Dark times lay ahead for the ponies of Equestria. A dark force comes to take their lands and their magic, to leave them all but helpless. Subjugated to life under a tyrant, their only salvation will come in the form of a champion, a champion who wrestles bears for fun. Zangief, the Red Cyclone, is their only hope.
Unfortunately for them, he's playing for the wrong team.
Zangief will be based on all of his best traits with as much personality as I could find from within his quotes. Don't take this story too seriously, it's done for fun. All my information came from the games and comics. LARIAT.
Celestia let the rays of the rising sun fall on her face as she walked out onto the balcony, letting out a sigh of relief as another quiet night passed in her kingdom. Luna grunted her 'goodnight' to Celestia while the two sisters traded places, allowing Celestia to fully lift the sun into the sky.
"And so begins another beautiful day," she said with a smile as her eyes looked upon the city below, where the ponies under her protection slowly began to awaken. "And I am glad for such a peaceful day to be added to the list of peaceful days that we have had here. No invading forces, no awakened evils. Finally, everything is peaceful."
"Sister, I am glad that you are happy, but please shut up so I can sleep," Luna grumbled in the darkness of her room from beneath a pillow. Celestia let out a small giggle at her sister before she spread her wings and ascended into the skies, letting the warm morning air carry her above her city. She landed in the streets with grace, folding her wings back in again as she began her morning walk through the streets, nodding in response to the early birds who waved at her.
"Another lovely sunrise, Princess Celestia," a pony with a broom said from outside his store as he brushed away the dust, bowing to Celestia as she passed. "How do you manage to make them so beautiful each morning?"
"Centuries of practice, Mr. Cliff," Celestia responded with a smile. She continued her walk until she reached her favorite part of Canterlot, a large park that rested on the edge of the city and allowed her to look out across most of the land, accompanied by the comforting sounds of the birds and insects. Celestia breathed in the fresh air as her majestic mane flowed behind her, a slight breeze letting it flow in all of its glory.
"I can already tell that today is going to be a great day," she said to herself as she sat down on the bench that overlooked Equestria, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be lost in the sounds of the morning. Yet, when she heard the sounds of hooves running towards her, she kicked herself for jinxing the day with those words, opening her eyes to see her advisor standing beside her. "Alright Willow, what is it now? A fire in Manehatten? A plague of locus? Twilight having another meltdown?"
"Actually, my Princess, this might be the best news that you're going to hear today," Willow said with a laugh that shook his gray beard as mirth shone in his eyes. He reached into his pouch on his back and pulled out a large letter that Celestia recognized as the type sent by the dragons. She quickly snatched it from him and tore it open, scanning the lines quickly with an ever growing smile. "Yes, my Princess, it seems that the dragons have signed the peace treaty that you sent to them as well. That means that we are now at peace with the zebras, griffons, deer and now dragons. Truly, this is a glorious day."
"Indeed it is Willow, indeed it is," Celestia smiled as she folded up the letter and hoofed it back to him, unable to keep herself from smiling like a lunatic at the news. "That means that we are nearly at peace with all of the nations now. Can this day get any better?"
"It could. Imagine if we could get the changelings to agree to a peace treaty," Willow suggested, but his words caused Celestia to groan as she sat back down on the bench with a huff.
"And here I was in such a great mood, and you just had to go and say that," Celestia grumbled as she rested her chin on her hooves, scrunching up her nose while she thought about the last time she tried to make nice with the changelings. "From our talks last time, it seems that the only way Chrysalis will ever consider peace with us, is if we make her a co-ruler of Equestria...and we both know how that would end for both our nations."
"Maybe we just need to wait a bit more?" Willow suggested as he sat down next to the princess, the sun making even his gray coat seem colorful. "Our spies have shown that her nation is not fairing well, and neither are the changelings. We may not even need to force the issue since in another few months she might come crawling to us for aid."
"Let us hope it does not come to that, I'd hate to see any ponies placed into such a state," Celestia muttered with a shake of her head. She stood up and stretched her back, followed by her wings as she turned back to her town. "Thank you for reminding me that to keep my nation from falling into such a state, I must continue to work, even if I wish to relax."
"Well if your sister stopped sleeping during the day, then she might be able to take on some of your immense workload," Willow muttered with a chuckle as he looked down at the activities that Celestia had to attend to that day. "For example, she could handle the dispute between those two ponies who are trying to decide who is responsible for that tree that is constantly shedding needles is on each others' property."
"Father help me, that's today, isn't it?" Celestia fearfully asked, groaning when Willow nodded his head in response. "Well, nopony said that this job would be easy. Time for me to be a ruler."
)LARIAT(
On an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that wasn't supposed to exist (at least according to the governments), sat a laboratory. The battle that raged within the secret laboratory clearly did exist, a battle between those who sought to protect the world and those of the forces of Shadaloo.
The fighters unleashed their skills upon in each other in the center of a large room that served as the main center of the facility, and in the middle of the room sat a large machine that roared with unholy dark energy. All around the machine scientists and workers ran as they tried to avoid the two fighting sides, with limited success.
"It ends today, Bison! SonicBOOM!" a man with a strange flattop and camo clothes roared as he slammed his arm forwards at incredible speeds, sending a shockwave flying towards his foe. The shockwave was swatted away by a purple energy-powered fist, the fist belonging to a man in all red with silver boots and shoulder pads, who smirked at the pathetic attempt to hurt him.
"Is that all you can muster, Guile?" M. Bison berated with a large smile as he launched forward with his psycho-powered fist, grabbing Guile by the throat and hoisting him into the air. "At least provide me with a challenge before I tear your soul from your body, if you can." Guile was saved from soul destroying in the form of a kick from behind, that Bison was forced to block with his left hand, forcing him to release Guile to block the attack.
"Ah, Chun-Li, I wondered how long until you foolishly came to strike me down again," Bison taunted as he drove his fist at her, Chun-Li dodging out of the way and rolling next to Guile, where she helped him to his feet. "Come to complain some more about how I slayed your father again, or have you found something else to hate me for?"
"Oh, I believe there is plenty I hate you for," she snarled before leaping back into the battle, with Guile backing her up. "Like that doomsday machine that you plan to unleash upon the nations of the world! I'm bringing you down!"
Below where the two battled, a number of other fights raged around and through the computers that made up most of the floor. A man in a white gi narrowly avoided punches from a boxer whose blows could barely be seen, keeping his foe back. Another battle consisted of a young lady in a green leotard battling a man with a mask and claw, the lady bleeding from a number of cuts on her legs. But the strangest battle took place near the doomsday machine, where a massive seven foot Russian battled it out with a yellow-haired man in a red gi.
"Hadoken!" Ken yelled as he thrust both of his hands forward, sending a burst of energy towards the mountain of a man.
"Enough with the hadokens!" Zangief roared in rage as he slammed the back if his hand into the fireball, slapping it out of the air with his green hand. With the projectile gone Zangief rushed forward, both arms stretched to the side in anticipation of whichever way Ken tried to move.
"Fine. Try this!" Ken yelled as he leapt over Zangief's head, dodging his grab and landing right behind the Russian wrestler. Zangief turned around to receive a punch to the gut that stunned him for a moment, but a moment was all Ken needed as he drove his fist into Zangief's chin, taking them both into the air while he yelled,
"SHORYUKEN!"
Ken landed on his feet while Zangief slammed into the metal floor face first, giving Ken a moment to look at the doomsday machine. "Gotta destroy this thing before it can reach its full power. If I don't, then..." Ken's words were cut off as two massive arms wrapped themselves around his midsection and the next thing he knew he was upside down and looking straight at the floor.
"TOO LATE!" Zangief yelled as he drove Ken Masters head first into the ground, rolling out of the suplex and to his feet, placing his massive arms onto his hips while he threw his head back and laughed at the man on the ground. "Your puny muscles will not allow you to defeat me, even if you do have that infernal hadoken! By defeating you and your comrades, I will prove Mother Russia's superiority!"
"Well, I'm trying to save Mother Russia, along with the rest of the world!" Ken yelled at Zangief as he forced himself up, his words cutting off Zangief mid-laugh.
"What?" Zangief asked with confusion as he looked down at Ken.
"That is a DOOMSDAY, one that will wipe whatever it hits out of reality! Meaning: that Bison is going to use it to destroy the world!" Ken screamed at Zangief. Zangief looked from the fighter to the machine, the wheels slowly turning in his Russian skull.
"It will destroy the world?" Zangief asked again as he looked at the machine for a moment. Then his eyes went wide and he clasped his hands to his head while he screamed, "Then we have to destroy it!"
"THAT'S WHAT I WAS DOING!"
Zangief and Ken both rushed forward towards the doomsday machine and both threw themselves at it, striking it with kicks, punches and lariats. Straining his mighty muscles of Russia, Zangief managed to tear a chunk off the side off of the machine, which he then threw at the top of the doomsday machine. But to both his and Ken's horror, the machine began to glow and the ground began to rumble with power.
"You worms are too late!" M. Bison laughed as he slammed his hands together, sending out a wave of psycho energy that knocked his two foes back. He then turned towards the machine as it reached its full power, holding out both of his hands while his psychotic laughter filled the air. Then, his face fell slightly as the machine began to blink, appearing and disappearing within seconds of each other.
"Do not worry comrade, I am destroying the machine from the inside!" Zangief yelled over to Ken while he reached his hands that could crush bears into the heart of the machine, tearing it apart from the inside out. "No machine is a match for the might of Zangief!"
"Enough, you pathetic excuse of fodder!" Bison roared as he flew down from the catwalk, landing and hurling himself towards Zangief, but he was knocked out of the air by a flaming kick to the side, followed up with a...
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"
Bison snarled as he landed on his feet, narrowing his eyes at the white clad warrior in front of him. "Ryu, are you so foolish that you believe yourself able to defeat a god?"
"You are no god--and I shall defeat you," Ryu replied as he took up his fighting stance, both fighters sizing each other up before a massive explosion went off from the top of the doomsday machine, causing warning sirens to sound as Bison turned towards the machine.
"No, the extensive damage has caused it to begin to flux in and out of reality!" M. Bison snarled before he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and teleported himself out of the way of another flying kick. "The machine is a failure. All it will do now is vanish from reality! This fight is over Ryu, but we will meet again!" Bison vanished in a flash of psycho energy as he said this, leaving the others to look towards the machine while it began to vanish into thin air.
"Get away from the machine! It's about to go off!" Guile yelled from the catwalk. The fighters all backed away as the machine began to vanish and reappear incredibly fast, shaking the entire base as it did so.
"That is right you weak machine, vanish into nothingness to hide your shame!" Zangief laughed as he threw his head back again, letting his victorious laugh loose. Then, he stopped laughing when he felt something pull at his leg, and he looked down to see that a wire from the machine was still wrapped around it. He then slowly looked from the wire to the machine that was about to completely vanish, realizing what was about to happen just fast enough for him to say,
"Oh Borscht."
A flash of white light went off and blinded all of the fighters in the room who were still up. When the light died down, they all saw to their relief that the doomsday machine was gone...along with Zangief.
Chrysalis cracked her eyes open with a groan, slowly dragging herself out of her bed while mentally bracing herself for another day as the "glorious" leader of the changelings. Still half asleep, she walked onto the balcony of her castle, half opening her eyes to look at the majesty that was her kingdom.
'And I use that term loosely,' she thought to herself as she looked out across the blackened landscape, where buildings that had fallen into disrepair adorned the dome that surrounded the city, a dome that was as gray as her outlook. 'Time to get to work.' She turned and left her balcony, wide awake now that she was in leader mode. She exited her chambers and headed down to the main castle hall, where her advisor stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her. Her advisor was also the only being that could get her to smile anymore.
"Good more Queen Chrysalis, did you sleep well?" Insectum asked her with a smile as she held a small clipboard in her hooves. Chrysalis's response was to pull her daughter into a quick hug before the two of them headed for the exit of the castle. "I hope you enjoyed your rest, because that'll probably be the only thing you'll enjoy today."
"Going back to bed," Chrysalis replied as she turned around, but her daughter grabbed hold of the queens tail with her magic.
"Come on mom, you know you have to do this. Now let's read off what you've got on your plate today," Insectum began as she looked down at the top item on the list. "Oh boy. Looks like to start things off you'll be investigating that disturbance that showed up in the middle of the night out in the middle of the wastelands, so that'll be fun. Then you have to see what was the cause of the fires down in the center of the city. And then-"
"Let's just go to the wastelands. It's more lively than this place," Chrysalis grumbled, her daughter nodding as the two began to walk through the streets to the exit of the kingdom. Chrysalis motioned for a number of guards to follow her as they passed by them and she was glad that she had spotted them as she walked, it gave her an excuse not to look at her sorry excuse of a kingdom.
The buildings were made of the cheapest material, none of which held up long and most of the buildings were already collapsing upon themselves. Because of that, many changelings were forced to live in the streets where they weren't safe from the constant bombardment of the elements.
'And then there's the food shortage,' Chrysalis silently thought to herself as she caught glimpses of the starving changelings out of the corner of her eyes, paining her heart to see both adults and children forced to starve. 'Why in the hell would those damned bandits steal love potions from us? What could they possibly need with that many love potions? Grr, when I get my hooves on them, I'll tear their hearts out and feed on them.'
"You're doing the best you can mom, don't forget that," Insectum said to comfort her mother, Chrysalis smirking as once again her daughter seemed to be able to read her thoughts. "They all still look to you." Chrysalis wished that Insectum hadn't said that, for she was forced to look at some of the hopeful faces as she passed by her changelings, faces that believed in her despite her failure.
"Any idea what might be out in the wastelands?" one of the guards asked when Chrysalis stared for a second too long at a pair of children. Chrysalis gave him a small smile, grateful for him giving her a topic to take her mind off the hive. "Reports say that it was like a light show we don't get around here. Think Celestia might be trying something again?"
"No, it is too soon for old tank flank to be bothering us again," Chrysalis assumed as she and the other changelings walked out of the front gates of the kingdom, the guards that defended it saluting her as she passed. "Whatever it is though we have to assume that it is hostile and will probably try to kill us. Be on alert, I can't afford to lose any more changelings."
"Especially with that wilderbeast running around," the other guard muttered, all of the changelings growling at those words. "Lost three guards last week to it. Shame, they were good fighters."
"We'll deal with that another time. Right now we need to focus on the task at hoof." Chrysalis and the other changelings took to the skies as they exited the kingdom, flying through the gray skies to where Insectum had marked on her map.
"This is where the reports say the lights were coming from," Insectum muttered, her report being confirmed a few seconds later as all four changelings saw the massive crater that hadn't been there the previous night. In the center of the crater was a massive machine that still spewed some dark energy into the skies, while parts of it were scattered around the crater. "Alright, spread out but stay within earshot. Last thing we need is some monster from wherever this came killing any of us."
The guards nodded and split up while Chrysalis and Insectum flew down to see the machine for themselves. It was a massive piece of work, with strange, alien markings on the sides as well as lights that blinked on and off. Chrysalis looked at the strange marking with interest, wondering what they could mean.
"Queen Chrysalis! Over here!" Chrysalis and Insectum both looked up from the wreckage of the machine and raced over to where one of the guards was waving, both of them being stopped in their tracks by what they saw. A monstrous creature lay face down in the mud, it's massive frame moving up and down slowly, telling them it was still alive. It had no coat, but it's massive muscles were covered in scars. It had only a few patches of fur and wore very little clothing, but what worried Chrysalis was how massive it was.
"What kind of monster is this?" Insectum asked as she poked one of the massive biceps of the creature, getting it to grunt once before it began to snore again. "I've never seen anything like it before. Why is it here?...and why does it smell like alcohol and pride?" Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at it as she kicked the beast with her front hoof, surprised at how her hoof bounced off with ease.
"Think we can get a meal out of it?" she asked her daughter, who as still examining the massive beast with curious blue eyes.
"Well, I have no idea if it's sentient or not, but do you know what this means?" she asked her mother with a huge smile. "This means we have a strange creature that no pony or changeling has ever seen before. We've got something the ponies don't." Both Chrysalis and her guards grew wide smiles at those words and Chrysalis looked down at the beast with plans for it.
"Take it back to the castle. We'll send out the strongest guards I have to retrieve the pile of metal," Chrysalis ordered. The guards nodded as they tied ropes around the red boots of the beast, dragging it through the mud as they all headed back to the castle. 'Oh yes beast, let us see what the ponies would be willing to trade for you.'
←↙↓↘→↗+H
With a jolt Zangief awoke, his massive bulk leaping with him as he snapped himself awake. But upon moments of rising from his slumber, he quickly realized that something was the matter. His arms, which should have been crushing his foes, were chained to the armrests of a chair that was too small for his muscular body.
"Where am I?" he asked as he blinked his eyes, becoming accustom to the darkness of the room he found himself in. When he could see, he found that he had been imprisoned in a stone cell with the only light coming through the small iron bars on the door before him. "Haha, for a moment you had me worried," he said with a laugh to whoever was on the other side of the door, all of his worry melting away. "I thought that I might be in danger. But if you believe that chains can hold down the Red Cyclone, then you are a fool!"
Then Zangief began to press again the chains with his ultimate weapons: his muscles. The veins on his tree trunk like arms expanded as he pushed against the metal with his herculean might, knowing that no chain or metal could hold him down. But to his absolute shock, he found that the chains had no respect for his might and stubbornly held him in place. Upon a closer inspection of the chains, he found green energy running through them, causing the great Gief to growl with frustration.
"Oh good, you're finally awake." Zangief swung his head towards the sound of the voice, already entering his mental commands for his piledriver. But the move never even made it to his mind as his thoughts were blown away by what entered through the door and into his cell. It was around five feet, full of holes and looked like a black insect to him. An insect that could talk. "And from the fact that you just yelled out to me, you are intelligent after all. Now they'll have to want you."
"What are you? Where am I? Oh, I must be dreaming after a night of vodka and dancing," Zangief said with relief as a smile broke out across his face. "For no creature as strange as you could possibly exist. I have slept long enough, so could you unchain me so I can pinch myself?"
"Allow me to help wake you up," Chrysalis snarled as she smacked the Russian across the face, barely moving his head. Zangief blinked twice as he waited for himself to wake up, but when nothing happened he turned to look back at the angry bug lady.
"This is no dream," he finally deduced as Chrysalis tried not to put to much pressure on the hoof she had hit him with. "I am truly chained to a chair that I cannot break free of and there is a strange insect like creature talking to me...AAHHHHH!" His roar nearly blew Chrysalis back as he struggled against his chains again, Chrysalis amazed to see that his raw power might break through her spell.
"Don't be foolish, you cannot escape my magic," Chrysalis gloated as she reinforced the magic, keeping Zangief in the chair.
"What do want with me bug lady? If you wish to fight me, then release me from these chains and I shall show you true Russian might."
"I am Queen Chrysalis and I ask of you to refer to me as such. I do not wish to fight you, I have more important plans," she chuckled as she circled the chair, Zangief trying his best to keep his eyes on her at all times. "A creature such as yourself has never been seen in this land before, be it my wasteland or Equestria. You will make a great bargaining chip."
"I will tell you what. If you release me now and tell me how to get to the homeland, my mother Russia from here, I may consider not piledriving you into the ground," Zangief tried to bargain, but Chrysalis let out a small chuckle as she licked her lips.
"No thank you, I don't want you going anywhere until I've struck a deal. But in the meantime, maybe you can help feed my people for a while," she said sinisterly as she opened her maw.
With the threat of being eaten before him, Zangief pushed against his bonds with all of his muscles. While the chains that held him to the chair refused to submit to his might, the bolts that held the chair to the floor realized how outmatched they were and surrendered immediately. The result was the chair being torn straight out of the ground and allowing Zangief to get to his feet. The moment he realized that he could move he bowled over Chrysalis and sprinted through the doors, despite the fact that the chains still held and the chair was still attached to him.
"And now that thing is on the run in my castle. Great," Chrysalis grumbled as she picked herself up and chased after the Russian, who could move despite his bulk when he needed to. Zangief barreled down the hallways of the dark and green castle, ploughing through more of the insects that tried to either stop him or get out of his way.
'Trapped in a strange new land, with an insect like queen trying to eat me? This is one of the stranger days that I have had, though not the strangest,' Zangief thought to himself as he continued to run, he weight of the chair not even a distraction to the power of his body. He slammed through a door and reached what he hoped was the main room, as a pair of massive doors that were strangely decorated awaited him on the other side of the chamber. But between him and the door stood nearly fifty of the strange insect creatures.
"Only fifty of you?" Zangief asked with a laugh as the creatures prepared to tackle him. "If you are going to try to stop the Red Cyclone, then at least try!" With a yell he rushed into the creatures, crushing the first ten that tried to subdue him with their own strength. The next twenty or so tried to subdue him with numbers, but once they had surrounded him did Zangief pull out all the stops.
"LARIAT!" he yelled as he spun around like a cyclone. Despite having his arms chained to the chair the force of his weight slamming into the changelings was enough to hurl them from him. With them out of the way, he continued to charge through the rest of the creatures, who now ran or got out of his way.
"Hahaha! You should know better than try to match muscle like mine with numbers! I am stronger than any-" He stopped gloating as he charged towards the last changeling that stood before him, but unlike all the other ones this one was far smaller and held a clipboard in it's hooves. But when Zangief caught a quick glimpse of it's eyes he saw fear, the fear of a child.
At the speed he was going no normal man would have been able to avoid the changeling, but Zangief was far from a normal man. His desire to avoid the child fueled his might and he leapt into the air with all of his strength, flying over the small insect and slamming himself chair first into the twin doors on the castle, blasting them open as his weight pushed him through.
"Haha, that will teach you to try and contain me!" Zangief laughed as he rose back to his feet, chuckling with victory despite the chair still being chained to him. "Now I can return to the motherland and..." Once again he stopped talking as he looked down the steps from the castle doors he stood at towards the city, where the streets were filled with the insects.
Bolts of magic ricocheted off of walls, pipes and anything except for the man who raced through the streets, knocking over any of the screaming changelings that failed to get out of his way. Zangief slammed shoulder first into the side of a building as he was forced to make a sharp turn, but the impact barely bothered his shoulder and he continued lumbering down the street as best he could with the chair still right at his heels.
"This is crazy! Why do these chains not break?!" Zangief roared as he took shelter in an alleyway for a moment, straining against his constraints again before he heard the sounds of hooves running towards him. With a yell he leapt into the air and crushed the changelings that ran around into the alley with his girth, smothering them instantly. "Lightweights. Come back after you have practiced."
"It went this way!" another group of changelings roared as ten more cam running around the corner. Zangief used the chair to shield himself from the projectiles as he could not deflect them with his hands. He then turned to run but slammed into a cracked wall, the force of his face slamming into the wall shattering the support for it and bringing down large chunks of rubble that fell between him and his pursers.
"Now that is using my head!" Zangief laughed as he ran off again. His managed to evade the changelings chasing him for a while, but his progress towards the edge of the city was halted every time he came to a street or path that was too small for his muscles that could throw bears, forcing him to change his course. "Ugh, I hate running. If only my hands were free I could show these bugs the true power of my wrestling skills."
"Got you!" a changeling yelled as it flew down on Zangief from above, wrapping it's hooves around his neck and squeezing tightly. But to the changelings surprise the human began to laugh at it's efforts to bring him down.
"So you wish to wrestle a cyclone do you? Then let us see how strong that grip of yours truly is!" Zangief began to spin in place after saying this, building up such speed and power that the changeling couldn't hold on for more than a few seconds. His hooves slipped and he was hurled into the sky, where he did not come down. "Hmph, barely a few seconds. You need to work your muscles more."
Zangief smiled as he turn and ran down an alleyway that his frame could fit in. He hunkered down behind a collapsed building that was just large enough to hide him and he chuckled softly as the guards ran by him, not knowing that he was there. With another smile he turned to leave, until a small cry of fear gained his attention.
"What is this?" Zangief whispered as he looked into the dark corner of the alleyway where he was hiding, spotting two figures huddled together in the darkness. They were changelings, but they were tiny, far tinier than the one he had avoided in the castle. "Can it be that they are...children? Why are they here?" Zangief lumbered over to them to get a closer look, causing them to cry out again. But to Zangief's shock, he found that he could see ribs underneath of their armor plating's and hunger in their eyes.
He wondered what he should do with them until a loud buzzing sound completely drowned out his thoughts. The Red Cyclone turned his gaze towards the sky to see hundreds of armored changelings flying above him, with Queen Chrysalis at the front.
"Oh, this is not good."
"Understatement of the century. FIRE!" Spells rained down like fire upon the Russian wrestler who ran as fast as his bulk could carry him, which was not very fast. He could feel the sting as the spell struck his legs and back, but their pain was not enough to stop him. The chair also continued to protect him from most of the assault, but even it's stubbornness could not keep it from cracking under all of the fire.
"I need to take them out of the air. But to do that I need my arms free," Zangief panted as he ran, not able to keep running much longer. "I need to be free!" His freedom appeared before his very eyes as he saw a pointy rock at the top of a slope, a rock that he wagered would shatter his chair and confines.
"It is all or nothing!" he yelled as he threw himself back first onto the stone, bracing himself as he did so. However, his aim was off and instead of the chair hitting the stone it landed on the slope with Zangief landing on the chair.
"Oh no." The two of them slide down the slope towards a crowd of changelings, who started screaming as Zangief ploughed through all of them, knocking most into the air. None of them could stop the Russian rodeo and Zangief would have slid for miles had a barrier of magic not erected itself in front of him. The chair hit the shield first, stopping it for just a moment until the chair was hit with a Russian. The chair couldn't handle the force of Russian muscles slamming into it and it finally submitted, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
"Finally," Zangief began to laugh as he stood up to his full height, rubbing his wrists as the chains slid off of them and laid defeated on the cobble streets. "Finally I am free! Now you shall all feel the wrath of the Red-
"ZZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!"
Zangief collapsed in a pile on the ground, slightly twitch as the electricity continued to run it's course. Chrysalis stood over his body with a look of annoyance on her face and a electric rod in her magic's grasp, kicking the twitching giant's body once for good measure and then again for the trouble he had caused her.
"It is alright my citizens, the bad man is down. You are all safe now!" she called out to her subjects, who began to emerge from where they had taken shelter from the storm. Chrysalis let out a sigh of relief when she saw they were all safe before she looked down at Zangief. "Take him the castle and chain him up with reinforced metal. He's not getting away again."
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief's conscious came back to him when he felt a something poking him in the face. He grumbled once before swatting the thing away, about to turn over to continue sleeping before he remembered what had happened. He shot to his feet with both arms outstretched as performed his lariat to crush whoever was near him, spinning in a circle for a few seconds before realizing that he hadn't hit anything.
"Um, can you stop spinning please? You're making me dizzy." Zangief stopped his lariat and looked down to see a small changeling staring up at while sitting on a green carpet. Now that he was no longer trying to behead a foe with his arms, Zangief was able to taken in the room around him. To his confusion he found that he was in a well lit room with nice curtain and some carpeting, as well as a table filled with all sorts of vials. He looked around for a moment before looking down at the little changeling, who had raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.
"Have you calmed down yet? Good, now we can talk," she said in a business like tone as she pulled out a notebook and sat down at the table, motioning for Zangief to do the same. Zangief sat down very hesitantly, taking immediate interest in the vials while the changeling looked over her notebook.
"So what are you?" she asked as she looked up at him, finding that he already broken one of the vials by touching it. Zangief looked from the changeling to the broken vial before looking away quickly, getting the changeling to sigh. "Alright, let me try this again. I'm Princess Insectum, princess of the changelings."
"Princess?" Zangief asked as if he had never heard that term before, Insectum nodding at him slowly in response. "But you are a child, are you not?"
"So? The title of princess was not given to me because I am to rule the nation, I have it because I am the daughter of the queen and will become queen when she eventually steps down. That is what a princess of the changelings does." Zangief thought about what she said for a long time, so long that Insectum thought that she had broken the creature.
"But you are a child."
"Moving on," Insectum growled as she looked at her next question. "What kind of beast are you? I have looked through the book of mythical beasts and the closest I could find to something like you is either a giant or a Cyclops and since you have both eyes..." To her surprise Zangief began to laugh at her question. "What's so funny?"
"That you say you do not know who I am! You do not have to hide the fact that you are a fan of me, because all are fans of me!" Zangief laughed as he flexed both of his biceps. "I am the greatest wrestler in all of mother Russia, the man whose name makes all that are to face him shake with fear! I am the Red Cyclone, defeater of great evil and the greatest Cossack dancer in all the world!" He expected a reaction at this, but Insectum gave him an unimpressed look. "Zangief. I am Zangief."
Insectum nodded before writing that down in her book. "Species is called Zangief. Weird name," she muttered to herself as she wrote while Zangief placed his chin in the palms of his hands and sighed. "Alright, you said something about a place called mother Russia. Is that your actual mother or is that where you are from?"
"You...You do not know of that loving majesty that is Mother Russia?" Zangief asked, looking physically devastated when Insectum shook her head no. "No wonder today's youth is in such trouble," Zangief sighed as he rested his cheek on his fist. Insectum didn't know why that depressed him, but she decided to change the subject.
"Next question. Why did you run from my mother...Queen Chrysalis when you were in prison for breaking the peace with that giant machine that terrified so many of our subjects?" Insectum questioned.
"She wanted to eat me!" Zangief said in his defense as he crossed his arms. "And despite it being a futile efforts , as no stomach can hold me, I did not want to stay in that prison any more. Speaking of food, I am famished. Do you have any borscht or vodka somewhere nearby?"
Upon mentioning food both his and Insectums stomach began to grumble. Zangief looked at the small changeling for a moment, but when the her stomach growled for the second time all his wariness was erased and he let out a hearty laugh. "It seems that we are both hungry! How about we continue talking while we eat?"
"You'll have food after you answer one last question for me," she said in a no nonsense voice, causing Zangief to frown sadly. "My last question is...why did you avoid me in the castle hall?" she asked, perking Zangief up as she slightly hung her head. "I mean, you ran through every other changeling like they were paper yet when you got to me you leapt over me (and knocked our doors off their hinges). Why?"
"You are a child."
"Oh for the last time, that has nothing to do with me being a princess!"
"No, I mean that you ARE a child. I do not harm children, no matter what race or country they are from. I would rather be admired by the children then feared by them," he said with a now good natured smile on his face. "Children need heroes to believe in after all."
Insectum wasn't sure how to respond to his words, but for the first time since she started to questioning him she decided to look at his eyes instead of his freak body. In his eyes she saw competiveness and power, but at the same time there was laughter in them as well as kindness.
'I...wasn't expecting such a massive creature it be so nice or so considering of others. Most are just...monsters,' she thought before both her and Zangief's stomach rumbled again. Zangief let out another laugh as he rose to his full height again, head almost touching the ceiling.
"Come, we have put off eating long enough and I know that a hungry Zangief might try to eat a bear," he roared with laughter as he headed towards the door, but Insectum placed herself between him and the exit.
"Okay, we'll stop by the royal kitchen, but after that you're going to have to meet my mother," Insectum said, Zangief thinking about it for a moment before he shrugged his massive shoulders with a good natured smile.
"Then it is good for us that we are stopping by the kitchen first. If I bring food with me perhaps she will be less inclined to try Russian food." Insectum gave a polite chuckle at the laugh as she turned to leave, the monstrous being following behind her as they headed through the halls towards the kitchen. She occasionally turned to view his face as they walked, especially when other changelings walked by, but he seemed as oblivious to their glares as he did the fact that he might be in danger.
"So, you're just okay with being captured and forced to meet a queen?" Insectum asked Zangief, who let out another laugh as the kitchen came into sight.
"I have fought yoga men with stretchy arms, fighters who constantly throw fireballs at me and a green beast with electric powers. Being in the presences of bugs that talk doesn't frighten me. Nothing does. Besides, I never pass up the chance for free food!" Insectum rolled her eyes at his answer, but couldn't help herself from smiling at his overwhelming positivity.
'He might be fearless in his world, but here there are many things that I bet would terrify even him,' Insectum thought as the chef tried to fend of Zangief with a ladle. 'Like my mom for example.'
Insectum stayed a good ten feet away from Zangief as the two of them walked down the hall to the throne room where he mother resided, with the changeling mortified that if she got any closer to Zangief than that he might eat her up on accident. He was tearing into his third full cooked chicken and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, though he did occasionally take a moment to talk.
"Why are there all these weird symbols on your paintings?" Zangief asked in between bites of chicken.
"That's the language we use in this world. Can't you read it?" Insectum asked, getting a head shake in response.
"I will admit that your poultry is truly a sight for sore stomachs, but sometime I must show you the miracle that is borscht!" Zangief laughed as he tore a leg off the chicken and wolfed it down within seconds, Insectum moving a bit further away from him as he did so. Her stomach growled again and Zangief ceased inhaling the sacrifice to his hunger to look at the changeling with a frown. "Why did you not grab some food for yourself? You are clearly hungry."
"A ruler does not eat before their subjects," Insectum said in a tone that sounded a bit rehearsed to Zangief, who didn't fully quite grasp what she was saying. Insectum caught his confusion and sighed. "My mother will explain it all to you when we talk to her. Try to finish eating before we get to the throne room, she doesn't like-" When Insectum looked over to see that all of the food Zangief had brought was gone, she decided to stop talking. Zangief tried to bring up conversation a few more times, but he had given up by the time they had gotten to the door that led to the throne room.
"Now remember to be well behaved and not to say anything that would tick my mom off," Insectum said to him in a serious tone. "Just let her do the talking and only speak back when she has spoken to you. If not she might thrown you to the wilderbeasts and then some poor guard would have to clean it up."
"Ugh, I do not know what a wilderbeast is, but according to you it sounds very hard to clean up after being thrown," Zangief said with a shake of his head. "I still do want to fight it though." Insectum shook her head as she pushed open the door to the throne room, bowing slightly before both she and Zangief walked inside. Zangief looked around at the all black room with green windows with a raised eyebrow, not at all impressed by the throne room.
"Greeting Queen Chrysalis. I have brought you the beast as you requested," Insectum said as she bowed to the changeling sitting on the throne, who nodded at her with a smile. Insectum motioned for Zangief to bow as well, but all she got in return was a look of confusion before he shrugged and looked at the queen with bored eyes.
"Thank you. You may join me now," Chrysalis replied, Insectum bowing again before she walked over besides the queen and hoofed her the notebook, Chrysalis glancing over it before looking up at Zangief. "Didn't get much out of him, huh? So, you are a creature known as a Zangief? Interesting name for such a large creature."
"My name is Zangief! And I am the greatest wrestler in all of the world!" Zangief bragged as he threw his head back and laughed, the bellows catching Chrysalis off guard and she gave him a look when he stopped.
"Moron. Alright, I've got a couple of questions for you," Chrysalis began as Zangief crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath at her insult. "Let's start with why did you attack my people after you destroyed a good chuck of my royal guard with MY chair?"
"Maybe because you wished to eat me and I fled for my life?" Zangief retorted. Chrysalis flared her nostrils at his disrespect, but the Russian held his head high and showed no fear in the face of the bug. "And I did not wish to harm them, but it is hard to escape when you are chained to a chair. Though for Zangief, not impossible."
"Whatever. Next question. Why did you decide to appear in the middle of our wasteland like that? Don't you know it's off limits to anything that's not a changeling? Are you really so stupid...okay answered my own question there," Chrysalis said with a small chuckle, getting Zangief to huff as he crossed his arms even tighter.
"I was trapped by the accursed machine and blown here when it exploded," Zangief recounted with a proud smile. "And in doing so I saved not only the motherland, but all of the world. That is the might of Zangief!" He threw his head back and laughed again, not noticing Insectum and Chrysalis share a disbelieving look with each other.
"Now I have a question for you," Zangief began in a serious tone the moment he stopped laughing. Chrysalis was caught off guard by his sudden shift in attitude that she nodded for him to speak. "When I ran for my life I noticed that there were starving children in the streets! How an you let them starve when you are their ruler? How can you let your own daughter go hungry?"
The look on Chrysalis's face as he said this caused her own daughter to back away from her, but in contrast Zangief seemed to grow even larger at the look of rage on her face. The changeling queen very deliberately got off her throne and stalked towards him, looking up in to his face with wrath flashing in her eyes.
"Maybe it's because bandits keep stealing the love potions that we've had to choke down for the past three years. Maybe it's because the ponies don't like to share and keep kicking us out of their land. Maybe it's because I'm sitting here dealing with a giant idiot when I should be attending to my kingdom!" she roared at him with full fury, but Zangief did not budge a hair in the face of her wrath. Then Chrysalis's stomach began to growl, causing both her and Zangief to look down in surprise.
"There are a pair of guards outside that will escort you to your cell," Chrysalis snarled as she walked by Zangief with as much dignity as she could muster after her stomach embarrassed her. "Come Insectum, we have work to do!" Insectum shot off after her mother, giving Zangief a worried look before following her out the door. Zangief watched them both go with narrowed eyes, perturbed by what had just happened.
"Alright big guy, you're coming with us," two changelings buzzed as they walked into the throne room, standing besides Zangief as they pointed their horns at him. "Make this easy for us and-" Faster than should have been possible for a man of his size Zangief's arms shot out and grabbed the two changelings, wrapping both of them under his arms in a headlock.
"Oh sweet Faust, it's going to eat us!" one of the changelings yelled as it desperately tried to escape. "Mother always said that I would go this way, but I never believed her!"
"Comrades, do not worry! I am not going to hurt you," Zangief laughed as he tightened his grip, the changelings struggling to breath as he smiled down at them. "I will let you go in a moment. All I need first is for you to do something for me."
←↙↓↘→↗+H
The harsh sun beat down on the gray land in the middle of nowhere, a place that no life would be unless it was there for a reason. The normally empty landscape was graced with the presence of two carts, one that came from the east and another that came from the west. The one coming from the east was being pulled by two zebras, both of whom were on alert. The other was driven by three changeling guards, who drove a cart with a large tarp over the back of it. The two carts came to a stop within twenty feet of each other and one member from both parties exited their vehicle, the two meeting in the middle.
"You have our payment, correct?" the zebra asked the changeling, who nodded his head towards the tarp on the back of the cart.
"You better have the supplies. We're paying good gems for these," the changeling scowled at the zebra before nodding to the other changelings. The zebra nodded to his associate who pulled out a large crate from the back of their cart, opening the lid to reveal a large number of red vials. "Alright, they're clean. Trade them the-"
"ATTACK!" Both groups jumped as they looked into the sky with horror to see a swarm of changelings with red marking descend upon them, blasts of magic striking the zebra and the changeling in the center down within seconds. The zebra turned his cart to flee, but he was quickly overwhelmed by three changelings. The other twelve went after the changelings in the other cart, who returned fire upon the marked changeling attacking them.
"Darn it all, not these guys again!" the changeling yelled as he and his partner both dove behind their cart for cover, spells splintering the wood as they impacted the cart. The changelings that were taking cover began to return fire, but the marked ones flew in erratic patterns that made them nearly impossible to hit.
"We can't fail here! This might be the last shipment for-" his words died along with him as a spell caught him in the head, dropping him to ground without another word. The last changeling roared as loud as he could as he began to fire off spells rapidly at his foes, striking one or two of them. He went down to a hail of green magic, ending the battle between the two sides.
"HAHA! It's gets easier with each jacking!" one of the marked changelings laughed as he landed on the zebras cart, opening the crates with a whistle to see all of the potions inside. "And the reward keeps getting bigger! This is a good haul. Might actually get second helpings tonight."
"Don't count on it, the boss rarely feels like sharing," another marked one laughed as he took the armor off of the fallen changelings, weighing it in his hoof. "Three more sets of armor though, so that might get him to crack a smile if we're lucky. Man, you'd think that Chrysalis would know better at this point and submit to him."
"Ah, she's a stubborn old bat, always has been," the one at the potions laughed as he looked over at the changelings at the other cart. the changelings there were simply staring at the back of the cart, hesitation in their eyes. "Yo, what's the hold up over there? You guys spot a stray female or something?"
"No, it's just...do you remember any of the other payments being this large?" one of them called out. The changeling shrugged and motioned for them to get on with their work, so with shrugs of their own the three changelings at the back went to remove the tarp.
"SYURPRIZ!" The marked changelings never even had time to scream as twin tree trunk like limbs slammed into their face and hurled them into the air, where they crashed into the wasteland fifty feet away. All of the thirteen remaining changelings were struck dumb by the monster of a being that fell out of the back of the cart, a wide smile spreading on its face as it looked at its opposition while it rose to it's feet. "Today is a good day for me. For I finally get to fight!"
"The hell is that thing?!" one of the changelings yelled as Zangief took to the skies, throwing a fist forward to crack the exoskeleton of one of the marked changelings and send it sprawling into the dirt. He then swung his leg around and caught another in the side of the chest, crushing it instantly as Zangeif's entire foot being about the same size as it's body. "Attack it! Do something!"
"That is right! Come at me!" Zangief laughed as he opened his arms wide as three changelings threw themselves at him through the air. Zangief slapped the backs of two changelings with his bear paw like hands and drove them into the dirt while a head-butt knocked the third one back the way it came. He then picked up the two that he slapped and lifted them both over his head before power bombing them into the dirt.
The changeling at the cart let his horn glow with a green fury before he fired his spell right at the goliath of a man, striking him square in the chest. But while it did make the man flinch, a moment later he was laughing again as he brushed the green energy from his chest hair.
"That may have been a fireball, but it was no hadoken. You will have wished that it was." Zangief reached down and grabbed the bottom of the cart he had been hiding in, using his incredible Russian might to lift the cart above his head with a big grin. He then let the cart sail through the air towards five changelings who were grouped together, crushing them with wood and wheels as the cart landed upon them a moment later.
"Only three left? Hopefully you three know how to fight!" Zangief laughed as he charged at the remaining three by the zebras cart. The three all looked at each other with no idea what to do as the goliath barreled towards them. One of them tried firing a blast of magic at him again, but to their horror this time his hand glowed with a green fire as he slapped the spell out of the air. "Your fireballs will not work on me again! Face the Soviet Splash!"
He leapt into the air and outstretched all of his limbs as he hurtled down towards the three. One of the marked ones managed to throw himself out of the way before the Red Cyclone descended upon the other two, obliterating both them and the cart that they had been upon. The changeling that was left slowly began to back away as all seven feet of pain began to pull himself out of the wreckage, a look of disappointment on his face as he looked at the last one.
"It seems that you can only win with sneaky tricks and attacks from behind. You have no courage," Zangief began to taunt as he lumbered towards the last changeling, who was frozen in place with fear. Zangief came to a stop in front of the last changeling, towering over it by nearly four feet as he looked down upon the being in his shadow. "This bout is over!" Zangief grabbed the changeling and hoisted it over his head, holding it there for a moment before he began to fall backwards. The changeling let out one last cry for help before Gief landed the vertical suplex, silencing the insect.
"Haha, I win again!" Zangief laughed as he rose back to his feet, looking around at all the beaten and broken changelings with a large smile on his face. "This would have gone much faster if that cowardly tarp had not tried to tangle my legs." Zangief walked over to the zebras cart and opened one of the crates, smiling when he saw what was inside. "Do not worry changeling children, I have a present for you. Now how do I get back?"
"What in the infernal hell do you mean that you haven't found Zangief?!" Chrysalis screamed at the guard in front of her, her mane a blazing, green inferno while the guard cowered on the floor before her. "You have got to be kidding me! How do you not find a being that not only can't be mistaken for anything else, but is also that freakin' huge! It's like losing an Ursa in the middle of a town! Why the hell did you even let him out in the first place?!"
"I-I'm sorry your highness, but he was just so large and imposing that my partner and I were afraid that if we didn't do what he wanted he would eat us," the changeling guard cowered as he stared straight down at the floor, mortified of what the queen would do to him for his failure. "So we snuck him onto a cart that was heading out of the hive and didn't think anything else of it."
"Urgh, I didn't give that idiot enough credit, he's smarter than I thought," Chrysalis mumbled to herself as she sat back in her throne and closed her eyes, wondering what she should do next. "Get out of my sight before I decide to eat you myself!" The guard bowed and sprinted from the throne room, leaving the queen alone with her daughter. "Insectum, you talked to Zangief. Did he give you any hints as to where he might have gone if he fled?"
