A Storm is Coming

A Storm is Coming

Ch. 4: Celebrations and Surprises

“Fillies and gentlecolts, my loyal subjects, tonight is a special night, one in which I hope to rectify some mistakes I have made in the past. I have lied to you, my little ponies.”

The courtyard buzzed at this news, rippling through the crowd like a wave. Princess Celestia, lying to them? The well-dressed crowd was soon quieted by a wave of the regal princess’ hoof.

“Yes, I have lied to you. The histories as you know it follows as such: 3,000 years ago, during the battle with Discord, my sister and I utilized the Elements of Harmony to stop him. That part is true. What you have not been told is of the stallion who enabled us to do so.”

Celestia paused and took a moment to scan the crowd. She paused for a moment on her pupil and her friends before continuing.

“He was not mentioned in the histories because I felt that acknowledging his sacrifice would have been too great a wound to heal. It may not make much sense, but I was…distraught, to say the least. I only hope that he, and you, can forgive me. I thought him dead after the battle, but instead, he was flung through time and space to our current time. My son has returned, thought dead after all these years.”

The buzzing only intensified, accentuated by a gasp here and an outcry there. The princess had a son! How had they not heard of this! Celestia waved her hoof again, silencing them.

“He is the Lord of Storms, original commander of the Wonderbolts, Crown Prince of Equestria, and, of course, my son. Please allow me to reintroduce you to Prince Taranis.”

Slowly, the red satin curtain behind her rose, revealing the slate grey and golden maned Alicorn, visibly uncomfortable with all of the eyes now focused on him. He shuffled nervously, beads of sweat forming on his brow. Slowly, he stepped forward to stand beside his mother and aunt.

I was not aware that there would be so many. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up…

Rainbow Dash could be heard from the back row.

“SPEECH!”

“Quiet, Rainbow! Y’all are embarrasin’ us!”

Neither ponies could say anything else, as they suddenly found two white hooves in their mouths. Rarity coughed slightly, indicating that they needed to be quiet.

Taranis levitated the podium his mother had stood in front of off of the ground, until it stood in front of himself. He cleared his throat.

“Erm…Hello?”

Way to go. You can face down a horde any day of the week, but you’re down for the count if a crowd is involved. You’ve fought with dragons larger than this crowd! Of course, you had help…but that’s beside the point. Stop your internal monologue; they want you to say something. Just do what you did with the Wonderbolts. You could talk to them. Just pretend they’re all in Wonderbolt suits.

Taranis once again cleared his throat and looked down at his audience, this time with more confidence in his expression.

“What my mother said is true. I held off Discord long enough to allow them to prepare the Elements of Harmony, to imprison him.  But…there is one more thing that my mother has not told you.” He paused and looked at her. Celestia gave him a curt nod, bidding him to continue.

“Discord is-was-my father.”

There was a chorus of spitting wine, accompanied by a few choking sounds.

“Before he became Discord, he was an Alicorn known as Order. His place in the world was to control the Elements of Harmony and use them to bring peace and prosperity to everypony. Sadly, he changed. I cannot account for his physical change, but his mind was warped from working for so long down in the depths of Tartarus, the second of his two creations. Do not fault my mother for not telling the truth. From what I understand, she was…in an emotional state, following the battle.

“But now is not the time for revelations. This is supposed to be a party, after all. Besides, I hate speeches. I look forward to serving you all as Prince. After I meet you, we can begin the festivities.”

He stepped away from the podium, and flew down among the crowd. He could not help but notice that some of them backed up nervously as he approached. Getting approached by Princess Celestia’s son was one thing, but getting approached by one of the most notorious villain in Equestrian history’s son was another thing entirely.

Finally, one blue maned Unicorn was bold enough to approach him. He had a highly attractive Unicorn mare with a pink mane clutching onto him, as though afraid he might escape from her.

“Prince Taranis, how simply wonderful to meet you. I am Fancypants, and this is Fleur de Lis.” The female Unicorn batted her eyelashes at the Alicorn, but did not move from her almost prone position on Fancypant’s back. Taranis smiled and nodded at them both.

“Pleased to make both of your acquaintances.”

