Lightning Rod

Chapters

Cirrus
Gust Front
Flurry

Cirrus

The zebra mare strolled into her home in Silver Shoals, and the tension of the outside world rolled off her like a wave. As well as she'd taken to retirement, she still couldn't help but be on guard whenever she left her front door, and so she only ever fully relaxed once she stepped in, locked that door, and settled onto her couch.

She limped over to the couch in question, hauled herself up with an ungraceful grunt, took the extra effort to pull her bad leg up with her, and then sank into the dark red fabric with a sigh. There was a stack of letters on the coffee table, and she leaned down to seize the first one in her teeth.

This town had become a popular retirement location for many Equestrians, but few knew the fact that most of those who came here had served their country in some way. Retired guards, adventurers, magi, and spies made the coastal town home, and it was the final category that the mare on her couch occupied.

Covert ops had taken their toll on Kisu. She could feel it in every bone, every joint, every old scar, and she could see it every time she looked into her own eyes in the mirror. The Crown had sent her across the globe, needing her eyes, ears, and knives. She saw so much of herself in her neighbours, in the other creatures who had given all they could to Equestria, until what was left of them needed to stop and live for themselves instead of the nation.

Some of the others here wanted to still be out there, the fire in their soul burning bright with vigor that aging bodies no longer could back up. Others were just... tired. Service had hollowed them out and they were still in the process of healing the wound. She could see the fatigue in ones like old Grigori, the hulking griffon with his chipped beak, missing eye, and mangled talons. He, like too many, had had a sense of aimlessness to him without a duty to perform, though she could see the spark coming back to him whenever he joined her for cards.

He'd told her once that she'd had "the eyes of the griffon." He'd laughed off the accusation of flirting she'd retorted with, but he'd still taken her invitation to join her for dinner at the local omnivorous restaurant. It'd been one of the best dinners out she'd ever had, though given how many of those she'd had to fight her way out of before she'd even finished her meal, it wasn't as high a bar as it sounded.

Envelopes were opened, contents skimmed, and set aside. Much of it was junk, one was Good Stablekeeping reminding her to renew her subscription, and a couple of them were letters from old friends.

She smiled as she looked at the one from Night Light. He'd included new pictures of his grandfoal, and her heart warmed at the sight of the alicorn filly. She would need to take the trip out to the Empire when Flurry Heart's birthday came around and finally properly meet her. She was supposedly a hooffull of a foal, but she couldn't be much worse than Twilight Sparkle had been; Kisu could still remember being there for the little unicorn's wild magic phase and needing to climb a tree to retrieve her after she'd teleported into it.

Kisu had started to shift her weight, intending to haul herself off the couch again to fetch her photo album, when a familiar warp of magic made her freeze. Her home was warded, and only a few creatures could freely cast their magic within, so she didn't have to guess who the scroll that materialized in the air before her had come from, even before she spotted the royal seal.

Kisu let the scroll fall to the couch, and took a breath to steel herself. Someday, she'd see correspondence from the palace and not need to brace herself for trouble.

Today would not be that day.

"I appreciate you heeding my call so quickly, Kisu."

It was a scene that she had grown accustomed to, entering through the giant doors and approaching the throne. And yet, so many things were different. She saw no familiar faces among the set of Solar guards, there were new stained glass windows and tapestries depicting history that had been made in all-too-recent years, and most starkly, there were two thrones now, though the moon-decorated one was unoccupied, its owner presumably having gone to bed after the sun had risen for the day.

Kisu had met Princess Luna in the flesh exactly once, when she'd still been in the process of regaining her full power. In her dreams, there had been several more meetings, on the nights when Kisu kicked in her sleep at enemies long dead and needed help to remember that the battles were over.

Now wasn't the time for reminiscing, however. She glanced at the guards--had they always been recruited so young?--then gazed up on the sun-emblazoned throne and cocked her head to one side with a chuckle. "As well you should, Your Highness. I'm going to miss today's bingo game."

Princess Celestia gave her a wry smile back. "That may be for the best. After all, now someone else may be able to win."

Kisu snorted. "Exactly. I'll have some new upstart to crush when I get back." She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the twinge in one of her ribs, where it had long ago been broken. "Now, what is it I can do for you?"

The next part was something she was accustomed to as well, the princess looking to her guards and then gesturing with her wings for them to leave the room. She always saw that moment of hesitation in them before they obeyed, not wanting to leave their monarch--diarch, now that both sisters stood vigil again--alone with a seeming stranger.

Nevermind that she'd been serving Equestria longer than they'd been alive, but none of them knew that. That was the whole point, that if she did her job right, nopony would ever know she'd done anything, and Kisu had been very good at her job.

Had been. To be called now...

The moment they were gone, Celestia sighed deeply. "It's the Thunderstrikes."

