Warning: Violence and death. Not for the faint of heart or mind.
X.X
Nurse Hale, having spent an entire day giving the guards present in the Crystal Empire check-ups, was just cleaning up her stuff for the night when she heard a soft groan behind her. Her ears perked up and she snapped her head over her shoulders to see Flash Sentry regaining consciousness.
"Good Celestia of the sun." she whispered before she quickly went over. "Flash Sentry! Can you hear me?"
"N-nurse?" the young stallion murmured as he opened his eyes for the first time in three months. His vision was nothing but a blur. Nurse Hale was nothing but a large blur of cherry red mixed with cream. Flash Sentry started to panic slightly. "I-I can't see. Why can't I see?!"
"Calm down, Flash!" Nurse Hale said gently, but firmly as she gripped his hoof. "You've been in a coma for three months. It'll take a while for you vision to settle.
"T-three months? It only feels like seconds..." The pegasus relaxed in his bed and sighed. Nurse Hale chuckled softly and gently stroked his slightly lengthened mane.
"You just wait right here and I'll let the others know you're awake."
"Ok..." Flash Sentry closed his eyes and relaxed as he regained all of his senses. He began to recognize the strange scent of oils and other medicines of the medical bay. He heard some guards talking just outside his window. Standing across the street from the building. Slowly he regained his memory of what happened previous to his coma. His eyes suddenly snapped open while his ears perked up in alarm. He shot up in bed and frantically tossed the blanket aside.
Nurse Hale stopped and turned to see what Flash was doing and was alarmed when she saw him attempting to get out of bed. "Flash Sentry!" she gasped as she quickly ran over to push him back in bed. "You just woke up! Your body won't be able to handle you walking."
"You don't understand!" he cried. "I have to see Commander Wind Dancer immediately! It's very crucial that he knows about it!"
"Just stay here and I'll get him for you." Hale said sternly as she finally managed to hold the pegasus down. "Don't do anything funny. I'm not afraid to use a sedative on you if I have to."
"Yes, ma'am." Flash Sentry sighed. This wasn't like him, normally. But he must tell his commander what happened. The images of that day played back like a silent film. And to think it's only been three months. He soon broke into tears when he remembered seeing Twilight. Snuggled up by Sombra's side and looking perfectly happy. He choked and gagged a bit on his tears. His heart racing the harder he cried as his tears hit the white bed sheets like rain.
...
Apple Bloom woke up to the sound of whimpering beside her. The filly fluttered her eyes open tiredly and looked around her room to find Winona, the family dog, looking out the window whimpering. Pawing at the glass gently and nervously.
"Winona?" Apple Bloom yawned as she crawled out of bed and trotted over to the anxious dog slowly. "Is something wrong? Do you need to go potty?" she asked. The dog merely whimpered in reply and continued to paw at the glass. Her eyes fixed at the mountains beyond. Apple Bloom looked in that direction and blinked curiously. "I don't see anything wrong" she said.
The both of them then jumped when they heard a crash downstairs. Winona's ears perked up in alarm and she immediately ran out of the room and went downstairs. "Winona!" Apple Bloom called quietly before going after the dog. "Winona! No! We need to wake up Applejack or Big Macintosh!" When she reached the bottom of the steps, however, she screamed at what she found.
Laying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, was Granny Smith. A knife taken from the kitchen sticking out of her chest. Winona was whimpering and gently nudging the old mare in an attempt to "wake her up" before sitting by her side and letting out a mournful howl.
"Granny, no!" Apple Bloom wailed as she fell to the floor and sobbed.
"Apple Bloom?" she heard her older sister's tired voice call from downstairs. "What in tarnation are you doing up this late? Do you have any idea what time it-" Applejack's voice trailed off when she saw their grandmother lying on the floor. "Granny? Granny!" Applejack cried as she quickly ran over to her grandmother's side and frantically checked for a pulse. Her heart quickly sank when she didn't feel one. "N-no..." she whispered. Tears beginning to brim her eyes.
"AJ? Apple Bloom? Just what the hay are you two doing down here-" Big Macintosh, like Applejack, never finished what he was going to say as soon as he spotted their grandmother on the floor. "Granny Smith!" he cried.
