//------------------------------// // Summon the Horde? // Story: The Half Changeling: Isabella's story // by Sdlghskjvnkj //------------------------------// Everyone stood frozen, staring at the door, not even daring to breath. A second loud knocking sounded at the door, making everyone jump. "Um. Hello?" came a slightly husky mare's voice. "Is that....?" murmured Fluttershy. "I think it is." said Rainbow Dash, a smile spreading over her lips. "It's who?" Asked Isabella as Rainbow Dash trotted over to the door. As she opened it, a gray mare with light blonde hair and golden eyes that seemed to be crossed permanently, stuck her head in. "Hi guys!" She said beaming at them all. "Hey Derpy. Come on in." said Rainbow Dash, holding the door open. Derpy stepped inside and promptly tripped on the threshold, face-planting hard on the carpet. Everyone rushed forward to see if she needed help. She simply grinned up at them with her now semi flat face. "I'm okay, that kinda thing happens to me all the time." said Derpy, after Rainbow Dash and Rarity had helped her up and sat her down in one of the chairs. "So Derpy, why are you here?" Twilight asked, smiling at the gray mare, who's eyes were looking all around the cabin, literally. "I came cause somepony showed up in Ponyville from Canterlot. Said he had a message for Isabella. Naturally I had no idea who she was, so I asked around and everypony guessed she was the mare in that big fight a few days ago cause we don't know anypony in Ponyville with that name. So after finding out that she had been with Big Macintosh, I went to Granny Smith who told me Applejack had gone on a trip with you guys into the mountains, so I flew way up and around the mountain a few times till I found the cabin. Then I showed up here." The room was quiet. Not from Derpy's story but from how she had told it. She had not taken a single breath through the entire thing and gasped deeply after having finished. After another minute of silence, Derpy blushed a little and held up her mail bag. "I got it right here if you wanna see it." Isabella stepped forward and Derpy smiled crossed eye at her, handing her a letter. "Uh, this is addressed to a 'Sir Fancy Pants'." Isabella said showing Derpy the letter. "Oh! That's nothing!" yelled Rarity as she snatched it out of Isabella's hoof before Derpy could take it, and stuffed it into her mane. "Just uh, Sweetie Belle's idea of a joke." She had a guilty smile on her face as everypony looked at her suspiciously, then turned back to Derpy as she spoke. "I know I had it in here someplace. Hm? What's this?" There seemed to be a heavy something in her mail bag and with a heave, she turned her mail bag upside down, and out fell... "Spike! What in Celestia's name are you doing here?" shouted Twilight, at the small purple and green dragon that now lay in a pile of letters on the rug. He sat up and began talking so fast, it was hard for them to keep up. "I'm sorry Twilight, but you were in such a hurry when Fluttershy showed up that you forgot me and just ran out. The moment I heard that Rarity got hurt though, I set out after you, but my legs are too small, so I lost you guys. Then I saw Derpy talking to people, asking about Isabella and I figured you had gone to see them since you guys weren't around anymore, so when she stopped at Granny Smith's place, I snuck into her bag." Again the room was quiet. Spike hadn't taken a breath either, but was looking up at Twilight nervously, pushing his index fingers together. Finally Twilight sighed. "It fine Spike. Next time just ask her if she can give you a lift." She said. "N-next time?" Spike stammered as Derpy and Twilight began tossing letters hither and thither. After a minute or two, a little after Spike had begun to help out, Twilight held up a letter. "Got it!" she breathed, wiping her brow. Isabella took it from her and slid it open, pulling the letter out gingerly. Nopony said anything as she read, which took a very long time, as the letter was three pages long and written very sloppily. As she read, her face got harder and harder and her eyes seemed to glow. "What's up?" asked Applejack, who had taken a seat with the others. "Roderick has basically started a war on my men." "Your men?" asked Rainbow Dash. "We went over this, I used to be a master thief. I had a lot of cronies. But the problem is, Roderick had most of the city guard in his pocket, and now he wants to capture and kill them all." said Isabella, grinding her teeth at the thought of Roderick's pleasure at giving the order. "And you care?" asked Twilight, who seemed genuinely surprised. Isabella shot her a venomous look and was about to retort when Big Macintosh cut across her. "We all know the past, lets focus on the present. If we can get Isabella to be different, these other thieves can change. Ah highly doubt this Roderick fellow will be up to change, so lets think about how to help Isabella's boys." Everyone lapsed into silence. There was hmings and umings, plus hoof tapping for the longest time till somepony spoke up. "Contact the Princess." Everyone was surprised to see that Derpy was the one to have spoken. "She's busy." said Twilight, immediately. "Yes, but the problem in Canterlot ties in with her