//------------------------------//
// Arc 18-8: A Heartbroken Rescue 
// Story: My Little Pony: One as a Family.  "Life in Canterlot" 
// by SaburoDaimando 
//------------------------------//


A Heartbroken Rescue




Wanda ran as fast as she could down the streets of Canterlot City all while she held Spike closely.  Her heart was racing fast and her breaths were quick and short.  Sweat poured from her forehead as she slowed her running.
“I...I’m not so sure if I can keep going,” Wanda said as she came to a stop, breathing really hard.  “It’s as if...everything is weighing me down.”
Wanda held Spike upwards as she started to slow her breathing down.  The baby dragon just looked at her and cooed with a sad tone.
“I know Spike,” Wanda said.  “But what can I do?  I’ve got no one left but you, and I believe that the bad windigo pony is going to freeze Miss Cinch to death. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”
Spike’s sad look turned into a horrified gaze.  He pointed to behind Wanda, causing the Man’s Cub to turn around where she saw Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator flying in the air.
“Changelings,” Wanda said in fear.
“There you are, Man’s Cub,” Inferno said.  “Queen Chrysalis has been looking all over for you.”
“That’s right,” Quickstrike said. “She said something about turning you into the first human changeling ever.  Ain’t that a treat?”
“Waspinator suggests that you surrender to us,” Waspinator said.  “It is for your own good.”
“Now come with us,” Inferno said.  “And serve our Queen and the will of the Changelings.”
“NO,” Wanda yelled.  “I WON’T!”
Wanda screamed really loud as she ran off down the street.  The Predacon brothers wasted no time flying off after the human.
“Come back here you little varmint,” Quickstrike yelled.  “Don’t make me wrangle you down like a crazed bull.”
“Waspinator thinks girl bug is too cowardly,” Waspinator said.  “Waspinator will convince the girl bug to align with Queen Chrysalis.”
Wanda ran as fast as she could, all while she held onto Spike.  The Predacon Brothers flew in closer towards the man’s cub, ready to pounce.
Spike looked up at Wanda and let out an intimidating roar, which caught Wanda’s attention.
“Are you serious, Spike?” Wanda asked.  “The dragon fire?”
Spike only responded by nodding.
“Then it’s worth a shot,” Wanda said.”
Wanda came to a stop and pointed Spike in the direction of the Predacon Brothers.  Spike opened his mouth and breathed out a fire ball at the three changelings.
“What in tarnations?” Quickstrike yelled.
But before anyone could react, the fireball smacked Waspinator, causing him to lose control and fall down into a nearby alley with a loud crash.  Quickstrike and Inferno turned their heads away before Waspinator crashed.
“Waspinator hates dragon fire,” Waspinator said from the alley.
Quickstrike and Inferno turned back towards Wanda, who only held Spike close to her.
“That was a cowardly move,” Quickstrike said in a cold tone.  “Dragon fire on my brother.  You’ll pay dearly for that.”
“What you need is strict discipline,” Inferno said.  “And it will be the Queen who will deliver that for your use of dragon fire.”
Inferno soared over Wanda and Spike, shadowing over the two younglings.  Wanda was quick to take notice and immediately turned towards the fiery-red changeling, holding Spike in her arms.  Spike immediately breathed fire in front of Inferno.  But the predacon dodged out of the way of the dragon fire and flew right next to Wanda.
“Fool,” Inferno said.  “You can’t hit us twice with the fire.  For you do not know how to control it.”
“Stay away from me,” Wanda yelled as she turned Spike over to Inferno.
Inferno flies out of the way as Spike breathed fire once more.  The predacon flies behind Wanda and laughs in her general direction.
“Fool,” Inferno said.  “Fire is my friend.  Allow me to demonstrate.”
Inferno points his head upwards as he belches fire from his mouth.  Wanda and Spike were startled by the flames coming out of the changeling’s mouth, causing the Man’s Cub to scream and fall on her behind.  Spike just stood there while Wanda held onto him, completely scared.
