Hello! Its official, I've become one of those "update once a month" guys. I apologize. But, this chapter will catch your attention. We see an Evisica in detail, learn why nopony's seen them in centuries, and learn what's been happening in Vermilion since this whole thing started. Hope ya like it!
Her palace was close to collapse. The Evisican forces had broken through and Celestia's army was stuck on the outside. Inside the palace, Malice's forces were in retreat, but few had anywhere to go. Most barricaded themselves in various closets and chambers, where not even the Evisicans could reach them easily. Her servants were captured, dead or aiding in the effort to repel the enemy. Malice herself was in the uppermost chambers of the palace, protected by her closest bodyguards and her Grand General.
She was charging up the Last Resort, a large magic amethyst that would wipe out any enemy in the palace. She rarely used it due to the magic required to charge it, and she was the only one capable of charging it. Only a few ponies knew this, and they were doing everything possible to keeps the Evisicans out. There were no enemy ponies here, just Evisicans themselves. Their brute strength was slowly breaking the doors, despite the brawn of the Earth Ponies and the reinforcing magic of the unicorns. Not even the Grand General, Malice's white unicorn bodyguard, could keep them out for long. Malice was still charging the Last Resort when the door splintered apart and the hulking Evisicans came charging in.
They were stopped by the Earth Ponies for brief moments, long enough for the unicorns and Pegasi to zap a few down. Malice had to maintain focus, so she couldn't help, but from the corner of her eye, she could see her guard fighting to keep the Evisicans away from her. The Grand General was facing one in hoof-to-limb combat. He brought it down with his horn, and charged into the horde.
A few more minutes passed without a single Evisican reaching her, and the Resort was charged. The amethyst hummed, then bellowed with power as its magic flooded the palace. Every Evisican vanished in a stream of red and purple magic. Malice gasped for air from the drain the spell put on her. She turned and looked at her remaining guards with a mix of joy and sorrow. Joy, from how they were successful, and sorrow, from how less than half her guard survived.
She saw no white among the standing guards.
Malice slowly walked toward her guard, all of whom had worried faces. It wasn't until she got closer when she realized they were purposefully forming a wall. With a single glare, the guards cringed and shuffled to either side, revealing what they were hiding.
In many places, red covered his once pristine-white coat, his horn covered in the purplish Evisican blood. His blue eyes, once piercing and clear, were now glazed over and emotionless. Blood dripped from his mouth and collected in the pool that formed under him. For the second time that day, Malice fell to her knees. This time, tears filled her own sapphire eyes and she gave a cry of pain and sorrow, a cry no immortal had given before.
Watson spun through the teleport space with the others. It was similar to when he was link-teleported to the Shetlands a month or two ago, minus the falling on the ground over and over. He knew the teleport would last a few hours, but it only seemed like a few minutes before he hit dirt. His vision was blurry and bright, and his hearing was muffled. He had never been through a single teleport this long, and clearly took its' toll on him. He tried to stand, but his knees buckled under him. Watson could feel his consciousness slipping away, but he couldn't let go. He had to make sure his friends were safe. As he tried getting up, a shadow appeared over him. Watson couldn't make it out, but he could tell it was a large creature before him.
"What do we have here?" the shadow asked in a baritone voice before Watson completely passed out. After he passed out, several more shadows joined the first one.
Watson slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't lying on grass anymore. He was on something soft, like a bed. As his eyes focused, he saw it was a bed, but not like a normal one. It was bigger than normal, and was round, like a nest. There weren't any blankets either, but the air around him was a comfortable temperature. The room was a pristine white, with matching décor and windows without glass. There was a gentle breeze going through the room. Watson stretched a bit, then slowly got to his hooves to get a better look around.