work." stated Isabella. "How would you know?" asked Twilight suspiciously. "She's met Luna in her sleep. They've talked about it." explained Tentra. The others looked at each other in shock and whispered among themselves as Twilight scanned Isabella's face, perhaps looking for deception. "All the big problems that have occurred in the past, they've been eating away at the fabric of the world, and things have begun to unravel." Isabella said, looking at each of the girls in turn. "Nightmare Moon, Discord, my mother, even your exploits in the crystal kingdom, have been tugging on the threads of our universe, but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been trying to fix it." "That's where they've been." said Rainbow Dash, looking down at the floor her face a mask of awe, her eyes full of wonder. "Yes, Luna has put herself in the dream realm permanently, well at least till they get this thing figured out." said Isabella, nodding at Rainbow Dash. "Wait!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, "If the world is falling apart, then why haven't we seen anything strange lately?" "Have y'all been having nightmares recently?" asked Big Macintosh. There was silence for a minute, then Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy raised their hooves. "Ah had one where the orchard was destroyed, and from what Ah could see so was Ponyville." "Me too, but it was the Boutique that had been destroyed in mine, as well as Ponyville and Twilight's Library." There was silence again until Twilight sighed. "I had a similar one, but nothing was destroyed. I was studying when the book I was reading burst into flames. I grabbed another book and opened it and the pages were empty. I went through every single book in the library. It was all the same." She said, her head hung and her voice quiet. "I think the only way to stop this mess and save our world is to get the Princess'es help, just like Derpy said. I don't think we can do this on our own." said Isabella, holding her head up. "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, coming out of her revelry, "Spike!" Spike stood at attention, A quill and paper already in his hand. "Dear Princess Celestia, we know about your work, but we are in dire need of assistance. Chrysalis has come back and is hunting us, plus Canterlot is being controlled by a devious nobleman. We are afraid to take action as it may further damage the fabric of our world. We need help, signed, The six." Rainbow Dash finished. Spike dotted the period, rolled the scroll and tossed it in the air, catching it with his green flames expertly, sending it away. "And Derpy, I have a message for my men. Spike, if you'd please." said Isabella, as she nodded at Spike. Again, he already had a piece of paper in his hand, the quill poised and ready. "Men, I know these last few days have been a living hell for you, and I know how dangerous it is for all of you there now, but if you can, get back into the mansion. The tree's shadow will show you the way. Once, inside, use anything to barricade the entrances without drawing attention to yourselves. Use my personal stores of food, water, and weapons if you need to. Stay safe and keep your heads down. Isabella." Spike folded this one and handed it to Derpy, who tucked it into an envelope, then saluting them, she opened the door and bolted out, the door closing slowly behind her. Not a moment later, Spike's eyes grew wide and he belched loudly, a scroll of parchment appearing from the flames that his burp expelled, which he caught deftly and began reading. "My Little Ponies, head to the top of the mountain, make sure to be there at sunset, and be careful. If Chrysalis is hunting you, she won't be far behind. We'll take care of Canterlot once our real work is over, but right now it's only a second priority. Now go. I'll see you all soon." "Lets get going." Said Big Macintosh, standing up. "Right now?" asked Spike, his face a mask of nervousness. "Don't worry Spike, if we come across any gaps, it's just a hop skip and jump." said Pinkie, saying the last part in a sing song voice. Fluttershy shuddered at those words. "Plus it's only about a ten minute walk to the top. We're pretty high up." Applejack reassured him. "Then lets go." said Isabella. The rest of them stood up and began to gather a few things, and when they finally had every thing they needed, they headed out and up the mountain. Hawkeye was sitting in the shadows of an alley, his back pressed against the wall as two Guards walked past in a heated discussion. Things had gotten out of hand since the boss had left, and Roderick's guards had taken over. It was almost impossible to move around during the day, and even at night it was hard to get around. Thankfully, Roderick had only managed to catch about one 25th of the men. The rest were too well trained to be caught, thanks to Isabella's teachings and strict discipline. He stuck his head out to see if the coast was clear, then darted out and ran up a set of stairs that wound around the house they belonged to, finally stopping on the roof and looking down, the afternoon sun playing on his black mane and coat, glinting in his violet eyes, and making his wings, which were spread, seem bigger. He scanned