“You’re a bad bug,” Wanda said as she and Spike sat there, helplessly.  “I don’t want to deal with you.”
“You have no other choice,” Inferno said as he flew in front of Wanda and Spike.  “We will take you to our queen and she will  make you one of us.”
Quickstrike flew right next to Inferno and laughed at Wanda, who only sat there holding Spike in front of her.
“You stay away from me,” Wanda said as Spike growled at the two changelings.  “Otherwise Spike’s going to dragon fire you.”
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho,” Quickstrike chuckled.  “You think you can best us?  Give me a break.  We’re bigger than you and that dragon pet of yours, and there is no one who can save the both of you.”
The moment Quickstrike finished speaking, he was hit from the side by a blast of magic, sending him flying in an arch and falling right into a tree.  Inferno turned to his left side and saw the appearance of an alicorn-like figure.
“You who dare attack us,” Inferno yelled.  “Feel the wrath of fire water.”
Inferno breathed fire right at the unknown alicorn, who only dodged out of the way.  A figure jumped on top of the alicorn’s head and fired a blast of magic at Inferno, who only stepped to the side.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA,” Inferno laughed.  “You cannot beat me.  For the Predacons are the elite members of the queen’s squad, and furthermore…”
But before Inferno could finish, a fireball hit the bug, burning him to a crisp.  The predacon stood there before falling down on his face.  Nearby, Wanda held Spike closely, who belched out a bit of smoke.
“I was glad I was able to get to you on time,”  The alicorn figure said, who came out of the shadows, revealing herself to be Princess Celestia with Twilight Sparkle riding on top of her.  Wanda and Spike’s faces beamed with excitement.
“Mommy,” Wanda yelled as she ran up with Spike in her arms.  
“Spike,” Twilight said with pure joy.
As Wanda approached Celestia, Twilight jumped off the alicorn’s back and landed right next to her.  Wanda sat Spike down, allowing Twilight to run up and hug the baby dragon while Wanda jumped up and gave Princess Celestia a big hug.
“I was so worried about you,” Princess Celestia said.  “I take it Miss Cinch was able to get you to safety.”
“No mommy,” Wanda said.  “Miss Cinch was forced to fight the bad windigo pony.”
Celestia’s face turned to shock as she let out a depressed sigh.
“I was afraid it would come to this,” Celestia said as she set Wanda down.
“What’s going on, Princess?” Twilight asked.
“Cinch is forced to fight off Coldnelius Snap,” Princess Celestia said.  “And as much as I want to intervene in the fight and give Cinch the advantage, I would put the both of you in danger.  Come.  Onto my back.”
Wanda, Spike and Twilight nodded reluctantly as Princess Celestia used her magic to levitate the three off the ground and onto her back.  
“Where are we going, mommy?” Wanda asked.
“I’m going to take you three to a safe location outside Canterlot,” Princess Celestia said.  “Afterwards, I’ll try to get the other kids out of there.”
Princess Celestia flapped her wings as hard as possible.  She jumped into the air with Wanda, Twilight and Spike holding on tightly.  With a great push, Princess Celestia was airborne as she flew above the entire city of Canterlot.
“Mommy,” Wanda asked.  “Do you think we can beat back Queen Chrysalis and her changelings, along with the Windigo’s Guild?”
“I am not so sure,” Princess Celestia said.  “Everything feels far more overwhelming compared to even that incident in La Maresa.”
Princess Celestia turned her head to the far south as she flew away from the city limits.  One look in her eye caused her to crack a small smile before turning her head towards Wanda and Twilight.
“On the other hoof,” Princess Celestia said.  “I think they might be asking for it.”
Celestia winked at Wanda, Twilight and Spike as she began to fly eastward from the city.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Cinch has been dodging blasts of ice coming from Coldnelius Snap’s horn.  Though exhausted, Cinch continued to move as fast as possible while Snap kept a smug grin on his face.
