Chapter 1: The Beginnings of an Invasion.
"Maverick!" Twilight yelled up at me. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes together with my hooves. I looked over at the clock and went into panic mode. Today was the Summer Sun festival! I told myself to not forget today but look at what happened.
I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to Twilight's angry glare. I'm fucked. I thought to myself, putting on a nervous smile and a soft chuckle. She looked at me like a disappointed mother who saw the failing grade he got on his last test.
"You're lucky that we're running late or else I would've chewed you out as soon as you saw me!" she said, using her magic to get my mane and coat ready for the festival. I still don't know what's so important about a silly festival celebrating summer but I didn't say anything.
In one part of my mane, she found a clump of hair that wouldn't straighten out, so she got the comb. I hate the comb. She pushed it in my mane and began to get rid of the clot. Everytime she pushed against it with the comb, my scalp would be tugged in that direction.
"Can't you just use your magic to straighten the clot out?" I grunted. She kept brushing and answered with an "nu uh." I rolled my eyes. She pulled the comb out and with a last ditch effort, got a bucket of water and dumped it on me. "H-Hey!" I yelled, water rolling around my eyes. She ignored me and kept brushing. Finally, the clot broke and straightened out. Twilight sighed a sigh of relief and got a towel to dry me off. The small pitter patter of footsteps were running towards us. Spike.
"Twilight!" the baby dragon said, "we're going to be late, we need to go now! the rest are already there waiting." Twilight groaned, and told me that she'll finish me up on the train to Canterlot. We ran over to the train station and got on the eleven o'clock train with almost half of Ponyville on it! The ride took thirty minutes before we were allowed to get off and rush to the main courtyard.
Plenty of stands were already up selling memorabilia like Celestia and Luna bobble heads, sun glasses, and other sun themed items. Food and drink stands were also up with Applejack and Pinkie Pie already having customers. We walked up to them and they gave us a wave.
"Well, if it ain't Maverick an' Twilight! For a minute there Ah thought you two wouldn't show up." Applejack said with a big smile on her face.
"You wouldn't believe the morning that we had. Maverick slept in and he had a clot in his mane that was being a pain so I just dumped water on him and it finally came out. I'm just glad we got to make it before Celestia made her speach." Twilight told her with a sigh.
While they were talking, I looked around at the festival. It was made well. Much better then any festival back on Earth at least. I then layed eyes on three strange unicorns. they were all wearing the same black and blue suits and glasses. They also had the same coat and mane colors. I thought maybe triplets. They were not showing any expression and the only thing they payed attention to were the other ponies. Against my best judgement, I went to talk to them.
I walked up with a smile and held out my right hoof. "Names Maverick, what's yours?" I asked still waiting for one of them to shake my hoof. They stayed silent and walked by me with their expressionless faces. I was confused. Did I do something wrong?
"You noticed something strange about those three as well?" Pinkie whispered. I jumped a little on the inside but stayed calm. "Yea, they just seem... creepy. I have a bad feeling about today." I said in a low whisper. Pinkie agreed and went back to her stand. I was contemplating telling Twilight about this but they could be a new kind of guard Celestia had just for this celebration so I ignored it.
I walked back to Twilight, who was chatting with another stand owner. They were talking about their excitement for the festival and how their days went. When I got closer, I realised who she was talking to. Minuette. She was selling solar powered toothbrushes at her stand though they don't look like they're selling well. I tapped Twilight on the shoulder and asked where Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity were at.
"Rainbow's probably stretching her wings for the Rainboom she's supposed to do today. Fluttershy is in charge of the music so she's in the gardens and Rarity is at her shop right next to the castle. Is that all you need?" She asked with a tilt of her head. I nodded and took flight to find Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow!" I yelled, "Rainbow, where are you!?" A sudden rainbow trail blurred past me and laughed. I tried to catch up to her but she was moving too fast. I yelled her name again and she slowed down enough for me to catch up. A simple, "What's up" is all she asked me. I was agitated that she didn't say sorry but I let it slide.
"Rainbow, can you do something for me?" I asked her, looked around cautiously. She said sure but to not take too long because she's not fully warmed up and the start of the festival is in a few minutes. "Can you keep an eye out for three suspicious looking ponies? They're all wearing the same black and blue suits and glasses with blank expressions. I have a bad feeling about them." She said she would keep a close eye on anyone that looked suspicious. I thanked her and flew back to the ground.
The minutes would ticked by, Rainbow reported that she hasn't seen or heard anything about the three strange ponies. I groaned and thanked her for the help anyway. I heard the Ponyville clock tower go off. SHOWTIME!
Trumpets blared and a royal guard spoke up in a deep and mesmerising tone. "Greetings mares and gentlecolts. To make sure this festival kicks into high gear, please give a round of applause for our wonderful Princess of the sun, Princess Celestia!" Everyone was clapping their hooves and cheering as Celestia walked out on the stage set out for her. Celestia's flowing super nova like mane and her pristine white coat were twice as clean as it usually is due to her getting out and about on meetings. It's actually rare for her to get a shower or bath cause she's barely at the castle most of the time. She usually puts on a quick freshener spell that makes it seem like she bathed. She had a bright and gentle smile that could make anyone feel safe in her vicinity.
"Hello everypony, it is so good to see you all again this Summer Sun festival. Today marks the beginning of summer, a wonderful time for me and my sister to bring the best of our abilities to their peaks! Today also marks the fifth anniversary of the return of my sister from her prison on the moon and the defeat of Nightmare Moon. I don't want interrupt anymore of this festival's time so without further adue, let the Summer Sun festival begin!"