No beating around the bush today. "It comes back to those powermongers far too often." She shook her head. "What have they done this time?"

"It's not so much what they've done, but what they may be preparing to do." Celestia's mouth set in a grim line. "A new Storm King came into power several months ago. One sympathetic to their cause. And there's already talk that he's consorting with cloud demons, among other troubling things."

It was everything they'd feared, every time she'd clashed with the power-hungry agents. What had always kept them from being a worse threat was a lack of support from their monarchy. Unfortunately, the Storm Kingdom didn't have the luxury of an eternal benevolent monarch, and when the current one died and a new election came around, there had always been a chance that the one who ultimately took the crown would be the one who would elevate them.

Every emotion Kisu was feeling, every bit of fear, dread, and rage, emerged in three words. "Well buck me."

"It gets worse." Magic gleaming with sunlight picked up papers from a stack near the throne, and Celestia started to flip through them. Reports from her active agents, no doubt. "An army is being gathered, with rumours that the Storm Kingdom is planning to declare war on Abyssinia." She set the papers down again. "But rumours is all I have. Which is why I need you to travel there and become a new set of eyes and ears for me... and make some friends."

It was a world gone mad, and yet, some things didn't change. Kisu couldn't help the sardonic smile. "If you want friendly, you may be better off with Savannah or Impisi."

Celestia shook her head. "Savannah is adept at endearing themself to others, but they also have a tendency to draw attention to themself. Unless they want to constantly reek of fur dye, they will stick out even more than an abada would already. While zebras are not common there, you are still comparatively... nondescript."

Kisu's smile didn't waver. "You're a bit like a mother to me, Celly, so I'm going to assume that you didn't mean to say that zebras all look alike."

Her eyes widened. "That's--!" She snorted and gave Kisu a glare, but there was no true sharpness in her eyes. "You know what I meant."

She did. Kisu was an average height, build, and facial features. Painfully average. Not particularly attractive or unattractive, able to draw attention or blend in depending on how she dressed or held herself. Her two distinguishing characteristics were her golden eyes and her knife-shaped mark, and there were ways to obscure one or both if needed.

Well, three distinguishing features now, she supposed. And a limp was a lot harder to hide. Still, she'd always been perfect for espionage, far better than a neon yellow abada who spoke at a mile a minute was.

Celestia rolled her eyes slightly before she continued on. "And as for Impisi, I need her in Trottingham. She's been invaluable."

Kisu snorted a little. "I'll bet. Even if it weren't safest for her to come to Equestria, you would've still paid her way to have a crocotta at hoof."

"I can't deny that having someone with a talent for counter-magic close by hasn't been a silver lining of her network in Farasi collapsing, as tragic as it was for her to find out she'd misplaced some of her trust." The wide barrel expanded with a deep breath, that turned into an even deeper sigh. "But even if I could spare her, she's not combat trained to the same degree you are, and neither is Savannah. If the situation goes south, you have a better chance of getting out."

There it was. The reminder that Celestia needed to ask other creatures to put their life on the line every day, but that she always wanted to give them the best chance to come home again. Silver Shoals was full of those who'd served because she'd tried to make the calls that allowed them to reach retirement in the first place. "Glad to hear that you still have confidence in me, even when I'm an old mare."

Celestia gave a sad sort of laugh. "Speaking as the oldest mare of all, trust me, you're nowhere near past your prime." That was when she moved, getting off of her throne and walking toward her. "While the Crown does have the right to press citizens into service when the situation is dire enough... I would rather not. And you indeed are no longer an agent, but solely a citizen. And so..."

It was so long ago when they'd first met. When Kisu had been a young mare, snooping around where she shouldn't, and had found out too much. The ageless titan of an alicorn had lowered herself to the floor, laid next to her and spoken soothingly to her until the trembling and tears had stopped. She'd taken the potential in the young zebra, and had molded her into what she'd needed: a terrifyingly efficient agent who fully understood what was at stake.

Today, Celestia lowered herself down again. She hadn't aged a day, she never would, and she laid her head across Kisu's withers just like she had that night. "...I am not ordering you, but asking you: Will you do this for me? For Equestria, and beyond?"

You asked then, too. Asked me if I would use what I'd learned for good.

I've learned some things about you, oldest mare. You don't ask unless you know the answer.

You also wouldn't ask if you thought I didn't have a shot at coming home.

I get to go back into retirement when this is done. But you can never stop, can you? Your duty is to the sun, and you'll never put it down.

Kisu breathed a soft laugh. "As if you need to ask. If you need me, then I'll give it one last rodeo."

"Thank you, Kisu." The great head lifted, and looked to the hanging tapestries. "And of course, you won't be traveling alone."

The new tapestries, ones depicting events that Kisu hadn't recognized, caught fire, green flames devouring the fabric as Celestia got to her hooves again. The sight initially made her tense, falling into a combat stance with something deep as instinct, until she remembered what that shade of flame meant.

