Distractions, Hatches, and Mercy
“You know, maybe you should tell me the plan? Or at least part of it?” Button shouted as they sprinted down the long castle corridor. “I used my imagination like you asked!”
Luna didn’t answer. She muttered to herself quickly and quietly, dodging through doorways and past the cries of death and roars of destruction that echoed down the stone hallways.
“Hello? Equestria to Luna?” Button called. “Plan? Things?”
The princess threw open another door and leapt up a staircase. Another staircase. They’d already run up several.
He sighed. “For real, where are we g—”
“Button, I have to concentrate,” Luna said sharply. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you yet until I figure out where…” Her head snapped upward and her eyes fixed on the top of the staircase. “It has to be up there, on the roof! Yes!”
Button blinked. “The thing making the anti-magic bullshit field thing?”
“Yes, that. We’re going to take it out, like I already told you.”
“And it’s not going to be guarded?” Button asked carefully as they approached the top.
“Of course it will be.”
“...But we don’t have any guns. And it’s a bullshit field. No magic. How are we going to…?”
Luna grinned ferociously. “I don’t need guns or magic. I have you.”
“Uhhh.”
“I’m the Princess of the Night, the Guardian of Dreams, and connected to a magic far beyond the grip of these devices. They can’t cut me off from that.”
The two closed in on the top of the tower. “Okay? So you can still control dreams. How’re we going to use it to do anything?”
Luna waved her hoof and the staircase turned upside down. The wall opened and three clouds flew inside the building. Rows and rows of burning torches turned inside out before she smiled at the door. It fell over.
Button’s jaw dropped. “What.”
“Button, I can control dreams and put ponies to sleep. You’re currently on my back as I run up this staircase toward the source of the anti-magic field. If you don’t believe me, just look at the ground.”
The stallion froze for a moment as he tried to process her words. Slowly, he looked down…
“Oh. I’m flying.” He floated in the middle of the curling spiral staircase. The walls glittered purple and silver and the door closed itself before opening again. “Ya coulda told me about this.”
“I did. Then I put you to sleep and you forgot the last several seconds. Button, I need you to pay attention now.” She looked right at him. “I can only maintain one dream at a time, and only if ponies willingly stay inside the dream. If they try to wake up, my magic will fail.”
“So, if I wanted to, I could just wake myself up at any ti—”
“If you do, there will be no kisses or cookies after this is all finished.”
Button blushed. “Okay, okay.”
“This also means that I will put each of the guards we meet into a dream state and it will be your job to keep them there. If they realize it’s a dream, they will wake up. Distract them. Keep them so focused on you that they never question reality itself.”
“And how exactly do I do that?” Button waved his legs as he floated after his marefriend. “Tell jokes, perform a lecture about ancient Equestrian dinner customs?”
“It’s a dream, you absolute noob. Anything you can do in a dream, you can do here.” She rolled her eyes. “Use that. Distract them.”
Button looked down at his hoof and, at his thought, a familiar faded armor began to cover his body. “Oh.” He glances up at her. “This is gonna be fun.”
~~~
“Ya know, I don’t think there’s anypony else I’d rather go on a suicide mission with,” Ember Flair commented as she and her three fellows rode Section Eleven’s elevator up to the roof. Metal walls surrounded them as a klaxon sounded above them. Flashing red and yellow lights illuminated everypony’s masked faces. “My old partner from years ago, a crazy-ass griffon, and an even crazier pegasus scientist! Together, we will fulfil our goal and save the world and probably die trying! But at least we’ll look like badasses, right?”
“Does she ever shut up?” Chaput grunted as he clipped on the last of his suit. With a whirr, his HUD activated.
“No, she doesn’t.” Dovetail slaps a magazine into her rifle. “Ember, this isn’t the time for your stupid speeches.”
Flair gasps. “I am hurt! This is absolutely the time for—”
Dr. Wing cackled over the comms as his massive shoulder-mounted cannon whirled into action. Twelve barrels, spinning at five hundred rotations per minute, ready to spit death and fire. “She lives!” Wing declared. “And also, now is totally the time for bullshit speeches. Not like we’re gonna have time later.”
Chaput sighed. “Death is a preferable alternative to your banter…”
“We’re almost to the top!” Dovetail barked. “Remember the damn plan. Flair is going after Blueblood. I’m going after the bomb with Dr. Wing. And Chaput can fight the insane asshole.”