"S-she's gone, Big Macintosh." Applejack said tearfully. "She's gone."
Big Macintosh's ears flattened against his skull sadly and he pulled both his sisters in for a hug.
"GRAAAAAAANNYYYYYYY!" Apple Bloom bawled against her brothers warm body. Burying her face in his fur.
Applejack and Big Macintosh cried the hardest. They haven't cried this hard since the death of their parents and finding out what happened to Braeburn a few weeks back. Winona sudden raised her head in alarm and snapped her head over to a corner of the room. She quickly got into a defensive stance and growled dangerously.
"What's wrong, Winona?" Applejack sniffled.
There was a sudden loud screech and a foal sized creature lunged out from the darkness. Winona immediately tackled it back. Snarling and snapping her jaws at it before letting out a terrified whimper.
"Winona!" Apple Bloom cried.
Applejack's eyes suddenly burned with rage. No pony hurts her dog like that! She lunged into the spot where Winona had been fighting the creature and attacked it. Cussing and smashing her hooves down on it. "NO PONY-MESSES-WITH-MY-FAMILY!" she roared as she gave the killing blow and caused the critters skull to cave in.
Big Macintosh flipped the switch and the lights flickered on, revealing the entire scene. Winona was curled up against the couch with a wounded paw while Applejack was standing over the intruder, covered in blood. Applejack remained silent for a full minute from both the rage and shock she felt. She had just killed another living being. Killed it in a rage she's never felt before. But after finding her grandmother dead, and witnessing her dog get wounded, she couldn't help it.
"AJ?" Big Macintosh asked softly as he gently placed his hoof on her shoulder.
Applejack looked up at her brother with wide eyes. Splotches of blood covering her cheeks and forehead. She immediately embraced him in a tight hug and cried. Big Macintosh, a bit surprised, hugged her back and did his best to calm her. "Hey now. There's no need to cry. It's alright." he crooned soothingly in her ear.
Apple Bloom comforted Winona as she wrapped a bandage around her wounded paw. "You were a good doggy, Winona." she cooed. "You're a good doggy!" Apple Bloom then giggled when Winona licked her face.
Applejack pulled away from her big brother and the both of them looked down at the dead intruder. "What in Tartarus's name is this damn thing?" Big Macintosh asked as he nudged the creature. "I've never seen the likes of it before."
"But I have." Applejack whispered. Still in a state of shock. The creature she had just killed was none other then a mere Changeling. Now lying on the living room floor with a large hole in its skull and a horrified expression forever plastered on its face. "But that's impossible. My friends and I got rid of them two years ago in Canterlot during Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding!"
They suddenly heard a loud scream coming their barn outside and the trio exchanged horrified expressions. "Strongheart!" they cried in unison before they frantically ran out of the house and galloped over to the barn. Big Macintosh tackled the doors open and the trio were greeted with Strongheart fighting off a group of Changelings.
"Help!" she cried after she roughly bucked one off and used her back legs to kick another away.
"Hey! You leave her alone you bullies!" Apple Bloom screeched before charging head on into the group.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled before charging in as well. Big Macintosh didn't take long to follow suit.
...
Sweetie Belle screamed just as Spike slammed a book at another Changeling that was approaching them. Trixie stood protectively in front of the filly and casted one of her spells at the approaching Changelings. Either blowing them back or teleporting them outside. Only for them to come crawling back in. Outside they heard the swarms or Changelings attacking Ponyville. The screams of surprised and frightened citizens weren't enough to block out the sound of their buzzing wings.
"There's so many of them!" Spike shouted after hitting another. "We can't fight them off forever!"
"Isn't there a way we could contact Canterlot somehow?" Trixie asked after casting another spell. This one causing a Changeling to crash through a window.
"There is." Spike replied before slamming his book down on a Changelings head. "But we have to get someplace safe. I can't write and send a letter with all these pests around!"
"Who are you calling pestsssss?" a Changeling hissed. Clearly offended along with its brethren.
"Whoops." Spike said before he quickly backed away from the now enraged Changelings. "T-Trixie? Is there a way you could somehow teleport us someplace safe? Like, I don't know, anywhere!"
