While the Princesses stood, contemplating the next move for them in the war, a winged young woman holding a bow with a quiver on her back knelt on a rooftop, scanning the horizon for any sign of the hoard. She shifted her quiver, adjusting it against her wings. Her eyes were hard, her blond hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Her name was Lightning Chaser, and she had come from Hoofington, a small village that had been completely destroyed by the Shadow Beings. She had been among the few who had escaped to Trottingham, losing her family in the process. There was no way for her to know if they were safe and while she wished to look for them, she had been forced into an archer squadron in Trottingham. It had been three days since the destruction of Hoofington, and she had not been grieving for long enough.
She straightened, shielding her eyes from the sun, hoping that the brightness was a sign they were not close. She so desperately wanted to look for her family, torn between her duty and her bloodline. She glanced down into the street, where mages and warriors had gathered at gates all around the outskirts, prepared for a battle they could hardly predict. In the clouds, winged archers stood ready, their bows in hand.
It wasn't long before scouts flooded back in dozens, their leader landing in front of the general and relaying the news he had picked up. The general turned to the head magician and nodded. The magician put a hand on the back of his neck, the palm glowing slightly, and the general began to speak, his voice amplified.
"They are not far off," he said, his powerful voice echoing through the streets. "We must prepare for the attack. Archers, be at the ready, we rely on you to drive them back as much as you can. Everyone else, you know your orders, attack without mercy. They cannot die, but they can be injured. Everything that lives can be injured. May Celestia sharpen your blades.”
“And Luna strengthen our shields!” was the answering roar from the troops that Lightning Chaser did not take part in. She did not know where her loyalties lied, being so quickly recruited, having no time to consider a plan for finding her family. She wasn't meant to be an archer, she was meant to control the lightning storms generated in Cloudsdale. She had learned that fact years ago, the small storm clouds printed on her palms told the story far better than she could. But here she was, an archer. It had crossed her mind that the power of storms would be more beneficial than archers, but the general thought otherwise.
It was then that she saw it, the mass of black that was the unstoppable enemy. She pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back and strung it, trusting her aim, hoping against hope that it would be accurate. She did not pull the bow string back, not yet. She leapt from the building, her wings opening on her back as the air rushed past her. Flight was always a release for her, being able to reach things that no others could. Regardless of the knowledge she was about to fight for her life, she felt free for just than instant.
The general was right; the Shadow Beings could be injured. Archers had been instructed to aim for the top of the body, as it was assumed that was where the head was. If they hit in the right spot, the creatures could be injured to the point of being unable to battle. That was all they could hope for, a retreat with not too many casualties on their side. She came to a stop about fifty feet up and a hundred feet from the front lines of the grounded warriors. She was joined by several dozen other winged fighters, all of them hovering with her. One man in slightly heavier armour than the rest of them floated down in front of the lines, holding a longbow.
"On my mark," he said with a grave tone, "you will fire. Our aim is to take down as many as we can as quickly as we can. Do not try to kill; you will waste your arrows. One arrow per target, move on if you miss. Understood?"
"Yes," said the troops nobly. It was clear they were all scared, though some had a braver face than others. Lightning Chaser closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the final moment of peace before the fight. When she opened them, the head of the archery team was turned to face the direction the Shadow Beings would be coming from. It wasn't long before a great cloud of blackness appeared over the horizon, slowly blocking out the sun. "Archers, ready!" yelled the head, raising his hand and bow above his head. The archers collectively raised their bows to a firing position, pulling back the bowstring.
They held this position for what seemed like an eternity, ready to fire, their eyes fixed on the ever-growing black mass in the distance. Lightning Chaser was more than ready, though she didn't know if she would hit anything. Then again, there were so many things that it seemed impossible to miss. It was an enormous group, and those tended to take a lot of hits from archers. So intently was she watching the hoard that she didn't notice when their head brought his arm down, notched an arrow, and shouted "Fire!” making her slightly late in firing the first shot.
Sixty-two arrows whistled through the air, flying straight into the blackness. None of them were sure if they'd hit anything, but it didn't matter to them. The head notched another arrow and his troops copied his motions, once again launching a shot into the darkness. Take as many out as you can. Their ammunition was limited, at maximum the sixty-two of them could take out just over seven hundred before drawing their knives and dive-bombing the army.