Where the art pieces had been, soon stood three iridescent figures, one green-blue, one orange-red, and one purple-black. All three walked toward the alicorn and zebra together, hoofsteps in perfect sync, stood at attention, and looked at them shining compound eyes.

Kisu looked at each at turn, and a grin pulled at her lips. "Ah, I'd wondered if you'd take advantage of our new alliance to employ a few changelings."

"There are risks alongside the benefits," Celestia admitted. "For one, wards and other spells can disrupt their disguises, and with their existence more widely known, the countermeasures are more common than they used to be. But they indeed have their advantages." She nodded at the trio. "Meet Damselfly, Ladybird, and Beetle. They'll be able to assist in your cover, but it's still best if you are the one spearheading the mission."

Kisu nodded absently. This was the first time she'd been so close to a changeling, post-reform. They were shinier than she'd expected. "So it's get in, establish myself, and then start sending home all the information I can?"

"As well as seeing if you can steer anyone away from a destructive path. Not all of the Storm Kingdom are like the Thunderstrikes. Plenty of ordinary citizens may be serving their new king due to fear, desperation, or propaganda." Celestia nodded at her three changeling agents again, and Kisu couldn't help but see her point; the creatures before her had no doubt been victims of all three beneath the rule of the changelings' previous regime. "As I said... see what friends you can make, and see if you can help them."

"Espionage and sabotage?" Kisu whistled. "You never did give me the easy jobs." She nodded. "Alright, then, what sort of cover am I going to be working under?"

Flashes of green fire consumed the changelings again, and they were replaced with a trio of zebras. One was a bit taller, another a bit stouter, but otherwise they were very average. They had that look to them that made it hard to pinpoint their age, easily able to pass as anything from late adolescence to around as old as Shining Armour, and their stripe patterns were all similar in size, distribution, and colour, while still having enough variance that they didn't look like obvious copies of one another.

The tallest of them, who used to be the red changeling, tilted her head and grinned in amusement. "Congratulations, Miss Kisu. You're a mother."

It was then she realized each of them had her eyes.

"I have an existing agent in the Kingdom, who'll be posing as a relative of yours," Celestia explained. "You'll be newly widowed and coming to stay with him, alongside your three children."

Kisu examined each of the changelings again, hunting for any kind of flaw, and finding three zebras who could easily pass as her flesh and blood. The taller had stripes that were a little browner than Kisu's stark black, the stouter one had slightly more robust facial features, small things that would be attributed to her conveniently-late husband. Any one of them, so long as they knew how to hold themselves right, would blend into a crowd flawlessly.

Seeing them like this, she could see how they hid amongst other species for centuries without notice. Kisu finished her examination, looking from the changelings to Celestia, and smiled.

"I can work with this."

Below the scorching sun, the mare walked.

Her cloak kept the sun from burning her, thin material of a fabric that repelled heat without the need of a single drop of magic. She needed things that worked without magic, because to try to use her own to recharge spells was too much of a risk. She hadn't been able to perform proper magic in years, and to try to enchant her cloak would likely see it damaged beyond repair.

She was barely a mare, walking on long legs from a final adolescent growth spurt that hadn't been long ago. Her hooves were unshod, and her hoofprints in the sand were swiftly blown away by the desert wind. She would pause, frequently, looking from the position of the sun to her map, and then continue on once she was certain she was still going in the right direction.

A dark shadow passed overhead, and she looked up, allowing her hood to fall back. The roc was starting to circle, and she stood still, eyes following the movement. She saw talons poise themselves, the great bird angling into a descent, and she sighed, before taking a deep breath.

Power crackled and arced, raw magic exploding out without form and only the barest sense of direction. The cry of shock and smell of singed feathers told her that it'd still hit the mark, and she smirked to herself as the roc flew off in search of easier prey.

The satisfaction was short-lived, however, and with another glance at her map, the hood went up again, obscuring broken horn and scarred face alike. The desert was harsh, and her destination may prove to be even harsher, but it was where she needed to be.

In the place where all storms came to rest, she would finally find what she sought.

Gust Front

The rings around Kisu's neck were heavy with an unfamiliar weight.

Not all species had marriage customs, and not all who did had marriage signifiers. Zebras had both, and as signifiers went, the stack of golden dzilla were an eye-catching one. The neck rings were the way that a zebra mare would indicate that she was married, or, in the case of her current cover, a widow still in mourning. Kisu would be an old mare who was observing the tradition of the Widows' Roam, taking her children and a few belongings and traveling until they found a new place to settle down. In ages past that would be a new village, but these days could easily be a new country.

It was more often observed by young widows, with either no foals or very young ones, but nothing said a mare Kisu's age couldn't, especially with adult offspring willing to follow her on the journey. Someone familiar with Farasian cultural practices would find it slightly odd, but would respect it as her right as the mourner.