"I could try." Trixie replied. "But I need to know what location you want us to go. I just can't teleport us anywhere randomly. We could end up someplace we might not want to be!"
"Just get us the hell out of here!" Spike finally snapped.
"Look out!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.
A Changeling suddenly lunged forward and tackled Spike to the floor.
"Spike!" Trixie cried before suddenly finding herself and Sweetie Belle surrounded by the other Changelings. She casted a spell and managed to teleport a few away. But the gap was quickly filled in by other Changelings.
"Go!" Spike roared as he struggled to hold off the Changeling attempting to rip his face off. "I'll catch up. Just get to someplace safe!"
"I know a place where we can go." Sweetie suddenly gasped. She then tugged on Trixie's hoof and gestured to an open doorway. "This way!"
Trixie nodded and casted one last spell at the approaching Changelings before following the filly up the steps. Like a pack of hungry wolves, the Changelings followed suit. A few of them licking their chomps hungrily as strangely colored saliva hit the floorboards. Spike grunted and let out a might roar as he kicked the Changeling off of him and dashed up the steps after the others.
Sweetie Belle led Trixie down the upstairs hallway until they made a right turn and ended up at a dead end. From there she removed a large, square shaped chunk of the wall. Revealing a secret passage way big enough to fit an adult pony. "Inside. Hurry!" Sweetie said. Trixie immediately dove right in and Sweetie followed. Placing the wall piece back in with her magic. "Just keep crawling down the tunnel until you find a ladder leading up." the young filly instructed.
Trixie did as she was told, and soon enough she found a ladder leading up. After doing a quick test to make sure it was safe to use, she climbed upwards. In just a minute she soon found herself in a fairly large space filled with old furniture and mannequins covered in dusty white sheets. Sweetie Belle followed in and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Rarity used to come here and hide from our parents whenever they got mad." she explained. "But it's been so long since she's last used it."
"I didn't even know you had an attic." Trixie said as she examined an old piece of furniture. There was a sudden loud noise beneath their hooves and both mares froze.
"Trixie? Sweetie?" Spike called from below the ladder.
"Spike?" Sweetie called as she peeked down. "Is that really you?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" the baby dragon asked.
"Remember. Changelings are known to take the shape of any creature it pleases to be." Trixie warned. "Ask it something only Spike would know."
Sweetie nodded. "Hey, Spike! What's Rarity's favorite color?" she called.
"Rose red, of course." Spike replied. Frowning. Of course he'd know what Rarity's favorite color would be. He then heard Sweetie Belle giggle.
"It's Spike." she said to Trixie. "Come on up!"
Spike climbed up the ladder and fell to the floor in exhaustion. "Talk about a rude wake up call." he huffed.
The Changelings had attacked them a few minutes ago. It all happened so fast for them. One minute it was all peaceful and quiet, then the next all hell broke loose. They were lucky enough to reach the safety of the attic without the Changelings truly noticing.
"I better get to work on writing that S.O.S letter to Celestia." Spike then added. Both Trixie and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry I couldn't just teleport us to Canterlot." Trixie sighed. "I still haven't fully healed from using that long-distance teleportation spell."
...
Rainbow Dash and Star Knight flew over the chaos in Ponyville. Attacking the Changelings that surrounded them.
"There's one coming your way!" Star Knight called.
Rainbow Dash threw a punch at the approaching Changeling and watched plummet to the ground. "Thanks." she said. Giving Star Knight a smile.
Star Knight smiled back before he grabbed an attacking Changeling by the arms and flung it at two more Changelings. The Changelings collided and fell downward.
"We have to find Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash called. "She lives all by herself. I can't just leave her alone like this!"
"Lead the way to her home!" Star Knight called back. "We'll find and have her with us!"
Rainbow Dash nodded and quickly led the other pegasus in the direction of the home Scootaloo lived in. Since the death of her parents a few years back, the small filly had been living all alone in her home. While a few ponies volunteered to look after her, Scootaloo assured them that she would be fine by herself. But during a time like this, Rainbow Dash could only pray that her number one fan hasn't done anything rash.
"Help me!" a little voice screamed below.
