Chapter 16-
Everfree United, Part 1
Sweetie Belle sat on a sofa in the medical hall next to Chris’ bed just like she had been for the last several days, her only company being the constant beep of the machines that kept up with the young man’s vitals. The rustle of the curtains announced the presence of Apple Bloom as the young earth pony entered the closed off space. She paused when she saw her friend still next to the bed before giving a sigh.
“Sweetie, you’ve been here for three days,” the yellow mare said, walking over to the displays as she made notes on her clipboard. “Ya need ta get some rest.”
The unicorn raised her head from where it had been resting on her folded arms, blinking her eyes sleepily. “Bloom?” She questioned, looking at the earth mare. “What time is it?”
Apple Bloom looked away from her clipboard and looked at her friend with eyes wide with surprise. The expression persisted for several moments before she sighed. “It’s almost eight in the morning, Sweetie Belle,” she answered. “How long did you stay up last night?”
Sweetie blinked for a moment as she looked at her friend. “Last I checked, it was six thirty,” she said. “Soo… all night?”
This only proved to draw another sigh from the other mare. “Sweetie, ya can’t keep this up,” Bloom said. “Yer goin’ ta wear yerself out, and you’re still on active duty. What happens if the Rangers are called out for some reason?”
The off-white unicorn was silent for a moment as her friend’s words reached her, her gaze falling when she finally processed it all. “I don’t know, Apple Bloom,” she admitted. “I just….”
Bloom watched her friend’s downcast face, her own features shifting from its concerned irritation to a more melancholy look. “He’s goin’ ta be okay, Sweetie,” the earth mare stated in a much softer tone as she rounded the bed holding up the unconscious young man to sit down next to Sweetie and rest a hand on her shoulder. “He’s already past the worst of it. All we’re waitin’ for now is for’im to wake up.”
Sweetie Belle nodded her head a bit, looking up at the young mare beside her. “Yeah, he can pull through this… can’t he?”
The slight fear in the unicorn’s voice halted Bloom in her tracks, hesitating for a moment before a thought came to her alongside a confident smile. “‘Course he can,” the nurse stated. “After all, there ain’t many that can take on my sis and walk away unscathed.”
The unicorn’s worried eyes searched Bloom’s smiling face. After a moment she looked away with closed eyes, a small smile forming on her face as well, a breath of laughter slipping passed her lips. “He is pretty tough, isn’t he?” She asked.
Apple Bloom nodded and shifted her gaze to the human before them, his chest going up and down slowly, Sweetie’s hand resting softly his bandage covered right arm. The two were quiet for a while and Bloom’s confident demeanor began to drop again.
“You never did tell me how all of this happened,” the red-maned mare said in a low tone.
Sweetie’s smile faded away as her thumb moved back and forth over Chris’ arm. “...It… no matter what I tell you,” she began. “You have to promise that you won’t see Chris any different than you do now.”
The earth pony hesitated a moment, her friend not moving her gaze from the injured human. Eventually, Bloom nodded her head. “O’ course Ah promise, Sweetie Belle.”
The unicorn took a breath at her words, closing her eyes before looking back to Apple Bloom. “It starts with his brother, Sam….”
“HAH!” Sam yelled as his punch slammed through another cog, his fist coming through to the machine’s back where it opened up and blasted the approaching robot behind it with a burst of green energy. As the shot cog fell to its back, Sam swung his arm and flung the dead weight on his arm off, sending it careening into two others that were approaching him from behind.
With another shout and a forward stomp of his foot, the hazel eyed young man sent a wave of Red Static towards the three falling automatons. The Static stopped just underneath the robots and a pillar of fire shot up, engulfing the machines and frying them with ease. As the flames died down and left behind the charred remains of the cogs, Sam slumped a bit, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his face from his drenched hair. His tired eyes surveyed the bright white and reflective landscape, his gaze sweeping over the multitude of mechanical bodies he had brought down.
“That… has got… to be enough…,” the young man said breathlessly. Before he could even finish the sentence, several more dark pools swirled open over the ground, dark humanoid figures emerging from them before solidifying into even more cogs.
“Apparently not,” a soft, warm voice said behind him and drawing his gaze to the form of Eternal Harmony standing behind him in her blue and purple dress.
Sam’s tired expression became one of irritation as he looked at the ancient alicorn. “Why?” He questioned, beginning to straighten up. “All I’ve been doing is killing off these stupid cogs for….” The irritated took a moment to count on his fingers before clenching his fist and grimacing. “How the hell do you tell time in here?”
“Three days,” Harmony said with a sigh. “And it would be easy for you to figure that out if you would stop being stubborn and take control of your personal aura.”
Samson let out a growl before he heard the sound of clanking boots approaching rapidly. He turned quickly to see the handful of automatons rushing at him. He let out another growl as light blue and black static jumped over his body. “And how?” the angry man said through gritted teeth as he swept one hand, spikes of ice forming along the path it traveled in his sight, successfully skewering three of the machines. “Am I?” his other hand came up in a fist, two slabs of stone sprouting on either side of a few more cogs before he violently swung the fist from one side to the other, the slabs following his limb and crushing the unfortunate machines. “Supposed to do that!?!” He finished his question with a roar, thrusting his open jaws forward as his Obsidian aura burst over him, a cone of ice, dust, and shadow spewing out into the final few cogs and shredding them to pieces.
The young man panted as he straightened again, his Obsidian aura corrupted by an even darker black and purple power pulsing throughout it. Harmony looked at the young man with concern. “Sam,” she said slowly. “You need to let go of that power.”
