"So." I spun the note idly under a finger. "No leads. No clues. No ideas?" Twilight and Bit shook their heads. "Wait a minute." I pinned the changeling with a glance. "I thought you were here to see me, but that's not right. What are you doing?"
"I will tell you." She turned to the counter. "Pearlette, I need a moment to talk."
"Sure thing, boss!" The barista chirped, throwing a salute. "Hey, is that you, Wes? Greets from the Black Apples!"
"Oh, Pearlette." I grinned. "Are you expanding? Should I warn Celestia?"
"Naw, just here for the mission. Good job with the boss, by the way; you've done our hive well."
"Um, thanks." I managed a smile. "She was no trouble."
"Ahem." Bit coughed, and took a seat. "No, I'm not here to see you. I am here on my mother's behalf."
"How is she?" Twilight asked, genuinely curious.
"We parted friends."
"Oh." Twilight's ears drooped. "Sorry."
"It is nothing." Bit shrugged. "It's more than she had from her mother. Besides, I carry her will forward. So, I am in Canterlot. One of the projects mother started, knowing she wouldn't live to complete it, was tracking Chrysalis. Possibly with intent to harm her."
"Why?" I raised an eyebrow. I'd seen Tezeca's feelings about the other Queen, but I hadn't totally understood them.
"Her thoughts on that aren't clear." Bit gazed into the distance. "I believe… it was because of the incident with Phoresy."
"Oooh." I winced. "Yeah." That made sense. Sunset and me disappearing had caused trouble; Bit could have sparked even more, despite my ignorance at the time. "So you're here in Canterlot looking for her?"
"Yes - um." She cut off, looking up as a tall pegasus, a pinto with a cream and navy coat, trotted up to our table.
"I say, old chap! Fancy seeing you here, what what?" She grinned at us.
"Um." I frowned. “Artemis, what are you doing?"
"W-was that wrong? Shoot! Um - " She adjusted her floppy hat nervously. "Wait, no, I've got it! Hey, dude, wazzup?"
Twilight frowned at the sudden anachronism, and inspected the nervously smiling pegasus curiously. I facepalmed; she’d just seen Luna acting like this in the caves under the Tree.
“Princess… Luna?” Her eyebrows slowly rose in query.
"It's Princess Luna." Bit gave her a flat glance.
"Wes, you blew my cover!" Artemis hissed. "And I was doing so well!"
"No." I shook my head. "No, you weren't."
"Wait a minute!" Realization dawned on Twilight's face. "You're Artemis! You played with Electric Blue Grass!” She turned to me. “Princess Luna was in your band?"
"Um." I stopped. I'd resolved not to keep secrets, but this wasn't really my secret. Still, from the reaction Lyra and Vinyl had given -
"That's so cool! Princess Luna, how long have you played the keyboard? Or, or piano? Does Celestia play any instruments? Can you tell me about ancient music? Oh, did you know any famous composers?"
- it wouldn't be a problem.
"O - oh?" Artemis gave Twilight a faltering smile. "Ah, yes. I am Luna. This is my alter-ego, a mild-mannered therapist who moonlights as a rock star."
"So obvious." Bit poured two more teacups, and took a seat. "Well, my disguise was penetrated as well. Have a seat. Drink the tea. Wes is paying."
"Oh?" Artemis’ smile strengthened. "Then we need snacks!" She waved to Pearlette. "Miss, do you have cake?"
"Great." I rubbed my eyes. "Maybe I can bill it as changeling relations?" I did have an expense account. Now if only I knew where Bit had filed it.
"Of course!" The barista smiled, and turned towards the back. "I'll bring you a tray!"
"Hold up; weren't you positioning your new weapon today?" I sipped my tea, and frowned. I'd steeped it for too long; better have Bit brew the next pot.
"Done, done, all is in readiness!" Artemis shrugged. "But tell me; who is this?" She waved at Bit.
"Oh, yes." The changeling flickered, resuming the disguise she'd used in Ponyville. "Is this better?"
"Bitterbloom!" Artemis threw a wing around her, pulling her into a hug. Bit's ears twitched. "Good to see you! Taking your job back?"
