//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: A Nightmare Come True // by ShadowSprint //------------------------------// Derpy’s eyes shifted from side to side. Her heart pounded in her chest, the straps locking her down against the gurney. She could hear Scootaloo crying, and the sound of the little pegasus’ gurney wheels squeaking back and forth. Derpy struggled, watching the changeling drop Rarity to the floor. No! Not again! I have to get out of here! Have to get Scootaloo out . . . The changeling took great delight in the free buffet line he had in this private “diner” of a station. Rarity’s body slumped against the corner, motionless. The grey pegasus watched in horror as the changeling climbed Scoot’s gurney and flicked his tongue against her face. Scootaloo screamed when the changeling opened his mouth, starting to suck out her love. Derpy couldn’t take it anymore. She yelled at the top of her lungs, “NO! DON’T!” She quivered with fear when the monster slowly looked up from his plate and over to Derpy. She locked eyes with the monster and quickly realized what she’d done. Derpy struggled against the straps clasped tightly around her body. Even as the changeling took to the air, Derpy desperately worked to kick her hind legs free from the bindings. She could hear the little filly continuing to scream, crying when the changeling landed right on top of her. “No . . . no please . . . please don’t . . .” Derpy begged. Tears streaking down her face. Even with the hard shell of the changeling’s belly pushing up against her fur, Derpy shifted her body back and forth. “Some-pony’s gotta be first.” The changeling hissed. “Doesn’t matter to me which of you it is.” Pain seared through Derpy’s body when her broken wing shifted into an awkward angle underneath her. She cried out in agony, shuddering from the stabbing pricks shooting over her body. The changeling used this opportunity to lean in and start sucking out Derpy’s love. The all-too familiar sensations of something vital leaving her swept over the pegasus. As if all her warmth, all her being, was leaving her at this moment. The changeling leaned in closer, their lips almost touching, and Derpy could feel his hot breath on her cheeks. Scootaloo’s voice grew weaker in the background as she became dizzy. It couldn’t end like this. She couldn’t let things end like this for her. In a small room, where no-pony was going to help, she couldn’t let it end like this. Fighting to keep herself from passing out, Derpy put all of her strength into lurching her body to the side. The straps gave just a little and miraculously, the pegasus managed to tip over her gurney. The changeling lifted himself safely into the air as the thing fell. Derpy though, screamed out when her bad wing twisted back during the fall. Goosebumps covered her body, and she thought for sure she’d pass out from the pain alone. When she opened her eyes though, Derpy stared up at the changeling. He only laughed at her, mocking her with unintelligible words. Derpy then realized something, her straps had broken free. The impact against the floor had snapped the straps from their secured positions on the sides. Stumbling up from the floor, Derpy rushed over to Scootaloo. In a mad rush, she bit through the straps holding down the young pegasus. She only had a second, as when she freed Scoots from one of the straps, the changeling landed angrily onto her back. Knowing her injury from the time spent in Town Hall with her, and from seeing her reactions to the fall, the changeling grabbed at Derpy’s wings and yanked back on them. “Ahhhhhhh!” Derpy cried out. Her body arching back, lifting away from Scootaloo’s bed. In agonizing pain, Derpy threw herself against the nearest wall, crushing the changeling against solid wood. His grip loosened up and Derpy, through teary, puffy eyes, galloped over to Scootaloo and bit through the other straps. “Come on! Let’s go!” Derpy cried out, and limped along with Scootaloo to the door. The young filly opened it up and was already outside when she heard the changeling stirring from behind. “Run!” She shouted out. “Hurry up Derpy! You can make it!”Scootaloo cried out, tears streaming from her face. “We can still make the train! It’s just leaving!” The pegasus shoved all of her energy into her galloping. Heavily panting for breath, she’d crossed about three-fourths of the room when the changeling tackled her from behind. He pounded down against her head, bouncing her skull against the floor. “You’re not spoiling my meal!” He hissed into her ear. Through blurry vision, the injured pegasus glanced up and saw Scootaloo’s figure hovering in the doorway. She couldn’t make out the pony’s expression, but saw the changeling’s shape buzzing over towards the filly. Hoisting herself up, Derpy made one final lunge at the door and pushed it shut on the changeling. If Derpy could save one pony, just one, then maybe she could do her great and wonderful thing, just like Doctor Hooves had said. Razor wasted no time in grappling onto Derpy. He wanted his meal, and by Chrysalis he was going to have it. He’d spent so much time in that hospital bed, his stomach growling at every pony that stepped into that building. Now that he finally had two succulent meals, he wasn’t about to lose them to a stubborn, dumb pegasus. Razor wrapped his legs around Derpy, knowing she couldn’t fly at this point. He lifted her up off the floor, and then slammed the pony back down. Derpy released a cry of agony, her side hitting the floor first. Razor lifted her back up, and this time kicked her from his hold, sending the pegasus flying into a wall. When Derpy hit, she loosened a load bearing wall for the building. The whole station shook as small cracks multiplied and spread from the wall and into the ceiling. A large chunk of ceiling fell, smashing into one of the gurney and sent chunks of plaster flying in all directions. Through her black and blue eyes, Derpy saw the changeling rushing towards the exit. He must’ve decided forfeiting his meal was better than being buried alive. Her body aching and pulsing, Derpy coughed, tasting blood in the back of her mouth. How