Kisu stared out over the bow of the airship, watching the clouds roll by beneath her like a white ocean. Being this high up should have made her uneasy--given the choice, a zebra would always prefer to have their hooves planted on solid earth--but she had travelled so much over sea and sky in her life that her soul no longer screamed at the absence of the ground, and instead knew that she would always return to it in time.

It wasn't much different from a ocean vessel, except for the balloon where sails would normally be, and it was saturated with so much magic that, despite her domain being earth instead of sky, closing her eyes could let her taste just a bit of the power that went into helping it fly. The captain of the ship was a hippogriff, second-generation immigrant from Hippogriffia to Equestria, and had taken the job in order to see as much of the world as she possibly could, with a flock of pegasi as her crew. From the brief interactions Kisu had had with captain and crew, she liked them.

When it came to her new partners, however, Kisu had yet to pass judgement. She would have to get to know the changelings who were to be her foals for the remainder of this assignment, because that would sell her credibility. Any zebra could throw on the rings and claim to be roaming, but it was harder to be suspicious of a whole family.

She stepped away from the edge of the ship, and turned away from the looming horizon.

Time to go be a mother, she supposed.

"Ah, is this the part where you grill me on my qualifications?"

Kisu found Ladybird doing what she had been, looking over the edge of the boat and watching the clouds go by. She was wearing her zebra disguise, and Kisu had found herself noting the way that the false mane waved in the breeze. With changelings now as allies, there may finally be an opportunity to research how the shapechange worked, breaking down the thaumic makeup of something that Ladybird presumably did as effortlessly and subconsciously as breathing.

That was something for eggheads like Night Light to figure out, however. For Kisu's part, the question from the changeling-turned-zebra earned a wry smile. "I could just be coming over for a friendly chat."

"You could, Mom." She turned her head, leaving the sea of white behind to look Kisu in the eye, wearing a mirror of her smile. "But I feel like a seasoned agent would want to make better use of time when we aren't under scrutinizing eyes. It's what I would do." One of her brows quirked. "...Haven't had a lot of assignments where you needed to be called that, I take it?"

"By the time I was old enough to plausibly have adult children, I was doing much less field work." Kisu huffed. "What gave it away?"

"To me? Empath." Ladybird tilted her head slightly. "But there's also some twitching in your face. I don't think anyone not already suspicious would notice, but it's still something you should be aware of. Plus you look a bit uncomfortable in your dzilla."

She huffed again. "I haven't had to wear them often for work, either, and not for a while." She couldn't remember the last time she'd played at being at someone's--or somepony's--spouse. Girlfriend or fiancée was more common as cover, and at least one time it had been adoptive sibling. "But you're right, I am curious." She looked over Ladybird's disguise again, looking so convincing as her own flesh and blood. "Is this your first time with a zebra cover?"

Ladybird gave a short nod. "It is. We're all most accustomed to pony disguises, but I typically choose earth pony, so not having access to my horn or wings isn't much trouble for me." She gave a small chuckle. "I also spent one mission as a donkey, and two as a changeling."

It was Kisu's turn to quirk a brow. "Your natural shape?"

"No, actively disguised as a different-looking changeling." She held up her head with pride. "Sometimes the best way to hide is in plain sight. 'This changeling is giving off changeling magic? Well of course they are.'"

"Clever." Kisu nodded her approval. "And it sounds like Celestia has kept you all pretty busy."

"There's been a lot going on." Ladybird snorted. "If you haven't noticed, the last few years have been pretty eventful. Speaking as one of said events."

"Very true." If Kisu were asked to list all the incidents in just the last couple of years that Equestria had weathered, she may have run out of hooves in the whole retirement community to count on. "Hopefully our work here will head off another event before it starts. Or at least make sure Equestria is a little better prepared." She then straightened her posture and cleared her throat. "Now, when it comes to your cover, let's go over a few things, mwanangu. Name?"

"Upendo Ndege," Ladybird recited. "Up for short."

"Your pronunciation of that was spot-on. Good. Mark?"

"Matchmaker. My inherent sense for love will be explained as an outgrowth of that talent, that I 'just know' when there's mutual interest."

"Very good. Our relationship?"

"I'm the oldest," Ladybird recited like a filly going over her lines for a school play. "I've picked up some of your cooking skills, but I obviously never got a mark in it, instead finding it when I coached a friend into making a special dish for a prospective partner. After Dad died, I was the first to come back home to help you, and the first to suggest moving. After all, I can help creatures find love anywhere, so a jaunt half-way across the world won't disrupt me at all."

"Impressive." Kisu peered at Ladybird, fixing her with her griffon-like stare. "Is this a brand new cover, or did you adapt a pony one?"