"Maybe." The changeling shrugged awkwardly, squeezed against the larger pony's side. "I was about to explain my presence here, actually. Did any of you hear about the changeling scare last week?"
"I wish they wouldn't call them that." I set my cup down with a clink. "You get a bad enough rap, without ponies calling wards testing or drills a ‘scare’. Really!" I sighed.
"This one was different, though." Artemis nodded to the Pearlette, accepting a platter. Samples of cake were arranged artfully on it, elaborately drizzled with chocolate and raspberry syrup. Awfully fancy for a cover; I'd have to ask about this tea shop. "The wards malfunctioned, near as we can tell. We never triggered them, but we didn't catch any infiltrators, either."
"Did they warp out?" I tried a piece of carrot cheesecake. It was surprisingly good. "That's how they escaped us in Baltimare."
"Not as far as we can tell." Artemis shrugged. "We couldn't scan any noticeable residue, or find any loopholes or mistakes afterwards, but we didn't catch anypony, either. It was passed off as a glitch in the system, because if it wasn't, that means we're absolutely off on the capabilities of changeling agents. Chrysalid agents and drones are the one thing they should be absolutely reliable for, and if they’re fritzing on that..."
"Ah." Twilight frowned. "But."
"Yes." Bit nodded. "You've missed something."
"Hmm?" I looked at Bit.
"I don't believe the changeling you missed catching was an agent."
"Oh." I nodded.
"Hmm?" Artemis gave a puzzled frown.
"Ah, you missed it. Bit was telling us how she's here in Canterlot because she's chasing Chrysalis."
"Oh…" Artemis inspected the changeling. "Hmm. Yes. A Queen might slip through. Their transformation is different magic entirely. But then… why would the wards trigger at all?"
"Ah." Bit sampled a piece of pumpkin cheesecake. "That is an excellent question, and one of the reasons mother was so very interested in finding Chrysalis. You see, I think there is something we haven't understood happening between Chrysalis and Sombra."
"Really?" I went over the circumstances in my mind. "How so?"
"Well." Bit sipped her tea. "Firstly, Phoresy. Why?"
"Hmm." Twilight nodded. "I wondered the same thing myself. Bitterbloom, you are the most intelligent changeling Queen we've met."
"Thank you." Bit nodded.
"And Sombra is anything but an idiot. So when I learned what had happened…" Twilight trailed off.
"You wondered why he would ally himself with Phoresy." Bit finished.
"Exactly."
"Mother thought the same. Her conclusion was that he needed something from her. Hardly a deep conclusion, but worth thinking about."
"Something only a changeling Queen could do." I frowned. "Hmm."
"Hmm." Twilight gazed into the distance. "I wonder…"
We sat in silence for a moment. I ate a piece of apple cheesecake. Were these all cheesecake? I frowned at the platter. Changelings sure could cook.
"Yes?" Artemis finally broke through her trance.
"Oh, sorry!" She flustered, taking a bite of cake to cover her embarrassment. "Is this… raspberry cheesecake?"
"Yes." Bit nodded. "I made it. What were you thinking?"
"Right, right!" She set her fork down. "Look, Wes. Every time we talk about Sombra, I try and piece together what we know of him."
"Right."
"And every time, I go back to the only time we've actually met him, when we were captured." I grimaced; we'd escaped that by the skin of our teeth. The first of many such escapes. I glanced at the note, and sighed.
"Sure."
"And each time, something about what he said bothers me. He was threatening to kill you and steal your… form." Bit's head whipped around at that, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Gah." I rubbed my eyes; now that I'd decided on full disclosure, I didn't need a chart for keeping secrets; I needed a press conference. "Later, Bit. Yes, go on, Twilight."
"But looking back, that seems pretty strange. Sure, your body is better than being made of mist, but it's not very impressive. Just about any pony would be a better choice." I nodded at that; I was physically fit, but the disparity in magic more than made up for it. "And, besides. He had windigolems even then."
"Oh…" I frowned. That really did cast things in a new light. Why would he want my form, when he could have a shape like Shadow Glory or Glisten used? Nearly indestructible, enhanced with magic, and even a shapeshifter? "Hum."