the surrounding buildings and the lower streets, hawk like, his eyes narrowed and his body tense. He was still for the longest time, the sun creeping lower in the sky every second, but it's light still shining bright across the rooftops, leaving the streets in shadow. His eyes flickered for a moment, then he dashed forward, ripping some of the roofing tiles off in his haste, and jumped out into open space. His wings folded and he began to free fall. He picked up more and more speed, and was mere feet from the ground when he opened his wings. He skimmed the ground and turned so quickly, a tiny dust devil was formed as he flew off towards the lower city, dodging buildings, trash bins, late night strolling ponies, and even flying high over several guards. Finally, as he flew over the lower city, he began his decent, tilting his wings ever so slightly, and circling over a dark alley. No pony seemed to notice him but the silence of the evening made Hawkeye tense, almost as if he expected the guards to set upon him at any moment. When he entered the alley, he lowered his hooves and landed at a run and slowly decelerating, to a gallop, then a trot and finally stopping near the entrance to another street. Judging by the sun, it was nearly seven o'clock, and the mail pony he had sent Travis to find was scheduled to arrive any minute, but there was time to have a rest and stretch his legs. He had been cooped up in an old abandoned house for the past three days, which, for a pegasus, is nearly an eternity. As he shook himself and let his wings flap pointlessly, he began to think about the last few days. Things had really been weird. First the boss'es heist going wrong because that idiot Dungus went and snitched. Then her sudden disappearance, which had been the only thing people had been talking about. And why wouldn't they be talking about it? The boss was one of the most well known ponies in the entire city, so when she stopped responding to invites and threatening the few suitors that still came calling, people wondered. But getting the information from the fence in Ponyville that their boss was still alive, that was amazing. Some of Hawkeye's thieving brethren wouldn't like to see her come back, but he knew the truth of it. None of them had the skill, discipline, or smarts to run their operation. Hell, if she decided to stop being a thief and become a war lord, he would gladly learn to be a soldier. But yes, she was alive and getting her back was essential. The only problem was that getting her back and getting rid of Roderick would mean a full on war between Roderick's pocket guard and the thieves and that would cause a lot of damage, for Canterlot and both sides. Hawkeye huffed to himself and blew a strand of hair out of his face. A moment later he jumped and looked around as a heavy 'thud' sounded just outside the alley. He peeked out and saw a gray mare pegasus with pale blonde mane and tail, and goofy, mismatched, golden eyes. Her wings and hair were terribly mussed and it looked like she had flown through a storm. She also had a heavy looking mail bag. He looked up and down the street. It was clear, and it seemed that no one had notice the loud sound. He acted quickly and dragged her into the shadows of the alley. "Lady. You okay?" Hawkeye waved a hoof in front of the mail mare's face, and her eyes, still cockeyed, seemed to focus on him and she smiled. "Hi! Are you the one I'm supposed to meet?" she asked. Hawkeye shushed her and put a hoof to her lips. "I'm not even supposed to exist, but yes. I'm Hawkeye. Did you get a letter or anything from the boss?" "Yep. Got it right here." She held up a neat and tidy envelope that looked like it had been sealed only a few hours ago. He snatched it and tore it open, reading it once, twice, and three times over. As he did so, the gray mare pushed herself up and dusted herself off. Hawkeye looked at her, his face a picture of shock. "What in oblivion has made her change so drastically?" he murmured, turning to the mail mare, who giggled. The mail mare shrugged and grinned at him. Apparently her eyes were always mismatched. "Well, if this is the bosses orders, then I'd better round every one up and head back to base. And you'd better head back to Ponyville miss. If the guards suspect you're involved with us, they'll kill you without a second thought." said Hawkeye, turning to leave. "Nope. I'm coming with you." Hawkeye turned and looked at her. She just grinned at him. A slow smile spread across his face and he chuckled, but when the mare simply smiled back at him, he realized she was serious. "What? Why?" "Cause I want to." she said, following it up quickly with "and cause I'm a great cook." Hawkeye opened his mouth to say something, but he could form no rebuttal. It had been a while since they had someone in the kitchen who could cook. Plus, she was coming willingly and didn't need threatening or persuasion. He shrugged and said "Sure, why not." The mail mare beamed and followed him as he headed to the far end of the alley, from where he had entered. "Now, we gotta get every one together and then we can head back to the manor, alright?" he said, smirking at her. "Yes sir!" she half shouted, putting up a sloppy salute. "Alright. Here