This was the strangest battle Cloud Kicker had ever heard of. While she’d heard more than a few old war stories from her family about bizarre battles, she was pretty sure this was going straight to the top of the list.
One the one side was a room full of changelings—shapeshifting creatures that looked like a cross between a pony and an insect. At their head was ten massive changelings decked out in blue armor-chitin.
Cloud Kicker’s forces were Ditzy “Derpy” Doo, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, some musicians and the cream of Equestrian high society. I really hope the saying about Celestia not necessarily being on the side of larger battalions is true, she thought worriedly.
That’s not to say that the ponies weren’t giving it their all—it’s just that their all was, frankly, weird.
Sapphire Shore tapped her hoof against the floor, getting a small beat going, her hips beginning to sway. “Five-six-seven-eight-Bah BAM!” She hipchecked two changelings close to her, then brought down another changeling with a solidly placed punch. “How do y’all like my new Hip-Hop-Ki-Do?” She grinned impishly. “Bet y'all thought I was just a pretty face. A lady has to keep her more enthusiastic fans at bay, dahlins. Now who's ready for a show?”
Octavia and Vinyl Scratch looked at each other as things were beginning to heat up. Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, if we’re all gonna get replaced by evil shapeshifting insects, I figure we might as well go down playing. One last great gig, huh? You and me?”
“Very well.” Octavia sighed as she readied her cello. “A professional always does her duty.” To her ensemble, she dipped her head. “It has been a privilege playing with you tonight.”
“HIT IT!” Vinyl cried as she cranked the volume up to max, the sound so powerful it physically knocked several changelings away from the speakers.
“Time for the cello solo!” Octavia raised her bow like a sword. “En garde!” She lashed out, smacking a changeling with such force that its head snapped to the side.
Cloud cracked her neck, determined to lead her troops--such as they were--into the fray. She rushed forward, ramming her hoof into the changeling captain’s gut and wincing as her hoof throbbed.
The changeling captain didn’t even seem put out. His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he let out a casual, “Ow.” Growling, Cloud Kicker took to the air and zipped around him, jabbing him in a half dozen different spots, trying to get a feel for any sensitive or weak places.
Not a BUCKING thing. She swore as she backed off. It was like fighting a mountain! Even if this guy was as big, burly and (hopefully) slow and clumsy as he looked, he could still win simply by outlasting her while she wore herself down. A sudden backhoofed blow caught Cloud Kicker in the chest and sent her careening into wall.
Stars exploded in front of her eyes. She groaned and rubbed her head. Her vision swam and came back into focus just in time to see her opponent standing over her. “Oh, horseapples.”
A small bread roll sailed through the air and bounced harmlessly off the side of its head. “You leave my sister alone!”
Cloud Kicker snapped to attention. “Alula!” She turned her head in horror to see Alula clutching a hoofull of breadrolls and tossing them one by one at the changeling.
Grumbling, the brute turned and bore down upon the tiny filly. Cloud Kicker was on her hooves and flapping her wings before she was even cognizant of it. “You don’t touch her! You don’t even look at her!” She bellowed as she tackled him from behind with enough force to actually manage to knock him down.
For all of ten seconds. The brute bucked Cloud off and angrily got back to its feet. It growled angrily, reminding Cloud Kicker of a thunderstorm about to break. At least he forgot about Alula… She gulped as she started flying. The a high-pitched buzzing made her look back. Her opponent had somehow managed to get his wings to support his considerable bulk into the air and was pursuing her with surprising speed. The snarling visage on his face promised Cloud that she was in for a world of hurt.
She just smiled. I was a competitor in the Best Young Flyer competition. I may not be Rainbow Dash, but I can out-maneuver a giant bug anyday of the week. Cloud waggled her rear at her pursuer and stuck out her tongue. You’re in my domain now. Time to kiss the sky!