"Exactly. But… and this is a big idea to draw from such a small conclusion… there is something strange about what he said. I remember his monologue; he talked about how you had a crystal matrix and a healthy body, and even guessed at your science, but… he also mentioned your hands. And… he called you a ‘human’."
"Oh." I frowned. "Oh."
"And so, every time I look back on that, I wonder. Why did he use that word? It made sense to me at the time. Human is different from <human>, just like unicorn is different from <unicorn>. Looking at it from an etymology standpoint, it obviously refers to the Tuatha. At the time, I didn't even think about it; he saw you, he drew a name from the myths, and he used it. If you'd called the Princess a <pegacorn>, it would be about the same. But it seems a little more suspicious now - "
" - now that we've found the Tuatha." I finished grimly. "Holy crow. We need to get this to Celestia, ten minutes ago."
"Woah, dude. Chillax." Artemis threw a wing around me. "No need to get all hot'n'bothered."
"Okay, no. Just… just stop." I poked her in the side, and she clamped her wing down, protecting her ticklish underbelly. "Stop being 'cool'. You're way too awesome as an anachronism. Own it. But tell me; why not?"
"Forsooth, knave; Mine sister hath no need for thy misty mazing's!" I grinned, and she smirked back. "The connection between Sombra and the Tuatha is already clear. No need to go running."
"Is this something from the archeology project I'm missing?" I sampled a piece of… cinnamon cheesecake? Interesting.
"No, no." Artemis waved a hoof airily. "It's become increasingly obvious that Sombra is intent on some sort of resography; his inter-dimensional magic is far beyond ours. First the Crystal Empire disappeared. Then, he tried using Shadow Glory to vanish it completely. Later, Glisten goes for the Misty Mirror, which we didn't even know was in Manehatten. Afterwards, she constructed an even more intricate spell for Phoresy, and I'd bet a bushel of apples that wasn't her original work. Finally, the windigos have marked his steps the whole way, not to mention all the things Glisten said when you confronted her in the mirror-world. The Tuatha are closely tied to an Otherworld in every single Equestrian myth about them. I would be shocked if Sombra hadn't turned them up in his research. Hay, it was one of the first things you looked into when you considered interdimensional travel, right?"
"…right." I sat back down slowly. "But still."
"Oh, you're correct. Tia needs to know." Artemis hooked the platter, with one lonely piece of cheesecake remaining, a little closer. "But no need to rush off. It's not a new idea; merely another data point. Besides, we’re not done. We can’t just ask if he was interested in your form; we need to ask why? What is there, about you, that he would value above Shadow Glory's power, or Glisten's adaptability?"
"And after you proved yourself no easy prey, was that reason enough for him to recruit one of my… peers?" Bit pulled the platter back a few inches. Artemis' brows lowered. "Despite the tendency of changeling inheritance rituals to produce self-centered fools, who can't see past their own noses?"
"Exactly." Artemis smiled, and tugged on the tray slightly. Bit refused to yield.
"But." Twilight snagged the last piece of cake, ignoring the twin frowns she received. I sighed, and waved for Pearlette. "A changeling? As a replacement for him?" She waved at me. "He may not be much - "
"Hey!"
" - but he is weird - "
"Hey!"
"- and I don’t think a changeling could mimic that."
Bit frowned, and glanced around the café. Although customers had been coming in and out, it was empty for now. She closed her eyes, and concentrated. Blue fire wreathed her momentarily, and after a second a svelte human sat before us., wearing a cream tuxedo to accent her black skin. Her eyes had returned to crystal facets, but the shimmering patterns unique to Queens formed royal-blue pupils.
"Like this, I would pass as human to the average magical inspection." She flickered, and her eyes normalized to human orbs, her skin took on the translucence of flesh, and she spread fingers with real prints. "Like this, I would pass as human to even the most detailed inspection, magical or scientific." She raised one hand, and it arced blue, changing from dark to pink. She grasped my hand and turned it over, placing our fingers side-by-side. "If you look, the prints match. If I continue, I could even fool a scan of the veins in my palm or retina. According to my research on mimicry in the mirror-world, that is difficult."
"We had that tech. It was considered some of the highest security." I mumbled. "You are dangerous."
