//------------------------------//
// The People vs. The Horde 
// Story: The Half Changeling: Isabella's story 
// by Sdlghskjvnkj 
//------------------------------//

Isabella sat, pouring over a list of men they had and positions being filled. The plea for help they had sent out here in Canterlot, even though it was discrete, had gathered quite a force. Several of the old palace guards, good strong stallions that had served under Princess Celestia or her substitute had joined them. For once in her life, she was glad there were ponies who were so determined to bring justice to the land. Who'd have thought she'd have guards on her side.
What truly surprised her was how their ranks had swelled so easily. They were still impossibly outnumbered, but changelings aren't exactly expert fighters. The ponies from Ponyville might have some trouble, but the guards and Isabella's thieves should have almost no problem thrashing many times their own number before they're overwhelmed.

Isabella frowned. She'd have to make sure Chrysalis was dead before then. The sound of approaching hoof beats made her look up.

Nighthawk appeared in the door and Isabella waved him in.

"Ma'am, The train is on it's way here. It's about a third of the way up the mountain and will arrive in the next few hours."

Isabella nodded. "Good. Gather some men, a mixture of the guards and your best men and be sure to meet it at the train station. We need to try and get those ponies here as discretely as possible. We don't want the battle to start on their terms, but on ours."

Nighthawk bowed his head and bolted from the room, only to be replaced by a former guardsman and a thief. The thief stopped in the door way, but the guard walked straight in.
Isabella waved the thief in quickly so they could both make their reports. She remember these two. They were the ones she'd set to the area near the palace, to see what Chrysalis was up to.

"Bad news milady." muttered the thief.

"We've spotted changeling movements in the upper district of the city. They're moving among those closer to palace, draining them." The guard sounded like he'd made thousands of reports in the past, most of which had probably been that things were alright in the city, but now his face was set, and he eyes were steely.

Isabella looked from the thief to the guardsman for a moment then closed her eyes in thought.

"Are they spreading?"

"Yes milady." said the thief.

"How fast?"

"From what we've observed, their pace is slow, but still noteworthy. We should take the fight to them in the next two or three days."

Isabella's eyes opened and she looked at the guard again. His face had not changed. Isabella turned her attention to the thief again.

"How ready are our forces?"

"Milady, your men and our new allies, the old guard, are sufficiently ready to fight, but the civilians coming from Ponyville will most likely be very unprepared."

"How long?"

"I'd suggest three to four days... at the very least milady."

Isabella let out a sigh. Three days seemed to be their best bet, but did she really want to wait that long? Chrysalis' power would increase each day, and unless the bearers of the elements stood by her side, she wasn't even all that sure she could defeat Chrysalis anyways. 

"We'll have to wait and see. The fight might actually break out within the next twelve hours. I just want everyone as ready as possible."

"Yes, milady." the thief bowed and moved to leave as the guard saluted and followed after him.

Isabella turned and looked out of the large window that stood behind her. The sun was no longer high in the sky, but grew closer to the horizon. She rubbed the side of her face with a hoof gently but dropped it a moment later. She'd heard the patter of small, light feet coming toward her study. She turned to look at the door, but by the time she had, the foot steps were in the room, and she couldn't find the source, until Spike came around the desk.
He looked haggard, panting as he ran up to her. The mansion must've seem huge to the small baby dragon. He had a medium sized scroll clutched in his hand, which, when he held up, was seen to have the royal seal holding it shut.

"From... the.... Princess!" gasped Spike as Isabella reached out and took the parchment, opening it on the desk.

"Dear Isabella, We're almost finished here. The Elements of Harmony really did make a huge difference on the time it took to fix the damage done to this realm. I regret to inform you that we will be delayed for a little while. We intend to gather some more reinforcements and join you in about a day. Be safe and keep the others safe as well. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle."




As the train pulled into the Canterlot station, the hubbub aboard was quite extensive, but only the ponies who had come somewhere other than Ponyville got off the train. Nextis had sent word through the crowd that they all needed to stay on board for a little while he made sure things were alright outside. The conductor had been instructed to not leave till the Ponyville ponies had disembarked.
Nextis stepped off the train, his eyes locking with Nighthawk's almost instantly. Nighthawk and his small troupe of men joined Nextis. They all stepped back on the train.