The human turned slowly towards her, toxic green mist flowing from his anger filled eyes. The unicorn’s eyes widened a bit in surprise and she stepped back, preparing to summon her armor and scepter. For several long moments, the two just stared at each other, energy sparking off Sam as Harmony waited for him to make a move. Slowly, Sam took a deep breath, his Obsidian aura faded, the darker power leaving him as well. “I’m sorry, Harmony,” the young man said in a disheartened tone, sitting down in a cross legged position with a heavy sigh. “I just… I don’t know how to get control back….”
The goddess looked at him with a sad look and walked over to his side before lowering herself to the ground, folding her legs out to the side as she sat beside the young man. “There may not be a way for you to do so,” she said softly. “I am unsure whether you will ever be able to put your dark element back into the prison we put it in.”
Sam grimaced at the unicorn’s words, his eyes concerned as he turned his head away in shame. “...How will this affect Chris?” He asked finally, not looking back at his mentor.
Harmony let a little smile appear on her lips for a moment at the brother’s concern for the other. “If you can master your own power, there will be no need to fear,” she explained. “I have faith that the power you harness will be far more than enough to compensate for the dark element.”
“So, I’m just going to leave Chris in the dust?” Sam questioned, looking up at the mare beside him and receiving a shaking head.
“No,” Harmony answered. “You may for a little while, but if you wish to keep your brother safe, you’ll have to teach him when you can. The Resistance cannot stand to not have you both at the ready.”
Sam was silent at this, his mind going over words again and again. “Alright,” he finally said, standing back to his feet. “If that’s the case then I can’t just keep sitting here.” As his body straightened up, he held out a hand to Harmony as more of the dark pools began to open up on the ground around them.
Harmony took the offered hand and got to her feet as the young man helped her. “Just remember what I told you,” she said before stepping back.
The young man nodded and activated his power. At first, only green Static danced over him. He closed his eyes as the cogs rushed towards him, taking a few moments to concentrate. The Static faded away as the cogs ran at him… only to be blasted back as a wave of green aura flared around him. The young man opened his hazel eyes with a smirk and rushed forward.
A gavel sounded out throughout the room, its loud bang bringing all conversation to a halt. The members of the council all took their seats and looked to Nightmare Moon as she set aside her mallet. “Thank you all for coming,” the dark alicorn said to her audience. “You are all aware of the Resistance’s current position. While our enemies have not made a known move in the past ten days, our situation hasn’t exactly improved despite our best efforts.”
“Chris’ absence doesn’t exactly help matters,” Sunset suddenly muttered out, drawing the introduction to a halt as all focus turned to her.
“Councilor Shimmer, I would ask that you refrain from making offhand comments,” Nightmare said with a sigh.
“Forgive me, Head Councilor,” Sunset replied giving a nod of her head before bringing her arms up to the table with one of her hands up and palm facing up. “But you have to admit that things are pretty grim without Chris. At least he could make sense of what’s happening.”
“And with that, you have bridged us over to today’s topic,” Nightmare replied before looking out at the rest of the council. “What is the status of the recent changing conditions?” Her gaze shifted from each councilor to another, all of them attempting to shrink back from her gaze. The alicorn’s eyes stopped on the Pegasi Councilor. “Councilor Spitfire?”
The yellow mare flinched a bit at the inquisition but cleared her throat and sat forward all the same, folding her hands on top of the table. “The weather continues to worsen,” she reported. “The local clouds become fewer and weaker all the time. This wouldn’t be much of a problem asides from the fact that it’s beginning to get so hot that our pegasi can’t stay in the air long enough to gather enough clouds to form a proper cover.”
“Which certainly doesn’t help our food supply,” Braeburn piped up, bringing his own hands up. “The crops are starting to just wilt away and die. We’ve lost almost thirty-five percent of what we’ve planted in the last few months.”
Nightmare and several other councilors drew back and allowed their eyes to widen at the number. “That much?” The black mare questioned, receiving a hesitant nod from the country stallion. She bowed her head a bit and sighed, shaking her head a bit. “This is not good.”
“It gets worse,” Shining Armor said, bringing the gazes of the council to him next. “While the machines haven’t attempted any sort of assault, the monsters of the Everfree are growing more and more restless.”
“He is right,” Steel Horn spoke up, hitting his fist on the table just hard enough to make it shake. “They draw in closer every day, almost as if they do not fear our presence anymore. Our fighters simply cannot keep up under these conditions.”
Nightmare took in all of this, going through their words with great care. Eventually, she gave another sigh and leaned forward on her arms, head bowed. “So if Midnight were to suddenly attack us-”
“We would be very hard pressed to survive the attack, Head Councilor Moon.” Many of the councilors started in surprise as the usually quiet voice of Queen Chrysalis filled the room. Whereas the queen would usually take up a careless air, she was now fully engaged in the conversation, her eyes full of thought.
“What can you tell us, Councilor Chrysalis?” Nightmare asked, leaning back into her chair with only her fingers resting on the edge of the table.
“Not much, unfortunately,” the changeling answered, glancing at the tabletop with her eyes only before looking back up at the dark mare. “My spies have yet to return, but what they’ve managed to inform me of is that a large portion of Midnight’s forces have been called back to Canterlot while the rest have retreated inside the castle-”
“Then now is the time to strike!” Steel horn cried out, standing to his hooves and once again hitting the table, this time with his knuckles.
“That would be foolish,” Zecora spoke up, looking towards the minotaur. “The machines are still capable of things quite ghoulish.”