"Ah," a somewhat-high-pitched, yet emotionless, voice said to his side, "you are awake." Watson turned to see who spoke in such a peculiar fashion. It was a big creature, bigger than most Earth Ponies. Tartarus, it was as big as Celestia. It was a quadroped, but its' front legs ended in four-fingered hands while its' back legs ended in feet with three stubby toes. Its' back was hunched, like a buffalo, but the hump had a smooth transition into its' neck, which looked almost nonexistent. It had no hair, and its' skin was a mottled green with small bumps here and there. It wore tight pants and some sort of back-cover that Watson could only guess served as a vest or shirt. The creature's face was the most unusual part of it. Four beady black eyes, small fin-like flaps instead of a mouth, Watson had never seen a face like it.
No, that was wrong. He had seen a face like it. It was on that paper that…
In the two seconds it took Watson to process everything since he first saw the creature, his expression changed from drowsy to fear. The creature in front of him was an Evisican.
Watson gave a blood-curdling scream as he jumped backwards off the bed/nest. He turned and jumped to one of the windows, but was prevented from going through the opening by an unseen force. He bounced off and landed at the feet of the Evisican, whose face-flaps shook, making a deep rumbling sound. Watson also smelled cinnamon, for some reason.
"Quick response time," it said with a voice devoid of emotion. "Very good. Your friends were worried about you."
"Friends?" Watson asked as he got to his hooves. "Where are they? What have you done to them?"
"Your fear is unnecessary," the Evisican slowly nodded its' head. "Your four friends have not been harmed in any way. They have been awaiting your recovery."
"N-not harmed?" the tiny unicorn asked in disbelief. "Waiting for me? What's going on?"
The Evisican (Watson couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl) replied, "Others found the five of you collapsed in one of the gardens. One of them, the green unicorn, stayed awake long enough to tell us you came from the Shetlands. The first one to awaken, the Pegasus with the gold eyes, informed us you came to learn something concerning the traitor's kingdom. We are curious about what could be happening that would cause five ponies to teleport more than halfway across the world."
"So…" Watson asked, "you're NOT holding us prisoner?"
"You are thinking us all to be like the ones who left 200 of your years ago," the creature said. "Understandable, as we have not shown ourselves outside the island since then, but you need not fear. No one you see here means you nor your friends any harm. Come, I will take you to your friends." Watson hesitantly followed the Evisican as he/she/whatever lumbered down a white, round hallway, past other rooms with more Evisicans in them. He guessed this was some form of infirmary, but there were no doctors, nor equipment. How did they tend to their wounded? As he followed, Watson also noticed that it was getting fairly windy.
"I must warn you," the Evisican stated, "please watch your step. It is a long drop if you aren't paying attention."
"A long drop? Your hospital is on top of a tower?"
"Not really," the Evisican replied. "But it is still a long way down." As Watson exited the building, he saw what the Evisican meant.
The island was floating.
The Evisican island floated thousands above the ocean surface. As Watson looked out, he saw it wasn't alone. He spotted at least three other islands covered by the clouds. It was no wonder nopony had found the Evisicans for more than two hundred years. Nopony who sailed here would spot the islands hidden in clouds, and few pegasi would come out this far.
"H-how is this island floating?" Watson asked.
"How does a Pegasus fly?" the Evisican replied. "Now, we must go. Your friends still await your arrival." Watson followed the Evisican down a dirt path to what looked like a long, white cylindrical building that stretched beyond the horizon. In the distance, he could see it branch off, with those branches going far as well. The Evisican saw Watson's curious face, and explained, "We use these tunnels to travel far distances quickly. When we get inside, do not run. If you do, the exit will be less than pleasant." Watson followed the Evisican into the building, which was indeed a very long tunnel. The floor had glowing lines that ran along its' length. The Evisican stepped onto the floor, then turned and waited for Watson. The small unicorn was hesitant. What if this Evisican was lying? What if his friends were imprisoned, and this tunnel led to some sort of slave camp? What if…what if…
Watson stopped that line of thought. If they wanted him dead, they would have killed him. If they wanted him as a slave, he'd be in the camp with the rest of them. It was clear they did not mean any harm. With that thought, Watson stepped into the tunnel.