"Sorry mom, but he didn't say anything like that, he mostly just bragged and looked confused," Insectum said softly as she slightly hid behind her notebook in the face of her mothers wrath. Chrysalis sighed as she wrapped a hoof around her daughters neck and pulled her into a quick hug before rising to her hooves and walking towards the window.
"Darnitall, that mammoth of an idiot was going to be our ticket to finally one up the ponies, but now he's run off to Faust knows where's he gotten to now," Chrysalis grumbled to herself as the harsh sun beat down on the black and green ruin that rested before her eyes. "Guess it is my fault though, I wasn't exactly a gracious host. I should've just eaten his love and chucked him back out."
"Don't talk like that mom, you're too kind to do that," Insectum said as she pressed herself against one of Chrysalis's legs.
"I know, but don't let me catch you telling any other changeling that. I have a reputation to uphold after all," Chrysalis responded with a smirk as she nuzzled her daughter. The moment of compassion was interrupted when yelling could be heard outside the castle in the streets below, causing the two to separate as they both stuck their heads out the window. "I can't see what's going on! Stay here Insectum while I..."
"Queen Chrysalis!" a guard yelled as he burst into the throne room, skidding across the floor until he came to a stop in front of the queen. But to Chrysalis's surprise, there was a huge smile on his face, something she was not used to seeing. "You have to come quick. I don't think you're going to believe what you'll see." Chrysalis and Insectum both pushed past him and ran for the exit, Chrysalis blowing the doors to her castle open as the two ran out to see the sight...and neither one of them could believe their eyes.
Hundreds of changelings were in the streets, all of them looking towards the center of the square with huge smiles on their faces as they all laughed and cheered. But Chrysalis barely noticed that as she looked towards the center of the square, where all eyes should have been drawn. Standing on top of a cart stood the massive Russian frame of one Zangief, who was laughing with sheer delight as he reached down into the cart and chucked out red potions into the crowd, which were then caught and immediately drunken by the happy changelings.
"Are those...love potions?" Insectum asked her mother with absolute disbelief in her voice, Chrysalis unable to answer as all she could do was stare dumbfounded at the sight before her. Zangief threw another handful of bottles into the crowd before he turned to see Chrysalis and Insectum, his smile growing even wider at the sight of them.
"Pozdravleniya! Welcome to the party!" Zangief laughed as he reached down and grabbed two vials of potion out of one of the crates before chucking them at Chrysalis and Insectum, both of who caught the vials with their magic. They both blankly stared at the genuine love potions for a moment before back to Zangief, who was now on a knee as he gently gave some vials to children that had come for food. Insectum looked up at her mother with hunger in her eyes, her mother nodding before both of them drank the potions, letting out a sigh as their hunger was momentarily quelled.
"What the hell are you doing back here?!" Chrysalis yelled as she marched over to Zangief, the crowd parting before her so she could walk right up to him without interference. "I was told that you had escaped, that you had fled from my empire!" Zangief threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh to the sky at her words.
"Nonsense! You told me that you were having trouble with bandits that were taking your people's food, so I went and took your food back! I would have been back sooner, but unfortunately I was under a tarp when I went to face them and did not know the route back, so I may have been lost for a day," Zangief said with a shrug and another laugh before he reached down and busted open another crate with his hands, lifting numerous love potions into the air. "Now come and eat my friends, for there is plenty for all!"
"Hold on a moment," Insectum butted in as the crowd let out a loud cheer at Zangief's words. "You went into the wasteland and battled a hoard of bandits all to bring back food for the creatures that not only imprisoned you, but waned to use you as a bartering chip and threatened to eat you? Why?"
"Because we are friends, you and I!" Zangief laughed as he hefted two more crates onto his arms, cracking them open with a flex of his biceps much to the amazement of the crowd. He continued to distribute the potions to all who asked while Insectum tried to make sense of his words. "And friends help each other!" Zangief finished as he tossed two more bottles to the royalty.
"When did we become friends?" Insectum asked after wolfing down her bottle.
"When you gave me food back in the castle! Now I return the favor comrade! Drink up!" Insectum and Chrysalis both looked at him with utter disbelief in their eyes, his words still not entirely registering with them.
"We chain him up, shoot at him, threaten to eat him and he forgets all of that and fights against bandits to feed us all because you let him have some chicken?" Chrysalis asked her daughter with no emotion in her voice, Insectum slowly nodding her head in reply. "He is beyond an idiot. He has to be the dumbest creature I have ever encountered."
Insectum would have agreed, but then she saw two small changelings that were only skin and bone underneath their exoskeletons come up to the Red Cyclone for food. And to her surprise, she saw the hearty smile on Zangief's face be replaced by a smaller, but far more caring one as he reached down and tore open another crate that he placed before them, telling them that it was all theirs. And while she looked at the scene, her own soft smile spread on her face as she thought back to what he had said about children.
"Maybe he is an idiot mother. But I have a feeling he uses his heart more than his brains."
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief was all the hive was talking about after he had brought back a cart filled to the brim with food and none of the changelings could think ill of him, except for Chrysalis who firmly believed that he was the dumbest being under the sun. But even she couldn't deny for that the first time in years morale was higher than it had been and she knew that she had to take advantage of the situation before things got worse again.
'And fortunately for me, it seems that the oaf is inclined to help do whatever little thing we ask for, if we put a little spin on it,' Chrysalis chuckled to herself as she sat on her throne, awaiting the Russian to enter through the doors. 'But while I wait might as well look for something that I can have him do for me. Let's see,' Chrysalis mused as she grabbed the checklist that Insectum made for her that rested besides her throne.
'Hmm, with his might I could trick him into helping us repair some of the buildings that have fallen into disrepair across the town. That actually doesn't seem like too bad an idea,' Chrysalis considered as she took a swing from the vial that rested on the table next to her. 'Maybe I should make him fight one of the wilderbeasts that plague us so. Would be fun to watch...no chrysalis, my changelings come before my own amusement.' her thoughts were cut off as the doors swung open and Zangief lumbered inside, a smile on his face as Insectum trailed behind him.
"Greetings, Queen Chrysalis. I heard that you wished to have words with me?" Zangief asked as he crossed his arms.
"Indeed I did Zangief. I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you when you first got here. I realize now how wrong of me it was," Chrysalis half sobbed with a tear in her eye. Both Zangief and Insectum looked at Chrysalis at disbelief, neither one believing the words that were coming out of her mouth. "I was only so cruel because I was so worried about my changelings starving."
"What?" Insectum and Zangief both asked at the same time as Chrysalis wiped a tear away from her eye, both of them put off by the display.
"However, I am afraid that there is still so much wrong with the changeling empire. The buildings are in disrepair and are constantly falling down around us," Chrysalis sadly said as she held a hoof to her head and leaned back, sighing sadly. "If only we had somepony who could help us in our hour of need."
"Is it truly as bad as she says" Zangief asked Insectum, who gave him a slow nod while never taking her narrowed eyes off of her mother. Zangief lowered his chin onto his chest for a moment before he looked up with fire in his eyes. "Very well then! I shall go find someone who can help you rebuild your empire!" he yelled before turning towards the door.
"I was talking about you, moron!" Chrysalis screamed at him before she caught herself and quickly became pitiable again. "I mean, you are just so strong and powerful that I am certain that you would be able to repair all of the buildings with little to no effort. Unless you believe them to be too much for you to handle?" Chrysalis was smiling on the inside when she saw the fire burn in Zangief's eyes at her words and she had to turn her head so he didn't see her snicker when he laughed.
"You believe that something as trivial as lifting heavy objects or holding up buildings in a challenge to the mighty Red Cyclone?!" Zangief laughed with defiance in his voice as his fiery eyes glared defiantly at Chrysalis. "It will be no effort to me at all! As a matter of fact, I will use it to train myself to become even stronger! Just you watch Chrysalis, I shall show you what Russian might can do!" He lumbered out of the room with fire in his movements, slamming the doors behind him as he left. The moment he was gone Chrysalis fell over out of her throne and began to laugh on the floor, where he daughter looked at her with an eye roll.
"That was far too easy! I can't believe that little performance actually worked!" Chrysalis cackled as she struggled to right herself, having to lean against her throne for support as her body was wracked with laughter. "I mean, I didn't even have to try with that. All I said was "hey, those buildings are stronger are too heavy for you" and he went off to show that they weren't! It's too good!"
"So wait, did you just manipulate him into doing something for us that we should be doing?" Insectum asked with confusion.
"For free, dear daughter, never forget the free part," Chrysalis sighed as she wiped a genuine tear away from her eye as she stood back up. "When you are ruler once I am gone, you will find that there are times when you'll have to trick others into doing things for you for the greater good of the hive. Besides, Zangief clearly showed that he had no objections to the idea and he'll use it as training. See? Everypony's happy."
"I don't know how I feel about this," Insectum muttered before Chrysalis put a hoof around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "I mean, he just went out of his way to retrieve all of that food for us and now we're just going to manipulate him? It just doesn't feel right."
"Second rule for when you become ruler, your morals go out the window," Chrysalis taut as she let her daughter go. "You do what's best for your people, no matter the cost or what you think is right. Now come on, how about we go scare some travelers?" insectum perked up at that and happily hopped onto her mothers back, the two of them flying out the window and off into the sky.
Despite the metal beams trying with all of their weight to remain on the ground, the mighty might of Zangief was far too great for them and with relative ease he hoisted the twin beams onto both of his shoulders. He let out a mighty chuckle as the changelings that worked around him gazed upon his show of strength before impressing them further by tossing the two beams into the air and catching them with his palms.
"Please, please. No need to applause for something so easy," Zangief asked when the changelings began to applaud for his performance. "All I ask is that one of you tell me where I need to place these. I can hold them up all day but that does not mean that I want to!"
"We need them over here. This building isn't doing too well." Zangief walked over to the spot the changeling had pointed to, holding the beams in place as the changeling used his magic to weld the beams into place. "Thanks so much for doing this. It's making the work a lot easier."
"I am happy to help comrade. But next time you ask for my help pick something that is actually a challenge!" He began to flex as he said this, getting the changelings around him to laugh while a few whistled for fun. Zangief bent down to pick up the next support beams when he noticed a small changeling with what he assumed was it's mother next to it. "Greetings little one. How may I help you?" Zangief asked as he shouldered the twin beams. The changeling nervously looked at the street, but the mother came forward to speak for him.
"My son just wanted to thank you for what you did the other day, stopping the bandits and bringing back the food they were trying to steal," she began as she nudged her son, but gratitude flashed in her eyes as well. "Very few of us have actually had a decent meals in months, so it meant the world to us...what you did. Thank you." Zangief balanced the beams on his shoulders as he rubbed the back of his head with a smile, some of the changelings that were working beginning to applaud for him as well.
"Please, I already said that you do not need to thank me for what I did...alright, if you wish to cheer for me then I won't object," Zangief laughed as he began to lift the beams of metal over his head again, gaining more cheers. The little changeling nudged his massive, red boot and Zangief stopped showing off his muscles so that he could bend down to (sort of) be on the same level as the little one, even though he still toward over him. "Yes little one, you wished to say something to me?"
"I...I just wanted...to say that you're my hero, along with the queen," he stammered out before he backed away and nervously hid behind his mother. Zangief allowed his face to take on a warm smile at the little changelings words, for they meant more to him than any of the cheering or praising. Before he could reply a scream could be heard and all heads turned towards the cry to see a changeling flying towards them at a speed Zangief had not seen them reach. The changeling collapsed to the ground and the others began to crowd around her, one of them helping her back to her hooves.
"Whoa there, what's the matter? You came flying at us like a bat out of hell," the one changeling helping her up said as he let the tired changeling rest upon his shoulder.
"In the wasteland...attacked from out of nowhere...wilderbeast...took my son," she panted out in between breaths. Her words struck the other changelings silent and not one of them made a sound. "Need...to talk to Queen Chrysalis...must get him back..."
"There's no point," Zangief heard one of the changelings say from the crowd, the giant turning his head towards the one who had spoken with a frown. "You know that once a wilderbeast takes a changeling back to it's nest that they're never heard from again. I am so sorry for your loss, but the queen won't be able to help you." The suffering changeling collapsed to the ground as she began to sob, all of the other changelings around her trying to comfort her as best they could. All except for Zangief, who stood rooted in the ground with a look of fire in his eyes. He turned his head slightly to see the young male that had just called him his hero looking up at him with expecting eyes, causing Zangief to give him a smile before walking forward.
"Do you know where these cowardly beasts would have taken your child?" he asked the mother, gaining him a huge gasp from the crowd as all eyes turned towards him. The crying changeling looked up at him with confusion in her tear stained eyes, but also buried beneath the tears was the glimmer of hope.
"Hold on Zangief, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into," the changeling that had advised her from leaving spoke up while stepping forward. "Defeating a group of rogue changelings is a great feat, but there is no way even you could defeat a wilderbeast. They are vicious monsters that can absorb magic through their skin and are strong enough to take down ten changelings. You wouldn't stand a-" The changeling stopped talking as Zangief threw his head back and laughed so loudly that his joy drowned out the changeling's words.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, but what you just said was so funny that I could not help but laugh!" Zangief boldly said as he placed his fists on his hips. "You say that it absorbs magic, but I do not use magic. You also say that it is as strong as ten changelings? I defeated fifteen. This monster may be fierce, but it will find out what happens when you try to wrestle with a cyclone! Mother who has lost her child, show me the way!"
The mother shakily rose to her hooves with the fires of hope burning in her eyes once again as she looked up at the Russian, nodding slightly before taking to the sky and flying out of the hive, Zangief chasing after her with one last wave to the changelings. But as he turned and ran towards the exit with the mother, he could hear the small voice of a changeling chanting his name and he knew then that he would not fail.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
With narrowed eyes Zangief slowly lowered himself deeper and deeper into the ever darkening tunnel, struggling to keep himself from slipping as he carefully placed one foot in front of the other. The tunnel smelled of foulness and death, keeping Zangief even more on his toes that he normally was. What also didn't help his nerves was that the tunnel was barely large enough for him to fit into, let alone fight in.
'But it makes sense that such a cowardly creature that would steal children is hiding in a place that will not allow for fair fight,' Zangief growled inside his mind as his rage kept him poised and ready in case the coward decided to attack him from behind. 'But if it does so it will find that not even the stone walls of a cave can contain me. My greatest fear is for the children that it has taken, for I hope I am not too late!'
His slow march continued for what felt like hours until he saw what he had been waiting for the entire time. He saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Moving forward as fast as he could in the confined space Zangief took on his wrestlers mentality as he prepared for the battle that was to come. As he reached the end of the tunnel he found that it led into a much large cave than what the entrance had been, allowing him to snarl as his eyes grew accustom to the red light of the fire.
He first spotted a number of small changelings kept in a cage in a corner of the cave, where none of them dared to make a sound. in the center of the cave was where the light source came from as a large fire roared in the center of the room, illuminating a large pot that rested on top of it. But where Zangief's eyes truly narrowed was when he saw his foe stirring the pot.
It was a white beast that was somewhat smaller than him, but still large enough for him to not take it lightly. It had white skin with greenish blots that formed a pattern on it's back, along with green claws and fangs. But that was all he was allowed to take in for the creature began to move towards the changelings in the cave and Zangief knew it was time to start the match.
"Hello there," Zangief snarled as he leapt down from the tunnel above and slammed his boots into the ground, causing both the creature and the changelings in the cage to jump at the sight of him. The wilderbeast narrowed it's eyes and roared at him once it had recovered from the shock of seeing him, but Zangief simply laughed at it's attempts to be threatening. "You have something's that belong to the mothers of the wasteland. I am here to take them back...by force, I hope."
The wilderbeast let out another screech as it dropped the stick it was stirring a stew with and lunged towards Zangief, throwing itself into the air with claws outstretched to shred him into pieces. But to it's shock Zangief reach up and grabbed the creature out of the air, holding it above his head before slamming it into the ground.
"Very well then! Let us fight!" he yelled as he lumbered towards the creature, which had gotten back to it's claws and re-launched itself towards him. Zangief turned his body to the side to throw out his tree trunk like legs and kicked the creature out of the air, sending it sprawling into the dirt. The Russian then reached down and grabbed the creature by the legs, spinning it around before hurling it through the air and introducing it's face to a wall.
"Come now beast, surely you can do better?" Zangief taunted as he lumbered towards the creature, which was forcing itself back to it's claws. A massive hand grabbed hold of it's head and lifted the three hundred pound creature up, where it was held in the air with one arm. Zangief slammed the creature face first into the ground before leaping into the air above it and delivering a splash that crushed the wilderbeast with all of his weight, causing it to gurgle in pain as his weight crumbled it's will to fight.
In an act of desperation the creature spun around and slashed at Zangief, the sharp claws cutting into his chest. Zangief cried out more in surprise than he actually did pain as he backed away, allowing the creature to scurry up the wall and into the darkness overhead.
"Come out you coward! You are the one who started this fight, are you going to run away after only being crushed a few times?" Zangief taunted into the dark ceiling as he looked around, the flickering flames from the fire unable to illuminate enough of the room for him to see.
"Grrr!" Zangief growled as he felt the wilderbeast land on his back and dig it's claws into him, but the might wall of muscle that made up his back did not allow the claws to penetrate too deep, allowing Zangief the chance to counter attack. Zangief reached over his head and grabbed hold of the wilderbeasts chest with both hands before with a roar he flipped it head over heels and into the dirt before him. It sprung to it's feet and turned around to face him, but the Red Cyclone had already moved in for the kill.
"TOO LATE!" Zangief roared as he slipped both arms around it's waist and slid around behind it, leaping up with his powerful leg muscles and taking the both of them into the air. Zangief leaned back quickly as they began to descend and drove the creature head first into the ground. He followed up the suplex by rolling both him and the wilderbeast back to their feet before leaping even higher into the air, leaning back once again as they reached the zenith of the jump. The wilderbeast let out one last scream of defiance before the two of them came crashing back to terra firma, Zangief using the momentum of the leap to drive the wilderbeast skull first into the ground.
"And that is the match!" Zangief cried out in victory as he rose back to his feet and held both of his arms in the air, planting a foot on the unmoving creature beneath him. He let out a loud laugh before picking up the body of the wilderbeast and walking over to the cage that held the children. "Do not worry children, I was sent here by your families to make sure that you are safe. Now let us get you out of there."
Zangief tried to pry the bars open, but when he found that the metal bars defied his might he lifted the body of the wilderbeast and slammed it into the lock on the cage, shattering both it and the part of the creature that he had struck the lock with. The doors to the cage swung open and the changeling children all began to slowly come out, nervous looks on their faces as they looked up at the monster of a man who has rescued them.
"Do not worry children, I mean you no harm! I am Zangief, the greatest wrestler in the world and slayer of foul creatures that would harm children!" he said with a laugh in hopes to comfort them, throwing the body of the monster that had held them in captivity across the room. He saw them perk up a bit at the display, and they looked at him again with more trusting eyes. "Now what do you say we get out of here?"
The children all nodded and he began to lead them back to where he had entered from, taking a log from the fire and using it as a torch to light the way. But right as they reached the spot where he had jumped down from a loud shriek could be heard coming from one of the side tunnels. The changelings huddled around his legs as he let out a scoff.
"It seems that the coward had a friend. I shall deal with him," Zangief confidently said as he stepped forward, but then the roar was matched with another roar and then another, until all that could be heard was the sounds of roaring. "Oh no," Zangief whispered as wilderbeasts then began to crawl out of every tunnel except for the one behind them, Zangief counting at least twenty of them in total as they jumped down from the tunnels and slowly began to slink towards him, rage flashing in their eyes.
"Mister? What do we do now?" one of the fearful changeling children asked him. Zangief looked down at the child before back to the army of the wilderbeast, rage filling up his body as he handed the torch to one of the changelings before he began to march forward.
"You children can fly? Then fly up that tunnel and flee for the exit," Zangief instructed before taking up a wrestling stance in front of the army of wilderbeasts. ''I am going to unleash a cyclone upon these monster!"
"HOOORIIIAAAAHHH!" Zangief roared as he flung one of the wilderbeasts over his head, slamming the monster into the ceiling. The creature let out a scream as it collided with the rocks on the ceiling before crashing back down onto the mighty muscles of Zangief, breaking it once again. Zangief tore the monster off of his shoulders and threw it into another one of the wilderbeast, knocking it over. "I will take all of you on! Give me your best-!"
The wilderbeast never let him finish his words as three of them jumped him all at once, one tackling his massive legs while another dug it's teeth into his arms. The final one slammed it's skull into Zangief's face, but Zangief's skull was far too thick for the wilderbeast to injure. Zangief retaliated with a headbutt if his own and sent the monster sprawling, giving him a moment to breath before three more wilderbeasts tackled him again. Zangief nearly collapsed beneath the sheer weight of the multiple monsters, but his body refused to fall without a fight.
"LARIAT!" The wilderbeasts were blown off of Zangeif's body as his spun around with both of his arms outstretched, catching the ones that had been hurled into the air with his bulging biceps, nearly taking their heads off as his arms crushed their puny skulls. "You are all too puny to try and crush me! You will need more numbers to even stand a chance!" Zangief regretted his words instantly as even more wilderbeasts began to crawl out from the tunnels above him, now numbering the wilderbeasts in the thirties. Zangief cursed his own mouth before letting out a defiant growl as he stretched his muscles in preparation.
"Send as many as you want. You will not get past me." All of the wilderbeasts let out a roar as they all lunged towards him at once, but Zangief roared in return as he charged fearlessly into the hoard. He punched one in the jaw and drove it to the ground, but two more wilderbeasts took it's place and drove their nails into his chest.
"Not today!" Zangief roared as he slapped his hands on the backs of two wilderbeasts, doubling them over and allowing him to wrap hands that could overpower bears around their midsections. And despite all of the wilderbeasts clawing and hanging onto him, Zangief still channeled the power through his Russian trained legs to leap into the air, allowing him to powerbomb the two wilderbeast unfortunate enough to be his victims. But the moment he put them down for the count he was rushed and overwhelmed again. Using their numbers, the wilderbeasts did the unthinkable when they lifted the Russian champion into the air.
"Put me down and face me!" Zangief yelled before he was hurled through the air and into the walls of the cave, slightly dazing him as he rose back up to his feet. But when he could see through his blurry eyes again he was greeted the sight of the monsters climbing into the tunnels where the children had escaped. "No! You will never harm another one of them again!" Zangief declared as he took to the skies, outstretching his arms and legs as he splashed onto the hoard of wilderbeasts, crushing three of them with his girth.
'I am too late,' he worried as he saw one more wilderbeast slip past him and into the tunnel while the others blocked his path, telling him that he would have to fight through all of them to get to the others. 'I am weakened by the multiple blows and cuts and I feel my blood leaving me every second. But that will not stop me! For I have not even tried yet!' And despite the fact that twenty five wilderbeasts rushed towards him with fang glistening and claws gleaming, only a smile crossed Zangief's face as he threw his arms to the side and yelled,
"For mother Russia! Ultimate-!" His words were cut off as a massive explosion of fire erupted from the tunnel that led back up to the surface, hurling the burning bodies of the three wilderbeasts that had managed to sneak past him onto the cave floor. All eyes turned towards the tunnel as the queen of the changelings burst into the cave, her eyes immediately locking onto the massive Russian with rage deep in her pupils.
"You are beyond stupid!" she screamed as she flew down and stuck her face right in his, allowing him to see the wrath that burned in her eyes. "What were you thinking just strolling into the den of the monsters that kill changelings for fun?! Don't answer that, because I know the answer! You weren't!"
"I was thinking that they had kidnapped children and that they needed to be taught a lesson!" Zangief roared in his defense before his eyes caught a flash of movement behind Chrysalis. He grabbed her and swung her out of the way of the attack, before bring her back around and using her to bat the wilderbeast back into it's brethren. "That does not matter now! We must stop them here and now!"
"Ugh...I'll...kill you for that," Chyrsalis wheezed as she staggered back up to her hooves, putting her war face on as she and Zangief prepared to fight the entire hoard. "This is a pointless fight, they'll quickly overwhelm us. I'm going to distract them and then we'll both run for the exit."
"Not happening! I do not run!" Zangief protested. Instead of listening to his protest Chrysalis cast her magic into the ground to create a wave of fire that caused the wilderbeasts to leap back in surprise and horror, giving her and Zangief a chance to escape.
"Then enjoy your own medicine!" she yelled as she picked him up with her magic and hurled all three hundred and fifty pounds of him threw the air and towards the tunnel exit. Her aim as a little off so instead of flying into the tunnel Zangief instead introduced his face to the wall with a loud crunch. "Oops, seems I missed. Now let's get out of here!" she yelled as she flew into the tunnel, grabbing Zangief with her magic as she passed by him and dragging him along.
The fire died down as she flew and the infuriated wilderbeasts shrieked in rage as they lunged into the tunnels after the two. Chrysalis reached the exit first and flew out into the wastelands burning sun, dropping Zangief onto his face as she turned towards the entrance, a smirk on her face as she heard the wilderbeast chasing her.
"Okay you monsters, you want something to eat?" she asked as she levitated five barrels that were all marked "explosive" on them. "Then I hope you choke on these!" She hurled the barrels into the tunnel entrance before following them up with a fireball spell, throwing up a shield around herself as the barrels detonated. Zangief had to cover his ears to avoid the deafening explosion from destroying his eardrums, but the explosions did their job and collapsed the tunnel on top of the wilderbeasts.
"That was far too loud! How would I dance the Cossack if I could not hear the music?" he yelled at her, barely able to hear his own voice.
"WHAT?" Chrysalis yelled in return, not having heard a word he said...or anything else. The two began to yell at each other in such loud voices that neither of them were aware of the rocks that were slightly shifting. In a burst of speed and power a wilderbeast broke out from under his stony prison and lunged towards Chyrsalis, aiming right for her throat.
"Oh no you don't!" Zangief yelled as he kicked his leg past Chrysalis stunned face, knocking the creature out of the air. Zangief then dashed towards it before it could recover and wrapped his arms around his midsection. Then, against all the laws of physics, he used all the power in his legs to propel both him and the monster into the air.
Chrysalis watched with disbelieving eyes as Zangief began to spin rapidly through the air while keeping a death grip on the wilderbeasts midsection, almost as if he had been caught in a tornado or a cyclone. Then he began to descend with the creatures head tucked firmly between his might thighs, telling it there was no escape from it's doom. She continued to gaze on at the spectacle with amazement until she realized where they were going to land, giving her barely enough time to back away right before Zangief slammed the creature into the ground head first in a pile driver position. The ground cracked beneath the force of the mighty impact and air was blasted away from the sheer power, ending the fight then and there.
"HAHAHA! Now you know the true might of Zangief!" Zangief laughed with his hands on his hips as the creature lay motionless at his feet. "You and your friends were lucky that I was going so easy on you or you all would be taken for a spin! But I am a nice guy like that." He let out another hearty laugh while Chrysalis tried to process what she had just seen. She shook her head and decided that it was just a Zangief thing before she used her magic to grab him by the ear and yank him towards her. "OW! Why are you attacking my ears again?"
"We are going to go back to the hive and you are going to come quietly. Or father help me I will THROW you into the depths of hell myself!" she yelled at him before releasing his ear and spinning around back towards the hive.
"Are the children alright?" he asked once he regained feeling in his ear. Chrysalis stopped at his words and looked down for a moment, before looking back at Zangief with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
"Yes, they are all safe...thank you." Her face then hardened like stone once again and she walked off, while Zangief continued to grumble about his ear.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"I still do not see why I was punished for throwing the wilderbeasts into the ground," Zangief grumbled to Insectum once Chrysalis had dismissed the two of them from her throne room, having given Zangief the third degree for going out on his own and waging a one man war against all of the wilderbeasts. "Things like this never happened back in the motherland! In fact, I was cheered on by children whenever I wrestled bears or men who threw fireballs or whatever Blanka is supposed to be. But it seems here my talents go wasted.
"You really did a good thing, even if my mom's too mad at you to say it," Insectum replied with a small smile. "It's too bad that you didn't get to see the parents faces, they were so happy to see their children again. I think it's the first time we've had that much love in the hive since I was born. Although a lot of those changeling children now idolize you completely."
"Then I will have to work even harder so I do not let them down!" Zangief laughed, all of his anger towards Chrysalis vanishing in an instant. Insectum rolled her eyes at how quick he got over his rage, but she did let out a small giggle when he accidently knocked over a suit of armor when he was flexing.
"And don't be too hard on mom, she's been working under a lot of stress lately with the bandits attacking all of our potion supplies and the wilderbeasts taking children and killing changelings. But maybe she'll lighten up more now that the wilderbeast are out of the way for now."
"Why are there changelings attacking changelings?" Zangief asked as he remembered the bandits who he had crushed with his muscles. "Shouldn't you all be working together to survive since you must fight against such beast without vodka or mother Russia to aid you?"
"General Tenna," Insectum muttered with hatred in her voice, the tone getting Zangief to raise both his eyebrows in surprise as he had never heard her talk like that before. "He's the one who started this war between the changelings. He believes that my mother has grown weak in her older age and that a younger, more powerful leader is needed to pull the changelings out of the mess we find ourselves in. But in reality he is a power hungry lunatic who would sooner gut you then he would make friends with you!"
"So he wants the throne and control over all changelings?" Zangief asked slowly, Insectum rolling her eyes again.
"Yes, but he won't stop there. He wants absolute control over the world. Before he disbanded from the hive he was the one who urged the idea to attack the ponies capitol, to steal their love by force," Insectum explained, shaking her head in disgust while Zangief wondered how ponies could build a capitol. "After that failed he demanded to attack again while the ponies were weak, but mom didn't want to risk any more lives, especially since I was still an infant at the time. So he left believing her to be weak while my mom has tried to hold our home together as best she could."
"I see...I will throw this changeling when I meet him," Zangief decided with a shake of his head.
"Is throwing things your answer to every foe you fight?"
"Of course not. Some times I crush them, other times I make them submit. And then sometimes I sit down with them and enjoy a meal and dance. It depends on how they feel after they lose."
"Well, here is your room," Insectum said as she pushed open a door for him in the private wing of the castle. "She might be mad at you, but mom still knows the good you've done for us. You can rest here until we figure out what we're going to do with you. There's a robe in there if you feel like wearing anything besides that...article of clothing. Call if you need anything." Insectum turned and took a few steps away as she thought, wondering what they were going to do about Tenna and his inevitable attack.
"Insectum?" Zangief asked. Insectum turned, wondering for a moment if he was going to volunteer to fight Tenna. Instead she found that he was trapped in the now cracked doorway with both of his mighty arms pinned the to side, causing her to sigh as he struggled to escape his predicament.
"...and those are the salts mines. As I already stated (but probably have to say again for you) that is where we send the rebel changelings that try to overthrow the queen and hurt the other members of the hive," Insectum stated for the mass of muscle besides her that was Zangief, the Red Cyclone looking down at her with a nod as he processed what she was saying.
"It is a fitting punishment for those who cannot remain loyal to their mother country," Zangief agreed as the two walked back towards the main city streets. "I must both thank and question you for taking me for a tour around your hive. While I am grateful for the chance to look around, would it not be easier to simply instruct an underling to give me a tour?"
"Two reasons why we didn't do that. First is my mom believes that if you were left unattended for longer than an hour you would bring about the destruction of the hive by yourself," Insectum explained, her words cutting into Zangief's heart. "The second is that I feel that by doing this I can somewhat repay you for saving all of those children that were taken by the wilderbeasts. If it hadn't been for you, many lives would have been lost. Thank you. You did a great deed for our home."
"You do not need to thank me! To see the children that believe in you smiling after a victory is the greatest joy a wrestler can experience," Zangief laughed. "But I was not impressed with these wilderbeasts that I fought. They had no honor nor did they have any wrestling skill whatsoever. They were even worse then the bears I wrestled in the freezing blizzards back in the motherland!"
"Zangief, can I say something?" Insectum asked hesitantly, taking in a deep breath when Zangief nodded. "You're really weird." Zangief held a hand to his wounded heart while Insectum trotted ahead back into the city limits, smiling and waving at the changelings that greeted her.
"Oh, good morning Princess Insectum!" an elderly changeling said as Insectum walked by, Insectum nodding with a smile.
"Princess Insectum! You are just looking lovely today! Your mother must dot on you quite often," a female changeling observed as she walked by with a huge smile, Insectum thanking her before waving at a pair of changelings who called out to her. Zangief watched the display with curious eyes, stroking his beard as the populace continued to cast praises upon the young princess.
"Your people do truly seem to love you, far more than I have seen them love your mother," Zangief pointed out after a pair of young children offered a flower to Insectum, which she received with a warm smile. "How did you earn his affection? Did you crush a rival wrestler in a steel cage match with only your legs?"
"No, it was nothing that...extreme," Insectum began softly as she gently inhaled the scent of the small flower, smiling gently before placing the flower in her light green mane near her ear. "I was...born, I guess." Knowing that Zangief wouldn't catch on, she took in another breath to continue. "For the longest time, the changelings of the hive were afraid that when my mom died, there would be no one to take up the crown and the hive would erupt into anarchy in a battle for the crown. Mom hadn't had an children for nearly forty years, which is still young by changeling standards, until she finally had me, the first child of hers that hadn't died in childbirth."
"All of her other children...I should apologize to her for any of my harsh words," Zangief muttered as he hung his massive head, Insectum appreciating his sudden understanding of her mom's harsh personality.
"So yeah, the hive exploded into joy when I was born, because that meant that they weren't going to have a war for the crown," Insectum said as she looked up at the burning sun overhead, a frown crossing over her previously smiling face. "Of course, that was before Tenna showed up and tried to ripe the changeling people in two."
"And how does it feel to be so famous? To bask in the presence of so many people that love you?" Zangief asked, knowing full well how great it felt.
"It's...scary." Her answer both confirmed his thoughts that changelings were strange and also made him wonder why she would think such a thing. "To have all of those changelings already looking up to me, expecting so many great things out of me even though I'm barely eight right now...I feel like there's this incredible pressure on my shoulders that I'm never going to be able to lift." Zangief looked down at the changeling princess for a moment before he picked her up with two fingers and placed her on his shoulder.
"I do know what you are talking about, but there are other ways to think about the spotlight," Zangief began as changelings around him began to look and laugh at the sight. "You can think of the spotlight as scary, that all of those people in the crowd are cheering for you and that you might let them down. And sometimes you think the best answer is to block out all of the fans and try to go on all by yourself."
"That's generally what I do," Insectum muttered, getting Zangief to smile.
"But then one day you will run up against a foe who is superior to you in every way, be it strength, speed or brains, and you will find yourself unable to beat them. A foe that, for all your strength, you cannot win against. And this is not an 'if it will happen', it is a 'when'. For no matter how good you are, there is always someone better," Zangief told her, causing fear to rise up in her eyes when she looked at him.
"So what do you do then?" she asked with fear in her voice. "What do you do, when you don't have the power to protect your people?" To her surprise Zangief let out a small smile as a group of changeling children ran up to him, all of them asking to ride around on his shoulders. He agreed and knelt down so they could climb up onto his other arm before he began to speak.
"You let in their cheers, their praise and their love for you. You realize that they are placing their faith in you to win, to fell the unstoppable foe before you. And no matter how strong that foe is, if they are only fighting for themselves they cannot win. But for you, you can no longer think about yourself. You must think of the small, crippled boy in the front row who wishes he could be strong like you. You must think of those who have given up on many things, but still hold faith in you. You will let their cheers fuel your muscles, you will let their belief in you seal away your pain. Because now, no longer fighting for yourself, you are fighting for all those who believe in you. And when you fight for others, for those who hope against hope for you to win, you will achieve a power that no force can match. The power to fell any foe! That is what it means to fight for the people."
The words pierced into Insectum like an arrow through her armor, losing herself to thought while Zangief launched the changelings on his biceps into the air by flexing and laughing as they flew back down.
'He's right,' she thought to herself as she looked at the crowd of changelings that had formed around them to watch the spectacle, smiling softly at all of them as they laughed and cheered for Zangief. 'I need to remember that they are my strength, that I fight and will rule for my people. That is where my power will lie!'
"Are you ready, princess?" Zangief asked her, his booming voice snapping her out of her thoughts and she looked at him with confusion.
"Am I ready for what?" she asked in reply, not liking when both Zangief and the crowd of changelings around her began to laugh.
"To see how far the mighty muscles of Zangief can launch you!" Zangief laughed before flexing with all his wrestling ferocity, the force driving his bicep, and in turn Insectum, straight up. She screamed in both fear and amusement as she went sailing, only to catch herself with her wings and fly back down onto Zangief's shoulder.
'You really aren't that bad after all,' she thought as he started to flex again for the crowd, who whistled and cheered for him. 'But you're still an idiot.'
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Buried deep under the ground, far deeper than even the queen of the changelings knew lay a building that was built with only one purpose in mind: war. It was large enough to have multiple rooms that could house hundreds of soldiers and ever corridor and point was designed to allow the defending forces to have the upper hand. There were only three entrances to the underground fortress and they were all heavily guarded by the toughest of changelings.
Inside the fortress hundreds of changelings were hard at work, each of them knowing their task and that they had to carry it out. many of the insects barely spoke with the others as they completed their jobs, for they had almost nothing in common with one another. But the one unifying factor that enabled them to all work together was a hatred, a hatred of a changeling that they did believe deserved to sit upon the throne that should not belong to her. To them they believed that only the strongest changeling should rest upon that throne. And they knew that the changeling they worked for was the strongest.
"And all of the supplies were lost?" Tenna growled as he stared at a picture hanging on the wall, not wanting to fill his vision with the failure that lay beaten on the floor behind him for their foolishness. "We gave you the best medicines when we found you beaten and broken out in the desert because we believed that you had fallen victim to a force far more powerful than you, but now I am being told that you were all defeated by ONE foe?"
"B-but it wasn't a foe that we have ever seen before!" one of the changelings shouted out, trying to defend their defeat. "It was some sort of massive monstrosity, the likes of which I've never seen! It...slapped away our spells like they meant nothing and took us apart while laughing! It was-" Tenna turned and fired a piercing spell into the heart of the changeling, dropping him without another word. He then walked over to the other changeling, his giant frame completely casting the other changeling in his shadow as he shook with fear.
"And what is your excuse for being defeated?" he asked him in a near whisper.
"I have no excuse, we were completely crushed," he said quietly as he hung his head. Tenna let a thin smile cross his lips at those words and he turned and walked over to his desk again.
"You may live. But now you see what I think of those who make up excuses for their failures," he said menacingly as he turned his armored face back towards the changeling, who was still hanging his head. "We are the strongest changelings, the ones who knew that our previous hive was becoming soft. We do not make excuses for our failures, we accept them and then do not let them happen again. Remember that. Now out." The changeling left without another word while another with red markings over it's eyes entered.
"There reports have been confirmed. It's seems that Chrysalis does have some sort of new pet that crushed our forces with ease."
"I care not. They are the strongest, they should know better than to lose," Tenna replied coldly as he turned to face the new changeling. "Have you done what I have asked you to do?" The changeling nodded with a smile, Tenna not returning the gesture as he walked over to his desk and looked down at the large map on the surface of it. "Then we are almost ready."
"Attacking the main hive will be a very risky action. We cannot currently defeat their numbers with our power and we would lose if we tried. We need an ace in the hole," the other changeling advised as he looked down at the map as well with cautious eyes.
"What do you recommend?" Tenna asked the advisor, who thought about it for a moment before another smile crossed his face.
"The changelings of the hive might be weak alone, but they draw their strength from their love of the royal family and how much they seem to care of the people," he said with a laugh as he drew a knife and drove it into a certain room in the castle. "If we wish to break the changelings of the hive, then we must strike them at their most vulnerable point. We must strike here!"
"At the queen?"
"No. At their heart."
"Insectum," Tenna muttered with a small smirk as he caught on to the plan, his mind immediately beginning to think of a way to kill the "princess". "No, killing her in her room would be a waste of a chance," he muttered as his mind shifted into another direction. "if we do so, then the hive might make her into a martyr and then will fight even harder."
"Then what do you believe we should do?"
"We will take her and use her as leverage over the queen," Tenna decided as he briskily walked away from the desk and to where his soldiers awaited their orders. "if we have her precious daughter then we might be able to have her surrender the land to us without hesitation."
"A brilliant idea."
"Yes, but too large a force would be caught or detected before we reached the city. Therefor, only five of us shall sneak into the city and take the princess without Chrysalis ever knowing...actually, having her know might break her all the quicker," Tenna added with a snicker before he regained his professional composure. "But we will have to move soon. My instincts are telling me that a storm is on the way."
"Then you should take your troops and leave now. Storms here tend to come fast and brutalize anypony who is unfortunate to be caught within them," his adviosor added, Tenna nodding as he prepared to move out. "And speaking of taking precautions, do you have an plans to deal with that strange new creature that Chrysalis now has within her castle?"
"Why should I fear such a creature? It was lucky that I sent fools to deal with the securing of previsions instead of personally going," Tenna growled while taking blades off of a weapons rack. "If that creature wishes to fight me, then it shall have it's wish granted. And then I shall kill it."
Five changelings with red markings swiftly crossed the empty wasteland, with only the moon shining brightly down upon them as if it were watching them as they prepared to undertake their task. They made no sound as they moved, for they knew not how many forces would be patrolling at so late a night so they took no chances. All of them were roughly the same size, which made traversing the desert simpler, but their leader was a massive changeling and was forced to change himself into one of his smaller partners so not to be as easily seen.
They knew there path well and made no mistakes as they traversed it, allowing them to reach one of the almost unknown entrances to the hive before the moon was half way through the sky. They all came silently to a stop behind some cragged boulders for cover, the lanterns of two guards alerting them to the presences of possible foes.
Tenna pointed to two of his own soldiers and quickly drew his hoof across his throat before pointing to the guards. The two nodded and vanished into the shadows, while the other changelings watched with hidden smiles for what was to come next. The two guards that stood outside of a small cave looked around before one of them yawned...and then found a blade slice through his soft part of his neck. He dropped with a gurgle, the other guard turning to look in horror before a blade drove itself through his armor and into his heart, felling him as well.
The bodies were dragged out of sight while the other three slipped inside of the hive, some of them snickering silently at how easily it had been to get past the guards, Tenna cursing Chrysalis for failing to train her soldiers properly. He held out a hoof to stop the other changelings as the city came into view, all of them narrowing their eyes as they observed the place they swore they'd only come back to when they conquered it.
There were only a few street lights on, giving a small amount of light to a city that mostly slept in darkness. Tenna took notice of the few guard patrols that walked alone in the empty streets, his mind planning ways around them so not to draw any attention to the group. He quickly figure out a route that would lead them quickly to the castle without any interruptions, allowing a him a moment to smile.
"Stop staring and start moving," Tenna ordered as he slipped into the alleyways, the other changelings matching his movements exactly as they slipped into the alleyways. Their eyes were all completely on alert as they slipped from the alleyway into the streets, making sure to avoid any and all lights in case a random citizen decided to look out their window. Their trek towards the castle road was uneventful and devoid completely of all guards, giving Tenna another chance to smile as the group reached the first castle wall.
"Alright, you two stay here and wait for us to come back out," Tenna ordered as the other two began to work on a way to open up the windows into the castle. "You will help us plan our escape route if we need one. Hopefully the false queen is either asleep or in her private chambers for the rest of the night. But if she isn't, focus on creating a distraction out here so we can escape. Those are your orders."
The two saluted as Tenna took to the skies, joining the other changelings by the now opened window. The three slipped inside quietly and found themselves softly bathed in the candlelight that illuminated the corridor that they now found themselves in. With his knowledge of the castle Tenna quickly led the group through the almost empty hallways, stopping twice to avoid a patrol of loud and very bored guards.
"We are almost there," Tenna instructed his changelings in a near inaudible whisper as they slowly crept down the almost abandoned hallways to the princesses room. As they passed by Chrysalis's room they became as silent as the grave, none of them daring to even breath as they passed by her door. From within they could hear the queen pacing back and forth, grumbling to herself about something that they couldn't make out.
Once her room was passed they picked up the pace again, hardly slowing down until they all came to a stop in front of the princess's door. Tenna looked to his two other changelings and nodded, one of them nodding as they placed a small tool into the doors lock. He fiddled with the lock for a moment before the softest of clicks could be heard and the door slowly swung back, the other changeling blowing out all of the candles that might cast light onto the princess and wake her from her sleep.