“Councilor Zecora is right,” Ember added, supporting her friend. “Attacking the enemy at their home would require them to have far fewer troops and for us to have close to double. Even if we could get dragons and zebras here to bolster our forces, the heat and lack of sustenance is still a very big issue.”
Steel Horn looked between the dragoness and zebra mare before giving a sigh and sitting back down in his seat. “Then what do we do?” He questioned, looking at each of them in turn with his fingers weaved together in front of him.
“We must consider the option to relocate.” All eyes turned to Winston, the older Diamond Dog looking at the table with his ears down. “Even I don’t like the answer, but a retreat might be the only thing that saves lives.”
“Not to undermine your suggestion, Councilor Winston,” Cadence said, gesturing towards him with a face-up palm and giving a worried look. “But where would we go? The Machine Empire has spread out its hold far and wide across Equis. It's only by a miracle that we’ve survived this long.”
A scoff was heard and all eyes turned to the new Griffon Councilor, her claws curled together and holding up her head just under her beak. “Is there something you’d like to add?” Nightmare asked the griffoness, an eyebrow raising towards the council’s newest member. “Councilor Gilda?”
Gilda opened her eyes and turned to look at Nightmare Moon, her expression bored but eyes full of thought. “I simply find it humorous how Cadence says it was a miracle that saved us,” she said. “We all know why we haven’t been crushed by the Empire yet, and he’s been stuck in the med bay for going on three days now.” Her eyes left the Head Councilor and began to make their rounds to the faces around her. “As for leaving, forget it. You all saw what happened to the Rebellion, there’s nowhere left to go. We’ve been backed into a corner and there’s only one way out….”
“And what would you suggest we do, Councilor Gilda?” Nightmare asked, the question genuine in her voice. “If we are so few on options, what do we do?”
Gilda let her voice die for several moments, her eyes drifting down to the table. “...The same thing we’ve done for almost a decade now,” she finally muttered. “Wait… wait and hope and pray that we get another miracle….”
Sweetie sat at Chris’ bedside, her tired, worried eyes cast on the bed sheets as her hand held his, thumb rubbing back and forth over the bandages on his knuckles. The only sounds to keep her company were the beeping of machines connected to the young man as they monitored his vitals. The unicorn sat alone there, waiting for him to wake up, waiting for any sign that he might stir.
The sudden clicks and scrap of the curtain around the hospital bed caused Sweetie Belle to jump and turn her gaze to the newcomer, finding Cadence with Flurry Heart in tow while Heavy Ladle trailed behind them. “Hey, Sweetie,” Cadence greeted in a soft, calming tone as the younger mare relaxed.
“Hello, Princess Cadence,” the off-white unicorn replied, forcing a welcoming smile onto her face and moving over on the couch to make room.
Cadence chuckled softly before coming to sit beside the Element of Generosity, picking up her daughter and placing her on her lap, Ladle coming to sit beside them as well. “Please, Sweetie,” Cadence said in her still soft voice. “Just Cadence.”
“Oh,” Sweetie said with a little blush. “Sorry.”
The pink alicorn chuckled again… before her face turned somber as she looked towards Chris’ still form. “...How’s he doing?” She asked, her voice turning itself down to match the mood of the little space.
Sweetie Belle let her false smile fade away and looked away from towards the comatose man on the bed before them. “He hasn’t changed,” she answered in a small voice before giving a huff of dark laughter. “Apple Bloom says that’s a good thing. Says that so long as his arm is healing, he’s fine, but… that doesn’t help ease my fear….”
The two older mares stayed quiet as they listened to the younger, each of them taking up a look of melancholy that almost matched the unicorn’s. Flurry Heart looked up from her mother’s lap, glancing at each of the faces around her before her gaze landed on Chris. The filly stared at the man for a moment she reached up and patted his hand. She waited a while, but when she received no response, she craned her neck to look up at Cadence and pulled on the sleeve of her mother’s jacket.
“Hm?” Cadence hummed curiously, looking down at her daughter. “What is it, Flurry?”
“Why is Chrisie sleeping?” The filly asked, causing the older alicorn to blink in surprise while the other two winced.
Cadence was silent for several moments before she gave a little sigh and repositioned Flurry on her lap so that the filly could focus on her without straining her little neck. “Chris… got hurt, Flurry,” she said as simply as she could, her voice starting to tighten. “And he has to stay asleep in order to heal….”
The little alicorn went quiet and lowered her gaze from the light purple eyes of her mother to the body of Chris as he lay on the hospital bed. Her eyes went over his frame, stopping as she spotted the bandages wrapped around his right arm, jerking back a little as if seeing them for the first time. The little filly stared at the wrapped up arm for several moments. Then, for whatever reason, she began to close the gap between herself and the bed. Within the span of a few seconds, Flurry Heart was already halfway onto the bed.
Sweetie’s eyes darted to the filly and her body tensed up, the unspoken fear radiating from her gaze as the child continued to try and climb up. Cadence’s eyes also widened in surprise, her body moving in maternal instinct. “Flurry, come off of that,” she said, wrapping her arms and hands gently but firmly around her filly and pulling her back a little ways.
The little alicorn squirmed in her mother’s grasp, trying to get back to the medical bed and its occupant. “But, momma-”
“But nothing, Flurry,” Cadence interrupted softly, still pulling gently on the child, though it was becoming clear that her daughter wasn’t going to give in without a fight. “We don’t want to hurt Chris anymore than he already is.” The minor tug of war between filly and mare continued, Cadence trying to do so without harming the young alicorn while Flurry, in turn, did her best to keep her position on the bed.