Ladybird didn't flinch. And why would she? There was a changeling under the stripes, and predator recognized predator. "Adapted. The one time I needed to go as a pegasus instead of an earth pony, I set myself up as a matchmaker named Lovebird with a similar cutie mark story."

"I approve. It's always best to reuse parts of old covers, or adapt parts of your actual life. It keeps you from forgetting key details." She softened her gaze, and smiled again. "And in the spirit of that, as for things other than my cooking that we could potentially share... What do you like for leisure activities?"

Ladybird chuckled. "Welllll, I've always been one for strategic games." She had a gleam in her eyes as she asked, "Ever heard of Warhorseshoe?"

Kisu, who had learned the location and quality of every comic and game store in Canterlot via years of osmosis, laughed. "I may be passingly familiar." She turned in the direction of the cabins. "But why don't you tell me about it?"

"We should find a place to sit down," Ladybird commented as she followed her. "So, the basic premise is..."

"Ah, here you are."

It'd taken a while to find Damselfly, though at least the shine of light off of their bright teal shell helped. They'd found a quiet corner, one so close to the magical core of the ship that Kisu could feel the hum of its power through her hooves, and they were in their natural shape, laying on the floor and with their nose buried in a thick book. The writing was in Equestrian, and Kisu caught the words The Mane Effect on the cover when they politely closed it to look up at her. "Something I can do for you, Miss Kisu?"

After the long conversation with Ladybird in disguise, it was odd being looked at with Damselfly's unblinking compound eyes. Her lack of experience with the species made it hard for her tell if the drone was keeping their expression neutral or if she just couldn't read the tells they were giving off, but she suspected the latter. A species that was naturally empathetic likely had little need for expressive faces. "Just checking in with everyone. Catching up on some reading?"

"Yes." They glanced at the book, then back at her. "I packed light, as advised, but I squeezed in a trilogy that I've been meaning to read." They tilted their head, and the corners of their mouth moved; the smile was clearly not a natural action, and while their face was more flexible than the hard-looking exterior implied, they seemed to be struggling to maintain it. "No longer being underneath the hoof of a tyrant opens up one's literature options immensely, so I take whatever opportunity I can get to make up for lost time."

Kisu felt a stab of sympathy, and moved closer. "I don't doubt it." She lowered herself onto the floor next to Damselfly, and took the faint buzz from their wings as a sign of surprise. Her bad leg immediately filed a complaint with the rest of her body for the action. "I imagine Chrysalis didn't prioritize a well-read populous."

Damselfly shook their head in confirmation. "Or even a literate one. At the time of the revolution, most of us didn't have basic reading, writing, or math skills. Education reform has been a major priority for the kingdom."

"Sounds like King Thorax really has his hooves full. I don't envy him."

"Neither do I." Damselfly's ears shifted slightly, as did their wings, and Kisu heard their voice soften. "But he's a good king. He took my desire to emigrate to Equestria shockingly well. All three of us have dual citizenship at his blessing."

"Well, he was a refugee taking shelter in the Crystal Empire once," Kisu pointed out. She still remembered her shock from getting that letter. "I imagine he sees it as you following in his hoofsteps."

Damselfly's wings produced a hum that sounded like one of agreement. "Revealing himself at the time was risky, but it clearly paid off. And it proved how forgiving Equestrians could be, even after the invasion." They looked at Kisu, and even without pupils she had the feeling that she was being looked at directly. "And since I'm sure you were going to ask, yes, I did take part in the siege and occupation of Canterlot. Everybug did but the youngest generation."

Kisu kept her expression neutral. "I gathered as much. The swarm was massive, too many to just be your soldier caste." Not that she could tell what caste Damselfly was, or rather had been. The changelings had changed too much, inside and out, for the old intel to be of use.

Damselfly's ears twitched. "You were in the capital?"

"Shining Armour is my honourary nephew," Kisu said, her face still carefully blank. "I wasn't about to miss his wedding."

The next reaction, Kisu could read perfectly. They cringed and curled up tightly in on themself, as if trying to disappear. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you were subjected to any of what we did."

"You were doing what your queen told you was necessary to survive," Kisu said, with the heavy voice of grim empathy. "Desperation can make monsters of anyone."

"It doesn't excuse our actions. Only explains them," Damsel replied with the heaviness of regret. "But we have a chance to make things right, now." They looked in her direction again, and Kisu felt that she was being studied. "Did you need anything else?"

Kisu shifted a bit to get more comfortable. "I've been going over covers. Making sure the details mesh."

"Ah, that explains it." They gestured with a hoof. "Go right ahead."

"Name?"

"Mwandishi."

"Mark?"

"Wordsmithing. Fiction and poetry as a specialty."

"Our relationship?"