As she flew above the chaos she saw that Trender Hoof and Hoity Toity had grabbed some legs off a broken table and were swinging them wildly. They hadn’t come close to hitting anything, but the changelings seemed to be giving them a wide berth. And they were nearly as distracting as Photo Finish—who would randomly seem to pop up in front of the changelings, flash her camera on its brightest setting, blinding them.
Another one of the hulking, giant changelings strode forth easily swatting aside any resistance—or anything that didn’t just get out of its way fast enough. He bore down on a surrounded Shining Armor, who was warding of a narrowing circle of changelings from enveloping him. They hissed and spat, but stayed back, wary of his magic.
The elite had no such concern. He charged right towards the Guard captain and wasted no time raining blows on his head and neck. For his troubles he got a blast of magic to the face, which barely even phased the changeling. With a heave and a shove, Shining Armor was picked up and bodily thrown down.
Shining Armor groaned, looking up to see an enormous chitinous hoof growing larger as it came down to stomp him—the irony didn’t escape him.
The changeling barely caught a flash of red in the corner of his eye before he heard somepony say, “Eenope!” The brute barely had time to look up before a red hoof the size of a dinner plate cold-cocked him. It was out cold before it even hit the ground.
“Thanks…” Shining wheezed as Big Macintosh helped him up. “How about you get beat up by the next one and I come rescue you?”
“Eenope.”
While other guests screamed and fled, or fought in a manner that could be better described as ‘flailing about and hoping that hits something’ Fancy Pants was another story. Armed with nothing more than a detached table leg, his monocle and his normal debonair look, he waded into the fray lashing out at changeling after changeling. He wielded the blunt wooden leg like a rapier in the hooves of a master fencer.
As one particularly unfortunate changeling found out as Fancy’s makeshift sword jabbed it in the gut and then thwacked it across his head. Fancy Pants’ companion Fleur de Lis cheered on in appreciation. “Brava, mon amour! Brava! Vous êtes magnifique!”
Fancy smiled as he saluted her. "I love it when you speak Prench, Fleur. Speak some more."
Cloud Kicker continued to fly, circling the room as she avoided her pursuer. These were her ponies. She might not be Rainbow Dash and these weren’t her heroic friends … but they were still Equestrians. And they weren’t afraid. That’s why we’ll beat them.
As the battle raged behind them, Rainbow Dash and her friends raced through the castle.
“Sounds like quite the ruckus going on back there!” Applejack called to her friends. “Any chance we know where to start looking for the Princess?”
“The tower!” Pinkie Pie called out. “The Princess is always locked up in the tower!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Anypony else have any ideas?”
“Pinkie’s right!” Twilight spoke up, surprising everypony present, save Pinkie, who merely beamed.
“Uh, mind running that one past me again?” Applejack asked.
Twilight explained. “Towers are isolated, there’s only one way in or out unless you have wings, they’re out of the way—there’s a reason why it’s a commonly used story trope. If Chrysalis has Princess Celestia held in the castle, it’s the most likely location.”
Flying overhead, Rainbow nodded as she thought about it. “Yeah, the Princess always raises the sun from her tower. And the guards and staff usually respect her privacy enough to leave it alone if she asked them to.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go.” The group ran full tilt through the hallways, not stopping for anything. It seemed that Chrysalis must have pulled most of her forces to the wedding, because they didn’t encounter anyone—pony or changeling—as they went. It made the castle unnaturally empty and quiet.
The entryway to the tower lay behind a gold-rimmed doorway. The tower staircase itself spiraled upwards. Trying to track its path up with their eyes only resulted in giving the ponies a headache. It was a long trek, the group panting after five minutes of a stubborn, upward climb.
“Why … are there … so many … stairs?” Fluttershy panted as she weakly dragged herself up yet another flight.
“You know, you do have wings.” Pinkie Pie flapped her forelegs demonstratively, actually managing to lift herself off the ground a bit.
Twilight’s eyes lit up. “I think we’ve made it!” She pointed at the large, ornate doors that stood before them. “She must be on the other side!”