Softly, a hand landed on the pink mare’s shoulder, causing Cadence to start a bit and look towards the cream-colored mare at her side. “Heavy-”
“Let her go, Cadence,” Heavy Ladle said gently, a soft, reassuring smile on her face. “Put a little faith in your daughter. You’d be surprised what younger ponies can do.”
For a moment, the princess of love stared at the older pony beside her until she finally sighed and released her daughter. “If you think so…,” she relented as Flurry continued her way up the bed, Sweetie Belle’s worried gaze following the filly.
The little alicorn made her way up the bed, avoiding Chris’ wrapped arm as she crawled up beside him, pressing into his side as she curled her legs underneath her and sat quietly next to him. Flurry’s opal eyes stared down at the young man’s resting face, the only sound in the air being the constant beep of the medical equipment. After a few moments, the little filly lifted herself up on her knees, her hands coming to rest on Chris’ chest as she looked down at him. Her horn ignited in her yellow aura, her hands lighting up next as she leaned over him. The magical aura spread from her hands over the man’s body, slowly wrapping him in a cocoon of energy, the area around his arm receiving a bigger concentration of magic. Flurry kept up her spell, her magic surging over her horn and hands, the comatose ranger’s body following suit as the young alicorn squeezed her eyes together, a slight grimace forming. The filly kept her magic flowing for several moments until sparks of strain began to dance from Flurry Heart’s horn, causing the little filly to grimace further. A few more seconds passed and the alicorn’s magic sputtered and died, the yellow aura fading away from her and the young man resting under her hands.
For a while, none of them moved and nothing changed. Flurry’s eyes rested on Chris’ face, a silent plea in them as Sweetie, Cadence and Heavy held their breath as they waited. Then it happened. A high-pitched, constant beep sounded out from the equipment on the other side of the bed. Every eye in the curtained area widened and while Cadence and Heavy jerked their heads to the machine, Sweetie’s eyes locked onto the blankets just short of Chris. Flurry was much the same, only her terrified gaze was stuck on the young man’s still face.
“...There’s got to be a mistake,” Cadence suddenly muttered, a bright flash lighting up the space as she teleported to the machines on the other side of the bed. The alicorn started to look frantically about the machinery, searching for a loose cord or undone connection while Heavy Ladle jumped quickly to her feet.
“I’ll find Doctor Bloom,” she said hurriedly as she threw the curtains out of her way and started to sprint down the hall.
Sweetie and Flurry still sat motionlessly, the constant flatline filling their ears. Slowly, the off-white unicorn lifted herself from the couch and began to lean over the bed. Her hands reached towards Chris’ face but fell back, her face growing nervous alongside her fear and sorrow, the tears in her eyes suddenly spilling over and running down her cheeks. “...Please,” she murmured quietly, her hands coming to rest on his uninjured upper arm as she leaned forward further. “Don’t leave me…. Chris, don’t leave me!” She quietly cried out and buried her face into the young man’s shoulder, her sobs shaking her shoulder.
Flurry Heart had still yet to move, though the crying beside her shook her from her shock and her face contorted as she began to cry as well. She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Chris’ neck, trying to nuzzle in under his chin. “...Chrisie…,” was all the small alicorn could murmur as her tears and sadness shook her frame.
Cadence still searched around hectically, her breathing quick and eyes wide before she looked to her left to see the scene left on the bed, the two girls clinging desperately to the ranger’s limp form. Slowly, Cadence’s breath calmed and her eyes turned sad. She tore her gaze away and brought her hand across her body to hold her other arm.
The room was still. No sounds were made except those of crying mares and the constant high pitched squeal of the equipment. Sweetie kept her eyes closed as a pain swelled up in her chest. First her parents, now the man she had grown to love….
Flurry Heart’s sobs continued to echo out as she clutched onto the gown Chris wore. She didn’t want him to leave. He was the only one asides from her father and mother that didn’t look at her like some sort of unnatural side-show….
Something wrapped itself around the little alicorn while a small weight landed on Sweetie’s shoulder, making her freeze in place as her eyes widened. “Hey… why are my two favorite girls crying?”
Everypony in the room stopped and three sets of eyes shot up to see the worried expression of Chris as he held onto Flurry with his left arm and rested his right hand on Sweetie’s arm from an awkward angle. The room was once again filled with nothing more than the sound of the machines as the young man’s gaze went from one to another, only becoming more worried as time went on. “...Seriously, what’s wron- ERK!” The Ranger was cut off as the three ponies lunged at and hugged him, Cadence’s glomp being especially forceful due to her distance. It took a moment to get over the initial shock of the heartwarming attack, but Chris soon maneuvered his arms so that he was holding the three of them, his eyes becoming soft. “...I don’t know what happened,” he started softly, tightening his hold a bit. “But… I’m sorry to have worried you all.”
The young man fell silent and closed his eyes as he held Cadence, Flurry Heart, and Sweetie Belle, none of them wanting to let go even when the sound of the curtains scraping across the tracks announced the arrival of Heavy Ladle and Apple Bloom. Both mares stared at the scene, Ladle’s face slowly forming into a soft smile while Bloom’s turned into a sort of irritation. “If y’all smother’im like that, he’ll never fully recover,” the yellow mare said, stepping forward and tapping the bottom of Sweetie’s foot. “Off,” she ordered once the white unicorn and the two alicorns beside her looked up. They moved out of the way, Cadence scooping up Flurry Heart on her way up and giving Apple Bloom the room she needed to work with Chris, who smiled weakly at the doctor.
“What’s the news, doc?” He asked, sitting up a little as Bloom approached only to be pushed back down by the earth pony’s strength.