It continued to advance, undisturbed by the arrows flying into their defenses. The swirling black clouds that surrounded them thickened, obscuring them completely, forcing the archers to rely solely on trust in their eye and their weapon. It wasn't long before they heard the war cry of the ground units, meaning that they had begun their charge. The shots of magic could be heard over the clash of steel and shouts of warriors. It was soon after that they ran out of arrows. The group flew upwards, breaking through the nearest cloud, leaving the fight below them.
"Draw your knives," said their head, pulling his blade out of its cover. "Prepare yourselves. You are going to fly above the enemy. The mages are trying to dissipate the black clouds around them, giving us a better shot at whatever is under them."
The group nodded, pulling out their knives. Lightning Chaser regarded hers with a slight fear. She had never used a knife before, unless it was for cooking. This knife was different, sharper, with a bound leather grip. She had heard a lot about blades being balanced, but this blade didn't feel particularly balanced. She weighed it in her hand, watching the others for the cue to go. She assumed the head would tell them, but he seemed to have left them to their own devices. The archers were starting to drop through the cloud and off the sides, and soon she was the only one left.
The head looked at her and raised an eyebrow before taking off himself, brandishing a second knife in his other hand. She took her turn and fell through the clouds, turning upside down as she did so. With her knifepoint facing straight down, she shot like a bullet towards the opposing army, the black fog slowly dissipating under her. She felt the point of the knife sink into something, waited half a second longer, then pulled up and hovered with the rest of the squad. She didn't know if she had hit anything, or if it had any effect, but it was the best she could do. The others seemed to be having the same problem, pulling up whether they hit something or not.
She glanced over at the grounded units for a second, and didn't like what she saw. The small group of units was trying their best to hold the army back, but they wouldn't last much longer. She considered joining them, but decided against it. Her place was in the air with the other winged units. She flew down again, now in time with the rest of her squad.
This went on for some time, and she quickly grew sweaty and tired. But still, the army chugged forward. The smoke had almost completely been cleared, though there was still a layer surrounding the bodies, blocking their features from view. Whenever one dropped, another would fill its place, as the wounded would fade into the ground. The entire army was well aware that this did not mean they had been killed. No, they were not so naive to believe that, but they had been hurt. That was the best they could do.
"Hey kid," said a voice behind Lightening Chaser as she rose for what felt like the thousandth time. It was a rough voice, filled with malicious whimsy. She turned, brandishing her knife, and was greeted by a sight she had only seen in pictures. A Changeling Knight, his insect-like wings fluttering wildly, so small they shouldn't be able to hold him up. He grinned, his teeth long and sharp, an evil glint in his solid blue eyes.
Lightening Chaser swallowed her fear, remembering her forced allegiance. She couldn't back down, especially not now. She lunged at the Changeling, knife first, and the blade stabbed into the things arm. There was no blood, no cry of pain. Her blade had gone straight through a hole in his arm, causing the Changeling no harm.
"Nice try kid. How old are you, sixteen? You don't know what you're dealing with."
The Changeling pulled his arm away from her blade and swung his own knife at her. She blocked just in time, her inexperience with a blade showing true. The Changeling pushed her back with ease, just as the rest of the army pushed back the small reserve at the edge of town. She just barely heard the head calling for a retreat over the sounds of shouting filling the air. She backed away as best she could, before the Changeling stopped. More out of curiosity than common sense, she stopped too, wondering what it was going to do. There was a rush of wind and the thing’s body was enveloped in green fire. Lightning Chaser shielded her eyes from the flames. When the glow died, she looked up and saw- herself?
The shock must have been written on her face, because the Changeling in front of her laughed. "You people are all the same," he said in her voice, "when you don't understand, you get scared. You're so funny."
The Changeling launched forward once again and engaged her as she tried desperately to get away. The head of the squad continued to call for retreat and she abandoned the fight, shooting upwards and through a cloud. It was in said clouds that she and the rest of the winged warriors stayed for the rest of the surprisingly short battle. When they discovered that the battle was over, and Trottingham had been taken, they abandoned the clouds, all save Lightning Chaser, who stood atop one, staring down at the city. The second city she had seen taken, and already they were disassembling it, making it their own. She decided on the spot that she was going to go to Canterlot. She was going ask the Princesses what they were planning, if they were planning anything at all.