“Don’t suppose anypony fig’red that the Queen locked the door or nothin’?” Applejack asked as they approached.
“Not a problem,” Rainbow retorted. “I brought the key. Stand back.” Seeing her intent, her friends scattered to give her room. Rainbow backed up as far as she could go…then zoomed straight at the door, hooves outstretched. The doors shuddered, even bent inwards a bit, but didn’t give way.
She began bucking at the door.
“Let me help, let me help!” Pinkie joined them, banging on the door.
“Actually,” Twilight’s horn sparkled. “Allow me. Stand back, everypony.”
The group scattered, giving Twilight plenty of room. Her brow furrowed in concentration, Twilight unleashed her magic against the door—blowing a hole clean through it. Fluttershy blinked. “Oh my…”
“Hope those were insured.” Rainbow joked weakly, once more impressed by the startling magical strength Twilight could wield. “I’ll go in first,” she announced and started forward before any of the others could raise an objection.
The inner chamber was almost pitch black, a grave departure from the room’s normal standards. It seemed the windows had been sealed shut and any other form of light had been removed. It would have been impossible to see were it not for faint green luminescent ooze that coated sections of the walls and ceiling.
“I can hardly say I like the decor,” Rarity commented as she gingerly stepped in, stiffening and barely repressing a shriek as she stepped in some glop.
“It’s darker than the insides of a timber wolf’s heart.” Applejack offered, looking around. “But Ah don’t see the Princess anywhere.”
Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. “No! She has to be here! We can’t turn all of Canterlot upside down to look for her!”
“We don't have to!” Pinkie Pie suddenly called out, pointing up. “She’s already upside down!” The others looked up…and gaped at the sight of several large cocoons made of the same green whatever-it-was. There were ponies inside: guards, guests … and the largest one contained a familiar face.
“Celestia!” Rainbow flew up, tapping her hoof on the thing encasing her mentor. Celestia’s eyes were opened, but unfocused. A momentary panic swelled inside her. “Twilight, bring her down!” She looked around, spotting ponies in other cocoons … as well as one familiar looking zebra. “And Zecora too!”
Twilight nodded. Her magic wrapped itself around both cocoons and gently dragged them down to the ground, where she started prying them open.
Zecora stirred first, raising a shaky a hoof. “S’all right, we got ya…” Applejack helped her up. “You okay, sugarcube?”
Wiping the green ichor from her face, Zecora moaned. “I think I shall need a very thorough shower before I feel again at full power.” She rubbed at her temples, wincing. “My head … I feared that I would stay in that pod until I were dead.”
“Do you know what’s going on?” Twilight asked as she set about trying to crack the pod holding Celestia, which was proving much more stubborn.
Leaning against Applejack—who shuddered at the goop on her—Zecora nodded weakly. “They replaced your Princess with the changeling queen—to further their domination scheme.”
“Yeah, they’ve got the cream of the cream of Equestria trapped in the wedding hall,” Rainbow nodded, ignoring Rarity’s muttered correction that it was “Crème de la crème.”
“We could use some of your magic majumbos or your mystic stuff to help take care of the bug army they brought.” She threw a few quick jabs and punches for emphasis. “You know, get all zebra-fu on their flanks.”
“Thoraxes,” Twilight corrected.
“Whatever.” Rainbow leaned forward, her muzzle almost touching Zecora’s. “Can you do it?”
With a sigh and a grimace, the zebra shook her head. “I’m afraid my usual bag of tricks will not get us out of this fix. Plus it is…difficult to think clearly at present. I feel as helpless as…as…” she seemed to struggle to find a rhyme. “As a pheasant,” she finished lamely.
“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. “Did they hurt you?”