Celestia flew up high in the air as gracefully as grace can get and the sun shone brighter then ever before. I was amazed at the sight. I pulled out the specially designed glasses Twilight made and put them on. Rarity wasn't kidding when she said this festival was majestic! I heard a faint humming sound from the other side of the mountain but I was too amazed at the sight in front of me to worry about it. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash diving down with a mach cone around her. She was close. Two seconds later, a ring of rainbow colors followed by an explosion. That explosion was not from the rainboom. Everyone was quiet. I looked around and no-one moved. The humming was getting louder and the vibrations were making the ground shake. Foals and fillies alike were screaming and crying in fear as more explosions occurred in the lower part of Canterlot.
Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight were all running to where the impact zone was. I ran in the other direction to get Rarity and Fluttershy so we were all together. I knocked on Rarity's boutique and she opened the door with vigor.
"Oh my! Maverick, darling, are you okay?" She asked, suprised at my exhaustion. I caught my breath pretty quickly and told her everything. Surprisingly, she reacted calmly and ran off to get Fluttershy. "You go and help the others darling, I'll get Fluttershy!"
I would lie if I said I wasn't scared. This is my first Summer Sun festival and, of course, it was ruined by an unidentified attack. Just my luck.
When I arrived, Twilight and the others were being shot at by green, plasma like goo from the three strange ponies I met earlier. They couldn't even peek around the edge without getting shot at. The conclusion was that they were pinned. All I could feel was anger. Not only for pinning my wife and friends behind a building, but also for attacking Equestria in general. I snuck around the side to flank them and used my magic to grab one of the weapons they were using. When I stole it, they weren't happy. One focused their attention on me and the other kept firing at the others. This wasn't my plan but I could work around it.
I got down in cover at poked out and shot at the one I stole the weapon from. The shot hit. It's body was launched backwards into the one suppressing Twilight and the others, ejected a cloud of purple gas, and knocked 'em down. I chuckled until the weapon in my magic crumbled into fragments. Damn it.
The one on the ground was still trying to get his senses together so I yelled at them to make their move. And move they did. Rainbow was the first to strike, attacking the one suppressing me in my small bit of cover I have left. Twilight used her magic to shoot the one Rainbow hit and it died the same way as the one I killed. Ejecting purple gas. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both ran up on the last one and bucked it into another building. It also ejected purple gas.
We all regrouped, careful to avoid the gas that stood in our way. Twilight and the others looked both scared and relieved. Scared of what happened, relieved that Canterlot was safe for now. Twilight was the first to hug me, then Pinkie, A.J, and Rainbow.
"Twilight!" Spike yelled from behind a building, "is it safe to come out yet?"
"Yes Spike, you can come out now." Twilight said, a bit of trembling in her voice.
Spike peaked out from his hiding place and layed eyes on something below Twilight that almost made him scream. I looked down around our hooves and saw green casts of dead ponies everywhere. I felt sick. Some even held foals in their hooves before death. I had to look away. A second later, I heard the rest of them scream in terror. They must've seen what I saw.
"What in Celestia's name is going on do- OH SWEET LUNA!" Rarity yelled, noticing everything we saw. I could hear Fluttershy scream right behind Rarity. I wanted faint. Who in the world would do this to innocent ponies?
Rarity and Fluttershy ran down as quickly as they could and hugged everyone. They couldn't believe their eyes and neither could we. Can we have one month without having anything crazy happen around here? I used my magic to grab one of the corpses and levitated it over to our position. Now that I look closer, it does look different from a ponies body. I removed the glasses and the eyes were reptilian like.
"Fluttershy, you think this is a bat pony?" I asked her. She shook her head and pointed to it's back. "It can't be a bat pony. It doesn't have any wings." She replied.
I continued to check on what this creature is by removing it's suit. Under it was a reptile like body shape with scales and everything. It was cold to the touch. I shivered.
"So it's a mix between pony and reptile. Anything in Equestria that matches that description Fluttershy?" I asked. She thought for a second then looked over the corpse again. After scanning every bit of it, Fluttershy shook her head. "Nothing in Equestria has a mix between pony and reptile. At least... not from what I know anyway." She whispered softly.
Without thinking, I punched it's head in. Greenish yellow blood splattering everywhere. I was angry, okay? I couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Maverick." I heard Celestia call out to me. I gasped and looked up. She was looking down at me with that same smile she had during her speech. "You have to be calm during times like these, no matter how angry you may seem. It's hard for me to not get angry at these intentions, especially Luna. She's probably yelling at one of her guards to find out who's responsible for these actions and have them executed." She giggled, "This is probably a one time thing so if anything like this happens again, I'll take this as a sign of war. I want all of you to return home and get some rest. You all did a great job with defending Canterlot from these creatures."
We all quietly walked to the train, traumatized by the days events. I couldn't get the images out of my mind. Mares and stallions laying in green casts, dead. The poor foals who didn't make it through the attack. They never got to see how good life was. The train ride was dead silent the entire trip and beyond.
When we got off, we all went different ways except Twilight, Spike, and I. No-one was outside making the trip less awkward for all of us.
"Twilight... I-I don't know what to say." I murmured. She said nothing in return. She must be more traumatized then I was.
The castle was quiet when we arrived. Her guards must've been informed on the events in Caterlot because they said nothing. We just went to our room and silently drifted to Luna's dreamscape, hoping to forget these events.