“Yer hurt,” Bloom answered as she started to check over him, taking special care to take a look at his arm. Her ear twitched a bit at the constant squeal of the machines before she reared her foot back and kicked them violently. The resulting crash had the machines sliding several feet and cutting off the blare that echoed from them.
The others blinked in surprise and slight fear. “Uh… Bloom?” Sweetie muttered, raising a finger. “Don’t you need those for other patients?”
“They’re busted,” the red-head answered as she unwrapped Chris’ arm and inspected it. “An overcharge in the cables fried them. Same thing happened when Nightmare got hurt a couple years back. It’s a shame.”
Chris blinked at all that was being said around him. He shook his head a crunched his eyes shut. “Guys, hold up,” he said, his eyes still closed tightly as he raised a hand. “What’s going on?”
Everypony in the room froze in place. Sweetie and Bloom shared a look with one another before the unicorn let out a loud sigh and went over to the other side of Chris’ bed, sitting down gently beside him. “It’s… it’s a long story….”
As Sweetie Belle began to recount the last few days to the ranger, two figures in the doorway to the medical hall stepped out, letting the doors swing quietly closed as a faint green glow faded from underneath the human’s bed. “That was closer than I wanted it to be,” Chrysalis admitted as she sighed in relief and leaned her back against the wall.
“Agreed,” Nightmare replied, placing her shoulder against the wall as she looked at the Changeling queen. “Good thing little Flurry Heart gave your magic the boost it needed.”
The queen chuckled a bit at that. “Indeed,” she answered before looking over at the mare beside her. “Alicorn magic never ceases to amaze me.”
Nightmare chuckled at that as well, giving a soft smile to the slightly shorter Changeling before straightening up again. She took a step forward, placing her hands on Chrysalis’ arms just below her shoulders before leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on her brow. “I have to go get Samson,” she said softly, pulling back a bit from her lover. “I’ll be back soon so we can discuss what to do next.”
Chrysalis smiled a bit as she looked into the cyan eyes of her mare. “Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she replied quietly, receiving a nod from Nightmare before the alicorn made her leave.
Snap. Crack. “Ow!” Firefly exclaimed as she tripped over a branch and hit her knee against a jutting tree stump.
“You okay?” Cobalt asked, coming up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder.
The pink pegasus looked up at her thestral companion as she rubbed her knee cap to make the pain pass more quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, eyes softening a bit. “Surprised me more than hurt.” She started to stand, taking the stallion’s hand when he offered it. “How much more do we have to patrol?”
Cobalt chuckled at the question and looked up and about them at the surrounding forest. “Not much,” he promised as his gaze made a slow round about the trees before stopping on her own violet stare. “Just the last little bit and then we can go home.”
The mare nodded her head and turned her eyes away before starting forward once more, making sure she paid closer attention to where she stepped. Cobalt followed close behind her as they fell into a comfortable silence. They walked for a while before the comforting silence slowly sank down into discomfort. It took a few more moments for Firefly’s frown to form into the question she was dying to ask. “Do you think Chris will pull through this?” She asked quietly, her voice almost betraying the tears forming in her eyes.
Cobalt was quiet for a short moment before responding. “I saw that man fall from the sky and drill through a machine hundreds of times his size,” he said, glancing sideways at the pink mare. “There’s no way he could not make it through-” He suddenly allowed his shadowy aura to cover his form, the mists shifting and lunging towards Firefly, guiding her behind a dense pile of brush as the sounds of metallic boots and thudding paws met their ears. The shadows dissipated, leaving the stallion to reform beside her as they watched a pack of timberwolves run by into the clearing next to them, a group of cogs not far behind.
The timberwolves came to a stop in front of a large stone wall that stuck up out of the ground, cutting off the monsters’ escape as the machines surrounded them. Firefly counted seven wolves and at least twenty cogs as the wooden creatures faced the robots, snarling and flashing their fangs in a fierce warning. The automatons danced from their positions, some running back and forth in front of the beasts in front of them, causing some of the wolves to lunge forward and snap their jaws.
Firefly shook her head as she watched the scene unfold. “What’re they doing to those timberwolves?” She whispered, her eyes locked on the crowd as a wolf made a lunge at one of the cogs only to be knocked back by swift back swing of said cog’s scepter.
Cobalt winced as the timberwolf landed with a thud and a yelp. “Who knows,” he replied before shifting a little and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Come on. Let's get out of here while they're distrac-”
“What do we have here?” Cobalt pulled Firefly back as he was interrupted and a pointed black and red boot stomped passed. The ponies’ eyes widened as they looked up at the new arrival, finding a large black and red machine captain, the ornamentation on its head resembling a scorpion, the tail arching up over the head with the stinger replaced by a blaster of sorts, its left hand replaced by a pincer and two tendrils ending in conductive spikes hung from its back. “Another group of wood rot? I was hoping for a challenge. Perhaps a hydra or one of them cragadiles.”
The cogs separated to allow the machine captain through as he walked over towards the timberwolves. He neared much closer than the cogs had, prompting one of the wolves to once more lunge forward. The last mistake the beast ever made. Defoliator shot out its clawed left hand and caught the wolf by the throat, the pincer digging into the animal’s wooden neck. “Aren’t you the aggressive one?” The machine taunted the timberwolf as it struggled to free itself from his grasp. “We’ll have to fix that….” For a moment, nothing seemed to change until the timberwolf began to howl, bark, whimper, and thrash in the machine captain’s grip, the leaves adorning its head beginning to wilt and wither.