“Dmitri,” Chaput said.
“Yeah, him,” Dovetail replied dismissively.
“Works for me!” Wing replied.
Up above them, the klaxon blared once again. The lights shut off and the ceiling opened up with a mechanical grind.
“Stay in tight formation, don’t attract attention, and fly fast!” Dovetail said. “On three. One, two, thr—”
Dr. Wing leapt into the air with Flair close on his hooves. A moment later, Chaput followed. Dovetail gritted her teeth. “Dumbasses.”
In an instant, her suit’s jets flared and she took to the sky. Her wings, covered in impossibly thin armor, flapped in the wind, but it was the jets on her back that provided the thrust. The night sky flickered and became green as her night vision automatically calibrated itself. Explosions ripped along the ground and the sides of the castle in impressively high definition. Up above the castle floated the griffon airship. Troops flew around in patrols, keeping it safe from pegasus attack. Or so they thought.
“There is an access hatch on the port side, third level,” Chaput’s accent chirped in her ear. A red marker appeared on her HUD. “I have marked the location. From there, we will be able to access the brig, the hold, and the deck. Blueblood will almost certainly be in the brig. The bomb is in the hold. And Dmitri is, if anything, predictable. He will be on the deck, watching his ‘glorious plan’ unfold. I will direct us once we arrive.”
“Gotcha,” Flair said back. “Hey, Wing. We won’t show up on their radar, will we?”
“C’mon, Ember! What would your mother say if she learned you had that much faith in me?” The scientist laughed. “The anti-radar bullshit field came out with the initial prototype. They won’t know what hit them until we shoot holes in the back of their heads.”
“Perfect,” Flair responded.
“What about the radio signals?” Chaput asks. “Will they hear your constant chatter?”
“Aww, that’s cute. Our sneaky Chaput wants to be super sneaky,” Wing said. “But there’s nothing to worry about. We’re raindrops in an ocean. They won’t hear a thing, my super sneaky Chaput.”
Chaput grunted and they flew onward in silence.
Moments later, half of the castle was ripped open by a massive explosion. Fire blew out of the windows and doors. Screams came in through the suit’s speakers. The attack team could see ponies and griffons on the ground crushed by falling rubble. In the distance, the Elements of Harmony continued their defense against the wendigo assault. Dovetail gasped. “Holy Tartarus…”
Chaput grunted. “Ignore it. We can’t change anything about what happens below. Concentrate on the mission.”
“Sweet Celestia,” Ember breathed. “What did they do??”
“We’ll find out later,” Wing answered, voice missing all of its usual wit. “As much as I’d love to fly back, Super Sneaky Chaput is right. We’ll deal with them after.”
“And kick their bucking faces in,” Flair muttered.
“Yeah. But first, the ones in the sky.” Wing’s cannon whirred again.
The airship grew larger and larger as they approached. Metal armor, access hatches, mounted weapons… It was a feat of engineering. And they were going to take it out with four troops.
“That the hatch, Chaput?” Dovetail asks as she looked toward the entranceway marked on her HUD.
“Yes. Let me open it.” Chaput flapped his wings twice and grabbed onto the side of the ship. He flipped open a panel beside the hatch to reveal a keypad. With a few deft button punches, he entered the code and the hatch popped open to reveal a maintenance crawlspace. “It’s a tight squeeze. Hope you all don’t mind getting cozy.”
“Not at all,” Dovetail replied as she squeezed in behind him. “Not. At. All.”
The four of them slipped inside and shut the hatch behind them. Just after they did, another explosion ripped through the castle…
~~~
Princess Celestia. Queen of the Day. Ruler of Equestria. Protector of her children, her ponies. Only a few times in the country’s history had she ever taken the time to put herself into perspective. She was not a goddess like some might think. Immortality does not mean invincibility, but it also does not mean irreplaceability. If she died, life would go on so long as she gave her life to save her little ponies.
And today, like those few other times, she knew that she could very well die.
Her castle had fallen. The east wing had been destroyed by a changeling suicide bomber. Dmitri’s troops had taken the entryway. Her Royal Guard were trying to hold position, but it was a losing battle.