Like specters in the night the three slid across the moon lit room, reaching the bed where the princess softly slept with silence and precision. Once they were there, Tenna's horn began to glow as he cast the princess into an ever deeper sleep. Once his spell was finished he picked up Insectum and turned towards the exit silently.
"Insectum, why did I see magical lights coming from your room?" All three of the changelings stopped dead in their tracks as the sounds of the queen's voice followed by the sound of her hoofsteps getting closer reached their ears. They all looked to Tenna, who silently sighed as he returned to his normal size and power. "I swear that if you are up late again practicing magic when you should be sleeping I'm going to-"
Chrysalis never got to finish her words as the door to the room burst open and knocked her to the ground, dazing her for a few seconds while three changelings sped by her. She had just recovered her senses when she felt a spell strike her in the throat, causing her cough twice before realizing that she couldn't speak. But then with horrified eyes she realized who the changeling running away from her was...and who he was carrying upon his back.
With no concern for her life she shot to her hooves and hurled herself after the kidnappers, never once thinking to alert any of the guards of what was happening. Her only thoughts were to get her daughter back and to kill the changeling that dared to put his hooves on her. She found a shot and fired a spell into one of the changelings behind him, killing it in a flash of light. She raced by it's body without a thought as she continued to chase the two. Her horn glowed again and the area in front of those fleeing turned into a solid steel wall.
"What do we do sir?" the changeling next to him asked before a blast of magic turned him into a corpse. Tenna turned to see that Chrysalis was barreling towards him with murder in her eyes, giving him few options. As weak as a queen as she was, he knew she was magically stronger than him, at least at the moment, which meant that he couldn't fight her. He had to escape.
He hurled himself out of the nearest window and quickly took to the skies in hopes to escape, but to his frustration he found a barrier of pure magic seal itself around the castle and himself, preventing him from fleeing. He looked behind him to see Chrysalis still right behind him, giving him little time to think. He spotted the courtyard and descended onto it's stone floor, turning around to see Chrysalis land across the courtyard from him, murder flashing again as she began to seethe.
"Hello, Tenna." If her words were weapons, Tenna knew that she would have killed him with that sentence. He never took his eyes off of her for even a second, but he made sure that Chrysalis couldn't get a clear view of her daughter and he turned his body whenever she tried. "You have taken something very precious from me and on any other day that would be damnation for you, but I'm really in a good mood, so I'll give you this chance. Return Insectum to me without any trouble and I promise your death will be a beheading."
"Your negotiation skills are as effective as your methods for ruling are," Tenna replied with no fear in his voice as he stood up to face the queen, the two of them almost the same size in terms of height. "You may be the ruler of these fools, but we both know that without me the hive will eventually fall apart and die. And I will not allow that to happen."
"Do you honestly think you're going to get out of here alive?" Chrysalis seethed with wrath as she prepared to tear the changeling in front of her limb from limb. "For taking my daughter? For threatening to kill my people? No Tenna, when I get my hoove on you you'll wish I was nice enough to grant you death." She fired a spell with a roar of absolute hatred, Tenna barely having enough time to duck out of the way of the attack that would've taken his head off.
"Do not play this game with me Chrysalis. You cannot win against me," Tenna taunted as he ducked under another spell, firing two quick stun spells in retaliation. Despite both of the spells striking Chrysalis head on the enraged mother's wrath made the effects of the spell useless as her rage was too great to stop with magic.
"This isn't about winning! This is about tearing you into an infinite number of pieces!" she screamed as she caused the ground at his hooves to erupt into spikes, one of them stabbing the changeling in the leg. He growled as he took to the air again, needing to get away from the spikes.
'Dammit all, she's far more powerful in her enraged state than she ever was before,' he mused as he dodged left and right to avoid being killed by her power. 'I do not wish to use my ace in the hole so early, but she is leaving me with little choice. Oh well, it will be fun to see her grovel before me.' He flew back down to the ground while avoiding the spells, a smile on his face that caught Chrysalis off guard.
"This fight is over Chrysalis," he said with an official tone to his voice that made Chrysalis look at him with a smile of disbelief. "You are going to stand down, then you are going to lower the shield that surrounds us. And then I will kill you."
"And why would I do any of that?! I'm not stopping until you-" Her heart stopped as Tenna took the sleeping Insectum off of his back and pointed his horn at her, his smile turning into a massive grin as the fire that was in Chrysalis's eyes was extinguished.
"That's right, you poor excuse for a ruler, if you do not do exactly as I demand, I will slit your daughters throat and let you watch as the only thing you have ever loved in your life dies in front of you," Tenna said as he regained control of his emotions, removing the grin so that he was in complete control.
"You monster..." Chrysalis whispered with fear filled eyes glued to her daughter, unable to even breath in fear that he would kill Insectum. "She is a child. She has done nothing to warrant-"
"That is where you are wrong Chrysalis. She is your daughter and therefor she has inherited the same weakness that you possess," Tenna cut in as he held Insectum slightly tighter, getting the princess to cough slightly in pain. "From the beginning I have planned on wiping out your bloodline, but I was planning on waiting for her to get a bit older. And if you do everything I tell you to, she will get a bit older. Now, lower the shield."
With defeat in her eyes Chrysalis shot a single bolt of magic up into the air, the bold piercing the shield and lowering it until it was nothing. Tenna let out a small chuckle at the crushed look in Chrysalis's eyes. The sounds of talking caught his attention and he looked over the courtyard edge to see that a number of changelings had gathered next to the castle, a smile crossing his face as he saw them.
"What luck for those who have come to see what is going on," he laughed as his horn began to glow with a red light. "They all get to say they were there when Queen Chrysalis died!" He fired a blade of magic from his horn, the blade slicing clean through Chrysalis front leg and severing it from her body. She cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground, tears falling from her eyes as the pain agonized in her mind.
"I cannot tell you how long I have waited for this moment," Tenna said with a loud laugh as Chrysalis gritted her teeth as she struggled to push herself back up, ignoring her bleeding stump as best she could. Tenna unleashed another spell from his horn and Chrysalis screamed again as the magic caught her in the eye, the changeling traitor laughing as Chrysalis held her hoof to it. "To see you on the ground before me, showing just how weak you truly are. But as sad as this is," he began as he pointed his horn at her tear filled eyes, a smile spreading once again. "I must end this. Although a small part of me wishes that it had been more of a fight."
"You wish for a fight?" Tenna had barely registered the words when he felt to massive arms wrap themselves around his midsection and the next thing he knew his body was in the air, but he was looking straight down at the ground. He was driven face first into the stone floor of the courtyard, cracking the exoskeleton around his face as he howled in pain. He fought back to his hooves to see that Insectum had been taken and was now being handed to Chrysalis...by one of the largest creatures that he had seen. The creature then turned back to look at him, a cold rage in it's eyes as it took up a fighting stance.
Tenna eyed the creature before him carefully, not sure what to make of the beast that stood across the courtyard from him. Saying that it was massive was an understatement, as the creature towered over him completely and was far more muscular. But despite the sheer size of the beast, Tenna also noticed that it had scars that covered all of it's muscles, with some scars Tenna wasn't exactly sure how they were possible. But those thoughts had to be cast aside as the creature began to lumber towards him.
"So you must be Chrysalis's new pet that I've heard so much about," Tenna laughed as he began to walk towards the lumbering giant, eager to match his power against the giants. "I have heard stories about you among the weaklings in my group about how you took down fifteen of my changelings with relative ease."
"They fought like cowards and I crushed them as such," Zangief snarled in reply as he brought his hands in front of his face, watching the changeling before him carefully incase of any sudden movements. 'He may be small, but I have fought small before and they have been surprisingly strong. And this one has no fear in his eyes unlike the others. This one has the eyes of a warrior!'
"Be...careful Zangief, he's far stronger than he lets on," Chrysalis panted weakly as she used her magic to try and wake her daughter up, ignoring the copious amounts of green blood that she was losing. "His magic is also far stronger than I remember. Be wary of it."
"Heh, his cowardly magic shall not hurt my body! And I shall take care Chrysalis. Take care to crack him like egg." Zangief let out a roar as he lifted both hands over his head and charged at the changeling, who backed away at first in fear at the sight of the monster that was Zangief rushing towards him. But his training overcame his fear and he let his wings buzz with power as they hoisted him into the air. He watched with a smile as Zangief struck down only to find empty air, giving Tenna the chance to attack.
"You're open!" he yelled as he dove down at the Russian wrestler with both forward hooves extended, driving them between the shoulders on Zangief's back. The force of the impact staggered Zangeif for a moment, but to Tenna's shock Zangief spun around and grabbed Tenna with his meaty hands that felt like steel traps, lifting the changeling over his head before slamming him into the ground at the mighty cyclones feet.
"And you are no match for my Russian might," Zangief snarled as he lifted his boot to crush the insect beneath his feet, yet when he stomped down all he felt was stone. His neck muscles all pulled at once to turn Zangief's head back towards the changeling, who was aloft with his wings buzzing rapidly. "How long to you plan to hide in the sky? Come down and face me!"
"You are indeed a strong one," Tenna said in a tone that almost sounded like lust. "Powerful. Quick. Able to take a blow to deliver one. Yes, I shall enjoy fighting you!" His body began to shake as his form began to morph, Tenna leaving behind his insect like body to become something that looked slightly more humanoid, although with more insect like attachments. The new monster slammed into the ground and slowly lifted its six eyes to Zangief, who shook his head once before taking up his fighting stance again.
"Change your appearance all you like. The result of this fight shall be the same." Tenna responded by lunging forward at Zangief, both of his limbs outstretched as he rushed towards the wrestler. Zangief hesitated for a moment before he crouched down and stuck out his tree trunk like leg, timing it perfectly so that Tenna's own feet were knocked out from beneath him, sending him sprawling across the courtyard stone.
Tenna quickly regained his footing and charged Zangief once again, though this time he lunged on all fours to prevent being tripped again. Zangief laughed once before throwing his arms over his head once again and charging the advancing beast. The two collided and Tenna drove his enhanced shoulder into the gut of Zangief, causing the Red Cyclone to skid back a bit. But then Tenna felt two hands slam into his back, practically doubling him over as Zangief wrapped his hands around the changeling's gut and hoisted him onto his shoulders.
"Flying Powerbomb!" Zangief cried out as he leapt into the air with his foe and drove him back first into the ground, causing the changeling to scream as green cracks appeared all along his outer shell from the force of the impact. Zangief leapt into the air and prepared for his flying body attack, but Tenna changed back to his regular size and slipped away, leaving only the ground for Zangief to deliver the splash to, which wasn't fair to the ground because it didn't deserve it.
"Fleeing once again? It seems that cheating is the only way for you to win," Zangief taunted as he rose back to his seven feet of height, turning to see Tenna once again standing across the courtyard from him. But to Zangief's increasing surprise, their was no fear or anger in the changelings eyes. instead, his eyes were filled with child like glee and happiness, which, along with the toothy smile he had, made him far more terrifying that if he had been angry.
"You are almost everything I could ask for in a fighter," Tenna said with a sick chuckle, his smile growing even wider as he laughed and caused Zangief to be wary of his foe for the first time. Then Tenna's horn began to glow with a sick green light, illuminating his eyes to the point where he looked down right menacing. "Sadly it seems that your only flaw is that you cannot use magic. Oh if only you could then you would be perfect, but alas...oh well, I still thank you for giving me a true fight for the first time in so long. And that is all there is left to say. So long."
"Zangief...run!" Chrysalis weakly cried as she threw herself over her sleeping daughter. "That is the piercing spell! If he hits you with that even your muscles will not be able to save you!"
"It is fine Chrysalis. His magic will not save him," Zangief said with sheer defiance as he planted both of his red boots into the cracked stone, opening his arms and smirking at the changeling.
"Brave and stupid to the end! I will miss you Zangief!" Tenna roared before firing his spell towards the human. The spell took on the shape of an arrow as it pierced through the air while sailing towards it's target. Tenna wore a smile of victory, certain that he had won, when the unexpected happened before his eyes.
Zangief smirked at the advancing spell before he turned his body and began to spin, bringing his arm up to his shoulder as he did so. When he completely turned around he then began to swing his hand down, right into the path of the spell. Tenna thought him mad for a moment until his eyes, and Zangief's hand, were both illuminated by the green light that erupted from his palm. The hand burning with green fire connected with the spell...and banished it right out of existence. Tenna's eyes widened with both shock and delight as Zangief lifted his burning hand towards his face, illuminating his eyes in the way Tenna's horn had done for him.
"As I said Chrysalis," Zangief began with victory on his face while Chrysalis looked at the Russian with only disbelief on hers. "His magic will not save him."
Tenna looked on as the burning hand went out with a huge smile upon his face before he let out a laugh and took to the skies again, his laugh filling the air as he hurled himself towards the Red Cyclone with his magic forming an arrow around him. Zangief waited a beat before he hopped back, allowing Tenna to slam to his hooves right in front of Zangief, which was right where Zangief wanted him.
"For mother Russia! Ultimate-!" Zangief's words were cut off as a blinding flash of light that erupted in the courtyard, blinding both him and the queen. In the chaos caused by the sudden illumination two changelings with red marks flew in and grabbed Tenna, both of them flying him into the skies before the other regained their sight. When they all could see again, Zangief let out a roar of frustration when he found his opponent gone. "What a coward! Doesn't even let me deliver the final blow! Hmph," he grumbled as he turned back to look at Chrysalis, who was laying over her daughter and breathing heavily.
"Will you...shut up about your match...and get me to a hospital?" she said with as much anger as she could muster into her voice, but the sheer exhaustion prevented her from sounding menacing. Zangief bent down and gently lifted her into his arms before reaching down for Insectum as well.
"What happened?" the princess asked as she suddenly sat up.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"Oh my Faust oh my Faust oh my Faust!" Insectum hyperventilated as she paced back and forth in front of the black doors to the hospital room where he mother was being operated on, fear burning in her eyes as she awaited any sign that her mother was alright. While she paced all of the other changelings eyes were on Zangief, who was sitting on a chair that was far to small for him. "I cant believe that I slept through all of that! I don't know what I would have done if mom had died while I was fast asleep! Argh, why did I spend the past week staying up past midnight?"
"Are you certain that you do not have any larger chairs? I cannot feel my behind," Zangief asked her, only to be ignored as she continued to talk to herself.
"Oh, I'm going to tear Tenna limb from limb personally the next time he even dares to show his face around me! I hate being the damsel in distress!" she screamed at herself as her wings began to buzz with anger. "And I hate others who dare to hurt my mother for doing the best that she can giving a crappy situation! Ohoho when I get my hooves on him...!"
"Now I think that the chair is stuck to me. A little help?"
"Excuse me, princess?" a doctor said as he opened the door to Chrysalis' room, Insectum racing over to him with such speed that she simply seemed to materialize before the doctor, who yelped at her speed before regaining his professionalism. "The operation is over and we're happy to tell you that the queen is going to make it." Insectum let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed to the floor, tears of joy falling down her face. "However, we couldn't reattach her left leg, so she'll have issues walking around until we can build a replacement. We do not know if we can save her eye yet either."
"I don't care, as long as she's alive," Insectum said as she rose back to her hooves. "Can I go see her?"
"Certainly." The doctor moved aside and let the princess rush into the room, shaking his head with a small smile on his face as he turned to leave, only to come face to face with the massive Zangief, who looked down at him with an embarrassed look.
"Um, can you remove the chair that has fastened itself to my behind?" Zangief asked the doctor, who looked around Zangief to see that the chair he had been sitting on was now in a match with the wrestler and had clamped on a submission of its own.
"Sorry sir, but that was my last operation for the day. Please take a seat and somepony will be with you shortly." The changeling snickered at his own joke as he walked by Zangief and towards the exit, leaving the wrestler little choice but to walk into the room with the chair still fastened to him. He saw Chrysalis lying in bed with her daughter sitting on a stool next to her, Insectum brushing her mothers mane lightly as Chrysalis cracked open an eye to look at Zangief.
"You look...like a winner," she said to him in a weak voice, but he could still hear her snark within the exhaustion. Zangief grunted as he leapt into the air and brought all of his weight down on the chair, crushing it into sawdust beneath his weight. As he got back up he could see a bandaged wrapped around Chrysalis's front left leg at the elbow, reminding him what she had lost. She also had a bandage over her right eye, only allowing one of her eyes to mock him as he walked besides the bed.
"I am glad to see that his horrible injury has not crippled your fighting spirit." Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at his choice of wording, wondering if he had done it on purpose or if he was just that stupid. She then remembered who she was thinking about and she closed her eye with a small chuckle, appreciating the joke that Zangief didn't know that he made.
"Please, I've been running this nation for years. Getting attacked by a psycho is nothing to me," she said as she turned to look at her daughter with a smile, reaching out to brush her mane before realizing that she was missing that arm. Chrysalis sighed as she let her stump fall back to the bed before looking at Zangief without the fire in her eye. "I guess this time I have to thank you out loud. You...did more than save me, you saved my daughter as well and stopped a crazed changeling from ending our bloodline. I owe you."
"Hahaha! If all your foes are all so easy to dispose of then your hive will have no enemies by the end of the week!" he bragged with a smile as he towered over the two, Chrysalis rolling her eyes while Insectum looked up at Zangief with admiration in hers for the wrestler.
"You know, a lot of changelings were present at the time of the battle and they all know what you did," Insectum began, turning both Zangief and her mother's attention to her. "And with the rumors flying around it seems that nearly everypony in the hive knows that you fought of Tenna. They all want to repay you somehow." Zangief placed his fist under his chin as he thought about how they could repay him before his gaze strayed to the exhausted Chrysalis and her worried daughter, a smile crossing his face as he thought of the perfect answer.
"Then we shall have a partiya!" he exclaimed with a laugh while the changelings looked at him with confusion. "We shall throw a massive party for all of the changelings to celebrate the defeat of their great foe! There will be drinking, music and of course...DANCING!" He began to hum a tune to himself while Chrysalis grabbed her pillow and covered her face with it, her daughter laughing as she patted her mother on the shoulder.
"Come on mom, you could use a break and a party sounds great right about now," Insectum suggested. Chrysalis took the pillow off of her face and looked at her daughter, her defiance fading in the face of Insectum's smile.
Changelings rushed back and forth through the underground fortress as they grabbed whatever medical supplies were within arms reach as they saw their glorious leader return looking like he had been crushed by an Ursa. Tenna was escorted through the halls to the medical wing of the fortress by the changelings he had left to cause a distraction, but to both their and the shock of all the other changelings despite his cracked exoskeleton and bleeding jaw there was a massive grin on his face, like he was the happiest changeling on the planet.
"General Tenna! Sweet Faust, what in Equestria happened to you on your mission?" his advisor asked him with both shock and amazement in his eyes, never having seen the general broken down into such a state before. The changelings that were escorting him sat him down on a medical bed, where the general began to laugh softly to himself while creeping out the other changelings around him.
"The most glorious of things happened on my mission, Thox," Tenna said with a slight giggle in his voice as he stared up at the ceiling, a fire burning in his eyes the likes of which Thox had never seen in his years of aiding the general.
"Did you finally kill both Chrysalis and her daughter? Have you freed the hive from the weaklings that rule it?" Thox asked with hope in his voice, but Tenna shook his head with smile wide as he reached up towards the ceiling.
"No my assistant, I did no such thing. I was in complete control of the situation, had Insectum in my hoof and Chrysalis on the ground before me writhing in pain...and then he showed up," Tenna said with passion, his eyes blazing with desire in them as he sat up, his body shivering at the remembrance of the fight. "A monster the likes of which I had never fought before. I had no knowledge of the beast so I decided to test it and I found...power. Might. The likes of which I have not seen in pony or changeling, not even myself."
"W-what kind of monster could impress you so?" Thox asked, stupefied at the reaction Tenna was giving after having his shell cracked open and his bones broken in a few places.
"Zangief. It is called Zangief!" Tenna replied with a grin that scared the changelings next to him. "At least seven feet tall, all muscle, no fear or worry in it's eyes when he fought me...I thought that I could overpower him by changing my size to match his, much how I defeat wilderbeasts, but all that did was make it easier for him to break me. All of his movements, calculated...precise! He destroyed a spell of mine, did you know that? Hehe, I fired a piercing spell at him and he slapped it away with the back of his hand!"
Thox and the other changelings looked at each other with complete shock, trying to wrap their minds around how a spell that was designed to go through the toughest armor could be...slapped away. "What kind of magic did the beast posses that it was able to dispose of your spell so easily?" Again Tenna began to chuckle to himself, his eyes seeming to be miles away as he continued to remember the fight.
"He has no magic. No horn, no potions and no spell books. All Zangief had was his muscles and he fighting prowess. And before that kind of power...I was absolutely crushed." Tenna began to laugh to himself crazily again and his advisor began to wonder if his brains had been damaged, but then Tenna shot to his hooves and marched out of the room with his dignity once again. "I want changelings out in the field keeping an eye on Zangief and his movements. Thox, come with me. We are going to go visit the project."
Thox could only nod dumbly in response as he raced after Tenna, who was moving like a changeling that had found his purpose again. Tenna barked out orders to any changeling that was close enough to hear and within minutes he had the base moving twice as fast as it had before. The two then walked towards a pair of stairs that were off limits to any expect for those who were allowed down them, meaning that they were practically empty when Tenna and Thox descended.
"If it is my place, why are you so suddenly obsessed with such a creature?" Thox asked Tenna, who stared ahead like a changeling lost deep in thought. "Shouldn't you be focused more on how to kill Chrysalis and bring your strength to the hive? That is what we are here for, after all. To bring her down." Tenna stayed silent as he continued to walk before eventually turning with a grin.
"Thox, what do I value more than anything else in this world?" he asked.
"That would be power," Thox responded, Tenna nodding his head in agreement.
"Yes, power. Absolute power. The power to crush any who stand before you and to lift up the nations of those who bend their knees to you. And do you know what absolute power is?" he asked Thox, who thought about it for a moment before answering with magic. "No you blind fool. Any pony or changeling can use magic. What the ultimate power is is the power to dominate! The power to make knees bend simply by walking by. Power so that you can crush any foe and make them submit to you! The power so that the people stand behind you because they know it is foolish to believe in another! And only one can have that power, can stand atop that peak! The peak where all are below you and no one is better! That is the power I dream of!"
"Then why the fascination with Zangief? What does he have to do with your goals?"
"Because he is a being similar to the power I wish for! His strength can crush his foes into submission, his skill can defy any who uses magic against him," Tenna raved as the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs, the doors opening before them. "I saw it in his eyes when he crushed me into nothingness, I saw how not only was he strong, but he had no doubt in his mind that he was strong. He is one who is close to that peak of power! He is one worth watching!"
Tenna ceased his speech there as the two of them walked into the large chamber before them, where the brightest and best changelings were hard at work trying to complete Tenna's ultimate testament to his strength. They all stopped what they were doing as Tenna entered, a smile on his face as he began to bark orders.
"I have sent changeling out to watch Zangief, but I want you to monitor his movements, record his skills and capture anything he does," he ordered to some of the scientist, who nodded before sprinting off. "I want the rest of you to scrap the old plan and begin to work on replicating Zangief himself! I have something magic related that I need to go study."
"But sir, you've been working on this project for years! Surely you wouldn't throw away the ultimate body simply because-"
"I am not throwing away the ultimate body, I am throwing away the trash that I used to believe to be the ultimate body," Tenna said with a smile as he turned to exit the room. "But now I have seen that I was wrong the entire time. But that's the best thing about the robotics division. Creating new bodies for them is like casting a simple spell. It just takes time and knowledge."
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief sighed into his water while sitting off to the side of the massive hallway, lost in his isolation as the changelings all around him partied and danced to music that he had never heard. Unable to eat their food and not sure if he should ingest their drinks, Zangief was the picture of sadness at the massive party. He rested his mighty chin in the palm of his hand while his elbow lay on the small table in front of him, taking tiny sips of his water in-between each sigh.
"Wow, if my mom had known that throwing a party would've gotten you to calm down, she would've called Pinkie Pie days ago," Insectum remarked as she sat in a chair across from Zangief, the Russian sighing in sadness to greet her. "Aw come on Zangief, what's the matter? You're usually so...intense, yet here at the party you suggested you seem so down. Is something the matter? Do you miss your home?" she asked with worry in her voice.
"It is nothing, just...I look around and I see happy faces, faces that I have not seen on the changelings in the time I have been here," he began as he waved a massive arm to encompass all the room. "I know that I should be happy for them, it is just...how can they be so happy at a party and not one of them knows how to do the Cossack Dance?" All of Insectum's empathy for Zangief went right out the window at those lines and she gave him a glare of disbelief.
"You, the mighty wrestler who crushes foes, is upset because the changelings here don't know how to do a dance they didn't know existed?" she asked in a bland tone, slamming her face into the table when Zangief nodded with a sigh. "You remained optimistic in the face of fifteen changelings, smiled as you battled your way through thirty wilderbeasts and kept your laugh when fighting the hives greatest foe, yet changelings not knowing a dance depresses you? Mom's right, you're dumb."
"It is just another reminder that your nation does not know of the majesty that is Mother Russia," Zangief said as he looked out across the dancing changelings. Insectum opened her mouth to say something when she saw her mother hobbling over to them, using her wings to help her move forward.
"Saw that you were over here with just my daughter and I wondered if something was up, but just a look at your face confirms that something's the matter with you," Chrysalis said as she grabbed a chair with her magic and pulled it over to them, sitting down while taking a sip from a love potion. "What's the matter? Just realized how stupid you actually are?"
"He's depressed because we don't know the dance of his people," Insectum said with a role of her eyes as Zangief sighed, Chrysalis taking a page out of her daughters book and introducing her face to the table.
"You're really the worst, you know that?" Chrysalis asked with a laugh, but instead of the big, bolstering answers she usually got all Zangief did in reply was sigh. Chrysalis looked at his depressed face for a moment before looking down at her missing leg and then to her daughter, her demeanor softening as she remembered what Zangief did for them. "Look...if it bothers you so much why don't you just go show the changelings how to dance?"
Zangief's face lit up like fireworks and he shot out of the chair faster than either of them thought possible, knocking over the table as he left. He rushed to the changelings that were playing musical instruments and whispered something to them, causing the musicians to look at each other and shrug before they started to play a style of music that sounded odd to the changeling queen and princess.
"Everyone gather round!" he cried out as he captured the center of the room, accidentally knocking away changelings that had been standing there. "I have watched how you party and while it is not bad, I have seen that you do not know how to dance. This is not your fault as you have never heard of Mother Russia, but fortunately for you, I am here to show you!"
The moment he said this he began to dance a dance so odd that all of the changelings couldn't help but stop and stare at the massive man who took up the floor spotlight. He started by running in a quick circle before kicking out his leg and tapping the toe in a certain pattern, his boots making sounds as he did so. He swung his arms wide as he moved his legs back and forth, almost like he was trying to keep his balance on a rocking ship. But just in case the changelings weren't impressed yet, Zangief busted out the ultimate move.
He crossed his arms and dropped down into a crouched position, but to the utter shock of the changelings he began to kick one leg out before reeling it and kicking out the other leg so quickly that his upper body barely moved. He had a huge smile on his face as he did this, watching all of the changelings watch on with disbelief...but others with interest. He then began to dance forward in the same position, getting laughs and gasps of amazement out of the changelings watching.
"Well don't just stand around and watch! I have shown you the basics, now join in the dance!" he yelled out with a laugh as he began to throw his arms to the side while still kicking his legs, the image causing both Chrysalis and Insectum to share a glance of amazement as other changelings tried to join in, trying to time their movements to the music.
"That was nice of you to let him do that," Insectum said to Chrysalis, who continued to look on with a small smile on her face as the laughing Zangief showed the changelings his dance. She then caught herself and quickly took a drink, shrugging off her daughters words.
"Yeah yeah, don't remind me. Now if you'll excuse me daughter, I have an issue to go attend to," she began as she got up, but with a small sigh she saw that Zangief was now walking over to them.
"Look at that! They are all so much happier now and so am I!" he said with a mighty bellow as he laughed, looking down at Chrysalis to see that she still wore a frown upon her face. "What is the matter? Are you upset that you cannot dance?"
"No you dumb gorilla, I'm upset because our food storage is almost empty again," she countered with as much scorn as she could muster, but it barely amounted to any change in her tone.
"But I took the food back from the bandits."
"Yes, but that was only for a week or two at best. Not to mention love potions are like eating fast food for us, they're not healthy all the time," she informed him as she began to walk off, still grumbling to Zangief. "What we need are beings that feel actual love that we can feed off of, like the ponies or zebras. But that's going to take diplomacy and that's not my best suit. Come Insectum."
Zangief frowned as the mother and daughter walked off, turning his bearded face to look back at all of the happy faces, knowing that the smiles would vanish if they were to go hungry again. He then turned his gaze towards some of the changeling children that were trying the Cossack Dance with huge smiles on their faces and when he thought of how those smiles might vanish his mind was made up.
'I will get them the food that they need!' he thought with determination as he began to look around, remembering what Chrysalis had just said about ponies or zebras. He didn't understand why they needed to feed off the love of beasts of burden or zoo animals, but what he did know was that they held the food he needed. All he needed now was to find a way to get to one of them and he knew just who to go to for that. His eyes spied two guards at the end of the hallway he knew well and he marched over to them with a smile on his face.
"Hello my friends!" he yelled as he picked them up and crushed them with his arms again in a hug.
"Oh no, he's back!" one of the guards panicked while the other simply rolled his eyes.
"Shut up and calm down. Zangief just probably wants something," he said with wisdom as he looked up in to the face of the Russian, who smiled as he nodded his head.
"Indeed you are right friend! Tell me, how easily can you sneak me onto a train?"
Two stallions leaned against the train station stop with bored expressions on their faces, each of them staring at the clouds as they each tried to think of a way to pass the time. The one with the yellow mane looked at his reflection in his helmet for the fifth time in a minute, staring dumbly at before sighing and placing it back on his head. The other guard leaned against his spear and slowly began to drift off into sleep, only for the spear to slip and he fell on his face, quickly getting back up and looking around to make sure that nopony had seen him.
"Ugh, this has got to be the most boring job that I've done in my three years on the force," the yellow maned one muttered as he slid down the wall and groaned, looking across the empty train platform with boredom. "Noponies taking a train today since absolutely nothing is going on and the next supply train that we're waiting for doesn't arrive for another. Faust this is boring."
"Tell me about it, I could be at home actually enjoying my day or be overseeing that new sports arena that Celestia had set up," the other groaned as he rubbed his face, checking to see if his nose was bleeding. "But no, we get stuck on train duty, the most boring task in the kingdom this side of cleaning the latrines."
"At least with the latrines there's a sense of adventure. You don't know if you're going to die or not," yellow mane laughed dryly as he remained on the ground, tilting his helmet over his head and preparing to doze off. But then a sound reached their ears that neither of them expected. It was a train whistle. Both of them lifted their bored eyes to see a train approaching the station from down the lines, causing the two ponies to slowly get up and reach for their weapons. The train slid to a stop in the station, confusing the two guards greatly as they saw that there was only the engine and a single car.
"Think it's a trap? Maybe an ambush?" one asked the other as they both approached it with spears drawn.
"Doubtful, it's way too small to be a ambush. Maybe it's an arrival that we weren't informed about?" the other suggested. "Either way, let's see what's inside." The two of them opened up the car door, looking inside to see two large boxes sitting in the center of the car. The two nodded at each other before walking up to the two boxes, both of them placing their spears into the cracks before prying at them with all their might. The sides of the boxes fell to the side to reveal...
"Cakes and party supplies?" they both said at the same time after looking at both their and the other ponies box, which was indeed filled with party supplies and a massive cake.
"But I thought that there was going to be a large train carrying the supplies?" the yellow mane asked. "Maybe the other train cars fell off."
"Hey, be grateful that it's just this. I'm glad that it wasn't a-"
"SURPRISE!" The two never had time to cry out as the cake exploded and sprayed frosting everywhere. The guards leapt back in shock before two frosting covered fists caught them in the jaw, knocking both to them to the ground. The two guards were too dazed and confused about what was happening that they barely registered the massive boot that stepped out of the cake, revealing a monster that had a huge smile on it's face and pink frosting all over the rest of it.
"HAHA! Never let your guard down around the assorted sweets or the next thing you know you'll be flat on your back and unable to move!" Zangief laughed, both at his own might and at the joke he made. "That is why I held my breath the entire time I was in there, so that I would not breath in any sugar!" He climbed out of the train car and thudded onto the platform, holding a hand above his eyes as he looked off into the distance at the castle on at the top of the city.
"It seems that is where the creatures that will be able to help the changelings reside. I must go and convince them to help. Fortunately, no one can say no to my muscles!" he laughed as he took a couple of steps forward, before stopping and looking back at the two guards that he had knocked out. "Hmm, they do look like ponies, just as Chrysalis said. But that cannot be, beast of burden like horses do not eat cake. Beast of burden only eat borscht and drink vodka, like me. I must be mistaken. Now then, onto the castle!"
Zangief then began to lumber into the city on the mountain, not knowing what kind of unstoppable foes he would face, as Chrysalis had said many a times that the place was impossible to take by force, yet the answer he found was not the one that he was expecting. The buildings may have been larger than what he had expected, but the citizens confused him greatly, as all of them looked like rainbow colored ponies. He had just taken his first steps into the big city when he heard a scream of panic. Immediately Zangief looked around for whatever was causing the inhabitants to scream, but no threat met his gaze.
'Why are they screaming? There is no danger here!' Zangief turned to see who had screamed to find that cowering beneath him in his shadow was a blue green pony, who looked up at him with absolute fear in her eyes as she shielded herself with her forehooves. 'Did a pony just scream at me? No, ponies do not scream they whinny. These must only look like ponies and I shall call them as such until I know their true names. I do not wish to be rude.' He lifted his giant leg and stepped over the creature, who managed to make herself even smaller as he did so, and continued his march towards the castle on the hill. As he marched through the streets ponies all around him began to scream and run around, annoying the Russian greatly.
"Why are they all screaming and getting in my way?" Zangief growled in frustration as he picked up one of the ponies that had ran in front of it and dropped it besides him, covering his ears with his hands at all of the screaming that was going on around him. "I am used to fans cheering and screaming for me, but this does not sound anything like that. Ugh, these creatures are bizarre." He had just finished walking through a small shop where a number of fancy ponies had been drinking tea when he came across more armored ponies, all of them carrying spears and giving him glares of rage.
"Halt creature! If you're looking for a fight, then you've found it!" Zangief threw back his head and laughed at the pony's words, the guards all looking at him with shock as he lowered his head with a massive grin on his face.
"So you wish to wrestle then! Good! Let us begin, but know that I shall not go easy on you!" With a yell of comradery and bravery the guards threw themselves at the monstrosity known as Zangief with spears pointed at his head, expecting dark magic or some sort of magical blast. What they were not expecting was for Zangief to leap into the air and crush them all under his pectorals, stopping their charge and crushing them flat.
"Where is your guard? Do you plan to leave yourself open to all my attacks?" Zangief asked one guard as he hurled him into the ground, helping him to take a nap before another guard lunged at Zangief. Zangief spun and kicked him out of the air, turning the pony into a projectile that knocked down nine other guards. "Darn, almost a strike! If I played that game I might have hit all ten of you!" he said with a laugh.
"Fall creature!" another guard yelled as he thrust his spear at Zangief's chest, the Russian barely dodging the blow before backhanding the weapon away from the guard.
"You bring weapons into an honorable wrestling match? I have fought heels with more dignity that you. Away with you!" Zangief picked the guard up over his head as he said this and threw him far over his head, smiling as he watched him sail across the way and land in a fountain. "Maybe that will help him clean up his act! HAHAHA!"
"You...monster!" one of the fallen guards yelled as he forced himself back to his hooves, panting heavily as he held his injured ribs. "You think...that you can just walk into Canterlot...and make a fool out of the royal guard?!"
"Perhaps I can," Zangief said with a smile as he took up his wrestling stance. "Come then brave warrior. Prove to me other wise." The guar roared as he charged straight at Zangief, tackling him in the gut and driving against him with all of his might. To both the surprise and happiness of Zangief, the guard managed to begin pushing him back. "Yes, you fight with courage and conviction. The next time we wrestle, let us focus on your stamina, because it seems you've just run out!" Zangief picked him up on his shoulders as he said this and suplexed him into the streets, knocking the pony into dreamland for a while.
"That was fun my comrades! We must do it again sometime!" Zangief said with a laugh while the guards he was fighting picked themselves out of the dirt, shakily getting back up with none of them daring to attack Zangief again. "Train some more and they maybe we can have a proper match!" he advised them with a wave before continuing his march to the castle, reaching the golden gates that were already open. With a shrug Zangief began to walk towards the castle, wondering how he would talk to those in charge and convince them to help the changelings.
'I should inform them of the children that starve daily and how much suffering they go through on a daily basis,' he mused as he walked, entering the castle and walking through some of it's hallways without paying much attention. 'Only one who is truly evil would refuse the request to help children...and if they do, I'll throw them until they agree! Although I wonder how I will get the food for the changelings, as I have been told they feed off love. How does one even eat love? Or do you drink it? I wonder if it tastes like vodka?'
Zangief was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice the doors to the large hallway he found himself in open and three strange bat pony hybrids walked out in front of him, each of them extending their wings to block the exit that he was walking towards.
"Halt creature! If you want to get to the princesses and their friends then you'll have to go through us!" all three of them shouted at once, causing Zangief to shake his head as their screeching tone snapped him out of his thoughts. Their words confused the Russian, stopping him in his tracks as he pondered what they had told him.
"Princesses? More than one?" he asked in confusion, the bat-ponies sharing a confused look before they all nodded at him. "Why would a nation be ruled by two rulers?" he pondered as he placed his chin in his fingers and looked at the ground. "That does not make any sense. How would they get anything done? The more I learn about this land the more I long for the motherland that is my home, where everything is simple."
"You leave yourself open!" one of the bat-ponies yelled as it lunged at him, fangs extended as it aimed at the back of Zangief's neck. But with the speed of a Russian cyclone Zangief outstretched his arms and spun around quickly, his biceps and triceps slamming into the bat-ponies face and sending it from flying through the air to face planting the wall.
"And you would attack an opponent from behind! Are all of your warriors cowards?!" he roared with disappointment, wishing he could fight better. One of the other bat-ponies began to advance towards him, but the other held out it's hoof to stop them, both rage and pride on it's face as it step forward to meet Zangief.
"Alright creature, you want a real warrior? Take me on," it snarled as it took up a fighting stance, Zangief looking down at it for a moment before a smile broke out on his face.
"Come then, let us see how you fight!" Zangief roared as he charged forward, arms outstretched to grab the bat-pony. The being opened it's wings and took to the skies, landing behind Zangief and kicking him the back of the knee. To it's horror Zangief barely even budged from the strike and instead spun around and grabbed the bat-pony's body, lifting it up before slamming it back into the floor. "You had courage comrade, but not the skills nor muscle to back it up. I applaud your attempt however. Now let us see how your ally fares."
The last of the bat-ponies let out a scream as it charged at Zangief, flying right towards him with reckless abandonment. With a small sigh Zangief caught the missile out of the air with his massive hands and hurled it back the way it came, sending the bat-pony crashing through the door into the throne room, the same door that Zangief walked through a moment later. What he found on the other side surprised him.
There were a multitude of the ponies and each of them was a different color and size and all of them confused Zangief. There was an orange one with a hat and a blue one with a rainbow mane. Another was white and had a horn while the one next to it was yellow and hid under the formers legs. A purple one with horns and wings glared at him (and confused him greatly) while the pink one bounced up and down with a smile on it's face as it observed him.
But the last two that gained his attention were the tallest of the group and even at that statement they were hardly that big compared to him. But they were both regal and radiated power, but Zangief did not fear their power. The shorter of the two was bluish-black and had a moon on her side, while the tallest one was pure white with a sun on her rear. Yet something they both had in common was that they glared at Zangief with both confusion and rage.
"Alright human, you have fought through our guards, entered our home and destroyed our personal protection," the white one said with a calm fury as her horn began to glow. "You clearly wanted to talk to me and my sister, so what do you want?" Zangief's eyes moved up to the crown that he saw on her head and found that he only had one question left.
"Are you the ruler of this land?" Zangief asked the white one, who nodded with slight confusion. "I am Zangief. And I am here to challenge you for your love."
Dead silence filled the throne room of the Canterlot castle, all eyes upon Zangief with sheer disbelief shining in them. Zangief still stood in place, pointing at Celestia with the serious look still on his face, but his eyes quickly darted around as he wondered why they were all so quiet. But despite the dropped jaws that the ponies had, none of their faces could compare to the one Celestia was wearing. She was wearing a look of sheer horror upon hers.
"I'm...I'm sorry I must have heard wrong, can you please repeat what you just said?" she asked in a slight daze, hoping that she had misheard him.
"Certainly! I said that I am Zangief and that I am here to challenge you for your love!" he cried out once again, proudly placing his hands on his hips as he awaited her answer. Celestia had no idea how to respond to a statement like that, but unfortunately for her, her sister was there to give her some "help".
"Wow Celestia, a confession. And by such and...urp...handsome creature," Luna teased as she elbowed Celestia in the side. "He looks perfect for you."
"You shut up right now," she whispered to her sister before clearing her throat , looking at Zangief with as nice a smile as she could muster. "Um, t-thank you for the offer Zangief, but I cannot...return the feelings that you have. But I wouldn't mind talking with you about some other things, so if you would kindly-"
"Feelings? I have no feelings for you," Zangief replied with a look of confusion on his face, Celestia mirroring the look upon hearing his words.
"But, did you not just confess to my sister?" Luna asked with a huge smile, having no idea what was going on but loving every second of it. "You said that you wished to challenge her for her love right?"
"Yes, her love. And yours as well. And all the ponies," he said with a fiery voice. "I will take as much love as I can so I can feed the starving changelings and make sure that they will never have to worry about going hungry again!"
"Wait...you don't want any of us to love you, you just require love to feed...the changelings?" Celestia asked as she put the pieces together as best she could, a sigh of relief escaping her when Zangief nodded his head. "Oh merciful Faust thank you. Well then Zangief, if you are here on behalf of the changelings, then you must know that we are not exactly on speaking terms and that Chrysalis has threatened my kingdom many times. Why should we help her?"
"Because if you are truly kind rulers, then you would not allow children to starve even if they are from another nation. But if you do not care about them, then it is clear that you are evil," Zangief said in a low voice as he took up a fighting stance, courage and power flowing in his eyes. "However, I do not ask that you do this for free. That is why I propose a challenge! I will take on any of our greatest warriors in a match. If I win, the changelings will be fed for as long as they need food."
"That is...interesting," Celestia muttered in reply, still trying to figure out what was happening.
"Yes, but what happens if our warrior wins?" Luna asked with the smile still on her face.
"Then you get me," Zangief replied, causing all eyebrows in the room to go up. "Chrysalis informed me that you have never seen a human before in this land and that I would be worth a lot. That is my deal. If I win the changelings get their food. And if I lose, do with me as you wish." Celestia looked down at Zangief with no idea what to say before waving her wings and motioning for the ponies to circle around her.
"Okay, I have no idea what is going on," she began once the others had formed a tight circle, all of them placing their heads next to each other. "Can somepony tell me how this...human got not only into my throne room but also into Equestria without using the portal in Twilight's castle?"
"Can we even call that thing human?" Twilight asked with a look of both disgust and shock on her face. "I've been to the human world many times and never once did I see any one of them that looked remotely like Zangief. How in the world did he get his muscles to be so big?"
"The dude probably works out, something you should try princess," Dash teased with a smirk as she punched Twilight in the shoulder, Twilight grumbling as she rubbed it. "I like his idea though about the fight though. I've never gotten to fight a human before and if he's willing to then I'm not passing this chance up."
"Humans are not as strong or as durable as us. I am certain that he believes he could win, but you might end up hurting him badly Dash," Celestia countered, not wanting to start a pointless battle.
"Yes sister, but he is here on behalf of the changelings. That means either Chrysalis is controlling his mind or he is good friends with them," Luna pointed out, turning all eyes to her. "We have been waiting for a time to speak with the changelings for a long time and if they are willing to have a one on one fight for stakes so low, we can use this is our chance to work out a treaty with Chrysalis." Celestia took those words to heart and she lowered her head in thought.