Fancypants shook hooves with the prince and stepped away humbly, bowing as he did. Fleur copied him, still managing to keep at least one hoof on him at all times. Upon seeing such an influential Canterlot pony mingle with the prince, others quickly formed a line to meet Taranis. He soon found himself in dire need of a new hoof-shaking hand.

Just keep smiling. You’re doing well.

Celestia came forward and stood beside him as he continued to greet his guests.

“Your speech was good. You looked quite confident up there,” she remarked quietly.

“Did I? I was shaking in my horseshoes,” he whispered back.

“You didn’t look like it. I’m proud of you,” Celestia said, smiling.

“Why a party to welcome me back? In the old days, there would have been something much more formal. Not that I mind; I hate formal events.”

“This is a time of celebration. No son of mine is going to be welcomed back by some dry, boring gala.“

Taranis shrugged.

“Whatever works.”

After Taranis had met with his guests, the real party could beign. It was Pinkie Pie’s time to shine. She had certainly pulled out all of the stops for this event. She had taken his station as Wonderbolt Commander and Lord of Storms quite literally when planning, for there were lightning bolt decorations as far as the eye could see. Buffet tables lined the sides of the courtyard, flanked by massive bowls of cider, while serving mares and colts walked around with trays holding drinks with varying alcohol levels. Taranis involuntarily licked his lips at the sight of so much put out, just for the purpose of celebrating his return. He couldn’t help but feel flattered.

Taranis heard the pink party pony in the background, kickstarting the festivities with her friend Vinyl Scratch. The wub wub wubbing of the DJ’s booth soon overtook everything, engulfing the partygoers with electronic beats and dropping bass. Taranis immediately clamped two hooves over his ears and groaned.

Fluttershy noticed his duress and flew timidly up to him.

“Um, Prince Taranis, what’s wrong?”

“This is what passes for music these days!?”

He gestured to the DJ booth for emphasis.

Fluttershy nodded, face mostly covered by her mane.

“I agree with you. It’s much too loud. But Pinkie is a friend of Vinyl, so she let her play here. Oh, um, excuse me.”

She fluttered away to speak with Rarity, who was conversing with Fancypants among the other guests.

Taranis grit his teeth and slowly removed his hooves from his ears. He mentally shut out the electronic ruckus by playing Bethoofen’s Sixth repeatedly in his head.

I suppose now I have to socialize…I have to act like royalty again. Even if it is a party, I have to follow the necessary protocols.

Applejack cantered over to the cider bowl and poured herself a drink. She took a sip, watching the ongoing festivities. She was pleased to see that Taranis had taken a great liking to Zap Apples. He walked by, idly munching on a Zap Apple cupcake while he made conversation with some political type Unicorn. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that a Wonderbolt was walking toward her.

“Hiya. I don’t know if you remember me or not but-“

“Yer the Wonderbolt Ah made my only sale to at the Grand Galloping Gala. Mah friend Rainbow Dash talks about you and the other Wonderbolts all the time.”

Soarin’ beamed.

“Yep, that’s me! I just wanted to pay my compliments to the chef for this amazing food.” He bowed slightly. “What we’re served in the ‘Bolt’s chow hall doesn’t come anywhere close to this!”

The orange farm pony smiled.

“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya. Glad ya enjoiy it!”

Soarin’ grinned, nodded politely and walked away, back to the hors d’oeuvre’s. Applejack chuckled and went about her business.

Nice guy, she thought.

Spitfire walked amiably around, throwing smiles and nods at passing ponies who recognized her, which meant that her head was constantly rotating to greet some new admirer or adoring fan. Being a Wonderbolt did that to a pony. She offered a silent prayer of thanks for having such a sturdy neck.

She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret knowing that becoming a fully-fledged air force again would lessen their high profile status. Despite the pressures of mingling with high-socety ponies, she knew she would miss the adoration.

Perhaps Soarin’ has a point… She thought, avoiding a passing stallion holding a drink tray.

“Hey, Commander Spitfire!”

She turned her head in the direction of the caller.

“Oh, hey Rainbow Dash. And it’s actually Lieutenant Commander now, what with Taranis taking full control of the ‘Bolts.” She smiled wryly. “Want me to autograph something else?”

She said it half seriously, half jokingly. Every single time she had interacted with the Pegasus, she had been asked to sign something, anything, to prove that she had met her. At the Royal Wedding she had signed a used napkin. It was getting kind of old, even if she did love her fans.