"As far as we know, there aren't any changelings this far out yet, so that's not a problem. The guards are patrolling around the area, but they probably wont suspect the group is they break off into smaller groups. I've got about ten men here with me, plus you and me, so we can divide the group up into twelve  groups and have each of our men lead a group. That shouldn't draw too much attention."

Nextis smiled at Hawkeye and nodded. 

"Brilliant idea. Alright. Lets tell everyone and have them all leave the train about the same time, heading off in different directions. We should be able to get to the base without being detected."


A moment later found the Canterlot platform crowded with ponies all looking around, chatting and smiling. At a glance, nothing but a huge number of tourists, but to the wise, a well disguised group of raw numbers, ready to protect one another and their homes.
It wasn't until a minute or two later that the huge group began to thin as groups scattered here and there, heading away from the station in small groups. A guard watched, blinking on occasion, grumbling "Damnable tourists" under his breath a few times.

Nextis smiled as his own group wound it's way through the city, "sightseeing" as they went along. This kind of thing was exactly why Hawkeye was a commander.
A few ponies would lag behind for a little bit now and then, but would catch up to their respective groups quickly enough. The sun had nearly set by the time Nextis and his group made it to the base, and the streets and alleyways of Canterlot were dark, except where the occasional streetlamp cast bright light. Not one guard had tried to stop them and no one saw as the rather large group seemed to slip out of sight.
Almost all the groups had made it back already and Hawkeye approached Nextis.

"The others will be here shortly. Had any trouble?"

"Nah. The guards didn't seem to think much of a large group of "Out-of-towners" looking around and staying in a group. I don't think we got much more than a few glances, even from the city populous."

Hawkeye smiled briefly.

"We weren't so lucky. One of the less dim guards found us suspicious and tried to detain us. So naturally, I had to knock him out and throw him in a cell down stairs. After blind folding and gagging him of course. We didn't have any trouble after that however."

Both of them looked around to watch another group return to the base. Big Macintosh had already left the group, presumably to see Isbella. Nextis sat down and sighed. It was quiet between them as they watched the new hustle and bustle as the guards and thieves began outfitting the ponies from Ponyville and leading them away to other areas of the building. They sat quietly as the noise around them hummed through the air, until Nextis spoke.

"So......Derpy, huh?"

"Oh. Uh. Yeah."

"Never really took you for the dating type." He smirked, casting a glance at his friend.

"Oh don't get me started. I like her and she seems to like me, so I figure I may as well go for it. Plus she's an amazing cook."

"You think more with your stomach than with your brain sometimes." Nextis chortled.

"I can't wait until you start to like some one, then I can take the mickey out of you."

They both laughed a little, before Hawkeye nudged Nextis, gesturing toward the approaching Tentra.

"Yes?" queried Hawkeye.

"They need some help down in the armory. Some of the men aren't very good at outfitting others with well fitting armor."

Both Nextis and Hawkeye sighed. They couldn't very well blame the men. None of them were master smiths so the fact that they had made armor that would work well enough in battle was impressive. Nextis pushed himself up and followed Tentra, Hawkeye following behind them shortly afterwards.


When they arrived downstairs they found, not the unsorted throng of ponies that they had expected, but a semi well ordered line system being lorded over by Granny Smith, who had perched herself atop a small stack of boxes. She directed those that weren't in lines yet to the shorter lines and pointed to a large area off to the side for those already outfitted with armor and weapons, where they were being helped to put their armor on properly.
The chatter was immense. The elements of excitement, anger, and fear buzzed about the room like a swarm of wasps, but the voice of Granny Smith was never drowned out.
Tentra took flight and alighted next to Granny Smith. Nextis glanced around before turning back to Hawkeye.

"I think it'd be best if we helped them into their armor and such, maybe help others find armor that fits them better than the previous owner."

Hawkeye, looking like he'd much rather find something else to do, nodded and moved towards the mass of ponies off to the side, Nextis right behind him.