"Then I'm in good company." She flickered back to her first human form. "You're correct, Twilight. A changeling can't. But a Queen could, given time and resources. I've been fortunate to acquire a secondary form as a hatchling, from combining samples of Wes and Fluttershy's base-patterns - " She cut off, as Twilight and Artemis shared a glance, and burst into giggles.
"What?" Bit and I matched confused frowns. They giggled harder.
"Hah - I was just - heehee - picturing Wes - glurk - married to Fluttershy." Twilight collapsed in giggles. Pearlette carefully avoided her flailing as she set another platter of cake on the table. I nodded my thanks.
"And - hah - Fluttershy adopting a Changeling - hoo -Queen!" Artemis pounded the table. I sighed, and shrugged. Pony humor. Although the idea of Fluttershy as Bit's 'mom' was a little silly; I pictured her ever-so-meekly admonishing an impassive Bitterbloom, and smiled.
"Putting that aside…" Bit waited until they calmed down enough to speak again. "Another Queen could do something similar, although it might take much more time and power."
"But as for what…" I frowned.
"We can only speculate." Bit shrugged. "Still, we know this. Sombra knows about the Tuatha. He wanted something from a changeling Queen; something he was willing to pay handsomely for, if he put the Mirror at Phoresy’s disposal. And Chrysalis, for some reason, decided to interfere in that bargain." Bit's ears flattened very slightly. "Using me as a pawn. Chrysalis was trying to knock Phoresy down, using the most effective tool she could get her hooves on. It worked. She may be stupid, but she's still sly. What is she doing now? What was her end?" The changeling sighed, steepling her fingers before her face. "That's why I'm here in Canterlot. That's what I have my agents investigating."
"That's… a very good reason." I rubbed my forehead. "But… why all the secrecy?"
"What secrecy?" Her voice was flat.
"Um…"
"Sir, when did you last check your correspondence folder?"
"Uh…" I tried to think back. Where had I left it?
"Really." She sighed softly. "Are you helpless without me? Please tell me you didn't spiral into depression and spend all week moping."
"I wasn't - "
"You were moping."
"He was moping."
"Ouch!" I glared at Twilight and Artemis. "Not even a heartbeat's hesitation!"
"And you're looking scruffy." Bit leaned in close, running a finger along my jaw. "You haven't shaved this week. For shame, sir." She wrapped slim fingers around my wrist, and shot my cuff up my arm, revealing my straight-razor. "And you have no excuse for that."
"Wes… do you carry sharp objects everywhere?" Twilight looked at the cold steel, and sighed.
"Yes," I replied, matter-of-fact. "Don't you?" I pointed to her horn.
"This is - "
"Yes." Artemis gave Twilight a quelling look. "Take it easy, Twilight. Physical weapons aren't even much of a threat."
"According to mother, you almost killed me with this." Bit contemplated the razor. I swallowed.
"Look, Bit - "
"I remember it, you know? It was one of the last memories she had, before she completed the inheritance focus. She could see your wrath, your imbalance and strife. You almost ended it then."
I looked up at her impassive eyes, unsure what to say. I couldn't deny the accusation, but I'd choke before I said it to her face. She caressed the steel absently, fingers cool against my wrist.
Everything was still.
"I'm confiscating it." I flinched as she slipped the blade from my arm.
"Wait - " I reached out, but she snatched it away. I grasped helplessly as she spun it between her fingers. "Give it back!"
"Denied." She smiled ever-so-slightly. "Use it or lose it. Now it's mine."
"But!"
"Nope." She slipped it into a sleeve, and I blinked. Weren't those illusions? "It's too dangerous to carry around. If you need it, ask nicely. I'll lend it back."
"Hmm." Artemis sighed, and set down her piece of cake. "Well, this has been fun. Is there any other reasons you called me? If not, I should really be getting back to work."
"Wait a second." I held up a finger. "Called you?"
"Of course." Her puzzlement was frank. "You were waiting for me, right? Isn't this from you?" She produced a piece of paper. It was typed, with the address of the café, and a square-wave sideways 'S' squiggle.
"Oh." I slumped, suddenly returned to reality. "You too?" I slid the note I'd received across the table. "It looks like the fun has been doubled."
"Scuse me?" The four of us looked up, as a courier stepped up to our table, tipping her hat. "Delivery for one Artemis Cutepillow?"
