//------------------------------// // Ch. 13; Uninvited Guests, Part 3 // Story: A Demon In Equestria // by Dorath //------------------------------// “How are they doing?” Shining asked, kneeling beside Fluttershy. “They’re all stable, for now,” the timid mare replied, not even glancing up as she worked on her newest patient, Fleur de Lis, who lay beside her husband, gripping his hand in agony as she tried not to writhe around a belly wound, “Those we haven’t already lost,” she added, blinking away tears as her eyes briefly flitted over the two still forms laying off to the side of the pegasus’ makeshift surgery. Twilight’s muzzle wrinkled in thought as she helped a weary Cadance, who had already exhausted what little healing magic she knew, to her hooves, “‘Caller … didn’t you say you could raise the dead?” “Yes,” the demoness admitted, as everyone turned to stare at her, “But they’ll barely be conscious, certainly not in any condition to fight,” ‘Caller raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, “And I thought you ponies didn’t ‘meddle’ in peoples’ deaths.” “But you’re not a pony,” Twilight pointed out, “You’re a demon from another reality,” she reached out a hand, but pulled back before she touched HellCaller, “So many people have been hurt already, and only Faust knows what has happened to the ones who’ve been taken … please?” ‘Caller gave an irritated snort, before stomping over to kneel between Tavros’ and Schwalbe’s limp forms, “If some god comes after me because of this, I’m telling them it vas your idea!” Putting a hand on each corpse’s breast, the demon closed her eyes, “Nurilt Huven,” she said, causing the nearby ponies to stumble back as an aura of pure, undirected, magical energy enveloped her, “Kagn Loex,” she barked, sending the energy rushing into the two bodies. The minotaur and thestral jerked, their chests heaving as breath rushed back into empty lungs, eyes snapping open as minds and souls returned to hollow husks, and cooling blood began to pump once more. “Done,” ‘Caller said, as Fluttershy rushed over to check on the two stolen back from the grave’s grasp, “But they’ll need proper treatment to fully recover.” “We’ll get everyone to the Palace medical wing or to the city hospitals as soon as we can,” Cadance, assured her. Fluttershy turned back to ‘Caller, her eyes wide and lower lip trembling, “Umm … you can do this for the poor bug-ponies too, can’t you?” “No,” the demoness said, pointedly turning away as Fluttershy wilted at the blunt refusal. Rainbow glared at ‘Caller as she wrapped a comforting arm around her friend, “So, now we go after those bugs and finish kicking their flanks, right?” “We need to make sure the wounded are safe first,” Twilight disagreed, “Spike, stop picking at it,” she added, reaching over to pull the drake’s hand away from the gore-soaked bandage wrapped around his muzzle. “Not much ve can do for that,” HellCaller replied, “Bugs seem to still control Palace, and ve haven’t heard anything about reinforcements from city, so even if ve moved casualties and put a guard on them, at best ve’d only be buying them a little time if ve lose.” “We can’t move the injured,” Fluttershy murmured adamantly, “The slightest stress could still kill Lady de Lis, Corporal Schwalbe and the Ambassador!” “Still, leaving a guard behind, just in case, sounds reasonable …,” Shining said, giving Twilight a pointed look and nodding towards their little brother. “What? Oh. Yes! Yes, Spike should stay behind and keep guard over the wounded,” Twilight agreed, “Please?” she added, with huge puppy-dog eyes as he started to object. When Spike still looked like he wanted to argue, Cadance, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack joined Twilight. When Shining, and even, after a bit of grumbling, Rainbow added their own puppy-dog looks, Spike’s shoulder slumped in defeat as ‘Caller gave a short bark of laughter. “So, are there any other vays out of Throne Room?” “Well, there’s the two secret passages.” Pinkie offered, having finally calmed down, “But I bet Princess Celestia has more hidden away!” “Secret passages, eh?” ‘Caller rubbed her chin, “than either bugs have found them and know they have a vay out, so they’ll retreat if things go bad and ve’ll have to hunt them down, or they haven’t found passages, and ve’re looking at a Last Stand, possibly under eyes of their commander.” Rarity’s muzzle wrinkled delicately, “I know ‘last stands’ in the songs and stories are usually all heroic and romantic, but I’d rather not test that first-hand.” “Bards lie,” the demoness replied, sourly, “I’ve been through several last stands in my years, and only thing any of them have been good for is feeding Kragor.” “Let’s not give them any more time to prepare,” Shining said, “Twily, HellCaller, if you could recast those spells, we’ll see if the bugs thought to lock the doors.” Much to everyone’s surprise, the doors were unlocked. The gathered unicorns and alicorn raised shields in anticipation of an attack, but when the Throne Room doors opened, there was no barrage of magic or arrows to welcome them. Instead, what greeted their eyes was a massive swarm of insect-ponies, covering the floor, flying in the air, and even clinging to the walls. The injured insectoids who had been evacuated earlier lay in a groaning heap in one corner, as if they had been tossed aside, while a taller insect-mare lounged on the Solar Throne, one hoof resting on a massive black crystal, a web of golden and ebony energies coursing over it. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to just stand out there all day,” she sneered, “I don’t know who is more pathetic, you ponies, or Mandible for losing to you!” ‘Caller was opening her mouth to sarcastically point out that she wasn’t a pony, when Rarity’s horrified gasp and pointing hand interrupted her; barely visible within the crystal was Celestia. “See?” the seated bug gloated, casually kicking the crystal, “Even your vaunted Princess of the Sun was powerless before me! Now surrender and –” “No, no, no!” Pinkie shouted, stepping in front of the gathered swarm, “You have to tell us who you are and explain your evil plan before you demand our surrender! It’s in the rules!” she declared, holding aloft a massive tome emblazoned with “Da Rules, Fourth Edition, Revised” in gold leaf. To the surprise of many (but not to anyone who really knew Pinkie Pie), the smirking insectoid complied, “I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings! As for my brilliant plan, isn’t it obvious, you silly pony? I’m going to replace your leaders and infiltrate your society until we can reveal ourselves, take over, and reduce you ponies to slave labor and livestock … what you always should have been!” Fluttershy gave a horrified squeak, “You’re going to eat ponies?!” “Not like that! That’s disgusting!” retorted one of the changelings with a shudder, “We feed on emotions, not –” he quickly shut up as Chrysalis turned to glare at him. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes, surrender and I will let you live!” Chrysalis smiled, “Considering the abilities you’ve displayed, I might even make you favored pets,” she offered, seductively. Cadance wrinkled her muzzle in thought, “Hmm … tempting … but I did call dibs on Shining years ago … so … everyone blast the bug!” Spells tore through the massed changelings (or slammed into a wall, earning Shining exasperated, side-long glares from his sister and fiancé), but Chrysalis threw up a green shield that blocked what magic her subjects didn’t throw themselves in front of. The more martially inclined of the group stepped forward to protect Fluttershy, Cadance and Twilight, while the unicorn conjured a wall of ice to divide the Throne Room, but dozens of horns flared green and shattered the barrier as the insectoids descended upon them. The ponies, and demon, hurled spells and laid about themselves with abandon, but the changelings’ overwhelming numbers kept them contained at the doors, far from Chrysalis and her captive. *** A hedge of coiling vines sprang up at Fluttershy’s call, providing the cluster of wounded changelings who had been evacuated into the Throne Room with some protection from the general fray, while also trying to wrap around and hold any other changeling who came to close. *** Rainbow weaved through the flying changelings with a rakish grin on her muzzle, a song in her heart and fresh blood on her sword, sure they were ridiculously outnumbered and most of their side didn’t even have armor, but these bugs couldn’t touch her in the air, and the shields that Twi’, Shining and Princess Cadance kept throwing up meant the changelings couldn’t swarm over her friends from above. Besides, when they kicked that mouthy Queen’s plot it was going to be awesome! No … it was going to be better than awesome! It was going to be … to be … she’d have to talk to Twilight to find a word for things that were better than awesome. Glancing down, she noticed one of the changelings directing the bugs around him – or was it a her? Either way, it meant an officer. The pegasus cackled as she folded her wings and plummeted down on her target – hooves first. *** A pulse of lightning leapt from Twilight’s hands to tear through the massed changelings as it leapt from target to target, leaving a trail of sparks behind, then, with a loud thunderclap, all the sparks detonated, knocking even more changelings from their hooves. “Why haven’t the changelings just rushed us all at once?” the unicorn wondered, as she conjured another ice wall to delay and tire the changelings even further, “They have so many bodies that they would just win … eventually,” Twilight’s muzzle wrinkled as she glanced at Chrysalis, “Does she really value her subjects’ lives so little?” she thought in disgust, while tossing a fireball into another group of changelings as they gathered together for a charge. *** “What’s wrong with them?” Fluttershy wailed as she pulled yet another fallen changeling away from the frontline and passed him to the hedge before he could be trampled by his own comrades, “They aren’t even trying to protect their wounded!” Pinkie slapped a changeling in the muzzle with her rubber chicken, “Yeah! And I’ve seen diamond dogs with better tactics!” she said, as she knocked her dazed foe on the head with her sword’s pommel, “The one’s we fought before were loads better!” “I think they have some sort of hivemind going on,” Shining replied, catching a changeling on his shield and throwing the bug-pony back, “When Mandible was leading them, they were soldiers, but now that he’s