Chapter 67 - Stormed
If I had thought that Canterlot had been abuzz on my wedding day, it was nothing compared to this. Months of planning had culminated in this absolute orgy of celebration and good times that was the inaugural Festival of Friendship. Twilight Sparkle had spent every spare moment when she wasn’t doing royal duties, being a mother to Nyx, and being Hive Mother to Thorax’s changelings working on all the little details involved in Equestria’s largest-ever public party. Throughout the final two weeks, I heard Twilight repeat a mantra to herself over and over again. By the day of the event, she believed in her words enough to say them with confidence to anypony who would listen. “Trust in Harmony.”
Of course, she couldn’t do it on her own. Thankfully, she had learned her lessons and delegated responsibility for each particular aspect of the festival to those who were best at that kind of thing.
Naturally, Pinkie Pie was charged with supervising the catering and various games for the foals, but she had the help of many others too. Rainbow Dash had organized a special appearance of the Wonderbolts and they were scheduled to put on an exhibition at two o’clock. Trixie had insisted on being in charge of the entertainment, and evidence of the former magician’s touch in this showed in the carnival-style sideshows and the gaudy decorations. The glistening life-size statues of Celestia and Luna in the main square were her idea too. However, she had overachieved by booking no less than three superstar performers for the evening concert. Countess Coloratura had arrived early to spend time with her fillyhood friend, Applejack, before meeting with the foals from the Canterlot Orphanage. Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop, arrived next, making her way immediately to Rarity’s boutique to be fitted with the latest of her amazing outfits for which the singer was famous, to be showcased at tonight’s concert for the first time. Yet to arrive was the headlining act – Songbird Serenade. The pegasus performer was due to appear soon to run through sound checks and rehearsals, and security was ready to deal with her hordes of fans. That was where I came in.
Festival security was my responsibility. That didn’t involve just organizing the Royal Guard for special duties. I had recruited some members of the Crystal Guard too, but with the attendance of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, that was a relatively simple addition to the squads on patrol. Less obvious were the crystal changelings that Thorax had assigned to me. His brother, Pharynx, led the covert team, and while I found him to be an abrasive personality, I had no qualms about his competence. Dozens of changelings mingled among the festival-goers disguised as ponies. Although on duty, they waded through a veritable feast of positive emotions even as they kept alert for the sour taste of troublemakers. I had hoped to have the Pillars of Old Equestria here too, but with the exception of Rockhoof, they were all involved in personal projects all around the country. With these and a few other arrangements, I had done my best to ensure that Twilight’s special event proceeded without incident.
The concert wasn’t going to start until after sunset and there was so much more happening before then. Everything from street performers to amusement rides entertained the crowd and a plethora of food stalls catered to a huge variety of tastes. This was no mere carnival though. Pavilions had been set up with cultural displays from many places including Mount Aris, the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan (Yaks make best exhibition!), Griffonstone, the Crystal Hive, the Buffalo Tribe, and even Dragon Lord Ember had sent a few representatives with strict instructions to “be nice”. They had a gigantic tent set up where they gave demonstrations of dragon superiority which, while not quite the theme of the event, was as close to it as the dragon tribes had yet gotten. The ponies who dared visit them inevitably left an impression on the dragons, so it wasn’t as if there wasn’t some sort of two-way cultural exchange happening.
Surprisingly, Zecora had also set up a booth to educate everycreature on Zebra culture. She was assisted by her new apprentice, a zebra colt. I had been startled to see him as the zebra nation was infamous for its isolationism. Zecora was an outcast due to her more progressive attitudes towards other species which was why she had left Zebrica and set up her home in the Everfree Forest. How she managed to acquire a zebra apprentice was a mystery she soon explained to me.
“Not everything is as such you see. He changed his looks to learn from me,” Zecora intoned.
Zuberi was, in fact, an evolved crystal changeling who was fascinated by Zecora’s culture and potion-making magic. He had begged her for the opportunity to be her student and the shaman mare had finally relented after testing him for aptitude. He had taken the permanent alter-ego of a teenage zebra colt typical of such neophytes. As far as he was concerned, he was now a zebra, and the more immersed he got into Zecora’s culture, the more that became the literal truth. I found this to be very intriguing and wondered what other developments we would see in this new era of changelings. As for his rhyming… well… let’s just say his aptitude for natural medicines didn’t yet flow over to that part of the job.