With that one step, Watson felt the change. Looking out one of the windows, it almost seemed like the world outside slowed down. The Evisican waited a few more moments before walking down the tunnel. Watson followed it, being careful to only walk. Watson saw other Evisicans entering the tunnel from the branches, or exiting those ways. The world outside the windows seemed to be going by faster than when he was riding the train. Watson could feel he was going fast, too. It felt similar to a Haste spell, but more…science than magic, if that made any sense. After twenty minutes of walking in silence (though it seemed much less), the Evisican led Watson out of the tunnel and into a sight that nearly floored Watson yet again.
They entered a small field, like a park, surrounded by a ring of four buildings unlike any Watson had ever seen. They were white, and seemed to lack windows. Instead, above the doors and at intervals on the way up were blue orbs sticking out from the sides. They were tall, wide but not thick, like some kind of sword blade, and stretched hundreds of feet into the sky. Looking around more, the unicorn saw more wonders. Past the sword towers was another large white building that looked almost exactly like the ruined palace that had the big circle in it, but clearly in better shape. To the right was the island's edge, with a few telescopes looking off to the nearby islands. It was around one of these Watson saw friendly faces.
"Redstamp!" Watson cheered as he galloped to the others. "Ditzy! Thom! You're okay!" The others turned, gave a laugh and caught the small unicorn as he tackled them. Saria lifted Watson off Thom and onto his hooves with a smile.
"Took ya long enough!" Ditzy giggled with her uncontainable smile.
"Two days!" Redstamp guffawed. "You were zonked for TWO DAYS! How can you sleep so long?"
After a few more minutes of joyful reunion, things calmed down enough for the Evisican who had accompanied Watson to let the ponies know that she (it WAS a she!) would be right back. As she left, Watson turned back to his friends and asked what happened while he slept.
"Well," Ditzy explained, "I was the first to awaken, but I didn't know how much we should've told some…thing?...who wasn't an authority figure, so I just told them we came concerning their kingdom 200 years ago. Upon hearing that, they declared that their leaders would speak with us, but only when all of us were present. I told them that what we needed to talk about as important, but they refused to discuss things any further."
"We were told to wait," Saria explained. "We've spent two days waiting for you to awaken. During that time, we've learned quite a bit about the Evisicans. It turns out, what was fought 200 years ago was not the majority of them."
"They were a splinter group," Thom piped up. "Got bored living on these islands, so they left to make their own land. You can tell how that went. Anyway, the rest of them are actually really nice. Can't talk normal, but they give off some smells when they feel some emotion. I've been able to pin cinnamon as mirth, cupcakes as curiosity, and apples as calmness. Leave it to me to spot the food smells, huh?" Watson chuckled and gestured to the telescopes.
"I'm guessing you use these to look at the other islands?" the small unicorn asked.
"Yup!" Redstamp leaned against one. "Turns out there are more than Evisicans here! That island there's home to the Ert, who are like Diamond Dogs, but green and a lot more like wolves. Over thattaway is Edonna. Those folks are REALLY nice. Met a few yesterday. They're like white deer, but they're huge. Seriously, they make us look like you compared to the Princesses."
"Thanks for the comparison," Watson dully replied. "What about that last one?" The other ponies all gave uncomfortable faces.
"Umm…" Ditzy replied, "We…we really don't wanna talk about it in detail."
"There are horrors on that island, Watson," Red continued.
"Things…horrible things….they look like ponies…but are too disturbing to be such." Thom shuddered at the memory.
"When we asked about them," Saria grimaced, "all the Evisicans would say is that those…things don't seem to know about the rest of the world…and they are only known as 'Generation 3.' Makes me afraid to know how the first two were."
"Or what Generation 4 would be like," Thom replied.
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before the Evisican from before returned. She gestured for them to follow her. The five reunited ponies followed her into the large palace building. It was in a LOT better shape than the one on the mainland. Everything was clean, it was populated by Evisicans (and pale giants Watson guessed were Edonna), and was well lit. Every creature present watched the precession of five ponies follow the other Evisican to a long staircase leading down.