Although the palace looked the same as it usually did from the outside, the inside was now almost unrecognizable. A black, web like substance covered almost all the walls and floors, even the ceiling. In the thrown room there were nearly fifty large green sacks, each one with the appearance of a chrysalis, holding a mare or stallion. Most of these were unconscious, but some of them were awake. Having given up screaming a long time ago, they simply watched in horor as the swarms of changelings moved around their new nest.
Chrysalis had made Roderick's old study her new chambers. She loved her children, but she had no desire to rest and rule among them. She was a queen after all.
She stood at the window, looking out at Canterlot, her eyes narrowing slightly. Something was amiss. She didn't like it when plans didn't go the way she liked. She could feel it. Someone was building against her, but she couldn't scout properly, not without drawing some attention. Was her bastard child here again? Trying to assemble her pathetic forces to fight the horde?
She chuckled a little to herself. That would be rich. Her "daughter" would be arrogant to think she could defeat her with such a feeble number.
She stepped away from the window and looked around at the large room, which had been altered only a little. The black web was present here, but not nearly as prevalent as the rest of the palace. She had wanted to look at some of the books in this place, see if she could find any of the histories these ponies had written on her people. She'd been angry when she'd found so little. It was good that they didn't know much of her people, but the fact that they almost never mentioned them, made her feel they weren't properly terrified of her and her people.
She took a seat and closed her eyes. Oh how glorious it would be once she held Canterlot under her hoof. She would have a base of operations in the heart of Equestria and taking the entirety of the land would be so simple after that.

One of her eyes opened in middle irritation as a knock came at the door.

"Enter!"

A changeling stepped inside and closed the door behind, bowing low to Chrysalis.

"My queen. More civilians have been replaced, widening our grip on the city. A large group of tourist looking ponies arrived earlier today, but have not left yet. The fool guards you've hired keep to the streets and don't bother coming into the palace. They simply use the barracks, which has been left untouched by us, by your orders. The citizens.."

"Tourist looking ponies? When? How many?" Chrysalis had sat bolt upright.

"Uh... I'd say near two hours ago, numbering at about one hundred fifty, maybe more."

Chrysalis stood and stalked past the changeling who stood in shock and confusion.

Tourist looking ponies. Damn it. That was most definitely Isabella. She knew, it had to be her, because it's something she would have done. Smuggle forces into a battle ready situation under the guise of travelers or "tourists" in this case. She growled to herself. It was time to get this ball rolling. The best time to stamp out a rebellion was before it had any time to really form.




It was several hours later when Granny Smith, along with Big Macintosh, Nextis, Tentra, and Hawkeye, entered Isabella's study again. Derpy was absent due to the fact that she had be reinstated as head cook and was working on supper.

"We're as ready as we're gonna get." said Granny Smith, pushing her military helmet up and out of her eyes.

"With all due respect Ms. Smith. Your people have only been outfitted; They haven't had any combat training." interjected Hawkeye. "We'd hate to send all of you into combat without some idea of how to protect yourselves or others."

"Each moment we stay here, preparing, is a moment the witch has time to ensnare more and more ponies. We need to act soon. The people of Ponyville are a strong and hearty people. We can hold our own. The whole point of this war isn't to kill off the Changelings, but to get rid of Chrysalis." stated Big Macintosh, stepping forward.

"That maybe so, but if the main force isn't held off for sometime, Isabella may not get a chance to finish Chrysalis off. She'd be overwhelmed and likely killed herself. I can't see Chrysalis as a forgiving creature, nor do I think she ever had any intentions of letting Isabella live." said Nextis. "We have to give those that are not particularly talented in fighting at least a little training. I hate to admit it, but several of the ladies from Ponyville seem to be just that. Ladies. I don't think they've done anything but gardening for their entire lives."

Big Macintosh grimaced a little but didn't speak, knowing it to be true. Some of the citizens of Ponyville had been terrified and even traumatized by an infestation of parasprites that had eaten all the vegetation.
When no further objection was raised, Nextis nodded to Hawkeye, who turned and left the room.

"I have a feeling that a brief training bout is all they'll have a chance for. Something doesn't feel right." Murmured Isabella, who had looked down at her desk as the others spoke, and hadn't looked up. 

The others looked around at one another in confusion before looking back to Isabella for an explanation. 

"Nextis, have you scouts seen or heard of any activity near or around the Palace?"

"No ma'am. Things have become quite. The city itself seems hushed according to our scouts. Almost as..."

"-The city is holding it's breath?" finished Isabella, looking up at them. 

"Yes." murmured Nextis, his voice barely over a whisper.

