The Shadow of Equestria
Chapter 21
Assault
After multiple assaults from the changeling troops, the shield finally fell apart like a window that had been smashed by a rock.
"Charge!" yelled one of the changelings as the rest let loose a loud war cry as they flooded city.
Once the changelings were in the city, I decided that it was time for me to enter with them. I got up from the spot I was sitting and began my walk to the castle.
From where we were positioned, we had direct access to the castle gardens but due to Chrysalsis' orders, the changelings stayed away, leaving the garden to me. All that was required of me to enter was to climb a large wall and make my way to the center. Supposedly, Agliss and a healed Yamato were suppose to be there. I doubted that they would hold their positions if they saw the changelings break in.
With my sword ready, I entered the center of the garden and to my surprise... no one was there. I sighed and put my sword back in its holster.
"I somehow knew they weren't going to be here." I shrugged. "Oh well, I'll go meet up with Chrysalis. Maybe she'll know where they went."
I then turned towards the doors leading into the castle and entered. Once inside, I was quite obvious that the Royal Guards had been scattered. To the left I could see changelings cutting off groups of guards from each other. I approached one of the nearby changelings.
"Where's the Queen?" I asked.
"In the Chapel, jussssst down that hallway." said the changeling as he pointed his hoof at one of the many nearby hallways.
Taking the lead, I began to walk down the hallway till I approached a large set of doors covered in ornate designs and jewels. I placed a hand on one of the doors and pushed it open. Inside were four ponies, Celestia, Chrysalis, a pinkish pony who's hooves were glued to the floor and some kind of guard. The guard appeared to be in some kind of trance.
"Well." I said as I began to take in the sight of my least favorite pony imprisoned in some kind of cocoon. "This is certainly a sight to see."
The Princess looked down towards Chrysalis.
"Why is he here?" she asked in an angry voice.
"You see dear princess." started Chrysalis. "Zhane offered his services to us. Once he heard of our plan, he sought us out and became one of our allies. Which reminds me Zhane, did you finish your part of our agreement?"
"They weren't there. They must be around the castle somewhere." I said to Chrysalis. I had a feeling they wouldn't just sit and watch as changelings flooded into the city."
Chrysalis snorted loudly before turning to Celestia.
"Where are they, where are Agliss and Yamato?!" she demanded.
The Princess laughed in response.
"Didn't you notice they left a few day ago along with my sister Luna. They're looking for Zhane and once they sense he's in Canterlot, they'll come rushing back."
I rolled my eyes as I heard another pony rushing into the room.
"My Queen, the guardsss have regrouped and are pussshing through. We might not be able to hold them."
"What of the Elements?" asked Chrysalis.
"They're putting up a fight but we'll have them in no time." claimed the changeling.
"Zhane." said Chrysalis as she looked over towards me. "Help my troops hold back the guards."
"Don't you dare!" exclaimed Celestia.
"Use whatever force you deem necessary." said Chrysalis with a smile.
"I'll do my best." I said as I left with the guard
The guard ended up taking me to the front gates of the castle where the guards were doing their best to push through the mass of changelings.
"Tell your men to stand aside. It's my turn." I said.
"Stand aside!" yelled the changeling.
After a second or two, all the changelings moved from the middle of the area and backed up to form a wall. The only thing that remained in the guards way was me.
After realizing that the changelings had backed away, they turned and stared at me.
"My turn." I said as I gathered magic into my hand and slammed it onto the ground. After a few seconds, the ground began to rumble and pitch black spikes emerged from the ground underneath the guards. I'll let your imagination think of what happened next.
With the guards taken care of, I turned to go back inside but was stopped by the sound of a nearby explosion. I turned back to see that the spikes I had casted had been destroyed. I looked for the culprit only to find them right in front of me. Agliss, Yamato, and Luna were standing at the gates.
"That was quick." I said. "Celestia said that you three were off somewhere else. I honestly thought I wouldn't get another chance to fight you two."
"You got lucky last time Zhane." said Agliss. "I don't think that you'll be as lucky this time."
"What makes you say that Agliss?" I asked. "I know you won't kill me. I know that me, you, and Yamato are the last humans in Equestria. I know I'll beat you and it's all because you hesitate to kill one of your own. But you know what, I won't."
As I finished, I slammed my hand into the ground once more and watched as the spikes were easily dodged.
"I had a hunch that went into the Badlands but I didn't expect you to join up with the Changelings." said Agliss as he drew his sword. "To be honest I didn't think that you would stoop this low."
"To be honest with you, I only took this job to kill you and Yamato. I guess now's my chance."
Agliss frowned and looked back towards Yamato.
"Yamato, take Luna away from here."
Yamato nodded as he and the Princess began to head back into the city. In response, I turned to the changelings.
"Don't let them get away!" I yelled.
In response, all the changelings around me launched into the air to follow the two escaping. Once the last changeling had gone to the town to look for Yamato and Luna, I smiled.
"Now were alone." I said as I popped my neck.
"Yes, time to talk some sense into you." said Agliss.
"What?" I replied. "Wait, don't tell me your gonna try to give me some kind of motivational speech about how killing is wrong and immoral. Because I can't tell you how many of those I've gotten."
Agliss paused for a moment before answering.
"Besides that." he said. "I want to inform you about the magic you use."
"What of it?" I asked.
"You see, as humans, we live around the elements. Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and so on and so forth. But the only element that we don't see in our lifetime is Light and Darkness. The only time we see those is in death."
He paused.