“Give up, already?” Coldnelius Snap said as Cinch landed her hooves on the street.
“I’ve just begun to fight,” Cinch replied as she dodged another shot from Coldnelius Snap.
“Oh, but the fight is already over,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “As you can tell, our partners now have the castle and your friends.”
Cinch was undeterred.  She stood her ground, waiting for Coldnelius Snap to make a move.
“Even if we do fall, you will never get your hands on the Man’s Cub Wanda,” Cinch said.  “I only chose to make this fight so that you won’t get near her.  As I speak, she’s already out of your reach.”
“Never say never,” Coldnelius Snap said as she fired another blast, forcing Cinch to dodge out of the way.  “We can locate the Man’s Cub, no matter where she flees to.”
Chancellor Cinch stopped moving.  She looked at Coldnelius Snap, who just smiled right at her.
“We anticipated that Princess Celestia would try to rescue her,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “And at this moment, we figured out that you would allow her to find Princess Celestia so that she could rescue her.”
“What do you mean by that?” Cinch said, staring down at Coldnelius Snap.
“When Princess Celestia allowed you to escape,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “I had to think up a plan.  But when I wound up forging an alliance with Queen Chrysalis, the plan fell into place.  All we needed was to send only a small squad to scare the Man’s Cub so that Princess Celestia would be foolish to rescue her.”
“And why would Princess Celestia be foolish enough to rescue her?” Cinch asked, not once keeping her eyes off Coldnelius Snap’s face.
“Why Governor,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “We’re giving Princess Celestia the false illusion of safety and freedom.   Once she escapes, Queen Chrysalis will shoot her down and will go after her.”
Cinch tensed up.   She scratched her hoof on the pavement and aimed her horn at Coldnelius Snap.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Cinch snarled.  
Coldnelius Snap laughed and said “This whole incident was only a distraction to take her away from us.  And here’s the real truth: We never intended on sacrificing her to bring eternal winter among Equestria.  She is our key, but not as a sacrificial lamb.  More of a chosen one to freeze the planet by any means necessary.  You and Celestia were fools to even look after that brat in the first place.  So give it up and let us take the child.  You knew it would be inevitable, no matter how harsh you were towards her, and no matter how you protected that Man’s Cub. So give it up and face the music.”
Cinch was furious.  Without warning, she fired off a barrage of magic blasts right at Coldnelius Snap, who only jumped out of the way and ran off down the alleyway.  
“Come back here,” Cinch yelled.  “You’ll pay for what you’re going to do to the Man’s Cub.”
As Cinch chased off after Coldnelius Snap, Firefly remained trapped in the ice prison.  She pounded desperately on the ice as hard as possible.
“Celestia’s in big trouble,” Firefly yelled as she frantically pounded on the ice.  “I have to get out of there and warn her.”
Firefly continued to pound on the ice as hard as possible, slowing down a bit with each hit until she became exhausted.  She collapsed on the pavement, panting really hard.
“It’s no use,” Firefly said. “How am I going to warn Princess Celestia if I’m stuck here?”
Firefly looked outside and saw her fellow Wonderbolt Magnum, still frozen in place from Coldnelius Snap’s ambush.  She covered her eyes and cried.
“Some Wonderbolt I turned out to be,” Firefly said to herself.  “I can’t protect Celestia, I can't protect Chancellor Cinch.  And now I can’t even protect myself.”

Meanwhile, in the skies above Canterlot, Wanda, Twilight and Spike looked down at the chaos going on outside of the castle while Princess Celestia flapped her wings through the night.  The two younglings were able to get a glimpse at their friends, who were fighting back against the changelings and cutlists.
“This isn’t right,” Wanda said.  “They need to be rescued right now.”
“Wanda, there’s nothing we can do at the moment,” Princess Celestia said.  “It’s too dangerous for you to fly down there.”