The ponies were hesitant for a moment. This staircase was exactly like the one in the other palace that led to the bigger circle, and the cages that contained the prisoners-turned-monsters. Saria never saw the circle, but Thom had told her the horror story with enough detail to make her shudder. After a few moments, the ponies followed the Evisican down the staircase. When they reached the bottom, they saw a room vastly different from the Circle chamber under the ruined palace.
Instead of torches, there were bright balls of lights on the walls that looked like crystal light bulbs. Instead of grime and blood, the floors were covered in a soft polish. Instead of a circle made from blood, there was a circle made from Evisicans, Edonnans and two or three bipedal creatures Watson guessed were Ert staring down at them from elevated platforms. All these creatures wore elegant, formal clothes in a wide array of colors and patterns. These were the authority figures. Their Evisican guide bowed to the rulers of these floating islands before leaving. It was a few moments before one of the Evisicans, a particularly large one in blue, stepped forward.
"Ponies from Shetland and Equestria," he rumbled with a monotone voice, "we bid you welcome to these islands. But, pray tell us, what is transpiring in your lands that would require you to teleport across the planet seeking our people?" There were a few more moments of silence before Watson stepped forward, gave a quick bow, and addressed the assembly.
"Thank you for the welcome, but I fear there is great trouble in our lands…"
Vermillion, the City of Blades, was in flames.
That first day, when Watson, the Paladins and the Shetlander left for the Evisican Island, a third of the city rebelled in a surprise attack. Despite their best efforts, the knighthood proved nearly useless against the rebels, who had clearly been preparing for this for months. The three alicorns and the Draconequus spent the rest of the day fighting the rebels back while the rest of the knighthood helped escort as much of the noncombatants away from the city as possible. It was nightfall when the last civilian stepped out the far gates and towards the safety of the mountains.
It was nightfall when the army of monsters struck the outer walls.
A wave of Abominations, ponies and minotaur assailed the walls, meeting little resistance. The gates that should've repelled armies for months fell in a matter of hours. The rebels, reinforced by the invaders, pushed towards the palace, but Malice's mighty palace would prove a far stronger obstacle. Crystal spikes jutting from the walls fired magic at the invaders, the soldiers manning the walls were far more focused, and there was one more crucial difference.
Malice herself guarded the gates.
Any monster, minotaur or pony who dared raise a weapon against her rarely had time to notice the red energy coming at them before they found themselves bereft of a head. For the two hours it took for the rest of her knights to reach the palace from their posts in the city, Malice held back the army of monsters. More than once, in her rage, she lifted entire buildings and threw them at the beasts, clearing whole streets for a minute or two before the horde came running back.
Celestia and Nephronopht worked in conjunction to hinder the army. Their efforts made a sizeable dent in the opposing armies, as Celestia's Sun power combined with Neph's pestilence and laid waste to all before them. Several times, they flew past the shattered gates and assaulted the army that had yet to enter the city. Celestia's solar beams scorched deep trenches into the earth below while Neph summoned his subjects to fight the army. The outside was in disarray from the sudden obstacles combined with giant venomous insects and house-sized scorpions fighting for hours before finally dying.
The following night, when all three alicorns were exhausted, Discord exercised his might as the Lord of Chaos. No pranks, no mirthful ways of dispatching foes. Discord showed his enemies how terrifying chaos could truly be. Cobblestone streets turned to quicksand, banks of acidic fog engulfed entire squads, even the buildings around the city would rise up and devour all in their way. Discord himself had no qualms with going down and clawing his way through the foes with such speed that any survivors would think there were more than one Draconequus.