Isabella turned and looked out of the large window that gave her a view of the city.

"I remember once hearing a wise man say 'It is the deep breath before the plunge'. A breath each of us must take, for whether we're ready or not, the battle will soon be joined, and we've no choice other than to fight. We fight, or we die." She turned to looked at the others. "Soon, the horde will be truly unleashed, and we will be there to take the brunt of the assault. I can only pray that Celestia and the others arrive sooner, rather than later."

The room fell silent, and a somberness stole over all of them. Granny Smith took off her helmet and held it to her chest, bowing her head slightly.

"I knew I was gonna die soon, but I never thought I'd go out in a battle."

Big Macintosh and Tentra looked at Granny Smith in surprise.

"You don't intend to actually take part in the fight?!" Big Macintosh spoke quietly but the shock and alarm in his voice were plain enough.

"And why not? I've lived a good life, taking care of the orchard, yer parents, and you and yer sisters. I'm not gonna let a bunch of vicious creatures destroy this land and it's people. I'm going to war along side y'all and that's final."

As she finished speaking she put her helmet back on firmly, turned, and stepped out of the room. Big Macintosh looked back at Tentra and then at Isabella. Isabella blinked slowly, then set her hooves on the desk.

"Big Macintosh. What I've learned from my short time with you and the ponies of Ponyville, besides how to care, love, and work, is that you and your people are strong and will not be mown down by their enemies. They will fight, and the horde will not be ready for their strength. I am not worried for them, and you shouldn't be either, and I can think of no better leader for the forces of Ponyville than your Grandmother."

Big Macintosh dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head slowly.

"Alright. But Ah only hope that when this is over, our people will be safe." He turned his head and looked at Nextis and Tentra, who both nodded at him, before they all looked back to Isabella. "Is there a plan on how we get into the Palace and fight Chrysalis?"

Isabella looked each of them in the eyes, then a slow smile spread across her face. 

"Yes."

She beckoned them to gather round her desk as she moved several of the papers on her desk away to reveal a simple floor plan with markings here and there, giving details about what was known about that spot. 
The moon rose, slowly reaching for the heights of the sky as the night moved on.


Several hours had passed and the Moon sunk low in the sky, nearly setting as Isabella, Big Macintosh, Tentra, Hawkeye, Nextis, and Granny Smith were outfitted in a private room. The soldiers and thieves had left the best sets of armor, heavy and light, just in case Isabella decided to choose to whom they were assigned. It was well that they did, As she had herself and the other five outfitted in these. The few remaining sets were distributed to the "generals" so they would be easier to pick out by any confused on who to take orders from.
Big Macintosh had been outfitted in a bulky, black iron suit that made him look even bigger and more fearsome. He was given no weapon. He'd told the armorers that his kick would be enough to kill or at least injure a changeling.
Tentra's armor was a light black leather that had been made for a pegasus, so her wings were able to come out and she wouldn't be burdened by the weight of the material. It gave her the extreme appearance of a huge beetle, as the leather was highly polished and gleamed in the light. She'd been given a Winged spear on a long shaft to give her excessive reach to stab and slash her opponents. 
Hawkeye's armor was nearly the same as Tentra's, but didn't gleam. In fact, it seem to almost suck the light into it, like the void. Instead of a helm, it was equipt with a cowl that concealed most of his face. Knives were hidden all over the armor and could be gripped and thrown easily. The hoof coverings were padded sufficiently enough to make those that wore them almost silent.
Nextis's armor was the most vicious. It was a mottled crimson, black, gray, and brown, and covered him from head to hoof. Almost every inch of the armor was covered in wicked, jagged spikes that would make running into him dangerous to say the least. Nextis was not equipt with a weapon either, preferring to use his body as the weapon.
Granny Smith's armor was simple, for she had asked to not be put in anything fancy. Her military helmet stayed atop her head but she'd been given strong, shiny leg guards and her back and rump were covered in a white leather that would stand out among all the gray, black, gold, and brown. She'd been given a hefty mace which she couldn't swing well, but could bring down with such force she'd broken a large stone tile in the mess hall.