she even managed to stand, she couldn’t say, but for some reason, she couldn’t stand down to this changeling. She wouldn’t. With the last of her strength, Derpy galloped hard over to the changeling and headbutted him out of the way. He landed against the opposite wall, and before he could get up, that particular corner of the building collapsed onto him. Derpy herself couldn’t hold her weight any longer and fell to the floor. She saw the door just ahead for a brief second. When the ceiling crashed down over her exit, the pegasus painfully rolled back over to her gurney and huddled up. As the station crumbled all around her, Derpy gulped. “Some-pony . . . help.” Rainbow Dash zipped along the length of the train, kicking and throwing changelings from the various cars as the locomotive picked up speed, pulling out of Ponyville. Leaving rainbow trails around the tracks, Dash threw changeling after changeling from the train. “Is there no end to these freaks?” She shouted. Dash had watched the collapse of the barrier, and the resulting sea of black, buzzing love suckers that engulfed Ponyville. Soldiers quickly drowned under the sea of monsters that struck. Only moments later, the train operator had told her if they didn’t leave, they weren’t going to make it. Since then, Rainbow Dash swept around the train, brushing it clean of the flying leeches. As Ponyville faded from sight, and as the train sped up to over sixty miles-per-hour, the number of changelings attacking the locomotive dropped from over seventy initially, to only two or three. Once Dash cleared the cars of the creatures, she stood on the roof, watching Ponyville vanish into the hills. Panting for breath, she turned and looked out far ahead. No obstacles, no changelings, no nothing; just open land. With the rumbling war left behind, the skies ahead were afresh with cheery cumulus clouds, the afternoon sun glimmering off the occasional pond. The serene view of open fields and wild animals prancing about could almost make it easy for one to forget the terrible war that was going on. Dash’s stomach turned. She felt uneasy just sitting here, while her friends fought for their lives back home. She couldn’t leave them behind for the easy life. That just wasn’t her style. It wasn’t very cool either. Opening up her wings, Rainbow Dash dropped down off the train and without losing a beat, she flapped her wings strong and hard. Easily, Dash passed by the cars. Glimpsing into the windows, she saw the terror-stricken faces of many a pony. Each pony wore the same distant stare. They’d been torn from their homes, turned into strays. It’s not gonna end this way. Dash stretched her body out and flew up alongside the locomotive’s engine, where the driver quietly eyed the tracks. “Hey uhhh . . .” Dash never really had the chance to grab the pony’s name. “How’s it looking up here?” She shouted over the train’s engine. “Since ya gone and chased away those changelings, tracks should be clear ahead. Though can’t say I’d be surprised if they tried again later.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” Dash said. “Mind if I . . . check on Ponyville? See if my friends are okay?” The driver turned to Dash. He’d been familiar with the Wonderbolt, and kind of figured this would happen. “Go right ahead! I expect those changelings’ll be busy with Ponyville for quite a bit.” “I promise I’ll come back.” The driver only nodded. “I know ya will. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine!” “Thanks!” Rainbow Dash wasted no more time and slowed to a stop, she let the full train pass her. Seeing the thing off, she turned back towards Ponyville and bolted back down the tracks. Rocketing through the sky, Rainbow Dash quickly achieved a sonic boom, her wings propelling her through the air, approaching sonic rainboom speeds. The Wonderbolt weaved between trees, eventually catapulting herself over the treetops and within seconds, Ponyville came back into view. Dash’s heart sank as she saw the changelings overtaking the soldiers. The train station and its accompanying supply house had both collapsed into the ground. Slowing down just enough to wind up a punch, Dash exploded into Ponyville, belting the first unlucky changeling she came across with a supersonic hook to the jaw. The creature released a terrified gargle of a scream. His body, along with several others behind him, disappeared through a row of buildings. Rainbow Dash panted for breath, but wasted no time in spinning around, and roundhouse kicking the next changeling that came hurtling at her. As more of the love suckers spotted her, she became a far more popular target. Fine by her. Better yet, bring them on! She grit her teeth and punched her way through the nearest swarm. Her body swinging perfectly in motion as she barreled through an endless supply of the monsters. When Dash bucked and punched her way into a clearing, she glanced down and gasped when she spotted Scootaloo near the rubble of the station. “Look out!” Rainbow Dash screamed at the filly. Scootaloo didn’t hear her and Dash had to zoom in, kicking away several changelings as they tried to attack the filly. Scooping up the little pegasus, Rainbow Dash shouted to her, “What the hay are you doing?! Why aren’t you on the train?” “B-Because . . . one of the ponies with us was a changeling . . . it attacked Rarity and . . .” “Where is she?!” Scootaloo only pointed at the remains of the station. “Derpy too . . .” She added. Tears filled her eyes. “Please Dash . . . we gotta save them!” Rainbow Dash quickly reacted as several changelings charged her midair. She pressed Scootaloo close and went from zero to a hundred miles-per-hour in less than a second. The sound barrier broken once again, Rainbow Dash rushed back towards the train. When the locomotive returned into view, Dash slowed down and adjusted Scootaloo in her grip. “You’ll be safe in the Crystal Empire. I’ll take care of Rarity and Derpy.” “You promise?” “I promise.” Dash said. Scootaloo hugged the Wonderbolt, and Dash couldn’t help but hug her back. This was the second time the little filly had gone through such hell. “I’ll be back later to