"You may be right about that sister, but I still wish to know more before we make a decision," Celestia decided before breaking out of the circle and turning her attention back to Zangief, who had still yet to move from his pose. "Zangief, can you tell me exactly why Chrysalis sent you here to make such a deal? It does not seem like her usual way of doing things." The look of confidence fell off of Zangief's face and he rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, she doesn't...exactly know that I did this," he admitted with a laugh. Before any of the other ponies could say anything a blast of magic tore through the ceiling, the ponies crying out as a dark insect creature flung itself through the recently made hole in the ceiling. She landed in the center of the room and slowly lifted her head, her eyes turning to each pony in turn before the rested on who she was there for.
"Queen Chrysalis," Celestia said as she prepared her magic. "If you are here for my kingdom then-"
"You! Freaking! MORON!" Chrysalis screamed as he picked up a chunk of rock with her magic and hurled it at Zangief. The stone stuck Zangief in the face and immediately his skull that could crack wrestlers shattered the rock. "You truly are the stupidest being on the planet! Not only do you go waltzing off by yourself, which is stupid, you go to Canterlot, the most heavily defended city in all of Equestria and start causing trouble! I swear I am going to kill you and use you as a punching bag!"
"But I came her so I could find out a way to feed your people!" Zangief countered with pride, not believing himself to be in the wrong. "It is clear that you would never make an arrangement with them, so that is why I chall-" Zangief's words were cut of by yelps of pain as Chrysalis grabbed his ear with her magic and began to drag him back to the hole.
"Hell no you're not, you're coming back to the hive right now! Do you know how worried Insectum was?" Once again Celestia was left utterly confused by what was going on, but her confusion was quickly replaced by shock as she looked at the state Queen Chrysalis was in. Her eyes moved from her missing front leg to the eyepatch that covered her face, telling the princess that something was amiss.
"Chrysalis, what happened to you?" Celestia asked.
"My daughter picked up knife throwing. Mind your own business," Chrysalis snarled before yelling at Zangief some more.
"Chrysalis," Celestia said with regal might in her voice, stopping the queen of the changelings and turning both her and Zangief's eyes over to her. "Is what Zangief said true? Are your people truly starving?" Chrysalis gave no verbal answer, but when she lifted another chunk of the ceiling and broke it over Zangief's head Celestia had her answer. "Chrysalis, we may be enemies, but if your people are truly starving like he said they are then I am willing to help you."
"Feh, my nation and I don't take hoofouts," Chrysalis spat back as she looked at Celestia with defiance in her only eye. "If I am going to have your ponies love, then I am going to take it! That is how I do things!" She turned to leave and once again Celestia believed that there nations would remain in the same uneasy state, but then Luna spoke up.
"Then how about we give you the chance to win what your nation needs?" Chrysalis and the ponies turned to look at Luna, who had a smile on her face as she nodded to Zangief. "Before you broke through our ceiling, Zangief had made a very interesting proposal. It was that if he managed to defeat one of our warriors that we would supply your changelings with the love they need. The only issue I had with the wager was what we got if we won. Now as much as Zangief amuses me, I think we can do better. So how about this? If we win, then you sit down and listen to our proposal for peace, with no complaining or arguing."
"And why in the flying heck would I want to do that?" Chrysalis asked with a smirk, releasing Zangief and allowing him to check to see if his ear was still attached. Luna walked over and whispered something to Celestia, who gasped at what her sister said before getting into a heated debate with her. The two whispered to themselves for a few minutes before Celestia caved in and allowed Luna to speak.
"You'll want to agree with us because of this. If Zangief manages to win, then not only will we supply your changelings with the love they need, but we will also allow you to stay within Canterlot and Ponyville to make sure that everything goes just the way you like it," Luna offered. The ponies could see temptation in Chrysalis's eyes, but she wasn't at the point of agreement just yet.
"I would make my decision quickly Chrysalis. How much longer can your changelings go without food?" Celestia asked. Her words were enough to collapse the wall that Chrysalis had built up and with a snarl she agreed.
"Excellent!" Zangief burst in with a huge smile. "Now then, if we are to have this match, we need a ring. No, a stadium! Somewhere where both changelings and...whatever you creatures are can watch the fight of a lifetime!" Celestia and Luna both shared a smile with each other, both of them knowing what the other was thinking.
"We have just the place," Celestia began as she conjured up the image of a massive stadium with her magic. "I have been working on a new stadium in Canterlot in case we are ever chosen for the Equestrian Games, but it could also serve as the arena that Zangief is speaking of. It is large enough to hold all of the ponies in Canterlot and Ponyville, along with any extra, so there would be room for your changelings if they wished to watch."
"It sounds perfect!" Zangief yelled before Chrysalis could complain, throwing back his head and laughing with such joy that despite knowing nothing about him the princesses found themselves smiling as well. "But you pony like creatures had better chose your strongest fighter, for I do not hold back when I fight!"
"That is fine. Neither shall we," Luna replied with a smile before clearing something up. "And we are ponies by the way, just in case Chrysalis has told you anything different." Her words smacked the smile right off of Zangief's face and he looked upon all of them as if he was looking at them for the first time.
"What?!" he screamed with such ferocity that the princesses and the ponies backed away from him with shock. "But...but you cannot be ponies! Ponies are not colored like the rainbow nor do they speak or do magic! Ponies pull carts and eat hay and...are not you. This cannot be true! You must be lying to-" Zangief was silenced as Chrysalis picked up another chunk of rock and slammed it into the back of his head, knocking him to the floor with a grunt.
"You must forgive him, we break cinderblocks with his face. Get up you oaf, we're heading back to the hive," Chrysalis snarled as Zangief rose back to his feet, looking at the ponies now with a smirk on his face.
"Maybe I should change the challenge. After all, fighting such colorful ponies will be as easy as crushing the bears that I wrestle back home!" he said with a loud laugh, not reading the looks on the ponies faces. "There is a thought, do you have any bears that actually know how to wrestle that I can fight instead."
"Shut up Zangief and just get ready to fight them."
"But the are ponies!" Chrysalis picked Zangief up with her magic and shook her head, giving one last glare at the princesses before taking to the sky and leaving through the entrance she had made. The ponies watched until they were out of sight before Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Okay, so I'm totally going to be the one to kick his butt," she said, looking at her friends to see if any of them would argue.
"Very well Rainbow Dash, if you wih you may fight him. Twilight, you are more familiar with humans that anypony else, so please inform Rainbow of what she should and shouldn't do to fight them," Celestia instructed, Twilight nodding with a smile as she grabbed hold of Dash with her magic.
"Alright Dashy, it's time to go study!" she said as she walked out of the room with a smile, holding the frowning Rainbow Dash behind her. "Now the first thing you need to know is that humans break easily, so don't fight with all your might. Second it..." Celestia dismissed the other ponies as well before walking over to her sister, concern in her eyes.
"Are you sure this is the best course of action?" Celestia asked Luna. "What if Chrysalis tries something or Rainbow loses?"
"Chrysalis will not try anything. Her injuries have shown us that something, meaning that she might be more open to our idea," Luna said before looking at her sister with a smirk. "And do you honestly believe that a human like him would really be able to beat Rainbow Dash?"
"True enough sister. Now then, let us prepare for the fight."
"I still cannot believe that you walked right into Canterlot and threatened the princesses to their faces! So what happened after you defeated the night guard?" Insectum asked as she looked up at Zangief with admiration and awe as the wrestler flexed for her and all of the changeling children that surrounded him. Word had quickly spread through the hive about what Zangief had done and all of the changelings wanted to hear about what went down in Canterlot. Chrysalis threatened to blast anypony who tried to talk to her what happened, so all went to Zangief to hear the story.
"I burst into the throne room and spotted the leaders of the ponies! They all glared at me, yet without fear I challenged them to battle so that I could claim their love!" he proudly said with a large grin, enthralling all of the children that sat around him. "I made the demand that I would fight their strongest warrior and when I defeated them I would have their love so that you would all never go hungry again!"
The changelings all began to cheer as his story came to an end, Zangief smiling at all the eyes of admiration that looked up at him. But with his vision he spotted a set of eyes that were not sharing in the merriment, but instead held clouds of doubt and worry. Zangief walked through the crowd of children and stood besides the one who wore doubt.
"What is the matter, child? Do you doubt the words of the great Zangief?" Zangief asked the changeling as he knelt down next to them, noticing how the little one averted their eyes so as not to look into his.
"It's not that I doubt your story, it's just...the ponies beat back Chrysalis and her entire army when they attacked Canterlot, right?" he asked the other changeling children, who nodded as they remembered the story. "So they're just as strong or stronger than all of the changelings. How do you hope to beat their strongest warrior if they could defeat and entire army?"
Zangief could feel not just all of the children's eyes upon him, but also those of the adults that sat in the back of the room to watch their larva as Zangief spoke to them. The child's words had a profound effect on all of the other changelings, as Zangief could now see doubt and fear beginning to form in their eyes as well. If there was one thing he hated more than bears that couldn't wrestle, it was when something made children upset or afraid. He would banish their fears.
"Do you believe in me?" he asked them, causing confusion to spread on their faces as Zangief took on a rare serious face. "Do you believe that I can defeat their greatest warrior?" The children all looked at each other for the longest of times, none of them sure that they did or not. The Insectum spoke out.
"Of course I believe in you! You stopped those bandits, you defeated an entire pack of wilderbeasts and you defeat Tenna, the greatest threat of the hive!" she reminded all of the other changelings with a smile. "There isn't anything Zangief can't do!" Zangief smiled at her words they sparked hope in the others, all of whom were now agreeing with her about how Zangief couldn't lose.
"Then I shall win," he said to them with such certainty in his voice that none of the changelings even teased the thought of him losing. "For when a wrestlers fans believe in him, there is nothing they cannot do! Just you wait, by the end of the fight you will see just how mighty the Red Cyclone is!"
The changeling children all began to cheer for him again, but the celebration was cut short when the queen entered into the room that they were sitting in, her mere presence silencing all talking and laughter. They all bowed to her as she walked by, stopping to rustler her daughters mane before looking up at Zangief.
"We need to talk." Zangief nodded before waving goodbye to the children, all of them climbing over each other to watch him go as he and Insectum left with Chrysalis. "The fight is set for Sunday and I still can't believe I managed to let those fools talk me into allowing you to do this."
"Why not? It will be an easy victory for us!" Zangief said with a laugh but it died immediately when Chrysalis turned to face him with a look that he had never seen on her face before. Chrysalis looked around to make sure that they were the only ones on the street within ear shot before she continued speaking.
"Zangief...for reasons I do not completely understand nearly all of the changelings and their children look up to you, like their hero," Chrysalis began with a snarl. "For some reason they all believe in you."
"Maybe it is because they see how great I am! That is why they believe in me!"
Chrysalis gave him another look as he said this before looking down at Insectum and ordering her back to the castle. She then told Zangief to come with her and she began to walk off, Zangief giving Insectum a look of concern before he followed after her. The two of them walked in silence for a while, eventually taking a road that had fallen into complete disrepair. Zangief wished to ask why the road was in such a condition, but for the first time he saw a look on Chrysalis's face that he couldn't read.
The two eventually reached a small building that was covered in vines, vines that Chrysalis moved to the side so that the pair could enter. Even in the dim light Zangief could see that there was very little in the room, with a simple table in the center of the room with a rusty urn on it.
"What...is in there?" Zangief asked, having to break the silence. When Chrysalis didn't answer he turned to look at her, shocked to see how dead her eyes looked as she gazed upon the urn. She slowly brushed her mane out of her eye as she looked up at the massive wrestler.
"My husband. The last changeling that my people believed in," she said in a deathly whisper that Zangief barely heard. "He was the greatest of us, so strong, kind and a born leader. When the time came for me to decide who my husband would be, there was no competition. All of the changelings looked up to him and for a time the hive was stronger than it had been in the past five hundred years."
"What...happened to him?" Zangief asked quietly, knowing how this story ended but not knowing why it ended that way.
"He failed," Chrysalis said quietly. "The wasteland used to be a beautiful place, filled with life and love. Love that we could feed off of to our hearts content. Then a rogue wizard came and sought to take it all for himself, to steal the beauty of our home. My husband went to battle with him, to stop him from doing so. Every changeling believed that he would with no doubt, because he was the greatest of us. And he failed. And the wasteland has been the way you see it ever since."
"The wizard...killed you husband?" Zangief asked, Chyrsalis nodding in response. "What happened to the wizard?"
"He was wounded after the fight with my husband, so he was in no condition to fight me," Chrysalis said with bitter rage in her voice. "Last I saw of him, the wilderbeasts I threw him to were eating him alive. But it didn't matter. My land was dead as well as my husband was. All I had left was my people and my barely two week old daughter that they didn't know about. And I have been ruling them ever since. They may love me, but they don't believe in me. They never believed in anyone again since that day."
"I...am so sorry," Zangief whispered to her, but then Chrysalis turned to look at him with a hard stare.
"And then you showed up and helped us, defeated all the threats that we had been facing for years in the span of a few days," she reminded him. "And for some reason they started to believe again. I don't know if it's because you're an alien or that you seem like you're invincible, but they're believing in you."
"And you...do not think that they should?" Zangief asked, Chrysalis's cold eyes answering for her.
"My people put all of their faith in someone once before and they were let down," Chrysalis continued. "And now their putting their faith in you, believing that you can defeat the ponies. But you can't. They have the power of friendship on their side, the ultimate magic. Against that kind of power my entire army was defeated with ease. What can a man who thinks himself a cyclone do that an army couldn't? And when you fail in the battle with the ponies, it will be the last time the changelings believe in anyone." Chrysalis turned and left the room as she said this, her emotions getting the better of her. Zangief watched her go with sorrow in his eyes before looking down at the urn that rested on the table before him.
"She will never say it to me, but she believed in you as well," Zangief began as he rested his hand next to the urn. "That is why she cannot allow herself to believe again, because she doesn't want to be reminded of losing you. She...they put their faith in you and it was shattered." Then Zangief tightened his grip and fire flashed in his eyes. "And now I carry the faith that they had in you. And you have my word that I shall fight like you did. I will not let their faith in me be misplaced." Zangief then bowed his head in respect before turning and leaving the room, leaving behind a promise that helped to fill the empty room.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
The air in the stadium was filled with both the energy of the spectators waiting for the fight to begin as well as their voices, as they spoke with each other about the fight and why the changelings were there. The stadium as spilt into two sides, one on which the changelings sat and the other one which the ponies sat, both keeping their eyes on each other. That was not required by the princesses, but it was the way the crowd had decided to sit.
News about the fight had spread like wildfire through both races about the fight and none of them wished to miss what was sure to be the biggest fight in recent years. Celestia had informed the populace of what the conditions were and why no matter who won or lost the results would benefit both nations. Neither side cared about that as the ponies wanted to see the changelings pay, still upset about their invasion. The changelings were there to see the ponies finally lose...hopeful that they would lose this time.
"Quite the turnout, wouldn't you say Chrysalis?" Celestia asked the changeling queen next to her, only getting a sneer in response. "I did not think that so many changelings would come to support your fighter, even though he is unlike anything they had ever seen."
"Faust, you do not shut up," Chrysalis grumbled from the seat that Celestia had brought for her into the rulers booth, Chrysalis surprised that they were willing to let her of all creatures in there. Luna smirked at the response while Celestia shrugged and turned her attention towards Insectum, who was nervously sitting in the chair next to her mother.
"So then Princess Insectum, how are your knife throwing lessons going?" Luna had to stifle a laugh at the look Chrysalis gave Celestia, Celestia not bothering to hid hers as Insectum looked between the two with confusion. "You must know that I jest Chrysalis, I am simply trying to break the ice."
"When is the darn fight starting? There are a lot of things that I need to get done."
"Chrysalis, I have received reports of what has happened in the changeling empire during the last ten years or so and I know that you and your people need help," Celestia began, causing Chrysalis to roll her eyes as she rested her head on her hoof. "Peace between the two nations would be beneficial to both of our people and you know that. All I am asking is that you throw your stubborn pride aside and allow us to help you."
"Please. when Zangief has crushed your pretty Pegasus and shown the power of the changeling people I will not need peace treaties or talks to get what I want," she contested, but there was no conviction in her voice.
"I am just happy to get to try this new stadium out," Luna remarked, Chrysalis snarling again in response.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"Alright Rainbow Dash, let's just go over it one more time to make sure that you understand completely," Twilight said to her friend, who was throwing jabs with her forehooves while warming up for the fight that was to come. "What can you do and what can't you do to Zangief during the fight?"
"Ugh, I get it already Twilight! No rainbooms, no tornados and no lightning. And as long as I don't go too fast I can hit him as hard as I like," Dash replied before busting out a spin kick with a yell. Twilight sighed and figured that she was ready, but as Dash trained she turned to look to where Zangief rested in the locker room. He was standing up completely straight with both arms crossed and eyes closed, having been standing like that for nearly an hour, never moving.
'I wonder if he's been listening the entire time or if he is focusing on the fight?' she asked herself before the Celestia's voice echoed throughout the locker room, asking for the two fighters to enter the arena. Zangief's eyes opened as she said this and he uncrossed his arms so that he could flex them, a smile on his face as he did so. Both him and Dash gave each other a look before they walked down the hallway and into the stadium, where they were both deafened by the cheers.
"Wow...sure are a lot of ponies here," Dash said with a hint of nerves that Zangief picked up on.
"Yes and they are all here to cheer you on! So enjoy the spotlight and wave to the crowd," Zangief advised her as he began to wave, getting boos from the ponies but cheers from the changelings. The two walked into a large, circular arena that was massive, both of them taking up spaces for them to stand that were perfectly distanced from each other.
"Alright everypony, here are the rules for this fight. The first person or pony to score knock out is the winner, I want to be clear on that. No killing each other. Also try not to fight dirty," Luna instructed in her regal voice so that the crowd could hear. "Now then fighters, do you have any words to say to each other before we begin?"
"I am not going to lose to a pretty Pegasus," Zangief said with a smirk as he looked down upon the pegasus in front of him. "I hope you are ready to be broken, because that is the only way this battle will end."
"Please, I've done martial arts nearly all of my life. I'm not going to lose to some fake wrestler," Dash retorted.
"It is not fake, some events are simply more scripted than others!" The two took up their fighting positions after saying this, glaring into each others eyes as they prepared for the fight. The crowd fell into a hush as Luna rose to her hooves, smiling to herself before firing a bolt of magic into the air while yelling,
The crowd roared as that single words was shouted throughout the arena, initiating the fight between the two sides. Dash shot immediately towards Zangief and drove both her rear hooves into his chest, but his mighty pectorals of might barely even budged as she slammed into them. Zangief threw his head back with a laugh as Dash bounced off of him and fell to the ground.
"You call that an attack? I have been attacked by gusts of wind that had a better chance of pushing me over!" he laughed as he began to move his fingers and walk towards Dash, who was still trying to figure out what had just happened. Zangief wrapped a meaty paw around the her body before looking skyward. "Now this is how you attack!" he roared as he hurled her into the air.
"Yeah yeah, I'm just testing to see how hard I can hit you without breaking anything important," Dash replied as she caught herself, flying just out of his reach as she determined how best to attack. "According to Chrysalis though it seems I can hit you as hard as I want in the head without causing any damage."
"By all means, take your best shot," Zangief said with a shrug before a smile crossed his face as Dash landed back on the ground a ways away from him. "But I hope that you are ready for mine." Zangief let out a yell before charging at the Pegasus, both arms raised over his head as he prepared to flying powerbomb. But when he reached her and swung both of his hands down he found her gone. He narrowed his eyes for a second before his arms shot out to the side and he began to spin.
"Not today!" he yelled as he felt his limbs strike something out of the air and when he stopped spinning he found to his delight that apparently he had caught Dash in the face, knocking her across the battlefield. "I just want you to know pony that this fight is nothing personal. But when both sides refuse to come to terms, only through battle can a decision be made. That is why I fight you now."
"Oh trust me, it's not personal yet," Dash growled before her wings shot up and she flew into Zangief's knee like a blur, catching the wrestler off guard and forcing him down to one knee. Dash took that moment to fly around behind his head and drive her shoulder into it, snapping his head down and bouncing it off of the stone floor. "Haha, how does the taste of dirt taste?" she asked with a laugh before her joy left her as Zangief picked himself up, raising back to his feet as he brushed the dust off of his face.
"It does not taste that bad. No worse than the food I have had while here," he taunted in reply with a smirk, not even a scratch on his body from her attacks. Dash barely shook her head as she tried to figure out how he was still standing from that kind of blow while Zangief began to lumber towards her, his eyes watching for any kind of move. Dash yelled as she flung herself at him once again, but this time Zangief was ready for the sudden burst of speed. His massive arms shot out to where she had been looking and he plucked her right out of the air, holding her close to his chest as he began to tighten his grip.
"Gah! Let...me...go!" Dash gasped out as she struggled to escape the bear trap that was Zangief's crushing muscles, Zangief laughing as Dash managed to turn around in his arms, but was still unable to escape.
"What, you do not like how I show my affection? This is how I hug the bears that I wrestle in the motherland!" he laughed as he began to suffocate her in his muscles, Dash struggling to break free of his grasp. In an act of desperation she began to flap her wings as well, wings that were close enough to Zangief's face to slap him right across his mug. Zangief's head was snapped to the side, but the Russians grip did not weaken. Seeing as it was her only option, Dash began to move her wing faster and faster, slapping Zangief's face at incredible speeds. Yet his steel grip never once faltered.
"It seems that this might be the final moments of this match unless Rainbow Dash can break free of Zangief's grotesque arms here and now!" the voice of Luna rang out across the stadium, the changelings in a frenzy while the ponies in the stands were nearly in a dead silence. It almost looked like Zangief would end the fight only a few minutes in before, to the shock of everypony watching, he released Dash and backed away from her. Dash collapsed to the ground, taking in massive breaths as she struggled to clear the dots in her eyes.
"Just...letting me go? Don't...go easy on me," she panted as she turned to look at Zangief, only to see that the wrestlers focus wasn't on her, but instead he was trying to get the blue feathers out of his nose and mouth. He picked them out one at a time, looking at them with disgust before chucking them behind them.
"You fight as if you are small sparrow fighting against the wind. But I know that as much as the sparrow struggles, it cannot escape the cyclone," Zangief said before he did something that Dash had never imaged he would do. Zangief took to the air. Dash's eyes shrunk into her head as her entire body was covered in Zangief's shadow as he hurtled towards her like meteor. Her desire to live in kicked in at the last second and shot away from the point of impact with a burst of speed, leaving Zangief to plant himself face first into the dirt.
"Ohmygosh, I was almost flattened," Dash said as she held a hoof to her heart, which was beating so fast she was certain it was going to punch it's way through her chest. Zangief pushed himself back to his feet, smiling at Dash as she narrowed her eyes at him and retook her fighting stance.
"Come now, you know that you cannot beat me by running away," Zangief reminded her as he stuck his arms out and began to walk towards her, ready for any move. "And the ponies would not have allowed you to fight me if you were not a warrior. Stop holding back and fight me, unless you are afraid?"
Dash widened her eyes at his words before rage overcame her, causing her to narrow her eyes as she snorted. With deliberate motion she pawed the ground with her hoof as she glared into Zangief's smiling face. "You're wrong about me being afraid, because I'm not afraid of anything. But you are right about one thing. I am holding back. And when I'm done, you'll wish that I continued to do so."
"Then show me," Zangief said with another laugh...before he felt a surge of pain in his right side, causing his head to snap down to see that he had been stuck in the side. He wondered when that had happened before a massive gust of wind caught him in the face, forcing Zangief to shield his face with his hands. "W-what was that?"
"You said that I'm a sparrow fighting a cyclone, right?" Dash said from behind him, but when Zangief turned and struck he found that the Pegasus had already vanished. A blow to his back told him where she had gotten to, forcing Zangief to unleash the double lariat once again, yet again he only struck empty air. "Well what if I told you this sparrow was fast enough to outrace and create tornados with her speed? Would that sparrow still be weak?"
"Of course," Zangief said as his face smiled once again as he began to feel his blood boil now that his foe was actually fighting. "Because for as quick as the sparrow is, once it is caught within the cyclone it is all over. For the cyclone crushes all that enter it." Another blur of motion shot by his face and Zangief felt Dash's hoof catch him in the face, snapping his head to the side. In an attempt to catch her Zangief struck out his leg, only to see a rainbow blur wrap around it and punch him in the chest, staggering him a bit. He swung his fist forward yet missed once again, Dash smacking him in the back of his head for his efforts.
"Here's some of my own words of wisdom. No amount of power will work against untouchable speeds," Dash's voice seemed to say from all around him as he found himself trapped within a rainbow blur. But despite the crowd now completely on Dash's side and the fact that he was completely unable to keep up with her, there was only a smile on Zangief's face.
"Finally you prove yourself to be a challenge! Then let me show you why I am one as well!" He threw his arms over his head again and ran forward, knowing that he would never catch her with this move regularly. But as Dash avoided his front and slammed into him from behind she found to her shock that his body was flashing yellow and her attack didn't even budge him. Zangief then spun around and slapped both hands into her back, driving her into the ground and bouncing her back up into his grasp.
"Flying powerbomb!" Zangief yelled as he lifted her over his head and leapt forward, driving the rainbow head of the Pegasus into the ground with a loud thud. He placed his fists on his hips and began to laugh as Dash pulled herself back up, but she vanished in a blur once again. He had just registered that she had moved when he felt her wrap her limbs under his arm and the next thing Zangief knew he was hoisted into the air, where he could see what his opponents felt before Dash turned them both upside down and dumbed Zangief into the ground.
"How does it feel to be thrown?" she asked him as he slammed head first into the ground, collapsing onto his back as he shook the stars from his vision. As Zangief arose once again Dash could see that the smile was gone from his face and was replaced with a look of determination, telling her that Zangief was no longer fooling around. "Good. So am I."
Zangief's response was to leap forward and throw his fist at her, his eyes widening when she leapt closer towards him to avoid his punch. The moment his feet hit the ground he reached his massive arms around her and held her upside down, about to leap into the air before she broke free with a burst of speed, knocking his feet out from beneath him as she escaped. The ponies cheered wildly as Zangief whiffed another grab and was punished with two hooves to the face, while two changelings in the box watched with grim faces.
"I don't get it mom, how is he losing?" Insectum asked her mother, looking up at Chrysalis with worry in her eyes. "He's shown that he can fight her, but he can't seem to keep her down. What is he doing wrong?" Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as she watched Dash escape Zangief's grasp once again, knowing why Zangief was losing like he was.
"It's her speed. In order for Zangief to pull out his most powerful moves he needs his opponents to hold still for a split second so that he can grab them," Chrysalis explained as Rainbow Dash flew into Zangief's legs, knocking his feet out from under him and causing him to fall on his face. Dash then jumped on the back of his head and began to hop up and down, bashing his face into the ground. "Well, at least he was ugly to begin with. The problem with fighting Dash is that she's learned that and now she won't hold still. She's always moving, never giving Zangief the chance to grab her. And even if he does, her wings are strong enough to let her escape."
"Then...how will he win?" Insectum asked as she turned her gaze back to the fight, Chrysalis chancing a look at her daughter to see the hope beginning to fade from her eyes. Despite her having no faith in Zangief to win the fight, she turned to look down at the fight with a look of rage.
'I don't know how it's possible for you to win this fight Zangief, but if my daughter loses all hope because of you I will turn you to ash myself,' she thought as Dash grabbed Zangief's outstretched arm and hurled him into the ground, the crowd in a full frenzy for Dash to win.
"So then Chrysalis, shall we begin the talks now or do you want the fight to come to a definitive end?" Celestia asked from besides Chrysalis, to which her response was to spit off to the side. Celestia shrugged and resumed watching the battle, while Insectum (and Chrysalis to some degree) hoped against hope for Zangief to win.
'Never...have I faced an opponent...so fast!' Zangief thought to himself as the rainbow blur slammed into his back and knocked him forward before in the next second a blow from the front knocked him back. Zangief could feel nearly every bit of his body aching as he struggled to mount any offense, yet each attempt ended with him taking a shot to the face.
"Still believe that a cyclone can defeat a tornado?!" Dash yelled from all around him at once, the confidence of victory in her voice.
"Always," Zangief wearily replied.
"Then let me show you how wrong you are!" Zangief had believed that Dash had been going as fast as she could before, but as she began to race around him he realized that she hadn't been near her top speed. The air around him began to swirl like a tornado as the wind speeds became to much for him to even keep his eyes open, forcing him to shut them as he shielded himself as best he could with his arms. The Dash kicked into overdrive and the wind began to lift Zangief from the ground, the red cyclone being sucked into the center of the rainbow tornado by the sheer force of the speeds.
Zangief could feel himself being hurled around by the winds, unable to tell which way was up from down nor could he tell where anything within the tornado was. All he did know was that he was helpless at the hooves of Rainbow Dash and that he was starting to run out of air. The crowd of ponies roared almost as loud as the tornado that took up the center of the arena, Dash also taking a moment to gather thunderclouds for effect, laughing aloud as thunder rumbled in the background as Zangief was consumed by the twister. She then dove back into the tornado to keep it from going out of control, keeping Zangief imprisoned.
'Can't...breath...can barely...stay conscious...this is...the...end?' Zangief barely thought as darkness began to consume his mind, Zangief finally succumbing to the tornado. But then right before the darkness consumed him an image flashed across his mind. It was an image of Chrysalis's face as she spoke about her husband and in the image Zangief could see no hope in her eyes. Then he saw the image of Insectum when he had first met him, devoid of emotion and saddened.
And then, despite being in the howling winds of the tornado that consumed him, Zangief heard the chanting of all of the changelings there...and then he saw all of the children who believed in him, even now. Those images filled Zangief's internal meter to the fullest as he remember that he had said he would not fail their beliefs, that he would not let them lose hope again. And in that moment Zangief found his strength.
"HOOORRRYYYIIIAAAAAHHH!" Zangief roared as his hand pierced through the raging air besides him, his life of training allowing him to find Rainbow Dash in the whirling air even when all of his other sense had failed him. His hard sliced into the tornado and his fingers found the wings of the Pegasus. He grasped onto the with hands that could crush the bones of bears in their grasp and pulled her into the tornado as well. In the moment of confusion Dash had Zangief turned her upside down and placed her into position, gripping onto her with all if his muscles might so that she could not escape.
With Dash no longer able to control the tornado the great winds hurled the two of them into the sky, into the thundering clouds that rumbled over head. All eyes turned skyward as the tornado dissipated, none of the crowd having any idea what was going on. Then something burst through the cloud covers, spinning at such speeds that the clouds where blown away from the vortex of the object, allowing light to fall upon the stadium once again. But as the winds died down, the words of a single person could be heard by all in attendance, words that came from the spinning wrestler right before impact
The impact caused by the combatants hitting the ground was said to have been felt all across Equestria and even in some of the nations outside of it. Some reports say that sleeping dragons were awoken by the impact despite being able to sleep through almost anything. Other reports said ponies thought it was the end of the world as their cities and homes began to shake. But all who were in attendance at that moment did not care what happened around the world, for all they could do was stare at the center of the stadium with dropped jaws.
The arena had been shattered beyond repair from the force of the impact and a number of the stands that had been closest to the ring had collapsed from the shockwave. No jaw in the arena was left up and all eyes were glued to the center, even in the box where the princesses and the queen watched with dropped jaws of their own. Nopony remembered how to speak after what they had just seen, nopony expect for a single figure in the center of the ring, who held the unconscious Rainbow Dash over his head with only one thing to say.
"Whee! Make the ride stop!" Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle that wasn't all there as she slowly rotated on her hospital bed, her friends and the princess looking upon her with worried eyes as she laughed again before collapsing onto her back. "Round and round we go and when do we stop? Nopony knows!"
"How much longer did you say that she we be like this princess?" Fluttershy asked as she gently placed a hoof on Rainbow's chest and helped her back to her pillow, her eyes locked onto the bandages that were wrapped around her head.
"The doctors say that hopefully within a week she'll be back to same Rainbow Dash that we now and love," Celestia answered as Dash tried to take off, only to flutter for an instant before crashing back onto the bed. "And considering the severity of the concussion she suffered during Zangief's...move, we should be thankful that it isn't any longer."
"His move?! You mean when a three hundred pound human defied every known law of physics to delivered a pilledriver that he himself shouldn't have survived!" Twilight half screamed as she ran her hooves through her unkept mane with sheer confusion on her face. "I can't even begin to image how much force and pressure was behind that attack and yet somehow Zangief survived it! His body should have pulverized!"
"Twi, ah don't know why yer so upset with this. Stranger things have happened," AJ reminded her fried, but Twilight was on a warpath at that point.
"Yes, but to us beings that posses magic within them! Humans can't use magic, yet Zangief still managed to turn himself into a mini cyclone to defeat Dash! I study humans in the other world and they can hardly jump off the ground at all and I know for freaking sure that they can't perform those kinds of moves!" Twilight yelled as she look at Pinkie and screamed, "Do you know how much pressure must have been on his body under those kind of g's?! Or how about when he shattered solid concrete with his BUTT?!"
"There is a simple way to figure all of your questions out Twilight. We simply go talk to Zangief ourselves and ask how he did it," Luna calmly suggested as Twilight began to claw at the curtains in frustration. "Actually, I think it would be better if I did it alone. In your current condition you might try to dissect him. Any of you aside from Twilight and Rainbow Dash wish to come with me?"
"Heavens no princess, I do not want to be anywhere near that barbarian!" Rarity said as she moved herself as far away from the door as she could. "I do not even know if it bathes. I do not want to be remotely close to it."
"I'd love to meet a new friend, but first I'd like to make sure that this one is alright," Pinkie said with a shrug as Dash began to paw at Pinkie's tail while giggling to herself. The other ponies respectfully declined as well and Luna shrugged at their answers as she headed for the door, but was stopped when Celestia cleared her throat.
"Sister, odds are that Zangief will be with Insectum and Chrysalis and while we may not know how...Zangief did defeat Rainbow Dash. We will have to keep our word and figure out a way to help feed the changelings," Celestia reminded Luna. "Not to mention that means that she and her daughter get to stay in Canterlot and Ponyville to make sure that everything goes the way see likes it."
"Yes, we will have to deal with that eventually," Luna said with a shake of her head before a smile crossed her face. "First I'd like to know though how such a large creature like Zangief can spin faster than a Pegasus."
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief winced slightly as he felt the antibiotics burn into the wounds on his face, but his smile never faltered as both Insectum and Chrysalis helped attend to the wounds that he had suffered at the hooves of the rainbow pony. The princesses of Equestria had given them a very nice room to rest in while the rest of the changelings had been ordered back to the hive to await their food. Insectum wouldn't stop talking while Chrysalis was being as gentle as she wished to, meaning that every few seconds was filled with pain.
"An Element of Harmony! I still can't believe that you beat an Element of Harmony, one of the strongest magic wielders in the world!" Insectum exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement despite the match having taken place a day ago. "And not only did you beat her, you performed...a miracle! That's the only way I can describe it! You should have seen the ponies faces after you hit that, I don't think that there was a single closed mouth in the entire audience! I know my jaw was on the floor."
"It was not a miracle my dear princess, it is just the fruits of training as I have," Zangief said with a laugh before pain flashed through his body and turned the laugh into an "ow". "I will admit that Rainbow Dash was far more clever and faster than I would have believed possible for such a pretty pony."
"She really used your face to mop the floor for a good portion of the fight. If she hadn't sucked you into the tornado you may not have been able to beat her," Chrysalis said with a thin smile as she saw Zangief pout at her words. "She managed to avoid nearly all of your grabs and used her speed to attack you from all directions at once. If the tornado hadn't shown up then you might have lost."
"Maybe the fight would have been longer, but the end result would have been the same," Zangief said as he reached out with his hand and ruffled Insectum's mane with a hand that was larger than her head. "Because the little ones believed in me, believed that I would win. And with their faith within me, I would not lose." Chrysalis rolled her eyes at his answer, but when she saw Insectum's eyes shining in a way that she had never seen before as she gazed up at her hero.
'I suppose I should go easy on him, he did hold up his end of the bargain and won,' Chrysalis thought as Insectum tried to worm out Zangief's secrets to his spinning piledriver. They were interrupted by a knock at the door, which turned out to be the Princess of the Night. "And what do you want? I thought that the little sign on the door said do not disturb?" Chrysalis growled.
"Down Chrysalis, I'm just checking up on you and seeing how you are enjoying your room," Luna said as she looked at Zangief, snickering slightly to herself as she saw that the bed he was sitting on could barely support him and groaned with agony. "I have to admit Zangief that after over a thousand years of being alive little surprises me at this point, but whatever the heck you pulled yesterday to beat Rainbow Dash did just that."
"How is the young sparrow doing? Not many can take a move like that and be walking around the next day?" Zangief asked with a chuckle as he flexed his muscles.
"She is recovering and probably won't be back on her hooves for a week," Luna answered, the smirk that Chrysalis wore not escaping her eyes. "But that move of your is actually the reason that I wanted to come talk to you. Twilight tells me that it should be physically impossible for such a motion to be performed by a regular human. So how did you create the...?"
"The spinning piledriver," Zangief finished for her as he rose to his feet, the bed letting out a small groan of relief that it was free. "My greatest technique. I do not mind sharing my secrets as no one else can do like I can!" Luna sat down next to Insectum and waited for Zangief to start talking while the changeling princess moved closer to her mother.
"In the blizzard swept forest of the motherland stood I, Zangief, in front of at least ten massive bears that wished to fight me. The wind was blowing far faster than usual, but I would not let something so trivial prevent me from showing bears what a true wrestler is!" Zangief began as the three imagined the cold landscapes that he mentioned, although he did get some looks at his reasoning fro wrestling the bears. "I had defeated three of them with ease when I engaged in battle with the fourth one, one that I had fought before and knew my moves. But that would not be enough to defeat me!"
"Question. How can a bear learn wrestling?" Insectum asked, confused.
"You teach them it of course. Now then, I had overpowered the bear and was about to throw him for my victory when the fool cheated and took advantage of a cyclone that I had not seen to take the both of us off of the ground and into the vortex, where my throws were useless." All three of the audience members looked at him with gobsmacked looks on their faces, all of them wondering how he hadn't seen a cyclone. "Once within the raging winds I believe myself to be finished, but then I looked down to see that I had pulled the bear into a piledrive position and an idea came to me in the heart of the cyclone. What is more powerful than a regular piledrive? A spinning one. So by using the winds to turn my body I spinning piledrived the both of us out of the cyclone and the technique became my own."
Utter silence was all Zangief heard as he finished his story and when he looked at the audience he found them all staring at him with dumbfounded expressions. That was until Insectum had a moment of realization and she let out a gasp.
"Oh, so that's why you call yourself the red cyclone. Because you spin like one and wear red," she deduced. Zangief shrugged in response, figuring that she was close enough.
"I don't believe it," Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. "The you getting sucked into a cyclone? Sure, I can believe it. But the fact that you piledrived a bear out of one is too much even for me." Zangief's response was to laugh at Chrysalis good naturedly as he pointed to his wounds.
"So you do not believe that I piledrived a bear out of a cyclone, but you do believe that I piledrived a pretty Pegasus out of a tornado?" he asked her with a smug smirk, Chrysalis opening her mouth to answer before closing it again, figuring that he had gotten her with that one.
"But how did you survive the fall back to the stadium?" Luna asked, still utterly confused by Zangief's story.
"That is simple my dear princess. I am Zangief." Luna raised both her eyebrows at his answer, but apparently that was all she was going to get out of the wrestler. With the mystery "solved" she then turned her attention to the second item on her agenda: Chrysalis.
"Chrysalis, you and I still need to talk about how we are going to get the love of the ponies to the changelings," Luna began, turning the queens attention from Zangief to the princess. "We made a deal and since Zangief won the fight my sister and I shall honor it, but you must know now that your changelings are not allowed to run wild in the streets and feast on every last drop of love like you tried to do before. We must find another way."
"I suppose that I have little choice in that matter?" Chrysalis asked, sighing as Luna nodded in response. "Fine, but I don't want to stay here. Canterlot air is toxic to my lungs and all of the ponies in it are stuck up jerks. There isn't as much love here as you think. The only reason I invaded it was because of the wedding. If I'm going to stay somewhere it better be a place where my daughter and any other changeling can get three meals a day."
"That is...a fair request," Luna agreed with a nod of her head. "Well then, I suppose that if you agree to be behaved and don't mind one of the mane six being with you at all times, then you can stay in Ponyville. That is, if any of them bother to put up with you after all you've done."
"And Zangief gets to come with us," Insectum added as she grabbed hold of one of his fingers with both of her hooves.
"But that raises a question for me, who will protect the hive while I am gone?" Chrysalis asked with concern as she looked at Zangief, who was watching Insectum try to move his arm to no avail. "Tenna might be broken, but all that will do is light a fire under his flank and make him even more dangerous."
"I shall do it," Luna said, the room going silent for a moment before Chrysalis began to laugh. Her body was wracked with laughter as tears fell down her face, the queen falling to the floor and clutching her stomach as she tried to get control of herself. "I'm sorry, but do you have any better ideas?"
"By all means, go for it," Chrysalis said with a sinister smile on her face as she wiped away any tears that hadn't fallen off her face. "You're in for a hell of a time Luna. But by all means, go nuts. In the meantime, Insectum, how do you feel about staying in Ponyville for a while? The princess and I still need to figure out a way to feed my people without upsetting the ponies, so good luck to us with that."
"I like the idea," Zangief said with a smile as he crossed his arms with a smile. "I am curious to see what this Ponyville is like and if there are any worthy foes there."
"Very well. once I inform my sister of what the plan is you shall head out to Ponyville," Luna said as she rose to her hooves and left the room, Chrysalis snickering at her as she left.
"So why did you so quickly let Luna take up your role in the empire?" Insectum asked her mother.
"Because daughter my job is crap and I hate it. Love the changelings, hate the role. So to hear that Luna's going to take over all of those annoying tasks while I get to relax for a while sounds greats," she said with a smile before she took on a more serious face. "Besides, Tenna has shown that you and I are his targets. We are safer here then in the hive."
"Do not worry Chrysalis. If he comes after you again, I shall show him my real power," Zangief promised with a laugh.
Tenna had not moved from the laboratory in days, not even at the news that Chrysalis had left the changeling empire in the hooves of Princess Luna, who, according to his spies, was having a rough time as the changelings barely listened to her. But that just further proved his point about how weak the hive changelings had become as Princess Luna was one of the strongest in the land, yet the refused to listen to words of one who is powerful.
'It matters not anyway,' he mused to himself as he stood on a walkway overlooking the scientists working hard at work on his dream down below, finding himself smiling despite himself at how the plan was coming together. Even from high of on the catwalk he could see the exoskeleton laying on the table as the changelings used their minds to make it work exactly as he wanted it to, while other "appropriated" parts and metal that would be needed to complete the design.
'But that it will not be enough for the machine to simply look like him, it must have his moves, his knowledge, all that which make him powerful,' Tenna thought with frustration overtaking his joy as he wished they had the final keys to completing the project. 'That is the last bit of data that we need before we can move on. All I need is-'
"Sir Tenna! We have it!" A smile that took up nearly his entire face spread on the face of the general as he turned to see a changeling rushing over to him, holding a notebook that was filled to the brim with information. "Sir, we got lucky. Zangief challenged the ponies to a fight, which took place in front of an entire stadium filled with both changelings and ponies. From there we were able to record all of his moves and tactics. They're all in here!"
Tenna swiped the notebook from the changeling and hungrily scanned all of the movements and motions that were written down in the book. He nodded at the bear hug and his smile grew even wider when he discovered the armored version of the flying powerbomb, but where his jaw dropped was when he read the report for the Final Atomic Buster.
"I wish you could have been there to see it sir, it was unlike anything I had ever seen," the changeling began to explain about what he saw, yet he was still dumbfounded all the same. "He was trapped within a tornado before he and Dash, that was the ponies name, was launched into the sky. We didn't know what was happening before he came spinning back down with her in the...piledriver position? But whatever it was, it put Dash down, although I have no idea how he did it."