Isabella's armor, a gift her loyal men had put together swiftly but beautifully upon her return, would be spotted with more ease even than Granny Smith's white leather. The chest piece was a little loose to allow swift movement as she was used to wearing leather that gave easily for her. It was embossed with a symbol of the Sun and of the Moon, an amber glistening in center of the sun and a glossy Lapis Lazuli glittered in the center of the moon. Her legs were covered in a light weight metal that had been made to curl and twist around them much like flame. The back and rump guard both held lightly to her, only restricting some movement, but nothing so vital that she would not be able to move, but it was made to look almost like a dragons head, with the snout ending just before her tail.
Upon her head they placed a semi decorative covering. It was made of a bright metal that wrapped around either side of her face, covering her cheeks, and the bridge of her nose. It came up almost like a crown on the top of her head, with three large prongs, or spikes rather, that tapered down to points after only an inch and a half. Every piece of armor she wore was a dark orange and black, giving her even more of the appearance that she was ablaze. 
She was equipt with two short blades, several throwing knives, and her crossbow, along with twenty seven bolts in her sealed quiver.

When they stepped out of the room, they found themselves on the dais, standing over the absolutely packed mess hall. A cheer rose through the ranks, but it was swiftly silenced by Isabella, who raised her hoof.

"I do not have a speech for you. Only a few words. We fight this night, for the freedom and safety of all those in the lands." a cheer of agreement went up, but quieted again as Isabella spoke. "When you fight, your enemies will show no mercy. Show them none in return. Take as many as you can, and if you die, take one of them with you. Your soul will pass under the eyes of Celestia, and your name will be honored. The bearers of Harmony are not here, but they will be soon, and in the company of the Princesses. So take heart. We may be out numbered, and we may be small, but we will show them that we are the strength of the land!" 

The yell that followed shook the building.

"Go! Fight for your people. Generals! We move now!"




The streets that had been quiet moments before were now filled with the sound of marching hooves, clanking weapons and armor, and the sounds of heavy breathing.
The moon was nearly out of the sky now, making the streets dark except for the lamps that lit large patches of the streets. On occasion, the race of a pony could be seen peeking out of their windows, but they would soon vanish, the lights in their building shutting off.
Isabella sent word out  through the forces to be ready from attack from above, below, behind, or from the sides. Changelings thrived in the darkness and they had a distinct advantage here.
Hawkeye had done as he was bid and had slipped away into the darkness, scouting out shadows, looking for hidden forces waiting to attack from behind. He'd reported back several times with no signs of the enemy. It seemed Chrysalis wasn't going to use stealth to win this battle.
Isabella guessed she'd massed all of her forces at the palace and would try and crush them with number in the beginning of the fight. This made Isabella grin. Regular changelings were able to use magic, but the only kind they excelled at was shape shifting. Isabella had a sizable force of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. Diversity was on her side and her force would be able to fight far more effectively than any changeling group.
As they approached the Palace, they saw the line of bulky guards upon the top of the stair way. They were expected. She called for a halt and the night became still as death. 

Isabella stepped forward to the front of the throng that had spread out to surround the palace, and shouted up towards the palace, not at the guards.

"Chrysalis! We know you're in there and we know you're ready for us! Come out with your horde and fight us! Let battle be joined and we will see who is the victor!"

The night stayed quiet, and for several minutes it seemed Isabella's cry had not been heard. She was taking a deep breath to repeat herself when Nextis spoke.

"Wait. Do you hear that?"

Were the night had been silent as a tomb not seconds before, a quiet hum could be heard now. As the seconds moved slowly forward, the humming grew louder and louder till is became a steady buzzing that assaulted the ears like the buzzing of a hornets nest, disturbed by an unlucky person.

"I was right." whispered Isabella as the faint light of the sky slowly began to darken. The sky was being filled with changelings. "Shields up! Their above us! Watch the enemy guards!"

The gasps could be heard as her orders ran through the host of her troops, causing them to look up. Even through their astonishment, the shields were raised and not a second to late.
The changelings had begun dive bombing them, smashing into the ground, ramming into unprotected ponies. The fight had finally begun.

Hawkeye appeared next to the others.

"No sign of foul play, they intend to throw everything they've got at us right here!"

Any further talk was canceled out by the war cry that the enemy guards bellowed as they charged, weapons raised.

