//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: A Nightmare Come True // by ShadowSprint //------------------------------// Spike tapped his clipboard, following Shining Armor around the train station. His jaw dropped open when he saw the line-up of ponies awaiting permission to board. The little dragon recognized so many faces in the long line eagerly awaiting the train-ride to the Crystal Empire. Cheerilee, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and Trixie were amongst those that curled around the two lone buildings near the tracks. When news spread that Twilight would allow ponies to leave Ponyville if they wanted, many ignored her requests to stay in-doors until the train was ready. It’d only been an hour ago that the soldiers had managed to turn the locomotive around. Not to mention the changelings that numerous other soldiers were dealing with, all this commotion just strained Shining Armor’s head even more. “You sure you’re gonna be alright?” Spike asked when the captain stopped yet again to clutch his aching forehead. “G-Give me a minute Spike,” he said, the throbbing only increasing over time. The pressure placed upon Shining Armor’s skull felt like a vice digging into the bone. The doctors in Town Hall had given him some kind of medication, but he almost felt as though he were worse for wear. Shining Armor resisted the urge to shrink the barrier further. It was already creeping up onto the train station. “I think I’m okay. Now, how many injured do we have in Town Hall yet?” Flipping through his notes, Spike skimmed down the page until he’d found it. “Uhhh, looks like about fifteen or so. Most of them are soldiers at this point, some injured from the changelings that’d gotten inside.” Letting the captain do some mental math, Spike checked off a few more items from Twilight’s list as he asked, “Did we ever find out how so many got in?” The captain merely shook his head. “No. We don’t have a clue.” “Oh.” Spike said and returned to his check-list to mark off another item.Honestly, he doubted this plan would work. If what Party Favor said was true though, then they didn’t have much of a choice. As much as the dragon hated to admit it, Ponyville was falling apart. Twilight cooping herself up in that castle the way she did tossed everyone out of the loop. For the past few weeks now, Spike had been relegated to a messenger-dragon! “It’s really a long ways Shining Armor. Do you think this’ll work?” The captain let out a long sigh. He stared over the line of ponies that waited somewhat patiently. “I don’t know. I hope so. We’ll be sending some of our soldiers with them so at least they’ll have some protection.” “How many?” “Whatever we can fit.” “Well,” Spike began, “Twilight said we could send Rainbow Dash with them as well. She can provide warnings for them, and then when she’s done, she can fly back over here and meet up for the attack on Canterlot.” Captain Shining Armor nodded. “Good. The more help those ponies have, the better.” Taking a quick look up at the barrier, the unicorn noticed several small cracks the changelings had worked into the dome. Closing his eyes, he tried to seal up the weak-points, but his migraine only worsened at the attempt. “Spike, you better hurry back to Twilight. Let her know we’re ready to go. We haven’t got much time.” “Just like this Rarity,” Nurse Redheart explained, showing the unicorn exactly how the straps were to be fastened to the gurneys. With the soldiers already starting to pack up some of the medical equipment for the trip, they needed all patients ready to be loaded on the train, and they needed to be ready now. “This’ll keep them from sliding around during transportation, and keep them from getting hurt. Once they’re on the train, they’ll be some special hook-ups to prevent any-pony from getting knocked over.” “Okay, I think I got that,” Rarity repeated, and hurried over to the bed of one of the soldiers. Captain’s orders had been to evacuate the most critically injured first. Using her magic, Rarity threaded the ratchet buckle, and working the webbing through the center slot, she eventually pulled it successfully through. “I got it!” She said excitedly as she began ratcheting and tightening the straps around the soldier, fastening him against the bed. “Not too tight,” the nurse reminded. “Of course,” and Rarity rushed herself over towards the next patient. It took all her concentration for Rarity to hold off the agonizing sense of panic bubbling inside her. On one hoof, she wanted nothing more than for all of these ponies to be safe. On the other though, she’d spent the last month or two helping the doctors care for patients here. Even though the soldiers she currently busied herself tethering to their beds had only been in Town Hall for a number of hours, Rarity remained reluctant to let them go. “Is the first batch ready?” The voice of a couple soldiers at the door reverberated through the hall. With the door cracked open ever so slightly, the sounds of the changelings battering the barrier outside drifted in. “Y-Yes . . . of course,” Rarity said, and helplessly watched as the guards came out, and wheeled out the first set of six. There were still a number of soldiers to be fastened down, but Nurse Redheart and the others had those under control. Rarity then made her way over to some of the others. She