Cobalt and Firefly’s eyes widened as the wood making up the timberwolf rotted, turning a sickly color as the beast wilted before them, the green energy of its life force slowly fading to black as its movements slowed down to a crawl and eventually to nothing at all. Defoliator tossed the rotten corpse away, letting it crumble to pieces as it landed hard on the ground. The remaining timberwolves took several steps back until they were touching the stone wall behind them, the machine captain giving an evil chuckle. “It seems they’ve finally learned to fear,” Defoliator said, letting out a low, evil chuckle as he watched the animals. The large automaton turned quickly and started to walk away from the scene, throwing a hand up over his shoulder. “Finish them.”
Pegasus and thestral widened their eyes as the cogs stopped shuffling about and lined up facing the timberwolves, the top halves of their faces sliding up to unveil the laser lenses that made up their eyes. The area shown with a red light as the cogs built up energy, the wolves beginning to flail about each other, jumping at the wall to find any route of escape. Firefly closed her eyes and lurched to the side, burying her face in Cobalt’s chest as another of the timberwolves lunged forward. Buzzing filled the air before shots rang out, howls of pain following soon after.
Sweetie helped Chris through the castle as they made their way to the ranger training room. He was still a bit weak thanks to the laws of muscle degradation, though luckily it wasn’t as bad as what would usually be expected. Guess we have our powers to thank for that, Chris commented internally, only to be met with silence. Chris’ expression fell to that of sadness at the reminder that his brother was nowhere to be found within his mind.
The ever perceptive unicorn at his side took notice. “Are you alright?” She asked worried, her hold on him switching up a little. “You’re not hurting, are you?”
“No, nothing like that,” Chris murmured, lifting a hand and waving her worry away. “It just that…,” he trailed off as he gave a sigh. “This is the first time I’ve ever not had Sam with me. Makes me feel kind of… alone.” All fell silent at this statement and the young man looked up at Sweetie as they stopped in front of the door to Ranger Ops. The saddened expression he spotted there was almost more than he could bear. “Sweetie,” he said softly, turning to face her so he could see the soft look on his face. “That’s not what I meant. Without Sam, I feel a bit empty… but how I feel about you is still the same.”
The mare looked up at him for a moment, her eyes searching before her gaze fell away. “...And how do you feel about me, Chris?”
The sudden question shocked the human for a moment. The young man stared down at the young mare before him as his mind shot back through his memories. Their first meeting, those first few days together, the day the met Cruger, the fight against Digster… the kiss he had left her with before he came back a mess. “...Sweetie Belle,” he finally said softly, putting a finger under her chin and gently lifting her gaze to meet the genuine look in his own. “I lov-”
A familiar tone interrupted the young man as his communicator started to sound off. Chris choked on his words and looked down at his wrist, eyes going a bit wide as Sweetie just looked annoyed. He looked back and forth between the device and the mare before him, his mouth trying desperately to form the words that had been shoved back down his throat. “Sweetie-I-it-I-the-it-”
Chris was cut off once more and his eyes widened beyond what one would think was natural as the unicorn grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him towards her, locking her lips to his. The young man was frozen for a moment before he felt the tenseness melt away from the contact, his frantic hands slowly drifting to land on her shoulders to gently hold her. The kiss lasted no longer than a few seconds, but to him, it was eternity cut short as they separated.
There was barely a space between them as Sweetie looked up into his eyes, a soft look in her gaze. “I love you, too, Chris,” she said softly, her hands letting go of his shirt to rest lightly on his chest. For a moment, he didn’t respond until his mind finally figured out that words were never going to be enough for him to describe how he felt about her. He took in a little breath and a gentle smile spread over his features before he closed his eyes and leaned forward, planting a kiss on her head issuing a giggle from the unicorn.
“...Now,” Sweetie said suddenly in a quiet tone as she patted his chest, drawing his eyes open to look at her once more. “It seems you’ve been called?”
Chris took in a breath before letting it out through his nose again, his smile still in place. “Eeyup,” he replied as he raised the still sounding morpher up to his face. With a quick action, he answered it. “Chris her-”
“GET YOUR FLANK DOWN HERE NOW!” Nightmare’s voice shouted, cutting him off and actually tossing up some of his hair.
“On our way!” The young man replied quickly, his heart hammering in his chest for more than just the shock of the sudden shout. He looked down at Sweetie only to find that the mare had already taken the liberty of getting a head start.
“HURRY!” Nightmare’s voice echoed as Chris took off down the hall, easily catching up with the unicorn as they ran. But something kept nagging at Chris’ mind. Nightmare never yells….
The whirring of mechanical gears sounded out as Chris and Sweetie entered into the command room, the young man quickly spotting Nightmare, Cobalt, and Firefly standing at the raised platform overlooking the rest of the room. The alicorn looked as if she was about to lose it with the nail of her thumb between her teeth, her eyes wide as Cobalt looked exhausted as he leaned back with both hands on the console, Firefly standing beside him also leaning back on the console, eyes wide and terrified as she held tightly to herself.
Chris took one look at his friends and knew the situation was worse than he feared. Without a word, he focused his gaze and made his way up the steps and stopped in front of the three. “Guys…,” he said quietly, jerking their attention towards him as he stood by calmly.
Cobalt’s eyes widened when he spotted the young man. “Chris…?” The thestral asked quietly, straightening up from the console behind him and stepping forward. “When did you…?”
“Not all that long ago,” Chris answered with a small, soft smile, stepping forward and holding his fist out which Cobalt bumped with his own. Chris’ smile melted from his face before he looked to the mares on either side of the stallion. “What’s going on?”