"That's… me?" Artemis hesitantly accepted a letter, to our giggling.
"Her name is Cutepillow."
"Pffft. Cutepillow."
"Cutepillow. Hah. Adorable."
"Shush!" She snapped, as soon as the courier left. "I never even gave this disguise a last name!" She opened the letter, and grimaced.
"Bad news, Miss Cutepillow?" I suppressed another snicker, to a dark look.
"I'm not quite sure." She sighed, and flipped the paper towards us. "It seems the fun has been tripled." On the paper was one address, a time, and the now-familiar sigil. I mentally named the sender 'Squarewave'. "Should we go?"
"I don't think we have much choice." I scribbled Pearlette an I.O.U. for the embassy. Not something I made a habit of, but… I glanced at the time. We didn't have long. "We've got a pretty strong group here. Let's proceed with firm caution."
"Emphasis on the caution." Artemis glanced at the slip of paper again. "Whoever this is… they don't seem malevolent so far. But I'm uneasy about somepony who's seen through my disguise so simply."
"Join the club." I shrugged. "But, yeah. Emphasis on the caution." I shrugged, and we turned towards the door.
One way or another, we'd get to the bottom of this.
Hopefully it wouldn't hurt too much.
"It could be a noble?" I looked up at the buildings around us. We needed to be a few streets over.
"No." Artemis rolled her eyes. "No pony who knows Celestia is insane enough to try manipulating her agents. And nopony anywhere is insane enough to try manipulating me."
"How about xenos?" Bit suggested. "Griffons? Minotaurs? Foreign changelings? We’ve only accounted for the Equestrian Queens, after all."
"Speculation is pointless." Twilight rolled her eyes. "We don't have nearly enough information on the notes. That's why we're here. I just wish we had time to send for backup."
"Yeah." I grimaced. "I hate walking into traps."
"Sir, if they'd wanted to kill you, they could have left you a slit throat instead of a slip of paper." My razor flickered in Bit's hand for a moment. "I think you have control issues."
"I probably do!" I threw my arms in the air. "I'll stop being paranoid when I stop being right!"
"Oh." Bit looked up, as a sudden noise split the air. "Hmm."
Wooop. Wooop. Wooop.
Bars of green light sprang up around us, bending to fit through the group.
Wooop. Woo -
The wards flickered, and the calm warning faded, disappearing as quickly as it came. We traded looks.
"The changeling wards are acting up?" I glanced at Artemis, as we unanimously walked faster.
"Same as last time." She frowned. "They trigger, and then fade."
"Strange." Bit frowned. "That's not at all how they should - "
Sudden yelling and stampeding drew our attention to the end of the street. The address we were headed towards was leaking heavy black smoke, and ponies were yelling and running.
"A fire?" I slowed slightly, looking for rescue teams.
"No." Bit accelerated. "That's infused with power! Somepony was spellcasting in there."
- oop. Wooop.
The streams of ponies halted, as the wards re-activated for a moment. Bit and I paused; the other two didn't have auth-coins, so without us, they'd have to break through.
"We should - "
"Hold on, let's - "
"Why can't we - "
"HUSH!"
The group turned to me as I waved my arms and yelled.
"Look, before we get into anything, we need a leader, or we'll be at cross-purposes the whole way." I crossed my arms. "We have two princesses, a Queen, and a meddlesome human. No-one in this group is a bad choice, but we all think differently. We need to pick someone and stick with it. I vote for Bit."
"Me?" She took a step back, raising a hand to her face.
"You know about Chrysalis." I shrugged. "Besides, you're grown-up now, right?"
"I vote for Artemis." Twilight grimaced. "No offense, Bit, but you're a little inexperienced for this."
"She has Tezeca's experience." I frowned.
"I vote for Wes." Bit crossed her own arms. "He's excellent at improvising, and we're going to need that." All of us turned to Artemis.
"I get the deciding vote, hmm?" She smiled. "Well, I make it a principle to not vote for myself, and tempting as it is, voting for Twilight would be an inexcusable - "
CRASH.
Despite the wards, somepony was still moving at our destination. I winced as a body blasted through one of the windows, bouncing off the opposite wall.