Both Pegasi stopped in mid-flight and looked to the ground. There they spotted Scootaloo standing on the rooftop of her home. Backing away from a group of Changelings. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed as a new wave of adrenaline filled her.
"Hang on, Squirt!" she howled before diving downward into the swarm.
Scootaloo's eyes flashed with hope when she spotted her hero diving down to her rescue. "Dash!" she cried happily. Star Knight fought back the Changelings that threatened to stop Rainbow Dash from reaching the filly. Rainbow Dash unleashed a battle cry as soon as she landed behind the group of Changelings. From there she tackled herself into the group and defeated the Changelings one by one.
...
Rarity was hiding under her hospital bed as she listened to the Changelings outside pounding against her window. Desperately trying to break in. Overwhelming fear for her friends and family dominated her like a drug. She could only hope and pray that they would make it out alive.
...
"STALLIONS!" Celestia boomed throughout the throne room. She had just received the S.O.S letter from Spike and rage quickly kicked in. "Head to the armory! I've just received a letter that Ponyville is under attack!"
"You heard the Princess, Stallions!" the Captain roared. "Saddle up!" The Royal Guards nodded and immediately ran out of the throne room.
Using her magic, Celestia brought out her golden halberd. A weapon she hasn't used since her last encounter with Nightmare Moon. And something she hoped to never have to use again. Luna was already in the armory preparing for battle. She had Cadence watch over Amber Leaf. Just to quell her suspicions. Soon the first and second squadron of royal guards took to the skies. Their golden armor and weapons flashing underneath the moonlight as they made their way over to Ponyville. However. They failed to notice the large mass of black armored Pegasi coming in from the mountains.
Twilight Terror flew with her soldiers alongside Black Fire. While Black Fire had his dearest halberd with him, Twilight's choice of weaponry was a curved, amethyst colored scythe. When raised in the sky, it looked like a purple crescent moon. Down below, just outside of Canterlot itself, Braeburn and his ground army of Earth Ponies waited patiently for the signal to strike. Outside of Canterlot Castle, Sombra and his unicorns stayed hidden in the shadows. After a half year of planning and strategizing, with help from Twilight, his plan was finally being put into action. And things couldn't go any better for him. While Celestia and her stallions were focusing on what was happening in Ponyville, they wouldn't suspect anything to happen in Canterlot. He had a hunch that one of the ponies there would send a letter for help eventually.
Twilight found herself approaching Canterlot Castle closer and closer. She flashed a dark grin as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She soon heard the bells going off. Alerting everypony in the castle of their approach. That was Braeburn and Sombra's cue to strike. Sombra and his unicorns stormed into Canterlot Castle. Using their magic to protect themselves while Twilight and Black Fire's army attacked from above. Braeburn and his ponies layed waste to Canterlot itself. Killing or capturing any pony they saw fit. Destroying homes and businesses with little to no mercy in mind.
...
During the chaos, Celestia's garden remained untouched. The stone statutes that decorated the place could only watch as everything went to hell in a matter of minutes. Amongst the statuses was a unique looking one. A creature made up of many animals parts soon found himself on the verge of breaking free from his stone prison once more.
...
Celestia looked out the window in sheer horror when she saw that Canterlot was up in smokes. She didn't expect this sort of thing to happen. Not like this...
"My. Still weak and helpless like always." a rich, chilling voice purred from behind her.
Celestia shuddered when he heard him laugh next and slowly closed her eyes tightly. Using her magic to hold onto her weapon tightly, she slowly turned around to come face to face with a unicorn she dreaded to see. Memories of Twilight's funeral and the vow she made to put Sombra to justice came rushing back and she snapped her eyes open. Sure enough, standing a few feet from her with his crimson scythe raised high and proud, was the infamous unicorn himself.
"Hello, princess." he crooned.
Celestia's eyes narrowed hatefully. "Sombra." she hissed.
X.X
Cliffy! Sort of...
Lusaphira: You'll just have to wait and see in the next chapter! :D
Ms. Moonshoes Potter: She's not going crazy. That's for sure ;)
Wild Heart1997: XD Lol!
Zelfra1234: She's not going craaaaaazyyyyyy! XD
PrincessMidnightMoon: Hehehe ;D
Northgalus2002: Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter and the next! :)