Cobalt’s own slight smile faded and he looked towards the ground for a moment before turning and bringing his gaze up to Nightmare Moon. The alicorn was silent for a moment before she sighed and closed her eyes. She turned to face the ranger, squaring her shoulders and opening her eyes slowly. “Cobalt and Firefly have just come back from patrol,” the dark mare began to explain in a low voice. “They came back to report the appearance of a new Machine Captain… and his powers are….” Nightmare was forced to stop as she gave a shudder.
“The thing turned a pack of timberwolves into mulch right in front of us,” Cobalt finished, drawing the man’s attention back to him. “He literally picked one up and made it rot away until there was nothing….”
“Then he made his cogs execute the rest,” Firefly finally spoke up, though her voice was tight and, as Chris turned to look at her, he could see her hands tighten on her arms.
Chris fell silent in surprise and shock, trying to process the information as Sweetie came up next to Fly and put a hand on her shoulder only to be wrapped in a sudden hug, the pink pegasus finally breaking down into sobs.
“...It was the most horrible thing we’ve ever seen…,” Cobalt said quietly, his eyes staying on Firefly’s back. After a moment, he sighed and looked back at Chris. “At least it sheds some light on what’s been going on lately.”
Chris’ expression became confused at this, his head tilting slightly. “What do you mean?” He questioned, a bit of worry coming to his voice before he looked to his commanding officer.
Nightmare shared his look for a moment before she gave a sigh. “The weather is getting hotter,” she said in a low voice. “The crops we grow here have been dying more and more. Not only that, but monster attacks are growing more frequent. Can’t say I’m surprised anymore, though. If they are being hunted as Cobalt and Firefly report, it’s no wonder they’re moving further inwards towards us.”
Chris kept his eyes locked with the alicorn’s, taking in every word she said. He finally let his gaze start to fall to the floor as his thoughts clicked together. “The machine captain,” he started slowly, looking up towards Cobalt. “What did he look like?”
Cobalt stopped and stayed quiet as he gathered his thoughts. “...He was almost all black,” he started. “His head and upper body looked like a scorpion…. He was… horrible.”
Chris’ eyes went wide at the description. He brought his gaze back and stared between Nightmare and Cobalt. “...Defoliator,” he said in a low tone, actual fear growing in his voice.
Nightmare and Cobalt shared a wide eyed look before looking back at the young man. “...What… is this guy?” The thestral asked the young man, worry growing heavy in his tone.
Chris’ gaze shot towards him. “Defoliator is the worst thing that could possibly happen to us,” he started slowly. “He generates an intense greenhouse effect around him, causing plants to wilt and the weather to grow far hotter. Not only that but he’s cruel and destructive. That’s why the monsters are moving inward and the crops won’t grow…. Because he’s getting closer.”
Everyone present fell silent at this, their eyes locked on Chris as they processed what was being told to them. One in particular, though, was not as cowed as the others. Cobalt’s eyes drifted from one of them to the other, coming back to settle on Chris. “...Then what are we waiting for?” He questioned, shrugging his shoulders and wings, pushing himself away from the console he was leaning on. “Let’s go scrap this bastard.”
Chris was quiet for a moment. “...May be easier said than done,” he muttered… before he, too, rolled his shoulders and steeled his gaze. “But let’s do-”
“Commander!” Chris was interrupted and turned sharply at the shout as a pony ran through the door to the command center, papers flying from her arms as she raced up the steps towards them. She stopped just short of them and took a few deep breaths. “Commander…,” she breathed out, clearly exhausted from her run.
“Take a moment to catch your breath,” Nightmare said softly, stepping to the mare’s side and putting a hand on her shoulder. The mare nodded her head and took a few seconds to compose herself before saluting.
“Ma’am, Councilor Chrysalis wanted me to inform you that her scouts have returned from Ponyville,” the pony reported, keeping up a professional stance as she delivered her message. “They have urgent news they wish to share with you and,” she turned her gaze on Chris, “Captain Scott.”
Chris looked to Nightmare as she nodded. “We’ll be off immediately,” the alicorn said. “Thank you, miss Lavender.” The mare gave a nod before turning and rushing back down the steps to the door to continue on whatever tasks had been given to her. Nightmare relaxed a bit and turned to Chris and his team. “If Chrysalis is calling for us, it is no small matter,” she stated, looking to each of them one at a time.
Chris turned to look at his team as well, searching each of their expressions. Cobalt stood behind him, the fires of anger stirred up in his eyes. Sweetie stood beside Fly, her expression that of unmoving determination. Even Firefly, who looked scared out of her wits, looked at him in the eyes and gave a ready nod. Chris let his gaze wash over each of them one more time before turning to look at Nightmare. He was still for a moment before he gave a solid nod. “Let’s not keep her waiting then.”
Midnight looked out over what was once Ponyville, admiring her handiwork. The metallic clanks of approaching footsteps from behind drew her attention. She turned to find her ever faithful servant, Staroid, making his way towards her. He stopped a few feet away from her and dropped to one knee, putting his arm across his chest. “Mistress,” he said in an automatic tone. “The forces are ready for the march to the Everfree.”
The dark purple alicorn gave a sinister chuckle at this, a smirk widening on her face. “Excellent,” she purred, eye glinting. “What of Defoliator, has he returned and given his report?”