“But I want to save them,” Wanda said with an anxious tone.  “Especially Sunset.  I don’t want to lose her.”
“Celestia’s right,” Twilight said as Spike held onto her.  “Even though I’m aware that they’re down there, going there is pure suicide. “
“Twilight,” Wanda said.  “I don’t want them to die.”
“They’re not going to,” Princess Celestia said.  “They’re in good hooves with both our military and Queen Novo’s military.  Plus I think the bad ponies are in for a big surprise.”
“What do you mean, mommy?” Wanda asked.
“Hang on tight,” Princess Celestia said.  “Because if my guess is correct, the changelings and the Windigo’s Guild are in for a big surprise.”
“Wanda,” Twilight said as Spike looked up at the human.  “I know I’ve had my differences with Princess Celestia.  But I know this is a good time to trust her.  And trust me.  We’re in this, together, and we won’t lose anyone.  Especially you.”
Wanda looked down at the fighting going on at the castle for a moment, reflecting on the chaos at the place she called home.  She turned back towards Princess Celestia and Twilight and said reluctantly “Fine.  I’ll do it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Princess Celestia said.  “We’ll hide out for a bit, and when the coast is clear, we’ll get you and Twilight back home.”

Back down on the Castle grounds, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and Queen Novo are back-to-back against the cultists and changelings.  Despite the three being physically more powerful than a typical pony, these three are exhausted from the fighting going as it shows no sign of diminishing.
“How are you holding up,” Luna said.
“Not so hot,” Princess Cadance replied.  “Without my magic, I can barely hold these goons back.”
“I take it this is the kind of madness that you both went through in La Maresa,” Queen Novo asked.
“What we went through in La Maresa was a cakewalk compared to what we’re now going through,” Princess Luna said.
Luna was quick to turn around and deliver a powerful kick to one of the changelings, sending them flying towards a bush where he crashed right into it.  
“I don’t suppose you have a spare folded chair with you,” Princess Cadance joked.
Queen Novo took notice of a nearby folded chair.  She ran past a couple of the changelings and cultists and grabbed it with her claws, folding the chair up in an instant.
“Princess Cadance,” Queen Novo shouted.  “Catch.”
With a swing of both arms, Queen Novo tossed the folded chair right at Princess Cadance, who proceeded to grab it with her hooves.  
“Thanks,” Cadence yelled before she swung the folded chair and hit a nearby cultist, sending it flying right into the castle wall before it fell into the moat.
Princess Luna looked around the front garden.  Danged Spell and Golden Lace were back-to-back, snarling, snapping with their teeth and swiping with their right hooves.  Rainbow Dash, Spitfire and Airazor were leading a group of Wonderbolts against a group of flying changelings.  Fluttershy lead a group of animals against the various zealots and changelings.  Cozy Glow, Ditzy Doo, Trixie and Starlight were holding their own against both groups, Applejack and her family, along with Filthy and Spoiled Rich, were knocking apples around, hitting both cultist and changeling alike all while defending Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara, Gold Banks was cowering behind Silver, who stood his ground and fired off blasts of magic from his horn.  Rarity, Moondancer and Sunburst were hitting changelings in the air alongside Shining Armor, Thompson and the guards who fought back against the cultists.  Pinkie Pie wasted no time firing shots from her party cannon, while Princess Skystar guarded Ocellus and Silverstream.
As Luna watched on, Buck Withers approached both princesses and the hippogriff queen, grabbing a changeling with his whip and knocking it aside.  Despite Cadance and Novo being aware of the stray insect, Princess Luna was dozing off.
“Something tells me it was a bad idea for Princess Celestia to find Wanda by herself,” Princess Luna said.
“Princess Luna,” Buck Withers said.  “Are you alright?”
Luna shook her head and said “Yes.  I’m sorry.”
“Is that fear I see in you?” Luna turned her head to see Queen Chrysalis approach her with glee on her jaw.  Sunset Shimmer, Abigail Albright, Prince Blueblood and Prince Hoofar approached Princess Luna, who held her arm up as a sign to stay put.