Trixie and I started the day off with breakfast with Twilight and Thorax. Trixie was especially looking forward to the festival as it was the first big event since getting over months of morning sickness. The changeling king had brought his contingent of subjects to Canterlot the previous evening so they could get an early start to their preparations. To my surprise, Thorax had brought something extra specifically for me.
“As Head of Security and because you have done so much for us, the Crystal Hive wishes to present this gift to you, Prince Mark.” Thorax held up a circlet crown, this one adorned with a large green gem. “The Changeling Stone is imbued with special magic created for Chrysalis’ mother as a gift to her mate. It bestows upon the pony who wears it some portion of our changeling abilities.”
I blinked in surprise. “Wait! Are you saying Chrysalis’ sire was a pony?”
“Yes. Other than changeling drones that ascend, all princesses have a pony father. Something about preserving genetic viability, I understand. Chrysalis detests that fact with a passion and she used to punish any changeling who dared mention it.”
I felt a huge smirk grow on my face. “Oh, I can’t wait to have a chat with her about that! Who was he?”
“An itinerant unicorn named Winding Way. He encountered the Queen Mother at a town where he was passing through. They dallied together for several days, him oblivious to her nature, of course. She was captivated by the stallion and took the unusual step of bringing him to the hive without rendering him unconscious. You can imagine the stir that caused but the Queen’s wishes were paramount. Winding Way, to everybuggy’s surprise, was quite fascinated by the hive and sought to learn more. The Queen doted on him and he responded in kind. He said that he had found what he had been searching for after so many years. They mated and had three daughters. Chrysalis was the eldest, though there were older princesses from other fathers that did not know the Queen Mother’s true nature.”
“So why does Chrysalis hate her father?”
“Because he monopolized all of her mother’s love and caring. She treated her daughters with indifference and cruelty. What’s more, the daughters could be called upon at any time to fight each other to the death. This way, the princesses were always at each other’s throats and too weak to challenge for the leadership of the hive. Aware of his pony sensibilities, the Queen Mother ordered none of this be revealed to her mate. She didn’t want to change the stallion in any way. He was enthralled to her and oblivious to his children’s mistreatment. Chrysalis grew to despise ponies because of him and her mother’s pandering to the stallion. That’s why the Changeling Stone exists. The Queen wanted some way that her mate could blend in more with the hive and also serve as a means of protection for him whenever they ventured away from it. Queen Dactylia of the Southern Wastes Hive was commissioned to produce the Changeling Stone as they had the superior knowledge of magic. It was set into this crown for Winding Way to wear when the Queen declared him king of the hive. That was the last straw for Chrysalis.”
“What did she do?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“Chrysalis used her charisma and promises to do what the Queen Mother never foresaw – convincing the five princesses to join forces to assassinate their mother. Two daughters were killed during the attack and two others left the hive soon afterwards, leaving Chrysalis sitting on the throne. She slew her father, of course. She had the Changeling Stone buried in a forgotten corner of the hive. We only recently found it again.”
“So, why are you giving such a valuable artifact to me?”
“What use do we have for it? Twilight doesn’t need it, and no evolved changeling would ever treat any potential pony mate that way either. Best to give it to somepony who both deserves it and may find it useful.”
“Then, thank you for such a precious gift.” I put the circlet on and it fit my head perfectly.
When Thorax noticed my raised eyebrows, he said, “It’s a changeling device – it adjusts to the wearer.”
I nodded. Of course, it would. “How do I use it?”
“You just need to focus on what you wish to do. Let’s start with a full-body illusion. Try changing your coat color.”
While I had been bemused by having a green coat when I first arrived in Equestria, I had grown used to it and had never thought about changing it… until now. I closed my eyes and concentrated.
“Well done,” I heard Thorax say.
I opened my eyes and looked at my foreleg. It now appeared to be the same shade of blue as my wife.