check-up on you!” Dash said. Scootaloo only nodded in response, wiping away her tears. Flying up alongside the train, Rainbow Dash searched for an appropriate place to drop the little filly off. Then she saw it. In one of the back cars, Sweetie Belle sat motionless alongside some other ponies. She appeared as lost and depressed as every-pony else. Knocking on the window, Sweetie Belle looked up and a smile spread across her face. “Rainbow Dash! Scootaloo! What are you doing out there?!” She cried out, opening the window. “Just making a special delivery!” Dash said, and keeping her speed as steady as she could, helped Scootaloo into the train through the window. “Careful now, she’s delicate.” To which Scootaloo let out an audible “Heyyyy!” Saying her goodbyes, Rainbow Dash turned from the train once more and sped back to Ponyville. This time, she sped off into a sonic rainboom for the girls to see, wanting to impress some of her biggest fans. When Rainbow Dash returned to Ponyville, she sped straight for the collapsed station Scootaloo had been loitering near. If Rarity was still underneath, she’d have to hurry. Rainbow Dash was not about to let another friend be captured by the changelings. It wasn’t going to happen. Plowing back into the battlefield, Dash nose-dived into a pile of changelings. Scattering the beasts to the wind, she quickly landed on what was once the Ponyville train station. Digging her hooves into the rubble, Dash screamed, “Rarity! You in there?! Derpy!” Her hooves pounded through splintered wood, plaster, and debris. “Rarity! Answer me!” A buzzing from behind and Rainbow Dash leapt out of the way just as a few more changelings pounced on the mound of rubble she’d been digging through. Doing a quick midair flip, Dash plummeted back down onto the debris and fought her way through the changelings. Her heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t have time for this. Needed to get the two that were trapped out. Sending another changeling flying off into the distance, Dash resumed her dig. She worked her hooves faster, harder, digging deeper. Sweat poured down her face, and her legs tingled from the exertion. Rainbow Dash stopped when she thought she heard a voice from inside. “Rarity! Is that you?!” “I-It’s me, Rainbow Dash! W-Where are you?” cam the designer’s familiar voice. “A-Above you! Stay there!” Rainbow Dash jumped head first into the rubble, digging down like a mole until she broke through a small opening in the wreckage. Spotting a glimpse of purple hair, Dash reached down and snatched it between her hooves. She heard Rarity scream in pain, but figured the unicorn would thank her later. The first words out of Rarity’s mouth when the two were able to make eye contact were, “R-Rainbow Dash!” “Yeah yeah, I’m saving your life, now . . .” But Rarity didn’t shout the pony’s name in anger. She shouted it as a warning of the two changelings that flew overhead. With Rainbow Dash’s preoccupation in pulling out the unicorn, she failed to notice when two changelings dropped down above her. One of the monsters scooped her up, and before she could react, the other flew in parallel, taking a long suck of love from Dash’s body. Panic rushing through the Wonderbolt, she somehow managed to shake the two off of her and fell back down towards the ground. The dizzying effect of being drained made it difficult to catch herself from falling, and Rainbow Dash ended up skidding over some of the loose plaster near Rarity. “Dash! Are you alright?” Rarity cried out, rushing over to the pegasus. Sitting up, Rainbow Dash shook off the stinging from her landing and said, “I-I think so. What about you?” “No, I’m not.” Rarity said, and Dash quickly galloped over to the pony to see what was the matter. Rainbow Dash stopped when she saw the unconscious Rarity lying next to a very awake Rarity. The conscious Rarity used Dash’s momentary shock to her advantage and began sucking more love from the pegasus. Rainbow Dash tried to fight back, but several more changelings jumped her from behind, holding the pony in place. “R-Rarity! N-No!” Rainbow Dash cried out, watching helplessly as three more changelings dragged the unconscious Rarity out from the rubble and into the air. “B-Bring her back!” Dash screamed, before the “Rarity” still standing there, pounced and drained Rainbow Dash of enough love to knock her out. “Applejack! There’s too many!” Pinkie Pie screamed. She’d just loaded her cannon with the last of her party popping ammunition. Even with all the changelings she’d taken down, they still flooded into Ponyville. “And I think I saw them fly off with Rarity and Rainbow Dash!” “Now . . . Now that’s just silly! Rarity and Rainbow would never let themselves get caught by those critters!” Applejack roared back. She stood close to Pinkie Pie, bucking changeling after changeling. “Besides, Rainbow Dash is supposed ta be with the Friendship Express! Why in the hay would she come back?” Pinkie Pie hugged her party cannon as she pulled the cord and fired off another blast of streamers and cupcakes into a horde of changelings. “I-I don’t know! Well then where’s Twilight?!” “Hopefully beating the living hay out outta these things!” Applejack cried out, and seeing a group of changelings overwhelming a small squad of soldiers, AJ turned to the party pony and said, “Come on Pinkie! Those colts need our help!” “B-But my cannon . . .” “Just fill ‘er with dirt and rocks! We can’t stop now!” Applejack cried out. So many soldiers had disappeared since the fighting began.Even with the backup that came in on the train, Ponyville’s numbers had become grossly outnumbered once the changelings broke through. I just hope we can find Twilight in all this mess. We ain’t got a chance in Tartarus if we don’t regroup! A loud, deafening blast exploded from behind. Applejack whirled around in time to see a cloud of dirt hovering over Pinkie Pie. She coughed and gagged, a light dusting of earth smearing the barrel of her cannon. Looks like she went ahead and did it. Applejack turned to see what Pinkie had fired at. A small group of changelings lay in front of them, rocks and gravel protruding