Zecora shook her head, then instantly regretted it as another painful throb forced her eyes shut. “After Rainbow got away, the changelings brought me here to stay. They tried to drain my feelings, as they stuck me there on the ceiling. I entered into meditation so I would feel no emotion, which caused the hungry changelings some commotion.” She swept her drooping mohawk out of her face, trying to stand tall. “It was a very trying time … I’m almost too tired to even rhyme.”
“I bet.” Rainbow looked Zecora over. “You look like horseapples.”
“Wow. Tactful.” Applejack drawled as she stood beside the weary zebra. “Easy goes there, just lean against me if’n ya have to. I got you.” She nodded once to Rainbow Dash. “I think Princess Celestia’s coming arou—” Rainbow was gone before she could even finish.
Celestia was looking anything but regal as she stood shakily, her limbs trembling and her eyes glassy and unfocused. But as soon as Rainbow Dash saw her, she just knew that everything was going to be all right. She almost knocked her over as she embraced her teacher.
“R-rainbow…” Celestia croaked, enfolding her student in her giant wings. “I am so glad to see you…”
“Me too.” Rainbow buried her face in Celestia’s chest. “The real you, I mean.”
A dry chuckle escaped the princess. “I understand.” She let out a groan as she stretched.
Seeing her so weak was jarring. Rainbow’s ears flattened. “Are you—okay?”
“I am fine. Just … drained.” The Princess closed her eyes and shook her head. “It will pass.”
Twilight gulped nervously. “Did they … feed … on you?”
“Chrysalis tried.” Celestia drew herself up. “But she found me a bit too tough to chew.”
“Boy, it’s a good thing Cloud Kicker isn’t here.” Pinkie Pie tossed out. “Otherwise things would get weird—”
“Pinkie!” Rainbow snapped. “Did not need to hear that…”
Princess Celestia tentatively flexed her wings. “When she found that she could not drain me, she instead assured that I would remain awake … for the entire time I was cocooned.”
“And how long was that?” Rainbow wondered.
“A week.” Celestia grimaced. “It was unpleasant.” Her tone and judicious choice of words made it clear that she was understating the case.
Pinkie Pie winced. “Ooooh. I did that once. See, the Cakes bought these little sticks full of sugar and … it wasn’t pretty. And then there was that time Applejack had to harvest—”
“Not now,” Applejack grumbled curtly, not appreciating the reminder.
Rainbow Dash looked at Celestia, as if only now seeing the bags under her eyes, the drooping of her wings—even her always flowing mane and tail seemed to move slower. “But you can still beat her, right?”
Princess Celestia looked her in the eye and Rainbow saw strength and determination there. “I will not fail my little ponies,” she promised. “Where is the Queen now?”
Twilight hesitantly stepped forward. “Chrysalis—trapped all the guests at my brother and Cadance’s wedding. She’s going to replace them all and rule Equestria through their duplicates.”
“Not while I still stand.” Celestia took a shaky step forward. Then another and another. “Come, my student. Equestria needs us.”
Things had only grown more chaotic in the wedding hall. While an individual changeling may not have been the most formidable of foes, the sheer crushing weight of them working in concert were pressing the ponies to the breaking point.
Even Big Macintosh’s strength, Fancy Pants’ swashbuckling, Shining Armor and Cadance’s magic or Derpy’s destructive backside could only carry them so far.
It fell upon even the littlest of ponies to make their own contributions. “Hey! Mistuh bug!” A confused changeling turned to see Dinky Doo sitting on one of the remaining tables. Clutched in her hooves was a fire extinguisher. “It’s fwooshin’ time!” She sprayed the changeling in the face with foam, causing it to shriek and run off, blinded.
“Where’d you get that?” Pipsqueak asked as he stood nearby, clutching a small broken leg chair like a sword.
“Miss Pinkie always leaves some around when Mommy’s at a party.” Dinky explained. “Just in case she makes something go fwooshy.” She paused. “Mommy makes things get fwooshy a lot.”
Alula growled fiercely, putting on her best warface. It must have been working, she thought, for no changelings came anywhere near the tiny trio.