"Bit's in charge." Artemis clapped her with a wing. "We'll back you to the hilt so don't hesitate now, little one."
"Right." Bit gave a firm nod. "First thing, Artemis, link with Wes."
"But I can't - " I started to object, but Bit shushed me.
"You can as long as she stays disguised. It's enough of a dampener. You've locked down more than two-thirds of your nature, right Artemis?" The pegasus nodded. Bit walked over to Twilight, and threw an arm around her neck. Walking forward, the wards reacted to her authorization, and bent around both of them. "I'd ask you myself, but I haven't mastered suppression yet, and asymmetrical links are dangerous. I understand that, now." She shrugged wistfully. "Maybe in a few years, or if we get really desperate. You should practice suppression too, Twilight."
"Hmm, yes. It could work." Artemis gave me a thoughtful nod.
"And right now, Wes is our most vulnerable asset. He's always more effective in symmetry, so unless you really need to bring in the high-power stuff, work with him."
"No high-power stuff in the city." Artemis shook her head. "Limiting my power here is necessary anyways. Wes, if you like?"
I hesitated for a second, but nodded. I felt a little strange about all the linking I'd done since returning. It was an oddly intimate thing. Still, it's not like these ponies were complete strangers. And we hadn't gone to extreme lengths.
The link formed with a snap. Luna winced, and I shook the pain from my head. The backlash seemed to lessen each time.
"Testing, testing?" I pushed a few words, and a vision of Alicorn Pinkie across the link. "Can you say - pretty-pink-party-pony-princess?
"Gah!" Artemis winced. "What a horrifying idea!"
"You catch on quick." I extended a mental plea. "Lend a little magic?"
"Sure." She passed a tiny feed of power across the link. I drew it in, and felt myself grow lighter. I threw an arm around her neck. Bit and Twilight were almost at our destination. The wards flickered intermittently, and ponies fled in jerks and halts. As I watched, the pony thrown through the window limped back inside.
"That's odd." Artemis frowned. "Let's move." I felt her gather the wind around us, pulling currents of air into a workable stream. She flicked her wings wide, and air wrapped me, gently wafting us off the ground. She flapped once, and we skimmed down the street like a thrown dart, zipping past Bit and Twilight at shoulder-level. I glanced at the pavement flowing quickly past, and wished for a skateboard helmet.
"I won't drop you." I could feel her smile across the link. "I've been at this longer than Rainbow."
"Could you beat her in a race?" Honest curiosity tinted the thought.
"Not as a pegasus." Artemis gave a mental shrug. "As an alicorn it wouldn't even be a contest. The boost from my other magic is unreal."
"Yeah, I've seen some of that in Twilight, already. Her physical power has gone through the roof, and it affects her spellcasting." We touched down outside the building, and I drew my vibroblade. "She may not have noticed herself. She's still too unicorn, I think."
"Give her a few centuries." Artemis shrugged. "She's two-thirds foal."
"Huh." I hesitated. "Should we go in?"
"Wait for the leader."
"Okay." Bit and Twilight arrived a moment later. The changeling stepped up, and raised a hand. "There's magic happening in there. I'm going to disrupt it as best I can, and then we're going in."
"Disrupt?" I watched curiously, as she swung her arm, tracing a pattern in the air with outstretched fingers. A rune-circle quickly formed before her, glimmering a deep, royal blue. I blinked; her magic had changed color. My focus shifted as I realized she was using unfamiliar runes. Inherited from previous Queens? That could contribute significantly to her power.
Before I could try analyzing the circle, it activated with a flash. There was a burst of power, but it was disorganized chaos, scrambled noise.
Something inside shattered.
"Overloading the ambient magic?" Twilight whistled. "Clever. I bet bypassing the ground protection on their spell took some oomph, though."
"I'm flush with power. Enter!" She leaped through the shattered window; Artemis kicked in the door, and Twilight and I dove after.
Inside, ponies stood around a smoking spell-circle, arguing.
"This is our second failure! You said you could do this!" One was a stick-thin pegasus stallion, ash-grey with flat, ink-black eyes.
"Shut up, Bodkin! I can!" The other was a changeling Queen, gnarled and scraggly, with a ragged blue mane. She looked hard-pressed. Her shimmering green eyes were dancing with anger and fear.