from their still twitching bodies. They weren’t quite dead, but they sure as hay weren’t harming any-pony anymore. “Way to go Pinkie!” Applejack said, “keep that up!” She saw the reluctance in the pony’s eyes, but instead of arguing, Pinkie just scooped up more ground and pushed into cannon. “Hang in there Pinkie Pie,” Applejack whispered. The sound of Pinkie’s cannon echoed again and several more changelings bit the dirt (literally). Applejack, meanwhile, took the opportunity to charge straight into the line of changelings attacking the band of colts she’d spotted earlier. Putting all her years of apple bucking to use, she parted the black sea of changelings that’d descended upon the soldiers. When Applejack pushed enough out of the way, she hollered at the soldiers, “Ya’ll alright?” “We’re fine!” One of them answered back, as though he were addressing a superior officer. “Where’s Shining Armor?!” “Don’t know! Haven’t seen him for hours! Last we saw, he was helping ponies board the train, but that was . . . so long ago.” Applejack turned to the station. It’d long since been decimated. They’d had to retreat back into Ponyville after the train had left. “Well what about Twilight?” “No word,” the soldier said. “You’re an Element wielder, right? One of Twilight’s friends?” Applejack nodded. “I am.” “No offense, but we’re kind of up a creek without a paddle. Anywhere you want us to go?” The soldiers nodded, all waiting on Applejack. Being put on the spot, she really didn’t know where to send them. “Find Twilight!” She eventually said. “We can’t lose her!” “On it!” At that, the soldiers rushed back out into the battle. Applejack turned and immediately heard the hissing of the changelings behind her. She turned, and dropped her mouth open, as four changelings dived down towards her. “Applejack! Watch out!” Pinkie cried out and the farm pony ducked out of the way as another powerful explosive shot from Pinkie’s cannon blasted all four changelings out of the sky. Rushing over to Pinkie, Applejack cried out, “I owe ya one Pinkie!” Then before her friend could answer, Applejack said, “Come on! We gotta find Twilight!” “I did see Twilight lifting Town Hall with her magic earlier!” Pinkie said, matter of fact. “Maybe she’s still down there!” “Well it can’t hurt to look!” Applejack replied and let her pal take the lead towards the center of Ponyville. With Pinkie leading, they had some heavy firepower clearing their path. As they hurried on, the two ponies rushed past street after street of changeling infested hell. Many of the creatures were far too busy snacking down on overpowered soldiers, or other civilians that hadn’t made it out of town in time. Applejack bit her lip, and felt tears streaming down her face. They didn’t have time to stop and help every single pony. “Applejack!” The farmer suddenly stopped in her tracks when she’d heard her name. It wasn’t Pinkie Pie though who’d called it. Someone else had. A very familiar, young little voice had said her name. “Apple Bloom?!” She called out, searching down the streets. Her heart pounded in her chest and she knew she was a sitting duck like this. Once more, Pinkie hadn’t noticed she’d stopped and was quickly disappearing down the street. Wiping sweat from her face, Applejack turned to catch up, feeling the eyes of changelings starting to fall upon her. “Applejack!” She heard the voice again, and this time, Applejack did indeed see her sister. Apple Bloom was poking her head out from an empty alley. She beckoned her big sister to follow, almost begging. “N-No . . . I-I won’t be fooled that easily,” Applejack said, turning her back. She shook the thought from her head and started galloping back towards Pinkie when she heard her sister’s distinct scream. Digging her hooves into the dirt, she stopped once more and turned back towards the alleyway. Three changelings hungrily filed into the narrow street. Apple Bloom screamed once more when the changelings disappeared into the dark recesses between the buildings and Applejack caved. She’d already lost sight of Pinkie Pie anyway. She’s got her cannon. She’ll be fine with her cannon for a few minutes. Applejack convinced herself as she was already galloping hard back to where she’d seen her sister. “Hold on Apple Bloom! I’m a coming!” She cried out. Her heart leapt at the notion that her sister might have somehow made it back alive. Even if it’s just a changeling . . . I can handle one changeling. Applejack assured herself and skidded into the alley. There, three changelings surrounded her sister. Pressing down the Stetson on her head, Applejack grit her teeth and charged hard over to the trio. “Get away from my sister, you danged monsters!” The three changelings had no more than looked to Applejack’s direction when she kicked herself into the air. Leaping over the three, she landed in front of her sister and bucked back with enough force to uproot a tree. The three changelings took a direct hit and bounced off the walls of the alley, back out into the street. Taking in deep breaths, Applejack glared down the path at them, daring those ugly bastards to try it again. Seemingly getting the message, they hurried off to find other prey. “Apple Bloom!” AJ said, turning to her sister, unable to help herself and scooping up the pony, tightly hugged her. “How’d you get out? Are you alright?!” Applejack asked. “I-I’m fine . . . really Applejack . . . I followed you outta the farm.” The filly answered, eventually pushing away from difficulty in breathing. “Where are the others?” “I-I don’t know Apple Bloom. I hope they’re alright.” Applejack said, and finally calming herself down, she said. “Now Apple Bloom, I know this might sound a tad strange, but . . . I need you to tell me which one of our friends is your . . . maybe fourth cousin twice removed . . .” “Applejack? I don’t think now’s the time for family history . . .” Hearing more changelings starting to approach the alley, Applejack said, “Please Apple Bloom, just tell me.” Her little sister hung her head low, eyes trembling in fear. “I-I can’t Applejack.” “W-Why not?” Applejack asked, suddenly taking a step or two back from her