Rainbow smiled bashfully.

“Actually, no, well, maybe. I don’t have anything for you to sign. Just uh… wanted to say that I’ve always admired you, and if I get the chance to join the Wonderbolts, I was hoping I could be placed in your squadron.”

Spitfire regarded the mare, the hint of a smile on her lips.

“I’ll talk to Taranis about it, if he lets you join.”

“Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh thank you!” Her grin threatened to split her face in half. She snapped off a smart salute and walked off.

Spitfire just chuckled.

That mare has more than enough spunk to make the ‘Bolts. Anypony who can pull of a sonic rainboom is sure to get in.

Her musings were soon interrupted by the sound of another pony calling her name. She turned her attention back to

another fan holding a small camera, preparing her photograph smile.

“Well naturally, my return is going to have some implications in our dealings with Zebrica and with the Draconic District, but not to the point where there will be any trouble. As for the other nations, I honestly cannot say. The political landscape has changed quite a bit since I was here last.”

Taranis did not pay attention to the politician’s remarks, instead scanning the crowd, looking at everypony that had arrived. Pony watching was more fun than listening to some bland statement about the nature of Zebrica’s poor economy. There was quite the crowd come out to see him and enjoy the festivities. He noticed his mother and Aunt Luna standing in the farthest corner, out away from the noise of the party. They conversed among themselves, as they were wont to do. Luna noticed his gaze and smiled in his direction. Taranis offered a small wave in return. He noticed Twilight conversing with an older stallion and mare, which he assumed were her parents. They wore the emblem of his mother’s Cantrelot Council on their clothing.  Suddenly, Taranis was stopped in his pony watching by a high concentration of cologne as it drifted past him, strong enough to make his eyes water. Turning his head to identify the smell, he noticed Prince Blueblood walking away out of the corner of his eye, pompous as usual.

What a joke. And he calls himself a prince.

He turned his attention back to the politician, but the two were interrupted by the sound of breaking glass, followed by the scratch of a record player. Taranis whipped his head around and saw Blueblood towering over a Unicorn server on the ground. She had obviously run into him by accident and had spilled various drinks all over the prince’s mane and bowtie.

“Watch where you’re going, you idiot! Do you know how long I spent getting my servants to groom me? Now, my coat and mane are ruined because of you. It will take another two hours just to make myself look presentable again. What do you have to say for yourself!?”

The mare was close to tears, sitting amongst the shards of broken glass, afraid to speak or even move while under the Unicorn’s wrathful gaze. Silence eventually overtook everypony when they realized what was happening, until only the chirping of the palace crickets could be heard. Celestia and Luna were starting to make their way over to the cause of all the commotion, ready to put a stop to it. Rarity looked like she was ready to commit murder, and both Pinkie and Fluttershy were attempting to hold her back before she did something she might regret.

She would be perfectly justified in committing murder, Taranis thought, but I should put a stop to this myself and put the little brat in his place. It would be a lesser punishment than what Mother or Aunt Luna might do. And Mother only knows what Rarity would do.

“Excuse me, sir.” Taranis took his leave of the politician and strode over to the scene. He stopped in front of his spoiled cousin.

“Blueblood.”

The Unicorn turned around and appraised the Alicorn, not entirely paying attention, still focused on his ruined mane.

“Oh, hello, cousin Taranis,” he said absentmindedly. “Did you see what this little mare did to my coat? I say, servants these days. You just cannot trust them with anything.” He chuckled slightly, amused at his own insights.

Taranis walked right by Blueblood, not even acknowledging his question or comments. He slowly helped the young mare to her hooves and picked up shards of glass with his magic, putting them on the tray on which she had carried the drinks.

“Are you all right, Miss?

She looked up at the Alicorn in amazement and nodded her head.

“Y-Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, Your Highnesss.”

“Good. Let me deal with this.”

The mare scampered off, leaving the party. For a moment, silence reigned. Taranis turned back and shot Blueblood an icy look that could have frozen fire.

“As for you…”

Blublood backed away nervously.

“B-But… she ruined my coat. She didn’t watch what she was doing. She should be fired for not doing her job correctly. Now, I’ll have to get my coat and mane fixed again.”

“You need more fixed than just your coat, you insipid little ass.”