"That is because he is far stronger than I had even dreamed," Tenna said with the fire reignited within as his eyes lusted for any more information on the wrestler. "Yet this book is not entirely complete. There are still one or two moves that he used against me that are not written within these pages. One of them he only seems to use when he is fighting magic wielders and the other he has not shown yet, but he had it ready for me. But this is a start. With this, we can move into the next phase of the plan. Now go, find me the other moves."
The changeling saluted and ran off while Tenna spread his wings, flying down to the scientists who were creating his masterpiece, tossing them the book with the information on the wrestlers moves before walking up to the massive exoskeleton with a large smile. 'Soon. Soon I will hold all the power that you wield and more. But first, there are rumors that Zangief was not alone when he appeared in this land. That there was a machine with him that Chrysalis took as well. But if I know Chrysalis, she did not tell Luna of this machine. And since she does not know of it, she will not miss it.'
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief always enjoyed train rides. Trains were a great way to travel across the motherland and see all of it's beauty up close, able to take it in as the train chugged along through it. What Zangief did not enjoy was being forced to sit on the floor of the train from Canterlot to Ponyville while Chrysalis, Insectum and two of the ponies sat in the chairs that he should have been occupying. After all, Zangief shouldn't sit on the floor.
"Oh don't give us that look Zangief; you know that if you were to sit in the chairs that you'd take up an entire row by yourself," Insectum said, trying to comfort him. But Zangief crossed his arms and turned his head away with a look of pouting.
"Jeez, Insectum's only eight and she acts more mature than you," Chrysalis said with a smirk before looking back over the Fluttershy and Pinkie, those two being the ponies chosen to go back to Ponyville with Chrysalis. Fluttershy was looking at the floor instead of Chrysalis and Pinkie was trying to figure out a way to get out of the green sphere of magic that Chrysalis had trapped her within for bugging her. "You two are awfully quiet? Nothing to say to somepony like me, huh? I'm too scary for you?"
"I don't find you scary at all! I think you look funny, with your Swiss cheese like legs. Do you like cheese?" Pinkie asked from within the sphere with a huge smile that only got Chrysalis thinking about learning a muting spell. "What about you Zangief? Do you like cheese?"
"No, I like borscht and vodka, yet sadly I am stranded here without them," Zangief said with a frown before remembering that he was mad at them and looked away again.
"H-how about animals?" the soft voice of Fluttershy meekly asked Zangief, but it was so soft that he hadn't even heard her. Fortunately for him, Insectum was ready with an answer.
"Zangief said that he plays with bears back in his home, so I think he likes bears," Insectum told Fluttershy, the information causing the yellow Pegasus to lift her head out from behind her head and look at Zangief with a small smile in her face.
"Is that true Mr. Zangief? Do you like bears?" she asked him.
"Yes and no. If the bears are worthy wrestlers that I see them as worthy opponents. But if they cannot wrestle then I shall suck them into my vortex and piledrive them until they learn!" Zangief exclaimed with excitement as he shot to his feet, forgetting how small the train car was for him and slamming his head into the metal roof. He cursed in Russian as he sat back down holding his head while Insectum looked up at the new indent of his skull in the ceiling.
Chrysalis cast a glance at Fluttershy and found her look at Zangief with horror on her face, presumably at his answer. "What's the matter Shy, don't like the fact that Zangief wrestles bears? Or the fact that he can go toe to toe with them and win?" Fluttershy retreated behind her mane again and Chrysalis rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the sphere to realize that Pinkie was no longer within it. Chrysalis looked around the train care to find her sitting in front of Zangief, listening to his words carefully.
"So after running the distilled vodka through activated charcoal, what do I do next?" Pinkie asked the Russian, but before he could tell her the secret to the elixir of life Chrysalis picked Pinkie back up and placed her within the sphere once again.
"Please don't tell Pinkie how to make alcohol from your world, I don't want to know what she'd do with that kind of power," Chrysalis said to Zangief as Pinkie struggled to escape the sphere once again. "Why are you even telling her that anyway?"
"If she is going to throw a party for me, I want the drinks to be the best, not whatever kind of watered down alcohol that you drink," Zangief replied with a huff, Chrysalis rolling her eyes as she leaned back in her seat, pushing it back until she was almost laying down. In this position she could see the ponies that had all crowded around the front of the train, whispering to each other while staring at them.
'Or, to be more precise, him,' Chrysalis thought as she followed their gazes as best she could upside down to find the ponies mostly staring at the Russian, who had leaned back against a table to rest and had cracked the base with ease. 'No surprise, he crushed Rainbow Dash in that match, so all of the ponies are probably afraid of him right now. That's how it works with these ponies,' she thought to herself before she looked back at the ponies to see that some of the foals were walking towards Zangief, nervous smiles on their faces as they approached him.
"Um, Mr. Zangief?" Upon hearing his name Zangief pulled himself out of the wreck that used to be a table and looked down at the foals who nervously clumped together, towering over them still despite sitting down. "Um, we...um?"
"Do not worry little ones, you can talk to Zangief about whatever you want," he said with a massive smile that seemed to have a calming effect on the foals, who all looked at each other before screaming all at once.
"That match was soooo cool!"
"How did you do that last move?!"
"Is it true that you wrestle bears?"
To say that Chrysalis was stunned by what the foals were saying would have been an understatement. She was baffled, having never expected this reaction to come from the same ponies who champion Zangief had destroyed. But here they were, talking about how amazed they were at Zangief's match and how cool he had been when he crushed Dash.
"How did you pull of that spinning piledrive without wings?! That's got to be nearly impossible!" a small colt asked him, Zangief letting out a hearty chuckle as he began to flex.
"Because of my years of training my muscles to be able to withstand such a move. But just between us, I created the move when I got sucked into a cyclone while wrestling a bear over five times as heavy as me. And then piledrived it!" The foals eyes went wide at his words, all the while the other four in the chairs looked on with different expressions on their faces, ranging from bafflement to laughter to surprise.
"I don't get it," Chrysalis asked, causing the fillies to yelp as they hid behind Zangief's leg and looked up at her with fear. "Zangief is a creature from another land who defeated one of your Element's of Harmony in one of the most devastating moves that I've ever seen. And yet you idolize him like he's your hero or something?"
"Well yeah, didn't you see the match?" one of the braver fillies asked Chrysalis, who raised an eyebrow in response. "Anypony who can pull of that kind of come from behind victory against Rainbow Dash is a legend! Seriously, he piledrived her out of a tornado! No other wrestler in Equestrian history has ever attempted anything like it!"
"That is because they are not Zangief! Now then, who wants to hear about the time that I fought polar bears in the icy north?" Zangief asked them, all three of the foals planting their flanks onto the floor in front of Zangief and looking up at him with wonder as he began to weave his tale. And all the while Chrysalis looked at the scene while slowly shaking her head.
"I will never understand you ponies," Chrysalis eventually said as she brought her chair back up and leaned against it, casting a glance sideways to see that her daughter was listening in on the story as well, causing the queen to sigh in frustration as she turned her gaze towards Zangief. 'Nor will I ever understand you.'
"He's...really nice for someone so...imposing," Fluttershy whispered meekly from her seat, having ventured out from behind her mane again to watch as Zangief recreated how he put a polar bear into a headlock. "I thought that he would be scary, but after being so close it seems that he's...just nice."
"Yeah don't let his looks fool you Fluttershy, when he's not wrestling he's a giant softy who hasn't got a brain," Chrysalis said as she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the wrestlers story. "But when he is wrestling, stay the heck out of his way or he'll do to you what he did to Dash." Chrysalis thought that he words would terrify Shy and have her make another funny face, but to the queen's disappointment all her words did was cause Fluttershy to look at Zangief with curiosity.
"...and then the gas station exploded and took out a good number of cars and buildings, but I emerged that day victorious!" Zangief proclaimed with a laugh as he finished his story, the foals and Insectum all applauding once he had finished. Zangief cast a quick glance at the parents of the ponies and figured that he had separated them long enough. "Now all of you go back to your mothers and tell them of the tale I told you. That way they can know of the mighty Zangief!"
The foals all nodded and raced back up the car to their parents, completely losing their minds as they all tried to repeat the story at the same time. Zangief chuckled to himself as he turned back towards the others, finding that Chrysalis was giving him a look. "What? What did I do?"
"I am always going to be confused by how you're able to do that," Chrysalis muttered, refusing to say anymore as the conductor of the train called out to all the ponies that they had reached their destination. They all rose to their hooves as the train slid to a strop, Zangief rising as well but once again he forgot about the roof. Chrysalis was glad that she didn't have to pay any of the bills as she and her daughter walked off the train after the ponies who were still trying to make sense of what their foals were telling them.
"Alright you two, I've got one question left. Whose house are we staying at?" Chrysalis asked Fluttershy and the recently freed Pinkie Pie.
"You...can stay at mine," Fluttershy offered, causing both Chrysalis and Insectum to raise their eyebrows with shock. "I mean, if you want to. You don't have to stay that long if you don't want." Chrysalis narrowed her eyes for a second, wondering why such a cowardly pony would be the first to volunteer. Then her answer ripped the door frame off of the train.
"Curses, these doorframes continue to attack me when I do not expect it!" Zangief roared as he emerged from the train with a metal doorframe pinning his arms to the side. Insectum rolled her eyes as she went to free Zangief once again, but as she did this Chrysalis cast a quick glance at She to see her hid a small smile with her hoof. There was her reason.
"Alright Shy, so be it. Sorry Pinkie, maybe next time," Chrysalis said as Pinkie pouted. "Come on daughter, you and the doorframe will need to follow Fluttershy to where we'll be staying. Let's hope that we can all get along," Chrysalis finished with a small chuckle.
"Um, I am still stuck."
Zangief and Changelings and Bears, Hhhhoooorryyiiiaaahh!
The warm rays of the sun shone down upon the group of four as they walked across a dirt path that lead to a small cottage on the edge of the town, Zangief in the back so Insectum's view of the beautiful forest wouldn't be obstructed by the mass of Russian. The group had taken the long way to the cottage from the station so Shy could show them where they would be staying before showing them around town. She giggled aloud as a butterfly landed on her horn, her eyes glued to it as it crawled down her horn and onto her nose, where she went cross-eyed trying to look at it.
"Aw, it's so precious. This is a butterfly, right Fluttershy?" Insectum asked the expert, who nodded with a smile as more butterflies began to flock around her. Chrysalis gave her daughter a small smile at the sight of her so happy before both she and Fluttershy turned to look at Zangief...who was covered completely in sparrows that rested on his head and shoulders
"Will you all get off of me?! I will crush you all between my thighs!" he roared as he swung his arms to scatter the birds, but the moment he stopped thrashing they all flew back down and landed upon him. The birds all began to chirp at once, causing Zangief to roar again as he spun in place.
"Aw, they like you," Fluttershy said as even more varieties of birds began to land on Zangief, who was now covered in enough feathers to achieve lift off on his own. Fluttershy then cast a glance at Chrysalis to see that all of the animals scattered at her approach, yet the queen never seemed to notice. Chrysalis caught Fluttershy's gaze and the mare hid behind her mane once again, getting Chrysalis to roll her eyes.
"Well, at least I know that I won't be bothered by our host while we're staying here," Chrysalis muttered as she passed Fluttershy and reached the cottage first, opening the door with her magic to receive an empty bowl to the face. "Well if you wanted to die so badly, you just had to ask," Chrysalis snarled as she removed the bowl from her face and glared at a white rabbit who was just realizing that he had made a horrible guess as to who was coming through that door.
"Oh please don't be mad at Angle, he didn't know that I was bringing guests over," Fluttershy said in his defense as she zipped by Chrysalis and pulled the bunny into a hug. "He's just hungry, that's all. Please don't be mad or hurt him." Chrysalis raised both of her eyebrows before shrugging.
"Fine, I will not get mad at him," she said, waiting for the relief to appear on both of their faces before Chrysalis bent over and looked into both of their eyes. "After all, what's the point at getting mad at my dinner?" The looks on their faces was more delicious than the rabbit would have been and Chrysalis walked over to the couch and dropped onto it with a sigh, looking around with a curious expression. "I received reports that Discord was also staying here? He isn't is he?"
"Discord is off somewhere right now. Said something about a meeting between all of his friends from across time and space, so I assume that he's having some alone time," Fluttershy said with an innocent smile as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed some carrots for the bunny while Insectum walked in the door.
"Yeah Zangief and I took one look at that door and there's no way he's getting in through that," Insectum said as Chrysalis looked out the door to see only half of Zangief, the door frame blocking out most of him. "I also saw your newspaper out there Fluttershy, so I picked it up for you!"
"Oh, thank you dear," Fluttershy said with a smile as she walked over to grab it, but green magic surrounded it and pulled the paper over to Chrysalis. She snapped open the newspaper with a smirk which was immediately slapped off her face as she saw what was on not only the front, but the next three pages as well.
"Damnitall Zangief, you're victory over Rainbow Dash is on nearly every page of this thing!" Chrysalis roared out the door at Zangief, who had to get on all fours so he could simply look into the room where the others were. "And all these articles are the same, just repeating the same moves and moments over and over again. Jeez, it's like the Elements haven't been beaten before."
"Well, technically we haven't," Fluttershy asked before a glare from Chrysalis shut her up. "You two will be sleeping down here, if you don't mind, and Zangief...um...you're much bigger than I though, especially when compared to my house."
"Hey Fluttershy, can you show us some more of your animal friends?" Insectum asked with a huge smile as she ran over Fluttershy with a ferret on her head. Fluttershy nodded and motioned for the changeling to follow her to the door, where Zangief moved out of the way so they could leave.
"Over here is the chicken coup where I keep the chickens that wander around, but occasionally other birds stay here as well," Fluttershy explained to Insectum and Zangief, who tagged along since he couldn't fit in the house. "And those are where all the bees stay during this time of year, but they move inside once the winter comes so they can stay warm. And over here are where that ferrets you're wearing lives. It's nice for them down there."
"Wow...you really like animals don't you?" Insectum asked, Fluttershy nodding in response. "Heh, I guess that's why you're so interested in Zangief. He's practically a wild animals himself."
"I will have you know that I use the restrooms properly. I have yet to see a bear do that," Zangief said in his own defense. "Speaking of bears, I have not yet seen the bears that you..." Zangief stopped talking as he looked across the clearing, his Russian guided systems locking onto the large, brown object that was walking towards them. Fluttershy looked back and forth as she saw the bear wave to her before it spotted the massive wrestler behind her.
"Wait Zangief, he's my friend!" Fluttershy said, knowing what was coming next. But what she didn't expect was that the bear narrowed it's eyes at Zangief as well and matched his stance. A silent agreement was made before both giants roared and charged towards each other, slamming their arms together as they both tried to overpower each other. "Please stop fighting you two! Why can't we all get along?"
"Because they I wouldn't get to see a bear wrestle a man wearing red trunks," Chrysalis said from behind Fluttershy, having raided the fridge so that she had a beverage as she watched the fight commence. Zangief slipped his arms under the bears and with a heave lifted the bear off of it's feet, throwing it over his head and into the ground. Fluttershy let out a cry of terror as Zangief took to the skies in the splash position. But the bear rose to it's feet in time to catch the massive missile, hoisting Zangief onto it's shoulders before fling him head over heels into the small creek, creating a far bigger splash than should have been possible with the amount of water the stream held.
Zangief burst out of the water and leapt into the air once again, the bear roaring as he prepared to catch the Russian once again. But this time Zangief pulled his body back as he extended his knees, causing the bear to miss it's grab and giving Zangief the chance he needed to put an end to the fight. Zangief wrapped his arms around the bears waist and slipped around to the back of the bear, hurling it over his head and driving it into the ground. Zangief rolled through the move and leapt into the air to finish the suplex, rising up to his feet with a large smile on his face as the bear struggled to get up.
"Not bad comrade, you are far better than the bears that I wrestle in the motherland," Zangief said with a smile as he held out a hand for the bear. The bear let out a weak growl as it placed it's paw in Zangief's hand, letting the Russian pull him back up to it's feet. "But you must learn to guess when your foe is going to fake you out. You can't just grab all the time. Come, let me show you a proper throwing stance."
"And yet again there he goes, this time with a freaking animal," Chrysalis muttered as Zangief began to show the bear how to properly apply pressure when grappling with a foe, Fluttershy having run off for her first aid kit. Insectum looked up at her mother with confusion, seeing hints of both rage and envy in her eyes.
"What are you talking about mother?" Insectum asked, getting Chrysalis to shake her head as the bear managed to throw Zangief over it's head this time.
"Nothing daughter, it's nothing important." Fluttershy ran back out of her cottage to see Zangief locked in a submission hold struggling to get his massive muscles behind his head to push the bear off of him. Once she had broken the two of them up (though Zangief did promise that he would be back to teach the bear) she gathered the four of them together.
"Okay, now that I've shown you around my home and where you'll be staying, I was thinking that we head into town," Fluttershy offered, but she lowered her head when Chrysalis began to laugh at her.
"That's a great idea, that the leader of the people that attacked them and parade her around town. I'm sure that will have no negative repercussions!" Chrysalis laughed until her daughter elbowed her in the gut, getting her to stop. "Sure, why not?"
"Well I think it's a great idea and I can't wait to see Ponyville," Insectum said to raise Fluttershy's spirits, but the Pegasus barely managed a smile. "My mom always promised that I would see it, but I think she meant we would be there as conquerors or something along those lines."
"But we're not going today," Chrysalis said as she turned and walked back into the cottage, getting her daughter and Fluttershy to both give her a questioning glance. "I don't want to meet any of those annoying ponies today. I've traveled too far and dealt with too much to do anything else today. I'm going to bed. Insectum, I'd recommend you do the same."
"Well, meeting other ponies was kind of the point," Fluttershy muttered under her breath, but Chrysalis never heard her as she walked into the cottage and shut the door, leaving Fluttershy to look over at Zangief, who was now being swarmed by a number of different insects. "Okay then Mr. Zangief, do you have any preference as for where you wish to sleep? You can always have my bed if you can...fight through the door."
"That is...quite alright. I...am used to...harsh environments!" he yelled as he clapped his hands together, opening them to find that not only had he missed but now the bugs were laughing at him. Fluttershy tried to figure out what to do with him before she heard the of a cart being pulled and turned with a smile on her face.
"Yay. The food for my animals is finally here!" she exclaimed as loudly as she could, so Zangief wasn't aware that she had said anything until he turned his head to see that she was gone. He looked up to see her at the top of her hill next to a massive white stallion who pulled a cart, the physique of the stallion interesting him.
"Thank you for bringing these to me Bulk, it means a lot considering the...guests that I have over," Fluttershy said with a shy smile to the large stallion, but the moment of gratitude was cut off as Zangief walked over to the two. The mighty Russian came to a stop and looked down at Bulk with an approving glance, while Bulk gave a similar look to Zangief. Then, surprising Fluttershy slightly, Zangief began to flex, showing off the full mass of his bulk. In retaliation Bulk began to flex as well, making himself appear even larger as he tried to match the red cyclone. Fluttershy giggled to herself as the two performed a few more poses before they both smiled at each other and clasped their hand and hoof together.
"Well done comrade. Finally a pony that sees the importance of muscles!" Zangief said with a loud laugh. "But it seems that your legs are not quite up to the rest of you. Let me show you how to do the Cossack dance! Then you can make your legs even stronger than they are!"
"YEAH!" Bulk responded with a loud yell of his own as the two walked over to a flat spot, Zangief beginning to do a strange dance as Insectum walked over to Fluttershy, both of them smiling at the silly sight in front of their eyes.
"I think I understand what your mom doesn't like about him," Fluttershy said to Insectum, who raised an eyebrow while motioning for Fluttershy to continue. "It's his ability to make friends with almost anypony instantly. I noticed it on the train, I saw it back there with the bear and even now, despite barely knowing Bulk a minute, there he is dancing with him and both of them having fun."
"I've noticed that too. I guess it's because he's so positive and confident that when he starts talking you can't help but get swept up in the same enthusiasm. Maybe that's why he's called a cyclone?" Insectum said with a smile of her own, remembering the first time she had met Zangief. Then she thought to how her mother had been treated and shunned most of her life, allowing her to see why there would be so much envy for one who could be loved so easily.
Despite her cold armor and strong exoskeleton, Chrysalis was still able to feel the harsh glares dig into her like daggers as she walked down the streets of Ponyville the following morning, the sun having just risen on the horizon and waking up the ponies of the town. With Fluttershy promising to take care of Insectum and show her around, Chrysalis figured that she needed to get some things done despite the ponies.
'But much to their annoyance, I am the first thing that they have to see this morning,' Chrysalis said as she bared her fangs at a group that were muttering under their breath, causing them to scream and run for their lives while Chrysalis chuckled to herself. She regained control as she arrived at the building that she had risked walking through the pony infested streets to reach, the Post Office. A tough looking stallion had just opened up as Chrysalis's shadow fell over him, turning him around very slowly as he looked up into the green eyes of the queen of the changelings.
"Hello there," Chrysalis said with a fanged smile as the pony's eyes shrunk back into his head. "I was informed by your ruler that a letter for me would be arriving sometime today. I came here early in hopes to pick it up. And I do hope it is in, because I do not like to be disappointed." The pony took the hint and tore through his mail bag, hurling letters and packages out of the way while Chrysalis watched with an amused expression on her face.
"H-here you are, Queen Chrysalis," the pony stammered as he gingerly held out a shaking hoof that withheld the letter within. Chrysalis took it from him and excused him with a wave of her hoof, ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter from Luna. She sat down in a café seat outside as she began to read, ignoring the looks that the early patrons were giving her.
Dear Chrysalis,
How the heck do you do it? Barely ten minutes pass here after I solve one problem before another one occurs that I have to go fix. The changelings absolutely despise my presence despite me having helped them on nearly all of their problems...and unless they need something from me they avoid me completely. Not to mention that the buildings here look like they could collapse at any moment. However, I do find it interesting that not one of them will dare to speak of you in a bad tone and it is not because of fear, as I have looked into their dreams to confirm, but because they actually respect you. Can it be that you only act tough and are sweet on the inside?...No, I doubt it. Anyway, nothing too special here except for a small band of bandits that tried to get in, but the night is my domain.
From, Luna
P.S. Did you know Zangief dreams of wrestling? He really is simple, isn't he?
Chrysalis rolled her eyes at Luna's letter, but she was happy to hear that everything was alright. However, she was confused as to why Tenna hadn't attacked the hive in her absence, since it seemed to be the perfect time to strike. 'Maybe he actually considers Luna to be a threat and won't attack while she's there. That works out well for the both of us,' Chrysalis thought with a shrug as she gained the waiters attention with a wave of her hoof.
"So tell me, what do ponies eat for breakfast around here?" Chrysalis asked with mock interest a she scanned the menu, pretending not to notice the look on the waiters face.
"I would recommend the hay fries or a simple salad, breakfast isn't too busy a time for us," the waiter said with a calm professionalism; Chrysalis impressed that he was able to hide the disdain for her in his polite tone. She ordered the hay fries and sat back, enjoying the warm rays of the sun. She wondered for a moment of Insectum was alright, then remembered that Zangief was with her and if anything happened she'd know one way or another.
'Of course, it's hard to enjoy myself with all of this yammering going on,' Chrysalis groaned as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the voices of the ponies that whispered about her behind her back. She ignored the words as best she could, not going to let them get to her.
"Seriously, what are the princesses thinking letting her near this place?"
"I can't blame Zangief for this, he just won a match. He was probably being manipulated by Chrysalis or something."
"It had to be manipulation. You think any smart being would work for something like HER willingly?"
Chrysalis opened her cold eyes again as she heard the waiter approaching, burying her emotions as best she could. He placed the platter in front of her without emotion, but a quick glance at the other patrons told her that she had been shafted in her portions. 'That's fine with me, I'm not paying for this anyhow,' Chrysalis thought with a shrug as she began to eat silently, blocking out the voices. 'And yes you annoying, fat cow, many changelings would lay down their lives for me...' She finished and placed a few bits on the table as she left, giving the waiter a glare before he complained about there not being enough before she left the café.
"Shows you just how precious friendship is to these ponies. Sure they all love one another, but somepony like me shows up and it's pitchforks and torches," she grumbled as she walked behind a building, her eyes narrowing as she had a thought. 'Say, I should test that little theory out. See just how special this friendship is.' She thought of a perfect design for a pony and her body took on their form, her black and armored exoskeleton changing into a beautiful white coat. Her green mane changed to blue with streaks of purple and her eyes became soft and caring, a sharp contrast to her normal piercing ones. She finished the illusion by using her magic to replace her missing leg, perfecting the disguise.
"Now then, let us see how they react when I am one of their own," Chrysalis snarled as she checked to make sure she looked stunning, waiting a few minutes before walking back out to the café and flashing a smile at the waiter. His face lit up immediately and he waved her over to one of the best seats in the house, Chrysalis batting her eyelashes at him while trying to hide the murderous thoughts that she had. The waiter said he would be right back while he pushed in her chair for her and place a menu politely before her, before racing off into the café with speed.
"Wow, your mane looks gorgeous." Chrysalis turned her head with a fake smile to see the smiling face of one of the ponies that had just minutes ago been whispering behind her back, yet was now talking to her with admiration in her eyes. "How do you get it to be so shiny and...straight like that?"
"Oh, just a lot of brushing and care," Chrysalis responded with fake happiness, snickering on the inside about how nice they were to her now that she was one of them. "Of course constant spa appointments are needed as well, since I can't be expected to maintain such a mane all by myself."
"It truly is a marvelous mane," one of the stallions said from behind her, Chrysalis turning to smile at him as well while at the same time hiding her eyes with her mane as to not give away her thoughts. "Of course, it's not the only marvelous thing about you. Where are you from exactly? I can't seem to place your accent."
"I'm from the east and I'm just passing through," Chrysalis honestly responded, since her hive was located in the far off east. The waiter came back and asked if she was ready to order, Chrysalis taking a quick look at all of the ponies before standing up. "If you all would excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." The moment she had walked out of sight she shifted back to her original form, hissing at them from a distance before she took to the skies and flew off. She didn't stop until she had come to a hill outside of the town, where she landed upon it and sat down. She sighed as she laid on the grass, hate in her heart as she thought about how nice they were to her just now.
'They're all hypocrites, every single one of them. Talk about how friendship is magic yet I can't even get a decent look in the city. And they wonder why I tried to kill them all.' Chrysalis closed her eyes and sat in silence beneath the suns rays for a few minutes, until the sun was blocked out by a mass of muscle that made her groan when she realized who it was. "And just when I had gotten over my immense hatred," she grumbled as she looked up at Zangief.
"So this is where you flew off to? I saw you in the town yet you did not stick around to chat!" Zangief smiled at her, yet his smile faltered a bit when she scoffed and turned her head to the side to avoid looking at the Russian. Zangief sighed as he sat down next to her, giving Chrysalis a confused look. "As I said, I saw you in town. But what I don't see if why you changed yourself to look like a pony to get into that café when you had already eaten. And don't you changelings eat love? Then again you do drink, so maybe you-"
"Oh if it will shut you up I was testing out a theory of mine!" Chrysalis half yelled at him, shutting Zangief up as she regained control of herself and sighed again. "When I went into that little café of theirs I was met with harsh words and cold stares, despite Celestia always bragging about how the ponies were the master of friendship," Chrysalis said with a scoff. "Yet I certainly wasn't feeling the love."
"Did they already know of you? Because from what I have heard most do not hate you until they get to know you," Zangief asked her, getting Chrysalis to let out another sigh as she shook her head slightly. "But why change into a pony? Why become something that you are not?"
"Again it was to prove a point, since they treated pony me a lot nicer than they did Chrysalis," she grumbled before hints of sadness began to appear in her eyes. "And...it's nice, every once in a while, to be treated like a normal person, treated like one of the masses. In the hive I'm the queen and out here I'm a monster. Sometimes it's nice to just...change into a pony and enjoy what it's like to be somepony else." She then turned to look up at Zangief for a moment, seeing a look of confusion on his face. "Don't you ever wish that? That you could just be...normal? Accepted?"
"I have had that thought once or twice, how it would be to be a regular person, to not have the weight of the fans to win or the expectations of my motherland on my shoulders. That I could live a normal life and be normal," Zangief said with a nod before a massive smile crossed his face. "But then I think to myself "I am Zangief", so why would I want to be anybody else? Being Zangief is the best thing that I can do."
"Is that you're dumb way of telling me to be myself and not care what others think?" Chrysalis asked with a smirk.
"Well, I was saying to try to be more like me, but I suppose being yourself works as well." Chrysalis did let a dry laugh escape her lips at his words, once again knowing that he had insulted her without trying to.
"I don't know why I bother. I'd rather be the hated enemy of the ponies and the ruler of the changeling hive than be a hypocritical pony that vomits lessons about friendship one moment and then hate on a stranger a moment later," Chrysalis said with her old pride back in her voice, Zangief smiling at the change. "Although I suppose that that kind of thinking is why I don't have any friends." Zangief began to laugh loudly at her words, getting a look from Chrysalis as he calmed down.
"Chrysalis, I am wounded! Here you are saying that you have no friends when I am sitting right next to you! Am I not your friend?!" Zangief asked her with a laugh, Chrysalis giving him a deadpan look until his smile fell off his face.
"No, you're an annoyance that stays at my house and eats my food," she responded with a shake of her head. "Besides, why on Equis would you think that we are friends? You're annoying and I say nasty things about you and treat you like trash. You still would want to be friends knowing full well what I'm like?"
"Chrysalis, I am from Russia. Your words hurt me as much as a the cold harms the bears of my motherland!" Zangief said with a laugh as he panted Chrysalis on the back, his might nearly knocking her over. "And that is just it! The ponies know what you are like and hate you for it! Yet I know what you are like and I do not care! Not to mention you gave me food and worthy opponents to fight! Does that not make us friends?!"
Chrysalis looked up at the smiling face of the cyclone for a full minute as she thought about his words, slowly starting to realize that was he said was true. She then began to think about all of the times he had fought for the changelings...fought for her and all the while with a smile on his face. And despite her treating him like crap, always being a jerk to him, he never once complained or got angry.
'Because he's my friend,' she thought with a small smile before shaking her head, looking up at the smiling face of Zangief again. "Alright, I guess we are friends. And as friends I want you to go to that café and piledrive ever single pony that is sitting there. That'll teach them to be hypocrites."
"HAHA! There is the Chrysalis that I know," Zangief exclaimed as he rose to his feet, picking up Chrysalis and tucking her under one of his mighty arms. "And now that you are feeling better, come with me! That pink pony wants to throw a party for us yet she could not track you down! Let us go!"
"Please no."
With another booming laugh Zangief walked towards the town again with the queen of the changelings tucked under his arms, a smile on his face as she hung limp, having accepted her fate. But although he could not see it, there was a smile on her face, a smile that came from the thought of having an actual friend. Something she'd never thought she'd get to have.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"Tenna, it is almost complete. Once the moves have been downloaded into it's mind it should be operational." The changeling general smiled to himself as he looked up at the massive metal monster that rested in the upright position before him, almost as amazing as the genuine article. "Now we have a spell in place that will allow you to give it orders, although it will not give you the ability to control it in battle. If you wished to do that, things would get...messy."
"That is fine with me. After all, this will only be a test run," Tenna said with a smile as he reached up and placed a hoof on the red Z. "But after that, think of all the possibilities that can be achieved! And if this machine fails...I already know what phase two will be. And it will make me the strongest being in Equestria."
Loud, pounding music. Pink lights that flashed into her eyes every five seconds. The party was less of a place of fun for Chrysalis and more like her eternal hell. Resting against the edge of the outdoor party, Chrysalis gave a quick snarl to the ponies across the way from her, who gave her no love in return. She wasn't the only changeling to be off with her at the edge of the gathering, as most of her own people joined her, none of them wanting to be near the ponies or their hard stares.
'At least someponies are enjoying themselves,' Chrysalis thought as she looked over to Zangief and Insectum, both of whom were doing the Cossack dance to the utter bafflement of the ponies that were watching them. Insectum had changed into what Chrysalis assumed would be her if she was a human so she could better perform the dance, with Zangief trying to show her some of the more complex maneuvers that her daughter couldn't wrap her mind around.
"Still over here being miserable?" Pinkie Pie asked for the fifth time in a little less than an hour, getting a hiss from Chrysalis as the pink pony seemed to materialize out of nowhere in front of her. "Oh come on, you can't be mopey lopey the entire time that you're here! Surrender yourself to the music and go have fun!"
"I'd rather be facing Zangief in a wrestling match," she seethed back, but immediately regretted her words when Zangief looked over with a massive smile on his face. She waved him off and he went back to dance with a smile, giving Chrysalis a chance to let out a sigh of relief. "Besides, I don't want to party with hypocrites. Sure, you all say that friendship is magic, but so far not one pony has teased the notion of being friends with any of us."
"Okay, I'm your friend now!" Pinkie said with a huge smile that made Chrysalis regret her words again. "And as your friend I say to get out there and go have fun!" Pinkie hopped off into the garden, leaving the changelings to look up at her, awaiting her to give them their orders. She waved them off and they decided to at least try to have fun, most of them swarming around Zangief as he had sat down to tell some of the pony foals stories of his adventures.
"Having a hard time adapting?" Chrysalis shuddered with hatred as she turned to see the yellow Pegasus Fluttershy sit down besides her, gently nibbling on a carrot as she watched Zangief act out every moment of his story, gaining both changeling and pony audience members.
"We're changelings. Adapting is the first thing that we learn to do, even before walking," Chrysalis proudly shot back, getting Fluttershy to shrug as she went back to nibbling. "And I do not wish to party with you ponies if all you are going to do is stare and judge us. I wish that that foal of a princess wasn't here or else I would crush you all," Chrysalis grumbled as she glared at Twilight, who looked around in confusion as she felt someponies eyes burn into her.
"Sure you would. Say, did you know that Insectum is able to see further than I am?" Fluttershy asked Chrysalis, who's look of hatred vanished for a moment as she looked down at Fluttershy with confusion. "Yep, she was able to spot a butterfly nearly a mile off. She told me that she has had a number of strange things happen to her like that. Did she tell you?"
"Once or twice," Chrysalis grumbled before the sounds of glass shattering could be heard followed by the sounds of angry shouting. The two looked over to she a pony and a changeling both glaring at each other, with a broken glass sitting in the middle between them. "Ah, finally some entertainment."
"Watch where you are going, you freak!" the pony yelled at the changeling with flaring nostrils.
"Says the blind idiot that walks without even looking ahead. With how dumb you are I'm amazed that you can have enough brain power to utter those words!" the changeling shot back, getting a snicker out of Chrysalis.
"Be thankful that the princess doesn't blast you to ash on the spot for those words!"
"What, you need the princess to fight your battles for you? I don't know why, they lose just as much as you ponies do!" The pony roared in rage and tackled the changeling to the ground, where the changeling kicked him off and leapt onto the pony. More changelings and ponies entered the brawl, each side trying to defend their own fighter. Twilight yelled at them and screamed to calm down as her horn glowed, but none of the fighters could hear her over the sounds of the battle. That was until Zangief got involved.
"And now it is a free for all? THEN YOU ALL FACE ME!" the Russian roared as he hurled himself into the air over the combatants, the roars of anger turning into screams of absolute horror in a matter of seconds as they watched the mass of Zangief hurtle towards them. His impact shook the whole garden and hurled both changelings and ponies into the air, upon which they were immediately plucked from the air by a very angry Twilight who turned towards Zangief with fire burning in her eyes.
"STOP IT! JUST...stop it," she whispered as she put a lid on her rage, yet the fire never left her eyes as she glared up at the being nearly four feet taller than her. "This party is to try and promote peace between the two nations so that one can harmlessly feed off of the others love and yet your trying to turn it into the WWP!" she screamed at him again, her anger breaking free again.
"You have a wrestling circuit as well? Then why did you not tell me?" Zangief asked with a laugh before a hellish snarl from Twilight stopped it. "Twilight, you cannot force two people to be friends! They will only be friends if they feel like it! The best way for the changelings and the ponies to solver their differences is to have them all wrestle in each other is a massive match. Fighting helps calm both sides down." Twilight wanted to smack him for the stupidity in that statement, but at that moment Chrysalis decided to stand up and walk into the center of the crowd.
"Well well, harming my changelings are we?" she asked the ponies as she licked her lips, tasting the fear in their eyes as she gazed at each of them. "But I believe that both me and my people were promised by the princesses that we would be safe if I tried to do things the pony way instead of the changeling way. Yet I see one of my changelings hurt despite that promise. I guess that means..." Chrysalis began as she gazed into Twilight's eyes. "WAR!"
"Waitwaitwait!" Twilight quickly said as the changelings began to chant war around them. "We are sorry about what happened and we will do whatever it takes to make it up to you," Twilight bargained, getting Chrysalis to chuckle at her hurried excuse. She placed a hoof under her chin as she thought about it before shrugging her shoulders with another sinister smile.
"Very well. Give me your crown and we'll call it even." The ponies all gasped at this as Twilight glared up at Chrysalis, but very slowly she levitated her crown off of her head and hoofed it to Chrysalis. The changeling queen took the crown and placed it upon her head, smiling as she struck a pose. "Well what do you think? Do I look pretty?" The changelings all began to cheer for her as Chrysalis smirked at Twilight, resulting in both the princess and the ponies going back to glaring at the changelings.
"You are one of the greatest heels that I have ever seen!" Zangief said with a laugh when Chrysalis walked by him. "I have never seen someone able to get so many so angry so quickly! Have you considered a career in wrestling?"
"No thanks, I look terrible in spandex," Chrysalis said with an eye roll while Pinkie tried to get the part back on track until a loud voice boomed out of nowhere.
"Ponies and changelings that are having a...wonderful time tonight, I am sorry to interrupt but the entertainment is here!" the voice boomed, silencing all of the partygoers as they tried to deduce where the voice was coming from.
"Sweet, the pool filled with gelatin is here!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly while Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and looked to the sky.
"I know that voice! Show yourself Tenna, you coward!" she roared into the sky as she looked around, Insectum running to her mothers side as Zangief began to flex his arms.
"Finally, I can settle things with this coward."
"Whose Tenna?" Twilight asked the queen as she continued to scan the skies.
"He's a changeling that tried to kill me and my daughter so that he can rule my hive with an iron hoof," Chrysalis said quickly as she continued to look around, only stopping when she saw the shock on Twilight's face. "What, don't you have a foe of your own who tries to slaughter your family and take everything you love away from you? It's common in my parts."
"I had no idea," Twilight whispered.
"Of course not, you're far too busy hating us to care. He's this way Zangief!" Chrysalis yelled as she pinpointed the source of the voice, both her and Zangief running off while Twilight began to think about what Chrysalis had just said to her. The two came to a stop on the very outskirts of the town, where a lone changeling with a cracked exoskeleton could be seen standing alone in the darkness.
"All alone are we? I hope you realize that if you surrender I'm still feeding you to Zangief," Chrysalis threatened with a smirk as the other changelings and ponies from the party ran over to them. Tenna let a thin smile cross his face at her words, taking a moment to look off towards the setting sun before answering.
"And we even have an audience. Truly this will be an event," he said with a small chuckle as he turned to look at Zangief. "However, I am not here for you just yet and I am not here for any of the ponies. I am here for you Zangief, because I think I have finally found a way to defeat you!"
"You have learned the hadoken?" he asked with a hint of fear in his voice before seeing the looks he was getting and he shook his head with a laugh. "Please, there is no way that you can defeat me!" he said with his confidence back as he laughed proudly. "I defeated you once before I can do so again with little effort. So come! Show me what feeble attempt you have thought up to beat me!"
"With pleasure. Drop it." The crowd wondered what he had meant when lights shown down from overhead, causing all to be blinded as five changelings buzzed above them. The sounds of ropes snapping could be heard and something massive slammed into the ground in front of Zangief and the crowd, causing all, including Zangief, to gasp in confusion and surprise when they saw what it was. It stood seven feet tall and was covered from head to toe in metal platting. But what truly gained the crowds shock was the red boots, the funny facial hair and the red z on it's belt. It's cold, red eyes glared ahead, but there was no mistaking what this monster was supposed to be.
"It...looks like Zangief!" Insectum cried out in shock as the machine began to rotate it's arms, never for a moment taking it's eyes of the stunned Russian wrestler.
"No my dear Insectum, this is Mecha Gief! The Steel Tornado!" Tenna roared as he threw back and laughed, the machine flexing it's arms like Zangief and posing just like he did. "He is not only stronger and more durable, but he is also programmed with all of his moves. THIS is what I have created to defeat you Zangief! So the question is, are you willing to fight your better?"
"You're telling me you made your own Zangief and didn't bother to make it smarter?" Chrysalis asked with a smirk. "Seems that you're the real idiot here Tenna. Go ahead, let your tin can fight."
"I hope you realize that this isn't happening," Twilight said as she floated into the air and powered up her magic. "Zangief and the changelings are under our protection, so if you even think of hurting them I'm going to stop you. So stand down now and maybe I will..." Twilight stopped talking as Zangief held up one of his hands to silence her, walking forward to meet the machine with a smile on his face as both he and his mechanical foe stared into each others eyes.
"You are far more clever than I thought Tenna," Zangief said with a chuckle that gained him a look of confusion from both Tenna and Chrysalis. "Once you realized that you were no match for me and thought 'Then who can beat Zangief? Is their anyone who can?' And then you thought that the only one who can beat Zangief...is ZANGIEF! HAHAHAHA! But I am sorry to tell you my friend that your thinking is wrong," Zangief said with a much darker smile as he took up his wrestling stance, the machine matching his movements perfectly. "Because no one can beat Zangief."
"Is that your way of saying that you accept my challenge?" Tenna asked Zangief, who nodded while telling the ponies and the changelings to back away from him. "Very well then! Mecha-Gief! You are being challenged by this fool before you. Crush him."
"It will try," Zangief said with a smirk. The both him and the machine lunged forward and collided with each other, starting the match.
Hundreds of pounds of muscle strained against the nearly thousand pounds of metal mass as Zangief hurled the robo him over his head, letting out a roar to the sky as he performed the back throw. Mecha Gief slammed into the dirt neck first with such force that it would have snapped the spine of a lesser man, but without a moments hesitation the mechanical marvel rose back to it's red boots with glowing red eyes still functioning.
"You built an impressive me, that much is certain!" Zangief laughed as he blocked a chop to his throat and responded with a boot to the gut that pushed the mechanical him back a bit, yet Zangief's eyes narrowed as he saw that the machine was hardly even phased by the blow. "But it if truly knew all my moves like you have claimed it does, then why does it get caught by everything I throw at it?"
"Sir, that's a question I myself am asking?" Tenna's advisor said from his side as Zangief suplexed the Steel Tornado over his head and into the dirt once again, the changelings roaring in response. "We spent almost all of our resources to build this thing, so I expected it to do more than just...take a pounding."
"Trust me, this is exactly how I want things to go," Tenna said with a smile, watching every movement, every pose and every position Zangief took up as he battled his fake. Zangief took to the skies to deliver to most powerful of splashes to the mechanical him, but to his and the ponies shock the machine leapt up after him and countered with a wicked headbutt. The blow slammed on the top of Zanigef's skull and slammed him into the ground, where he groaned groggily as he staggered back to his feet.
"Okay, never thought that I would have to take on of my own headbutts," Zangief groaned as he shook the dizziness off and took up his fighting stance again while his foe simply stood still and waited for Zangief to make the next move. "Since you were kind enough to demonstrate how that move felt, allow me to return my affection!" He threw both of his arms over his head and lunged at the robot, which jumped back at his approach. It picked the wrong option as Zangief continued to run to where it landed and slammed his hands into it's back, doubling it over and leaving it open for a-
"Flying powerbomb!" Zangief roared as he swung the machine over his head and lunged into the air, driving it down spin first into the ground with both his muscles and their momentum. Sparks flew from the neck and back of the creature as the damage began to add up, giving Zangief a moment to back off and laugh. "Come now, I thought you were supposed to be the superior copy of me! Yet I would never allow myself to get beaten so easily!"
"Seems that another one of Tenna's plans is a bust, huh mom?" Insectum laughed with a smile as she cheered along with the other changelings, but Chrysalis's eyes remained narrowed as she kept her gaze upon Tenna. His face never changed despite what was going on with the fight and his eyes gazed at Zangief's every move hungrily, as if he couldn't tear them away from the Russian.
