vanishes. The hard part was starting a fight, not finishing a fight after you started it.

As I let the bug queen know by returning her snarl with one of my own and raising my wingblades again.

She had the advantage in size and probably strength, but not speed. From the clash we’d just had and the way she was holding herself now, I could see she was competent in hoof-to-hoof combat…but she didn’t look like any kind of big expert either. There were lots of little holes in her technique that you could see if you squinted. She had braced her four legs in a  pouncing position but they were too far apart and her hind end was raised too high in the air, making a quick break-away impossible. And I was sure she was gathering herself to kick off her hind hooves instead of all hooves at once if I attacked - which would have been slow and clumsy.

Still had to be careful. Those fangs were likely poisonous from that greenish gleam I could see with my enhanced vision. If she did have poison, and if she managed to get a good chomp on me, it would all be over.

Chrysalis advanced on me slowly, more wary now that she knew I could do some serious damage if she tried to slug it out. She probably knew about my combat skills already from what she’d seen through the hive mind…but just how far they went with the armor, she obviously didn’t know. She dropped into a defensive half-crouch as she stalked closer. I did the same.

This time, I let her make the first move.

Chrysalis’ neck snaked out as she bit. I dodged it and stepped back. She chomped at me again, and again I gave ground, snapping my neck to my left. Then, just as I thought she would, Chrysalis didn’t even pause to regain her balance before she lunged at me again, taking the bait. With a beat of my wings for speed, I neatly swung my rump around and sidestepped - giving her a courtesy slash upside her right flank as she bulled past me – before I danced out of range again.

Finally got her.

Chrysalis stiffened and twitched in pain, turning a killer gaze on me. I smirked at her, but it slowly slipped off my face as the long, diagonal gash I’d cleaved into her side glowed a deep, poisonous green and healed itself over.

Then the bitch was the one smirking.

She lunged at me again. I ducked and moved right up into her guard, whapping her in the eyes with my left wing while I stabbed my right into her hind leg with enough force to rip through the chitin before I twisted away again. Chrysalis didn’t screech or fumble at her eyes though. This time, she spun as well and bucked me in the chest as I tried to spin out of range, knocking me right off my hooves.

Ow.

Now that hurt. As if getting a couple of ribs cracked and the wind knocked out of you once wasn’t enough. My vision blurred and I gasped for air before the armor cleared my senses again and I got back up, aware of Chrysalis limping towards me on her injured flank as the messy hole I’d dug in it began to heal over.

Okay, enough messing around! Time to pull out the big hooves from my re-training! Grunting, I pawed the ground and charged at Chrysalis. Snorting, she ran right for me too.

“Your meddling ends here, Cloud Kicker!” she snarled, “Equestria is mine! And soon, so shall you be…”

She dissolved into cackles as we charged each other again. This time, though, I leaped off the ground. Not flew - but leaped, extending and elongating my wingblades into lances as I flew over the bug bitch queen’s head…

One good thing about being tetra-pedal…ponies’ long legs and curved spines make spinning somersaults much easier for us than for bipeds like the minotaurs…

But Chrysalis wasn’t caught off guard. As I leaped – she hissed and instinctively hit the deck. My blades flew wide of her body as I sailed overhead. I landed on all fours heavily, gritting my teeth against the pain in my injured forehoof. Then I immediately leaped and twisted away again before Chrysalis could regain her footing and buck me. But I didn’t retreat. As Chrysalis turned, I was on her again, slashing out. She parried my first attack with one of her bony forehooves, but I didn’t let up and kept pressing the advantage, striking as fast as I could. Chrysalis spat as my blades repeatedly slipped past her guard to nick at her chest, green blood welling up in the slashes.

Yes! This was it. If I could just stop her from retreating now and keep this up-

Then she bit at me again, and this time, I couldn’t get out of the way quick enough.

Her fangs bit into my cheek, just missing my eyes as I pulled my head to the side. Gasping, I felt shock kick in and my limbs suddenly became very heavy. But I knew I just had to overcome it. If I panicked now, she’d finish me off without any trouble.

So I reared up and slashed as hard as I could. Chrysalis raised her forehoof to block it, but the strength of my desperate attack forced her hoof aside and the tip of my blade scraped angrily across the bug bitch queen’s face. She screeched in agony and backed off as one of her poisonous, green eyes ruptured and leaked out of its socket. But I didn’t have any chance to celebrate as I was too busy trying not to scream myself as my cheek swelled up and started bubbling furiously.

Before I could start to panic about my face melting, the armor immediately grew cold on my body and I felt Shadow’s presence again as a cooling wave of magic washed over me. The flickering shadows on the armor converged over my cheek, healing it. The hissing slowly stopped and the pain went as Shadow pumped her power into me to clear the poison out.