But the real cause for the foals protection lay with the all-seeing eyes of Derpy Hooves. Any changeling she spied drawing too near the foals—hers or not—soon found themselves on the receiving end of a mother’s fury. Her golden, misaligned eyes would haunt the nightmares of many a changeling.
Cloud Kicker banked around a column and zipped around behind the ceiling. The changeling captain pursuing her might fly like an oversized brick, but it showed no sign of tiring anytime soon. Even if it couldn’t fly faster than her, it would eventually catch up with her through sheer endurance. She was just lucky no other changeling had intervened to help. Guess the big guy wants me all to himself…
This wasn’t a fight she could win. But as her father taught her, if you can’t win a fair fight, don’t fight fair. Cloud pulled a hairpin turn around a column and faced her pursuer. “Hey bug breath! What’s the only thing smaller than your brain?” She shot him an impish grin and was rewarded with a scowl. As they drew closer together, she saw his forelegs tense, telegraphing his next move. The second he began to throw his punch, she had already begun ducking underneath it, getting within his range. “Your—” she lashed out with her hooves, hitting them right between his hindlegs. She winced with pain as her hooves impacted against solid armor, almost cracking her hoof. “Balls!” Cloud yowled as she clutched her hoof.
The changing chuckled, not even put out. Stupid non-mammalian biology, Cloud Kicker swore as she nursed her bruised hoof.
“I believe it’s my turn…” the behemoth rumbled, his massive foreleg swinging with such force that he only narrowly missed taking Cloud’s head off with it. With all thought of her injured hoof temporarily dispelled, Cloud beat her wings, double time. With an annoyed growl, the chase continued. “When I catch you, your friends won’t even recognize the remains...”
“You mean you’re not gonna feed on my love?” Cloud shot back. “Because I’ve got plenty to go around—just ask my friends!” She weaved around some drapes, casting them in front of the changeling. It just barreled on through, ripping through them with barely any difficulty. “Oh come on!”
That made it chuckle darkly. “You can’t elude me forever.”
“Been doing a good job so far!” she shot back, fighting to hide how winded she was. “I can keep this up—all day. Especially since you’re so slow!” Her eyes widened as she got an idea. The first part was her favorite: make him mad. “Seriously, did you just wake up from a seven year nap with the rest of the cicadas? Is that it?”
A low growl was her only answer. Cloud Kicker decided to show off a bit—or, as she liked to put it, let out my inner Rainbow Dash—she did a few weaves and corkscrew turns, even slowing down just enough to let her tail dangle mere inches from her foe’s muzzle. “Come on, I thought you’d be faster, what with being all streamlined down there, you know?” In a final display of ego, Cloud rolled onto her back and demonstratively yawned, closing her eyes as she flew. “And I’m not the fastest flyer around, but I could outfly you in my sleep!”
“Enjoy your sleep,” the changeling captain growled, incensed. “For you’ll soon take a permanent dirt nap.” With a bright flash of green, his body shifted into the blue coat and rainbow mane of Cloud’s oldest friend, calculating that this would put his opponent off. The changeling put on a burst of speed, grabbing Cloud Kicker. “I have you now!”
But she just grinned back at him. “Same here!” He might have been faster now—but he wasn’t superstrong and armored, either. Which she gently reminded him of by ramming her hindlegs into his stomach. The changeling had forgotten that while Rainbow Dash was an amazing flyer, she was hardly indestructible.
And Cloud Kicker may have been Rainbow Dash’s friend, but simply putting on her face wouldn’t stop Cloud from doing what she needed to. She rained a series of blows on the transformed changeling, knocking him from the sky. A satisfied grin crossed her muzzle as he hit the floor. Second-stringers or now, ponies could take care of themselves when push came to shove.
