Author's Notes: Before I begin, I just want to thank everyone who's been sticking by this fic since the start. Your support through your comments makes my enjoyment in writing it all the sweeter :). Sorry about the unusually short chapter.
At Battle's End
Ponyville
Fifteen minutes out of a host is all it took. Unimaginable pain.. Need a new host... Need a new host....
Six ponies ahead. Princesses with them....
No. They were too powerful... he needed a weaker host. The six near her... the keepers of some sort of weapon. If he took one of them... he could learn more about it.
By the void the pain!
Not as bad as before... not as bad as before... still not tolerable.
No more of this. No more. Picking now. Yellow pony. Pegasus, like his old host. She would do... would do... would do...
Losing his mind. Going to take her. Forget tactical analysis.
Anything to stop the pain.
Days Later
The last four days of the reconstruction of Ponyville had been hard on Fluttershy. While it was true she had faced death in the path, her animal friends being far from immortal, it didn't make her walks through Ponyville any easier these days. She couldn't help but see the ghosts of the fallen militia who had fallen stood in their usual spots, their usual jobs, only to dissipate into dust when looked upon directly. Those fifteen loving souls had died for their humble town, and Royce Mustang who had died for his country. Not only that, but they had died for her.
Before they had begun using the Elements, Princess Celestia told her and her friends what they were up against. Beings called Wraith, creatures of anger and spite. Celestia than made them swear to keep the information she had shared a secret, and Fluttershy had no issues with that. It was sad, really. She had thoroughly believed throughout her life that a there was warmth in the coldest of hearts, but these Wraith had tested that like never before. She began to wonder about them. Were they always as cold as the void they had come from, or had something twisted them to be that way?
She sighed, standing inside her cottage and preparing give her pet Angel Bunny a carrot to nibble on, "There you go, Angel," she said, forcing a smile before handing it to him.
Angel accepted the carrot with a thankful smile, unusual for the usually picky creature. Fluttershy was a bit thankful for that. Angel always seemed to know when to act kindly when Fluttershy needed him to. She then gazed out the window, the long gone over the horizon. With all that was going on, at least Celestia could still keep up with that. On the table lay a newspaper, a Canterlot Times she hadn't gotten around to reading yet. Snatching it, she made her way to her bed, preparing for a good night's slumber. As she lay the covers on herself, she began to read.
Speculation about the origin of the mysterious visitors has continued to grow, and it seems the Royal Duo knows nothing of their identities. Today, before a crowd of thousands of curious and anxious onlookers, Princess Luna had this to say:
"Neither I, my sister, or anyone else in the Equestrian government has had any contact with alien beings. The identities of these aliens are as unknown to us as they are to everypony. As for why life on other planets may look similar to us, not even the two of us can provide an explanation. As announced before, we ask you to remain calm and not to panic of the possibility of an alien invasion. The alien vessel has been thoroughly examined and it as been determined that it had undergone severe damage before crashing here. Therefore, it is possible it wasn't even their intention to come here at all. It's possible the aliens reacted out of fear when they attacked Ponyville, though nothing can be determined. In addition, no sightings of other alien vessels have been reported nor have our astronomers picked up anything in their telescopes."
In other news on the astronomy end, scientists are still baffled over the apparent disappearance of five celestial objects....
Fluttershy dropped the paper at the last line, falling fast asleep.
...
....
.....
......
.......
.......
"Fluttershy."
With that, the young pony's eyes shot open. She found herself in a dark woodland surrounded by swirling black mist. It seemed similar to Everfree, its trees looking as old as life itself.
"W-Who's there?" her voice echoed.
As she said that, the mist began to congregate into an area behind her. She turned towards where it was moving instinctively, and before formed a creature completely made out of the mist, vaguely pony shaped. On its back and scalp danced black 'flames' of the same substance. With two glowing eyes, it gazed upon her.
"Someone who needs your help," it said, its voice a hoarse whisper.
"Who are you?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"You can probably already tell by my voice."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Y-You're a Wraith! W-What do you want with me!?"
The Wraith sighed. "The unfortunate thing about my kind is that we require hosts in this galaxy. Unfortunately, you were the only one I could get to before... well... I'm sorry. Just don't resist, it'll make it easier for the both of us."
With that, mist began to fly off the creature's back. Like an agile viper, it quickly began wrapping around Fluttershy's body. The shy pony screeched at this. This thing was about to take control of her! She was going to become one of them... And he might use her to hurt her friends. Her eyes opened wide as she gasped at that horrible prospect. "No! This is my body, and I have the right to keep it!" she screeched, and a second later her eyes began to glow a brilliant white. A flash of light then emanated from her that shredded and dissipated the viper of mist.
The Wraith shot her an annoyed look, apparently not that impressed. "Hmmm, and judging from some of your memories I thought you'd submit more easily than this," it said, its voice deepening. "This isn't over."
Fluttershy's eyes opened wide with shock. She then shot up in bed with a gasp, gazing around at her surroundings. She then sighed with relief, she was back in her normal room. No Wraith in sight. A second later, she squeaked at the thought of something and quickly made her way to a mirror and... nope, no black souless eyes. She smiled at this, she wasn't a Wraith. It must have all just had been a horrible dream. The stress of the whole situation lately must have been getting to her lately.
A knock came from her window, startling her. She twirled towards it to face Rainbow Dash. The speedster quickly lifted an eyebrow at that. "Woah, jumpy much? What happened, did you have a bad dream or something?"
Fluttershy sighed at this before making her way towards the window and opening it up, "N-No I'm fine." she said, not wishing to put her burdens on anyone.
Rainbow Dash looked at her suspiciously. "You sure? I talk to you about my crazy dreams all the time."