They will die, and they will die proud. Just as they should.
Her lips pursed tightly. Chrysalis had shown her hand too early. If she had waited only a while longer, the threat of the Griffon airship and the Windigo troops would have forced Celestia to action. But now, she knew her target. She could practically taste it.
“Really?” a familiar, far too familiar, voice hissed through the halls of her falling castle. “Your kingdom falls, your ponies are dying, and an ancient enemy is returning. And yet, the great ruler herself prioritizes little old me. I should be flattered, should I not?” Chrysalis cackles. “But you are playing my game now, Celestia. This is my turf. I have lived for so many years without power, without my family. You have known nothing but luxury and might. You have never had to face the death of everything you know and love. Until now…” Again, she laughs. The twisted sound echoes, cutting past the ring of death and fire that consumed Celestia’s whole world. “How does it feel, Princess? To experience the pain you and yours caused me and mine to endure for twenty years?”
Celestia breathed in. She took a step forward. Breathe out. Another step forward.
“The silent treatment? I have raised dozens of daughters, so I have experienced this before. But I never expected it from you.”
The princess slowly opened the door to the Royal Quarters. Of course Chrysalis would take residence in the rooms that Celestia considered personal and close. She expected nothing different from her.
“Very well. If we are not going to talk, then I have no use for you. Your time is over. Mine has only begun.”
Celestia stepped into her sitting room. Beautiful paintings, elegant furniture, and ancient suits of armor filled the room. The princess allowed herself a small snort. There were far too many suits of armor in here…
“Goodbye, Celestia. It was so fun catching up with you again.”
The suits of armor slowly turned to face the Princess. Their skin warped and stretched to reveal seven changelings with spears forged from sharpened obsidian. They raised their weapons at her and shrieked.
Celestia cracked her neck and her flaming blade sprang into motion, propelled by what little magic she could still muster through the magical suppression.
The first changeling leapt at her. With a single flap of her wings, she swooped to the side, knocking over an armchair as she did. Her sword slashed upward and impaled him through the chest despite his armor. He let out a squeaking groan and then fell still. The alicorn’s sword ripped upward, slicing him in half as Celestia readied it for the next targets.
They did not disappoint. Three of them flew at her in tandem. One from the left. Two from above. Their spears gleamed in the firelight, obviously tipped with some poison or another. It was irrelevant. They would not touch her.
Celestia ducked to the ground and allowed her sword to dash to the side. It sliced through the spears of the two higher changelings. Their gasps of surprise turned to cries of pain as she slashed their legs off at the knees.
Swiftly, the third stabbed downward. Celestia slapped his spear away with a hoof and stomped him to the ground. Slight pressure. The crack of a neck.
Her blade swung down and ended the two crippled changelings on the ground. She turned to the final three.
They put up even less of a fight. Her blade finished them with brutal efficiency, and Celestia allowed the weapon to hover next to their corpses.
“So. Perhaps there is more to you than—”
“You will die before this night is done,” Celestia interrupted. “Your children will die. Your people will be forgotten. Your name will be like ash in the mouths of the races who survive. There will never be another Changeling queen. I will hunt them all down and relieve their bodies from the burden of being attached to their disgusting heads. We were merciful last time. Never again.”
“...You could have just said you were angry. That would have worked just as well.”
“I am not angry,” Celestia replied quietly. “Not in the slightest.”
“Really? Then what are you?”
The princess stepped forward, crushing the skull of one of the changeling soldiers. “I am Celestia. And you are going to die.”
A moment later, she threw open the door to her own quarters. Her entire room was covered in green webbing. Changelings, small and large, male and female, filled the entire chamber They chittered and snapped at the alicorn, frothing at the mouth. Her bed and furniture were all thrown haphazardly against the far wall. And in the middle of it all was a simple green throne, filled by none other than Queen Chrysalis. She smiled as the princess approached.
“Hello, Celestia. Let us finish this.”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Doccular42 · 4.3k words · 115 4 · 1.5k views
- Pen Mightier · 70k words · 1,068 51 · 16k views
- Blue Blaze {COMET} · 47k words · 1,642 55 · 17k views
- Crystal Wishes · 413k words · 1,602 42 · 16k views
- Swan Song · 155k words · 1,166 46 · 15k views
- Flint-Lock · 41k words · 1,851 38 · 20k views
- Bucking Nonsense · 22k words · 1,201 70 · 20k views
- Car Cloth · 108k words · 1,069 12 · 9.7k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
1,047 users online
1,767,011 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Welcome back, Doccular.