Looking down at the long spiraling stairwell, Applejack whistled. “Um, Ah hate t’sound impatient—that’s Rainbow’s job—but we gotta beat hooves back t’save mah sister and all them ponies back at the wedding!” She tugged her hat down sheepishly in apology to the Princess. “And, begging yer pardon, yer highness, you uh, don’t look like you’re in a right shape to do it.”
Zecora nodded. “It is true, time we must not waste. If we are to stop them, we must make haste.”
Celestia sighed. “I had hoped to conserve my strength for my confrontation with Chrysalis—but we cannot delay while my little ponies are in jeopardy.” Her horn lit up and she closed her eyes. There was a blinding flash of white magic and the group vanished from the tower and reappeared in the hallway leading to the wedding hall.
Before anypony Rainbow could ask why they didn’t just appear in the hall itself, Celestia let out a cry and fell to her knees, panting. “That…took more out of me than expected.” She winced as Rainbow Dash and Applejack went to her side, helping her to her hooves.
“S’okay—no big deal. Could happen to anypony.” Rainbow looked over to Twilight. “Twi, you can do that teleporting thing, right?”
The look Twilight gave her would later be placed in the dictionary next to the word ‘incredulous.’ She facehooved. “Rainbow Dash, if I could do that anytime I wanted, don’t you think I would’ve used it before now? It’s a very complicated and difficult spell—I can usually only cast it when I’m running on adrenaline.”
“Remind me to ask the Princess to give you some pointers.” Rainbow groaned. “Cuz that’d be something really useful to have about now.”
“That can still be arranged,” everypony and zebra looked to see Queen Chrysalis, in her natural form, standing before them. “I can ensure that you all vanish.” She narrowed her eyes at Celestia. “I see you found my little collection—and you even located your missing Princess too.”
Rainbow flared her wings and confronted her. “You bet we did! You better start running, because you’re gonna be sorry!” She looked to see the Princess striding forward, Applejack and Twilight flanking her … but the Changeling ruler was unphased.
Chrysalis’ fangs glinted when she smiled. “Oh, Celestia how are you? You look a bit … peaked.” She chuckled.
“I know what you have done … and why.” Princess Celestia frowned. “You kept me awake so I could not talk to my sister in my dreams.”
“The fact that it also makes you look awful is a delightful bonus.” Chrysalis practically purred as she approached. “You could try taking a quick nap—but then, you’d be abandoning your precious subjects. How would that look in the history books? ‘Canterlot falls while Celestia snoozes?’”
The two stopped, their horns pressing against each other like swords in a duel. “Cease your churlish taunts.” Celestia’s tone hardened. “I have stood against evils far greater than you—I will not fail now.”
Rainbow Dash leaned over to Twilight as they watched the two sovereigns gird themselves for a fight. “Um, Twilight?”
Her friend looked at her, her knees shaking slightly. “Yes?”
“Feeling nervous?”
“I think that’s a safe assumption.”
“So, the heart’s pounding, the adrenaline pumping?” Dash prodded, getting Twilight to practically grind her teeth.
“Yes, Rainbow—what’s your point?”
But Rainbow ignored her tone. “Well, if your adrenaline is up and you’re feeling energized and stuff—care to take a stab at teleporting?”
Twilight’s eyes widened as she understood. “Oh…” She nodded. “Right…hold on!” She concentrated, her horn shimmering brightly. “Here goes—something!”
A white light spread out from her horn, encompassing themselves, Zecora and Princess Celestia. Chrysalis’ growled. “Oh not you don’t!” Her own twisted horn began to glow as she charged toward the group. There was a blinding flash and then Rainbow Dash felt the world seem to fall away…only to suddenly return with a vengeance. Her vision swam as she stumbled to the side, unsure of where she was.
“Easy Rainbow!” Dash’s ear flicked as Cloud Kicker spoke in to it. “I got you.”
Rainbow blinked until her vision came back into focus—and she found herself staring into the face of her friend. “CK? The hay?” She looked around and found herself back in the Wedding hall. A sudden surge of worry gripped her. “Where are the others? What happened?”