"I'm the middle child. We've always been a bit distant, but you still encouraged my talents even before my mark came to confirm my destiny." The hoof that they'd gestured with before started to wave about, punctuating their words. "I've written a series of foals' books with the parental characters modelled off of you and my father, but I've yet to find an interested publisher." The hoof skimmed the cover of their book. "I was optimistic about moving to another land, because I believed it may inspire my work further."

"All very solid." She nodded her approval. "Though you may want to actually write those books, in case someone asks to look at them."

"Oh I plan to. Along with a few others." Kisu thought she may have seen a twinkle of excitement in their blank eyes. "I've always been a decent storycrafter. It's just getting used to the fiction tropes of different cultures."

"True, you need to know your audience." Kisu leaned to one side slightly, peering at the orange and blue book cover. "Speaking of... Mind telling me a little about what you're reading?"

"Oh!" Damselfly pulled their hoof off the book's cover, and surrounded it in their magic, lifting it up to hover in their air. "Well, they're in a bit of a niche genre. I don't know if you've heard of 'science fiction,' but..."

"Habari, Mama."

Kisu paused in her approach, ears twitching at the familiar words, and smiled at Beetle. "A flawless East Farasian accent. Well done."

Beetle, in his disguise as a stout zebra stallion, smiled at her from where he sat in the ship's dining area, a plate piled up with grasses, hot peppers, and what looked like blueberries. Kisu supposed a species that didn't strictly need physical food could develop a strange palette. "If we weren't good at vocal mimicry, we'd make pretty bad infiltrators." The smile faded, and his ears drooped. "I... spent a bit of time in East Farasi, on the former queen's orders. Nothing came of it, since the crocotta make establishing a hoofhold there a risky prospect."

Kisu nodded as she went about assembling her own lunch from the salad bar. "No doubt. You wouldn't even be able to feed on them if they resisted, I imagine." Not that she needed to imagine. Impisi hadn't made it to the wedding, but there had been some... incidents in Trottingham in the aftermath of the invasion.

Thorax hadn't been the first remnant of the army encountered, just the friendliest one.

"You'd be correct." He waited for her to settle down at the table across from him with her garden salad. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Just going over covers with everyone." She leaned down, nipping at the lettuce. "After all, I should know some basic things about my own foals."

Beetle leaned down, mimicking her as he nipped at a hot pepper. He didn't so much as twitch at the spiciness, if he could taste it at all. "That makes sense. Fire away."

"Name?"

"Lugha."

"Mark?"

"Linguistics."

"Our relationship?"

"I'm the youngest." He left the food be, instead sitting up straight as he spoke. "When pony foals bullied me for being a zebra, I'd call on my older siblings and they'd set them straight, and I got my mark fairly young, after teaching my friendlier classmates some Farasian words." He smiled, a fondness starting to shine in his eyes that Kisu knew couldn't be faked. "I was fascinated by tales of your homeland, and, when I was old enough, I travelled there myself, and established myself as an interpreter."

Beetle's eyes then fell back to the plate, and he nudged at a few of the berries. "The distance made me the last to know Baba had died and I continue to regret that I couldn't get back in time for the funeral. So I promised to stay close to home for now on, no matter where home turned out to be."

"A bit more bittersweet than the others, but not too melodramatic. It's a solid story." It also left Kisu wondering about his actual history, as the regret in his voice also seemed a bit too real, but it wasn't her place to ask. "And since you've worn a zebra skin before, I know that I won't have to worry about you acting too much like a pony."

"It's not as if many creatures, where we're going, will know the difference." He shrugged. "But yes, I've had a lot more practice with the body language nuances than Lady or Damsel. Thankfully, the fact that you supposedly raised us in Equestria should smooth that over if someone does clock them as odd. We can just say they picked up some things from being around ponies from an early age."

"Precisely what I was thinking." She leaned down to snatch up a juicy-looking cherry tomato in her teeth, and noticed the way Beetle immediately mimicked the motion with some berries as she chewed and swallowed. "Though now you have me curious, and we still have plenty of time to kill before reaching our destination. Since you've spent some time in Farasi, have you ever played Bao?"

"As a matter of fact, I have." He grinned at her. "Hoping for a game?"

"I may have an old set in my luggage, if you're up for it."

"I'd be honoured."

The pair continued their meal, with the promise of a game ahead, and Kisu found herself feeling good about the rest of the flight. These three were professionals, but they were also charming youngsters, and between books and games, the journey proved to be a pleasant one.

Later, she would acknowledge that expecting a flight to a place called the Storm Kingdom to be smooth sailing had been naïve.

Flurry

During her career, Kisu had gotten a reputation for always being up for a game of chess.

It wasn’t always chess, specifically. She and a kirin agent had once played several rounds of Go, and this wasn’t her first time roping someone into Bao. Some of the creatures she’d been thrown together with had been more fond of cards than board games, so she’d made the effort to learn nearly anything that could be played with a standard deck as well. Because it wasn’t about the game, in the end.