noticed Sunset Star eyeing the doors, watching the soldiers leave with their wounded. “Don’t worry Sunset. You’ll be fine.” Rarity tried to comfort. “I’ll see to it personally that Brawny comes for you after all this.” At first the orange pegasus appeared not to notice Rarity’s words. Only when the unicorn had started fastening her down, did Sunset respond. “If he doesn’t come to me, then I’ll fly to him. But, who will come for you?” Sunset’s question came unexpectedly. “W-Well . . . no-pony’s coming for me! In fact, if all goes well, I’ll be working with the princess to save Equestria!” “Good luck with that . . .” The pegasus’ response to Rarity’s statement had caught the unicorn off guard. Did she say that because of how she was almost captured by changelings? Or had she heard some of the townsfolks’ critiques of the princess and extended that onto her friends? It felt a tad off, though Rarity couldn’t pinpoint the reason why. “Rarity?” Scootaloo called out the unicorn’s name. Fastening Sunset down to her gurney, the unicorn stepped over to Scootaloo. The young pegasus had turned pale, and she could see Scoots’ eyes darting back and forth between the soldiers that came and went. “Yes Scootaloo? What is it?” “I-I don’t know if I wanna go to the Crystal Empire.” “Well Scootaloo you have to! It’s becoming far too dangerous here for you to stay.” Rarity said, already motioning for the pegasus to lie down so she could get strapped in. “And besides, if the barrier does go down, we won’t have enough ponies to protect everyone.” “But,” Scootaloo argued, wiggling under the straps that crossed over her body. “I wanna help.” “And you’ve helped out so much already.” Rarity explained, patting the young mare’s head. “I heard about what you did on Cloudsdale. It’s because of you and Rainbow Dash that Derpy is even here at all.” “Well I know, but . . .” “But nothing,” Rarity gently scolded. “Why, Derpy’ll be the next one I have to get ready, and I just cannot bear the thought of telling her that you’re not going with.” Rarity smiled when she saw Scootaloo staring over at the pegasus who’d just stirred in her bed. The pegasus seemed to understand, and a smile even grew across her face. “I suppose she does need someone, doesn’t she?” “That’s right. And who better than yourself?” “But, what about Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?” “Well I’m pretty sure Sweetie Belle is already in line. And Apple Bloom . . .” Rarity stopped. She honestly wasn’t sure what to say about the little earth pony. She’d heard from Spike what had happened on the Apple farm. “. . . I’m sure she’ll be along.” Rarity lied. It tore at her to say that, but Scootaloo needed to stay in good spirits. This apparently satisfied the pegasus’ curiosity and after finishing up with Scootaloo, Rarity hurried on over to Derpy. She fumbled with the straps, stopping when another set of guards pushed in, grabbing the next batch of wounded to load up. Twilight, I hope you know what you’re doing. Applejack watched another changeling hurtle off into the horizon. Pinkie Pie had fired off her cannon, attempting to blast away the creatures that pounded against the barrier. The last few that had gotten in were handled by the soldiers. Still, both Applejack and Pinkie Pie were requested to stay on the front lines. “Take that you awful little changelings!” Pinkie Pie shouted out excitedly. She yanked on the string of her cannon, a mixture of streamers and cupcakes ripping through the sky. The round landed its mark, sending several changelings tumbling down the side of the protective dome. “Pinkie Pie,” Applejack hollered, “ya might wanna calm down that there firing ya doin. We may need that ammo for later.” “But Applejaaaaack, the craaaacks!” The party pony whined. The farmer knew exactly how Pinkie felt. Just a quick glance up at the barrier, and several large cracks could be spotted. The changelings worked tirelessly at exploiting these weaknesses, beating and pounding on them. “I know . . . but if they come through, we don’t want ya running out.” Suddenly the barrier pulsed and shrank in a couple feet. Soldiers and ponies alike were forced to retreat from the barrier’s edge until it’d stopped receding. This did patch up some of the cracks in the barrier, but with the changelings continuously chipping away at it, it wasn’t long before the gashes began spreading again. “What the . . .” the farmer began, but stopped when the barrier pulsated again, and shrunk in even further.“This ain’t right. This ain’t right at all.” Applejack whispered, and she glanced over to Pinkie Pie. The pink pony wore the same look of worry as Applejack. Something big was happening for Shining Armor to be shrinking the barrier like this. A chill ran through the pony’s back and she quickly looked around, panic settling in. It took AJ a second to realize that most of the soldiers had fled the eastern side of the barrier, galloping off towards the northern end, where the train station was. “P-Pinkie Pie . . . I think we better go.” Pinkie had no response. She just nodded, and grabbing her party cannon, followed the galloping earth pony through Ponyville. The jaunt to the northern end turned into an eerie stroll through the town. They didn’t run into a single solitary pony during their journey. Almost as if every-pony up and disappeared. Only the