The clash of metal on metal rang out loud around them all as battle was joined and soon, Isabella, Big Macintosh, Tentra, Nextis, Hawkeye, and Granny Smith were all engaged in battle.
Isabella found herself face to face with two brutish thugs, each with a rather gormless expression plastered on their face, who were bearing down on her. She quickly jumped back, back found herself ringed in by others in conflict. The changeling she'd slammed into had been sent hurtling forward, skewering itself on Dolphin Dream's sword.
Isabella pulled one of her short blades out just in time to stop the oncoming slash that one of the guards had swung at her. She knocked his blade away and would have jumped forward to thrust if she hadn't had to jump to the side to avoid the heavy hammer swing the second guard brought crashing down where she'd been just moments before.
The first guard swung his blade again, and again, Isabella blocking the attack each time. when the hammer came down next, she swung herself forward, ducking under the swing of the sword wielding guard and ramming her short sword deep into the neck of the hammer swinging guard.
As he toppled over, chocking on his own blood, Isabella dropped down as she pulled her sword free and spun, striking the legs of the sword wielder. The strike made her blade ring and shake as she struck his armor, and the pain that shot through her bones almost stopped her from blocking his next attack.
As his sword struck her's, it flew out of her hand. She sword as she ducked past him and reached for it, only to look up see him preparing to bring his blade down on her.
A flash of gleaming steal and the glimmer of black, followed by the gurgled of a throat with a blade in it told Isabella Tentra had just saved her. As the guard fell to the ground, Isabella grabbed her blade, taking the hoof Tentra held out to her, pulling her up. They nodded to one another and turned away from one another, assaulting the other enemy guards nearby.

Big Macintosh had disarmed his single opponent only moments after they had become locked in combat. The spear wielder had tried to attack him from behind and he had managed to grab the spear, snapping it in two and throwing the metal end far off into the crowd somewhere. The guard had bellowed and slammed into as he had turned to look at him. They rolled several feet, tripping several people in the process, and stopped with Big Macintosh on top. He began pummeling the guard's face brutally with his hoof, causing a nose bleed, before he looked up at a shriek, only to be hit in the chest by a diving changeling. 
He was knocked off the guard and flew through several groups of fighters knocking over changeling and pony alike. He pushed himself and ran at the guard he'd been fighting, who was running at him. 
They met with a huge crash of armor on armor as they grappled, their front legs off the ground, holding onto and trying to hit each other as their back legs pushed and strained, trying to push the other over so they could gain the top.
Big Macintosh bit the guard's nose hard, the taste of blood rushing his tongue, but a moment later he lost his footing. He toppled backward as the guard pushed him down and began beating his face much as he had done to him. It was several seconds before Big Macintosh managed to grab the guard's wrists and yank the guard down, bringing his head up, smashing his forehead into the guard's nose.
A loud crunch came from the guards mouth and nose. The pain caused him to lose focus and bring his hooves to his bloody mouth. Big Macintosh brought his hooves together and pounded them into the ribcage of the guard, throwing him off of himself. Big Macintosh then stood and struck the guard several times in the side of the head.
Dazed, in pain, and completely lost, the guard stood rather lamely, until Big Macintosh turned and slammed his back legs into the guard's face. His face caved in partially and his neck snapped. His body was thrown back and landed in a heap next to a hopefully unconscious Ponyville citizen.
Big Macintosh sniffed and looked around at the battles near him, before diving into the fray again, helping some more Ponyville citizens.

Tentra had taken flight again, shortly after saving Isabella, and was now being pursued by several of her kin. There were maybe five or six from the amount of blasts they were firing at her. She'd killed several of them already but they kept coming. She was thankful for the nearby buildings that had given her cover as she flew, avoiding the blasts of magic.
As she turned a corner She stopped abruptly and pressed herself against the building. The pursuing squad rounded the corner and flew on, Tentra hot on their heels. She came down on one of them from above, burring her spear deep between their withers. The immediate scream made the others turn and round on her as she let the body fall off her spear.
The six changelings surrounded her now. She'd apparently been a bit off. There had apparently been seven of them. She looked around as they hissed and their horns glowed. Moments before they fired, she feinted down and the the left, their bolts fired as she turned and flew straight at one of the  changelings, slashing it's throat with her spear and speeding off, the five remaining Changelings pursuing her as their comrade fell from the sky.
She ducked around the buildings and then looked forward. An exceptionally large building was looming ahead of her. She put on a burst of speed and gained some space on the others. As she slammed hooves first into the building, she launched herself away from it, back toward the others. They had no time to register what she was doing and she came, spear flailing around her.
The spear sliced through the throat of one of the Changelings, and both wings of one of the others causing it to fall to it's death before finally sticking deep into the chest of another. The last two changelings turned and vanished, flying away and presumably back towards the fight as Tentra tried to get her spear loose.
She slowly descended to a low building top and finally managed to pull the spear loose, letting the changeling body flop lifelessly to roof.  She let out a sigh of relieve before something rammed into her back, sending her flying off the roof top and into unconsciousness.