"The downfall of Oasis was caused by a man who wielded the same magic you do. His name was Avalan Reed. I still remember him too. He was a young man with a big ambition. Because of this, he was our head researcher. So, because of his discoveries, he found a way to access more powerful magic that resides in every human. First it was the power of Light and Darkness. He discovered that through traumatic events, a human can delve into their souls to unlock this power. Due to his life as a child, Avalan was able to tap into the darker side of his souls and gained control over the power of darkness. We all thought of him as a visionary, the man that would lead our civilization to the top to rank with Equestria and the Griffons. However, with the darkness of his souls released, he soon desired greater power."
"During one of his research periods, Avalan discovered something, something that we weren't meant to know. The ability to control the souls. Because of his bid for power, Avalan caused unrest among the kingdom, forcing a civil war to break out. It was a furious battle, one between those influenced or scared of Avalan's and men still loyal to the throne itself. We were outnumbered and we lost but instead of death, Avalan imposed a fate worse than death, being trapped in a prison were you cannot move or breathe."
Agliss paused again.
"Don't you see Zhane, Avalan was our brightest mind, there was no way he would go against the throne. But the power he wielded unsettled him, frayed his already weak psyche and by then it was too late. Avalan had become mad with power, an insane wreak. What I'm trying to say is that you will meet the same fate if you don't do anything about. Just come with me Zhane, we'll suppress your magic, help you adjust. I mean hell, you learned how to control your magic quite quickly. You'd might even have a job lined up for you once everything settled down."
"What do ya say Zhane, I know you don't want that to happen to you."
Agliss finished and a few moments went by before I answered.
"Throughout my whole life, the one thing that constantly felt was the feeling of being powerless. When my family was killed, I felt powerless. When I was forced to kill my own brothers, I felt powerless. When I was thrust into a life in which I wasn't ready for, I felt powerless. So don't you see Agliss, I don't care what's going to happen to me. For once in my life it feels like I have complete control over what I do."
I stopped and smiled.
"And I've never been happier."
With that, a loud blast emerged from the castle followed by a large pink shield. It began to expand and with it went all of the changelings in Canterlot. Once it hit me, it simply passed right through me and kept going. I watched as it continued to expanded until the entire shield was now out of sight.
"Looks like whatever plan the changelings had has failed." said Agliss. "All that's left is you Zhane and you're standing in the middle of enemy territory."
With that, Agliss readied his sword.
"Hey Red." shouted Poison Spectre as she saw the great shield emerge from Canterlot.
"What?"
"I'll be right back." she replied.
"Where are you off to now? Need I remind you that Zhane told you to stay here and that Darkwing is looking for you. I think it's both unwise and dangerous."
"Relax Red." Said Spectre. "I don't think Zhane will be angry if I left for a few moments."
"Like I said, I don't think it'll be wise to leave. Even though all of the changelings have left Canterlot, which I find weird, it doesn't mean it's safe."
"Don't care, seeya." said Spectre as she disappeared with a bright flash.
Red sighed.
"That girl is gonna get herself killed with that attitude."
With his sword ready, Agliss kept his ground as he and I remained in a standoff. The guards have become unaware of what we were doing so for now, we were still alone.
"I guess it's time for me to make my exit then." I said.
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere, not while I'm here." replied Agliss
I frowned because I realized that the only way I'd escape from Canterlot was to fight my way out , which would never happen, or to outrun them, which will never happen. I thought that maybe it would have been a good idea to escape as the changelings were expelled instead of sitting there twiddling my thumbs. I silently cursed myself for not thinking of it any sooner as I continued to hold my sword at the ready.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.' I said to myself. It was kinda hard to realize but I actually had nowhere to go. It would literally take a miracle for me to get out of there.
My little inner freak-out was halted by a flash of blinding light followed by a voice that I was familiar with.
"That doesn't get any better the third time." said Spectre who was now right in front of me.
"Here to come get me?" I asked as I looked down at her.
"You know it." she said as she pointed to the small orb around her neck. "I took the time to make this thing a little more accessible."
I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever, let's just leave."
"Grab on." she said as she motioned me towards her. I placed my hand on her back and looked at Agliss.
"Sorry to leave so suddenly Agliss but duty calls me elsewhere. Don't worry though, I'm sure we'll meet again."
As I finished, a bright light encompassed me before letting loose another bright flash that caused my vision to blur.
Once I regained my sight, I could see Red sitting at a large table and Spectre trotting over to join him.
"You saved my ass Spectre." I said with a smile. "I owe you."
"No problem Zhane. I somehow knew that Queen was going to fail. Just call it a gut feeling."
Spectre removed the orb from her neck and placed it on the table.
"Still thought it was a bad idea." whispered Red as he held his head in his hoof.
"What next Zhane?" asked Spectre.
"I think we have some work to do." I said.
Back at Canterlot castle, Agliss sheathed his sword and looked out on the town. As he looked down the main road, he could see Yamato and Luna running back towards the castle covered in green goo.
"So they pushed them that fair." Agliss said to himself as the two approached. "I'm assuming that it was necessary?"
Yamato nodded and sheathed his own sword as he began to wipe the goo off himself. Luna on the other hand, completely ignored the fact she was covered in changeling remains and continued to look behind her.
"Where did Zhane go?" she asked.
"I'm afraid he got away Princess." replied Agliss.
"Did you tell him about his magic?" asked Luna.
"I did."
"And?"
Agliss stayed silent for a moment.
"He was unmoved." he said with a frown.
Luna sighed.
"I'll inform Celestia, she'll want to know."
Luna walked past the two and turned back.
"We have some work to do, we should get to it."
Here's Chapter 21 for everypony, Enjoy!
Sorry for the wait. I know that I haven't posted a chapter in a while and that was due to several things. However, I'm here to tell you that it's BACK and that I didn't cancel the story (Contrary to the popular belief). I will pick up on the Monday Thursday ritual next week. As for now, enjoy the rest of your weeks and I will see you guys next Monday with a awesome chapter.
See you guys later!