sister. “Because . . .” And when Apple Bloom looked back up at her sister, she wore a twisted little smile over her face. A smile that delighted in the trickery she’d pulled off on the pony. A smile well aware of what Applejack had just stumbled into. “I never actually escaped the changelings.” Her voice high pitched and sweet, it had somewhat of a melodic sound to it. “I’m in Canterlot right now. My body being feasted on like Heath’s Warming dinner. Changeling after changeling sucking me dry.” Applejack shook her head. “N-No!” Her eyes wide open in terror. Run Applejack! Her head screamed and she turned to bolt straight out of the alley, but stopped. Five changelings now blocked her exit. “F-Fine . . . you want some, come and get it!” Applejack said. She could handle five of them, no problem. She was about to gallop hard into battle, but stopped at the sound of hissing from above. Applejack closed her eyes. She knew even before she looked what she would find. Changelings lined the roofs of the houses making up the walls of the alley. Easily another fifteen to twenty waited above her, waiting to pounce. The “Apple Bloom” behind her giggled and she turned, backing away from her fake sister. “Don’t worry Applejack. You’ll see me again soon. Then, we can all die together . . . as one, big, happy family.” “NO!” Applejack screamed. And the changelings came. All at once they fell upon her. She kicked and bucked them off, but there were just too many. One changeling got in and sucked out some of her love. Then another, and another. Applejack’s eyes rolled around in her head. The sound of her sister’s laughter echoed through her ears until finally they overtook her. Ponyville, one of the last remaining outposts of Celestia’s resistance, now fallen.Streets hummed at the sounds of changelings chasing their prey. The sky buzzed to life with food travelling back to Canterlot for storage. Builds crumpled from the might of the changeling army. Entering into the battle-torn town, Queen Chrysalis smiled gleefully, admiring every mare, colt, and foal as their lifeless bodies were carried out of the town. She watched overhead with a sadistic anticipation as the last of the pegasi were chased out of the sky. Indeed, this moment had been one that Chrysalis had long since dreamed of. And while the Crystal Empire still plotted about, the queen hardly doubted that after having destroyed not only the remainder of the Royal Guard’s army, but also dashed away the spirit from many-a-pony, that Cadence would be of little consequence. “This is simply beyond perfect!” Chrysalis relished to the minions following her through the town. “To think that such ponies ever stood against us, it’s really quite laughable when you think about it.” Her compatriots snickered at the comment. “With Ponyville under our hoof, and Canterlot laid to waste, there won’t be any-pony to stand in our way.” “And with Starlight Glimmer captured, once we have all the Elements of Harmony, there won’t be any-pony to stop us.” One of the changelings chimed in. “Yes well, I was really hoping Starlight wouldn’t quite be so . . . stiff.” Chrysalis replied. “But speaking of the elements,” and the queen glanced around, searching for changelings that should be updating her. “What is the status of Twilight and her little gang of friends?” Silence fell over the group for a couple seconds when desperate cannon-fire echoed in the distance. Queen Chrysalis and her group turned, staring off into the empty horizon where the Town Hall once stood. Three, four more shots echoed through Ponyville. Then silence. The changelings watched with curiosity as moments later, a motionless Pinkie Pie could be seen getting carried off into the distance by a group of their brethren. With that, the changeling in charge of reporting to Chrysalis turned back to his queen with a devilish smile. “All elements accounted for my queen.” “Excellent. Just absolutely excellent.” Chrysalis said. “And where is Twilight Sparkle? Has she been taken back to Canterlot yet?” “No. Tremor has her subdued in the Castle of Friendship.” Chrysalis’ smile couldn’t grow any wider. Her eyes drifted over Ponyville’s now very empty skyline and rested on the towers poking out nearby from the castle. Motioning for her underlings to follow, Chrysalis took to the air, casually flying over to the crystalized tree. With this being her first time seeing Twilight’s castle in all its glory, Chrysalis couldn’t help but cringe. “A bit flashy for a princess . . . don’t you think?” Again, the small group of changelings that had followed her there chuckled at the comment. Seeing their queen enjoying herself this much brightened the spirits of every changeling around her. “Go on my changelings! Feed! Enjoy your buffet!” Chrysalis exclaimed. Taking in a deep breath, Queen Chrysalis stepped into the castle at a slow trot. She wanted to enjoy every second of this. Once inside, several of her guards pointed her in the direction where Tremor was holding the princess. Chrysalis explored past several libraries worth of books, long winding hallways, and finally into a rather large throne room containing an oversized map of a table and a dead tree root dangling from the ceiling. Quite honestly, it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever laid eyes upon. There in one of the six thrones surrounding the table, rested a tied-up Twilight Sparkle, with a familiar green rock dangling around her neck. Her head drooped, not even aware that someone else had entered the room. Tremor stood proudly at her side, and upon seeing Chrysalis, immediately bowed to her with his respectful greeting, “Welcome my queen. It is good to see that you’ve finally arrived.” At this, Twilight’s face lifted up enough for her to meet Chrysalis’ gaze. The queen devoured the young alicorn’s hateful glare with delight. “Thank you Tremor. Perfect work as always.” Then turning her attention to Twilight, Chrysalis walked over to the princess, and turned the chair so she could better look into Twilight’s eyes. “My, my . . . how the mighty have fallen.” She whispered to Twilight’s face. “W-What have you done to me?” Twilight gasped. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t conjure up any magic. Not even a simple teleportation spell. Keeping her eyes locked with the young princess, Chrysalis used her magic to gently lift the green stone into the air. “A shard from my throne. Surely your dear friend Starlight Glimmer told you of the powers my throne had.” “She did. But . . . she destroyed that throne with Thorax!” “That they did.” Chrysalis said, remembering unfortunately the betrayal to her kind by Thorax and all of those traitors. No matter. She’d already dealt with them. Just thinking about them now only brought their smoldering corpses into her head. An image that made Chrysalis even happier. “But with that tragedy came a beautiful gift. A gift that I’ve passed onto many of my changelings. Like Tremor here . . . who fooled you till the very end, princess.” Twilight looked away. Shame covered her face. The knowledge that she’d been led astray from her friends, by a changeling no less, disgusted her. She trembled in anger, in rage, in disappointment. How had she not seen through his act? How had she gone along with his whims while ignoring her brother and her friends?! “Such a sad, worthless excuse for a princess.” Chrysalis taunted, quickly picking up on Twilight’s resentment.“It’s no wonder that you didn’t stand a chance. You couldn’t even keep your feelings in order. You are pathetic.” She said, watching the princess beginning to lose herself. “You are not worthy of being called a princess.” Twilight’s lip quivered and she fought herself from crying. She’d failed every-pony. Not just Shining Armor and her friends, but the citizens of Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire. She’d failed not only Cadence, but Luna and Celestia. All because she let the changelings use her. Sniffling, Twilight said, “Y-You have my friends, don’t you?” Seeing the broken Twilight really was too much. Chrysalis sneered at the princess, already aware of where this line of questioning was leading. “Yes, I do. I have all of them now. You have no-one to save you, princess.” Twilight blinked out a couple tears. Her voice hoarse as she spoke. “Please, let them go. I’ll do anything that you want. Just please, let my friends go.” “Really?” Chrysalis asked, “you’d do anything? Even sell out your wonderful foal sitter, Cadence? For me?” Twilight nodded. She was desperate. “Y-Yes.” “No.” Chrysalis retorted. “All the troubles I’ve gone to capturing you and your friends. I will not be releasing them.” Twilight shuddered. It’d been a long shot, she knew that. Not that she ever planned to help Chrysalis with anything, but any chance at getting her friends out of the queen’s grasp was worth a try. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed Spike sneaking out from behind some bookcases. She eyed him only for a second before quickly turning to Chrysalis. The queen still wore her sadistic grin. No. He can’t get captured too. Spike, please stay out of sight. She begged of him. “Take her to Canterlot. And prepare . . . special treatment for the young princess.” Chrysalis said, turning her back on Twilight. “No!” Twilight screamed. Her sudden burst surprised even the queen. She had to though. If Chrysalis would’ve turned at that second, she’d have spotted Spike. When the changeling did bring her attention back onto Twilight, the princess’ mind raced. She had to keep Chrysalis talking. She had to. “C-Cloudsdale . . . you attacked Cloudsdale!” “Is this too much of a shock for you?” Chrysalis asked, astounded. She wasn’t sure where the alicorn intended to take this, but she’d humor her meal. “Yes, I led the charge on Cloudsdale, and then my changelings hid, massacring your stupid little army.” Keeping her eyes focused on the queen, Twilight occasionally glimpsed from left to right. She didn’t want the queen to catch onto to the fact she was watching Spike. “B-But you didn’t. You didn’t lead the charge at all.” Twilight said, “It was Daybreaker. We heard it all from a survivor.” “Impossible . . .” “But it’s not. She spoke of weird, shadowy monsters attacking the city. Something very different from changelings.” “I could’ve taken Cloudsdale with just my changelings.” Chrysalis said, and patting the young princess on her head, she explained, “But, Daybreaker’s Sun Flares are as necessary to my plan as capturing all of you. It’s nothing that a flimsy princess like yourself could possibly comprehend.” “Try me.” Twilight beckoned. Chrysalis merely scoffed and motioned for her guards to take Twilight away. As they moved in closer, Twilight saw Spike readying his fire breath. Panicking, she tossed her body about when the guards untied her. The necklace dangling around her neck jumped off her chest. With the changelings struggling to control the wild mare, Twilight snagged the chain of the necklace in her mouth and tore it off. Before the others could react, Twilight fired off a beam of magic at both Chrysalis and the guards. Two changelings were tossed back through the windows of the castle. Chrysalis meanwhile, easily dodged the magic strike. “Not like this princess!” Chrysalis shouted, and bucking Twilight in the head, the princess went down. A final blast of magic fired off from her horn, whizzing past Chrysalis and her guards. It struck Spike with such force that he flew back into a bookshelf and quickly curled up as the thing came down on top of him. Before Twilight could react, several more of the necklaces had been tossed over her neck, and the changelings quickly hogtied her up. “Fools! I swear if this alicorn escapes . . .” but she cut herself off, stepping back over to Twilight. “Actually, just to be safe . . .” With great pleasure, the queen sucked out a bit of Twilight’s love. “mmmm now this will be a feast for us all. I do hope you’ll join us Twilight.” Then laughing, Chrysalis kicked across Twilight’s temple. The sudden impact instantly knocked out the princess. “Go! Take her back to Canterlot! Tremor, see it to it personally!”Then turning to the others, “As for the rest of you, round up the survivors!” The changelings jumped into the air at the queen’s command and flooded out of the castle. Spike