"I don't like it," Chrysalis eventually said as she returned her attention to the fight, watching as Zangief swept the robot's feet and knocked it to the ground hard. "He's up to something, I just don't know what yet. My only hope is that whatever it is it doesn't work."
"Time to finish your little pet project!" Zangief roared as he leapt into the sky once again, yet this time the robot did not follow him into the air. Zangief shot his knees down and somehow managed to make himself a smaller target, making the Mecha Gief's crouching punch miss him completely. The moment Zangief touched down he pulled the robot into a piledrier position and took to he air, allowing the ponies to catch an up close view of his greatest technique. He cleared fifteen feet easy with his jump and spun at speeds that no human should have been able to produce in the air, yet the only sound he made was when he came spinning down with his foe clutched between his arms and thighs.
"HHHHOOOORRRRIIIIIYYYYAAAHHHH!" the Red Cyclone roared as he drove the machine into the ground head first at high speeds, causing a shower of sparks to shoot out of it's neck and spin as it crumpled to the ground and remained motionless. "Behold what remains of your machine! This just goes to show that metal and wires are not match for muscle and Russian spirit!" Zangief victoriously cried as he threw his head back and laughed, the crowd cheering as Twilight tried to discern what she had just seen.
"That's physically impossible! No human can produce such force to clear fifteen feet, especially not with a nearly thousand pound mechanical monster in tow!" she shrieked as she ran her hooves through her mane, racking her brain for a solution while Insectum and Chrysalis watched the scene unfold.
"I think Zangief broke Twilight mom," Insectum said with a sad shake off her head.
"Yes. I should have introduced them sooner."
"Sir, the machine has failed," Thox whispered to Tenna with worry in his voice as both the ponies and the changelings started to turn their attentions to the six changelings that stood on their own. "We need to get out of here and fast! Or else they'll-"
"Do not worry yourself Thox, the fight is not over," Tenna calmed his advisor. As if on cue the machine began to rise to it's feet again, eyes glowing even brighter than before as it retook Zangief wrestling stance and glared at the Russian. "In fact you could say that that was simply round one."
"So you wish for more do you?" Zangief asked with a laugh as he took up his fighting stance again, mirroring the robot perfectly. "Well, who am I to say no to such an eager opponent? But do not expect me to go easy on you simply because I crushed you before."
"Less talking, more fighting!" Chrysalis roared at Zangief, who nodded as he began to walk forward. Mecha Gief was the one to take to the skies first and outstretch a massive fist as it came down, catching Zangief off guard as the metal mitt caught him in the face. Zangief held a hand to his nose as he staggered back, checking to see if he was bleeding before smirking at the robot.
"Good. Now it is a fight." Zangief moved forward slower this time as he waited for his opponent to make a move. He saw movement and quickly dashed forward, placing himself right in front of the machine again as it had tried to back away from him. He chopped it across the face once before backing off again, waiting for the next chance to attack.
"What's going on?" a pony next to Chrysalis asked with confusion. "Why are they...dancing with each other? I want to see some bot kicked!"
"Because you idiot, as hard as it is for me to say this it looks like Zangief is serious," Chrysalis said with narrowed eyes, knowing that if Zangief was fighting this carefully then he knew that his foe had to be dangerous. Zangief saw movement again and dashed forward, but the Steel Tornado had caught on to that tactic and threw two quick kicks to the knees that stunned the Russian. Then it raised its had behind its head as it spun around, with what looked like green fire erupting from its hand as it banished Zangief back with a slap. Zangief backed off at the blow with a look of shock upon his face, the green fire on the robot's hand reflecting in his eyes before it extinguished.
"You...know the banishing flat?" Zangief asked with absolute surprise in his voice, certain for a moment that the machine smiled for a moment before it took up a fighting stance again. The crowd was just as stunned as Zangief, as for some it had been heir first time seeing that move performed, but for Twilight she looked at Chrysalis with a dumbfounded expression.
"Can Zangief make green fire erupt from his hands as well?" she asked in a near whisper, her eyes shirking when Chrysalis nodded. Zangief snarled as he regained his composure, throwing out a quick low kick to fake out his foe before leaping into the air, bringing his fist back as he prepared to punch the fake hair off the robots face. Yet once again Mecha Gief read right and leapt straight up while delivering a massive headbutt that slammed Zangief back into the ground, where he staggered back to his feet with stars floating around his head. With Zangief stunned, there was no resistance as the mecha him dashed forward and unleashed his super.
"FINAL," Mecha Gief began as it wrapped it's hands around Zangief and rolled behind him, lifting the three hundred and fifty pound Russian into the air and slamming him onto his head. "ATOMIC," it continued as it lifted Zangief over it's head and slammed him, back first, onto it's metallic knee, where a loud CLANG echoed across the battlefield. It then hurled Zangief into the air and leapt up to him, placing him in the piledriver position and spinning as it finished with, "BBBBUUUUSSSSSTTTTTAAAAARRRRR."
The crowd gasped in horror as Zangief was spun and slammed onto his neck, shaking the ground beneath their hooves as the blow landed. Zangief fell over without a sound once Mecha Gief released him, leaving all who had seen what had happened struck silent as they looked at his unmoving body. Insectum let out a cry as she rushed to his side, begging for him to get up as Tenna began to chuckle.
"Zangief! Get up! You can't lose!" she begged him as Tenna shook his head with a smirk.
"Do you fools see what I mean now? Better in every way," he chuckled as Mecha Gief looked to him for orders. Tenna pointed to the crowd in response and the mechanical nightmare began to march towards them, prompting Chrysalis and Twilight to place themselves between the robot and the crowd. That was until Zangief stood up.
"Ugh...okay, you got a round on me with my own move and I do not appreciate that," he snarled as he rubbed the back of his neck and began to march towards the machine, with all eyes looking at him with complete disbelief.
"That's not possible," Twilight whispered next to Chrysalis as Insectum joined her mothers side again, the same confusion in her eyes that all of the ponies and changelings wore. "He should be dead. With that much force and speed his neck would have been snapped in half! How is he still standing?!" None of the crowd had an answer to that question, but as the two goliaths matched each other up one more time Pinkie ran between them with a giant smile on her face.
"I'm so excited! What will happen now?" she asked as she looked to the both of them before screaming, "FIGHT!"
"I will end this," Zangief replied as, to the shock of the crowd, he leapt into the sky once again despite his numerous failures. Just like before Mecha Gief followed him into the air and prepared to unleash the headbutt to ground his foe once again. But then Zangief did the unthinkable.
"I am the protector of Russia's skies!" he yelled as both hands swung behind his head and he began to spin, one of his arms catching the Steel Tornado in one of his paws. The moment his foe was caught Zangief spun in place, above the ground, with his foe in his grasp before Zangief tucked him into a headlock and...rocketed straight up without touching the ground to change direction.
"SSSSSIIIIIIBBBBBEEEEEERRRRRRIIIIIIAAAAANNNN!" he began as he continued to spin upward to the utter bewilderment of the crowd, his very actions breaking both Twilight and the laws of physics at the same time.
"NO! NO DAMNIT, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Twilight screamed as she pulled chunks of her mane out at Zanigef's blatant disregard for the works of the great scientists before him. Zangief stopped flying up and began to spin in place thirty feet above the ground as he tossed the mecha him above his head, catching him this time with the robots legs tucked under his arms and placing his feet on the robots arms so that his foe was looking straight down. The two then began to spin towards the ground at incredible speeds as Zangief yelled out,
"BBBBBBBLLLLLLIIIIIIIZZZZZAAAAAAARRRDDDD!" The impact that was made by the blizzard made the final atomic buster pale in comparison, as the land was torn apart while both ponies and changelings alike were hurled into the air by the impact. Tenna and his changelings watched without any understanding of what was happening, only snapping out of their baffled state when the head of the Steel Tornado flew through the air and landed at their hooves. All eyes then turned to the crater as Zangief arose from the impacted dirt with the body of his foe in one of his hands, which he then tossed at Tenna's feet with a smile.
"Intercepted. Any thing else you wish to throw at me?" Dead silence met his words for nearly a minute until an explosion of cheering could be heard, both from the changelings and the ponies that had been watching. Zangief turned around at the sudden excitement before he found himself swarmed by both changeling and pony alike, all of them still trying to process what he had just done while Insectum tackled his chest and hugged him as much as she could, getting a laugh out of the Russian.
"General, what do we do now?" Thox asked him as Tenna picked up Mecha Gief's head with a smile.
"We leave." A flash of light went off from the five changelings behind him, blinding all who had looked into the light. When they could see again the royalty found that Tenna, the changelings, and the machine he had made were both gone, leaving Chrysalis to sigh with frustration as she shook her head.
"He got away again. One of these days I should really remember to shoot his head off," she growled before looking at Twilight, who looked like she was in a trance as she walked through the crowd of ponies up to Zangief. She parted the ponies in front of her with her magic, gaining the attention of the Russian.
"How?" she asked with disbelief in her voice, not certain of what she had just witnessed. "How did you do that? How do you make the impossible happen every time you get into a fight? What are you?"
"What am I?" he asked with a laugh as he picked up both foals and changeling children alike and let them sit on his mighty biceps as he laughed with victory in his voice. "I am Zangief! The Red Cyclone! The greatest wrestler to exist in the history of the motherland!" He laughed as he said this while Chrysalis also let a smile cross her face at the look Twilight had.
'You still don't get it. He is Zangief. That is the only solution Twilight,' Chrysalis said as she walked over to congratulate the idiot that lived in her house and ate her food, seeing all of the ponies and changelings smiling together as they cheered for him, not one of them fighting. 'And that is why he can do the impossible.'
"Cursed insects! Why do you consist on pestering me despite knowing that you cannot win?!" Zangief asked the swarm of flies that constantly buzzed around his head for the fifth time, swatting at them with his hands only for them to once again avoid all of his blows. "Grr, why am I in this forest? In should be dancing or fighting, not stuck in a forest." Fluttershy giggled at the silliness that was going on as the bugs began to laugh at the Russian wrestler, getting Gief to growl before clapping his hands together. The force of the clap pushed the puny bugs away from him in a gust of wind, allowing the Russian to laugh at his "victory".
"I have to agree with the brute over there. Why in the infernal tartarus are we walking through the forest at nearly six in the morning?" Chrysalis complained with a both bored and tired yawn, still wishing that she was fast asleep on the cottage's couch. Her daughter (who Chrysalis was certain was sucking the energy out of her) bounded around the barely visible path with wide eyes and a toothy smile as she darted around to see all of the different insects. "I am fairly certain that you could have shown my daughter a picture of this rare Hummingbee instead of dragging all of our flanks out of bed this early in the morning."
"But the Hummingbee is so much more interesting and beautiful in real life," Fluttershy explained for Chrysalis, earning her a growl from the changeling queen. "Until you see how fast it can move its wings for yourself you haven't truly appreciated it."
"I could appreciate it just fine back on the couch back at the cottage," Chrysalis grumbled before her daughter bounced over in front of her.
"Come on mom, the Hummingbee sounds really cool! What's the point in coming to Ponyville if we don't do some sightseeing while we're here?" Insectum asked her mother, who groaned tiredly in response.
"Insectum, I love you but sometimes for the life of me I can't understand you," Chrysalis revealed with a shake of her head, yet her words were lost on her daughter who had zipped over to look up at a number of birds that sat in the branches in the dark trees overhead. But as Insectum and Fluttershy kept their eyes on the trees, Chrysalis was more focused on the eyes that seemed to look out from the brush at them from every direction.
"Do not worry about the eyes that glare hungrily at us from all sides, for if they were to attack us I would throw them as if they were bears in the wind," Zangief said to comfort the changeling before he threw his head back and bellowed with laughter. While his laughter still annoyed her, Chrysalis was grateful to see that the eyes vanished at the mighty roar of Zangief, meaning his words spoke the truth.
"So where is this blasted bee anyway? It feels like we've been walking for hours," Chrysalis grumbled, trying to find something new to be upset about. "The forest keeps getting thicker and I'm fairly certain a plant just tried to eat me a couple steps back. If we don't find it soon I'm flying my daughter back to where its safe and leaving you two to fend for yourselves."
"Not much further Chrysalis, we are almost at the clearing." Chrysalis shrugged before looking over at the Russian towering along besides her, her mind flashing back to the battle he had had with the Steel Tornado the other day at the move that he had performed to defeat nearly two thousand pounds of unforgiving steel.
"Ah, that is another technique of mine, one that I developed after I had perfected the spinning piledriver," Zangief disclosed to her once Chrysalis had asked him about the move. "I call it the Siberian Blizzard, for it is as harsh and unforgiving as the snow storms that grace the motherland back home."
"So the spinning piledriver wasn't enough and you wanted another move that defied all the laws of physics?" Chrysalis asked with a smirk. "Did you nearly get frozen to death in a blizzard or something?"
"See, as great as the S.P.D. is, my opponents have a nasty habit of leaping away from me whenever I get too close to use it. I think they do not like my move," Zangief said with a small hint of confusion in his voice that got Chrysalis to roll her eyes. "So I decided that if they did not wish to feel the power of my cyclone, then they would feel the wrath of a blizzard from Russia and how this blizzard protects the skies. Thus the Siberian Blizzard was created, so that any foe that took to the skies would see that it was not safe for them."
"So it works as an aerial counter then," Chrysalis muttered as she placed a hoof under her chin, forgetting that she only had one leg and would have fallen on her face had Zangief not caught her with his massive mitts. "So what happens if your opponent doesn't leap into the air to escape you (and frankly I can't imagine why they wouldn't)? Does your move just turn into the S.P.D. or something?"
"Ah, actually if they do not jump the I must focus on not letting the momentum of my swinging arms cause me to land on my face and thus I must stop performing the move, leaving me slightly open," Zangief admitted as he rubbed the back of his head with a good natured smile, only to have a number of bugs fly into his mouth all at once. "Cursed insects! Cease these foolish attempts to fight me! But I have never lost a match due to my opponent refusing to flee, for none can hold their fears back when faced with one such as Zangief!"
"I see...but then why not use it when fighting that annoying Rainbow Dash?" Chrysalis inquired. "Seems like it be the perfect moves against the pony who spends nearly all of her time in the clouds."
"Chrysalis, you saw what the Siberian Blizzard did to that pile of scrap metal that thought it could imitate me," Zangief reminded Chrysalis. "I did not wish to kill any of my foes, I simply wish to throw them until they could not stand anymore. There was no need to trap such a fast sparrow inside of a blizzard that would have claimed her life. I am a hero to the children, not a monster."
"You certainly look like one," Chrysalis snarked, but deep within she found that she admired Zangief for thinking of not only the changelings during that fight, but for the ponies as well. 'After all, I don't think Celestia and Luna would have been so keen on helping me if Zangief had turned Rainbow Dash into a rainbow smudge.'
Her train of thought derailed and plowed into a crowd of brain cells when a massive roar shook the entire forest, causing all four of the travelers to come to a dead stop. Then a large beast began to rise over to forest, causing the ground to quake in fear of what was to come. All eyes were glued to the blue fur with constellations covering the monsters entire being, a being that blocked out the sun with its size. Finally the beast turned its head towards the four with a monstrous yawn, revealing rows of teeth that turned Insectum's face white with fear.
"Oh no, it's an Ursa Minor," Fluttershy whispered weakly as the bear the size of a building smacked it's lips, using it's bear paws to rub the sand from it's eyes as it looked around still half dazed. "And it seems to have just woken up from it's nap. Okay, if we just slowly back away from it without making any loud sounds odds are that it will go back to sleep without-"
"It is...magnificent." All eyes turned away from the biggest creature in the forest to the dumbest creature in the forest who wore a look of sheer joy on his face as he looked up at the beast that towered over them. "I have only dreamed about bears like this in my dreams, but to think that I am seeing such a beast here an now...I must."
"No Zangief, you don't want to mess with an Ursa. They can be grumpy when they wake up," Fluttershy warned him.
"I must."
"Zangief, even I am having doubts about you winning...surviving this fight," Insectum said with undertones of fear in her voice.
"I must!"
"Ah what the hell, go have fun!" Chrysalis said with a cackle as she lifted the mighty Zangief with her magic and hurled him up at the Ursa Minor, with only the roar of the Red Cyclone echoing throughout the forest as he sailed towards the face of a monster with both arms outstretched.
"Come and face me!" Zangief roared with both enthusiasm and the will to fight. The Ursa turned to see the tiny man flying towards him with a befuddled expression before it lifted a paw in front of it's face, a paw that Zangief slammed into at high speeds. Yet the Cyclone only took a moment before he was ready to fight again and he unleashed the fury of his muscles into the paw that he was grabbing onto.
"You may be the largest bear that I have had to wrestle, but even a mighty bear can be forced to submit!" Zangief yelled up at the confused Ursa Minor as he clawed his way up to one of the bears toes, which he wrapped his arms around as he unleashed a bear hug upon the first toe he grabbed. "Do not bother trying to break my grasp, for I will never give up until you have submitted to my might!"
The bear looked at Zangief with a raised eyebrow before it slammed it's paw into the ground and began to scrap back and forth, almost as if it had stepped in something and was trying to wipe it off. Fluttershy and Insectum both let out gasps of concern for the Russian pancake while Chrysalis was more interested to see if Zangief was still holding onto the bear. The bear lifted it's paw to find that out as well and was greeted with a bellow.
"Never!"
WHAM! The ground shook beneath their hooves as the bear drove the Russian back into the ground with an annoyed face, scraping even harder before lifting it's paw again.
"Never!"
WHAM! The bear let out a moan of frustration when it lifted it's paw to find that Zangief was just as stubborn as he was immune to pain or common sense, forcing the bear to begin biting at it's own paw in a desperate attempt to remove the annoyance from it's body.
"Zangief! You need to try to scratch it behind it's ears! That's one of the few ways to calm it down!" Fluttershy called out to Zangief with fear in her voice, but all her words did was get Zangief to laugh as he released the bears toe and launch himself onto the bears cheek. Once he had a grip upon the face fur he began to climb up the bears head, getting Fluttershy to shake her head while worry filled up her eyes.
"What is he thinking? The Ursa could kill him in an instant if it wanted to!" she exclaimed as Zangief reached the part of the head where the bears ear connected to it's head. Zangief wrapped the Ursa's ear into a death grip as he began to twist and pull with all of his might to force the bear to submit, to show that he was greater than any bear that sought to beat him. Despite his best efforts though, his actions were having an opposite effect on the bear. For instead of forcing it into submission like it would have done a regular bear, the Ursa's face took on a more pleased face as it's back leg began to slam into the ground rapidly.
"Thinking? Fluttershy, you are talking about Zangief, the densest thing I have ever encountered in all of my days," Chrysalis said with a chuckle as the bear began to pant happily as Zangief increased the pressure. "He wasn't thinking. He saw a bear and decided that he needed to wrestle it. No other thoughts crossed his mind."
The Ursa let out a happy moan and reached up to clasp Zangief within both of it's paw, plucking the Russian wrestler off of its head. The Ursa brought Zangief in front of its face, getting Zangief to yell at the bear while he tried to force its paws open with the might forged in the Siberian wilderness. The bear let out a happy bark and rolled onto it's back, throwing Zangief into the air with a happy smile. Zangief roared with determination as he hurtled down towards the Ursa, expertly dodging it's paws by sticking his knees out to decrease his size. He slammed onto the Ursa's chest with body slam, which he locked into place before he looked down to the others.
"The count! Give me the count!"
"Um...one, two, three?" Insectum counted out with confusion, but the moment she said the word three Zangief leapt into the air with a loud laugh, throwing his arms over his head and waving them like he had won the greatest fight of his life. "I don't get it, can somepony explain to me what the heck just happened?"
"That idiot is going by pro-wrestling rules," Chrysalis said with both a laugh of amusement and a groan of annoyance as Zangief's celebration reached their ears. "That idiot thinks that just because he held the bear down on it's back for three seconds that he's beaten it. Dear Faust give me strength." Insectum and Fluttershy both shared a look before both of them looked up at Zangief again, who was now scratching the Ursa's stomach much to the delight of the massive beast.
"Well, at least the Ursa looks happy," Fluttershy said with a smile and a shrug as the baby bear let out a happy moan, figuring that no harm had been caused by the wrestling match. Then another roar shook the forest, a roar that made the one created by the Ursa Minor seem like a light breeze in comparison. A massive shadow cast itself over the four travelers and even the Ursa Minor as all eyes looked to the sky, all of their eyes shrinking in fear as they saw the purple fur covered in constellations that blocked out the sun.
The Ursa Major ascended into the sky so far that clouds broke on it's back, creating a shadow that reached all the way back to Ponyville. None of the ponies dared to move and even the sharp tongue of Chrysalis stayed within it's sheath in fear of turning the creatures eyes towards her. For a moment, the entire forest was in complete silence. And then Zangief, who was still standing on the tummy of the Minor and gazing up at the godly bear with wide eyes, broke the silence.
A loud knocking against the cottage door awoke the young Insectum from her slumber and caused her to accidentally roll off of the couch that had been her bed for the past couple of days. Fortunately the floor was nice enough to catch her, so with a large yawn the small changeling staggered to the door. She stopped in front of her mother long enough to taking in the snoring and drooling queen who lay on a sofa across from hers before reaching out for the door handle, letting in the morning sun into the house when she cracked the door open.
"Hello there princess Insectum. I am sorry to wake you at such an early hour, but I have news that simply could not wait," a kind and regal voice said to the princess, who was unable to see through her bleary eyes due to the sun being a jerk. Yet despite her temporary loss of sight, Insectum still identified who the pony speaking was due to her voice and the fact that her mother cursed Celestia's name in her sleep.
"Morning Princess Celestia, what are you doing here so early?" Insectum half sleep talked as she moved slightly to the side while rubbing her eyes, allowing the princess to enter the cottage with a slight bow of her head.
"I raise the sun, my dear child. I am up when it comes up," Celestia reminded the princess with a smile before her gaze was drawn by the queen of the changelings, who was standing on all three of her legs with a regal stance as she looked at Celestia with cold, but still slightly sleepy, eyes. "Good morning Chrysalis. You are definitely one that I did not expect to be up this early."
"A mother wakes with her children Celestia and since you were so rude as to wake my daughter up, then I am up as well," Chrysalis growled at Celestia as she watched Insectum crawl back onto the couch. "And since you are here, I can tell that today is going to suck. But for the sake of argument, please tell me why you would be bothering us at too early o clock?"
"Because, oh grumpy one, the device is ready." Celestia fought back the desire to smile as she saw her words slap the sleep and annoyance right off of the changeling queen's face, changing Chrysalis from a grumpy mother to a respectful queen within seconds. "We have set it up in the middle of town and shall tell all of the ponies what it does when we get there, but I figured that you would wish to lay eyes on it for yourself before you allow us to try anything."
"You thought right, oh princess of the sun," Chrysalis agreed before walking over to her daughter, who had covered herself with blankets and was trying to fall back asleep. Celestia smiled at the sight of Insectum trying to fight her mother off before she did a quick scan of the cottage with her eyes, surprised that she could not see a figure that she was certain that she should not miss. "Looking for the brute? He sleeps out in the back since there is no way in Equis he's getting through the front door without there being bodies. He's probably out there right now if you want to go look."
Celestia nodded to Chrysalis before exiting the cottage and circling around to the back of the place. She did wish to inform Zangief that the machine to feed the changelings was ready (something that she was certain that he would be interested in) but she also wanted to learn a bit more about him, since she was now receiving at least twelve letters a day from Twilight as she tried to figure out how the Russian broke the laws of physics so casually.
Those thoughts however, were thrown right out the window when Celestia reached the back yard to see Zangief doing the Cossack dance with a bear on one shoulder and what seemed to be an unconscious chimera on the other. The bear had a look of both fear and admiration for the Russian wrestler who danced with the two beast so easily while all three of the chimera's heads looked dazed. Zangief's face was one of sheer determination and so focused was he on his training that he did not notice Celestia walk over to him until she had entered his sight.
"Princess Celestia! Greeting!" Zangief bellowed with a laugh so loud that Celestia was certain that all of Ponyville was awakened by it. Zangief rose to his full height and shrugged the two beasts off of his shoulders. The bear landed on it's back and rose back to it's feet while the chimera landed on it's faces and stayed on the ground. "Such a strange beast, is it not?" Zangief asked when he followed Celestia's gaze to the chimera. "For a creature with three heads, you think it would have the brains to know not to attack a cyclone while it sleeps, eh? Unfortunately for it, I do not sleep and so I was ready when it tried to ambush me. And then I dropped it on all three of it's heads! Now it is making up for it's mistakes by helping me train!"
"That is...certainly an interesting training method," Celestia dumbfoundedly muttered before shaking her head slightly and informing Zangief of what she had told Chrysalis moments ago.
"That is wonderful! We should go see this machine in action immediately!" Zangief agreed before turning back to the bear. "You keep an eye on that coward there. If he...she...if it tries anything you can use him...it as a training dummy and throw it on it's head! HAHA! Come Princess!"
"Dear Faust your voice is like an avalanche," Chrysalis groaned once Zangief and Celestia had returned to the cottage entrance, Celestia smiling softly at the small changeling who was still asleep but now resting on her mothers back. Fluttershy was up as well and she joined the group of five as they left the cottage and headed towards the town, Zangief keeping them entertained with the story of the time he fought a great warrior called Ryu.
"...And despite the man looking puny and weak, he throws a mean uppercut that knocked even me straight to my back," Zangief ended the story with a bit of shame as the group reached the town, Celestia glad that Twilight was not there to hear of another human that could defy what they had believed to be true. "And do not get me started on how hard it is to avoid those hadokens all the time. I swear that..."
"As much as I enjoy hearing stories about you getting whipped something fierce, time to put on your best public face because we're here," Chrysalis cut him off before he could finish, looking at the already bustling town of Ponyville with a sigh. "This is going to go well, I can already feel it," she sarcastically grumbled.
"Do not think that way Chrysalis, it cannot be good for your health. Look, already all of the ponies are here to greet us!" Zangief said with a laugh as a large crowd formed around him, all of them asking him for autographs or how he constantly did the impossible.
"Yeah, here to greet us," Chrysalis mocked with a shake of her head before her eye caught a blue and rainbow pony flying towards them, causing a large grin to break out upon her face. "Ohohoho. This should be good." The crowd spotted the Pegasus after Chrysalis had said this and parted to let Rainbow Dash land in front of the Red Cyclone as Zangief looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. The two stared at each other for a long moment before Zangief broke the silence with a joyous laugh.
"Hello Comrade, I am glad to see that you have finally recovered from the blow you received to your head," he said with a good natured smile, but Rainbow Dash's face remained emotionless, something that Zangief did not miss. "Do not be angry about your loss. There is no shame in losing to someone as great and powerful as Zangief is!"
"You mean as lucky as Zangief is?" Rainbow Dash replied in a tone that sounded more devious than it did angry. "Because from what I recall of the fight I was beating you pretty badly until you pulled that trick inside the tornado. Of course, now that I know that the fight wouldn't even last a minute this time." The crowd gasped at Dash's words before all eyes turned towards the mighty Russian, who narrowed his own eyes at the rainbow Pegasus before a smile broke out on his face and he threw back his head with a laugh.
"So you wish to face me again?! Bwahahaha! Khorosho, then we shall fight again once Celestia has shown off her machine," Zangief agreed with a laugh as he looked back to his group and the crowd of ponies that was around them as well. "Come then my friends, let us go see how Celestia believes she can turn love into food. I know that I am interested." The crowd followed after Zangief like they would a superstar, leaving Celestia and Fluttershy to walk over to Dash who was watching the mountain of a man leave with a smile on her face.
"Rainbow Dash, I believe that the doctors have only cleared you to leave the hospital, not have a rematch against the foe who put you in the hospital in the first place," Celestia reminded Rainbow Dash, who's response was to shrug with a smile on her face.
"Come on Princess, this time I know what I did wrong. Now I know how to beat him," Dash said with a smirk that was shot down by a look that Fluttershy gave her friend.
"Rainbow Dash, I am ashamed of you. Do you know how worried all of us were after the last time Zangief piledrived you?" Fluttershy asked her friend, who looked down at the ground instead of answering.
"Well I think it's a great idea. Go for broke Dash and don't let these sticks in the mud tell you other wise!" Chrysalis said with a wicked chuckle that gained her two cold stares from Shy and Celestia. "Come on, we're already falling behind," Chrysalis said while ignoring their glares as she marched passed, getting the princess and the other two to groan as they followed her to the center of town. As they arrived they heard cheers and gasps, as well as the sounds of fighting. Celestia burst through the crowd of ponies that had amassed to see Twilight trying to pin Zangief down with her magic yet the massive Russian was doing a fairly good job of dodging her spells.
"Hello everypony and thank you for coming here on such short notice!" Celestia called out to the crowd with a smile once she had gotten the two fighters under control, though she did keep a close eye on Twilight who continued to gaze at Zangief with narrowed eyes. "As you may have already heard, one of the conditions for the match between Rainbow Dash and Zangief was that if Zangief won, we would help to feed the changelings." The crowd began to boo at her words, but before Celestia could silence them Zangief raised a hand and the crowd fell silent.
"I am ashamed of you ponies. Are you not supposed to be the most friendly and kind creatures in all of Equis? Are you not the beings that all the others look to when they wish to know of friendship?" Zangief asked them with his booming voice as he swept his eyes across the crowd. "Yet when creatures other than ponies need help you would turn a blind eye? The changelings may have done wrong in the past and you may not like them very much, but they still are living beings with families that need help of they are to survive. So are you going to practice what you preach or will you only be friendly to your own kind?"
Chrysalis's eyes had widened at Zangief's words as she knew full well whose words he was repeating, but as she looked out across the crowd of ponies she saw both guilt and realization in their eyes. A moment later the crowd looked back up at Celestia with determined faces, causing Zangief to look at Chrysalis and give her a quick wink.
"You idiot," she muttered under her breath with a small smile as Celestia began to speak again.
"If no pony has any objections, then we shall begin with the process that will turn the love that you all hold within your hearts," she called out to them, surprised to not hear any objections or see any looks of anger. She then turned to a large, tarped object that rested behind her near the town hall. With a tug of her magic Celestia pulled the tarp off to reveal a large antennae like object that held a large container at the bottom of it. "This process will be effortless and painless, so none of you need to worry about any sort of pain. All that I ask is that all of you think about something or pony that you love and cherish as to make the machines job easier. Are you all ready? Then we shall begin."
The machine began to hum as Celestia flowed her magic into it, creating waves of rainbow energy to wash over all of the ponies. All of the ponies looked around at the rainbow waves as they converted the love that was held within the ponies hearts into a green energy that began to fill up the container, while ponies felt not only their own love but also all of the love around them float through the air, lifting the spirits of all who were near the machine.
"I...have not felt this happy since I threw my first bear," Zangief said with a happy smile as large amounts of energy came off of him, while a decent amount came off of Chrysalis as well, though her energy was not sucked into the machine. But that did not mean that she was immune to the machines effects.
"Indeed. Even I feel...nice," Chrysalis muttered before turning her head so that she could nuzzle her still sleeping daughter. Despite how large the container was, the machine was filled within a few minutes and as it finished the effects of the device wore off. The ponies still held their happy smiles as they all looked up at the now full machine, which Celestia covered again with the tarp as she turned to Chrysalis.
"We are performing this procedure across the land in hopes to collect enough food for your people to last a good while," Celestia said with a smile that caused Chrysalis to roll her eyes. But Celestia did receive a grateful nod as well and decided to be content with the small display of gratitude. But the small moment was broken by a mighty laugh that snapped all of the ponies out of their happy daze and all of the startled eyes were now looking at Zangief.
"Now that we have fed the appetites of the changelings, how about we sate the hunger of those who crave to see battle?!" Zangief asked the crowd as he turned to face Rainbow Dash, who let out a laugh as well as she took up a fighting stance. The other ponies made room for the two as the crowd began to chant while Zangief took up his fighting stance as well, laughing at Dash as the two stared each other down.
"Now then, little sparrow, let us see if you have learned from the last battle!" Zangief roared as he rushed forward, Rainbow Dash throwing herself at Zangief as well. The crowd roared as the two collided and the fight was on.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"Sir, we've received reports that the princesses have helped to create a source of food for the hive and that can only mean that Chrysalis will be at her strongest as well as have the princesses with her. Are you sure that you want to attack the hive now?" a changeling asked a figure sitting in the darkest part of the laboratory. The sounds of gears moving caused an uneasy silence amongst the changelings that were there.
"Yes, now is the perfect time to attack."
"Um sir? Zangief will be there as well and after last time...I mean, you've only spent a few days getting familiar with your...body." A pair of red eyes looked out from beneath a hooded rob that silenced the changeling immediately, but Tenna decided that he need to put their minds to rest.
"Do not worry about me, I know what I am doing," Tenna said in a far more metallic voice than he used to have, but there was still the underlining hints of joy in his tone as he thought ahead to his rematch. "Because soon I shall be the strongest in the land, whether or not Zangief manages to beat me. Then we shall make sure that all know that I am."
"Do you give up yet?" Zangief asked with a laugh at the small, rainbow Pegasus that was trying with all of her might to get out of the pair of legs that could be mistaken for tree trunks that were crushing her midsection. "Come now Dash, did you really think that I would not learn anything from our last fight? You cannot use that annoying speed if you cannot move."
"Just...going...easy on you!" Dash gasps out as she struggled with all of her might to escape a thin waistline. Her wings beat with the speeds of a small hurricane, but Zangief laughed the effort off as he rested on the ground with his head held up in his palm.
"Well this must be embarrassing for you," Chrysalis said with a slightly violent jab into Celestia's ribs, getting a small look from the princess of the sun. "Not only is your Element of Harmony losing in front of the entire town again, but this time she's not even getting a chance to fight back. I wonder why I had so much trouble dealing with them the last time I invaded?"
"Because this is nothing more than a one on one fight whereas we beat you as a team! Not to mention your black heart could never stand up to the power of friendship!" Twilight spoke up to defend her teachers honor, but all her words did was garner a maniacal laugh from the queen.
"Be careful with your words Twilight or I'll ask Zangief to spin his way back in time and make sure that you and Celestia never meet." Chrysalis could see the skepticism in Twilight's eyes about her statement, but then with a delicious smile Chrysalis saw the princess of friendships eyes glance quick over at Zangief and for a moment she questioned whether he could or not.
"Hey, what's that?" Rainbow Dash wheezed out to Zangief as she pointed off into the distance, but with another hearty laugh Zangief tightened his things to keep the Pegasus pinned.
"Do you take me for a fool, sparrow? I would not fall for such an obvious trick!" Zangief laughed.
"Fine, I guess you don't want to fight a three headed bear," Rainbow Dash shrugged and almost immediately felt the pressure leave her midsection.
"Where is that bear?! Come and face me!" Zangief roared as he shot to his feet with both of his arms outstretched, looking around with a fire in his eyes for the new foe. It was only after he heard Chrysalis curse at him that he realized what had happened and in the very next instance he felt two hooves drive themselves into his head, slamming his bearded face into the soft dirt. Dash began to jump up and down on the back of Zangief's head while Chrysalis let out a groan to the sky loud enough to wake her daughter.
"What Zangief do this time?" Insectum sleepily mumbled as she lifted her head towards where the fight was happening and blinked the sleep out of her eyes when she saw what was going on. "Zangief do something stupid again mom?"
"You have no idea." Despite the sight of a Pegasus jumping up and down on the back of a human that was as tall as most bears, Chrysalis's focus was taken away from the fight as she spotted a small purple and green reptile running towards them with a letter clutched in his claws so tightly that it was practically folded in half. "Twilight, you need to teach your pets to stay at home. Here comes one of them now."
Twilight skipped on chewing out Chrysalis for her words and opted instead to snatch the letter from Spike's claws with her magic, leaving the exhausted dragon to collapse onto the ground as he tried to regain his breath. Her eyes quickly glanced over letters that were written with haste before the letter was in Celestia's clutches and the princess of the sun felt her heart go cold as she looked at Chrysalis with fear.
"It's Tenna. He and his army is attacking the hive. Luna needs help."
"WHAT?!" Zangief roared as his head burst out of the dirt and hurled Rainbow Dash through a building that had gotten front row seats to the fight and was now paying for it. He raced over to the group and accidentally slammed his hips into Celestia as he snatched the letter out of her magic, hurling the princess of the sun and getting an ear splitting shriek from Twilight as Celestia landed in a pool of mud. "Let me see that letter!...Oh right, I cannot read pony. Chrysalis, is what she says true?" Zangief asked as he nearly punched Chrysalis in the face giving the letter to her.
"Dammit all Tenna, I'll tear you limb from limb!" Chrysalis roared with an unholy fury as she skimmed over the letter. She then took to the skies to fly back to her nation, but was stopped when Celestia grabbed hold of her with magic and brought her back to earth.
"You will never make it in time if you fly. We will use the teleportation spell into the wastelands that Twilight and I have been practicing," Celestia decreed while wiping mud out of her mane, giving a look to Twilight with a nod as both of their horns began to glow.
"You've been practicing a spell to get you into the heart of my land, have you?" Chrysalis asked with the smallest hints of respect in her voice. "I take it you had that stored away incase you needed to attack me at any given time?"
"Of course. Rainbow Dash, you...oh right. Fluttershy, when Rainbow Dash wakes up you two will gather the others and keep an eye on Ponyville and Canterlot. Make sure that Tenna isn't trying anything here," Celestia ordered before the spell enveloped the three princesses, the queen and the Russian wrestler. One flash of light and space tearing magic later the five of them found themselves on the outer layer of the hive. Even on the other side of the walls they could hear the sounds of fighting on the inside.
"Come! There are children in danger!" Zangief roared as he busted through the iron doors that were supposed to keep any foe out with his skull, charging into the hive with a roar that would cause the Ursa's to shake with fear. He barreled into the hive to see changeling fighting changeling everywhere, both on the ground and in the skies. The sight confused him for a moment until he spotted streaks of red on some of the combatants, telling him who was about to get crushed.
"I am the protector of the hive!" Zangief roared with such a voice that all within a mile radius stopped their fighting to see the Red Cyclone take to the skies and scoop two red streaked changelings into his arms, spiraling back down to the ground with them and landing on a third. "Tenna! Today you shall be defeated!" He drove his leg into the face of another red marked changeling as he said this and rocketed them through solid rock, gaining cheers as the changeling guard let out a cry,
"It is Zangief! Zangief is back!" Roars of hope rose from the changeling guards as those words echoed across the entire hive, filling those who had been desperate with the will to keep fighting. Zangief was crushing two more of Tenna's soldiers with his mighty muscles with purple and red blasts of magic descended from on high, striking down a large number of the soldiers around the wrestler.
"Focus on keeping the citizens safe Zangief, Twilight and I will take out those in the sky!" Celestia ordered as she and Twilight zoomed by in full combat mode, blasting even more of the cowards who were attacking the city. Zangief smiled before hurling the two changelings tucked under his arms, leaving him free to grab two more and drive them into the side of a building.
"I can't sense him." Zangief turned to see two of his foes be blasted to ash with a torrent of green magic, which was followed by the arrival of Chrysalis a moment later. One blast of magic from her horn punched a hole through one of the changelings before a smaller blast of magic that came from her back struck one of Tenna's troops in the eye, causing him to cry out in pain before three hundred and fifty pounds of Russian might shut him up.
"What do you mean?" Zangief asked as he stuck out his arm and nearly decapitated a changeling.
"Tenna. I can't sense his magic, his changeling signature. Nothing," Chrysalis growled as a Tenna troop leapt into the air behind her, but Insectum intercepted with a small burst of magic that burned the changelings face. Chrysalis swung around and impaled the changeling on her horn before tossing him off while smiling at my daughter. "Barely eight years old and already you're striking down your foes. I'm so proud of you."
"Well, we know he's got an ego. Where would somepony like him go?" Insectum asked the two of them, getting both Chrysalis and Zangief to share a look before both of them turned their gaze towards the castle.
"That bastard," Chrysalis snarled before she hurled herself forward with her wings, Zangief keeping pace with his massive strides. Despite wanting to reach Tenna as quickly as they could, the group had to stop every couple of blocks to help citizens that had been caught in the crossfire of the guard taking on the invading forces.
"He really is unleashing all of his forces for this battle, is he not?" Zangief observed as he splashed onto three changelings and crushed them immediately, rising to his feet to see a barrier of green erect itself around him to deflect a number of spells that had been aimed at his back. Chrysalis burned those changelings to a crisp before loud screams could be heard, turning all three of them towards a number of children that were caught in the middle of a burning building. "Hang on, I am coming!"
Zangief careened into the center of the burning building and scooped the changeling children into his arms, only to have his ears assaulted by the sounds of something breaking. He looked up to see the building coming down upon the three of them, but with conviction that was stronger than any force on the planet he planted his boots and used his body to shield the children as brick and steel crashed down on top of him.
"Darn that idiot he might have gotten himself killed!" Chrysalis snarled as she and Insectum began to use their magic to hurl brick and metal off of a massive pile that used to be a building, both wondering if that had been it before a mass of muscle burst forth from beneath the wreckage.
"Do not worry little ones, you are safe," Zangief said as he walked forward and placed the children on the ground, watching them run off towards some of the guards before looking up at Chrysalis. "We are making little progress. As much as I wish to throw Tenna to the moon my heart will not allow me to pass by those who need help...and that seems to be everyone."
"Then let me handle saving the changelings while you deal with Tenna." The three looked up to see the princess of the night land in the middle of them, getting a snarl out of Chrysalis as she glared at Luna.
"I let you look after my kingdom for one week and you let the place get invaded. And you wonder why I hate you and your sisters guts," Chrysalis snarled at Luna, but the massive frame of Zangief placed himself between the two of them.
"Thank you for doing this Luna. In return, I promise to throw Tenna once for you!" Zangief promised before picking up Chrysalis and placing her and her daughter on his back before racing off towards the castle. To the threes surprise they found that the doors to the castle were opened and a single changeling was waiting for them, mockingly bowing to Chrysalis as she approached.
"Greetings Chrysalis. Zangief. Tenna has been expecting you," Thox said to the group before motioning for them to follow him inside. The three did so with some slight hesitation and Chrysalis erected a small shield around her daughter to be safe, while Zangief lumbered behind the changeling with a snarl.
"Where is your coward of a leader? If he knew I was coming why did he not come to meet me himself?" Zangief demanded, but all Thox did was look at Zangief with a menacing smile on his face.
"Because he has plans for you, oh might Zangief. Ah, here we are." To the surprise of both Chrysalis and Zangief, they found that instead of the throne room the changeling had instead lead them to the roof of the castle, where Zangief and Tenna had first clashed. At the edge of the roof across from the stairs stood a cloaked figure who looked out across the battle, far larger than Tenna and almost exactly the same height as Zangief.
"Tenna you coward, quite hiding and face me!" Zangief bellowed at the changeling as Thox vanished back down the stairs.
"You were a fool to face us alone Tenna. Without my daughter to hold hostage even I could crush you like the worm that you are," Chrysalis snarled with anger as both she and Zangief glared at the cloak figure, who began to laugh. The laugh caught Chrysalis and Zangief off guard, for instead of sounding like the voice of Tenna it was far more mechanical and cold.
"Yes Zangief, it is time that I faced you," Tenna said in a metallic voice as he turned to face the group, letting the robe fall off of him as he did so to reveal...
"The Steel Tornado?" Zangief asked in confusion as he saw his mechanical doppelgänger instead of a changeling staring at him. "What have you done Tenna? Have you no honor to face me yourself?"
"But this is me Zangief. My old body was far too weak to face somepony as truly strong as yourself, so I created a body that coud match yours," Tenna laughed with a robots voice, slowly beginning to walk towards Zangief with glowing red eyes. "But now not only can I you... now I am stronger than you." Then it was Zangief's turn to laugh as he began to march forward as well, but there was no joy in his laugh. Only anger.
"You have hurt children, attacked a mother and thrown away your own body for a metallic shell. You are not strong Tenna, you are only a coward," Zangief said with rage, rage that got Tenna to nod with the robots head.
"Come then Zangief. Show me that I am wrong. Show me just how strong you are."
