//------------------------------// // Ch5: Eye of the Swarm // Story: Captain Equestria: Civil Service // by AppleTank //------------------------------// Shining let go of the magic powering his shields, letting the pummeled changeling collapse onto the floor. “Well then,” he said, glaring lightly at Pinkie, “yes, we are here.” Pinkie raised her hooves. “Woo!” A pistol in her hoof fired. A moment later, a changeling fell from the sky. Fluttershy, hovering next to her, rolled her eyes and shifted the crossbow pressed against her shoulder. Twilight soared over on flaming hooves and landed besides her brother. “This is the entrance huh?” The changeling hive entrance was partially hidden behind a rockslide. On the way there, the team ran into a sparse group of defending changelings. Considering the same team blew up half an army while divided, the defenders didn't last very long. "How much of Generosity do we have back?" Shining asked. Twilight glanced at a vial in her bags, and grumbled, "Barely ten percent." "Then we'll just have to punch it out of all of them," Fluttershy said, a frown on her face. "Onwards then," Shining replied. The team made sure there were no more surprises around them, then moved in. What followed was almost an hour of flying bodies. Shining Armor formed a glimmering pink shield, bouncing spellfire away from his allies. Twilight hovered over him, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy took positions on either side. Magical lasers, bullets, and heavy bolts flew through the one-way shield. Applejack leapt over green flames into a group of changelings taking cover behind an outcropping of rock. She punched a hoof through the ground. Shattered rocks glowed underneath the surprised defenders, soon setting their hooves alight. Wispy light left their bodies. “Thank you for holding onto shards of Rarity,” she snarked. “Bang!” Pinkie Pie shouted. She sprayed wildly, but accurately, downing a hallway of changelings. Fluttershy pointed her crossbow backwards. A changeling popped out of a side path, but froze upon locking eyes with the bow’s sights. Fluttershy flicked the trigger. ..... ... .. Shining Armor wheezed as he blew down a wall with a shield made of stone. “We ... are here Chrysalis,” he panted out. “We have wheeze punched out all the Generosity you stole gas[.” He shakily raised a hoof. “Surrender now, or prepare to fight.” “I know that reference,” Luna commented. The rest of the ponies piled in after him, covered in dirt and more exhausted than they would like to admit. Twilight looked fine though. Chrysalis lounged back on her throne. She started slowly clapping. “So you have. Well, if you want the final piece, you’ll have to fight for it.”  She looked over her shoulder and called, “Come, my champion.” The ponies tensed at the sound of hoofsteps. A pink hoof stepped out of the caverns. Black armor. Blank eyes. Wings and horm. Shining Armor’s jaw dropped. “... Caddy?” He stumbled forwards. “It’s me. Don’t you recognize me?” Cadence said nothing, standing blankly by Chrysalis’s side. “Your precious princess is no more,” the Queen said, smirking.  “Caddy, you have to fight it!” “There’s nothing be me, little pony.” Chrysalis laughed. “Fight her, or surrender? What will it be?” Cadence started walking forwards, and Shining Armor moved to meet her. Cadence raised a hoof to strike him, but Shining managed to catch it with his own. Cadence’s other hoof raised, and was also caught.  “Cadence!” Shining cried. “Please, hold on!” “Do it,” Chrysalis taunted. “Strike her down!” Cadence fell over, snoring. “What?” Shining armor tossed away a tranquilizer dart. “Admittedly I was planning to use that on you, but in retrospect, I wasn’t sure if I could get past the chitin.” As Chrysalis spluttered, Twilight walked over to touch her horn to Cadence’s head, pulling out the last shards of Generosity and sending them back home. Seeing the unicorn seemed to spark a memory in the Changeling, her eyes narrowing in thought. “I remember you.” She looked away. “Well then, I guess I have to reveal my next card, my sleeper agent.” The Queen cleared her throat and stated, “T-H-Q-S-5-5-4-C.”  