awoke from the sea of books, bruised and dizzy. His muscles ached, his head pounded. It took him a few minutes just to unbury himself from the encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books. When finally, the little dragon had pulled himself out, he stared out over the empty room. The throne room had been trashed. The tree root chandelier lay smashed over their magical map of a table. Several of the thrones for his friends were tipped over and broken. Windows cracked, books and papers strewn about; it looked as though a tornado had literally plowed on through the castle. “Twilight . . .” Spike whispered, drooping his shoulders. Plopping down on a small pile of books, Spike kicked his feet around, glancing around the mess. What should he do? His friends were all captured. Twilight was gone. Looking out the nearest broken window, Spike saw Ponyville lit up in flame. The occasional swarm of changelings flew by in the distance, sometimes carrying ponies away. Tears built up in the dragon’s eyes. “I-It’s over. We’ve lost.” He admitted. “What do I do?” Sudden footsteps from above silenced Spike. His eyes followed them around, hearing the whispering of lingering love suckers. His heart pounding in his chest, Spike backed away towards the door. Holding his breath, afraid that they might hear the gentle inhale-exhale loop of his lungs, Spike scurried out into the main hall. Panic rushed through him. What if they see me? Should I attack? His mind raced, and while he had his fire breath, he was quite far from being a full-fledged dragon. Creaking open the front door, Spike peered out into Ponyville. The coast was clear, but only for the moment. Who knows when the next set of changelings would be passing on through. But with the creatures above getting close to the stairs, Spike didn’t have a choice. Their voices already carried down into the main landing. It was now or never. Hurrying out of the castle, he dived into the nearest set of bushes. Obscuring himself from view, Spike managed a full view of Ponyville. His jaw dropped at the sight. Buildings lay crumpled against one another. Fire raged on throughout the town. Changelings patrolled the skies overhead, making Spike’s break for the bushes quite lucky. When given the chance, Spike rushed out across the street, hiding himself within some rubble. As he darted from cover to cover, he passed by the bodies of changeling and pony alike. Many of the ponies he passed, he could not tell whether or not they were alive. With the changelings having sucked them clean, they looked anorexic. Their mouths hung open, eyes rolled back into their heads. Some of the ponies’ legs would twitch at random intervals. The color faded from their coat of fur. Spike eventually had to look away. Bodies of changelings on the other hand were far more gruesome. Spears run through their sides, gashes sliced clear across their stomachs, and various other puncture wounds decorated the corpses. With these creatures there was no question, they were dead. Spike felt less sympathy for them naturally, but at the same time, the blood that oozed from their bodies and the mere sight of them sickened him all the same. I have to get out of here! I have to get help! Spike’s mind raced. It was all he could think about to keep himself going. Where he would find help, he wasn’t sure. But there had to be someone out there who would listen, who could help. With all of the mane six captured, he needed to do something for his friends. “The Elements . . . Queen Chrysalis and Daybreaker will have them.” The realization hit him, and he stumbled over some more debris as he reached the northern end of town. Falling under some cover of a collapsed building, Spike panted for breath. He’d been running for Celestia knows how long. At least now at the outskirts, the changeling activity had died down. But where? Where should he go? That he still didn’t know. As Spike laid back, he felt his head pressing against something soft. Turning around, he found a number of feathers protruding from the ruins. “A-A wing?” He asked, and realizing it belonged to a pegasus, the dragon quickly dug through the rubble of the building. As he tore rock and boards away, the sound of faint breathing could just be heard. “You’re alive!” Spike shouted at no more than a whisper. Ripping away the remainder of the wood and plaster, Spike stopped when he’d cleared enough away to discover the pony below. “D-Derpy?! Are you alright?” The pony’s eyes groggily opened and her head rolled to the side. Blood trickled down from her nose. One eye was black and blue, and her body covered in scratches and cuts.“S-Spike . . . is that you?” She asked in a hoarse voice. “Yeah, it’s me! Come on, let’s get you out of there!” He said, and helping the pony to all four hooves, guided her out from her resting place. “I-Is it really you?” Derpy asked, her eyes flooding with tears. The pegasus started to break down, crying. “Y-You’re not a changeling, are you?” she begged. “Shhhhh shhhh it’s okay,” Spike whispered, “I’m not a changeling, I promise. But . . . you have to be quiet. They may still be around.” “I don’t want any more changelings. I don’t want to fight them anymore.” Derpy whimpered. Her body trembled just from walking, which was far closer to limping as one of her wings dragged along-side the ground. “I-I just wanna go home.” Guiding the pegasus into some nearby trees, Spike whispered, “I-I don’t know where home is anymore. I don’t think we have one.” Derpy cringed, her body aching from the injuries. Much of her body felt numb, and cold. It hurt to breathe, hurt to walk, hurt to move her head. She just wanted to lay down, and sleep. When Spike had led her into some trees, her body slumped down to the ground and she whimpered from the pain. Spike instantly covered the pony’s mouth with his claw. He watched in the distance as a couple of changelings swooped in, checking out the collapsed buildings. He held his breath once again as the two slowly inspected the area. He could tell they were conversing about something, but what it was he couldn’t make it out. Then digging through the building he pulled Derpy