Hours had passed, and Isabella was weary. The numbers were staggering, and most of the fight was changelings now. Almost all the enemy guards were dead. The chaos the changelings were causing with their shape shifting was staggering but the people were managing well. She was quite surprised by how few casualties had taken place on her side, though she knew that there were plenty dead, out of the True Guards, Thieves, and Ponyville citizens. All had fatalities, and there were still huge amounts of changelings.

Isabella looked to the sky and could see the dawn was just a few minutes away. Fighting in the night had been terrible. Several times she'd almost killed one of her people or visa versa. The light would help a lot.
Nextis and Hawkeye had joined her. Hawkeye had spent most of the night assassinating flying changelings by coming from behind and slitting their throats as they flew.
Nextis was, quite literally, a bloody mess. The guards that had fought him in the beginning of the battle hadn't been able to see the spines covering his armor. He'd simply knocked their weapons aside as he rushed them, slamming into them and gouging them upon his spikes. The fear and pain this caused gave him the time he needed to kill them quickly.
Big Macintosh was still yet to be seen and Isabella hadn't seen Tentra since she'd saved her in the beginning of the battle. Granny Smith was leading a small group of warriors around the battle field, swarming any enemy they came across, tearing them asunder and smashing them to bits.
Isabella was missing one of her leg covers and she had a long but shallow cut that ran the length of her neck, staining her white fur red in small patches.

The fight was going well, but the tide could turn at any time. Where were the Princesses? What was taking them so long?

"Ma'am! We need to take cover and collaborate what we know."

Following his suggestion, Hawkeye, Isabella, and Nextis himself, broke into a house near the battle front. It was apparently empty as no screaming occupants were heard. Isabella sat wearily near a table as the others joined her.

"We planned not to try and get into the palace until the Princesses and the bearers of the Elements showed up. That should be very soon, at least I'm hoping it will be, because we can't keep going like this. We don't have many casualties but we're all getting worn out and people who are worn out don't fight very well. What should we do?" Nextis looked at Isabella, who shut her eyes to think for a moment.

"We can't retreat, we've got nowhere to retreat to, and we can't spare anyone to let them rest since we need what little numbers we have. I think our best and only bet is to wait for the others to show up. Fight while we can and do our best alone for the time being."

She opened her eyes to see the others nod at her.


As Isabella stepped out of the house and Hawkeye took off into the sky while Nextis ran back into the fray, Isabella looked up at the palace. Her heart leapt with anger and shock as she saw Chrysalis standing on a high balcony, looking down at battle. She was simply sitting there, watching. She wouldn't even assist her own children. Isabella spat on the ground and could swear she saw Chrysalis smirk at this gesture.
But the smirk was gone in a flash as Chrysalis looked up from the battle field. She saw something over the city roof tops that Isabella couldn't. She turned to look, just as the sun came over the building tops, blinding everyone. Isabella put a hoof up to shade her eyes.

From out of the sun light came a huge host of pegasi, lead by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Their battle cry rent the air as the sun glinted off their shining armor, and soon the descending pegasi blotted out the sun as they came down, diving into the fight. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the other four bearers of the elements, all being carried on chariot pulled by to of Luna's guards, appeared behind the swarm of pegasi, landing next to Isabella.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she gasped out, "You came!"

"We said we would. Sorry we're so late." said Twilight.

"Where did you get...?"

"We stopped at Cloudsdale to get more help. It was Fluttershy's idea and Rainbow Dash supported it, so we went and they agree pretty quickly." explained Princess Celestia. 

Her expression was one of pain as she looked over the battle field, littered with bodies and blood. 