It was about whoever she was playing with, and getting a measure of them. How they thought, how quickly they acted, how good they were at hiding their emotions, and more. And someone who beat her and prompted her to improve her own skills may just end up with a friend for life. So far, Beetle hadn’t quite reached that accomplishment, but with some more time, he might. Kisu never had a moment where she thought victory was a sure thing, kept on the tips of her hooves as the game went on.

She didn’t know how much of a changeling’s expressions and body language was actively controlled–she knew it was to an extent, or the fact that Damselfly and Ladybird had not yet learned zebra body language in detail wouldn’t matter–and how much was the magic drawing on their subconscious. It made trying to read him intriguingly difficult, unable to know for certain if any slip was a slip or a deliberate misdirection.

Unfortunately, today, the match didn’t reach a conclusion, as Kisu lifted a hoof from her piece and the room was suddenly bathed in scarlet light, an alarm that reminded her of a distressed goose blaring at ear-splitting frequency. Both were already on their hooves before the captain’s voice joined the alarm, the walls resonating with the magic used to spread it throughout the ship. “All hooves on deck! We’ve got a storm, a live one!”

Then, cutting through alarm and voice alike, there was a clap of thunder so violent that the ship lurched beneath Kisu’s hooves, and she briefly wondered if the tremors would shake it apart. Then she and Beetle looked at each other, nodded, and ran.

When they emerged on the upper deck, the driving rain hit them with a force that nearly sent them back down. The purple-black of storm clouds roiled above, below, and all around them, blotting out any sign of the sun, and light pulsed in time with deafening booms as if some great cosmic being were striking war drums.

The captain had her talons dug into the rain-slick wood, and the crewponies were in the air, zipping around in colourful blurs as they tried to be everywhere in the smothering storm at once.

With a crack, one pegasus hurtled backward, tumbling tail over snout. Once he righted himself, he shook, stray sparks from the lightning strike dancing through his coat. “They’re cloud demons, Captain!” he neighed over the howling wind, “They won’t yield!”

The hippogriff dug her talons in more, glaring into the clouds. Kisu saw one briefly shift into the shape of a face to glare back. “Then if they won’t tame, bust them! Show no mercy!”

Now that was what Kisu wanted to hear. Ordinary storms, that was the realm of the pegasi, but cloud demons…

Life and magic. And she was good at ending both.

Kisu took a deep breath, dove within, and found the thin barrier between the physical and immaterial. Several orichalcum knives emerged, and a moment later, she got to find out what it sounded like when a storm screamed.

She couldn’t enjoy it. That was the first hoof down a path that ended in stone, to start to enjoy the destruction she was capable of. But she could allow herself a bit of satisfaction that the knives still danced as well as they had back then. Swooping and twirling around her head as her eyes glowed golden, she put all but the most dexterous of unicorns to shame as she lost herself in the beauty of the knifework.

A flicker of green and roar of something other than thunder caught her attention, and she saw the last of the flames fade as Beetle, still in his guise of a zebra, was suddenly holding a shield that appeared to be made of shining, black stone.

He smiled at her, she smiled back, and he reared up on his hind legs before chucking the shield as hard as he could at a cloud demon’s snarling face.

The Hall of Squalls was older than the kingdom itself.

No one knew who had built the ruins that had stretched across their land before their arrival, the buildings that had sought to compete with the towering mountains themselves for height and majesty, seemingly created for some kind of giants. The migrating hedgebeasts and satyrs had merely found them, seeking shelter from a storm that had hounded them for several moons, following them from one potential safe haven to the next.

The first ray of sunlight had been spotted from those sheltering in the remains of the ancient palace, and so they had made the land their home, and used the ruins as the foundation for the seat of their first king.

The throne had been through many owners, of many species, but the one who lounged upon it now was a satyr, fur like blizzard snow from his simian head to his hoofed legs, his regalia more like blackened armour and his crown’s points twisting like horns.

Many of those who had won over the Families to be elected king were young and vibrant beings, just old enough to have proven themselves competent in the work required but not yet having had the spark of enthusiasm and desire to learn snuffed from them. However, there was technically no requirement for such a thing, no maximum age to rule. There were little to no requirements at all, save to be an adult, because it had been believed that placing too many limits could see them interpreted and tightened by a current monarch to ensure that only an heir they alone approved of would take their place.

The current Storm King–his name no longer mattered, because once crowned, all were simply “The Storm King” regardless of their bloodline, their earned titles, or even their gender--was older, and those who had presented him as the best choice had claimed that it gave him wisdom. He had seen much, and could think further ahead than recent young, short-sighted kings, so they said.

He and only he could see the path ahead. What needed to be done.