“Trixie approves of her husband’s taste,” she said.
Thorax said, “Practice will make the changes easier and last longer. The illusion will last a couple of hours at least unless you release it. Now, let’s try a physical change. This will take more effort and will require constant focus, although it will likely get easier over time. Remember – start small.”
I thought about it for a moment, looking around the room for inspiration, and then I smiled. I closed my eyes again and focused on the change I desired. This time I felt the stone on my forehead warm up and I took that as a sign that it was working. When the heat ebbed, I opened my eyes and looked at Trixie.
She gasped. “You have slit pupils like a batpony!”
“The room seems a lot brighter too. I bet I have excellent night vision now.”
“Just don’t expect to borrow my shades,” said my ever-present guardian.
I grinned at Penny, showing the fangs that I had grown as well.
“Oh, for the love of…. Put them away! They look silly on you!”
I laughed. This broke my concentration enough to cause me to revert to my normal form. “I call this a success. I’ll practice a bit more later. Meanwhile, we have work to do. This event won’t run itself!”
The festival had gotten off to an early start with the official opening at nine o’clock. The crowd had grown considerably since then. Canterlot was a predominantly unicorn city, but today the sky was busy with pegasi and griffons enjoying the festivities while earth ponies galore and several other species rubbed shoulders with the earthbound unicorns. Eye-catching displays and lots of street music entertained the visitors as they wandered through the streets of Canterlot, discovering new things on every corner. Twilight’s smile was so wide that it threatened to break her face in half as she delighted in the culmination of all her efforts. Not even when the Crusaders had whisked Nyx away did she worry. Everything was just perfect!
Cadance and Shining Armor had arrived in time for the opening ceremonies, bringing along Shiny Button and Flurry Heart. The Princess of Love excused herself promptly after that, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow.
Shining gave his sister a sheepish grin. “With Button around, Cady was inspired to have another foal. Maybe she wants to be one up on Chrysalis. Anyway, I asked her if she didn’t think two were enough for now. The fact that she’s suffering from morning sickness at the moment might tell you what her answer was.”
Twilight was looking conspicuously pregnant by now, as was Trixie. It seemed that pregnant princesses were all the rage this season. I most definitely didn’t intend to join the club though. I was going to be busy enough as a father. I was still hoping for a colt but my wife and I had resisted the temptation to find out in advance whether Trixie was bearing a filly instead. While there was a spell for determining the sex of the foal, most parents preferred to learn at the time of birth. Trixie and I were in that camp. Shining didn’t have to look after his children alone, at least. Sunburst was there to keep an eye on his charge, leaving the prince able to concentrate on Flurry’s brother. While the changeling-pony hybrid was only a few months older, he had developed a lot faster than his sister and needed to be constantly supervised as he was fascinated by absolutely everything that was going on around him. I saw his father galloping flat-out more than once just to keep up. I had to chuckle. Shining didn’t look at all like a somber, dignified leader of the commonwealth most closely allied to Equestria. Then my smile fell. In a few months, that would be me throwing dignity to the wind for more pressing familial concerns. Ah, well. Thanks to the part-royal jester and part-Tartarus-spawn Penumbra, who was absently scanning the crowd while crunching on a lollipop, my dignity was pretty much shot anyway.
It was just after noon when Songbird Serenade arrived. Her personal security ponies flanked her as she exited her carriage and allowed Twilight to approach to greet her. Shining Armor saved both his sister and the diva from an errant giant cake but, otherwise, the meeting went well and the Royal Guards escorted the rock star to the venue. With the last of the celebrities accounted for, I was free to wander around and enjoy the atmosphere for a while. I didn’t try to join any of the lines for the amusement rides though. I’d already ridden them all, some with Trixie, the previous evening. For testing purposes, of course. Safety first!
It was during my wanderings that I noticed some heavy clouds drifting in from the south. I frowned and said to Penny, “Wasn’t the weather scheduled to be clear all day?”
“I recall hearing Princess Twilight ordering that from the weather team, so, yeah,” she replied. “But it’s coming from the direction of the Everfree Forest, so it could be one of those patches of wild weather that escapes it occasionally.”