You know what, Shadow? Feather the guard and the weather teams. After that, I’m going to spend the rest of my life cleaning your effigy and garnishing it with flowers whether you appreciate it or not.

As my face returned to its normal size, I refocused on the battle. I expected Chrysalis to take advantage of my distraction while my face melted off, but no…

Chrysalis had collapsed to the turf, gasping, as her legs gave up on her from the pain. Green blood was seeping out of the cuts I’d given her with Shadow’s blades and there was only a weeping black hole in her face where her left eye had been. I stood, hardly daring to believe I’d gotten her good enough to end it…

…and right before my eyes, her horn glowed and her ruptured eye and chest reformed themselves. She leaped back to her hooves again, spinning to face me. She was growling and salivating heavily…obviously even madder now!

Buck me! This is going to take forever unless I can find a way to pull a better number on her…

Shadow murmured again...

What?

Shadow didn’t answer with words. Instead a mental projection flashed in my head…

Shadow Kicker, as I saw her in the vision, was standing on a cumulus under a starry sky, with a flickering, black-coated alicorn shade I recognized as the Avatar of Nightmare Moon hovering overhead. As Nightmare Moon shrieked and dived for her, Shadow lit her armor and leaped backwards. The shadows of her armor remained behind - sprouting colors and closing gaps in an instant - forming a perfect copy of Shadow right where she had just stood. Nightmare Moon fell on it and vanished through the clouds as the copy dissolved. The real Shadow paused, hovering overhead before the moon, before diving after her.

I smirked despite myself as the image cleared. This might be fun…

Right at the minute Chrysalis leaped at me again, wings buzzing, I somehow knew what to do. Shadow tapped the armor’s power and I propelled myself up and away with my wings…

…leaving behind a shadow duplicate of myself.

 Chrysalis, thinking the decoy was still me, shrieked with triumph and tried to bite its neck, but it dissolved into black mist between her fangs. Chrysalis choked and gawked at her own empty hooves before she realized what had happened and started turning…

…just in time for me bank around and zip by her, slashing at her head as I passed.

From the sweet sound of the yelp and furious hiss as I blew past her, that had feathering hurt. I couldn’t help but grin savagely…

I circled round and slashed again, drawing another green line across her neck. I swiveled and banked around for another pass, taking aim for her heart. Stinking bitch has gotta have somethingin there anyway…

But then a green barrier shimmered into existence before me.

I clenched my wings and pulled up as sharply as I could, missing the barrier by inches. No doubt that would have smarted if I’d hit it face on. And then suddenly, glowing green energy bolts were flying past me…

Looking down, I could see Chrysalis shooting magic missiles at me again...and, horseapples, did she look pissed!

“LITTLE MAGGOT!!” she yelled, her green-black stigmata flaring up around her as the long, glowing scratch I’d gouged into her forehead remained open and refused to knit together, “I’M SICK OF PLAYING GAMES WITH YOU!”

I dodged the next magic bolt she fired before the bitch queen winced and raised a hoof to her face. The slash I’d scored while she was distracted by my decoy had grazed her horn, and it looked like it was starting to spark. I could only guess the wound was interfering with her magic since poisonous green blood was leaking down into her face and it showed no sign of closing. “IF I CAN’T KILL YOU NOW…”

She then screwed up her ugly face and her damaged horn glowed enormously, “…THEN YOUR LOVERS WILL DIE FIRST!”

Chrysalis looked angry enough to explode…which she almost literally did.

Before I could react, she flared an enormous green aura, screaming loudly in a shrill, insect-like whistle, before shooting a gout of green fire up into the sky. I felt the armor’s power tremble slightly.  And then, slowly, the stormclouds I’d called vanished…

I mean they literally vanished into smoke. My rainstorm was gone.

In the moment before she cast her next spell, I could see our surroundings clearly again. My clan ponies below on the ground level had pushed the bugs into a box. They were surrounding the changelings with the air support of my pegasi. With their flight taken away, most of the changelings couldn’t move as rank after rank of my watchponies charged or dive-bombed them and scattered, crushing the bugs even further back into their huddle. The lucky ones who had crashed back onto their perches after I called down the rain or had been buried under their doomed siblings were shaking themselves free and running for it…

And then, as the rain stopped right before my eyes, every changeling raised its wings in unison. The buzz from thousands of insect wings shaking water off was…a scary sound to say the least.

Then, suddenly, it was an air battle again as hundreds of the bugs rose to meet my pegasi.

I swore. Our air advantage was gone. Now it was going to be impossible to trap the things. All of a sudden, I felt heavy again, and I was suddenly more aware of the scratches in my face, chest and legs. My forehoof felt very tender and it hurt to breathe with the cracked ribs from Chrysalis’ buck…

The bug bitch queen raised her head to look at me again, smirking triumphantly through a bloody, green muzzle…

…before she vanished in a flash of green light.

