//------------------------------// // Epilogue: A Sound of Thunder // Story: The Changelings Have a King // by Jade Ring //------------------------------// The armored pegasus watched the rising smoke from her perch on a cloud high in the sky above Sweet Apple Acres. She felt the winds change course and spread her wings, allowing them to take her. It was a sign. She flapped twice to correct her course and flew as fast as she was able towards her home. Even at her top speed, it was dusk by the time she sighted the great city up ahead. Ponyville was nearly three hundred miles away and yet she’d made that distance in only a few hours time. She smirked, proud of how impressive her speed had become in only a few short years. The great cloud city of Zeph floated before her. It had been formed by the most skilled of cloud artisans nearly two thousand years before and floated still, undamaged and untouched. Great towers ringed the city’s enormous perimeter, each manned by a true pegasus. Beyond the towers lay the city proper, a huge ring of homes, arenas, and shops. The city was quiet now. Quieter than usual. They were waiting for her. She flew over the towers and made directly for the city’s center; the Eye. The mammoth dome held the royal palace inside. Even as she flew towards it, she imagined what was waiting for her within. Nearly all of the pegasi that still called Zeph home would be there, eagerly anticipating her report. The generals were probably being groomed by their attendants, the weaponers and combat masters talking shop while dining on an available buffet. The lower ranking officers and civilians would be silently at attention, facing the throne and waiting. Facing her and waiting. The mare flew directly into the Eye’s sky port and landed perfectly on the raised dais in the center of the room. She removed her helmet and knelt until her muzzle touched the floor. She waited. The chatter that had filled the room ceased at once. The pony seated on the grand throne before her leaned forward expectantly. Measuring her words, she spoke in the ancient language of the pegasi. “” “” “” “” She could hear the smile on the Queen-General’s lips as she spoke. “” Captain Lightning Dust stood, her helm tucked securely beneath her wing. Before her sat a mare of sky blue. Her shoulders were draped with a cape formed by cloud artisans, the material unlike any other in the world. She wore a helmet of pure gold in lieu of a crown. Her eyes, the color of red wine, watched from the darkness of the helmet. “” “Losses?” The Queen-General asked, choosing to practice her Common Equestrian. “Considerable.” Lightning Dust changed tongues effortlessly. “They are not likely to turn down aid.” “Nor should they.” The Queen-General’s accent was thick. She stood and surveyed the assembled pegasi. “It would seem that it is time to move our plans into the next phase. Ponyville, as anticipated, is the opportune target for the achievement of our goals.” She gestured at Lightning Dust. “Thanks to our sister, she who was born away from us but returned to the fold when the winds called to her, the one thing that has eluded us for so long is finally in our grasp. Now we must reach out and take it.” The Queen-General saluted the mare before her. “You will lead this effort… General Lightning Dust. You will lead the Children of the Hurricane to glory like none has ever seen before.” Lightning Dust’s heart swelled. She returned the salute. “Hail Valeria!” She cried. “Hail the Queen-General!” “HAIL VALERIA!” A thousand voices behind her cried as they too saluted. Queen-General Valeria removed her helmet and let her long mane fly in the ambient wind of the room. The color of the rainbow, it flowed in the breeze like a trapped and tamed burst of light. “We will take what should have always been ours!” She cried. “Nothing, and nopony, will stand in our way!” Lightning Dust and the assembled pegasi began to beat their hooves into the cloud floor. The sound became deafening, the roar of an ancient beast at last awake and desperately hungry. To any creatures who happened to be passing below, it sounded like the roll of an enormous thunderclap. They hurried home before the downfall. A storm, it seemed, was coming. TO BE CONTINUED IN... "ON SWIFT WINGS"