we go!" And with that, they both shot into the sky, leaving a black streak and a gray zigzag in the air. Isabella, Big Macintosh, Twilight, and all the girls were nearly to the peak when Pinkie Pie asked for a rest. "What's wrong? Didn't you walk up here in an evening?" asked Isabella, turning around and looking down. "Actually, we got a ride from the mayor, using the air balloon." replied Rarity, who dabbed at her forehead with a small white cloth. "Well, we are almost at the top, I guess a break wont hurt. But we can't stay too long, the Sun is nearly ready to set." Isabella finished by looking at the horizon, the sun nearly touching it. Isabella sat a little higher than the others, letting Big Macintosh sit next to Applejack, and keeping an eye on the horizon. "Mind if I join you?" She looked around to see Twilight standing next to her. "Sure." Isabella nodded to the patch of grass next to her, and Twilight sat next to her. They were silent for a little while as they watched the others. Pinkie Pie was trying to teach Tentra how to play patty cake, and Rarity was brushing her hair next to them. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Big Macintosh were eating apples and chatting animatedly to each other. "I don't know if anyone has asked you this yet," Twilight said, breaking the silence between them, "But do you know who your father is?" Isabella sighed and shook her head. "No idea. The only thing Chrysalis ever said about him was that he was a Unicorn, and she regretted I looked more like him then her." She chuckled grimly at that, but lapsed back into silence. Twilight was deep in thought for a moment. "You were born around nineteen years ago?" Isabella looked at Twilight quizzically, who was looking at her earnestly. "Yeah. Why?" "............How long was Chrysalis pregnant with you?" Isabella thought about that for a while. Chrysalis had never said much about Isabella's father, and she had never actually bothered to think about it much. But she did have one other memory. "One time, while she was raging at me, she held something about 'I carried you in my body for a year and a half', so I guess a half changeling takes longer to develop then a Changeling or a Pony. Weird thought, huh?" Twilight and Isabella were both silent again for a while, until Isabella looked at the horizon and pushed herself up. "We gotta move, the sun is about.." Isabella was cut off by a cackle that seemed to come from all around them, which made Fluttershy scream and made Rarity drop her brush. Isabella looked in every direction but could see no one as Twilight called the others over to them. "Did you honestly think you could escape us?!" came Chrysalis'es cruel voice again, swimming around them through the air. "She's trying to confuse us! Keep your eyes open!" Yelled Tentra, hoisting Fluttershy back up, who had dropped her head to the ground and had covered her eyes with her forelegs. The group stood in a tight circle, looking in every direction, waiting for Chrysalis to show her face. "Ah! I see you have taken the traitor into your ranks! You will die with her then! You will all die!" There was a loud whooshing sound, and the clouds began to clump together above them. The sun, being off to their side, still shone, making the mountain peak seem unreal. "Run!" shouted Isabella. As they all turned tail and began sprinting to the very peak of the mountain, Chrysalis, her mane flying in the wind, her eyes burning with hatred, appeared from the cloud, Roderick just below her, galloping towards them. They reached the very top of the mountain in minutes, leaving Chrysalis and Roderick behind. "What do we do? They'll be here in seconds, and the sun is still a little ways from actually setting!" screamed Fluttershy, almost tearing up out of fright. "We'll fight!" said Twilight, turning back toward the direction they had come, "The Princess said to come. We just have to trust she has a plan." "Eeyup." "Then that's it. We'll stand our ground till the sun sets. Lets pray that Celestia isn't late." said Isabella as she turned to look at their soon to be arena. The peak was fairly flat, but there were large rocks scattered around the place, some bare and other covered in green and violet mosses. There were a few trees there as well, mostly pine and a single birch, and lots of ferns. It looked like their best bet would be to use the rocks and trees as cover and throwing things at their assailants. "Alright every one!" yelled Twilight, catching eveypony's attention, "If we have to fight, we need a plan. Rainbow Dash you hide in the tree tops and attack when you can. Tentra, you go with her. Rarity, you and me will hide behind the birch tree and throw stones and other heavy objects at them. Applejack, Big Macintosh, Isabella, I want you to take the fight directly to them. Spike and Fluttershy, I want you two to stay back here and Wait for the princess." Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Fluttershy clapped her hooves over his mouth. "We'll do that, Twilight." she said as fast she could, dragging Spike back behind a large clump of pine trees, as Tentra and Rainbow Dash flew up to the top of the trees and Twilight and Rarity trotted towards the large birch tree. Isabella stood between Big Macintosh and Applejack, all three of them turned towards the way they came up, and it wasn't long before they heard them approaching. A large, black cloud began swirling over the peak, very much like what had happened down at their resting spot. "Fools!" The voice echoed all around them, but everypony's eyes were glued to the two figures that slowly came into few over the side of the mountain. Roderick was obviously winded, but was holding himself together pretty well. Chrysalis, on the other hand, seemed to be teeming with energy. Her mane billowed around her head, her eyes glowed malevolently, and her horn was emitting angry green sparks as her wings beat furiously, making them almost invisible as she hovered above the ground. Both had their eyes glued to Isabella, Roderick with that sickening hunger and Chrysalis with pure hatred. "Do you really believe you can defeat us?" hissed Chrysalis, a sneer appearing on her face. "Who was my father?" Everyone became silent. The question had been completely unexpected and everyone's eyes moved to look at Isabella, who's eyes hadn't left Chrysalis. Chrysalis shook herself and regained her composure, landing lightly next to Roderick. "Well, I guess one answer for the soon to be deceased isn't too much to ask." Roderick look at her as if she was crazy, but she ignored him, blinking slowly. Chrysalis kept her eyes on Isabella's as she took a few steps forward. She was not smiling. Truth be told, She had the look of someone reliving a particularly horrible memory. It was a few moments before she began speaking. "Your father was one of the many stallions I have deceived to feed off of. Though this one in particular was resistant to my magic for the longest time. I had to truly play the part of his fair mare more than once." She grimaced at this and Pinkie Pie and Twilight both shifted uncomfortably. Isabella was unamused. "That doesn't tell me who he was." Chrysalis scowled hard, the blaze of anger returning to her eyes. "Impatient as always. You never did learn how to stay silent when being addressed. Fine. You sadly inherited his features. His name I believe was Shining Armor. He was a pitiful unicorn that headed the Guard Legion in Canterlot." There was a collective gasp behind and beside Isabella. She looked around at Applejack, who was looking behind herself. Isabella followed her gaze and her eyes found Twilight, who's mouth hung open as her eyes bulged. She looked at the others, all of whom were looking at Twilight. Isabella looked around at Big Macintosh, who looked as lost as she was. "Who's Shining Armor?" "No idea." Mumbled Big Macintosh "That's Twilight's brother y'all." There was a stunned silence as Isabella and Big Macintosh looked at Applejack, shock etched on all their faces. Chrysalis let out a bark of humorless laughter as the last few rays of sunlight glanced off her wings. "Yes, the boy and his wife weren't exactly pure in their actions before they were married. So I had to play along, and so you were created. I had hoped you might have been a worthy heir to the throne, but you're just a disappointment that's become a major thorn in my side. Now you will all die." Chrysalis's horn let off a low acid green shimmer as a a dark orb was drawn from the inside of Roderick's coat. Everyone's eyes followed it as it come to rest half way between Isabella and Chrysalis. The orbs shimmered slightly as their poisons purple color seemed to suck in the light around them. Before any other action could be made, a sound like the the crack of a whip mixed with a thunderclap boomed through the air, shaking the mountain and staggering everyone. Chrysalis fell to her knees and Roderick fell backwards. Isabella, Big Macintosh, and Applejack turned and ran back to the others, who had all come into a small group. Isabella saw why as she and the others arrived to the group. High above them, the clouds began to swirl again, but these cloud were white and no lightning forked out of them. The wind began to pick up around them and everypony's mane began to be wiped around them. Isabella threw a glance over her shoulder. Chrysalis had regained her composure and looked livid, as Roderick continued to try and push himself up. As Chrysalis began to charge forward, her horn burning green now, Twilight let out a shout. "Princess!" A blinding beam of light came down and engulfed the small group of friends, forcing Chrysalis to shut her eyes. Isabella felt a strange sensation of weightlessness and saw that she and all the other had been lifted a few inches into the air. She looked again back at Chrysalis. The black orb was hovering between them again, but this time it looked as though it was consuming the air and light around it, glowing brighter and brighter. Isabella shut her eyes and for the first time in her life, prayed that she'd see the light of day again. Then, in a final world brightening flash, the beam of light vanished, taking with it Isabella and the others. The only sound on the mountain top after this was the sound of a gun shot, follow by the deafening roar of rage that ripped from Chrysalis's lungs as the small black orb fell to the ground, empty and lifeless, not to be used for the next hundred years.