Nopony dared utter a word, except for Pinkie, who giggled slightly at the insult.

Taranis extended both wings and flapped them hard in front of Blueblood for a few seconds, the strong breeze leaving the stallion’s coat and mane frizzled, but dry. Blueblood looked at the Alicorn, eyes wide with fear.

“There. All better.” His eyes narrowed until they were just slits. His voice was disarmingly soft, and that unnerved Blueblood more than shouting. Taranis couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of the spoiled prince squirming under pressure. “You don’t deserve the title of ‘Prince.’ You are the most spoiled, self-absorbed, rude pony I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. You dishonor the Royal Family with your antics. Save yourself from any further embarrassment. Please leave, or I’ll make you.”

Taranis soon found himself speaking to an empty space, for the prince had left his presence before he even had a chance to finish his threat. In the audience, an alabaster Unicorn stomped her hooves on the ground. Rarity cheered, perhaps a bit louder than was necessary, and the rest of the audience followed her. Taranis couldn’t help but smile, and bowed a little. His cousin had been asking for it. His eyes sought for his aunt and mother, but they had already re-taken their place in the far corner, seeing that the situation had amended itself. Finally, he waved the crowd quiet with a hoof.

“Let’s continue the celebration, shall we?”

Twilight had found her friends later in the party, and now stood next to Rarity and the rest of her friends, following the incident with Blueblood, talking excitedly over what had transpired.

“Did you see the way he owned that snotty prince? Way to go, Taranis!” Rainbow Dash yelled excitedly.

“And he’s such a gentlecolt, helping the mare like that! He is truly the epitome of what a prince should be!” Rarity looked like she might swoon.

“I’m sure Twilight was really impressed, weren’t you?” Pinkie shot Twilight a conspiratorial grin. Twilight simply rolled her eyes at her pink friend.

“Quiet, Pinkie. I do not have a crush on him.”

“Who said anything about a crush? I didn’t say anything about a crush. Did anypony hear anything about a crush?” The others shook their heads.

The purple Unicorn turned bright red.

“You were implying it!” Twilight snapped.

Rarity and Pinkie exchanged looks, and looked back at Twilight. Rarity batted her eyelashes mischievously.

“Well, if that’s the case, then you wouldn’t mind if I went after him, would you?”

“Don’t you dare-“

Rarity and Pinkie just giggled at Twilight’s obvious discomfort with the topic. Applejack and Rainbow rolled their eyes.

“What I mean is, he’s Celestia’s son! She’s my teacher! He’s her son! That would be kind of awkward, don’t you think? Like if I walked up to her and said, ‘Hi, Princess. How are you? Oh, and by the way, your son is hot!”

Twilight stopped her tirade when she saw her friend’s eyes widen. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked behind her to see Princess Celestia standing over them smiling at the Elements.

“Well, I certainly hope the sun is hot, otherwise it wouldn’t provide sufficient warmth for crops or ponies.”

Twilight gulped. She put on her best poker face and attempted to smile.

“Yeah. Ha ha. The sun.”

Celestia’s expression was neutral, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel that the princess knew exactly what they were talking about. Her eyes held that certain twinkle whenever she caught Twilight in a lie when she was a filly.

“So uh, Princess, mighty nice party y’all have thrown here.” Applejack said, nervously trying to change the subject.

The princess bowed her head.

“Oh, it wasn’t me, Miss Pie here did all of the work. It was just my idea. I was just hoping for a way to reintroduce Taranis back into pony society, but this is turning into quite the party. I may have to make an annual occurrence.”

Pinkie grinned broadly as the thought of hosting a party every year in Canterlot flashed through her mind.

“Oh, that would be awesome! And we could have games next time or-ooohhh- what about some kind of outdoor movie or-oooohh- what abo-.”

A light blue hoof found its way to her mouth and stopped it up. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“Pinkie Pie, I’m having to do this way too often now.”

Princess Celestia just smiled at the exchange. It did her heart good to know that her pupil had made such interesting friends.

“Well, I’m glad this event has turned out so wel-“

She stopped abruptly, looking toward the east.

Twilight looked at her mentor worriedly.

“Princess? What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure, Twilight.”

Luna galloped toward them, panting.

“You felt it as well?” she asked, regarding her sister.