“Yes, Mistress,” the machine answered, nodding his head. “The monsters have begun to condense so closely to the resistance that their fighters have almost no room to relax. And the forest is also beginning to rot away from the edge. At the current rate, the forest should be cleared enough for our march in three-”
“That’s too long to wait,” Midnight interrupted, swiping her hand through the air and turning her back on the robot, walking back to the railing of the balcony. For a moment, she leaned on the railing, putting her hands on the rails as she looked out. Her finger tapped impatiently as she thought. “...Staroid,” she suddenly snapped sharply.
“Yes, Mistress?” Staroid answered, standing to his feet.
“Pull the revived machine captains to the frontline and put Defoliator on the third,” the mare ordered, straightening back up and putting her hands behind her back. “We march as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Mistress Midnight,” the automaton replied, once again placing his arm across his chest and giving a little bow. With that, he transformed into his star form and took off into the air, shooting away to act out his orders. Midnight stood alone on the balcony for a few moments after he had left, letting the wind blow through her mane.
Over the sound of the breeze came the sound of beating wings and Spike landed behind her in his smallest form, though he still stood slightly taller than she did. His well-toned torso was bare, showing off more than a few scars while his lower half was clothed in dark red trousers, a thick black belt holding them and two plates of black steel armor that rested on his hips up. Leather bracers with more black steel plates decorated his forearms completed his appearance. Neither of them spoke for a moment, not even seeming to acknowledge each other's presence.
“...You had another nightmare, Midnight,” the young drake spoke up, his voice not seeming to convey any sort of emotion.
The alicorn’s ear twitched at this but there was no other signal from her asides from the small reflex. “...I did,” she answered tersely as if she was already tired of having the conversation.
Spike let out an exasperated sigh. “Mom, you can’t keep ignoring them,” he insisted, taking a step forward and raising a claw palm up. “The last time you started having nightmares like this you-”
“The last time I had these nightmares,” Midnight snapped sharply, spinning around to face him. “I was a young, blind fool! I am not the same stupid filly I was all those years ago!”
Spike froze in his tracks, a stupefied look on his face as he stared into the look of rage the mare that had raised him was leveling at him. But behind the facade, she could not hide what the dragon’s green, slitted eyes found in her own burning magenta orbs. After a moment, he just gave another sigh and pulled back to his original position. “Alright,” he relented before he began to spread his wings once more. “I’ll go make sure everything is prepared for the march.”
“You do that,” Midnight answered hotly as he took off and flew over her head, her gaze following him. She turned back to face the outside as she did this, but her eyes soon fell away from her draconic son and rested instead on the army that spread out before her. Countless cogs filled the streets of the decrepit town, their silver and copper body shifting about as robotic sounds filled the air. Midnight’s look of irritation took a moment to fade away before it was replaced by a sickening smile. “Soon,” she muttered to herself, once again grabbing onto the rail. “Soon that cursed forest and the rebellion will be dead! And with them out of the way, no one, not even Mondo, will stop me from making this world mine!”
“An army?” Sweetie Belle asked in shock as she looked at the changelings before her and the others. Chris looked over the two changelings, still trying to wrap around why they looked so different from Chrysalis. The two had much brighter colors, the shorter of the two having a deep purple color to her that shifted into a cool green while the other, a much taller male, was leaf green that faded into a burnt orange. The female wore a black bodysuit that hugged her body but looked plenty sturdy enough to take a hit or two and had a horn that split at the end to form several points, giving the extremity a weaponized look. The male wore dark brown pants, held up by a thick belt, a dark hunter’s vest, and a heavy long coat. The only thing that still confused Chris was why the male seemed to have a pair of antlers.
“That is correct. Miss Belle,” Thorax answered, nodding his head. “Tarsi and I both saw it. Hundreds of cogs and, worse, revived machine captains. They aren’t what they once were, but dangerous all the same.”
Chris looked towards the ground with a frown. “...All of them?” He asked, looking up at the changeling.
“I’m afraid so,” Thorax replied before the female, Tarsi, stepped in.
“If anything we saw is accurate.” she began. “They’ll be marching towards us today, and probably sooner than we’d like.”
“That gives us no time to waste,” Nightmare said, stepping up and turning her gaze on Chris. “Warn the other captains to get their troops prepared to defend the castle. We’ll use mage ops to create portals to the jungles of Zebrica and get all noncombatants through before pulling our soldiers back and getting them through as well.”
Chris didn’t take his eyes off the changeling before him, giving no sign that he’d even heard his commanding officer. “...We can’t run from this,” he said, his tone carrying to Thorax rather than Nightmare.
The insectoid was silent for a moment before he sadly shook his head. “They’d overwhelm us in an instant,” he said quietly. “And those of us that could escape would be followed. We’ve seen the magic Midnight is capable of. It would be a small thing for her to reopen the portals and send her army through.”
Chris closed his eyes at the confirmation, taking in a long, slow breath before releasing it. “There’s no use, then,” he said softly, opening his eyes and looking towards Nightmare Moon. “We can’t run and we can’t hide.”
Nightmare’s eyes widened at what he was implying. “What are you saying, Chris?” She asked, her tone small, portraying her fear of the coming answer.
“I’m saying it’s time we fight,” the young man answered bluntly. “No more hiding in holes, cowering behind flimsy brick walls. I’ve seen what happens when fear corrupts a world and its leaders. ...We can’t afford to let that happen to us.”
The mare was silent for several drawn out moments. “...I suppose that means you have a plan?” Nightmare questioned, leaning back a bit and crossing her arms.
The ranger nodded. “All it’s going to take is a little help,” he said, his eyes beginning to shine as Nightmare looked a bit confused.
“Who would you need?” She asked. “What can somepony else do that your team can’t?”
Chris continued to let his eyes shine. “I’m going to need Fluttershy.”