“What do you want, Chrysalis?” Princess Luna said with a stern tone.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Queen Chrysalis said.  “You believe that by distracting us, that you can get that precious little snowflake of a man’s cub out of harm’s way.  That once she’s out of the city, she’ll be in a safe spot.”
“Get on with it, Chrysalis,” Sunset yelled as Abigail hissed at the changeling queen.  “You know you won’t be getting my sister.”
“That’s what you think,” Queen Chrysalis said.  “I was made aware that Princess Celestia will most likely rush to rescue her adopted daughter, along with her ex-student Twilight Sparkle.  And they are most likely to fly them out of Canterlot by any means necessary.  You can thank my new partner Coldnelius Snap for telling me about this.”
“You’re not going to do what I think you are,” Luna said.
Queen Chrysalis thrust her arm into the night sky and yelled out “BEHOLD!”  Luna, Cadence, Novo, Sunset, Abigail, Blueblood and Hoofar looked up to see Princess Celestia flying away from Canterlot City with Wanda, Twilight and Spike on her back.  They were almost a spec to the normal eye and they were unaware of Chrysalis taking notice of them.
“What are you going to do, you fiend?” Prince Hoofar said.
“Showing you all that hope is nothing more than a miserable little pile of secrets,” Chrysalis laughed.
With a great leap, Queen Chrysalis flew upwards into the air.  Blueblood and Hoofar fired off blasts of magic, only to miss the queen by mere inches.  Chrysalis ascended upwards until she was at the same level as Princess Celestia.
“And now,” Chrysalis yelled.  “This is where hope ends.”
Queen Chrysalis charged up the magic on her horn until it glowed brightly.  Then she fired off a blast of green magic that traveled at mach three speeds.  Before Princess Celestia, Wanda, Twilight and Spike were aware of it, they were hit directly by the blast, resulting in a powerful explosion..
Back on the ground, Princess Luna, Queen Novo, Princess Cadance, Sunset Shimmer, Abigail Albright, Prince Blueblood and Prince Hoofar’s jaws dropped down in horrid shock all while Queen Chrysalis flew downwards, laughing with excitement and satisfaction.
“Sister, mother,” Sunset said as a tear fell from her eye.
“Aunt Celestia, cousin,” Prince Blueblood said as he stood there, helplessly.
“This can’t be happening,” Princess Cadance said as she dropped the folded chair on the ground.
“By the call of the seaponies,” Novo said as she stood there.
“I don’t believe it,” Prince Hoofar said.
Luna stood there and said nothing as she saw the explosion consume Celestia, Wanda, Twilight and Spike.  Tears fell from her eyes as she could do nothing but yell out “NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Meanwhile, back within the middle of Canterlot, Chancellor Cinch was in horrid shock as she saw Celestia, Wanda, Twilight and Spike get caught up in the explosion by Chrysalis’s magic blast.  Coldnelius Snap walked up to Cinch with a hint of a sadistic delight.
“What have you done?” Chancellor Cinch said as she stood there.
“We just lured you all into a trap,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “Now your precious princess has fallen, and soon, the man’s cub will be the one who will bring this planet to eternal winter.  You were a fool back then to even take her in.  You should have put her out of her misery.
“I would never,” Cinch said as she kept her head away from Snap.  “But what you and Chrysalis did, has gone too far.”
“And what did your princess say,” Coldnelius Snap said.  “That there isn’t a punishment worthy of what I did?  Or rather, what we did?  Honestly, I like how it rings, how nothing you can come up with can bring justice to the crimes we committed.  And she’s right.  There is no punishment that is worthy of what we did.  So deal with it.”
Chancellor Cinch stood there as tears leaked from her eyes and her glasses fogged up.  Coldnelius Snap pointed his horn at Cinch and began to charge up his magic.


	To Be Continued in…


	Beyond Hope