"We must stop this as swiftly as possible. Isabella, do you have a plan?" Luna queried.

"In fact, I do, but we need to find Big Macintosh, Nextis, and Hawkeye."

"You lost track of Big Macintosh?" Applejack sounded very surprised by this bit of news.

"We got separated in the beginning of the fight."

"But he's just there." said Rarity, pointing off in the distance, towards the foot of the stairs. 

Big Macintosh was engaged in combat with a changeling that had taken some liberties with it's shape shifting. It was in the form of a huge white lion, a large venomous barb poised over it's head, coming from where it's tail was meant to be.
He was dodging it's attacks perfectly, but he couldn't really counter any of it's attacks as he didn't have a weapon.
Just then, Nextis sprang from seemingly nowhere and landed on the beast, causing a yowl that they could hear over the din of the battle.

"Lets get over there!" shouted Twilight.

All seven of them bolted towards the fight, watching the scene unfold ahead of them. 

The beast began to buck savagely, trying to get the barbed enemy off it's back. Blood ran thickly down it's sides as the bucking caused the spikes to shred it's hide, but this also made it increasingly difficult for Nextis to hold on.
They were almost there when Nextis was thrown off the mighty beast. He hit the ground with a hard thud but had no time to recover. The beast was on him before he could move. It racked at him with it's huge claws, hooking into parts of his armor and ripping them off.
Big Macintosh ran up behind it, but with a sweep of it's tail, he was thrown off to the side as well. Applejack and Isabella both screamed his name and headed towards him, but before anyone could take more than a few steps, the beast brought it's tail around and rammed the stinger deep into Nextis's chest.
The world seemed to slow down as Isabella looked back, realized what had happened and screamed.

"NO!"

The beam of light that shot from Princess Celestia's horn and slashed through the tail, severing it from the beasts body hardly registered in Isabella's head.  A red hot anger burned up and fogged her vision as she charged the beast, a yell of anguished fury ripping out of her throat.
Just before she reached the yowling beast, she drew her swords and leaped off her back legs, landing on the creature, sinking her blades into it. It yowled again and again, as she began to climb it's body using the blades as hand holds. She finally reached it's head and with another scream of purest rage, plunged them deep into the beast's skull. It slumped to the ground and Isabella was thrown from the body, rolling several times.
She looked up to see Nextis only a few feet away from herself. She dragged herself towards him.

"Nextis. Nextis! Can you hear me?"

He stirred slightly and opened his eyes, looking up at her.

"Hey boss. I think this might.... this might be me done." 

Nextis coughed hard, a trickle of blood making it's way out of his mouth as he gasped for breath. Isabella looked up at Celestia, who stood next to her in silence.

"Do something!" 

"I can't. I don't have power over life and death. I can't reverse what's been done."

Isabella turned back bitterly to Nextis, trying to smile at him.

"You're going to be okay, alright? You've pulled through worse."

Nextis tried to laugh, but coughed up another gob of blood.

"No....I haven't. I'd like to think I have, but I.........haven't. I want to tell you something before I can't talk any more. The poison's numbing everything up..... so I have to talk fast.  It's been an honor ma'am. Even where you were cold and cruel....it was still an honor."

Isabella nodded, tears chocking any words she could try and say, so she didn't say any. She was vaguely aware of the sounds of battle near them and of the heavy hoof Big Macintosh, who was apparently alright, had laid on her shoulder.
Nextis grinned up at him and coughed hard a few more times.

"Big Mac.....I got a favor....to ask."

"Sure thing, Nextis."

"You take care of my boss now....ya hear? Don't let anyone hurt her."

"Ah swear."

Nextis grinned, gulped and gasped. 

"I'll hold ya to that....urk....sweet Celestia, I thought it would hurt more. I guess the venom is to thank for......"

His voice faded into a sigh, and Isabella turned to bury her face into Big Macintosh's neck. 
Princess Celestia's magic slowly pulled the barbed tail from Nextis's no longer heaving chest and set it to the side. The silence among the circle lasted only a minute or two before Isabella pulled away from Big Macintosh and moved to the changeling that had once been the beast and pulled her blades from it's head.

"Where are you going?" asked Twilight as Isabella sheathed her blades and began ascending the stairs.

"To Kill my mother."