Both of the wrestlers let out a loud roar and charged towards each other, slamming head on in the center of the rooftop and beginning the ultimate battle.
Five fingers slapped themselves across the metal face of the Steel Tornado to stop it dead in it's tracks, but despite the mighty blow the robo-gief retaliated with a meaty kick right to the gut of the Red Cyclone that sent him staggering back. A low sweep from the might Russian took the metal monster off of it's feet and sent it crashing into the roof of the castle, shaking the entire building as Zangief leapt to the sky with both arms outstretched.
"How predictable," Tenna muttered before springing to his feet with both arms outstretched while he spun like a small tornado, one of the metallic limbs catching Gief mid flight and hurling him back down into the castle roof. "Come now Zangief, surely you can think of something more creative for our final battle. I wouldn't want the queen and princess's last thoughts to be of how boring our battle was," Tenna taunted as he walked up to the motionless Zangief.
Yet with a speed that Tenna did not think possible Zangief blurred to his feet and slipped around behind the Steel Tornado, roaring with the might of a madman as he lifted nearly two thousand pounds of metal and hurled it over his head, slamming it onto the ground behind Zangief as he dumped it into it's head. Zangief then rolled through and performed the maneuver again, nearly dunking Tenna through the solid stone ceiling on the second suplex.
"Perhaps if you fought half as hard as you boasted then this would be a fight worth remembering!" Chrysalis said in a mocking tone to the metallic Tenna, whose entire body groaned as he rose back to his feet. His eyes flickered once before he began to move forward again, Zangief matching him step for step.
"Yeah, you can't win! Zangief fights for us!" Insectum taunted as well from her mother's back as Zangief and his steel counterpart collided once again, each of them straining against each other with all of their might to overpower the other.
"That is something I have been meaning to ask you Zangief. Why protect this worthless ruler and her whelp of a child?" Tenna asked Zangief, but the momentary loss of focus allowed Zangief to lift the Tornado over his head with a roar of might before driving him back down onto his back. Tenna shot back to his feet with the lariats again, yet Zangief had predicted the move and hoped back to avoid the blow, yet was too far to follow up with anything. "Why protect this worthless nation of weaklings?"
"Because they are my friends!" Zangief roared as he threw a Superman punch into the jaw of the Steel Tornado, but to his displeasure he found that despite such a blow Tenna was still able to speak.
"If I believed that Chrysalis was capable of making friends I might believe your statement, but what I want to know is why settle for protecting them," Tenna specified as he threw out a quick chop that caught Zangief across the mouth, forcing the Russian back as he held a hand to his bleeding mouth. "You are strong, the strongest being that I have ever seen. You could rule them Zangief, you could be a god to them. They have already shown that they are willing to follow you, so why allow yourself to be pushed around by a fool of a queen."
"Because they are my strength," Zangief clarified as he began to march forward again, eyes narrowed as he prepared for any quick strike. "Their cheers are what keep me going and their hope in me is what allows me to overcome any obstacle that is placed before me!" Tenna shook his head as he blocked a low kick and used a quick uppercut that staggered Zangief. With a quick dash forward he placed Zangief in the suplex position and used his metallic power to chuck Zangief onto his back.
"I was wrong abut you Zangief. I truly thought that you were strong," Tenna bitterly said with the deepest of dissapointments in his voice, confusing Chrysalis as Zangief pushed himself back to a standing position. "I thought...that you understood what it meant to be strong and that's why you were always so confident in yourself."
"So then tell me coward, what perversion of true strength do you believe in?" Zangief snarled as he leapt into the air and stuck out his mighty fist, knocking the disappointment off of Tenna's face as he forced the robots jaw a couple of inches out of alignment. But then with a ferocious roar Tenna slammed his fists into Zangief's gut and doubled him over before wrapping arms that could crush steel bars around his gut. With another roar he hoisted Zangief over his head as he leapt into the air, swinging the Russian onto his back to deliver a bone shaking powerbomb.
"Those who are truly strong have no need for others! The ultimate power is the power to dominate! To crush any who dare to challenge you or your beliefs so thoroughly that no one will dare question you!" Tenna roared as he pulled Zangief back up only to crack his nose with a piston punch to the face, spraying blood from Zangief's face as he fell back down. "And I...I believed that was what you had done with the changelings when you defeated me! That you had shown them that no one could defeat you, that any who dared to challenge you would be crushed just as I was! That you were feared!"
"But to think that you believe these...weaklings to be your actual strength, you would have to truly be as dumb as Chrysalis described you!" Tenna howled with wrath as he tried to grab Zangief, but to his shock Zangief used the muscles in his legs that were made strong by the Cossack dance to leap out of Tenna's iron grip.
"What you have described is not strength, it is tyranny!" Zangief roared as his forehead slammed into metal plates as he delivered a mighty head-butt to the front of the Steel Tornados face, dazing the machine long enough for Zangief to place it between his legs and ascend to the sky. Zangief spun like a cyclone and piledrived Tenna into the ground with such force that his metal skull was planted into the roof, giving Zangief a moment to recover. "There is no joy in being feared by the children! I could not show my face if I knew that children feared me because I used my strength to crush others! A wrestlers goal is to never disappoint his fans, no matter what is thrown at him! And that is why I shall win, for my fans are my strength!"
The two titans bellowed as a cyclone collided with a tornado, shaking the castle to it's very core as the began to unleash furious blows upon one another. Zangief threw a side kick that knocked screws out of Tenna's robotic mouth but was immediately countered by a chop to the head that caused a stream of blood to pour down the Russian's head. Instinct took over for Zangief and he threw out another low kick, but to Tenna's surprise it did not connect as the tip of Zangief's foot missed his leg by inches. But when he looked up he was already half way bent over for another S.P.D.
"HHHHOOOOORRRRIIIIAAAAHHHH!" Zangief yelled as he leapt far higher into the sky than Chrysalis had ever seen, descended with such force and power that the two Russian titans plunged right through the roof and through the floors of the castle until Zangief finished the piledriver in the main hall. "For all you have done to hurt those same children Tenna, I shall defeat you once and for all!" Zangief roared as he lifted the sparking, metal titan over his head and hurled him through the open castle doors and into the streets.
"I will not allow myself to lose to somepony as weak as you!" Tenna roared in response as he leapt forward and slammed two knees into Zangief's face, stunning him long enough for Tenna to slip around behind Zangief and clasp his arms around Zangief's waist with a death grip, giving him enough leverage to hurl Zangief over his head and slam him skull first into the castle steps. Tenna used the robotic power of his body to roll over Zangief and up the stairs so he could lift the Russian and drive his skull into the stone steps a second time, cutting open the back of Zangief's head as the sharp edges of the stairs sided with the general.
Tenna had just wrapped his arms around Zangief once again to throw him when he felt his mechanical body be surrounded in a magic belonging to a changeling that he loathed. A moment later both he and Zangief were yanked to the top of the castle, where he felt himself get turned upside down and dumped on his head.
"Chrysalis," Tenna snarled as he rose back up and turned to face the snarling changeling queen, noticing that Insectum was no longer on her back and was instead racing towards where Zangief was getting up. "I hadn't planned to kill you until after the match was over, but since you are so insistent I will oblige you."
"Up yours Tenna, there's no way you can defeat me now," Chrysalis defied as she sent streams of green magic towards the machine, forcing him to block the magical assault. "Back when you were a changeling you could counter my magical attacks, but without your magic you have left yourself vulnerable to my power. Now prepare to-"
"Chrysalis! This is my fight!" Zangief roared, turning both Tenna and Chrysalis towards him at his decision. "Tenna has made it clear that I am the one he wishes to fight, so please refrain from killing him until I have defeated him. There is no glory in this victory if I do not defeat him myself!" Chrysalis looked like she wanted to argue but with a snarl she flew over to her daughter and looked up at Gief.
"Alright Zangief, I suppose I owe you that much," she agreed before snarling at Tenna once again. "But the moment you crush him I am going to tear him open and find out how that pretty little toy of his ticks."
"That I am fine with," Zangief said as he began to march forward again.
"You have honor Zangief, I shall give you that much," Tenna said as he walked towards Zangief as well, both of them slamming their arms into each other once again but this time Tenna was slowly driven back by the red Russian as sparks began to shoot from his limbs.
"It seems that your machine cannot hold up to my pure Russian might! This is why pure muscles shall win over tricks and fireballs every time!" Zangief stated as he slammed his face into Tenna's twice in a row, causing even more sparks to fly from the robots face as he staggered back. Zangief quickly dashed forward once again and, knowing he was now charged, threw both his arms back before grabbing hold of Tenna one last time as he yelled,
"Final!" he began as he suplexed Tenna once. "Atomic!" He continued as he suplexed him again. The he placed Tenna's head between his thighs as he leapt into the air and spun faster than any tornado, yelling out, "BBBBUUUUUSSSSSTTTTTAAAARRRR!" as the two of them came crashing back down onto the roof of the castle with a thunderous impact. The eyes in the Steel Tornado flickered violently as Tenna fell to his back, sparks and electricity bursting from nearly every joint and limb.
"It seems we now know which one of us was correct," Zangief said with a half hearted laugh before he held a hand to his head and staggered slightly, saved from falling over when Chrysalis caught him with her magic. Tenna said nothing as the machines eyes continued to flicker and a red energy began to seep from the robot that lay motionless. "Still, you put up an impressive fight, I will give you that much. Had you been a nobler foe, we could have been friends. But as it is, I will instead let Chrysalis deal with you."
"Thank you very much," Chrysalis wickedly laughed as she began to move forward towards Tenna, her magic creating multiple blades around her as her eyes began to decided where she should carve into first. "I hope that robot of yours can feel pain Tenna, because this won't be as satisfying if in don't hear some screams."
Yet to her shock the Steel Tornado leapt to it's feet and lunged at her with both arms outstretched, but Zangief hurled himself between the two and collided with the Steel Tornado. "Give up Tenna, I have defeated your machine! I a stronger than it!"" Zangief yelled at Tenna, but for a brief moment he was certain he had seen the machine smile.
"Yes Zangief, you are indeed stronger than it. And while your belief's on strength might be beyond revolting, I cannot deny that your body is indeed stronger," Tenna said with victory in every word. Then the machine's eyes began to glow bright green as the gazed into Zangief's, who felt a strange sensation coming over him. "And I suppose that I have let you wail on this machine long enough. But this body means nothing to me now! For now I have an even stronger one!"
A flash of blinding light went off that enveloped nearly all of the hive, while amongst the flash two roars could be heard that for a moment sounded as one. Then the magical energy that caused the light washed over the changelings and the few ponies that were there, making them feel as if their souls were being struck from their bodies. But within a few seconds both the magic and the light died down, allowing Chrysalis and Insectum to see that both Zangief and Tenna were laying on the ground motionless.
"Zangief!" Insectum cried as she raced over to the Russian, who groaned weakly as he slightly began to move. "Thank Faust you're alive, for a minute I believed that Tenna had blown himself up in an effort to kill you," she sighed as Zangief rose to a kneeling position.
"Yes, as much as I hate to say it I am glad you are alive," Chrysalis said as she offered him a magic made hoof to help him up. Zangief looked up at Chrysalis for a moment before he stretched out his hand...and punched Chrysalis in the face. Insectum screamed with shock as Chrysalis was sent hurtling back and slammed into the tower that housed the staircase, where she groaned and shook her head.
"Zangief! What is the matter with you?!" Insectum screamed at Zangief, but then the Russian threw back his head and let out a laugh, a laugh that chilled Chrysalis and Insectum to their very souls as they recognized the voice of the one who was laughing. Then "Zangief" slowly looked down at Insectum with a huge smile and glowing green eyes.
"Nothing is the matter with me, brat. Because now, I am the strongest."
Chrysalis hadn't fully recovered from the blow from who she believed a friend until a moment ago, but with a mother's desire to protect her daughter she hurled her still half dazed body in front of the fearful Insectum while glaring up at the green eyes of Zangief. The mighty Russian was no more as Tenna's laugh echoed across the shattered rooftops, causing the very bricks beneath his feet to shake as if they too were afraid.
"What's the matter Chrysalis? Have I finally silenced that idiotic tongue of yours?" Tenna asked with a loud laugh as Chrysalis snarled with weak defiance, still trying to process what she had just witnessed.
"What did you do to Zangief?!" Insectum half screamed at Tenna, asking the question that Chrysalis was too stunned to utter herself. Tenna chuckled once again as he moved Zangief's hand in front of his face, watching with delight as small, green flames began to flicker forth before he looked at Insectum.
"Is that not obvious, you soon to be dead princess? I have taken what should rightfully belong to me. I am now the strongest being to ever grace the planet of Equis," Tenna said with a small laugh as his green eyes narrowed, giving the face of Zangief an evil look that the human would have never been able to make. "Zangief, despite his immense strength and courage, did not have the mindset of one who is truly strong. So I took the strength that a weakling shouldn't have and made it my own. Now I am-" Tenna moved Zangief's head to the side as a bolt of green magic streaked by it, causing the body snatcher to snicker at the tear filled glare that Insectum was giving him.
"Give Zangief back!" she demanded as she fired another burst of magic towards what used to be her friend, but with a flash of green Tenna banished her spell from existence with a boisterous laugh.
"Foolish child, Zangief is gone! His conscious was spread to the four corners when I took control of him!" Tenna bellowed with laughter as he began to advance on the pair, Chrysalis snarling with venom in her eyes as her horn began to glow with murderous intent. She unleashed her most devastating of spells, but with a swing of his arm Tenna flashed yellow and green and the spell seemed to phase right past him. Chrysalis only had a moment to gasp at what happened before Zangief's fist once again connected with her face and knocked her flat, where her daughter rushed to her side with a cry.
"Yes, I must admit that it was one of my more creative spells that took nearly forever to achieve," Tenna boasted as he purposefully began to lumber slowly towards the pair, milking every second of his victory. "For the spell cannot switch the mind of one into the body of another for that pony or changelings magic will cancel the spell out. Yet poor Zangief does not have such magical resistance, does he?" Another laugh exhaled from Zangief's lips while Insectum tried desperately to help her mother back to her hooves.
"And now," Tenna began as he lifted the bear crushing arms of the Red Cyclone over his head with a malicious smile as he stared down at the two inferior leaders. "My revenge is-"
"Ugh, why does it seem like I am over there and why can I not feel anything?" Tenna's arms were stopped by the mechanical voice that spoke from out of the blue and he along with the two changelings turned to see the Steel Tornado rising to it's feet, red eyes flickering slightly as it looked around with a hand on it's head. "Am I having one of those out of body experiences that so many of my foes have told me they had after I threw them? Or am I dreaming again? Perhaps I should try to wake up."
"Zangief!" Insectum cried out when the mechanical wrestler punched himself in the face with a loud clang, immediately telling her who was within the suit when he cried out with pain.
"So, you managed to hang on despite being ripped from your body, eh Zangief?" Tenna asked with a laugh that gained him the full attention of the Steel Tornado, who gazed at him for the longest of minutes before slowly lowering his eyes to look at the shaking metal hands in front of him.
"W...what has happened to me? Why can I not feel my mighty muscles or the spirit of Russia within me?" Zangief as with confusion ringing in his metallic voice as Tenna shook his head with a roll of his eyes.
"Can you not do any thinking for yourself, you dumb oaf?! Your body, along with all of the skills within, is mine to command now! The fact that your conscious held on at all is a miracle in and of itself." Zangief shakily rose to his full height as he staggered, nearly falling over as he looked down at his fully metal body. He placed his hands on his face to find that while he could still slightly feel, he could not feel any warmth or spirit coming from his body.
"No...how can this be?! This must be a dream! I will wake up any second now, that is it! Wake up!" Zangief yelled as he slammed his fist into his face, crying out in pain before looking down at the metal hands again to see that nothing had changed. He raised his head to look up at his own body as Tenna slowly began to walk towards him, cracking Zangief's knuckles with a laugh as Zangief took a shaky step back.
"Do you not understand? I am the Red Cyclone now. I am the wrestler know as Zangief!" Tenna celebrated with delight at the sheer horror he was certain Zangief was going through.
"This...this cannot be. I am...Zangief?"
"Actually, I must thank you for managing to stay alive Zangief. Since you technically did defeat my Steel Tornado in a round, we must finish our fight," Tenna laughed with Zangief's laugh as he took up a wrestling stance. "Now come Zangief, let me put you out of your misery."
Zangief shakily raised his arms to defend himself, but when his own body bellowed and lunged forward, Zangief took a step back and fell over. He struggled to get back up, yet with the machine he now inhabited weighing nearly six times as much as his old body weighed, he fell back over and was left completely open to Tenna's attack.
"Weakling!" Tenna roared as he picked the machine off of the ground with an effort and used the Russian built muscles to hurl Zangief into the air, where he slammed skull first onto the roof ten feet away.
"Zangief, you have to fight back!" Insectum screamed at the Steel Tornado as he struggled to balance himself, her words getting Zangief to turn around with a small spark of spirit in his eyes. But when he saw his own body, the culmination of what he had spent all of his life perfecting charging at him, his fighting spirit shattered. He swung a slow right hand out of desperation, yet the blow was easily avoided as Tenna slipped around behind metal Gief and locked his hands around his waist.
"TOO LATE!" Tenna roared as he suplexed Zangief onto the back of his metal head before rolling through and taking the both of them to the skies, where once again steel slammed into brick as Zangief was dropped on his head. He collapsed to his back to find that he still felt pain coursing through his body, but the pain of the blows was insignificant compared to the anguish that was currently tearing apart his heart.
"What is the matter Zangief, I thought you never shyed away from a challenge!" Tenna roared with delight in his words as the trapped wrestler struggled to push his metallic frame back to a vertical position, though once had done so he swayed weakly and off balance. "Ah yes, hard to get used to that body, isn't it? I spent days learning how to control it and even then you still thoroughly crushed me. But I have spent even longer observing your movements so that when the day came I took this form for myself, I would have no issues controlling it. Care for a demonstration?"
Tenna rushed forward and jabbed the Steel Tornado in the face before kicking him hard in the shins, stunning Zangief for a brief moment. In the next instance before Zangief could recover however, Tenna's hand flashed down with green and yellow light to strike the Steel Tornado in the face. Tenna's body then flashed red as he slammed the burly arm of Zangief into Zangief's own face, causing a breaking sound to be heard before the Steel Tornado crumpled to its knees.
"It's over!" Tenna cried out as he lifted Zangief into a reverse piledriver position and sored to the skies with one mighty leap, spinning with the speeds of a cyclone before the two of them came crashing back down. Zangief cried with agony as he felt his skull pulverize the bricks that he landed on, causing to collapse as Tenna leapt back and placed his hands on his waist. "It is too bad that this must be our final battle Zangief. I was hoping that you would be able to surprise me one last time. But I suppose this is all I could expect from one who depends on others for his so called "strength". Farewell, Red Cyclone."
Tenna lunged forward as he said this, timing his dash right as Zangief rose back to his feet. Despite the lifetime of training, despite being able to face bears thousands of times larger than him or take on beings that made others quiver with fear, when faced with himself as a foe and the knowledge of what was about to come next, Zangief did something he almost never did. He leapt back to escape...and leapt right into Tenna's trap.
"I am the destroyer of the Equestrian skies!" Tenna roared as he leapt into the air after the Steel Tornado and swung both hands around, one of them grabbing hold of Zangief and pulling him into a headlock before the both of them rocketed up into the skies. "SSSSSSIIIIIIBBBBBEEEERRRRIIIIIIAAAAAANNNN!"
"Zangief!" Insectum screamed with fear as she watched the protector of the changelings get pulled into the skies by his own move, unable to do anything as he was thrown above his own head and caught by his legs with his head facing straight down. Chrysalis knew what was about to happen, so with the last bit of her strength she grabbed hold of her daughter and shot off of the castle. A combination of her wings and magic slowed the two down enough so that they didn't die when they hit pavement, but the pain that stung their bodies barely bothered them as they, along with nearly all other being in the hive, turned to see the end of the battle.
"BBBLLLLLIIIIIIZZZZZAAAAARRRDDDD!" The two warriors slammed into the roof of the castle, generating such a shockwave that the supports and the walls of a castle that had stood for nearly five hundred years finally decided to surrender, causing the very building to collapse down upon the fighters as Zangief was driven through the castle by his own move. Changelings shrieked and ran for cover as the castle came crashing down, but all Chrysalis and Insectum could do was watch with emotionless eyes as their home came crumbling down.
"Do...do you think he...?" Insectum asked in barely a whisper as all went silent as the dust settled, yet Chrysalis found that there was no answer she could give her daughter. Then a figure could be seen walking through the dust towards the two, a figure that they knew all too well...and whose presence told them who the victor had been.
"How did he say it again?" Tenna asked as he walked out of the rubble with cuts and bruises along his body, but the biggest smile of pure evil upon his face. He then threw his left arm forward to dump a broken and mangled Steel Tornado at their hooves, whose eyes and the z on his belt were both black. "Ah yes, now I remember. Khorosho, I win!" Chrysalis and Insectum both looked down at the motionless machine with blank eyes before they looked up at Tenna, who was happy to see the looks they now wore. Chrysalis looked like she was mustering whatever courage she could to glare at him, whereas Insectum looked broken.
"This...doesn't matter!" Chrysalis yelled with as much anger as she could muster, giving a halfhearted snarl toward Tenna. "You still won't get the hive! I'll fight you to the death before I hoof it over to you!" Tenna opened his mouth to laugh before he stopped and placed a hand to his chin, looking lost in thought for a moment.
"You are right Chrysalis, why should I take the hive?" he asked her with a small laugh. "I mean, I am so powerful now that just taking the changeling hive would not be acceptable for someone with power such as me. No, I think I shall take all of the wasteland...all of Equestria...hell, i'll take over the whole world now!" He let out a menacing bellow of laughter before looking down at the two of them and the broken machine, a snicker escaping his lips before he turned to leave. "You two may live for today. After all, if you're not there to see me become king of the world then I will not get to see your horrified expressions. But the moment I am crowned, my first action shall be to execute the both of you. Until then."
Chrysalis continued to glare at Tenna until he was out of sight, but the moment the body of her only friend was out of sight she collapsed to the ground, weakly breathing as she felt all of her strength leave her. She slowly turned her head to look at the mangled body that now housed the mighty Russian, the mighty Russian who had been utterly defeated by Tenna.
"He's not moving mom! I can't get him to move!" Insectum cried out with fear in her voice as she pushed against the metal plates and beams that held the Tornado together, but Chrysalis could only stare blankly at the machine without answering. "Mom...how could he lose? He...he promised that-"
"Chrysalis! The changelings are retreating!" the voice of Celestia called out as Chrysalis saw the alicorn land next to her out of the corner of her eye, interrupting her daughter. "This battle is won and we...what is going on here? Why do you have the machine that Tenna created here? Where is Zangief?"
"This is Zangief, Celestia," Chrysalis said weakly as she slowly lifted her head up to the princess of the sun, who was horrified to find Chrysalis eye filled with defeat. "Tenna finally did what I, along with all of my people and most of the ponies, thought was impossible. Zangief lost."
With a start Zangief could suddenly see again, though to his slight confusion he found that everything within his field of vision was now had a reddish tint. The moment he realized he could see a number of loud gasps sounded off all at once and his vision was suddenly filled with ponies and changelings.
"Ugh, I just had the weirdest dream," Zangief muttered to himself as he slowly rose up, only to place his hands down and realize that he was on a metal table. He looked down to confirm what his sense of touch had told him only for the memories to all come flooding back as he saw the silver and red metal that now made up his body. "So...it was not a dream," Zangief said in a whisper as he lifted the twin metal mitts in front of his glowing red eyes.
"No Zangief, what happened at the hive was no dream," Chrysalis said to him in a firm but slightly kind voice, whereas her daughter simply hopped onto the table and placed her head against his side. Zangief slowly lifted his head to see that Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were all beside his table, along with Chrysalis and Insectum. "You've been out for weeks. We were beginning to think you wouldn't wake up."
"So...Tenna really did steal my body," Zangief said, more confirming his own fears than actually asking as he hung his metal head. "I am no longer...myself."
"You were in really bad shape after the fight, but fortunately Twilight managed to fix your body up," Insectum said quickly before giving a weak smile to Twilight, who nodded at the metal man as he lifted his eyes to her. "We also told both the ponies and changelings what had happened afterwards, so everypony knows that you're...well, you."
"Well, it was extremely hard at first, but after figuring out how he had managed to create joints that could move like a humans, I was able to replicate-"
"What happened at the hive? Was anyone hurt?" Zangief cut her off as he looked to Chrysalis, who gave the motionless face of the tornado a small smile.
"Well, my castle that belonged to my family for years was completely destroyed, but as for my actual citizens none of them suffered any serious damage," Chrysalis said with a comforting tone, but Gief's red eyes fell to the floor despite the relatively good news.
"Tenna also has been quiet ever since that day, with none of us able to find him despite using three princesses powers," Luna continued after a moment of silence, but her words gained her a glare from Chrysalis that she ignored. "There is no need to worry Zangief, we shall find him and we will make sure that you get your body back."
"Thank you princess...can one of you tell me where the exit is located? My eyes...are not the same." Luna pointed to a pair of crystal doors at the end of the room. Zangief nodded to her before pushing himself off of the table and lumbered towards the doors, staggering from side to side slightly as he tried to accommodate for the extra weight. He pressed his hands against the doors to open them yet instead tore them off of their hinges, prompting him to turn around to look at the ponies one more time before he turned without a word to leave.
"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked the princesses to break the silence created by Zangief's departure.
"We need to be on guard. Tenna told Chrysalis that he plans to take over all of the world now, not just her hive," Luna said with a growl as Chrysalis nodded to confirm. "Which means he might try to attack us as well as the changelings."
"But he knows he cannot win," Celestia added on. "While he may indeed have Zangief's physical strength, it has been made apparent time and time again that Zangief is not immune to magic. While he may be able to handle it in a one on one, against all of the unicorns as well as Twilight, Luna and myself he would stand no chance."
"So he's got an ace in the hole then," Twilight deduced from Celestia's words, getting a nod out of the princess. Twilight then turned her attention to Chrysalis, who was still looking off at where the Russian had left. "Chrysalis, do you have any idea what he might try to do?"
"Whatever it is, odds are that it'll involve Zangief in some way," Chrysalis said. "He's been obsessed with him ever since Zangief crushed him thoroughly at my home...yes, whatever he's doing odds are that it'll end with him challenging Zangief to a one on one fight. He mentioned how he lost to Zangief once and he was determined to take the 'round' as he said. If I know him, he'll try to make it best two out of three to prove that he is the strongest, now that he has Gief's body."
"Then we need to make sure that Zangief is ready to fight by the time Tenna attacks," Twilight said, but her words got her a dark snarl from Chrysalis.
"Idiotic pony. Did you not see the mental state that Zangief was in after what happened at the hive? Right now I'm fairly certain he couldn't hold his own against Fluttershy, let alone the changeling that stole his body and crushed him with it!" Chrysalis venomously growled at Twilight, but her anger dissipated as she looked at the ruined doors with a sad sigh. "I should probably go see if he's...come along Insectum." Insectum hopped off the table and flew onto her mothers back, Chrysalis leaving the room the moment her daughter was with her and leaving the ponies to talk amongst themselves.
"Her words are true. Zangief is in no mental shape to fight against Tenna," Celestia agreed.
"Then we won't need to get Zangief to fight Tenna. We'll deal with him ourselves," Luna decided, getting nods of agreements from the other ponies.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Metal groaned as Zangief's fist slammed into the side of a tree in the woods near the town, nearly knocking himself as well as the tree over as he didn't compensate for the weight of the metal in his hand fast enough. He stuck out a foot to catch himself, but he didn't use enough force to move his leg fast enough and instead of catching himself, his own feet got tangled up and he fell into the mud.
Normally he would be infuriated by his body refusing to listen to what he wished for it to do, but there was only emptiness in his movements as he slowly pushed himself out of the mud that clung to him. He tried to practice one of his chops, but his arms swung him around ninety degrees and again he lost his balance, sending back into the mud once again.
'What is the point in trying to get this body to listen to me?' he solemnly thought as he teased the idea of getting up again, only to lean his head back in the mud and look up at the skies. 'Tenna defeated me completely. He not only took my body, but also my spirit and my strength. He has broken my source of my power. Even if I learn how to use this...infernal machine, how can I hope to defeat him? Now he is...'
"Zangief!" The steel head of the machine slowly looked up to see Insectum running towards him, with Chrysalis floating along after her daughter as best she could. He said nothing as the small princess skidded to a stop next to him, her hooves getting caught in the mud and in a moment she was as covered as the machine. "Zangief, what are you doing out here in the mud? We're all worried about you."
"Thank you for your concern, but it is wasted upon one such as myself," Zangief replied in a dead tone, not helped by the robotic voice that made his voice sound even less alive. He then slowly looked to the princess with hints of sorrow within his eyes. "I am sorry that I failed you. I do not deserve your pity," he whispered before looking at Chrysalis.
"Don't bother apologizing to me, I never believed in you from day one," Chrysalis said with a snarky smirk, but then she coughed and looked away with a sigh. "Look, I just want you to know that just because you lost a single fight doesn't mean that my opinion of you has gone down. It was always at rock bottom. Don't worry about trying to defeat Tenna, we'll take care of that ourselves. All you have to do is sit back and wait for us to knock him out of your body. Hell, if you want I'll let you get first crack at him once he's a changeling again."
She had hoped that her words would spark some kind of desire to fight within the muddy wreck, but Zangief remained silent as he laid his head back down and continued to stare up at the sky.
"Come on Zangief, normally the chance to crush foes beneath you gets you all fired up," Chrysalis reminded him as she used her magic to create a spot in the mud where she could sit without getting dirty, where she almost immediately began to clean the mud off of her daughter. "Where's that fighting spirit that you usually have?"
"I was defeated," Zangief repeated solemnly, seemingly ignoring Chrysalis's words.
"Yes, but like I said, that doesn't matter to us. Our opinion of you hasn't-"
"But it has. You said it yourself Chrysalis, I must sit back and wait for you to defeat Tenna for me. That means that none of you believe I can defeat him," Zangief said quietly, but his words pierced Chrysalis with an unexpected sharpness. "And you are right. He took my body, my skill and my strength when he defeated me. I have been beaten."
"Actually, Twilight told us when she was fixing the machine that it technically is stronger than your body," Chrysalis informed him. "So that means that you're actually stronger than-"
"That is not what I meant Chrysalis. How many were witnesses to my defeat in the hive?" Zangief asked her.
"What are you implying, Zangief?" Chrysalis asked quietly, slowly catching on to what he was hinting at.
"Ask your daughter. Ask her if she believes I can win." Chrysalis slowly looked over at Insectum with the question in her eyes and almost immediately Insectum nodded in response. But Chrysalis could tell when her daughter was lying to her and her eyes widened slightly when she realized Insectum was trying to hide the truth.
"You don't believe he can win?" Chrysalis asked with surprise, getting Insectum to quickly look down at the ground to avoid looking at her mother. "But Zangief has defeated Tenna twice! And the only time that arrogant monster managed to defeat Zangief was by using a cheap trick. How could possibly believe that Tenna could win?" Insectum continued to look at the ground before looking up at her mom with broken eyes.
"Because when Zangief won all of those battles he was...Zangief," Insectum began in a near whisper. "But now he's no longer Zangief, he's a machine. A machine that was beaten by the body that Tenna's now in. And Zangief said it himself, Tenna now has his skill as well as his strength, a strength that beat an Element of Harmony, a strength that tore the head off of the machine that Zangief would have to fight Tenna in! No matter how I look at it all I see is Zangief losing! I'm sorry." Insectum looked down again, yet Chrysalis's mothers intuition told her that there was more Insectum wasn't telling her.
"Insectum...the whole truth. Please." Insectum swung her head to look up at Chrysalis with tears in her eyes, stunning her mother before Insectum answered.
"Because it's just like dad all over again! Zangief said that he'd never lose as long as we believed in him! And no matter what has happened or what Zangief has faced, I always believed in him!" Insectum half shrieked at Chrysalis, the sheer amount of despair in her daughters voice stunning Chrysalis. "But even though I still believed in him during that fight, Tenna still beat him! He failed me!"
Insectum sprinted off towards the town as she yelled her peace, leaving Chrysalis to stare after her daughter yet was far to dazed to go after her or try to stop her. She then slowly looked back at Zangief, who had risen out of the mud to sit up, allowing him to look at her with somber red eyes.
"Do you see now Chrysalis? When Tenna defeated me, he not only took my body but he took something far more valuable than that," Zangief said in a near whisper that was filled with heart breaking sorrow. "He took their belief in me, the belief that their hero could win no matter the odds. I have failed your daughter, along with the other children of the hive in the worst way possible. For when I lost, they lost their belief that I could win for them. Their faith in me was shattered. And for a wrestler, there is no sin greater than failing those who believe in you. When I say that Tenna had completely beaten me, this is what I meant. Even if I could beat him in this body, it would not matter. When a child's faith is shattered, they rarely believe again."
"They haven't all lost their faith in you," Chrysalis said half-heartedly, but all Zangief needed to do was look into her eyes to know the truth.
"I cannot blame them. I failed."
Zangief stood up after his words and slowly began to walk deeper into the woods, leaving Chrysalis alone to watch him slowly wander away, unable to find the strength go after him. She then turned her head to where he daughter had ran off and began to fly in that direction, needing to comfort Insectum first. But her in her heart she wished that she could say something to Zangief, to help him in some way. But compassion and understanding had never been her strong suit, yet for the first time in her life she cursed herself for being unable to help another. For being so cold.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"Is it ready?" Tenna asked his chief scientist as he lifted his Russian head back to look up at the machine fully, a smile crossing his human face as he looked upon the symbol of his victory.
"Yes sir, it took longer than we thought but we believed that we have successfully repurposed it," a changeling next to the seven foot monster said in a quiet voice, hoping that Tenna did not look towards him with his terrifying face. Tenna nodded with a wicked smile as he looked up at the massive machine that they had "borrowed" from Chrysalis weeks ago. He rubbed his hands together despite himself as he already began to imagine the whole world bowing to him, all knowing that he was the strongest.
"Come then, let us activate this machine and help to...even the playing field," Tenna chuckled with a mighty laugh as a scientist flicked on the machine, causing it to roar with power as a sphere on top began to spin. The sphere seemed to suck in the very air around it as waves of energy began to emit from the machine, getting Tenna's laugh to turn into a bellow of amusement. "Yes, for when the playing field is even, then they shall all see what true strength is. And I can think of no one better to demonstrate this strength on than that fool himself. We will finish our best of three."
Zangief had been sitting alone on the outskirts of a muddy swamp filled with frogs when he felt the first waves of a powerful energy wash over him, snapping him out of his own depression and turning his gaze towards the sky. The air was filled with rainbow colored streaks that all seemed to be coming from Ponyville, as well as what little of Canterlot he could see of in the distance.
"What manner of magic is this?" he asked with confusion as he realized all the streaks of magic all seemed to be flying off in the same direction, far off into the horizon. He didn't know what was happening, but he did know that I couldn't be good. He turned to leave when he saw a Pegasus fall out of the sky and crash into the swamp in front of him, saved from certain doom by the germ infested mud.
"Are you alright comrade?" Zangief asked with concern as one of his metallic arms pierced through the mud and yanked the pegasi back to the surface, where she began to spit out mud while trying to breath again as Zangief set her down. "What happened? Why did you suddenly forget how to fly?"
"I...I didn't! I was just flying along when all of a sudden my wings couldn't support my weight and I fell!" she said as she flapped her wings quickly, yet could not provide the lift needed to raise her off of the ground. "It's like...somepony has stolen my pegasi magic!" At her words Zangief slowly turned to look off to where all of the rainbow streaks were heading, the scanners in his eyes telling him that indeed all of the streaks in the sky was pony magic.
"But who could possibly steal...Tenna." As if summoned by Zangief speaking his name, a dark laugh could be hear echoing all across the land. The pegasi besides Zangief shrieked and ran for the hills as a massive image of Tenna-Gief appeared in the sky, but all Zangief could do was stare dumbfounded up at the image as his own eyes looked down across the land with evil mirth within them.
"Hello, you pitiful ponies of the great nation of Equestria," Tenna began with Zangief's voice as he let loose an evil laugh that infuriated the Steel Tornado, for he would never laugh or speak like that. "As many of you have already noticed, your magic all seems to be vanishing into thin air, flying off into the unknown for reasons that can't be explained. But allow me to comfort all of you with an explanation for what has happened. I, General Tenna, the strongest being in the land, have built a machine to steal all magic in the land."
Tenna let out another Zangief laugh once again, sending chills down the mecha-Giefs crossbeams and support systems as his emotionless eyes glared ahead at the image that looked down on all with evil eyes.
"That is right, my little ponies and changelings, all of your magic now belongs to me. Be it dragon, pony, changeling or zebra, all who are connected to magic in one way or another are now stripped of their magic. Tell me, have any pegasi fallen to their deaths yet when they realized that they couldn't fly?" Tenna asked with a soulless laugh that caused steam to whistle from the holes in the Steel Tornado's head.
"All magic, that is, expect for my army that is protected from the device. That leaves nearly a thousand changelings all of who can use magic to fight against a number of weak, dumb ponies that can't even defend themselves now," Tenna continued with a change in his tone as his eyes narrowed in a far more menacing way, with a wicked smile to compliment the glare. "So that means if I so wished, I could send my changelings upon the capitol of Equestria and destroy the city, bring down the princesses and take the land for myself! Doesn't that sound delightful?"
"You mad man," Zangief whispered as Tenna let out another laugh, with a far more jovial smile on his face now.
"But some of you smarter types may be asking "Tenna, if you can simply waltz into Canterlot or the hive and conquer them without breaking a sweat, then why are you talking to us instead of doing just that"? Hahaha, nice question and thank you for asking," Tenna said with a burst of laughter as he threw Zangief's head back and laughed before regaining control of himself. "And the answer to that question would be because it would be boring. I myself am so strong now that I can crush any foe that I fight and without magic there is no force that can stand up to me, meaning that simply walking in and crushing weaklings would mean little. If I am to take all of Equis to be mine, then I want a battle, one last fight that will allow me to show all of you that my power is absolute."
"And if any of you have a brain stem, then you know who I wish to combat. But since the person I am speaking of does not have said brain stem, allow me to make it clear. Zangief! I challenge you to a one on one, in the very same place that you conquered an Element of Harmony and tricked both pony and changeling into believing that you are strong!" Tenna demanded as his voice echoed all throughout the land incase Zangief wasn't listening, yet Zangief could hear the words with a cold clarity. "Yes, without their magic both pony and changeling will not provide a challenge. But even though I bested you once before, I know that you are the only foe out there who can hope to combat me. And since the princesses and Chrysalis like to make wagers, here's one for them. When I win, the throne and the hive belong to me and the three of you are to be banished to the ends of the planet," Tenna said with glee in his voice, as if his victory was already assured.
"But I am not unfair fighter, for if, against all odds, you manage to defeat me Zangief, I will return magic to the land and cease my attack on the ponies and changelings. Hell, you might even get your body back," Tenna said with a laugh before he glared back down with menacing eyes once again. "And I hope your answer is yes, because if refused, then I will simply wipe out both Canterlot and the hive with my armies and not give any of you the chance to fight back. I guess you could say that your only hopes of winning rests with Zangief now, even though you all know he can't win. I expect your answer soon princesses, because tomorrow is when we fight. I will be at that stadium, along with my machine and my entire army. All are welcome, be the changeling or pony, to watch the final fight. To watch their last hope fail once again. Farewell for now."
The image of Tenna vanished as he let loose one last laugh to echo within Zangief's ears before once again Zangief was left alone with his thoughts. 'His plan is foolproof. He knows that I cannot defeat him, not as long as he has my body. But if I do not fight, then he will simply wipe out all of the ponies and changelings. What do I...what can I do?' He turned his head back to Ponyville with a sigh of hopelessness before he began to walk towards the town. Even if he didn't know what to do, maybe Chrysalis or Celestia would. He hoped they had a solution, because if they placed their faith in him, he would fail them once again.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
The doors had yet to be repaired as Zangief walked into the crystal castle where he hoped still housed the princesses within, his hope being rewarded as he entered the room where he had awoken to see that Celestia, Luna and Twilight were still there, but their faces were dark with worry as they turned to face him.
"Zangief, we were just talking about you," Celestia revealed as Zangief lumbered up to the three, able to see from their eyes that the worry was far deeper than he had first believed. "I take it you heard the...ultimatum that Tenna has just issued to all of Equestria...no, all of the world?"
"Yes, I have heard his words. I am so sorry princesses, had I been able to defeat him at the hive..." Zangief began, but Celestia held out a hoof to stop him before he could continue to wallow in his failure.
"That is in the past. We must now focus on the future, or to be more precise, tomorrow. If you heard his words then you know that he wishes to face you once last time before he conquers the world and without our magic I am not sure we even have a chance to stop him," Celestia said with bitter resentment in her voice at their own weakness. "I am not even sure that the Defenders of Harmony would be able to summon their Rainbow Powers to fight back."
"Whatever Tenna has done, it seems to have messed with our Harmony," Twilight added in gravely once Celestia had finished. "And even with our power, there's no way for us to defend all of the cities and towns while fighting Tenna at the same time."
"So that leaves us only one option," Luna said as she looked at Zangief, who did not need her to finish her statement to know what she was asking of him. "Zangief, you have shown that you can beat Tenna before, but what I want to know is can you fight your own body to beat him this time?" Zangief opened his mouth to answer before doubt began to fill his thoughts once again. Tenna had already defeated him once with his body when all had believed he could win, so how could he hope to win without his body and without the support of all of his fans? How could he win alone?
"The answer to that question is no Luna. No he can't." All eyes turned towards the entrance to see Chrysalis entering the room, hobbling along while using her wings to support herself as best she could without magic. Princess Insectum rested upon her back, but avoided eye contact with the others as Chrysalis marched in-between the four. Her answer caused Celestia to narrow her eyes at the changeling queen.
"Out of all of the beings in this land, you are the last one who I would believe that Zangief couldn't win," Celestia said with a calm anger that got her a bored look from Chrysalis. "After everything that Zangief has done for you, after all the battles he fought to keep you and your nation safe, I thought that you-"
"Would blindly send him into battle without a second thought? Shut the hell up Celestia, since you clearly don't know what you're talking about," Chrysalis snarled with such a fury that Celestia was snapped out of her own rage state. "Yes, Zangief has done a great deal for me and my nation in the short time he has been here and me and my daughter are closer than him than anyone else. That is why I know he won't win."
"Do you wish to elaborate or will you simply insult us like you usually do?" Luna asked with some heat that gained her a cold stare from the queen.
"I will do both Luna, you idiot. Yes, Zangief might be stronger that Tenna, he might have the skill and the moves to out wrestle him, but there is a question that none of you have asked him yet," Chrysalis began before she turned towards the massive machine with emotionless eyes. "Zangief, do you believe you can win?" The silence that followed her question answered for him and Chrysalis turned back to the others with a shake of her head. "See, even he himself does not believe he can win. The changeling don't believe, the ponies in the streets don't believe and even my own daughter doesn't believe that Zangief can beat Tenna. If Zangief can barely move in that body, how do you expect him to fight, let alone win?"
"And what about you Chrysalis? Have you given up on him?" Twilight asked with rage in her tone.
"Twi, I never started believing in him, so how could I give up on somepony I never rooted for?" Chrysalis asked in a sarcastic tone as she rolled her eyes at the princess of friendship.
"That is so like you Chrysalis, always being the uncaring jerk," Twilight snarled back at the queen with a face that Chrysalis didn't know she could make. "Even after all Zangief has done for you, for your daughter, you still treat him like dirt, still refuse to believe in the one being crazy enough to be your friend. You make me sick sometimes!"
"I'm the bad guy here?" Chrysalis asked with a mock chuckle before narrowing her eyes at Twilight. "I'm not the one who wants to send Zangief to his death, o princess of hypocrisy. I have half a mind to-"
"I will face him." The cold, metallic words ceased the arguing between the queen and the princess, turning all attention to Zangief, who had been staring at the floor while trying to decide what to do. "I will face him tomorrow. It is the only solution."