“Hmmm. Better deal with it before it affects the festival. Page!” One of the castle staff was always available at my call, although they only had to work in hour-long shifts so that they could enjoy the festival too.
A young unicorn mare stepped up. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Contact the head of the Canterlot Weather Service and tell them to send out a team to drive away the approaching clouds. We don’t want unexpected showers to ruin the festivities.”
“At once, sir!” she said with a salute before teleporting away. All of the castle pages had that ability which is what made them so useful. They were able to access any part of Canterlot in an instant. Unfortunately, I knew that the majority of the city’s weather team had already done their job for the day and had taken the rest off to enjoy the festival. Dealing with the clouds would be delayed until the team leader could round enough of them up to handle the problem. I hoped that she could before the clouds spoiled the fun.
I kept an eye on the situation even as I continued mingling. I knew Penny was a little on edge due to me being surrounded by the crowd all the time, but it wasn’t as if she had sole responsibility for my protection under these circumstances. I was being constantly shadowed by Royal Guards, both visible and hidden, although I didn’t really feel threatened at any time. But that was their job, and at least they were fairly discreet about it. At last, I noticed a flock of pegasi heading directly for the clouds which hadn’t quite reached Canterlot yet. While the magic-resistant wild weather was notoriously difficult to corral, I was confident that the weather team would soon have it under control. Therefore, it came as a shock to me when that didn’t happen and the sun began to be eclipsed by the encroaching grey clouds with the occasional flash of internal lightning illuminating them.
Then an airship sailed out of their midst, trailing dark plumes of smoke that indicated some dirty form of power being utilized for propulsion. From its pennants, I recognized that it had to belong to the Storm King. My ears lowered as I felt a strong sense of unease. Either this was his way of making a grand entrance or the precursor to my worst fears. However, because security was my responsibility, I elected to play it safe. I beckoned to one of the Royal Guards. When he came over, I said, “Tell General Crushing Blow to be ready to put our contingency plans into immediate effect. Go!”
The pegasus Guard saluted and took off for the general’s command post.
I turned to Penny whom I noticed had gone into full Guard mode already. “Trixie might want to greet the Storm King because she invited him, but Twilight will almost certainly be there as it’s her festival which she’s promoting as the Princess of Friendship. We’re going to keep a close eye on them.”
“Alright,” she replied, “but my first responsibility is your safety, not theirs.”
We headed for the square which was quickly being cleared of festival-goers as they realized that the airship was coming in to land. Sure enough, I spotted Twilight headed there with her brother beside her. Shining Armor must have decided to spend some time with his sister while his wife was resting up in the castle. Good. That put one of the strongest defenders in Equestria by the alicorn’s side. However, I was perturbed that he had Flurry Heart riding on his back too. Maybe I could persuade him to let somepony else mind her for the moment.
“Coming to greet our guest too, Tanbark Bombshells?”
I turned to see Trixie almost upon me. I paused to let her catch up and the Guards rearrange themselves to protect both of us. “Trixie, I hope that this is just the Storm King grandstanding, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
“You worry too much. The yeti ambassador was nothing less than charming.”
I glanced up at the dark clouds that had not blown away, wondering what had happened to the weather ponies. “I don’t doubt that but my gut says otherwise.”
“We shall soon see.”
The airship settled down to a stop but not without some collateral damage to the surrounding structures. Then a hatch opened and a gangplank extended. Twilight started heading towards it with her brother and Button on one side of her and her daughter on the other, her bodyguard, Vespa, trailing slightly behind. “This should be a good experience for how a princess greets special guests, Nyx,” she said with a reassuring smile.
Nyx looked uncertain but nodded anyway.
“We should join them,” Trixie said.
“No, we shouldn’t,” I replied sternly, holding out a foreleg to stop her from going forward. “Let’s see how this plays out first.” We were close enough to be in earshot but still obscured by the crowd and our guards.
Trixie gave me an annoyed look but complied.