gone, they’re just a rabble with good equipment.” “Whatever is wrong with ‘em, thank tha Princesses for it!” stated Applejack, as she caught a sword on her own, and then sent her attacker to the ground with a kick that left a dent in the changeling’s cuirass, “If we was fightin’ this many soldiers, we’d have lost by now!” *** Mustard went down with a cry under the changelings’ hacking blades, but Pinkie dragged him to safety as Applejack drove the chitinous swarm back with great sweeps of her blade. *** Apparently having finally grown bored watching her subjects fight, Chrysalis hurled a massive bolt of emerald fire at the Equestrians, only for it to splash harmlessly against the shield that Shining threw in its path. The Queen blinked, then sat back in her stolen throne with a sneer as she waved another group into the fray. *** “Back, you ruffian!” Rarity declared as she deflected a changeling’s sword blow with a sliding-parry, her horn flared as an arcane bolt took the infiltrator full in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground under the hooves of his fellows. The fashionista daintily stabbed another insect-pony through the throat as she stumbled, before casting a blast of light to dazzle more changelings, leaving them easy targets for her companion’s blades. *** A wave of eldritch energy shredded a cluster of changelings gathered around the thrones as ‘Caller hacked down two more with casual ease, :Kragor, did you see that?: :It looked like bug-queen vas drawing magic from pony-princess to block your attack … big mouth bug isn’t as strong as she’s pretending to be!: :Maybe ve can overpower her …,: “Twilight! Cadance! Focus on Queen!” Bolts of pale blue and magenta magic slammed into Chrysalis, wrapping her in mystic fire and battering the changeling with crude, but powerful, concussive force, while a blue-white ray leapt from the demoness’ hand to encase Chrysalis in ice. The massed changelings all stopped were they stood to stare in horror at their queen, but the ice quickly shattered away, leaving Chrysalis visibly injured, for the first time in the whole battle, but standing, “You little nags!” she hissed, her injuries disappearing as she inhaled a noxious looking green mist that rose from Celestia’s encased form, “Your pathetic struggles were entertaining for a while, but now you bore me. Drones!” As if by command, every changeling standing (still a few hundred strong, despite the havoc the ponies and ‘Caller had caused) charged forward, a mass of grasping hands and fanged muzzles vomiting out great bursts of sticky, green, ooze, that overwhelmed the Equestrians by sheer weight of numbers and bore them to the ground, to quickly wrap the ponies and demon in oozing, web-like bonds. Cadance gave a pained grunt as the drones dragged her and the others to their knees. Beside her, Shining’s aura flare for a moment, before flickering and dying away, “This goo must interfere with unicorn magic,” he muttered. “Well, of course it does,” Chrysalis said, mockingly, “You are far from the first ponies we have captured, after all, and something did need to be done about you unicorns and your annoying little spells.” HellCaller glared up at the changeling Queen, “Ulnot di --,” but Chrysalis spat up another blast of slime, gaging the demoness before her spell could be completed. “That’s quite enough out of you!” Chrysalis declared, leaning back in the throne to smirk at her new captives, as one of the drones picked up Kragor, gave a small shiver, and wandered over to stand behind Cadance and Shining. ‘What are we going to do?’ Cadance thought frantically, although her years of training with Celestia allowed her to keep her emotions from her face, ‘Even if we were free, nothing we do seems to hurt Chrysalis so long as she can feed on Auntie Tia!’ the alicorn’s eyes narrowed as an idea struck, ‘Chrysalis was hurt by our spells, even if she stole Auntie Tia’s power to recover, and Shining’s shield held off her magic … oh, if only we could get free!’ Behind her, the drone holding Kragor shifted slightly, then he burst into action, his arms blurring and Kragor’s runes blazing as he cut down the changelings to either side, before shearing through the cocoons binding Cadance and Shining. As the two ponies stumbled to their hooves, the drone’s sudden betrayal and vicious sword work temporarily driving the other changelings back, Cadance reached over to grab her fiancé as she prepared to do something that would probably have Celestia, Luna and Twilight all yelling at her, “Shining, trust me.” As their horns touched, Cadance opened herself completely to Shining, and felt a small surge of joy as he responded in kind. The alicorn’s power flowed into the stallion, replenishing his nearly exhausted magic reserves – but it wasn’t enough. Reaching out, Cadance drew in every bit of love she could; Twilight’s love of her BBBFF and her old foalsitter, the Ponyvillians affection for each other, HellCaller and Kragor’s sisterly bond. Reaching further, Cadance drew in Spike, Fleur de Lis, Fancy Pants and more, all the love she could find in the Imperial Palace and grounds, all the love in Canterlot, poured into Shining. The couple stared deep into each other’s eyes as Shining’s horn flared – and their vision was filled by purple light.