“Yes.”

Taranis flew away from his conversation with Soarin’ and Spitfire and landed next to his mother.

“I assume I’m not alone in feeling that?”

The sisters just nodded.

Twilight groaned exasperatedly. “Felt wha-“

Suddenly, she felt it too. At least, she thought she felt what they were feeling. It was certainly SOMETHING. A hideous buzzing noise filled her brain, and the base of her horn began to tingle. She crunched her eyes closed and waited until it abated. She opened her eyes to see the others alternating between looking at her and exchanging worried looks with each other.

“Will somepony please just explain what’s going on?” Rainbow cried out.

Celestia looked at the rainbow maned Pegasus.

“Everypony here is in danger. A massive amount of magical energy is headed this way. And it isn’t friendly. The last time I felt a magical surge like that was during…”

“The Royal Wedding. When Queen Chrysalis revealed herself.” Twilight finished for her.

Celestia’s eyes widened in realization.

“The Changelings. They’re back. And they’re headed this way. A lot of them.”

Applejack looked at Twilight in apprehension.

“Sugarcube, y’all think you can cast that protection spell yer brother used last time?” The apple farmer asked quietly.

Twilight shrugged.

“I don’t know. I can perform the basic spell, but with something as large as Canterlot…I would have to have a lot more practice before attempting something like that. I may be more powerful than Shining Armor, but he has had the time to practice the spell on so massive an area. Proper practice beats raw skill in this respect. Plus, defensive spells are his specialty.”

Taranis looked at her.

“You have to try. Hold the spell for as long as you can, and we’ll work on getting everypony to safety, and set up the defenses.”

Twilight nodded solemnly and knitted her brows in concentration. Slowly, her horn lit up with a purple aura, extending forth in a beam that engulfed all of Canterlot in a bright purple sphere of pure magic. She grunted, holding the spell in place through sheer force of will.

The partygoers looked up in confusion, curious as to why everything had taken on a purple hue.

Twilight had put up the spell at just the right time, for at that very moment, swarms of Changelings began banging their own bodies against the force field, creating a twisted percussive symphony against the barrier. The partygoers, realizing what was happening, began a chorus of screams and ran around frantically.

Twilight groaned, feeling the force of the blows through her horn.

“I can tell you right now I won’t be able to hold this for long. Whatever you need to do, do it quickly. If only Shining Armor were here…”

Taranis spun around and looked at the elder Alicorns. He kew how to handle crises.

“Mother, get everypony inside. Aunt Luna, assemble the Royal Guard.”

The sisters nodded in tandem and flew off.

Taranis looked back up the horde outside the force field. His expression was clearly puzzled.

“Strange that they would attack in force like this. They don’t have an agent on the inside to weaken the force field like they did last time.”

Celestia landed in front of the frantic crowd, inhaled deeply, and released the full force of her Royal Canterlot Voice on the unsuspecting ponies.

“ATTENTION, MY SUBJECTS. WE ARE AGAIN UNDER ATTACK BY THE CHANGELINGS. DO NOT PANIC. EVERYPONY CALMLY MAKE THEIR WAY INDOORS AND STAY THERE.”

Nopony was going to argue with Celestia when she used her Royal Canterlot Voice. The left the courtyard quickly, until the vicinity was empty. The only remaining ponies were the Elements of Harmony, Taranis, the Wonderbolts in attendance at the party, and the few Royal Guards who had been stationed there.  Other guards, called by Princess Luna, soon accompanied them.  Outside, the Changelings continued to pound on the barrier.

Taranis flew to Spitfire.

“Spitfire, assemble the remaining Wonderbolts, double time!”

She saluted silently and sped away. Taranis turned to Soarin’ next.

“Bring me my armor.”

“You got it, boss.”

And with that, he flew off as well.

The Lord of Storms turned back to Twilight and her friends.

“When they break the barrier, you had better get inside.“

“Hah! Not a chance!” Rainbow laughed.

“Dern tootin.’ We’ll help any way we can.”

“I wouldn’t mind going inside…Fluttershy said softly.

“Besides, we’re the Elements. You’ll need our help.”

Taranis simply nodded.

“I have already thought of that,” came a voice out of nowhere. They spun around to see Luna standing there holding the container that held all of the necklaces, and in Twilight’s case, a tiara, of Harmony. She opened the box, only to let out a gasp. She lost her magical grip on the box, and it dropped in front of them, revealing the innards.