Just then, a being appeared in the doorway. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t a yeti. Instead, it was some sort of squat and rotund creature with a huge crest of fur that I had never seen before. Rather than armor, he wore a bib emblazoned with the Storm King’s blue lightning bolts. Was this an infant of his race? He was carrying sound equipment though, so it was obvious what he was about to do. There was a short screech of feedback before he began speaking.
“Ponieth of Equethtria, we come on behalf of the fearsome, the powerful, the almighty...Thtorm King!”
In spite of the lisp, his words chilled the crowd, as did the huge banner that unfurled over the airship that showed the Storm King’s visage.
He continued, “And now, to deliver his methage, put your hooveth together for Commander Tempetht!”
There were some minor fireworks and a red haze through which emerged someone quite unexpected.
Twilight said, “Is that a... unicorn?”
Shining replied, “I think so, but what happened to her horn?”
A tall, maroon-coated pony with a bright red mane held in a tall crest stood in the doorway gazing contemptuously at the crowd. She had a long scar over her right eye and, although it was not easy to see from where I was standing, she had a ragged stump of a horn above her forehead.
“Tempest, is it?” Twilight asked. “How may we help you?”
Tempest’s smile held no warmth. “I'm so glad you asked. How about we start with your complete and total surrender?”
I turned to Penny and spat out, “Evacuation drill!”
She nodded, lifted up into the air and blew a whistle twice to get everypony’s attention. “Colts and fillies, this is an evacuation drill. Lead your nearest adult to the evacuation portals. First to arrive there gets to activate it.” This was received by a chorus of young cheers. The portals had an activation button that any pony could press to open the gateway, not just a unicorn. All foals had been instructed not to mess with them or risk a year’s detention helping the school janitors. For the festival, guards were posted by each portal because, well, kids would be kids. The lure of actually being allowed to activate a portal had foals racing for the nearest ones, their parents and other adults gamely trying to keep up with them. Every schoolfoal in Canterlot had gone through two portal evacuation drills at this point, and all adults were at least familiar with the procedure. How many would follow through remained to be seen.
Tempest looked over the retreating ponies and frowned. Apparently this part was not going according to plan. Twilight was taken aback for a moment, but then she gamely continued on. “I am the Princess of Friendship, and while I’m not exactly sure what's going on, I know we can talk things out.” Despite her words, she surreptitiously pushed Nyx back towards Vespa who took the hint and drew her away before doing the same with Button. Sunburst pushed his way up to Shining’s side, grabbed Flurry Heart off of his back, and retreated the way he came.
Tempest’s eyes flicked over to where Trixie and myself were standing before she replied, “No need for talk – I know what I want. Here's the deal, ladies. I need your magic. Give it up nicely, please, or we make it difficult for everyone!”
Shining Armor frowned, crouching a little into full battle alert mode. “And why should we cower before you? There's one of you and hundreds of us.”
The Storm King’s envoy chuckled. “I was hoping you'd choose difficult. I have something for you, Princess.” Tempest tossed a small sphere at the alicorn.
Twilight reflexively tried to catch it with her magic but it merely pulsed with power, slipping through her field and striking her on the neck where it shattered. Immediately, rock-like growths started spreading from the impact point to the rest of her body. She screamed briefly in terror before the stony growths covered her completely.
“Release Twilight NOW!” roared Shining aiming a blast of his horn at Tempest.
However, Tempest dodged even as dozens of tall, furry creatures started to pour out of the hatch behind her. I recognized the hulking beasts as the ones from the reality where I had tried and failed to take a photo of them. One of them raised a shield that absorbed the impact of the blast, barely staggering the powerful beast. Tempest spun around and kicked another of the spheres at Shining who immediately threw up his shield.
I’ve witnessed Shining Armor’s shield in action. Huge boulders bounce off it without making him blink. Magic attacks ground themselves out. His shield is stronger than any pony’s in Equestria, perhaps even Celestia’s, because it was his special talent. I had no doubt that he was safe. Therefore I was stunned when the sphere neither rebounded nor sputtered out. Instead, it clung, hissing and snarling, throwing off gouts of raw energy.
“It’s feeding off the magic in my shield!” gasped Shining. “I can’t stop it!”