The other pony grumbled something that sounded like, ‘Glad to see you too.’ Cloud looked around the room. “I don’t know. You and the others just appeared a second ago.” She hesitated. “And, uh, you’re smoking hot.”
Rainbow facehooved. “Really, Cloud? Now isn’t the time for—”
“No, I mean you’re literally smoking!” Cloud interrupted, pointing urgently. Rainbow Dash turned to look and saw several scorch marks on her fur and a wisp or two of smoke rising from the end of her mane. Cloud Kicker set about patting Rainbow down, extinguishing any smoking spots lest they flare up—she also didn’t take the opportunity to grope Rainbow’s rump. Too much, anyway.
Rainbow hardly noticed, she was too busy looking for her friends. Cloud Kicker filled her in. “You suddenly appearing with the Princess and the rest of the girls kinda threw the bugs of for a loop.” She nodded at the far end of the room, where the changelings were regrouping, breaking off from attacking the party goers in favor of putting some distance between them and Princess Celestia.
But Rainbow Dash was only half listening. She looked around and spotted Applejack and Rarity rushing over to their younger sisters—Applejack’s hat was somehow now on Rarity’s head and slightly smoking. Rarity’s own mane seemed singed too. She’d no doubt be shrieking bloody murder once she realized.
With a dazed groan, Twilight stumbled over to Rainbow Dash and Cloud Kicker. “My head…” she held it delicately, the tip of her horn simmering.
Cloud opened her mouth—no doubt a lame pick up line, but Rainbow forestalled her. “You okay?”
Twilight nodded and then grimaced, instantly regretting it. “I told you that teleportation wasn’t easy—especially not with Queen Chrysalis getting in the way. She made me mess up the spell matrix.”
Rainbow Dash nodded like she had any idea what Twilight was talking about. “Guess that’s why Rarity got AJ’s hat and why we’re all slightly—” she frowned as she saw the blackened tip of her rainbow tail. “Charred.” Her ear flicked as a thought occurred to her. “Have you seen Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie?”
A sudden shout from above answered her question. “I’m up here! Hi!” They looked up to find Pinkie Pie hanging from a chandelier. “This is fun! One minute I was in the hallway with you and the girls and Zecora and Princess Celestia and Queen Meany and then I was just hanging around here! Get it?” She giggled. “‘Hanging around?’” She swung back and forth. “Wee! This is the funnest thing ever to have a wedding…unless there was bungee jumping! Because what’d be cooler than bungee jumping in from the ceiling just as the bride and groom say I do? That’s how I wanna be married!”
Grumbling slightly, Rainbow shook her head. “Just get down here.”
“Hmm…okay! Twilight catch me!”
“What?! Pinkie—!” Twilight tried to object, but had already let go and was currently falling. Twilight’s eyes grew wide as Pinkie came closer. With a panicked cry she grabbed the dropping pony with her magic, closing her eyes in the event that she was too late.
When she didn’t find herself flattened by a falling Pinkie Pie, Twilight chanced peeking out—to find Pinkie staring right into her eyes. She had stopped barely a hooflength from landing on her. “Boop!” A pink hoof reached out and gently pressed against Twilight’s muzzle. Rainbow let out a laugh.
Sighing, Twilight set Pinkie down. “Well, at least she’s okay.”
For the moment, Rainbow thought as she surveyed the scene. It looked like the sudden appearance of the Princess—plus the baddest flank kickers in Equestria, she couldn’t help add—had spooked the Changelings. She saw Queen Chrysalis barking out commands, trying to get them back in some semblance of order.
She looked over at the pony-side of the room and everything seemed okay. For a moment, Dash felt hopeful … until she realized something. “Where’s Fluttershy?!”
Outside, Fluttershy huddled underneath a bush in the castle’s garden. She had appeared in the gardens by herself. Where the Princess or her friends were, she had no idea. That was then the changelings spotted her...