"Chrysalis!" Twilight and I hissed together, as they turned towards us.
"Well, that escalated quickly." The dark pony shrugged and spread razor-thin wings. They glittered crystal in the dim light; I'd eat my hat if he wasn't a Lieutenant. "First the wards, now this! I'm bailing. If you can't clean up here, explain it to Sombra yourself. Golems, cover me!"
"Stop him!" Bit stepped towards Chrysalis, waving us at Bodkin. He smirked, and slashed his wings downwards. I yanked on Artemis' power, drawing my vibroblade as I accelerated. Surprise flashed across his face as I nearly clipped his feathers. He swerved hard; I swerved harder, using echonarchy for traction and power. I matched him in a flat dash for the window. Our battle was already progressing faster than the eye could see when Artemis joined.
I felt a hint of apprehension from the link. She interposed herself roughly just before I blocked a blow, carefully deflecting it instead. I winced as Bodkin's crystal pinions shredded her wing.
"Careful, Wes. Those are more than just feathers." I nodded, wary. Those crystals doubled as blades. Bodkin curled up, somersaulting past her in mid-air to land in the street. He nearly made good his escape, but Artemis followed quickly; her slashing tackle cut in at knee-level, changing his take-off to a clumsy tumble. I gathered power on the windowsill a moment, springing across the street in a level arc, blade slashing as I passed. He twisted a wing deftly to roll in midair, slipping between my blade and Artemis' hooves by the barest margins.
Tak.
We landed in tableau, inspecting each other carefully. This was a serious fight; despite being two-on-one, Bodkin had held his own. In some ways, this pegasus was as formidable as Shadow. Luna might make quick work of him, but Artemis was limited by civilians.
"Gol~LEMS!" he yelled, projecting his voice hugely.
Crash-crash-crash-crash!
I stumbled back, as huge chunks of crystal rained from the sky.
"Get back!" I pushed an image of unfolding windigolems to Artemis, and she danced away from the juggernauts. Sure enough, the chunks of glassy rock uncurled, taking only vaguely ponyish forms. I leaned on Artemis’ power to zip in, bisecting the nearest before it finished. My blade sung through it easily and it crumbled into sand. Bodkin shot me a sharp glance, clearly re-evaluating me after seeing the vibroblade’s effect.
"Oh, hay." I took in the forms of the golems, and pushed a hint of terror towards Artemis. They still had four legs, and something like a head, but now… instead of simple stabbing arms like I'd seen in Phoresy's hive, these golems were clearly packing barrels. As I watched, mechanical movement cycled through all of them, and I threw up the strongest shield I could manage, lunging to cover my pegasus companion.
It was barely in time; a barrage of crystal slammed me back into Artemis, and a cloud of stinging sand lashed through the shield. I couldn’t stop the projectiles, but least my echonarchy had disintegrated them.
"Faster," Artemis mumbled. "Accelerate, Wes."
"You want me to dodge bullets?"
"A moment ago, you might have. Watch." She blurred, leaving a star-spangled aura. Three ear-splitting cracks rang out, and the remaining golems shattered. Bodkin frowned, but he was already in the air.
"Chrysalis, you stupid roach! Are you coming, or not?" His voice rolled through the street.
"Good try!" the changeling Queen taunted, flitting out the window. Bit followed, in changeling form again, and looking somewhat the worse for wear. "Try again in a few years, hatchling!" I glimpsed Twilight facing more golems inside; their projectiles ricocheted off her shield as she calmly dismantled them one-by-one.
"Stop!" I moved to block Chrysalis, but momentum slid her past. For a fraction of a second she turned to look back, and I saw her expression change. Ferocity gave way to something else, and she mouthed a plea. I’d nearly missed it. She spun back towards Bodkin, face set again. Artemis moved after, but Bodkin touched the Queen’s shoulder and they vanished in a flash. Rainbow might be the fastest pegasus, but those crystal bodies were pure haxx.
"She said ‘help me?’" I stood dazed in the street as my friends cleaned up the last of the opposition. Chrysalis, in the split-second she had been certain Bodkin couldn't see, had begged for my assistance. "What the hay?"