Abruptly, it burst through and struck the stallion. A repeat of what had happened to Twilight swiftly overwhelmed Shining Armor and another statue adorned the square.
“Get out of here!” I yelled at Trixie when I noticed that Tempest had her eyes on my wife now.
Sure enough, another of those magic balls was sent on its way. Penny and the Guards were already preoccupied by the Storm King’s troops, so I grabbed a pole bearing a pennant and swung it while yelling, “Batter up!” I had only ever been an average baseball player and hadn’t practiced once since coming to Equestria, but I managed to hit the sphere cleanly and it went flying away from me without harm. Apparently, it had to touch magic or a pony to activate it. The ball headed towards the retreating crowd but landed safely before reaching them. However, at the last moment, somepony yelled, “I got it!” A grey pegasus flew over to pick it up.
“Derpy! NO!” I screamed, but it was too late. Her hoof touched it and the weapon did its foul deed.
I turned to see that even more of the creatures were pouring out of the ship and surrounding Trixie and me. Our protectors were on the verge of being overwhelmed. “Teleport, dammit!” I ordered my wife.
“Trixie can’t just leave you!” she wailed.
“I’m not going to just let them take me. Go!” I switched to pegacorn form and launched myself into the air. I then used my magic to hurl her in the direction of the retreating crowd.
With a squeal of fear, she popped away. Hopefully, she teleported herself to the palace which was heavily guarded. From my new vantage point, I could see General Crushing Blow’s forces coming to meet the invaders. With luck, all our preparations for such an eventuality would soon have this situation under control. However, those stormtroopers were still pouring out of the airship though. How many were in there? They must have been packed in like sardines!
A crash of thunder accompanying a bolt of lightning slamming into the square startled me and drew my attention up to the clouds. Another ship was emerging from under its cover. No – two… three… six…. How many more? They just kept coming! This was a full-scale invasion! I was suddenly sure of what had happened to the weather ponies who had been sent to clear the clouds. More bolts of lightning rained down then, some striking buildings and pavilions, but others struck the oncoming Equestrian troops, sending many hurtling away in the blasts. How many were killed or incapacitated in just these first few seconds? I snarled and slammed my wings down to thrust myself up to the enemy ships, drawing their attention away from the ground. Sure enough, lightning bolts quickly came my way. I could have dodged them in my Celestial form, but instead, I let two hit me.
For months, I had been training with Blue Arc to handle lightning. Not just endure it but actually use it. It still stung like crazy but it didn’t injure me in the slightest. By the time the stallion had taught me all he knew, I had exceeded his every expectation. I truly understood what my cutie mark meant now. Even from my earliest attempts to learn to fly, lightning and I had an affinity. From nearly loosing a thunderbolt by accident to unconsciously drawing all the lightning to me when I was flying through the storm to Twilight’s palace, my special talent had been trying to express itself. Now I understood it though, and I was going to use it!
More lightning bolts struck me but did no more harm than the first ones. Little did the Storm King know but he was charging me up for my attack. My normal pegasus form was equally immune but had nowhere near as much capacity as my pegacorn form. I was practically buzzing when I judged the time was right and I loosed a gigantic bolt of power at the nearest airship. The timbers and other materials exploded like a bomb had hit it, flames already licking at the more flammable parts. Scores of bodies fell out of the ship that had nearly been rent in half. More shock troops. I could not afford to worry about the lives that I had just taken or those who would soon die in the fall. The remaining ships were already targeting me.
Some of the ships were ignoring me though, heading for a landing. I had to stop them, but I was no longer alone. Pegasus, thestral, and griffon troops had joined in the attack and even the dragons were coming to our defense. Opposing them were creatures that resembled stone gargoyles taking off from the airships. Were they magical golems of some sort? Regardless, I could only see a few dozen and my allies were engaging them. That left me free to concentrate on the highest priorities. The futile lightning attacks kept charging me up and I kept blowing up ship after ship. But then I noticed that the lowest ships were dropping their troops anyway. The creatures apparently were tough enough to cope with a high fall. They were immediately getting up and marching into the city. I realized that I needed to stop the ships before they got within drop range.