I growled, diving to the ground and smashing into the spot she’d just occupied. Where did she think she’d gone?! We hadn’t finished our fight yet!!

Cowardly nag!!!

“Of course,” Shadow replied, sounding amused.

Why are you so happy? I asked, she just destroyed the only thing that gave us an edge over the bugs.

“Thou shouldst not be o’er-certain of that, descendant. Look again.”

I looked again and then blinked at what I was seeing. There was an enormous roar in the air, the sound of stampeding hooves, and most of the remaining changelings were being smashed to bits…

…but their attackers weren’t who I expected.

The red Kicker armor wasn’t everywhere anymore. The Kickers were still there, but interspersed with the murder squads I could see other, different colors. Some bright, some dull, some of metal, and some of living fur…

Ponies were streaming out of the Canterlot buildings all along the street. Some were military, but most looked like civilians. Some were galloping at the peak of speed, and some were stumbling with age or injury. Some of them had crude weapons of some sort, and others were using their bare hooves or magic.

One thing was true about all of them though: they were beating the living horseapples out of the monsters that had them trapped and cowering in their homes a few minutes ago!

I couldn’t believe it. A wide grin split my face from ear-to-ear. The Kicker counter-attack and Shadow’s self-projection before my tussle with Chrysalis had pulled everypony out of hiding or confinement.  The Canterlot citizens were joining us!

Shadow, you’re a genius!

I could almost hear the smirk in her voice, as she replied.

“Why whatever did Ido, Cloud Kicker?!”

Heh. Okay, the Kicker smart-flank gene definitely came from her…

Again, exterminator’s work. Suddenly overwhelmed and at the mercy of the ponies they’d terrified into submission a few hours earlier, the bugs were soon in full retreat – vanishing around the corners or tried to hide among the ponies on the ground. Most of those that took to the air weren’t making it far…

…and everypony was cheering. “For Clan Kicker” and “Free Canterlot” were being yelled almost every moment somewhere in the crowd…

Best of all, the outer Kicker grounds were ours! This meant we could establish defensive positions and keep everypony safe for now – and then, next stop: the Canterlot palace to boot out Queenie and free Dad, Alula, the princess and the others…

I zipped up over the crowd. “Death waits in the dark!” I crowed again, pumping a hoof. The answering cheer from the ground was enormous.

But then, before I could yell for another officer, a new voice rang out from below…

“Cloud Kicker!!!” The voice was frantic, insistent, pleading...

I looked down, scanning the crowd for whoever was shouting my name. That voice was familiar. I should’ve recognized it immediately, but with all that had happened that day and my head still muddled from the adrenaline rush of my battle with Chrysalis and pain from my injuries, I was just too out of it to place it.

“Cloud Kicker!!!” The voice was closer, sounding panicked and upset – a sensation which, considering the familiarity of the voice and the half-formed notion of who it was, gave me a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

With Shadow’s vision, I finally saw who was calling…

I felt my eyes widen.

And I dove right for the ground…

Chrysalis snarled as she fluttered through the subterranean Canterlot caverns.

It had all been perfectly planned. Kept perfectly secret. Everypony had been taken perfectly by surprise…

Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle…all hers in the end...

And to have come so close to complete, total victory - with so many annoying setbacks along the way - only to have one final, upstart, Tartarus-cursed would-be hero rear her head up at the last moment…

Even a hive mind was not immune to frustration.

That insolent vermin Cloud Kicker is more than I bargained for…she thought sourly, snapping her fangs as she flew on, trying to ignore the gaping green hole in her face. Since I cannot defeat her physically, and that cursed Shadow Kicker’s armor protects her from my magic…I must rely on my changeling cunning…

After all…there is more than one way to skin a pony…

She permitted herself a small smirk as the pawn she was looking for came into sight.

In the dim, dark cavern, illuminated only through the natural glow of the crystal deposits that supplied Canterlot with its wealth, the creature looked tiny and gray.  It had its back to her, its head lowered down to the floor - munching on something, Chrysalis guessed, from the sounds it was making…

Since Cloud Kicker apparently cares for her friends and lovers so much…let us see what happens when she has to go through one of them to get at me…

She cleared her throat, the sound echoing like an ominous rumble down the tunnel…

“Lyra!” she hissed loudly, scraping a hoof on the cavern floor “Here, Lyra!”

The chomping sounds stopped…

“Here, my little pony! Your queen has a little job for you…” she raised her leg in a beckoning gesture.

Chrysalis cackled at the soft clop of approaching hooves as a pair of glowing green eyes emerged from the gloom.

“Yes, that’s it, Lyra! Come to your mistress! There’s a good filly, Lyra…”

A Shadow Of Hope

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A Shadow Of The Moon

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A Shadow Of Liberation

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A Shadow Of Victory

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