The Elements were missing.

Twilight facehoofed, and then immediately regretted it because it almost made her lose control of the barrier.

“Horse apples! I forgot that I had taken them back to Ponyville just so that we could have them close to us at all times! I was going to tell Princess Celestia about it. I didn’t think to bring them back…Not very smart of me…”

Taranis sighed.

“Well, this just got a lot harder…”

By this time, all of the Royal Guards had assembled spears at the ready, as well as the Wonderbolts. Combined, the numbered around 500, not enough for an army, but hopefully enough to defend the city. Soarin’ flew back, carrying Taranis’ specialized Wonderbolt armor on his back. Taranis tugged his suit off.

“Well, on the positive side, I get to take off the suit…not that it wasn’t a great suit, I just don’t like wearing them,” he added quickly, hoping to not offend Rarity.

He forced his Wonderbolt armor on quickly and faced the assembled troops.

“I know that this looks bad. I know you didn’t fare well against these guys last time. Will you let that happen again? Will you be caught off guard now?”

“Sir, no sir!” They shouted.

“That’s what I thought. I can’t guarantee that we will all make it out of this, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to see you through. I swear on my Mother and Aunt, I will be the first fighter in the fray, and the last to retreat. These Changelings feed off of love, but tonight we will make them know fear!”

The soldiers cheered loudly, even when compared to the banging outside the force field. Celestia looked at her son with maternal pride as he did what he was born to do. He was a natural warrior and leader. Luna smiled at her sister.

“You should be proud of how he turned out, despite everything.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her sister.

“Oh, I am. So proud.”

She turned back to watch the spectacle.

Even so, I always hated it when he went off on campaigns. I ended up a worried mess. I can change that now that I’ll be fighting alongside him. Hopefully their Queen is here. I owe her a rematch.

Taranis now turned to face the Wonderbolts.

This is so much easier than speaking to nobles and politicians, he thought. Despite their outward demeanors, he could practically feel their fear at that moment.

“I know you are inexperienced, but you have the potential to become great. I believe in you, and your potential. You are the spear tip of the Equestrian Nation, and you will be under my direct command, while the Guards will follow my aunt and mother’s orders.” The guards bristled at their mention, spears sharpened and pointed to the sky, the points glistening like silver gems. They turned their attention to the Royal Sisters as Celestia barked out orders to her portion of the Guard, while Luna gave her Night Guards their duties. The guards dispersed and sprinted or flew in pairs to try and cover as much of the city as they could.

He turned to Spitfire. “Wonder One, I need you to run interference drills when they break through. Keep them busy.”

Spitfire nodded solemnly. Taranis glanced Soarin’.

“Bolt One, you will lead your squadrons in weather manipulation to take out as many of them as you can. I will be fighting wherever I can and doing my best to help set up the maneuvers.”

Soarin’ looked at Taranis with a puzzled expression.

“And how are we supposed to do that when there isn’t a cloud in the sky?”

Taranis grinned, even as his pupils turned white. His horn came alight in a golden aura, and lightning crackled along the edges.

“There will be. Prepare yourselves. A storm is coming.”

Pinkie giggled in the background.

“Heehee, a title drop.”

Rainbow sighed.

“I’m not even gonna bother this time…”

Eyes lit up as a streak of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by the low, rumbling boom of a thunderclap. Droplets of rain plinked against the force field. The Changelings stopped their banging to consider the strange weather briefly before continuing.

Twilight grunted. She inched one eye open and looked at her friends. They could see the strain on her face.

“It’s going to break soon. I can’t hold it anymore.”

No sooner had the words left her lips than the force field came crashing down, disappearing into ethereal wisps of purple magic. The rain now fell freely, splashing on top of everypony in attendance.

Taranis’ eyes flashed back to their natural red, and his horn ceased glowing.

“So it begins.”

He unfurled his wings and got into a battle stance. His subordinates copied him, as well as the Elements. The Royal Sisters rose up into the night sky, horns aglow. With a powerful kick, Taranis shot up from the ground, head first into the ebony swarm as it descended upon them.

“Wonderbolt’s, ATTACK!”

END OF CHAPTER 4