“Heads up!” somepony yelled.
I whipped my head around to see Penny intercept a weighted net that had been aimed at me. I think she intended just to deflect it but a leg got tangled and the net dragged her down. I had gotten careless. Just because lightning was apparently the Storm King’s primary weapon didn’t mean it was his only one. Penny had doubtless been watching my back almost from the start, but I had to be more alert now. I resumed my attack on the airships, but even as I did so, I perceived that our aerial troops had gradually thinned out. Diverting a bit of my attention, I soon saw why. Pegasi are naturally resistant to lightning, but after being struck, they generally were too stunned to do anything for a while and were vulnerable to follow-up attacks with weighted nets. Weather ponies were usually a bit more hardy, but even they were out of the fighting after two or three hits. My backup was quickly being whittled away. How many were dying this day?
At least the civilians in the area seemed to have managed to get away via the portals which were now closed. Deeper into the city, I saw other portals were still open with ponies running towards them. Around the square, unicorn troops were firing offensive spells at both the invading ships and the hulking beasts pouring into the city but they were having little effect. Their armor had to have some way of blocking magic, much like Chrysalis’ throne had nullified pony powers. Arrows, swords, and spears might have been more effective, but those our soldiers had on hoof were inadequate for the task. I recalled the changeling queen’s story of how the Southern Wastes Hive had been overrun and now I could see why. Even after everything we had learned, we had still underestimated the Storm King. Pegasus sight showed me how the stormtroopers were taking the streets as they overwhelmed our defenses. If we were to have any chance at all of stopping them, we had to prevent the rest of the fleet of ships from landing.
I redoubled my efforts but the enemy had finally gotten wise. Fewer lightning bolts came my way and then they stopped altogether. After discharging my last store of electrical energy, I was left with just my pegasus abilities and my special one-shot magic attack. Then I spotted him. The Storm King. While not the gargantuan size depicted in his banner, the yeti was still at least four times my height. The Storm King was even taller than his ambassador but without a trace of fat on his body. He was standing on the bow of his ship, holding a strange, blue-crystal-topped staff in one hand and steadying himself with a cable in the other. And he was laughing. He watched as the ship I had just blown up go crashing into the cliff-side and he laughed louder. Great – I was dealing with a loony. An extremely dangerous loony. He was my target. I put on my best speed and prepared my one-shot. If I could take him out, we could probably end this battle now. He saw me approaching and he grinned. He raised his staff and pointed it at me but I was prepared to dodge if needed. I was ready to fire when something slammed into me from above and the world turned black.
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Never saw the MLP movie, but this is gonna look bad, before it gets better.
So they're not after Alicorn magic specifically this run. Interesting how heavily anti-magic their offenses are.
At least Twilight gets to sit this one out and avoid holding the idiot ball.
At least half of the contingency plan worked fairly well...
Keep going! ;)
Well now the Storm king's bought himself a vicious insurgency, and only one alicorn for his trouble. Tempest will find this to be a much more difficult task.
Reminds me of Final Fantasy X.
Oh man, this is gonna be good. Twi's out, mark is down for the count, trix is safe somewhere else, I've got a feeling that the crown is going to be our saving mcguffin somehow.
Can't wait to see what comes next!
Awww, I was hoping for a can-o-whoopass that resulted in the complete loss of the storm kings forces. Oh well, the fights not over yet. The castle still stands and the majority of the population evacuated. Call in reserves from other parts of the country, and the allies.
Edit: also is this intended to coincide with the same events happening in complications?
Don't worry, Princess Mark is on the case! I have no doubt that the circlet will come in handy and that quest of his though sense the Hippogriff's is actually out of hiding it feels a bit moot in following the scrip, through if it leads to a different outcome or development I would be interest in seeing this. Through with the dragon's delegation being attacked, that would invite instant incendiary retribution from them not to mention all the other races that have come there as well and from the look of things . Through I wonder if the Storm King still has some ace up his sleeve?
Also what could he hope to get from equetria if Celestia and luna isn't there to have their magic stolen why even invade if their aren't even there?
Well damn
Well shit. You could say things got a little...... shocking!?!