"Did you not listen to a word I just said you oaf?!" Chrysalis growled at him as her rage found a new target to unleash itself upon. "You're confidence has been shattered nearly beyond repair and you still struggle to walk in that shell, so why do you think you can-?"
"Because it all I can do," Zangief answered with rage, gut only Chrysalis could hear the defeat already within his voice. "All of the other solutions would involve innocent being hurt by Tenna and his army, being crushed without a hope to defend themselves. But if I were to face him...then there may be only one death tomorrow." Chrysalis and the ponies were stunned by his words, but before any of them could speak Zangief spoke once again.
"Please. Let me fight one last time." Chrysalis snarled as she turned her eyes to the floor, trying to seek out another answer in a sea of hopelessness. But when she raised her head once again with no other solution to the problem at hand, she let loose a snarl of rage before muttering,
Whilst the stadium that had recently been added to the majesty that was Canterlot was able to hold a large number of both changeling and pony, even it was nearly filled to its bursting point with all of the creatures from far and wide that had come to witness the fight that would decide everything. Yet there was a new sight to the stadium and that was a massive machine in the center of the arena that was surrounded by changelings who had made it clear that they still had their magic, as they were not affected by the column of crimson energy ascending into the sky.
Tenna's message had spread across all of Equis along with the magic draining powers of his machine, leading many to come to Canterlot as fast as they could so they could see what the future would hold for them or if the legendary Red Cyclone could defeat this foe. That was a similar question that three princesses were asking themselves as they sat in the box seats in the stadium with worry permeating their faces.
"So...here we are. The big match," Luna said while suppressing her fear and concern as much as she could. Celestia nodded slightly in response, yet her eyes betrayed what she was thinking as they glanced quickly at all of the ponies and changelings that were in the arena. Yet she found it hard to tear her eyes away from the diabolical machine in the center of the battlefield that was the cause of so much unease.
'It would be suicide for myself or any other magic based creature to attack it head on,' she decided when the thought teased itself in the back of her head. 'Our only hope right now rests with a man of does not even believe in himself. I pray that I am wrong, but for once I truly see no way out of this. I can only hope that Zangief can find a way.'
"Do you think he can win princess?" Twilight asked from her side, almost as if her student was reading Celestia's mind once again. "Because I have a number of concerns regarding this fight."
"I...I believe that he has a chance," Celestia responded with as much confidence that she could must, but her feeble attempt at conviction was quickly drowned out by a bellowing laugh that spun all three sets of heads towards the entrance to the box, where the possessed body of Zangief stood with Tenna's glowing, evil eyes.
"Yes Celestia, a chance, much as a parasrite has a chance of bring down an Ursa Major on the grounds that the bear has a heart attack before they fight," Tenna said with such cruel mirth in his voice that sent chills down the ponies spins as they heard those words uttered in Zangief's normally kind voice. "I am surprised that you did not surrender immediately, but you have always been a stubborn princess. You should really let your student take over for you and go off to one of those retirement homes, where you can't do any more damage."
"Tenna, you of all beings should know better than to underestimate Zangief," Luna reminded the controlled giant, but another wave of laughter overtook the three as Tenna found amusement in her words.
"I have not underestimated him. I have studied his moves, broken his spirit and stolen the source of his strength and added it to my own. Now tell me, does that sound like I have underestimated my foe?" Tenna asked with a wicked smile that froze the blood beating through the ponies hearts. When none of the ponies answered him, he shrugged his bowling ball like shoulders and turned to leave. "I hope you do enjoy the seats that I saved for you, since I want to make sure that you have the best view of the defeat of your last hope. But tell me, where is Chrysalis? Has she given up before the fight has even begun?"
"She went to speak with Zangief," Twilight answered back when Tenna gave them a very dangerous look at their silence. Her words erased the angry look from Tenna and he began to laugh once again.
"Forgive me if I laugh so much, it seems to have come with this oafs body," Tenna apologized. "But I suppose it is fitting that Chrysalis should say her goodbyes to the only creature dumb enough to tolerate her before the fight, for I promise you that there will be nothing left to even identify him with when I am done. Enjoy the show."
And with that promise Tenna left the room with one last chuckle, the ponies glaring at him until he was out of sight before their eyes fell. They all shared the same look of worry and defeat before they looked back to the machine that had taken away any chance of them defeating Tenna and his forces, leaving them with no chance.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
Zangief's silent pre-match vigil was interrupted when he heard the sounds of hooves walking towards him, causing him to activate his sensory units to find that he was no longer alone in the small locker room that he had been preparing for the match. Yet when he saw who was walking towards him he deactivated his eyes with a small dip of his head, getting Chrysalis to smirk at his response.
"Well sorry for coming to check up on you before the most important match in your life. Glad to see that you value friendship as much as the ponies," she teased with a smirk, but the levity in her face left when she was met with silence as cold as the metal that made up Zangief's body. A small sigh escaped her lips as she tried again. "None of your usual boasting before your match? Got to admit that a week ago I would have paid any sum to shut you up for five seconds, but now that you've actually done it it's...unnerving."
"Have you come here for a purpose or have you come to simply mock me?" Unbeknownst to Zangief, Chrysalis's whole purpose for coming down into the locker room was answered when he spoke that one sentence. Despite his best efforts to conceal his true feelings, Chrysalis heard no confidence nor desire to win in the voice of the Steel Tornado. All she heard was the bitter ringing of defeat. Another sigh escaped her lips as she looked up at Zangief with slight hints of sympathy in her eyes, not sure how to progress.
"Look...just do your best out there, okay." Zangief gave her a cold stare at her words that caused the changeling queen to avert her eyes for a moment, but then a sigh of despair escaped the Russian's lips as he looked down at the floor sadly.
"I am sorry for my coldness, but...I cannot see a way to win this fight," Zangief admitted with the panged sounds of hopelessness echoing in his tone. "He has my moves, he has my body and for the life of me I cannot think of how to get this machine to work for me," Zangief growled as he clenched his fist with great effort.
"Come on, you've pulled off miracles before. I think I saw Rainbow's skull imprint still in the stadium floor," Chrysalis joked, but Zangief was barely listening to her at this point.
"Yes, but those miracles were not performed alone. Those were performed when I had the voices of the children to strengthen me, when I had the belief of others to fuel me and when my own courage and confidence ran strong through my veins," Zangief bitterly grieved as he looked down at his arm. "Now their voices are silent, their belief is dead and I no longer have veins for my courage to run through. Do not expect a miracle Chrysalis, not this time."
"So what you're saying is that they're is no hope, you're going to lose and that Tenna will soon rule us all while using your body to crush us?" Chrysalis asked, shaking her head slightly as Zangief nodded weakly before a snicker crossed her face. "Well I guess that settles it then. Congratulations Zangief, you're making me speak words that I'd never thought I'd say. I believe you'll win."
Despite his face being completely robotic, Chrysalis could still see the sudden surprise upon the Russian's features as he swung his head to look at her. "But...but you said it yourself! There is no hope, I will lose! After all the great feats that I have achieved, after everything that I could do with all the odds in my favor, why do you pick now?"
"Because...I have a nasty habit of putting my belief in losers," Chrysalis admitted with a small laugh as she looked out at the crowd through a tunnel that lead into the stadium. "You're one of them. My husband is another example."
"But I thought that you said your husband was kind, noble and always putting others before himself?"
"Like I said, a loser, at least by changeling standards. And you aren't that different from him, at least at this moment you two aren't. He used to get down on himself, believe that nothing he did would matter and that the world was simply too strong for him," Chrysalis reminisced with tears misting up her eyes as her own guilt began to show on her face. "And back then, even with the entire changeling empire believing in him, I still didn't. I loved him and said I did, but in reality I didn't believe in him. And to this day I wonder if I had, if I had truly believed, would he have had the strength to defeat that wizard and save our lands? If my belief would have given him the power to win. If my daughter wouldn't have had to lose her father before she could meet him." Chrysalis went silent for a moment before she gave Zangief the saddest smile that he had seen upon her face, but true to her words their was belief in it. Belief in him.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I...even if they don't believe in you, even if all of those ponies and changelings believe that you're going to fail and that Tenna will win, I want you to know that I do believe in you. For the first time in my life, I'm going to believe in another." Chrysalis then looked to the crowd where loud booing could be heard and then her eyes rested upon Tenna, who stood silently in the center of the arena, next to his machine. "I guess it's time to start the fight. Best of luck."
"Chrysalis," Zangief said to stop her before she could leave, his words getting the queen to turn back to look at him.
"Oh that's right, there is another reason that I'm putting my belief in you. And it's because no matter what you look like on the outside, be it machine or a monster made of steroids, you are Zangief," Chrysalis reminded him with a small smile before turning to leave. "And that's how I know you'll win."
There was nothing Zangief could say in response to her words, so instead of trying to find an answer Zangief turned and began to walk out into the stadium, where the fight that would define this lands future awaited him.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
He had been expecting either cheers or boos upon his entrance into the arena, but the dead silence that greeted him was new to the Russian wrestler as he marched towards his final battle, doing his best to shroud his weakness as he struggled to move his legs forwards. The shroud was pierced by Tenna's evil green eyes and he let out a laugh as Zangief came to a stop across from him.
"I am actually a bit surprised that you bothered to show up, considering that we all know how this will end. But you mustn't disappoint your loving fans, can you?" Tenna asked with a wicked chuckle as he looked around at the crowd, none of whom were showing any emotion of any sign besides concern. Zangief looked around the arena as well, for a brief moment spotting Insectum sitting next to Chrysalis amongst the crowd, but then he turned his full attention back to his foe as he took up his wrestling stance.
"Are you going to try to defeat me by talking me to death or are you going to fight?" Zangief asked with the last shred of his courage, getting another laugh out of Tenna as he hunched over as well and mirrored Zangief's wrestling stance.
"A fair enough request, but I do not see why you would wish to hasten to your own death," Tenna taunted with a laugh, the two Gief's beginning to circle each other as the crowd went even quieter, all eyes waiting to see if their was even a chance of Zangief winning.
Much to the shock of everypony in the stadium, the metal titan took the first attack as he leapt into the air and drove his fist into Tenna's face with as much force as he could muster, snapping Tenna's head to the side as he knocked the wall of muscle that used to be his home to the floor. But his moment of glory was short lived as Tenna rose to his feet laughing, using his wrist to wipe away the small trickle of blood that oozed out of his mouth.
"What is the matter Zangief, your blows used to do twice as much damage?" Tenna laughed menacingly as he began to march forward towards Gief, who slowly shuffled back. "This is how you attack!" Tenna leapt into the skies and performed the very same move that Zangief had just unleashed, slamming five knuckles into the metal face of his foe. This blow, however, sent Zangief twirling backwards as he slammed to the ground, groaning as he struggled to push himself back to a vertical base. He had just stood up when two monstrous arms wrapped themselves around his midsection and the next thing Zangief knew he was looking at the floor.
"One and TWO!" Tenna maliciously laughed as he leapt into the air and delivered a double suplex, leaving his metallic foe laying spread eagle upon the concrete floor. Instead of pressing the advantage Tenna threw back his head and laughed, laughing as Zangief slowly began to push himself back up. "Behold, your mighty Zangief!" Tenna roared to the crowd as he walked forward and grabbed the metallic skull of Zangief with a bear paw like hand, yanking him to his knees as Tenna laughed at the crowd. "Your hero, everypony."
Tenna then drove another fist into Zangief's skull and hurled him back into the ground, where Zangief struggled to rise to his feet once again as Tenna slowly began to march forward, cracking his knuckles as he smiled with assured victory.
"Do not yet give up Zangief. The fun has just begun."
Concrete was slowly dug up from where it had been laid by the metallic boots of the Steel Tornado as Zangief was pushed back despite himself, pushed back by the overwhelming power that came from his own body. His hands were locked against Tenna's and he struggled to push back with the machines own incredible power, but Tenna continued to push him back, continued to simply outmatch Gief.
"Pathetic Zangief, absolutely pathetic," Tenna berated as he swung his foot forward and drove home a red boot right between Zangief's eyes, snapping his skull back and nearly knocking him over. With a roar of pain Zangief managed to catch himself and retaliated by straining against Tenna's strength. "At least try to put up a fight!" Tenna demanded as he broke his grasp and placed his hands underneath Zangief's arms, lifting the metal titan above his head before slamming Zangief back down skull first into solid concrete.
"I...will not let you win!" Zangief roared in defiance as he threw a meaty right out of nowhere, catching Tenna on the jaw and sending the changeling body snatcher staggering backwards. Zangief then went low and stuck his leg out, striking Tenna in his ankles, resulting in Tenna's feet from being knocked out from under him and sending him sprawling to the floor. Zangief shot up as he knocked his foe down and held his arms over his head to pose, doing so more out of memory then actually expecting praise.
'Why do I bother?" Gief asked himself as his sensors looked around to see not a single smiling face in the audience, as all eyes were instead locked on Tenna as he pushed himself back to a standing position with a smirk on his face. Zangief lowered his arms and took up his fighting stance again as Tenna chuckled.
"You will not let me win? So far you seem to have a hard enough time just trying to survive, let alone try to counter attack," Tenna observed with a toothy grin before he bound into the sky with one push of Zangief's mighty legs, allowing him to reach Zangief a moment later with both knees outstretched. The tips of the knees struck Zangief in the skull and stunned him just long enough for Tenna to land back on the ground, leaving him completely open to Tenna's next move.
"And it seems that you can't even do that!" Tenna laughed as he forced Zangief down and locked him in position for the piledriver, before leaping into the skies and spinning like a cyclone as he ascended. The two came crashing back down a moment later and Zangief landed on his head hard, shattering the floor of the arena and causing him to crumple to the floor as Tenna leapt back. "So tell me, oh protector of the Russian skies, how are you going to win?"
Zangief found that he had no answer as he pushed himself back to a vertical base, finding to his dismay that one of his eyes was cracked in three different spots, making it extremely hard to see out of that eye. He was also aware that his neck has lost some of it's ability to move and his arms also had wires and bits of metal sticking out of them at odd angles.
'He...he is right. I have no answer. No move, not solution; nothing that can win me this fight,' Zangief admitted as Tenna rushed towards him with both hands raised over his head, Zangief not able to see that he was flashing with a yellow tint because of his bad eye. So when Zangief tried to stop the bear hug by kicking Tenna in the gut, he found that his attack was absorbed and that he had given Tenna the perfect opportunity to powerbomb him.
"FOOL!" Tenna bellowed as he slapped both his hands into the Steel Tornado's back, doubling Zangief over as he felt hands wrap around his waist and hoist him over Tenna's head. Tenna then took both of them to the air before he shattered the concrete with the back of his foe, causing sparks to erupt all along the joints of the Steel Tornado while his vision flickered. "Seems that I overestimated you Zangief. Once broken, you are hardly even worth my time to kill," Tenna said with a disappointed shake of his head as his foe continued to lay motionless on the ground, before he cast his gaze to the crowd with a smirk. "And it seems that not one of these creatures will mourn you. How sad-"
"Come on you incompetent oaf, get up off the ground and do the one thing that you're good at!" Tenna visibly flinched at the piercing voice that rang loud in both his and the Steel Tornado's ears, causing Tenna to slowly turn his head to the spot where Chrysalis was sitting next to her daughter with a venomous snarl.
"Chrysalis, only you are foolish enough to support a fighter who is already defeated," Tenna insulted as he glared at her in the front row, but all his words did was give Chrysalis incentive to throw her head back as she laughed in Tenna's face.
"I like to root for the hopeless case Tenna, a case that you should know all too much about," Chrysalis snarled back with a defiant glare before her eye glimmered for a second and a wicked smile broke out across her face. "And you should know better than to take your eyes off a foe that isn't beaten." A swear used only by the changelings escaped Tenna's lips as he turned around to see Zangief standing right behind him. Zangief reached forward to grab him, but then the sound of glass shattering could be heard and Gief was knocked back, surprise in both his and the crowds eyes as Tenna broke the throw.
"And you should know Chrysalis," Tenna taunted as he swung his mighty leg forward and placed the side of his boot right on the bridge of Zangief's nose, forcing the giant made of metal back. "That I always have a plan for everything. Now then Zangief, what should I do with you?" Tenna asked Zangief as he began to march forward, smirking as he noticed Zangief slowly backing away from him. "Say, how about I use a move that I haven't gotten the chance to use yet? Something called...the Final Atomic Buster."
Tenna didn't need to look into Zangief's eyes to know that there was fear within them, for instead he decided to leap into the air to close the gap between the two of them. He landed in front of his metallic foe with a menacing smile on his face, preparing himself for what was to come next. And then, just as he predicted, Zangief once again leapt back into the air to try and escape one of the most dangerous moves that he had ever created. But just like before, Tenna was ready for him.
"Are you watching, Chrysalis?!" Tenna asked as he leapt into the air after Gief and swung his arms back, Zangief's eyes going wide as he realized that he had fallen for the same trick twice. That twice Tenna had used his own fears to trap him within the blizzard. Tenna's massive hands grabbed Zangief around the waist before the both of them rocketed into the sky, Tenna wrapping Zangief into a headlock as they both began to spin with the speed of a cyclone.
"SIBERIAN!" The two of them climbed higher and higher until the reached the zenith of the cyclone, where Tenna threw Zangief over his head and caught him in position for the finisher. "BLIZZARD!" Nearly all in the crowd looked away as Zangief was driven head and spin into the concrete, creating a crater with his body as that same body burst forth with sparks.
"UUUUURRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!" Zangief yelled as he collapsed to his back, where he remained motionless while Tenna threw back his head and began to laugh in victory. The crowd was dead silent after witnessing Zangief take the Siberian Blizzard, with the only sound being heard for miles was the laugh of the victor.
"It is over," Celestia said with bitter defeat ringing in her voice as Luna nodded in agreement, Twilight having looked away from the battle when she saw Zangief get trapped within the blizzard. "Tenna has won." Twilight lifted her head and cast it across the crowd, finding herself unable to disagree with her mentors words. All of the ponies and the changelings within the crowd had the same look that Celestia wore. A look of defeat. Tenna drunk in the faces of the broken hearted with a laugh before he turned towards Chrysalis, who was looking at him with gritted teeth and eyes full of rage.
"If it wasn't you Chrysalis, I wouldn't believe it to be possible, but congratulations. For you believed in the wrong fighter," Tenna boasted as he placed his fists upon his hips as he began to laugh, causing Chrysalis to shake with rage at his boasting. "But that just goes to show what a foolish leader you are. Do not worry, for when I rule your kingdom, I will make sure that I do not make the same mistakes as you, such as putting my trust in one so weak!" Tenna taunted as he threw back his head while laughing.
"What mistake?" Chrysalis asked in an enraged whisper that shook her whole body, causing Tenna to stop laughing and turn towards her again with an amused look. The changelings and ponies around her looked down at her as well as she lifted her head, showing that there were tears in her eyes from her rage. "I beat Zangief, I verbally assaulted him; hell, I told him to his face day in and day out that he was an idiot of the highest caliber and I would be happier if he was gone. And I wasn't lying most of the time, that's how I truly felt."
"And in return, what does that complete moron do for me? He saves the children of my people, saves both me and my daughter's life when I was powerless to do so and he even went so far as to challenge all of Equestria with his own life on the line to feed my people! And he did all of this despite the way I talked to and treated him!" Chrysalis full on shouted, her raga causing all of those around her to back away slowly, all except for her daughter who looked up at her mother. "I have never met one so kind, so simply, so SELFLESS as I have Zangief. Somepony who fights solely for others and is willing to do anything for them just to bring a smile to their faces."
"So am I a fool for believing that Zangief could beat you? For believing in a nice guy? Probably," Chrysalis bitterly admitted before she looked up at Tenna with a determination that neither Tenna nor Insectum had ever seen before from the changeling queen. "But I put my faith in him, my belief in him, not because I believed he couldn't lose, but because I wanted him to win! I wanted to believe that the strongest don't use their power to crush others, that those who are mighty don't try to kill a family for a throne or so they can be ruler of the land! I wanted to see a day where somepony who fights simply to bring smiles to the faces of children would not be seen as a sign of weakness, but of the greatest strength! So that is why put my faith in Zangief! Because he showed me what it truly means to be strong!"
Tenna stayed silent at Chrysalis's words for a moment before he gave her a pitiless laugh as he slowly shook his head from side to side. "Then you are an even greater fool than the oaf. For I have just proven that those who use their power to crush others shall always triumph over those who seek to use power to aid others. As for your belief, it seems that you are the only one who truly believes that. All of these other creatures, they gave up on Zangief the moment he lost. Because they are smart. They know that it is foolish to put your faith in anypony else besides the strongest. And that's why all of them believed I would win. Because I am the strongest."
"Wrong." This time the voice that spoke was not from Chrysalis, but from the small changeling sitting next to her. Tenna tilted his head slightly so he could look down at the small princess, who glared up at him with a look that made her mother proud. "You're wrong. Your strength is not the strongest! You had to steal it to become as strong as you are! Zangief was not strong because he stole his power, but because...because he got his power from us. Because we believe in him."
"And if I recall correctly, you and the rest of the changelings gave up on him the moment he lost," Tenna reminded her with a smirk.
"I did. I thought that Zangief was unbeatable, so when you finally managed to beat him I was heartbroken, because I thought he had failed me," Insectum admitted before glaring up at Tenna again. "But I had failed him. I wasn't there when he needed me and because of that he lost confidence in himself! But I know he can beat you! Because Zangief said if I believe in him, then he will triumph! So I know he can beat you! I believe in him!" Her words pierced not only through the air, but through all of the changelings in the arena, all of who looked down at the broken machine in the center of the arena that had done so much for them.
"You are both idiots. Do you really believe that-"
"" believe as well!" Tenna's words were cut off as a changeling on the other side of the stadium yelled out in agreement with Insectum, causing both princess and queen to turn towards the voice. Tenna turned to yell at him before another called out as well, followed by another, another and then another. And in a matter of moments, nearly all of the changelings in the crowd were chanting for Zangief, as if their words would give him the power he needed to defeat Tenna.
"You are all fools!" Tenna bellowed at them, looking around at the changelings with rage and confusion. "I have proven myself superior! I have shown that I am the strongest! Why would you put your hopes on a man that I have beaten beyond repair?!" he screamed in confusion. Then a sound reached his ears over the bellowing of the changelings. It was the sound of a machine rising to it's knees. Tenna slowly turned to see that Zangief, who should have been broken beyond repair, had risen to his knees.
'You...all still believe in me?' Zangief asked himself as he slowly lifted his head upward, as if he was truly looking at the changelings in the crowd for the first time. His eyes locked onto Chrysalis and Insectum's face, trying to find some doubt or hints of a lie. But all their faces did was show that their words were true.
"I am such a fool," he whispered, but the moment he spoke the crowd went silent as if shot. "When you took my body from me, when you shattered their belief in me, I truly believe that I had lost everything. That because of you I had failed them. But I forgot the most important rule of a wrestler," Zangief began as he pushed himself back to his feet, his eyes a dark red as he looked at Tenna. "If your fans are crying, help them to find their smile again. If they are hurt, find a way to wipe away their pain. And if they have lost all faith, give them a reason to believe again."
"I have failed in all ways, failed all of you. Not because of Tenna, but because of myself. I was so concerned with myself, with my losses, that I did not care that you were sad, I ignored that you were in pain and I gave you reason not to believe in me," Zangief admitted before he turned his head so that he could look at all in the crowd, taking in all of them before he turned his enraged eyes back to Tenna. "But you all still chose to believe in me once again, even after I have fallen so far. You truly all are the greatest supporters that I could ask for, greater than one like me deserves. But if all of you are truly behind me, truly supporting me with your strength, then I cannot lose. This time, I shall win."
"A nice sentiment Zangief, but I have already beaten you time and time again!" Tenna roared as he leapt into the air with his arms and legs outstretched, preparing to deliver a splash. But to his shock the Red Cyclone leapt into the air and flung both feet forward, knocking Tenna back down to the floor with a dropkick. "How did you do that? A moment ago you could barely stand!"
"Because now I finally remember what makes me me. It is not the muscles, nor the dancing, nor the body that was forged in the Russian wilderness! I am not any of those things," Zangief bellowed with a confidence that made the crowd listening to his every word roar with excitement. "I am the champion who fights for those who are weak! I am the wrestler who brings smiles to the faces of children! And no matter how many times you beat me down, no matter what you do to me, with their cheers and love and their support I shall find a way to get back up! To find a way to win! That is what a true wrestler does! And I am the greatest wrestler of all time. I am Zangief, the Red...CYCLONE!"
The changelings in the crowd bellowed with support as Zangief threw himself forward, green fire flashing off his hands as he swung his palm into Tenna's face. The blow staggered Tenna long enough for Zangief to dash forward and show the body snatcher how to properly do the spinning piledriver.
"HHHOOOORRRRRRIIIIYYYYYAAAHHHH!" Zangief yelled as he launched himself and Tenna far higher into the sky than anypony within the stadium thought possible, spinning with such speeds that a vacuum was created and nearly sucked some of the changelings out of their seats. When the pair returned to earth Tenna was slammed into the stadium floor with such strength that shockwaves were generated by the impact. Zangief released him and leapt back as Tenna slowly staggered back up. With a roar of rage Tenna tried to return the favor by unleashing a banishing flat of his own, but Zangief hopped back with a smile as Tenna left himself in range for the double suplex.
"TOO LATE!" Zangief roared as he slipped around behind Tenna before proceeding to dump him on his head twice. Zangief leapt into the air almost immediately after he performed this move, watching as Tenna rose to his feet before he outstretched his arms and legs. Tenna looked up to see all the thousand pounds of Gief come slamming down on him. "Now then, how about I return the favor from earlier and deliver another S.P.D.?" Tenna quickly rose to his feet at the mention of the piledriver and jumped straight up to try to escape another blow. But this time it was Zangief that as ready for him.
Zangief leapt straight up after Tenna and cracked the changelings skull with a massive headbutt that shook the ground, knocking Tenna straight back down with stars circling around his head. in his stunned state he was unable to do anything as Zangief landed in front of him with a smile as he threw back his arms.
"HOORRRIIIYYYAAAHHH!" Zangief bellowed as he wrapped both his arms and slipped behind Tenna lifting him into the air to deliver a suplex. "FINAL!" Zangief began as he hurled Tenna over his head and slammed him neck first into the ground with such force that it seemed like an explosion was going off. "ATOMIC!" he roared as he followed up with another suplex, this one generating an even greater explosive force as Tenna was slammed into the ground. The crowd roared in a frenzy, believing the fight to be over. And then Zangief took to the skies.
"BBBBUUUUSSSSSTTTTAAARRRR!" The bellow drowned out the roar of the crowd as Zangief and Tenna came spinning back down, striking the concrete with such impact that those in the first three rows were blows off their hooves by the impact of Tenna being driven onto his skull. Zangief leapt back to inspect the crater that he had made with his own body, with Tenna laying broken in the center of it.
"H-how?" Tenna asked weakly as he staggered back to his feet, looking at the machine that he had made with confusion and rage. "None of this makes any sense! I have beaten you! The machine that you're in...it wasn't designed to be able to take so much pressure or damage? How are you still standing? How are you still fighting?!"
"Because of them," Zangief said as he moved a metal hand to motion the crowd, yet his actions only gained him a look of confusion from his foe. "You only believe in yourself. Your power only comes from yourself. But my power is not my own. It comes from them. So no matter how strong you are by yourself, you cannot hope to be as strong as the hundreds of thousands who believe in me. And that is what makes you weak."
"No...it is what makes you a fool!" Tenna roared in rage as he leapt forward with rage flashing in his eyes, heading towards Zangief in an arc that would cause him to land right in front of the Red Cyclone. "Prepare to taste your own spinning piledriver!" Tenna landed right in front of Gief with both arms brought back, but in that moment Zangief flashed with yellow light, allowing him to avoid Tenna's piledriver and deliver one of his own. Tenna let out a cry of defeat as he slumped over to the ground, allowing Gief to look down at him with rage.
"You are beaten. Now tell me how to undo the machine that is stealing the ponies," he demanded. Tenna slowly looked from the metal face of Zangief to the machine before a small chuckle escaped his lips.
"There is no way to stop it. The only way it will stop is when it has completed it's purpose. Not only will it suck the magic out of all of the creatures of Equestria, but it will also...suck the life out of all who are not wearing the protection created by me." Zangief's eyes widened in horror as Tenna let out another laugh. "Only the strong will survive. All who are weak, shall perish. That is what it means to be strong. Deciding who lives and who dies. And I...am the strongest."
"Then I shall destroy it!" Zangief decided, but Tenna let loose another laugh.
"It cannot be destroyed in time. In fact, it is almost done. Once it reaches max power with the magic it has taken, it will then use that power to suck the life out of all creatures across the land. There is nothing you can do." Zangief looked in desperation from the machine to the crowd, not wanting to believe that there was nothing he could do. Then his eyes locked onto a small changeling sitting next to the queen, a small changeling who's eyes rung with belief in him. And he knew what he had to do.
Tenna then shot to his feet with a roar, a roar that carried him into the air as he lunged at Zangief. Yet the moment he touched down in front of the Steel Tornado, he leapt into the air to chase down Gief, who he knew would flee like he had before.
"I am the strongest being in Equestria!" he roared as he activated his own Siberian Blizzard...only to find that his hands grasped at empty air, forcing him to come spinning back down to the ground as he reached a cold realization. Zangief hadn't jumped. He came spinning to a stop in front of the Red Cyclone, who was glaring down at him with a pair of cold eyes.
"No. You nothing more than a fool," Zangief said before hurling both of his arms back with such power and ferocity that a typhoon blew through the stadium, causing the spectators to cry out as Zangief yelled out to the heavens.
"For the ponies. For the changelings. FOR MOTHER RUSSIA! ULTIMATE!" he bellowed as he slipped around behind Tenna once again and suplexed him onto his skull with such power that this time a miniature explosion did go off, shaking the stadium.
"ATOMIC!" Zangief hurled Tenna into the air over his head before catching him as he came tumbling back down, driving him onto his knee with a sickening crunch the moment he had Tenna within his grasp. He then began to spin with such force that a cyclone would be ashamed of it's own speed in comparison. With a roar that could be heard all across Equestria he then hurled Tenna into the sky, where he watched the general until he vanished. Zangief then turned his gaze to Chrysalis and Insectum, both of who were looking at him with fear in their eyes.
"Thank you, for believing in me." Zangief then hurled himself into the sky with every ounce of strength that his legs could produce, rocketing him past the cloud covers and into the sky, where he spotted Tenna falling back to earth. Zangief grabbed him out of the air and locked him into position for the spinning piledriver, taking aim at a column of red energy that stretched high into the sky alongside Zangief and angling himself towards it. He began to spin with such speed that the very stars themselves were sucked into the cyclone, making it glow like a sun.
"For those who believe."
Nopony would forget what happened next. The clouds were blow away as two objects came spinning down into the red energy of the device, causing tendrils of energy to be hurled off into every direction as the spinning objects pierced through the energy as they barreled towards the device. Some would say that it looked like a meteor, but only those who had know Zangief knew how to properly describe what was created when the spinning object struck the red column of energy. It was a cyclone. A red cyclone.
But despite the roar of the winds created by who was spinning and the hissing of the energy as it was met with a force that outmatched it, a voice could still be heard across the land. A voice that belonged to the greatest wrestler in all the worlds. So as the spinning objects drilled themselves into the device with such force that the device was grinded up as if it's own insides were trying to tear apart it's outsides, an explosion of magic and power erupted from the machine, casting rainbow lights across the sky. But even as the machine exploded with a force that nearly knocked the stadium over, even as it's shockwaves shook awake dragons in other lands, there was one sound that ran out over the explosion. The voice of Zangief.
"Millions in damage, thousands scared by the event of having their magic stolen and a cyclone created that devastated the land in such a way that none before and most likely none will ever see again. It's official, you are the most innocent destructive force that has ever come to this land," Chrysalis said with a laugh as she spoke to the metallic head that rested on a table before her. Her daughter and the princesses were also within the room with her, a room at the hospital in Ponyville that had be modified incase Zangief ever wound up there.
"Gahahaha! As long as Tenna was defeated and the children believe in heroes once again then I care not for buildings or cyclones!" a metallic head, all that was left of the Steel Tornado, laughed while doing it's best to smile. Despite being just a head, Zangief's spirits had never been higher, for at least twice every hour ponies would come in to the room to express their gratitude or just marvel at his ultimate attack. He was happy, despite the lack of a body.
"I don't know if I can get used to this," Insectum muttered with worry as she moved her head closer to Zangief's, sighing at the talking head. "I mean it was weird enough back when you were trapped in the metallic body, but now you're just a talking head. please tell me Luna that you can get Gief back into his old body," Insectum begged as she looked over at Luna.
"I do not see why it matters whether I have my body or not. As long as I am the champion of the children, then I do not need a body to be Zangief!"
"That's fine Zangief, but I do believe that we should return you to your original form," Luna advised as she and the others in the room turned (except for Zangief who had issues looking around given his predicament) to a bed next to the table that Zangief rested upon, the bed being home to Zangief's original body, which was covered head to toe in one massive cast that had been strengthened to support his bulk.
"That reminds me, has Tenna woken up since the battle?" Zanigef asked once Insectum had been kind enough to turn his head towards his body.
"No, it seems that you beat him literally out of your mind," Chrysalis said with a chuckle as she walked over and smacked the cast body, getting no response. "That means that once again the empty house that is your mind is looking for someone to fill it, but unfortunately it seems that it will be stuck with you once again."
"That is fine. As much as it is interesting to be a floating head, I do wish to return to my body once again. I miss my muscles," Zangief said with a laugh.
"Are you sure you want to go back so soon? You broke everything," Insectum reminded him.
"Ha, pain is nothing to me."
"No, she's means that you broke everything literally," Chrysalis butted in with a smirk. "You broke your body, the Steel Tornado's body, the stadium in which the two of you were fighting, the machine that Tenna had created to kill all of us, the sound barrier, the laws of physics and I'm fairly certain that Twilight is in an insane asylum because of you. I couldn't be any prouder."
"Chrysalis's joking aside, the experience will be painful. Are you certain that you do not wish to wait until you are fully healed?" Celestia asked with compassion in her voice, but when she was met with a steeled glare she nodded with a smile as both her and Luna's horn began to glow. Twin streams of magic burst from their horns and engulfed both Zangief's body and the Steel Tornado's head, covering them in magical energy. The changelings covered their eyes until the magic died down, revealing a now lifeless Steel Tornado skull and the slightly moving body of Zangief.
"It would seem that the spell worked," Celestia said with a smile as she saw the casts rocking slightly, telling her that the rightful owner of that body was back in possession of what had been stolen from him. "Try not to move too much Zangief, or you might open the wounds that took a while to-"
Like a mummy bursting forth from their sarcophagus Zangief leapt off of the bed still trapped in his cast in one swift motion, looking like something out of a horror move before with a flex of muscles that no plaster could hold he shattered the cast that had covered his form, forcing the ponies and changelings to take shelter behind walls of magic to protect themselves from the pelting of shattered plaster. The dumbfounded rulers looked out from behind their barriers to see Zangief standing in the center of the hospital room while he flexed his mighty muscles, with the smile on his face shining like the sun as he laughed at being home once again.
"But...but until a moment ago his bones were all broken?" Insectum recounted with a look of utter bafflement on her face." How is he-?"
"Don't question it daughter or you might end up like Twilight," Chrysalis advised with a smirk as she walked over to the restored Red Cyclone and smacked him in the arm, gaining his attention. "Glad to see that you're back to your original, annoying self. Good thing to, because I was thinking of selling your mechanical body for scrap metal."
"It is indeed great to be back and to be with my friends once again," he said with a huge smile, a smile that was as contagious as it was happy and within moments the others in the room were smiling along with him. That was until Insectum's smile faltered and she looked up at Zangief with guilty eyes, something that was not lost on the Cyclone. "What is the matter tiny princess, something has cast the smile from your face?"
"I gave up on you," Insectum admitted sadly as she found herself unable to look up at her hero and instead found the tiles on the floor to be far easier to anguish at. "Even after all you had done for us and all the impossibilities that you overcame, I still gave up on you once when you lost for the first time. And that lost was because Tenna cheated and stole your body and yet I still gave up. How can I call myself your fan, let alone your friend if I could give up on you so easily?"
Chrysalis and the princesses looked at the little changeling with compassionate eyes, but Zangief let a small chuckle escape his lips before he knelt down so that he could move his eyes closer to the princess. "There is nothing wrong with losing faith in your hero when they fail you, for it is a natural reaction. It is my fault for your loss of belief, for once I had lost my body I put my own sorrow over the fans that I had sworn to fight for. But in the final battle, when all seemed lost, you and the others chose to believe in me one last time despite my failures. And because of that, you all gave me the strength needed to win."
Insectum smiled at Zangief's words before looking up at the titan with a look of realization. "And it's just like you said. Somepony who fights for themselves, like Tenna did, was only stronger than you until we believed in you again."
"And that is because no matter how strong someone is, if they fight for themselves then they are alone. But despite him being stronger than me, I had the love and support of you and all of the changelings, with all of you lending me your strength. And with so many supporting me, how could I lose?" Insectum smiled with tears forming in her eyes before she walked forward to gently hug Zangief, who returned the gesture with a small smile. He then released her and rose to his full height, looking out the window of his room towards the town.
"But now that I am back in my own body, there are a number of things I must do! I seem to recall that Rainbow Dash sought to have a rematch that I never got around to finishing," Zangief remembered with a smile before the door to the room opened and two stunned doctors walked in to see Zangief standing. "No time to stick around for exams, for the sound of combat calls to me! Come my friends and watch me defeat the sparrow once again!"
He leapt through the window as he said this, yet once again he had forgotten of how large he was and instead of breaking just the window, he also took a large chunk of the wall with him which left a hole in the shape of a certain wrestler who was now racing into the town. The ponies in the room watched him go with dropped jaws while Chrysalis had to lean against the bed to keep herself from falling over with laughter.
←↙↓↘→↗+H
A train whistle blew loudly, informing all who were standing on the platform that the train was about to depart, though it was a mostly ignored whistle as there were only pedestrians on the platform that would be departing by that train. One of them had gotten stuck in the door frame when he had tried to enter the train and the other two were talking to the princesses, either not aware or straight up ignoring Zangief's cries for aid.
"I would say that I'm sad to go home, but honestly I'm tired of throwing up every ten feet as I walk down the streets of Ponyville," Chrysalis said to the princesses while making a gagging sound, before she tilted her head to side as she ignored another cry. "Not to mention the hive's still a wreck since I let Luna try to be a queen, which explains why she remains a princess, so I've got to go back and clean up your mess. You can expect a bill in the next few weeks."
"I don't know if you're joking or not," Celestia mused as Chrysalis shrugged with a smirk before Celestia turned her gaze to the small princess who looked up at them with thoughtful eyes. "But I will admit that as chaotic as it is dealing with your mother, I am glad that I got to meet you young Insectum. I am certain that one day when you are queen of the changelings the three of us will get along just fine."
"Don't bet on it tank flank, I'm already teaching her the best of insults to throw at you rainbow colored annoyances." The train whistle blew loud once again, getting a string of insults thrown at the conductor by the queen, and Insectum waved Farewell to the two princesses as Chrysalis forced Zangief into the train with a blast of magic. The train then began to move slowly out of the station, leaving Celestia and Luna to watch as it got farther and farther out of sight.
"You know, I'm actually going to miss them," Celestia said with a sad smile before giving a quick glance to Luna. "Insectum and Zangief I mean. I will not being insulted every few feet by Chrysalis. The sooner she gets off the throne the sooner I feel that our nations will be at peace."
"Maybe you are right Celestia," Luna said with a smile as she turned her eyes to the train one last time. 'Or maybe a cyclone has blown a new wind through the changeling hive, a wind that brings about a change that will benefit everypony.'
←↙↓↘→↗+H
"I swear to Faust almighty that if another one of our public bathrooms clogs one more time, I'm just going to burn the place down instead of trying to fix it," Chrysalis grumbled to the assistant besides her as she and the changeling that was a good two feet smaller than her walked through the streets of the hive, the assistant smirking at the anger coming from the now slightly smelly queen. "Fire all of our plumbers and get new ones. Hell, I'm pretty sure that Fluttershy knows more about plumbing than those idjits do."
"I will get right on it my queen." Chrysalis sighed before a ray of sunlight fell onto her face, getting her to look up with a smile to se a bright blue sky over her head. She then looked around at the rays of sunlight coming down across the entire hive and her smile widened, the sight getting a sigh of peace to emerge from her lips. 'It was the right decision to tear down the dome that had covered our hive. I've never seen this place look more alive.'
"Queen Chrysalis, we must move on to the next item on our list," the changeling advisor said, abruptly cutting off Insectum's peaceful thoughts. "Next on our agenda is the issue with the salt mines, so if you would please come with me-"
"Oh would you look at the time I need to go meet up with my daughter and Gief why don't you take care of that bye!" Chrysalis was gone before the changeling had time to process what the changeling queen had said, allowing her to sigh in relief as she sailed across the city to a play ground at the edge of the school. 'And just as I predicted, they're both right here,' Chrysalis mused as she floated down at the edge of the swing sets, spotting Zangief flexing for both children and teachers alike whereas Insectum seemed to be the only one focused on their classes. Upon seeing her arrival the children all waved her over, though she was not surprised that they quickly turned their attention back to Zangief instead of focusing on their ruler.
"Glad to see that everything is back to normal. Or as normal as being stuck with you gets," Chrysalis said with a smirk as she walked over to the mighty Russian, who laughed heartily at her words.
"And I am glad to see that you are back to being you. I must admit that as nice as it is to hear how you truly believe in me, it does place me slightly on edge to see you so friendly," Zangief admitted with another bellowing laugh. Insectum sighed in defeat before closing her books, figuring that she wasn't going to get any work done with her family there.
"Well don't you worry too much about that, I promise that I will show as little kindness to you as I can," Chrysalis promised before one of Zangief's massive arms reached around her, yanking her off of her hooves and into a massive bear hug that squeezed the life out of her.
"Now there is the Chrysalis that I have come to respect!" Zangief said with another thunderous round of laughter. Chrysalis escaped certain doom by teleporting herself a few feet back, where she took in a few deep breaths before rounding on Zangief with a fury flashing in her green eyes.
"You oaf! You could have crushed me to death there!" she roared at Zangief, who still had a shining smile on his face. "I swear to Faust that one of these days I just might..." Everything went silent as Chrysalis and all the other changelings looked skyward to see a radiant beam of light descending into the center of the playground, their eyes shrinking as they spotted a being floating down from the beam of light. The being was a tall alicorn with a transcendent white coat that shone far brighter than Celestia's could ever hope to, making her shine like a star. Her fiery red mane cascaded down onto her shoulders and onto her wings, looking like a blazing sea. Finally there was the mark upon her flank, which was a quill dipping into a pot of ink. Despite Zangief raising an eyebrow at the showy appearance of the new pony, all of the changelings, even Chrysalis, slowly bowed.
"Oh my Faust," she whispered weakly, getting the alicorn to turn her head towards Chrysalis and nod with a smile on her face.
"Hello, my little changelings," the alicorn said in a radiant voice that filled all of the changelings with awe. "I am here because over the last week I have heard more demands for my appearance than in any other place in the last hundred years, most of them coming from a certain changeling," the alicorn said as she looked over at Chrysalis with another nod. "Most of them seemed to be complaints about a being called Zangief. I assume that is you?"
"Well well, it seems that my name is famous even among the divine!" Zangief said as he threw his head back and laughed with a joyful ringing in his voice, before he looked back at the alicorn with a smile the changelings knew all too well. "And there can only be one reason that you are here. You wish to fight me. Very well!" Zangief said as he took up a fighting stance, getting the alicorn to raise her eyebrows at him before a small smile broke out on her face as well. "Let us fight then!"
"Mom?" Insectum asked weakly as all of the changelings backed away from an image that none of them would forget for the rest of their lives. "Is Zangief about to wrestle who I think she is?" The sky itself seemed to brighten as the two faced off, one with an amused smile upon their face while the other had a wide smile that was filled with anticipation. Somewhere, off in the unknown, a saxophone began to play.
"Yes Insectum yes he is," Chrysalis said with a shake of her head as she sat back to watch the show. "And if I know this idiot, he may just find a way to win."