Fluttershy shook her head with a simpered smile. "N-No really, I-I'm fine."
The speedster sighed. "Well, alright. Anyway, Doughnut Joe is in town giving away free coffee to all the workers! We should head over to town square before it's all gone!"
A smile perked on Fluttershy's face, her eyes shimmering in eager anticipation. "Free coffee?"
Rainbow Dash grinned at this before saying, "Free. Coffee."
For the past few days the Royal Engineering Corps had been in town vigorously working to restore it to its former glory. The Wraith had done a number on nearly half of the town's buildings, but they guesstimated that they'd be fully restored within a month. However, they weren't the only ones helping. The entire town was pitching in a hand. She wondered if Doughnut Joe knew what he was getting into.
With that, two blurs that were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sped from Fluttershy's cottage, their persons barely able to be seen at the speed they traveled. Coffee had become an essential commodity in Ponyville since the alien attack. Everyone was working so tirelessly at restoring the town in addition to their own jobs that something had to be sacrificed, and that something was sleep. Fluttershy was barely getting five hours a day recently.
At town square, Doughnut Joe could be seen behind a line of nearly one hundred ponies. Next to him were two gigantic tanks filled with his famous delicious coffee. Rainbow Dash sighed as she made her way to the back of it. "Every time there's something awesome in town, why do I always end up being in the back of the line?"
"Oh dear!" A voice called from behind her. A very weary Rarity entered the scene and made her way towards the two pegasi. "Sugarcube corner is beginning to look lovely right now..." she muttered.
"Oooh! I'm so glad you guys are here!" Pinkie Pie squealed, bouncing up to the trio. She seemed significantly less tired than the rest of them. "Lines are always so boring! But with you guys here it'll be like 20% less boring! And that's totally awesome!"
Rainbow Dash quirked an eyebrow, "Pinkie Pie, have you had your coffee alread-" She nearly facepalmed herself at that. "Nevermind."
"Well lookie here, aint that nice." Applejack said, joining her friends.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Thought I'd see you at the front of the line."
"Eh, well. Had some work to do on the farm before I came over." Her face then turned serious. "Has anyone read the new Canterlot Times?"
Fluttershy nodded "Y-Yes."
Applejack narrowed her eyebrows at that before whispering, "I can't believe Princess Luna would lie about this. She knew who those Wraith were just as much as Celestia did."
Fluttershy glanced away from Applejack nervously at the mention of them.
"She might be trying to prevent a panic," Rarity commented. "Perhaps she knows they're more of a threat then what the princesses let on."
"Yeah, maybe... but why didn't they say anything about those ponies the Wraith were usin'? They couldn't have been a threat. They didn't even tell us about them!"
"I bet Twilight will give us the sit rep when she gets back," Rainbow Dash said.
"The sit-wah?"
Rainbow Dash sweat-dropped. "Oh, it's a military term. Means she'll give us information. That was what she went to Cantterlot for, right? Hopefully Celestia spilled the beans."
With that, three voices chimed from nearby.
"Hey, Rarity!"
"Hey Applejack!"
"Hey Rainbow Dash!"
The five mares cocked eyebrows and turned towards the easily recognizable voices.
"Sweetie Bell?" Rarity chimed. "What are you- oh no."
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders appeared to have on militia helmets that seemed two sizes their size.
"Cutie Mark Crusader ALIEN HUNTERS!" they beamed.
All five mares sweat-dropped.
"Oh girls..." Rarity sighed. "Where in the world did you get those helmets?"
"Rainbow Dash gave them to us!"
Both Applejack and Rarity shot glares at the young speedster, causing her to simper. "They wouldn't stop bugging me though... besides, it's not like there's any aliens left for them to hunt."
"Oh but there will be!" Sweetie Bell said.
"I betchu that's not their only ship. They probably have a whole fleet coming for us!" Applebloom chimed in.
"And when they do come." Scootaloo put on a cocky grin, "They'll have to get through us to ever touch Ponyville again!" With that, the three Crusaders put on a surprisingly impressive show of martial arts manuevers.
Applejack shook her head in annoyance, "Ugh, girls. You aint huntin no aliens. If they ever do come back, they aint anything three fillies should be messin' with."
"Common Applejack! This is the coolest special talent anyone could ask for!" Apple Bloom said with pleading eyes.
"How can you even gain the special talent without any aliens around to hunt?" Rarity asked.
"Like we said, they'll be back! And when we kick a few alien butts we'll get our Cutie Marks!"
Applejack grunted at that. "No, no ya want. I want yall to take off those helmets and find something else to do."
"And so would I," Rarity said sternly.
"B-But-" Scootaloo cried, turning towards Rainbow Dash. "Don't you think we could make it out as alien hunters, Rainbow Dash?!"
Rainbow Dash simpered again. "Girls uh..."
The three Crusaders gave her puppy-dog eyes. Resistance was now futile.
Rainbow Dash sighed. "When you're older, maybe. Most of us in the militia have our special talent in other things besides... our side job, after all. When you grow up a bit maybe you can join up. However, I just don't think you're at the right age to be practicing... incapacitating aliens."
"Dawwwwwwwwww," the three cried.
"Now, go give those helmets to whoever is watching the armory," Rarity said.
"Fine...." the three grumbled, beginning a disheartened trot away from the scene.
A beat.
Applejack turned towards Rarity, "How much do you want to bet they're not going to turn in those helmets?"
"Mph, I hope they do. I don't want to see my Sweetie Bell practicing to... to kill anything."
"Don't worry, sugarcube. I'm sure they'll be practicing the non-lethal variety of things," Applejack said reassuringly. "I'm more worried about them getting the idea into their heads that they can take on those folks..."