Hmm... it will be interesting to see how this all plays out compared with the movie. It would appear that the charming ambassador was a spy (no surprise), and being in Canterlot and near the Royal Guard, it would have been easy to determine that ponies greatest strength is their magic, and that they rely on it far too much. Given Trixie probably gave him a tour if he asked, no wonder. Natural Human distrust definitely made sure this wasn't nearly as one sided as the movie.
And oh boy did the Storm King just open a huge can of worms. That guy is going to have every single nation on him that are no so easily defeated. Separate, they would fall. Together? He has one hell of a fight on his hands. Two Changeling Hives, the Hippogriffs will likely want a piece of the action once located, the dragons, the Chrystal Empire will want to protect Cadence and Shining, I wouldn't be surprise if Chrysalis gets loose and she'll want revenge. Oh and Discord. Let's hope he shows up unlike the movie or have an actual explanation for why he wasn't there.
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/)(\
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Tempest and the animation were the only good things
oh, this reminded me of "free agent" in "a different perspective"...
And yet, there is still the problem of Discord and the other worlds being ignored... Also, I wonder what is going the reaction to Chrysalis... Will she ally with him? Will they notice her? Will she fight against him? With luck we will know in chapter 70
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if you like this story trust me when i say go back over all of Goldfur's story's you will not be disappointed.
Wait, what? Since when did any of the crystal changelings other than Thorax evolve? I thought Thorax's evolution was only due to Queen Carpacia biting him to elevate him to royalty. Did I forget something?
Also, that reminds me. The art of evolved Thorax in Chapter 51 matches the non-show-canon physical description in that chapter, but the art in Chapter 55 more closely matches Thorax's show-canon appearance (with the exception of the body color palette, though the eye color remained true to canon), and Thorax is also missing the Carpacia-gifted regalia (unless he wasn't supposed to be wearing it at the time).
furry.org.au/chakat/Pony/King_Thorax_by_evehly.png
vs.
furry.org.au/chakat/Pony/hiddenchangelings.png
EDIT: I just saw another reference to an evolved changeling in Chapter 65. I still can't find any references to evolving a changeling before that except in direct reference to Thorax in Chapter 56.
I could swear the invasion had been done already last chapter and Chrysalis had been petrified in it... but then I remembered Chryssi is not an prisoner in this story and now I'm confused as heck
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That's Complications. I'm having that feeling too, since both stories are very similar where it counts and both stories just decided to post chapters of the Storm King's invasion during the wedding of one of the Princess's within a couple of days of each other.
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The big difference is that we've been building up to this point over a period of months while the other author's story has only fairly recently popped up. Unfortunate timing but a complete coincidence. There have been hints about the coming invasion in earlier chapters. Any resemblance between our stories is only because we're both working with the same source materials and we both desire a far more competent response to the invasion.
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Fair enough. Twilight should learn how to DOOOODGE!! though, she's way too trusting
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Well, you and Hiver haven't disappointed. You're both are doing great with your A/U rewrites.
Could someone go find Chekhov, he left one of his guns here
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Will to this weekend probably
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There are many good storys on this fandome. I can recommend quite a lot. But i need to know how... Dark your willing to go. Some of the best have OC and maincharacter permanent scared or killed so... PM if you wannt. I also can throw all 'my favorits' if your interessted. Check your 'view mature' filter allow to find em.
After Tirek this will be the biggest catastropical event. Perhaps the most bloody
Great chapter. Dark times ahead...
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oh, you made me think of a silly story called "just dodge!"
it starts with Lyra asking Discord why he didn't just dodge the Elements of Harmony...
So if this is anything like the movie, they need four alicorns to power that staff and this universe currently has... two alicorns and two mini-alicorns. I don't think that's gonna work Storm King. :P
this reminds me of a "MLP friends forever" comic book where Rarity and Trixie were working for Sapphire Shores...
About every reader most of the time:
orgy of celebration and good times
Why on earth out off all the words in the written language did you have to go with 'Orgy' to describe the friendship festival?
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Black you've lost me with this one
How long till Mark goes "Fuck it" with the troops being incapable?