rustle of the wind and the gnawing sounds from the changelings above accompanied the two earth ponies through Ponyville. “Where is every-pony?” Pinkie asked, noticing many of the houses had their windows and blinds drawn. “Probably leaving. Twilight and the mayor decided it might be best that every-pony get the hay outta dodge. Reckon they’re probably being loaded on the train right now!” When the station came into view, Applejack’s predictions were proven true. While many ponies still waited to board, the line was slowly moving past the station itself and onto the train. Along with the civilians waiting to leave, nearly all the soldiers in Ponyville had gathered around the barrier. Applejack could just make out Shining Armor at the forefront, shouting out orders at the colts. At first, AJ couldn’t understand what was going on. Then, she looked out past the soldiers, and past the pinkish glow of the barrier. Out in unprotected Ponyville, the ground swarmed with hundreds of hooves, the air filled with the buzzing wingbeats of hundreds of changelings. This didn’t include the ones already pounding away at the barrier above. No, a separate army marched its way through the outer, abandoned city, towards Shining Armor’s protective dome. “T-There’s so many,” Applejack whispered. “H-How are we gonna stop them all?” She asked aloud. Nudging her shoulder, Pinkie Pie shook her maybe cousin with enough force to almost knock the both of them over. When Applejack finally turned with a furious, “What is it now Pinkie Pie?” The pony just pointed out to past one side of the barrier, just to the east where more of the changelings were approaching from. Applejack dropped her draw and her eyes grew wide with fear. She saw the changelings approaching, along with the one that was leading them. “C-Chrysalis. S-She’s here.” Spike burst in through the castle doors. His little legs waddling him into the throne room as quickly as possible. “Twilight!” He called out, “Shining Armor’s ready to go.” The princess didn’t get a chance to respond when a low rumbled boomed from above. Twilight only assumed it to be the barrier. She’d caught glances of the dome cracking and buckling under the weight of the changelings.Turning to her guard, Twilight said, “Brawny, I’ll meet you out on the north end of Ponyville . . .” “Princess please . . .” the changeling begged. “It’s now or never. If I don’t get those changelings away from the train, then no-pony will be escaping.” The soldier shrugged, and glanced from the little dragon and back to the princess. “Very well. But try to lead them back here.” “Why here?” Spike asked. “Because, it’ll be away from the train.” Brawny explained. “If the changelings are truly after you, then they will follow you here and maybe . . . with any luck . . .” “They’ll ignore the train.” Twilight finished. Once again, the low rumbling from above reverberated through the castle. Some of the chandeliers swayed back and forth from the intensity of the barrier’s shifting. “I’ll see you there.” With that, Twilight used her magic and teleported out of the castle. “Wait!” Spike cried out, but the princess was already gone. “What about me?” He whispered. Already galloping towards the door, Brawny stopped to take one look at the dragon. He considered sucking the little pipsqueak dry, but he didn’t have time. He still had a mission to do. “I suggest you find some place to hide Spike. Not much you can do right now.” He said. The baby dragon glanced around the room, as if searching for a reason to go with. “But I . . .” “No need for you to get in the way.” Brawny said, and tipping his head to Spike, he rushed off towards Princess Twilight. The princess reappeared just east of the train station. She saw the soldiers helping more of the injured onto the train, and the line of ponies boarding the various cars was almost at an end. Good. Looks like they’re almost ready to go. The sooner that train could leave, the better. The changelings though, they surrounded the edge of the barrier where the train was set to depart. As it was now, the Friendship Express would never make it past the outskirts of Ponyville. Twilight noticed the barrier above, and how fine cracks spiderwebbed over the surface, sprinkles of magic-like dust falling from above. The barrier’s edge continuously receded at this point, in a last-ditch effort to keep the changelings at bay. Then, Twilight spotted her. Leading her army against Ponyville, Chrysalis shouted commands at her troops. She directed some changelings over towards where the train was about to be exposed. Others she sent to different parts of Ponyville, most likely to surround it. The rows upon rows of colts working to defend the edge of protected Ponyville shuddered in fear at the sheer size of Chrysalis’ army. Unfortunately, Twilight could easily see where the tide of battle would flow once the barrier was down. “Twilight!” A voice suddenly shouted from behind. “Just what in the name of Celestia are you doing here?” The princess turned and found her brother staring incredulously back at her. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost. But Twilight honestly couldn’t tell if that was due to his astonishment at seeing her out here, or if it was due to severe fatigue. “Shining Armor! Are you alright?” “Don’t worry. I-I’m fine. But you . . . you have to get out of here! Why would you come to the edge? Where’s Brawny?” Twilight searched around, quickly spotting the soldier thirty feet or so off in the distance. “Don’t worry. He’s coming. Captain, I’m going to distract the changelings so you and your colts can get the train safely on its way to the Crystal Empire.” “Twilight . . .” “It’s our only chance.” When Twilight felt her guard by her side, she smiled up at her brother. Shining Armor turned to the loyal soldier at her side. Stepping up to Brawny, he said, “Don’t let her out of your sight. You hear me soldier? Don’t let anything happen to my sister. I can’t keep this barrier up. There’s just too much pressure being put on it.” Brawny smiled and nodded his head. “Don’t worry Captain. I’ll look after her. She’ll be safe with me.” Before the princess could respond, it happened. All at once, a loud POP screeched through Ponyville. It sounded as though one of Pinkie Pie’s balloon floats had burst from a pin prick. The sudden gush of air turned Twilight’s eyes towards the center of Ponyville. A hole slighter bigger than that of a house hung over the peak of Shining Armor’s dome. It grew wider by the second, opening up in all directions. Changelings flooded into Ponyville, scattering out across the town, searching for food. Screams from the ponies still trying to board the train echoed over the voices of sergeants barking orders at their soldiers. Ponies rushed the train, flooding into the cars. Twilight stared in horror as a wave of changelings careened towards them. “Brawny! Let’s go!” Twilight shouted and she galloped towards the changelings. Her horn glowed brightly with magic. She felt her guard by her side as she commanded, “We have to keep them away from the train for as long as possible!” “Yes princess!” Brawny answered. A smile spread across his face. It was only a matter of minutes now, and he’d have the princess offered up to his great Queen. Rarity slammed the doors shut to the small station. With the help of some soldiers, she’d managed to bring Derpy, Scootaloo, and Sunset Star into the train station. When the changelings broke through the barrier though, all hell had broken loose outside. She couldn’t risk boarding the three ponies onto the train in that madness. The gurneys were liable to get flipped, and herself trampled. Rarity could even hear the sounds of ponies screaming and fighting to get on the train. “We’ll come back for you.” One of the soldiers had told her before leaving. “Thanks,” was all Rarity could say. Turning to the others, she found the four of them in a small waiting room inside the station. Mostly closed off from the rest of the building, at least it was secure. “Is everyone okay?” The trips had continuously got rougher as soldiers shoved gurneys faster across the uneven land. Even Rarity’s mane and tail, which always bore perfect curls and permed bangs, now hung in all directions with bits of dirt and grass from places where she’d fallen. “What’s happening?” Scootaloo asked. “Is everything okay out there?” Rushing over to the young filly, Rarity stroked a hoof over Scoots’ mane. “Ev-Everything is fine dear. Why, in just a few minutes, we’ll have all of you boarded and on your way to the Crystal Empire.” “B-But the changelings . . . they got in . . . didn’t they?” “Yes,” Rarity admitted. “Yes, they did. But, they don’t know you’re here. So, you’re all safe. And I promise we’ll get you onto that train before they find out. I’m certain the others are on board waiting for you.” The small building shook, and Rarity froze when she heard the sound of walls collapsing nearby. Dust flaked down from the ceiling above. Lights swung back and forth over them. The ground beneath vibrated from the charging of hooves outside. “Hang on every-pony . . . I better go see . . .” “Wait!” Sunset Star’s voice suddenly rang out with panic. Rarity stopped. She turned to the pegasus who wiggled around in her gurney. Sunset Star contorted her face in pain, and gasped for air. “Before you do . . . please . . . I can’t breathe! I need to get out of here!” her eyes almost bulging from her head as she stared at the pony. “I don’t want them getting me! I don’t!” Rarity knew the story of how Sunset came into Ponyville. She knew that without Brawny’s help, the pegasus would’ve never even made it to Ponyville. Seeing how her desperation frightened Scootaloo, and even how Derpy watched the pegasus freak out, something had to be done. Hurry over to Sunset, Rarity said, “Okay, just calm down. I’ll get you right out, but you have got to calm down. I won’t let those changelings touch any of you.” Sunset watched Rarity unfasten her straps. Her body wriggled free and she even managed to sit straight up. She panted for breath and a smile spread over her face. “Better?” Rarity asked. Sunset nodded her head, and before Rarity could react, she grabbed the unicorn’s face and pulled it close to her own. “Much better,” Sunset said, and her pegasus guise flaked off. With the Sunset Star skin molted away, the changeling showed a toothy grin as he watched the horror spread through Rarity’s eyes. Before the unicorn could react, Razor opened his mouth and sucked out her love. Within seconds, the unicorn dropped to the floor, unconscious. Turning to the others, he licked his lips. “Who’s next?” Twilight galloped hard into the heart of the city. She