Chrysalis sat back in her throne, grinning smugly. Twilight’s eyes briefly flashed green. “Huh,” the unicorn said. “So that’s what it was.” Chrysalis stopped grinning. “I accidentally removed my foreleg when I was four,” Twilight explained, “and it took me a year of reading engineering textbooks before I figured out how to replace it. A few years later, I was confident enough to open myself up and look inside. Took out this weird blob thing that was attached to my spine to figure out why it was there and different. That made me lose feeling in everything below by shoulders. Eventually my family agreed that we had to put it back, but with a bit of donated blood from both my parents I created a copy of it that took control of the parasite through my own will. I got a cutie mark later on, so I guess I’m no longer a soulless robot.” “What.” “That means I’m free to kick your flank.” Twilight looked at her friends and waved at the Queen. “Get her, girls. And Shiny.” “Gee, thanks,” her brother muttered, but lit his horn. The Queen snarled, and lit her horn. A cybernetic form dropped down from the ceiling, crouching in front of the ponies. Chrysalis’s form glowed, and ghosted inside the cybernetic equine. Blades levitated out of holsters on its back. “You haven’t seen me truly wield Monarch, little ponies. Now you will face my wrath in all its might.” Blades swirled around the chamber. Shining was able to cover Applejack and Fluttershy with his shield. Twilight protected herself with her own shield, and started firing lasers blasts back. Pinkie merely grinned, flipped her pistols upside down, and started swinging them around like tonfas.  “Twilight?” Shining called. “I hope you have a plan.” He winced as the Queen’s whirling blades began shrieking, biting into his shields with increased force and knocking him back. Fluttershy popped off bolts over his shoulder. Twilight’s eyes darted around as her hoof jets flew her across the area, kicking away at the spinning blades. “Applejack! The blades are only enhanced in the cut!” “Got it.” When a blade whirled past Shining’s shield, she stepped forwards, a hoof raised. “Direct Drive!” she punched the blade, shattering it.  Chrysalis pulled her remaining weapons close to her, hissing.  Suddenly, Twilight’s horn flashed. “Rarity’s ready!” A flaming portal opened, letting Rarity leap in with the Elements floating behind her. They blurred across the room. The crossbow landed in Shining’s hooves. They all floated in the air, glowing. Shining looked particularly confused. “NO!” Chrysalis shouted. The light of Harmony suddenly wavered and died. Chrysalis had teleported behind them, and held Fluttershy at knife point. Shining Armor dropped to the ground, scratching his head. “Move a muscle,” Chrysalis said, “and your little friend loses a head.” Fluttershy’s face was frozen in shock, but slowly morphed into a cocky grin. “Too bad you got the wrong pony.” “What? You can’t even turn your head--” The crossbow in Shining’s hooves shook. A ghostly, skeletal dog rose out of it, its eyes locking with the Queen’s own. Chrysalis felt her muscles freeze uncontrollably, as the colors of the world around her bled away. “No ...” ‘Fluttershy' raised a hoof, buzzing with lightning, and slapped the blade around her neck away. She ducked a flailing grab from the changeling, and hit the ground. “Rainbow Bolt!" She twirled and jabbed her blade hoof into Chrysalis's stomach. Green blood sprayed from the changeling's lips. "And again, girls!" Twilight's horn lit once more. Fluttershy, the actual one, untransformed with a flash. Rainbow Dash leapt to them, the discharge from her attack charring the hair dye, and trailing smoke. Shining Armor awkwardly stood to nhe side as concentrated Harmony slapped Chrysalis in the face. "Woo!" Luna shouted, tossing a bucket of popcorn into the air.  It landed on Shining’s head. He slowly turned his head to look at her. “... Luna?” He double-taked. “Twilight!?” "What," Luna asked, raising an eyebrow. "you only just noticed me now?" Twilight muttered something muffled due to her face being buried in her hooves. "Well, yes, but, why is my sister here?" he said, flailing his hooves. "You thought I was a robot[/]?" Twilight screeched, her wings flapping erratically. Shining's face blanked. "The passing thoughts of my subconscious are not representative of my actual opinions." "Nice save," Luna commented, nodding. "Well, we must be off now, before your sister tries to see if she can punch your thoughts. I have some ideas to try out. Goodnight, Armor." The alicorn of the night levitated Twilight (who was still ranting) and herself through the ceiling. Shining Armor stared at the frozen battle around him. "Well now what?" Several days later Shining Armor walked into his room and froze. "Luna? Twilight?! Why?!" Luna had her flowing mane tied up behind her, and danced gracefully through a cluster of spinning enchanted moonstone blades. She paused, a rear leg pointed in the air. "Yes? Oh!" The blades settled behind her locking together to form one singular sword. "I thank you for introducing me to the concept. I found the book it came from. It is neat." Shining's face slowly shifted into a grimace before turning to look at his sister. Or rather, sisters. One was staring off into space with a blank smile, and had no wings. The other had her face in her hooves, the tips of her ears turning red. "And you?" "I built a robot," Twilight mumbled into her hoof. "Oh." Beep. The robot turned to Shining. "Hi, Big Brother!" She waved a slightly charred foreleg enthusiastically. "Oh."