8942105
... It's back from the dead! Wooooo~
Can't wait to finally see the end! :D
8942109
Man, haven't heard from ya in a while.
Hope you're doing okay nowadays.
This is fantastic! Can't wait for more!!
Who are you!? And what did you do with my Doccular!
8791117
D'aww shucks.
8942122
I
ATE
HIM
~
8942121
8942125
DUN DUN DUN!
i forgot about this until i saw the update and even then i dont remember a lot of the details...rip
8942135
me either, tbh
Huh
...Did not see you coming? It'll take a bit to sink in, but I'm glad to see that this story returns.
8942148
I didn't expect me to be writing this again until like three hours ago, so I'm with you on that! I won't let it go so long next time, haha
8942149
Not to sound pushy, but God, I hope you don't wait. Also, are you seriously telling me you just up and wrote this out of the blue?
8942156
Yep!
Yo, nice to see you got bored of not writing, lol. I was like " that looks familiar!"
8942157
!? Inspiration does often come at the strangest times... This also explains the grammatical errors (sorry, can't help myself
)
Wow, aren't we just lucky then
8942164
ya, I'll be editing later. Just want to get the fic finished. Not too worried about quality. Also, I've spent the last year writing exclusively in present tense, so I keep screwing things up. If you want, feel free to comment any mistakes you see. I don't mind at all!
8942160
yep, that about sums up what happened! decided to just do it
I have not read this in so long.
I think I need a recap: Rereading the whole thing should take about 20 hours. But it's gonna be worth it.
(Or I'll just reread the prev chapter)
8942193
Here's your recap!
griffons are bad russians
button is cute
luna is cute
button and luna kith
explosions
bullshit fields
save world
make kissies
vidja gaems
You're welcome!
8942196
Best recap ever
8942196
Bullshit fields are the best!
All the woots!!!! Welcome back most excilent author.
Oh my... I've been waiting for this to update for a long time... Glad to see that you're still in operation, Doccular
8942212
8942218
still kicking, kinda!
OMG YES
8942227
OMG NON'T
8942228 it's alive!
hey I was juat thinking about this story the other day.
Glad you are back :) Also I hope that later you can wrap up things in the game, those parts are the best
Hyyyyype! One of the three stories that got me into this site! One of my top favorites on here! And it's baaaaaack!
IT LIVES!!!
This STORY IS BACK OMFG hell yes
Oh, hey Doccular! Dang it's been a while, eh? Good to see you're still around.
Also, thanks for the short recap on the comments, I already have way too many fics on my read later and most of them are +400k words
It's been almost two years and the story is 200K words. I don't suppose we can get a recap of the story so far?
Not a lot of people return from a two year hiatus... glad you did.
*curious white fox wakes from sleep to read new chapter, floofs his five tails proudly, happily squees like a thestral fan-colt, and dances in joy*
This fic is one of my long-time faves. Even based a CO (Champions Online) character off Luna's main, Memory Mirror. And now it's back
8942196
I read kith as the actual word for a second and it still kinda made sense, so... yay?
As everyone else has said, omg you're back this is sweeeet and I look forward to the remaining scenes. Went a slightly different direction than I thought with Luna but that's all the better. I'll see you in Livewrite sometime!
Blood for Blood God, baby! I cannot wait for more!
a good chapter.
Well would you look at that another chapter! :D the wait was long but I'm glad to see this one finally being finished.
This story? Updating?
Fuck yeah. Welcome back, man- its been too long.
I feel the need to prove I’m a vet for this. Well, the only refrence we universally had on the inside was Hoof Ties. That sure brings back memories, doesnt it?
Wait, who’s this “Doccular” guy? I’ve never heard of him. Are we sure he isn’t dead?
Edit: Having seen your bio blurb, I cam confirm that that was exactly what went through my head last night.
Whoohoo!!! Glad to see you back.
And so this is back. Glad to see it even if I remember almost none of these characters. Or plot points.
Hurray glad to see an update
Glad to see you working on this again. Looking forward to the rest of the story.