fired blast after blast of magic at the changelings. Sweat dripped down from her forehead. Her body shook in fear of what could happen, of what was happening. The barrier had almost fully disintegrated, leaving really no protection for any of the ponies. The sound of the train’s horn blared from behind. They’re pulling away. I hope every-pony got on okay. When two changelings swooped in from her left, Brawny galloped up hard to her side and bucked them out of her way. The creatures were flung into the side of a nearby building, but Brawny had already went to work on another group that was closing in. “There has to be a way to . . .” and Twilight spotted the Town Hall. “Brawny! Follow me! I have an idea!” “Right behind you Princess!” The changeling in disguise shouted. Twilight hurried towards the town center, teleporting the last thirty feet or so just to save time. “Hello?! Any-pony here?!” She shouted. When there was no answer, Twilight smiled. “Perfect!” The princess turned around and gasped at the sight of five changelings hissing their way into the building. What little hair they had stood up on end, and the five approached her like hungry, rabid cats. Twilight backed away from them, her magic at the ready. Right before the changelings pounced, her loyal soldier dropped in from behind, and collapsed some skulls with his hooves. The cracking of the changelings’ heads echoed through the Town Hall walls. “Sorry for the delay Princess. I can’t exactly teleport.” Brawny chuckled. “No worries! Keep the changelings off me for a minute. I have to concentrate.” Brawny saluted the Princess and turned, watching for anymore changelings that may dare enter the Town Hall. He did though keep one eye on the princess, curious to know just what her plan was. Twilight closed her eyes. She’d never lifted anything quite this big before. But, she needed to help Ponyville. She needed to do something other than hiding in her throne room. More than that, she needed to save one life, at least one to help make up for all the souls that were lost in Cloudsdale. Pouring all of her energy into her magic, the alicorn funneled it out through her horn, letting her magical aura surround Town Hall, crawling up its walls and curling around its roof. The whole building glowed a bright magenta. Twilight felt her body trembling under the pressure, under the weight. With the entire building surrounded, the princess slowly lifted her head with the thousand or so pounds worth of magically incased building. Town Hall slowly lifted off its foundation, collapsing beams and cracking concrete. Sweat poured down Twilight’s face, struggling to hold the building up in the air. Her body quaked and spasmed. This had to be quick. Forcing her eyes open, she saw the changelings swooping down upon her. Far too many for Brawny to handle by himself. Swinging Town Hall like a filly swings a cup to catch fireflies, Twilight captured as many of the monsters as she could. Her body lurched and she almost dropped the building. Catching herself, the princess swung Town Hall, rounding up as many more of the changelings as she could. Round and around, keeping the already captured love suckers trapped with the g-forces alone. She cleared the skies, and when she could hold the building no more, flung it as far away from Ponyville as she could. Collapsing onto the ground, Twilight heaved for breath. She felt the hoof-steps of Brawny walking up to her. “D-Did it work?” She gasped, rolling onto her back. She stared up into the afternoon sky. It shone with bright blue and white, fluffy clouds; as if the sky completely ignored the war happening below. “I’m sorry Princess,” Brawny said, “there’s just too many.” “What?!” Twilight struggled back to her hooves. Sure enough, though she’d pushed away countless changelings, many more still flocked over Ponyville. If anything, she’d only managed to delay Chrysalis’ advancement by mere seconds. “W-What do we do? There has to be something else . . .” Brawny placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Princess. There is nothing more you can do.” “What?! We can’t just give up! I will never give up!” “Twilight,” Brawny said without the “princess” title. “That’s not what I mean.” Twilight shook her head, searching her soldier’s eyes. “I-I don’t understand.” Brawny moved in close to the alicorn. When another swarm of changelings swooped in to grab the princess, Brawny grabbed her and rolled them both out of the way. When the dust settled, he found himself straddling the young alicorn. He looked up at the changelings as they arched in the sky, coming back for a second sweep. The soldier turned and found the princess tearing up. She’d given so much for her cause. So many lives had been affected by the princess’ actions. “You were an admirable princess Twilight.” Pressing his full weight against the princess, Brawny leaned in and placed a hoof over her throat, limiting her movement. Her eyes widened with horror as she stared up at the soldier. “Brawny . . . what are you . . .?” “My name is not Brawny,” he said, then leaning in, the changeling removed his solider skin. Twilight struggled to free herself when she saw the truth, but she’d used up far too much of her magic. “It’s Tremor, and this war is over.” Then leaning in, Tremor sucked out enough of Twilight’s love to render her motionless.