An amulet lay heavy around his neck, etched with the symbol of the kingdom and glowing with a faint light, and for those who bowed before him, it was hard to tell whether the occasional thunder-like rumble came from it, or from the creature who lurked at his side.

Few had seen a cloud demon so close, nor had seen one who was so thin. They were usually towering creatures, full of the magic stolen from those they tormented. This one was smaller than the king, but still no one wished to meet the voids that pretended to be eyes as wispy arms curled their fingers around the edge of the throne.

The Storm King never once looked at the lurking cloud, simply sweeping his gaze over the bowing hedgebeasts. All of them were massive examples of their species, their hulking bodies encased in similar black armour, masks obscuring each of their faces, and he examined them for a long moment before pointing at the one in the centre of the group. “You.”

The hedgebeast froze, then slowly got to his feet, approaching the throne. “My king–”

The old satyr’s three-fingered hand raised to cut off the words. The other hand lifted the amulet. “Do you accept the gift that I offer?” The beast nodded. “Good.”

He raised the amulet, and the Hall shook with the rumble of thunder.

The high ceiling vanished in a swirling of black clouds. Those who hadn’t been chosen slunk backward, giving the indoor storm fearful glances, but the one who had been merely raised his arms high, reaching toward the roiling sea of black as if seeking to touch it.

Instead, it reached out to him, as lightning arced down, enveloping his form in blinding white light.

What emerged was no longer a headbeast, and as the clouds faded again, lightning continued to spark along a long, scaled body. A bipedal stance had been replaced by quadrupedal, and clawed paws tipped each limb. Quills had grown larger and sharper, now tinged with blue, and three burning eyes opened, tiny pupils swimming in lakes of gold. Armour lay shattered upon the ground from the transformation of the body beneath, and a now much more lupine face smiled, baring a row of fangs.

The newly-reborn beast howled, and the Storm King gave the results of his handiwork a low chuckle.

And all the while, the cloud demon watched.

Kisu suffered a lot of nightmares, but sometimes, just sometimes, she had good dreams. Some of them had childhood memories at the core, when the scents of her father’s kitchen wafted back to her and she recalled the first lessons on how to cook. Some of them had her life blending together with the books she loved to read, taking her on adventures she’d never had with creatures who’d only ever existed in print.

But some? Some were a lot like this. The reminder that she could still dance, and having some friends with her who could keep up.

Beetle’s shield required things to ricochet off of, and so he needed to throw it carefully, with a mind to what the overall path he needed was, and what parts of the ship could give it to him. Not to mention that, with him never once shedding his disguise, even here–she would have to compliment him on his discipline, as she’d seen many changelings instinctively revert in response to danger–he needed to make all of the throws with hooves. Yet it was working, and the green sheen of changeling magic over its dark surface tore through the howling clouds and left them recoiling.

Ladybird was nearby, and had announced her presence earlier with a crack that had almost rivalled the thunderclaps. She was similarly still in her zebra form, wielding a whip grasped in her teeth, using neck motions that could make Kisu’s own neck ache just from looking at it. For the most part, she struck out with it, but at least once, the whip had shone as she managed to wrap it around one of the clouds and pull it into the path of Beetle’s shield.

And Damselfly…

They’d donned their own zebra skin upon coming on deck, and they were armed as well. The weapon was a bit like a cannon, but thinner, and the mechanism for firing looked different. Not to mention that instead of cannon balls, it fired gouts of green changeling-flame that had the cloud demons shrieking.

And all the while, Kisu danced. Her knives spun and slashed, and she kept her own head and hooves moving to keep track of each strike. Her bad leg changed the rhythm of the motions, and the slick deck came with the risk of slipping, but her body still remembered what she was meant to do.

The pegasi were all flaps, hoof strikes, and bites, and together, they were forcing the storm back, slowly. It was an endurance game, of whether they would tire before the demons did, and even as Kisu’s body knew the steps to the dance, she could feel the sweat in her coat. There were accounts of cloud demon attacks that lasted days, and she didn’t know anymore if she had that kind of stamina.

There was a new rumble, and with it came a new light, a beam of piercing teal ripping through the clouds and narrowly missing the ship’s balloon. Kisu was left blinking spots from her eyes, her coat standing on end from the magic saturating the air.

All at once, the cloud demons seemed to decide that enough was enough, and they vanished as swiftly as they’d come, leaving them with a sky painted red by the setting sun.

There was another airship hovering nearby, smoke rising from its cannons, and Kisu took a moment to catch her breath before approaching the hippogriff glaring holes at the new vessel. “A timely rescue,” she commented dryly. “Friends of yours, Captain?”

She shook her head. “They’re flying Storm Kingdom colours, but that model of ship… It’s very popular with privateers.”

Kisu’s mouth thinned with a thoughtful frown. “Well then, let’s give our saviours a friendly greeting… and be ready in case they aren’t as friendly as we hope.”