The dawn was met by the crowing of roosters and the horns of Equestria. Luna had arrived with Celestia's army earlier than anticipated. With a fury and determination that would have impressed Malice had she seen it, the Equestrian knights slammed into the rear of the Monster's army. The Earth Ponies, in their train-like armor, rammed the invaders inward while unicorn magic tore the land apart beneath them, and the pegasi fought the flying monsters for control of the skies. Luna sped to reunite with her sister while Phalanx, true to his name, led the army into the Monsters, forcing the invaders to go on the defensive, hiding inside Vermillion itself, attempting to guard the gates they shattered the night before last.
It was during that following night, when Luna flew back to lead the Equestrian army, that Celestia and Malice finally had time to speak.
"Their army is bigger than Discord and Pestilence first thought," Celestia stated as she and Malice looked wearily over the burning city.
"They were receiving reinforcements all throughout the first day," Malice replied. "Despite all our fighting, their army still numbers over ten thousand. How many did Luna bring?"
"About that much," Celestia replied. "Combine that with the few hundred here in the palace, we're currently even with them. Any chance the rest of the mighty Shetland army can get here?"
"I sent out messengers the day this fighting started. So far, only the one from Icecliff has returned, saying that they're caught up fighting monsters over there, but can send a few hundred to help us. I also sent envoys to Glascow and the Gryphon kingdom. Their response was reinforcing their own borders, but sending no help our way."
"Basically," Celestia sighed, "hide behind a wall and hope nothing bad comes their way. Looks like it's just us dealing with this."
"Indeed." Malice looked to the northwest, sending her gaze far out as she could. "We can only hope Watson and the others return with some knowledge of how to stop this."
"On the subject of Watson," Celestia asked, "why did you lie to him earlier?" The Princess of the Sun turned to the Princess of War and said, "You didn't spare him on Percheron Ridge because he fought back. You spared him because he reminded you of him." Malice visibly winced as Celestia said this.
"That is true," Malice admitted. "When I fought him on the ridge, when I had him at my mercy, I looked at his small form and saw…heh, I saw Fritz. Small, frail, he looked almost exactly Fritz when I first met him. Then, looking back, Watson's eyes had that same, indomitable look to them that Fritz had when he was my Grand General. It had been more than 200 years since the Evisican War…" Malice lowered her head. "I couldn't bear to see Fritz die again." At that point, a Shetland knight came running up.
"Milady, the search parties have returned. No one has seen General Racer since the gates were breached. Most of the knights assume he is dead, but some think he's leading one of the pockets of resistance caught in the city."
"Understood," Malice nodded. "Go get some rest." The knight bowed and left as Malice turned back to Celestia. "Now, what did Luna want to talk to you about?"
"She was telling me that earlier she sent a messenger to a potential ally requesting assistance. She wouldn't tell me who, though, and that makes me worried." As Celestia finished her sentence, there was a roar as three dragons flew into the city, burning any creature guarding the walls. Malice gave a chuckle.
"Dragons, cousin? However did you manage to get them involved?" the Red Lady asked.
"I will only say," Celestia replied, "that not all Paladins are ponies."
Luna stood at the edge of the Equestrian camp, facing away from the city. Her messenger returned to inform her that the potential help was arriving shortly. And sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting, a greenish-black shadow appeared in front of her. Its' green eyes shone in the moonlight, and its' blue-green mane glistened. Luna could see her guest clearly, but anypony else there would have only seen a tall shadow with green eyes.
"Greetings, Queen," Luna nodded.
"My Hive is here," Chrysalis growled, "as are the Hives of Shrilt and Ravenor. We will fight, but only so that we do not have to fight these creatures later. Do not think this means our kind likes you."
"Thou can go on hating my sister and I after the enemy hath fallen," Luna replied. "Until then, we must consider ourselves allies of necessity. Dost thou give your word that thou and thine will stand beside us until these monsters lie dead?" There was a brief silence before the Changeling Queen nodded.
"We will not take orders from your knights," Chrysalis replied, "but we will fight."
Very exciting, huh? Evisicans, Changelings, Generation 3...maybe we can forget about that last one. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Prepare for a plot twist that'd make Shyamalan go "HUH?" in the next chapter!