out of, they appeared to find something. What it was though, the dragon couldn’t tell. Apparently losing interest, the changelings flew back off into the sky, and disappeared. Spike waited for what felt like an eternity before making a sound. Then turning to Derpy, he asked, “Do you think you can walk?” “W-Why?” “Because . . . we have to get out of here.” Fighting back her tears, Derpy asked, “W-What about the others? R-Rainbow Dash . . . Rarity . . . where’s Scootaloo? Did she make it out?” The events inside the train station all hitting her as she her breathing slowly started to calm down. “I-I think they were captured.” Spike whispered. His head hung low. “I-It’s just us now.” Staggering back to her feet, Derpy’s body swayed with the wind. She took in a couple, painful breaths until she’d settled onto her four hooves. “W-where are we going?” “A-Away from here.” Spike said, “I don’t know where, but hopefully to someone that can help.” Nodding, Derpy followed Spike as they cautiously exited the city. Each time Spike pushed her back into hiding, Derpy, stumbled back down onto her knees. With time, she grew less dizzy, but the pain from her sides and legs wouldn’t go away. That, and she couldn’t move her wing. She felt so broken, so useless. How could she be of any help in such a state? Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Derpy had tried so hard to help every-pony, and look at what happened to her. I couldn’t do anything right. As they passed the train tracks, the pegasus glanced out to see the sun beginning to set. Funny how it managed to arch beautiful, glowing rays of orange over the sky and into the clouds. It almost defied logic how such a happy sunset could be shining over Equestria right now. “S-Spike . . .” Derpy whispered. “I think I see some-pony.” “Who?” Spike asked, glancing quickly around, searching for another hiding spot. “I-I don’t know.” Derpy said, and pointed towards the sunset. “But . . . they’re coming this way . . . slowly.” Sure enough, a lone figure trotted slowly in the distance. The golden rays from the sunset cast the pony in shadow. They couldn’t make out the face, the fur color, or even whether or not it was a changeling. The creature though continued their slow advance towards the two. “G-Get down! It could be a changeling.” Spike hissed. Sweating, Derpy slouched down behind a random tree. She couldn’t really maneuver herself any more than that. She watched Spike dive into a set of nearby shrubbery and gaze out, watching the figure. Keeping hidden, the pegasus slowed her breathing. The figure had grown close enough for her to tell that it at least looked like a pony. An earth pony, and one that strangely looked familiar, like she’d met them somewhere. The pony stopped, and just casually looked from side to side, as if searching for something. Then, approaching the bushes where Spike had been hiding, the pony lowered herself and said in a flat, emotionless voice. “Hey Spike. What are you doing here?” Spike’s ears perked up as he heard the familiar voice. Poking his head out from the bushes, he looked up and said, “M-Maud . . . is that you?” “Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?” The pony asked in her usual monotone voice. Spike, dumbfounded, called out to Derpy and said, “I-It’s okay Derpy . . . it’s just Maud. How’d you get here?” “I walked.” When Derpy heard the name, she remembered that this was the pony she’d been helping setup the surprise party for. It all was so long ago, almost as if it were in another lifetime. “You’re Maud Pie?” She asked. When the pony nudged her head into a nod, Derpy asked in bewilderment, “B-But . . . why’d you walk here?” “Missed my train. Where’s Pinkie Pie?” Spike lowered his head. “In Canterlot, with the others.” He saw Derpy turn away as well. They were both helpless. There was nothing they could do. Every-pony, even Twilight, was gone. “I-I’m sorry Maud, you probably don’t know what’s . . .” Spike’s voice trailed off. When he poked his head up to meet the pony’s face, he found Maud slowly walking off. Hurry up to the Pie, Spike asked, “Where are you going?” “To Canterlot. To Pinkie Pie.” Derpy limped over to Maud, stumbling in front of her. “N-No . . . you can’t go there. You can’t.” “Why?” Rushing to Derpy’s side, Spike answered, “Because, that’s where Queen Chrysalis and Daybreaker are. They’ve captured every-pony in Ponyville. Didn’t you see the town?!” When Maud nonchalantly shook her head, Spike sighed. “It’s gone. All of it is gone thanks to Chrysalis and Daybreaker. And now they have our friends.” Sadly, Derpy agreed. “If we go to Canterlot, we’ll be captured too . . . or . . . the changelings will . . .” and her voice quieted down, remembering the emptying sensations of having her love sucked. She shook her battered head and wiped away some tears. “I-I’m not going there.” She insisted. “What should we do?” Maud asked. The lack of any kind of emotion in her responses disturbed Derpy. Spike however, had long since grown accustomed to Maud’s personality. However, he still wasn’t sure where to go. They had to do something, but what? Then Spike spotted them. The train tracks from Ponyville curled out over a hill and off into the distance. “The Crystal Empire! We can go there!” “Oh yeah.” Derpy said, remembering that she was supposed to be on that train as well. “We were evacuating ponies to the Crystal Empire when Chrysalis attacked. Princess Cadence still has control. And the Crystal Empire has its own army . . .I think. Anyways, it’s our best bet to finding help for Twilight and the others!” Maud’s eyes narrowed. The love for her sister boiling inside of her as she said in still, quite a flat voice, “let’s go.” The two turned to Spike and the dragon realized they were waiting for him to lead the way. He put on a smile for both of them, maybe more for Derpy than for Maud. The poor pegasus looked ready to collapse. But she wanted to get away from this mess just as much as he did. Maud on the other hand, well, he still wasn’t quite sure what she was thinking. “This way,” Spike said, leading the trio. Please Crystal Empire . . . He prayed to himself. Please be there.